Is the original SV female protagonist the ugliest pokemon protagonist ever?

[DigitalGen6]

no lol not even close

You mean PinkIceFox’s message, huh?
I kind of like Rosa’s design, but I agree that it looks dumb (Hilda’s is superior, tbh lol).

 

[Anomolicaris]

Not ugly, my only problem with her is the Primary school uniform she's wearing looks weird

 

[DigitalGen6]

Not ugly, my only problem with her is the Primary school uniform she's wearing looks weird

I agree with you. You can’t even change her outfit (except to MORE UNIFORMS).

 

[Palamon]

Not ugly, my only problem with her is the Primary school uniform she's wearing looks weird

I honestly think she's in middle school... unless that's what primary school is in other countries?

As for the uniforms /shrugs. They're typical and idrc.

 

[DigitalGen6]

I honestly think she's in middle school... unless that's what primary school is in other countries?

Either middle or high school. Where I come from, middle (7th-8th) is at the same building as high school (9th-12th). Idk about Spain, though.
I would guess it’s middle/high school because uniforms, but once again, idk about Spain.
Unless someone from Spain could educate me on what schools in Spain are like and such, I have no clue.

 

[SlyGecko]

Either middle or high school. Where I come from, middle (7th-8th) is at the same building as high school (9th-12th). Idk about Spain, though.
I would guess it’s middle/high school because uniforms, but once again, idk about Spain.
Unless someone from Spain could educate me on what schools in Spain are like and such, I have no clue.

My best guess is that it's simply a generic gender neutral uniform made for all students regardless of if they're in elementary, middle, high school, or college. Like we literally see students who look to be as young as 6 and as old as 60 wearing the kind of uniform.

 

[PainterFight]

My best guess is that it's simply a generic gender neutral uniform made for all students regardless of if they're in elementary, middle, high school, or college. Like we literally see students who look to be as young as 6 and as old as 60 wearing the kind of uniform.

Agreed. I don't think the female protagonist of SV is ugly either.

 

[Bolt Strike]

Either middle or high school. Where I come from, middle (7th-8th) is at the same building as high school (9th-12th). Idk about Spain, though.
I would guess it’s middle/high school because uniforms, but once again, idk about Spain.
Unless someone from Spain could educate me on what schools in Spain are like and such, I have no clue.

I went to a private elementary/middle school in the U.S. and all grades had to wear uniforms, so just because she's wearing a uniform doesn't mean she's a middle school student. Frankly, she doesn't look like she's a middle school student based on her body proportions. At the very oldest, she looks like she might be in 6th grade (which is middle school in the U.S., elementary school is 1st-5th, middle school is 6th-8th, high school is 9th-12th). But more likely she looks elementary school age, like around 8-10 years old, she looks a few years younger than the average protagonist.

 

[DigitalGen6]

I went to a private elementary/middle school in the U.S. and all grades had to wear uniforms, so just because she's wearing a uniform doesn't mean she's a middle school student. Frankly, she doesn't look like she's a middle school student based on her body proportions.

She looks about 11-14 to me. Same with Gloria (who also has no confirmed age), but we’re not talking about Gloria, are we? Nope.

At the very oldest, she looks like she might be in 6th grade (which is middle school in the U.S., elementary school is 1st-5th, middle school is 6th-8th, high school is 9th-12th).

Where I come from, 6th is elementary school. I just now learned something new today! Yay!

But more likely she looks elementary school age, like around 8-10 years old, she looks a few years younger than the average protagonist.

If she’s 8-9, she can’t get her first Pokémon (I’m aware of Bonnie and Max, but those two are not actually Pokémon Trainers). She has to be at least 10 (although she seems 12 like Nate/Rosa and May/Brendan).

 

[Bolt Strike]

If she’s 8-9, she can’t get her first Pokémon (I’m aware of Bonnie and Max, but those two are not actually Pokémon Trainers). She has to be at least 10 (although she seems 12 like Nate/Rosa and May/Brendan).

That's only true in the anime, that's not established in the games. There are kindergartners that are trainers in the games. Heck, for that matter do you think Poppy is 10?

