Protagonist Age

[CrackFox]

That was one of the first things I noticed on her, other then her hat.

All the other female protagonists have more pre-teen like faces. More chubby and childish. Her's more..Slim.

That's true now that you mention it. What I noticed Is the length of her legs. With those large boots she still looks tall, she also looks like her legs are chunkier at the top. She's definitely older than 10 anyway!

 

[Kamen_Fanatic]

I'd have to say they look around 13.

 

[Somari]

Her face is defiantly more slim then the other girls. More similar to Rui and Lucy.

Lucy is 19 - 22 and Rui is around 17.

 

[Xyex]

Lets just all say that May has bigger boobs then the others and we'll leave it at that, huh?

Anyway, I reckon the girl has a more mature looking face than the other protagonist girls, though it can be hard to tell.

Yeah, May definitely has the biggest boobs, but as others have pointed out more than once boob size is a bad indicator of age. Height, and even leg shape, isn't much better. Especially in art work.

The face is the way to go here. And White definitely has a more mature face shape than those before her. I'm pegging her at most likely being 15.

 

[Mudkip5C]

I'm also saying 15. She just screams 15 to me.

 

[Cybersai]

Yeah, May definitely has the biggest boobs, but as others have pointed out more than once boob size is a bad indicator of age. Height, and even leg shape, isn't much better. Especially in art work.

The face is the way to go here. And White definitely has a more mature face shape than those before her. I'm pegging her at most likely being 15.

Agreed. Her older look does come from her face.

 

[The Outrage]

Her face is defiantly more slim then the other girls. More similar to Rui and Lucy.

Lucy is 19 - 22 and Rui is around 17.

Even comparing artwork from the same artist isn't a good indication when their art style shifts over time, though the major shift was from Gen II to Gen III, so that's a bit more understandable.

Now you're comparing the artwork of Lucy, who is drawn in a completely different art style and Rui who only has a 3D model to go by? Yeah, that evidence is as good as breast size.

 

[Kikimora]

Well, the way I see it, people mature faster in the Pokemon universe than they do in the real world. While I'd easily pin the protagonists of Black and White as maybe 17, if history has shown us, they're more like 14.

Then again, Cynthia looks relatively young, and last time I read her Bulbapedia page, she was in her early twenties. Oh well.

 

[The Outrage]

Cynthia does look early twenties >_>

And we've seen people age in the three year gap between RBY/FrLg and GSC/HgSs and we've seen that they mature at a normal rate.

 

[Kikimora]

Cynthia does look early twenties >_>

And we've seen people age in the three year gap between RBY/FrLg and GSC/HgSs and we've seen that they mature at a normal rate.

Cynthia, to me, looks like she's in her late teens. Maybe she looks older in the anime, which I don't watch, but in the game, she looks young. Then again, I could be weird.

As for the aging of characters, here's a side-by-side of Red from FireRed and HeartGold.

FireRed --- HeartGold

Besides the obvious sprite size difference, the two look not only unchanged, but are infact in the same clothing.

The moral of the story is: the characters are the age GameFreak tells us they are, no matter how "developed" they look. However, my guess is still 14.

 

[VeggiePopper]

Cynthia, to me, looks like she's in her late teens. Maybe she looks older in the anime, which I don't watch, but in the game, she looks young. Then again, I could be weird.

Late teens? Are you serious? She's pretty tall and has a completely formed body and has adult proportions (unlike Jasmine or Erika who still have teenager's body), plus, she has a large face with adult-styled eyes. There's no facial or body feature on her that can make her look like a teen at all. There's no mistake, she does look like being in her twenties.

EDIT: Post #3000

 

[CrackFox]

Late teens? Are you serious? She's pretty tall and has a completely formed body and has adult proportions (unlike Jasmine or Erika who still have teenager's body), plus, she has a large face with adult-styled eyes. There's no facial or body feature on her that can make her look like a teen at all. There's no mistake, she does look like being in her twenties.

Well if you ask me, I'd say Cynthia could pass for early 30's. Definitely not a teen, that's for sure.

I hope we have a time-skip in the anime and all the characters reach at least 16 (18 would be a cool new dynamic, especially if they introduce a modem of transport other than bikes for Pikachu to fry)

 

[apenpaap]

Well, the way I see it, people mature faster in the Pokemon universe than they do in the real world. While I'd easily pin the protagonists of Black and White as maybe 17, if history has shown us, they're more like 14.

You just gave me the idea for a great explanation of this: the Pokémon planet revolves more slowly around it's sun than Earth does. If the pokémon planet takes 493 days (for example) to go around its star, the protagonists would be 15 in Earth years when they are 11 years old. And IMO 15 fits much better with their looks, their personalities, and the fact that they are allowed to roam the land on their own.

 

[Falconwing]

You just gave me the idea for a great explanation of this: the Pokémon planet revolves more slowly around it's sun than Earth does. If the pokémon planet takes 493 days (for example) to go around its star, the protagonists would be 15 in Earth years when they are 11 years old. And IMO 15 fits much better with their looks, their personalities, and the fact that they are allowed to roam the land on their own.

That theory doesn't work. if it's 5 years for every year, Ash would be 50 when he left home.

 

[apenpaap]

That theory doesn't work. if it's 5 years for every year, Ash would be 50 when he left home.

Yes, if it would be 5 years for every year, I guess he would. Lucky I never said it would be 5 years for every year.

 

[NyaChan]

That theory doesn't work. if it's 5 years for every year, Ash would be 50 when he left home.

493 is only 128 days longer than our 365. 128 =/= 4 years.

Maths:

15 Earth years * 365 days = 5475 days
5475 days / 493 days = ~11 "Pokémon" years

And let's reverse it for Ash:
10 "Pokémon" years * 493 days = 4930 days
4930 days / 365 days = 13 Earth years

 

[Falconwing]

Yes, if it would be 5 years for every year, I guess he would. Lucky I never said it would be 5 years for every year.

but if he was 11 in his years and 15 in our years after one year... you did.

EDIT: I see my math is wrong. Thank you Nya.

 

[NyaChan]

but if he was 11 in his years and 15 in our years after one year... you did.

More math:

15 =/= 11 * 5

15 = 11 * 1.36 (repeated)

edit: Anyways, I'd see this theory as logical, but chances are we'll never find out if it's right or not.

 

[Falconwing]

LOL I fail at maths (though the 5 came from the fact that in the five years between 10 and 15, Ash only gained one year.

 

[VeggiePopper]

That theory might work on the anime, but what relevance does it have to the games (particularly, to Black&White)?