PS038 : Long Live the Nidoqueen?!
Red, Green & Blue arc
PS040 : A Charizard...and a Champion
Just a Spearow Carrier
PS039.png
VS オニスズメ
VS Onisuzume
Info
Shogakukan full volume Chapter 39 in Vol. 3
VIZ Media monthly issue Chapter 39 in The Pikachu Maneuver
VIZ Media full volume Adventure 39 in Vol. 3
Series Pokémon Adventures
Other
Location Indigo Plateau

Just a Spearow Carrier (Japanese: VS オニスズメ VS Onisuzume) is the 39th chapter in the Pokémon Adventures manga.

Plot

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

The long-awaited championship tournament has begun at the Indigo Plateau, and the Pokémon Fan Club Chairman excitedly makes his appearance as a fan, and attempts to cut in line. After being shoved back out, he spots a Spearow and picks it up, wondering where its owner is. The trainer pulls the Spearow out of his hands and heads over to the registration desk for the tournament, content upon noticing that Red, Blue, and Green have all signed up as well.

With the crowd roaring on all sides, Red has Poli defeat his opponent's Kabutops, earning him a place in the semi-finals, as his rival Blue does the same. He tells Red about how in the entire history of the Pokémon League, every championship winner has been a Trainer from Pallet Town, and wonders about which of them it will be this year. They smile at each other and Blue walks off, looking forward to battling Red in the finals.

Suddenly, Red turns to notice Green setting off her Nidoran♀ to kiss an unsuspecting Fisherman's Nidoran♀. She talks him up, saying that since their Pokémon love each other so much, they should too, and suggests trading her Weedle for his Butterfree. Green gets a bit surprised to see that Red has been watching, but quickly recovers and greets him. After he asks her what she's doing here, she gestures to the screen behind her, showing that she will also be in the semi-finals. As she turns and walks off, she declares her intent to win, revealing that she's also from Pallet Town.

Red is shocked, and attempts to follow after her to get more information, but Bill appears and stops him to congratulate him on his efforts, and asks him if he's seen the match-ups yet. Seeing that he's scheduled to fight Blue next, he enters a slump, having hoped both of them would make it to the finals. As they join the spectators, Bill comforts Red as Green faces off the mysterious "Dr. O". Green releases Jiggly, her Jigglypuff, while Dr. O reveals his Spearow; both Pokémon selections draw remarks of confusion from the crowd. Red himself is familiar with Green's tactics of picking a cute Pokémon to let the opponent bring their guard down, but he has no idea what Dr. O is planning to do with his Spearow.

Confidently, Green accuses her foe of underestimating her as she calls a Tri Attack from Jiggly, gleefully declaring to have won all her League matches with the first hit. To her surprise, not only has Spearow not fainted, it retaliates with a Fury Attack that corners Green and Jiggly. Hurriedly Green calls out Sing, instantly inducing drowsiness in the audience except for Blue, who points out that Jiggly doesn't have the speed to counter Flying-type Pokémon, Spearow effortlessly able to stay out of range.

Green is left annoyed and has Jiggly rapidly fire off Tri Attacks, drawing Red to yell at her from the audience to switch to an aerial battle. Green nervously admits that she doesn't have any Pokémon capable of flight, to Red's shock. Dr. O reveals that all of his Pokémon are Flying types, Red concluding that he must have known her weakness ahead of time. Suddenly Dr. O appears behind her, letting her know this is her punishment for stealing. Wondering who he is, Green notices an opening and stops Dr. O from moving with Jiggly's Disable, giving her time to switch into Blasty.

Quickly she grabs onto Blasty and commands a Hydro Pump, launching them both into the air, content that she's found a way to battle in the air despite her lack of Flying types. The blast strikes Dr. O and his Spearow from above, causing the mask on his face to begin to slip off. Dr. O smiles, and asks her if she knows how some birds can repeat back words. Leaving Green confused, he clarifies that his Spearow can do that with attacks, and calls out Mirror Move, reflecting the Hydro Pump back up at Green and Blasty, leaving them both to collapse down to the ground. Red nervously notices how low Blasty's health is, as Green is trying to quickly back away from the approaching Spearow.

Suddenly cowering in fear on the ground, she yells for Spearow to not come any closer, leaving the crowd stunned and confused. Dr. O stops and begins to tell a story from six years ago when a little girl was abducted by a large Legendary bird Pokémon. Having a grandson of the same age, he felt the need to help out in the search, and involved himself in the investigation so thoroughly that he could never forget her face. Years later, he was left shocked when he saw the same girl on his security cameras, having stole a Squirtle out of his laboratory. The mask slips all the way off his face, and he is revealed to be Professor Oak, much to the crowd's surprise.

He comments that he's not surprised that such an experience would leave her afraid of bird Pokémon, as Green channels her fear into having Blasty use Water Gun. Another Mirror Move from Professor Oak erodes away the last bit of Blasty's health, leaving him as the winner of the semi-final match. Green collapses to the ground in defeat, and Professor Oak asks for an explanation for her theft.

She had to grow up in a strange place without any family, only knowing that she came from a place called Pallet Town. Later she found out that two boys her age, also from Pallet Town, had been provided with Pokémon and a Pokédex and had been able to start their journeys. Despondent, she begins to cry, wishing she had the opportunity to go out on the same journey that they had. Professor Oak approaches her, and places a Pokédex into her hands, asking her to promise him that she understands now that stealing is wrong. He announces her as the third Trainer from Pallet Town, and she begins crying again, Professor Oak comforting her. In the audience, Bill is moved, also being familiar with the experience of having been abducted by a large bird Pokémon.

In the locker room, the Professor fans himself off after having worked up a sweat, and Blue comments that whoever wins the semi-final match between him and Red will have to battle him in the finals. Professor Oak reveals that he won a prior tournament, and announces his withdrawal, allowing the finals to be between Red and Blue. Over the PA system, the crowd is informed of the news of the second semi-finals match now becoming the finals, much to Red's elation.

Major events

  • Green is revealed to own a Nidoran♀ and a Weedle.
  • Green, Dr. O, Red, and Blue reach the semi-finals of the Indigo League Tournament.
  • Green reveals that she's also from Pallet Town.
  • Green is given the third Pokédex and becomes a Pokédex holder.
  • Green is defeated by Dr. O in the semi-finals, who then withdraws from the competition, leaving Red and Blue to battle in the final round of the Indigo League Tournament.
For a list of all major events in the Pokémon Adventures manga, please see the history page.
  Spoilers end here.  

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Characters

Humans

Pokémon

Trivia

Errors

  • In the VIZ Media first edition, when the Pokémon League scoreboard is shown, Blue is identified as "GREEN" and Green is identified as "BLUE". This error is a result of Green and Blue switching names for the English translation. This error was also present in the compilation volume The Best of Pokémon Adventures: Red, but was corrected for the second edition re-translation.
  • In the second edition, Bill's line about knowing how it feels to be snatched by a giant bird Pokémon (in his case, the Fearow was "giant" because he had been fused with a Rattata at the time) is inexplicably changed to him saying that he knows how it feels to be snatched by a "Legendary bird". This makes no sense as Fearow is not a Legendary Pokémon.

In other languages



PS038 : Long Live the Nidoqueen?!
Red, Green & Blue arc
PS040 : A Charizard...and a Champion
  This article is part of Project Manga, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each series of Pokémon manga.