As far as her comparison to other protagonists, I'd estimate their ages as follows:

Hilbert/Hilda, Calem/Serena, Rei/Akari- 14-16
Red/Green/Leaf, Ethan/Kris/Lyra, Victor/Gloria- 11-13
Brendan/May, Lucas/Dawn, Nate/Rosa- 10-12
Elio/Selene, Florian/Juliana- 8-10
Chase/Elaine- 6-9

 

[SlyGecko]

That's only true in the anime, that's not established in the games. There are kindergartners that are trainers in the games. Heck, for that matter do you think Poppy is 10?

As far as her comparison to other protagonists, I'd estimate their ages as follows:

Hilbert/Hilda, Calem/Serena, Rei/Akari- 14-16
Red/Green/Leaf, Ethan/Kris/Lyra, Victor/Gloria- 11-13
Brendan/May, Lucas/Dawn, Nate/Rosa- 10-12
Elio/Selene, Florian/Juliana- 8-10
Chase/Elaine- 6-9

There are protagonist that do have canonical ages.
Red, Leaf, Elio and Selene are start their journeys at age 11. Elio and Selene couldn't do the the island if they were 8-10 since you have to be at least 11 to do it
Brendan and May are both 12
Hilbert and Hilda are both 14
And Rei and Akira are about 15
As for the ones who don't have canonical ages, my best guess is this.
Ethan and Lyra/Kris are 11, same age as Red and Leaf when they started
Dawn and Lucas are 12-13 as they look to be around Brendan and May's age
Nate and Rosa are 14 to parallel Hilbert and Hilda
Calem and Serena are about 16-17 as they look like an older teens
Gloria and Victor are 13
Chase and Elaine are 10-11
And Florian and Juliana are 9-10.

 

[DigitalGen6]

That's only true in the anime, that's not established in the games. There are kindergartners that are trainers in the games. Heck, for that matter do you think Poppy is 10?

No, she’s 5. I didn’t know that only applied in the anime. I also didn’t take Youngsters, Schoolkids, Fairy Tale Girls, or Allister into consideration.

As far as her comparison to other protagonists, I'd estimate their ages as follows:
Hilbert/Hilda, Calem/Serena, Rei/Akari- 14-16
Red/Green/Leaf, Ethan/Kris/Lyra, Victor/Gloria- 11-13
Brendan/May, Lucas/Dawn, Nate/Rosa- 10-12
Elio/Selene, Florian/Juliana- 8-10
Chase/Elaine- 6-9

True that.
(Also, lol)

 

[DigitalGen6]

There are protagonist that do have canonical ages.
Red, Leaf, Elio and Selene are start their journeys at age 11. Elio and Selene couldn't do the the island if they were 8-10 since you have to be at least 11 to do it

That’s true.

Brendan and May are both 12
Hilbert and Hilda are both 14
And Rei and Akira are about 15

Yeah, I knew Brendan/May were 12 (but May is 10 in the show, either they aged her down, or she’s 10 in RSE but then aged up to 12 in ORAS)
Yeah, and then they become 16 in B2W2 (and I know they don’t appear unless you battle them via wireless play; or online play the DS servers shut down so no)
True, Rei/Akari literally say they’re 15 (wow, the same age I was when I started playing)

As for the ones who don't have canonical ages, my best guess is this.
Ethan and Lyra/Kris are 11, same age as Red and Leaf when they started

That’s what I also think they are

Dawn and Lucas are 12-13 as they look to be around Brendan and May's age

reiterates what I said

Nate and Rosa are 14 to parallel Hilbert and Hilda

Actually, Nate and Rosa 12. I read somewhere about them being 12. Hugh is revealed to be 12 in PokéSpecial, and if we mirror that to game Hugh and mirror that to both Nate and Rosa, it proves they’re 12, in case the other evidence was deleted.
And, since B2W2 takes place 2 years after the events of BW, Hilbert and Hilda are like 16.

Calem and Serena are about 16-17 as they look like an older teens

Yeah. And they can’t be 18 because if they were that age, they would not be living with their mom (and I do not think of them as siblings)
Also, Emma calls the female MC “ma’am”.

