SV characters you think could possibly be transgender or non-binary?

[PageEmperor]

Yep, what the title says! Which characters do you think could possibly be genderfluid, or trans, or non-binary or whatnot?

I have seen Iono be mentioned as a possibility… but I’m slightly unsure about that. Although I have read up some pointers on how that’s the case but for some reason I still have a hard time seeing it.

So my personal suggestion would be Mela. I genuinely thought that design looked transgender when I first saw it, then thought no for a while… but now I think yes. They… just don’t look that female to me at all. And that’s why I decided that they would indeed be non-binary in my comic!

 

[Kelleo]

Rika completely looks transgender female to me. I thought she actually was male at first because of her body shape. No breasts or curves at all. Grusha could be trans male while still being fine with a super girly look.

 

[Juliyet]

My personal 100% biased headcanon is that Rika is transfem.

Like kelleo said, she's got no feminine body traits. Granted she could just be a more nonconforming cis female who either had her breasts removed/hidden or never had any to begin with, but there's also one moment she remarks to the player something along the lines of"I look pretty, right?", which tells me she cares about being specifically pretty, which is something a transfem might be a bit more insecure about.

Idk, maybe I'm overthinking things here XD. And hey, if you have a different headcanon of Rika, more power to ya!

 

[Welkamo]

Oh hell yeah.

Scarlet/Violet is probably, in my opinion, the most queer Pokémon game yet. I could just be reading into things too much, but... the vibes. The character designs. The customization options. The mons.

Another thing to note is that I have a tendency to make headcanons, especially queer headcanons, just because ("this character is gay in my headcanon because wynaut")

Anyway...

Florian/Juliana is genderfluid.

I see Rika as AFAB, but her approach to gender is that "who knows? everyone thinks I'm hot, and that makes everyone gay" meme. I see her identifying with the term "queer".

Iono's gender is "Iono"; transfem; everytime she gets a transphobic comment she becomes more trans.

Grusha is transmasc with a slightly (very) complicated relationship with gender, especially since he still likes feminine things and has a very androgynous way of dress. But then he learns that there's no right or wrong way to be trans, and everyone is unique in their exploration and relationship with gender!

Tulip is a trans woman. This is based on one (1) fanfic I read featuring trans!Tulip, I took the headcanon and said "yes".

 

[vivian20]

I think orthega....

 

[lisianthus]

I have a nice lil headcanon that Iono and Grusha respectively are transfem and transmasc? (also they're best best friends and I'm going to do something with that in the future I swear)

Oh, and I'd like to think that Rika herself doesn't know what she is, she just kind of exists to be her very best self~ like I've seen people on tumblr and stuff saying, she's 'a gender' (not agender, just a gender, she is so gender she surpasses gender itself).

Iono's gender is "Iono"; transfem; everytime she gets a transphobic comment she becomes more trans.

stealing this, everytime i read that particular headcanon my 'oh, this is lisia!' radar goes off yes, i jokingly describe my gender as 'lisia' too because it's silly and comfy that way torchic!iono is awesome

I took the headcanon and said "yes".

wise torchic worcs

 

[Bolt Strike]

In general it's really hard to tell whether someone is cis or trans (or something else? Gender identity is so complicated), reassignment procedures are so advanced now that just about anything related to your appearance can be changed to match your preferred gender. So looking at a character and wondering "Are they cis or trans" feels like a fool's errand in a way because they could literally be anything and there's no definitive evidence either way.

That being said, I am relatively confident (not 100% confident, but like, 80-90% confident) on two things:

1. Iono is cis female. There are certain shots that we can see down her coat and see a... feminine looking figure. Now she could've simply had implants so it's still possible she's trans, but I'm inclined to believe that's not the case and she's simply cis.
2. Rika is trans. Again, it's possible she just looks like that naturally, but I find it more likely that she's MtF than her being born female, developing that kind of body type and choosing that sort of look for herself.

Then again, this may be bias talking. Iono is prime waifu material and I prefer cis women to trans women. And I apparently missed dialogue where they confirmed Rika is female and TOTALLY thought she was male the entire game.

 

[Tood]

I admittedly don't really come up with gender/sexuality headcanons that often - or at all, really. But I personally like the headcanon that Penny is trans.

I've seen some interesting speculation that the cause of (Starfall Street spoilers) the rampant bullying against the Team Star gang was (in part) due to them not conforming to conventional gender roles/stereotypes, and that's one part of why they were all brought together. Like Eri being a popular yet also super bulky fighter girl, Atticus making clothes and all sorts of costume wear, and Ortega liking fairies and being the heir to a design group. The ending segment where Penny meets the other Team Star members in person also ends with some statement along the lines of "reject your old identity, live as a new you", which can be interpreted by some as a metaphor for being trans and finding acceptance in your own group of friends.

