- "That was weird... Anyway..."— Bklcbkl
Pokémon Yellow Comics is a webcomic based on the Pokémon franchise. In particular, it started out as an adaptation of Pokémon Yellow Version (hence the title). In it, an oddly-named kid from Pallet Town named Bklcbkl sets off on a journey in a world that starts strange and becomes ever-stranger.
The comic showcases an ever-evolving artstyle, starting from being a Sprite Comic (so quite literally the same style as the game) to a Drawn, often very stylized, style. And despite becoming heavily serialized, still calls its pages "Comic #:X" with individual titles.
It started in 2006 on Drunkduck (now The Duck and has since moved to ComicFury (though updates are still mirrored to DD). It can be found here
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Tropes used in PYC:
- A Glitch in the Matrix: The world in PYC mimics Gen 1 Pokémon to the degree that glitches canonically exist. Subverted in that they just seem to be an aspect of the world without any of the "trapped" or "wrongness" usually associated with the trope.
- Art Evolution: Even if just from the sheer gaps in time, the art and how its made makes noticeable changes.
- Adaptational Villainy: This world's version of Professor Oak seems to be heading into this. While early Comics pay him comedically, later ones do not.
- The Bad Guy Wins: Played with in Comic #49. Though Team Rocket runs away once realizing that CDwxx's pokémon aren't going down as easily as they suspected, they still get away with stealing the fossils.
- Big "NO!": Bug Catcher Tony in Comic #29 after Bklcbkl wins.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The Comic undergoes a minor version of this, with serious elements coming in as Module 1 progresses. Particularly obvious with the Story Service arc.
- Color Wash: Carried over from the source game, different areas in Kanto literally have different palettes in-universe, as Bklcbkl points out often.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Bklcbkl and CDwxx manage to get one of these to each other.
- On their first battle at the lab: Nozo vs Eevee, CDwxx's Eevee wins on the first move with an Hyper Beam.
- At Nugget Bridge, Bklcbkl and CDwxx run into each other when CDwxx's party is all worn out from training. Bklcbkl, angry at being tricked into Diglett's Cave earlier on by CDwxx, forces a battle between them, which Bklcbkl's team easily wins.
- Dark and Troubled Past: The Story Service arc was all about various degrees of this.
- Miru was disrespected and disregarded among the digletts of Diglett's Cave.
- Nozo lost his sister, the only family he ever had, and was beaten up in the process of trying to stop the trainer who did it.
- Xppo was cooped up in the basement of Professor Oak's laboratory for nearly 20 years and subjected to odd experiments, and then went through hunger and a multitude of trainers before finally finding up with Bklcbkl. Xppo seems to take it in stride, to the degree that Nozo lampshades it by asking "Why are you so excited to share stuff like THIS?".
- Disproportionate Retribution: Nozo is like this a lot.
- So far the most notable example is when he decides to "wake up" a truck to attack Bklcbkl. For getting accidentally punted into the water even after Bklcbkl apologized for it.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: The first 15 Comics are Sprite Comics.
- Professor Oak is played far more comedically early on than he does later.
- Flat "What": Bklcbkl in Comic #136.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: The four members of Bklcbkl's Party seem to have this dynamic.
- Nozo is Choleric, displaying lots of rebelliousness and vindictiveness.
- Miru is Phlegmatic, tending to be thoughtful & of the group by far the most willing to be supportive of the others.
- Xppo is Sanguine, with lots of cheeriness & extroversion.
- Surf is Melancholic, with a calculating yet moody way of achieving goals.
- Funny Background Event:
- Bug Catcher Tony's super-dramatic reaction to losing a battle in Comic #29
- Gotta Catch Them All: Averted for the characters, as no one expresses an interest in catching/having a large amount of pokémon. The classic phrase does show up on a coin in Comic #23, in faux-Latin form as "Gotus Ketchum Allum".
- Gross-Up Close-Up: The author treats us to an ever-wonderful shot of Cerulean City's Nurse Joy like this after one of Xppo's stray Solarbeams hits her in the eyes.
