L never used the notebook.
Also, Jamie, Digimon actually came around before Pokemon...
Also RV you should look up the Pokemon Adventures/Special Manga. An Arbok gets ripped in half by a Charmeleon and that same arc has rotting zombie Pokemon in it. It's scary how different it is compared to the anime.
As for the Pokemon manga by Toshihiro Ono... well, boobs. :]
Anyway, you should definitely watch Death Note. It's awesome. I do think it's overrated, but still awesome. And the english dubbed version is actually good I thought.(I've seen both)