Her ace is also Sylveon, which shares colors with the trans flag, so that's neat.


Regarding Rika though, I think I prefer to think of her as (at least biologically) female. It's just nice to see a female character who isn't even slightly curvy or busty as all. Some girls are just a bit more rectangular than others, and that's perfectly okay. The game in general handles body types very nicely; everyone's so diverse in how they look.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

I honestly headcanon Eri is a transwoman. Just something about her feels like she transitioned into a woman. She has kinda masculine features, particularly when it comes to her face to me, so it kinda gives me the idea that she is a transwoman.

Rika, I honestly don't headcanon her as trans or non binary. Its honestly nice to see a female character that isn't curvy or anything and has a more gender neutral appearance, though identifies as a woman.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

I get trans vibes from Atticus but I can't put my finger on why, exactly.

Though of course anybody COULD be, especially since science in the Pokemon world is so much more advanced than in our own, which would lead to smoother transitions. It's a shame there's really only one confirmed nonbinary human character in the whole franchise (Blanche from Go) though.

 

[GhostLucario]

I prefer the theory that Iono is a robot/cyborg ... IDK don't judge me.
The only ones I headcannon as trans are Penny and Rika. Penny IDK she just gives me a vibe. And Rika because she doesn't have any typically feminine features.
Grusha and Ortega I see as cis men, even if they are more feminine.

 

[Welkamo]

I admittedly don't really come up with gender/sexuality headcanons that often - or at all, really. But I personally like the headcanon that Penny is trans.

I've seen some interesting speculation that the cause of (Starfall Street spoilers) the rampant bullying against the Team Star gang was (in part) due to them not conforming to conventional gender roles/stereotypes, and that's one part of why they were all brought together. Like Eri being a popular yet also super bulky fighter girl, Atticus making clothes and all sorts of custume wear, and Ortega liking fairies and being the heir to a design group. The ending segment where Penny meets the other Team Star members in person also ends with some statement along the lines of "reject your old identity, live as a new you", which can be interpreted by some as a metaphor for being trans and finding acceptance in your own group of friends.

Her ace is also Sylveon, which shares colors with the trans flag, so that's neat.

Omg yes thissssssss

I'm starting to headcanons Penny as nb more and more as I play the games. And maybe, like, Penny is a chosen name.

Regarding Rika though, I think I prefer to think of her as (at least biologically) female. It's just nice to see a female character who isn't even slightly curvy or busty as all. Some girls are just a bit more rectangular than others, and that's perfectly okay. The game in general handles body types very nicely; everyone's so diverse in how they look.

Yeeeeeeeeee

 

[Lucifer Morningstar]

So my personal suggestion would be Mela. I genuinely thought that design looked transgender when I first saw it, then thought no for a while… but now I think yes. They… just don’t look that female to me at all. And that’s why I decided that they would indeed be non-binary in my comic!

I disagree. Mela has a distinct female appearance to me.

I'm not comfortable assuming gender or sexual identities based on appearance but after I first battled her in the elite 4 the close-up shots of Rika's model gave me transgender vibes. She just seems to have something of a masculine build and stance.

Again, I just believe it's possible. As a biological woman with a small chest that is often obscured in graphic t-shirts, I can attest that there is no one explanation/label for any body type or style and as much as I am for LGBT representation, as one myself, I would appreciate Rika as a biological woman without curves who although identifies as a woman does not identify as feminine, especially with how rare it is in Pokemon.

I honestly headcanon Eri is a transwoman. Just something about her feels like she transitioned into a woman. She has kinda masculine features, particularly when it comes to her face to me, so it kinda gives me the idea that she is a transwoman.

I'm starting to headcanons Penny as nb more and more as I play the games. And maybe, like, Penny is a chosen name.

I can see both of these possibilities as well.
Not that a woman can't be tall but Eri is an uncommon height for a woman and in retrospect I don't remember if Penny was ever referred to by a pronoun. I definitely remember Numona distinctly calling her "Kid with an Eevee backpack" rather than "Girl with an Eevee backpack" when she defended our battle with Team Star in front of the school.
EDIT: Alright I stand corrected after watching Youtubers. Penny is referred to as "Young lady" and "my lady" in the Team Star conclusion scene.

