Most recognizable human characters to mainstream casual fans?

[Cybersai]

Who would you say are the most recognizable human characters to mainstream casual fans, people who play/watch pokemon but aren't in the fandom and just casually come back to it.

I'd probably say due to the anime: Ash/Misty/Brock and Jessie/James due to Kanto being the height of the animes popularity

In the games, the original 8 Kanto Gym leaders are by far the most well known. I don't think any Gym leaders from any other region would be recognizable to someone if you just showed them a random pic.


Other than that, I don't know. Not trying to make this a Kanto-only thread, but I'm struggling to think of any other character an average fan would recognize.

 

[KaylaBaraonda]

Kanto: Ash\Red, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, Jessie, James, Meowth, Giovanni, Blue\Gary, Green\Leaf, Prof. Oak, Shorts Boy.
Johto: Ethan, Silver, Kris\Lyra, Youngster Joey.
Hoenn: Brendan, May, Wally.
Sinnoh: Dawn, Lucas, Barry, Cynthia, Looker.
Unova: Hilbert, Hilda, Cheren, Bianca, N, Nate, Rosa, Hugh.
Kalos: Calem, Serena, Shauna, Tierno, Trevor, AZ, Prof. Willow, Spark, Candela, Blanche.
Alola: Sun, Moon, Hau, Gladion, Lillie, Prof. Kukui.

 

[prog rocker]

Kanto: Ash\Red, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, Jessie, James, Meowth, Giovanni, Blue\Gary, Green\Leaf, Prof. Oak.
Johto: Ethan, Silver, Kris\Lyra, Youngster Joey.
Hoenn: Brendan, May, Wally.
Sinnoh: Dawn, Lucas, Barry, Cynthia, Looker.
Unova: Hilbert, Hilda, Cheren, Bianca, N, Nate, Rosa, Hugh.
Kalos: Calem, Serena, Shauna, Tierno, Trevor, AZ, Prof. Willow, Spark, Candela, Blanche.
Alola: Sun, Moon, Hau, Gladion, Lillie, Prof. Kukui.

What about "shorts boy". Thanks to the power of memes, he must be well known.

Also, who are Spark, Candela and Blanche?

 

[Parissong]

Also, who are Spark, Candela and Blanche?

The Gym Leaders of Team Instinct, Valor, and Mystic, respectively, from Pokémon Go. I guess they are pretty recognizable since some not-so-diehard Pokémon fans do play PoGo too

 

[Chidamari Sketch]

Due to Memetic Mutation and Self-Fanservice, I'd say the Hex Maniac's relatively well-known for an NPC Trainer class.

 

[Parissong]

Due to Memetic Mutation and Self-Fanservice, I'd say the Hex Maniac's relatively well-known for an NPC Trainer class.

TIL people meme up Hex Maniac

 

[prog rocker]

The Gym Leaders of Team Instinct, Valor, and Mystic, respectively, from Pokémon Go. I guess they are pretty recognizable since some not-so-diehard Pokémon fans do play PoGo too

I forgot about them, specially since I can't play Go now that I live in a rural zone.

Due to Memetic Mutation and Self-Fanservice, I'd say the Hex Maniac's relatively well-known for an NPC Trainer class.

Well, specifically, Gen VI Hex Maniac. It took me by surprise their sudden popularity.

 

[KaylaBaraonda]

I'm adding them!

 

[Daenerys]

Probably the Pokegirls because of the anime, particularly May and Misty. Also Jessie and James.

 

[Parissong]

Probably the Pokegirls because of the anime, particularly May and Misty. Also Jessie and James.

I think Serena is up there too. To me and people I know, she made quite the impression.

 

[Cybersai]

I think Serena is up there too. To me and people I know, she made quite the impression.

It depends on what time period the girls/characters were introduced. Obviously the anime was at the height of its popularity in Kanto so Misty/Brock wound up being the most well known companions of the series. However ratings were still relatively high/good through the early/mid 2000's, May is factually the most watched/viewed female lead after Misty simply because AG aired 17 years ago and has the second highest ratings after the Kanto and Johto era. And ratings were still good into DP when Dawn was introduced just slightly lower.

By the 2010;s the anime was pretty much nowhere as popular as it used to be, and although online streaming now picks up some of the slack, all the later companions are far less watched than the earlier ones. So even though Serena did become popular in the fandom, literally millions of less people watched her than say...the first 3 female companions. Again there's no real way of knowing because obviously nowadays online streaming is a thing and that wasn't very common in the early/mid 2000's, but it's a safe bet.

 

[Weiss]

It has to be Ash casuals no Ash as the boy with the Pikachu. I have a canvas of Red in my sitting room painted by my husband. People always think it’s Ash.