Magical Pokémon Journey

Magical Pokémon Journey (Pocket Monsters PiPiPi Adventures in Japan) is a Shoujo Manga created by Yumi Tsukirino, set in the Pokémon universe.

The story centers around a girl named Hazel who develops a crush on Almond, a Pokémon Trainer from whom she is constantly rebuffed. To receive a Love Potion from a scientist named Grandpa and thus gain Almond's affection, Hazel agrees to catch Pokémon for his research.

This series chronicles Hazel's attempts to make Almond like her, as well as her friendship with several Pokémon she meets — mainly Pikachu, Clefairy, and Jigglypuff (Pikachu, Pippi, and Purin, for whom the series was named) — and her rivalry with Grandpa's granddaughter, Coconut. Gradually, the focus of the series shifts away from collecting Pokémon and more to the relationship between Hazel and Almond, as well as the relationships between other human characters, between Pokémon, and the friendships of both humans and Pokémon.

Tsukirino also wrote a sequel entitled Pokemon Chamo Chamo Pretty. Both series are complete.


 * Christmas Cake: Cashew, although by the end of the chapter she seems to not mind so much.
 * Dub Name Change: Marron → Hazel, Peas → Peanut
 * Edible Theme Naming: Many of the characters (Hazel, Almond, Coconut, Peanut, Pistachio, Walnut) are named after nuts. A few of the other characters (Ginger, Apricot, Plum, Caraway) are named after foods other than nuts.
 * Interspecies Romance: Several Pokemon have crushes on humans.
 * I Thought That Was: It's not a Magical Girl series.
 * Lethal Chef: Jigglypuff
 * Love Potion: What Hazel wants
 * Mad Scientist: Grandpa.
 * Miniature Senior Citizens: Grandpa.
 * Mood Whiplash: The story "The Hill of the Lone Star Tree" centers around an elderly Quagsire's search for his lost love, with predictably depressing results. This is a far cry from the lighthearted comedy of the rest of the series.
 * Older Than They Look: Ginger is Coconut's, but looks young enough to pass herself off as an older sister.
 * Cashew looks around the same age as Hazel but frets that she's getting too old to be married.
 * Shoujo
 * Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Apricot, a female ninja character introduced in the first chapter of volume 8, quickly takes over nearly the entire series, with almost half of volumes 8, 9, and 10 devoted to her love life, to the exclusion of nearly everyone else. Though many people may not know about her anyway, due to the fact that Viz only translated the first seven volumes and then dropped it completely.
 * Talking Pokémon