Regardless of the intent of character creators, I appreciate that the character designs alone are ambiguous enough to give this discussion merit and not just the human characters. Can we also talk about the fact that the Quaxley line is clearly drag queen inspired. The Youtuber MunchingOrange even named his RuPaul.

 

[Rachael]

Every time I finish a video game, I assign each character a number and use a random number generator to choose someone to headcanon as trans.

Eri is the one who came up. I can see it.

 

[Emelie]

Rika might be a reference to Kou Seiya from Sailor Moon. They have the same hairstyle and wear masculine clothes. If I remember correctly Seiya can change gender with magic in the anime while in the manga she is just a masculine lesbian who likes to cross dress.

 

[Palamon]

Probably all of Team Star. I don't know, I just got the vibe that some of them are trans. I definitely thought of Penny as possibly being trans when playing through the story.

Grusha could be trans, too, I thought about it.

And, tbh I don't read Rika as trans moreso just a butch/masculine lady, maybe a lesbian.

Iono having the trans colors doesn't necessarily mean she could be trans, but I won't take away that headcannon from the people who feel that way.

 

[Giramax2]

Idk about sexualities or gender identities, but I personally headcanon that Nemona could have some degree of autism, because she acts as she doesn't understand some social clues, like when Arven was explaining how Mabosstiff was greatly injured by a strange Pokémon, and Nemona only cared about how strong that Pokémon would be ignoring how Arven would react to that.

Also calling Rika a trans woman just because she doesn't have noticeable breasts sounds incredibly disrespectful.

 

[ThyCheshireCat]

Aside from Penny and maybe Grusha and Tulip (not 100% on these two but I could totally see it) I don't have that many trans character headcanons per say, but I do have a lot of general sexuality headcanons for the SV cast, this seems to be the best thread so far to put them in so I'll post them all here.

Spoiler: SV Character HCs

Teens:

• Juliana: Bi, no lean.
• Florian: Bi, male lean.
• Nemona: Straight (Ally)
• Arven: Ace, Demiromantic
• Penny: Trans, Bi, female lean.
• Giacomo: Ace, Biromantic
• Mela: Bi, female lean
• Atticus: Pan, starting to maybe see them as enby too?
• Ortega: Gay
• Eri: Lesbian
• Iono: Ace, Aromantic

Adults: (Haven't really though about the staff, will probably get an opinion eventually)

• Katy: Straight
• Brassius: Gay
• Kofu: undecided
• Larry: Pan
• Ryme: undecided
• Tulip: Trans?, Lesbian
• Grusha: Trans?, Bi, no lean
• Rika: Lesbian
• Hassel: Bi, male lean
• Geeta: undecided
• Sada and Turo: Both Bi with a Heteromantic lean.

Funny how I've got so many HCs on the cast's sexualities but I literally only got like, 2-3 ships lmao, though admittedly I'm still taking time to figure all that out RN.

 

[Giramax2]

Aside from Penny and maybe Grusha and Tulip (not 100% on these two but I could totally see it) I don't have that many trans character headcanons per say, but I do have a lot of general sexuality headcanons for the SV cast, this seems to be the best thread so far to put them in so I'll post them all here.

Spoiler: SV Character HCs

Teens:

• Juliana: Bi, no lean.
• Florian: Bi, male lean.
• Nemona: Straight (Ally)
• Arven: Ace, Demiromantic
• Penny: Trans, Bi, female lean.
• Giacomo: Ace, Biromantic
• Mela: Bi, female lean
• Atticus: Pan, starting to maybe see them as enby too?
• Ortega: Gay
• Eri: Lesbian
• Iono: Ace, Aromantic

Adults: (Haven't really though about the staff, will probably get an opinion eventually)

• Katy: Straight
• Brassius: Gay
• Kofu: undecided
• Larry: Pan
• Ryme: undecided
• Tulip: Trans?, Lesbian
• Grusha: Trans?, Bi, no lean
• Rika: Lesbian
• Hassel: Bi, male lean
• Geeta: undecided
• Sada and Turo: Both Bi with a Heteromantic lean.

Funny how I've got so many HCs on the cast's sexualities but I literally only got like, 2-3 ships lmao, though admittedly I'm still taking time to figure all that out RN.

Why Tulip, Grusha and Penny?

 

[ThyCheshireCat]

Why Tulip, Grusha and Penny?

Dunno why you're singling me out with this question here instead of asking generally but like, the same reasons as most other people. Penny at least is considered Trans coded by a large portion of the community, you can fairly easy find people giving their reasonings for it online and they make sense when all put together. Reading those is what convinced me of HCing it too.
The other two I just think the Trans HCs people have for them are neat for the given characters, nothing more to it than that really.