Gloria and Victor are 13
Chase and Elaine are 10-11
And Florian and Juliana are 9-10.

I figured they were teens. I thought 14.
Chase and Elaine seem like they’re 10-11.
Florian and Juliana look 11 to me, but ya could be right.

 

[Bolt Strike]

Elio and Selene couldn't do the the island if they were 8-10 since you have to be at least 11 to do it

Fine then, they're 11. They don't look any older than that though.

Nate and Rosa are 14 to parallel Hilbert and Hilda

Nah, Nate and Rosa look younger than Hilbert/Hilda did when they started their journey.

Chase and Elaine are 10-11
And Florian and Juliana are 9-10.

Yeah no way in hell Florian/Juliana is younger than Chase/Elaine. Chase/Elaine look like the youngest protagonists by far, and it'd make sense for them to be younger since LGPE is targeted towards a younger, mobile focused audience. I'd reverse those ages at the very least, but I'm not even sure Chase/Elaine could pass for 10.

Yeah, I knew Brendan/May were 12 (but May is 10 in the show, either they aged her down, or she’s 10 in RSE but then aged up to 12 in ORAS)

I think that's more the writers of the different mediums disagreeing on how old they're supposed to be.

And really if anything I think she looks younger in ORAS than she does in RSE. In RSE, she looks a bit more mature and... let's say "developed" to keep things family friendly, to the point where I think she could pass for being an older teenager about Hilbert/Hilda, Calem/Serena, and Rei/Akari's age. I'm guessing in ORAS they didn't want to go in that direction because they were more aware of what the internet is capable of (also doesn't help that RSE released during the infancy of the internet and when most of the original Pokemon audience started to become teenagers so yeah... probably a lot of Pokemon fans' thoughts towards May probably started trending in that direction) and they wanted to discourage those kinds of thoughts for someone that they intend to be nowhere near an appropriate age for that sort of thing, so they went for a younger look.

It seems like if they don't have a good lore related reason for wanting the characters to be older (BW they did so to be different and because the plot was a tad darker and more mature than most, XY also had a darker plot but I think they also made them older because it had a beauty/fashion theme, and LA because Hisui is a wild and dangerous land and a younger kid probably wouldn't fare well in that situation), they seem to opt for a younger look now and want them firmly in that prepubescent, 12 or under range. They do NOT want the fandom thinking those thoughts about the protagonists of a family friendly game, they want kids to feel comfortable that the character they're playing as is like them. If adult fans want to do that sort of thing, they can always change their look to depict them as being aged up to 18 but they certainly want to keep that sort of attention away from the children they're targeting and characters they intend to firmly be children. So I wouldn't be surprised if their art department is being instructed to intentionally make the protagonists look on the younger side because of those concerns.

Yeah, and then they become 16 in B2W2 (and I know they don’t appear unless you battle them via wireless play; or online play the DS servers shut down so no)

Well yeah, I just excluded all of that for simplicity and went by the age when they started their adventure. There's other examples of that, such as Red being in his 20s in SM.

Yeah. And they can’t be 18 because if they were that age, they would not be living with their mom (and I do not think of them as siblings)
Also, Emma calls the female MC “ma’am”.

Well technically they could, it's quite common for younger adults to be living with their parents for economic reasons, but Game Freak likely does not want to reference that so they probably want all of the protagonists to be depicted as under 18 at the start of their adventure.

 

[SlyGecko]

Yeah no way in hell Florian/Juliana is younger than Chase/Elaine. Chase/Elaine look like the youngest protagonists by far, and it'd make sense for them to be younger since LGPE is targeted towards a younger, mobile focused audience. I'd reverse those ages at the very least, but I'm not even sure Chase/Elaine could pass for 10.

The only reason why I put Chase and Elaine as being older is simply because I do think they look slightly older than Florian and Juliana. It might be due to Florian and Juliana having a very similar body to the point where all you need to do is make eyes and hair the same and you can't tell who's who. Either way, all four of them look younger than the canonical 11 year old.

 

[DigitalGen6]

Fine then, they're 11. They don't look any older than that though.

