Customer Reviews

Pokemon: Ultimate Handbook

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My boys, 8 and 9, are really interested in Pokemon, particularly the video games and card collecting. I purchased one "Pocket Pokedex" book for them while on vacation this Summer and it proved to be the most desired and used item since. I actually had to replace the book within 2wks partly d/t to a bad binding and also because it was read for hours a day by both of them. The "Pocket Pokedex" has microscopic print and very little readability-mostly just the hard facts and technical points of each character listed in microscopic graphs. I saw this new version coming out a month ago and figured I'd treat my kids to it. I didn't preview the book, just hoped it would be as well liked as the one they already have. Well, this version absolutely blows away the "Pocket Pokedex"! This book is chock full of all the best details about every Pokemon (inc Darkrai!!)! It has large easy to read print, full color text and pictures of every Pokemon, all their strengths, weaknesses, battle criteria, their character morphing capabilities (including pictures of those), and they are all listed alphabetically for convience! My kids just screamed when I gave them to them and showered me with gratitude. They had no idea there was even a new referrence book available. Any Poke' fan will be thrilled with this outstanding see-all, tell-all, user friendly resource! Purely a grand-slam!

This book covers all Pokemon except for Shaymin. The book opens with an introductory section explaining how to read and utilize the book. This section explains what the reader will find in each Pokemon entry. This information includes its name, its species, how to pronounce its name, its possible moves, its type (or types), its height, its weight, its region, a description, and what its evolution is (if it has one). In this book, the Pokemon are listed in alphabetical order (except for Darkrai, which gets its own section at the back of the book).

Looking through this book, it feels as if the author threw this together in a hurry. This is especially evident by some of the mistakes I found while reading it. There are two major issues in the book. First, the pictures of Porygon and Porygon 2 are flipped wherever these two Pokemon appear in the book (the picture for Porygon is always mislabeled as Porygon 2, and the picture for Porygon 2 is always mislabeled as Porygon). Another major mistake I found was in the entry for Scyther. For its evolution, it has the pictures in the right order, but the Pokemon were mislabeled (Scyther was labeled as Scizor, and Scizor was labeled as Scyther).

Another major issue I had was the fact that Darkrai was separated out from the rest of the Pokemon for some unknown reason. To top it off, Darkrai is not labeled as being a "Legendary Pokemon," when the rest of the Legendary Pokemon are given this designation in their respective entries. Also, in the "Legendary Lineup" feature at the very back of the book (where each Legendary Pokemon is listed in alphabetical order, and their Pokemon number is included), Darkrai is also excluded.

I did also find some minor mistakes in the book as well. There were three entires where a Pokemon would have one of its possible moves listed twice. This was the case for Dusclops, Machoke, and Quilava. And in the entry for Turtwig, "synthesis" is misspelled as "syntesis." One other gripe I have with this book is that there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for how a Pokemon's possible moves were listed. I wish the possible moves had been listed alphabetically.

But even with these issues, I would still recommend the Pokemon Ultimate Handbook, especially for any Pokemon fans who have not had an opportunity to pick up any previous Pokemon handbooks that have been released. With the Pokemon Ultimate Handbook, you can have information on all of the currently known Pokemon (except for Shaymin) available in one book.

Allrightythen...first things first. For those parents who might still not be in the know, Pokemon is Nintendo's blockbuster videogame/TV series/movie/book/toy mega-multimedia franchise. Debuting in the mid-90's, Pokemon (short for Pocket Monsters) has become one of the most thoroughly developed and complex alternate-reality worlds in multimedia gaming. Both of my kids (ages 7 and 12) can't get enough Pokemon, so when my son saw this guidebook at his elementary school's book fair, it was a no-brainer purchase.

What you get here is basically a print version of the National Pokedex, a running index of each and every known Pokemon. An online version can be accessed on the official Pokemon website. This book carries more detail than the online version, though, so it's very handy to have. The Pokemon are listed in alphabetical order, and you get a great amount of detail on each character, including possible moves, weights, heights, regions found in, and so forth. All of the listings are accompanied by full-color illustrations and as a bonus you also get the evolution paths for each Pokemon, making for easy cross-reference. Might have been nice to have a master index in the back of the book that gave page listings, but the alphabetical ordering makes it pretty easy to find specific characters without too much trouble.

All I can say is that I can't recommend it enough if you have kids that are into the Pokemon phenomenon. It's way worth the 10-spot IMO.

This is such a great book BUT I had to return two of them. I bought two of the paperback versions and both fell apart at the binding, the pages just fell out. Amazon.com let me return both of them and I ordered the library bound hardback versions. Yes, the Library Binding is more money and originally the reason I bought the paperback was it was so much cheaper, but these book really get used by kids and they will just fall apart as the kids flip back and forth in the book. Pay a little more and get the Library Binding version you will not be disappointed. I gave it two stars just for the falling apart issue so that people might see this review, for content it's 5 stars!

My six-year-old son loves this book. He's had it for several months now and keeps it under his pillow, so it is looking quite worn. He appreciates the illustrations and the simple format because he is a beginning reader and the layout helps him find what he is looking for, even if he has to ask an adult to read exactly what it says.

The content of the book is simple but in depth--check out the "Look Inside" feature. Each alphabetical entry includes the "scientific" name, another name, and interesting fact or two about the Pokemon, and statistics such as type, height, region, and special moves. Each Pokemon is illustrated, and each form of a Pokemon's "evolutionary track" has its own entry with a chart showing all of its forms.

In short, this book is very colorful and kid appropriate. The only suggestion I could make is that there be a hardcover version for greater durability. =)

I ordered this book for my 10 yr old son, and he absolutely loves it!!!!

I gave this to my 6yo for Christmas with Pokemon cards, and a binder with sleeves for the cards. This set has been a complete HIT, and my son reads this handbook DAILY.

One complaint he has is the book has a few errors, including wrong Pokemon evolution order, and incorrect names. This bothers him so much, that he's written a letter to the publisher. If the errors didn't bother my son as much, I'd give this handbook 5 stars.

My son has been a Pokemon afficionado for a couple of years now so he very discerning in his selection of related material. The thing he likes about this book is that it has ALL the Pokemon in it along with information about them. A year or so ago he bought the Pokemon Diamond & Pearl Pokedex: Prima Official Game Guide Vol. 2 (Prima Official Game Guides) which is, understandably, extremely detailed and in depth. He prefers that book to this one, but it's still worth getting for the true Pokemon fan.

My son reads and reads and reads this book. He is seven and is a bit of an advanced reader. This book is a MUST for any young Pokemon fan. My son did find a few errors (evolved forms or photos mis-named); perhaps he'll be an editor someday! Anyway, there is a great variety of words and reading it together gives him the opportunity to discover some new "big words"!

It's a really great book! However, it has a few errors... for example, it got Porygon mixed up with Porygon 2. And somehow, Darkrai is specially on the back for no reason. AND, they forgot to add Arceus and Pokemons T-U. I mean, this is a great guide book on Pokemon, but if you want a good book without any mistakes, get The Ultimate Pokemon Handbook Updated Edition, which also includes Pokemon from Pokemon Black and Pokemon White. Otherwise, great book!:)