- Harmless Freezing: Befalls Xppo during Bklcbkl's rematch with Misty.
- Hidden Depths: CDwxx starts showing signs of being more than just an arrogant and selfish rival, even during a flashback.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each page is called a "Comic". Also, "Module" seems to be the Chapter/Book equivilant.
- Interface Spoiler: The transcripts and cast page avoid pronouns for certain characters. With the author being a trans woman (mentioned in PYC's About page) & newer Comics hinting at trans discovery as an element later on, you can put two and two together what this gives away.
- Kid Hero: Ironically, this seems to fit CDwxx more than Bklcbkl, since the former's the one who so far whose been opposing Team Rocket from the jump.
- Lemony Narrator: The transcripts that accompany each Comic dive into this from time to time.
- The Mole: Surf appears to be this, what with how his capture and placement onto Bklcbkl's team was set up by Stalker Guy.
- Mundane Utility: Bklcbkl's shown to sometimes have wires hooked up to Nozo to power a flashlight.
- Mythology Gag: So, so many. Despite supposedly being based on Pokémon Yellow (Generation 1 with some anime elements), there are many references to media across the Pokémon franchise.
- The trainer who catches Nozo's sister during Nozo's flashback is wearing the clothes of one of the playable trainers in Pokémon Black and White.
- Old Shame: According to the Author's Notes on Comics #6 & #8, old elements such as the suicidal PokéMart worker and "The Stalker Guy" are this.
- Parental Issues: CDwxx and Professor Oak really, really do not get along.
- Pokémon Speak: At least early on. Later Comics simply fully-translate anything a pokémon says, with the carrot-trim of their speech bubbles being the indicator they are still actually doing this kind of speech.
- Pronoun Trouble: In the transcripts, the Author seems to avoid pronouns for certain characters (even if other characters do use pronouns for the characters in question in-universe). Knowing that the author is transgender, (and came out sometime during the hiatus, before the transcripts were written) this is very likely an indicator of which characters are set to come out and/or discover their gender identities later on.
- The Reveal: Comic #50 shows that Professor Oak is involved with Team Rocket in some form. Even with heavy shadows, the hair+the Comic's palette are key giveaways. Both the new and old Author's Comment on that page complete driving it home.
- The Rival: CDwxx, as you'd expect.
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Schedule Slip: Many times. The most egregious being the period between 2011 and 2019, between which only 3 Comics were released (one in 2012 that by the author's admission, had been sketched in 2011, and 2 updates in 2016 for the 10th anniversary). - Tempting Fate: PYC loves this trope, especially during the Vermilion City arc.
- Bklcbkl's attempts to go to the convention on the S.S. Anne get interrupted twice by big commotions.
- Lt. Surge, in his sole appearance, talks about how safe he is right before the runaway truck brusts through the wall to hit him.
- There Was a Door: Daisy Oak does this in Comic #12. To her own house. Right next to her front door.
- Unexplained Recovery: According to the Author's Comment on Comics #88 & 89, she felt Xppo showing up in #88's final panel constituted this and thus, ultimately averted because #89 contains an explanation due to this.
- Waking Up Elsewhere: Bklcbkl, true to game mechanics, wakes up back in Viridian City's Pokémon Center after losing to Brock in Pewter City.
- Wham Episode: The Story Service arc, when it comes to the status quo. It marks the first significant diversion from the original game's storyline, and is when the focus really shifts to character-driven stuff, especially the pokémon on Bklcbkl's team.
- What You Are in the Dark: CDwxx lets Xppo and the lab squirtle escape before the story began, as shown in Xppo's flashback. Possibly subverted in that there's no way Professor Oak didn't notice those two missing afterwards, but the scene as-presented still fits the bill withCDwxx struggling internally with the decision.
- Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Bklcbkl. This reaction even happens in the very first Comic.
- CDwxx also appears to be an example, going by the first Comic, though Professor Oak uses a more "normal" name, "Calvin", suggesting that CDwxx is a nickname.
- You Are Number 6: Miru was Diglett #11811 back in Diglett's Cave. Transcripts reveal that other digletts from there also have similarly-high number designations.