I mean, Hau’s 11, and the MC seems to be just around his age (if you look on Elio’s page, it says he’s 11+, meaning he could be 11 or older.

Yeah no way in hell Florian/Juliana is younger than Chase/Elaine. Chase/Elaine look like the youngest protagonists by far, and it'd make sense for them to be younger since LGPE is targeted towards a younger, mobile focused audience. I'd reverse those ages at the very least, but I'm not even sure Chase/Elaine could pass for 10.

They could. I didn’t start “developing” until I was almost 12, and they both look like they started around the same age (11/11.5). I think Scarlet (Juliana) and Violet (Florian) could be about 11-13 years old, but at the same time, I’m unsure.

I think that's more the writers of the different mediums disagreeing on how old they're supposed to be.

That’s true.

And really if anything I think she looks younger in ORAS than she does in RSE. In RSE, she looks a bit more mature and... let's say "developed" to keep things family friendly, to the point where I think she could pass for being an older teenager about Hilbert/Hilda, Calem/Serena, and Rei/Akari's age.

Huh. She looked 10 to me (although maybe because I was almost that age when I was watching the show and didn’t think too much of it until I started maturing). Same with Serena.

I'm guessing in ORAS they didn't want to go in that direction because they were more aware of what the internet is capable of (also doesn't help that RSE released during the infancy of the internet and when most of the original Pokemon audience started to become teenagers so yeah... probably a lot of Pokemon fans' thoughts towards May probably started trending in that direction) and they wanted to discourage those kinds of thoughts for someone that they intend to be nowhere near an appropriate age for that sort of thing, so they went for a younger look.

Well, uh… Funny you’d say that (no, I didn’t do anything, I got my first Wii that year)…

It seems like if they don't have a good lore related reason for wanting the characters to be older (BW they did so to be different and because the plot was a tad darker and more mature than most, XY also had a darker plot but I think they also made them older because it had a beauty/fashion theme, and LA because Hisui is a wild and dangerous land and a younger kid probably wouldn't fare well in that situation), they seem to opt for a younger look now and want them firmly in that prepubescent, 12 or under range.

I mean, DPPt seems pretty dark, too, but I see your point (and it seems ridiculous for them to make them older just because of fashion, but I once again see your point).

They do NOT want the fandom thinking those thoughts about the protagonists of a family friendly game, they want kids to feel comfortable that the character they're playing as is like them. If adult fans want to do that sort of thing, they can always change their look to depict them as being aged up to 18 but they certainly want to keep that sort of attention away from the children they're targeting and characters they intend to firmly be children. So I wouldn't be surprised if their art department is being instructed to intentionally make the protagonists look on the younger side because of those concerns.

Well, you might want to look at mattyburrito’s series, he seems to have other plans… I don’t think he even aged them up. I don’t watch any of his videos that much.

There's other examples of that, such as Red being in his 20s in SM.

Actually, he’s 30. Yeah, I’m not even gonna correct people anymore at this point xD

Well technically they could, it's quite common for younger adults to be living with their parents for economic reasons, but Game Freak likely does not want to reference that so they probably want all of the protagonists to be depicted as under 18 at the start of their adventure.

True that. But 18 and up can start their journey, too (I saw the AG episode where someone and his daughter started their Pokémon journey, and she got Mudkip while he got Treecko and the Torchic evolved).
And I’ve heard of younger adults living with their parents for those reasons, I might plan on it.

 

[Bolt Strike]

They could. I didn’t start “developing” until I was almost 12, and they both look like they started around the same age (11/11.5). I think Scarlet (Juliana) and Violet (Florian) could be about 11-13 years old, but at the same time, I’m unsure.

I mean it's true that usually girls develop around 12 (for guys it's actually at a slightly older age, usually around 14. Which is about when I did myself), although I have heard that the age is getting younger over time and supposedly some girls have developed as young as 10. Whatever the case, as far as Chase/Elaine, they do look a bit shorter and have smaller proportions than the average protagonists, and even seem to be shorter than the average trainer. So I do think they're legitimately younger.

Well, uh… Funny you’d say that (no, I didn’t do anything, I got my first Wii that year)…

I'm afraid to ask what a Wii has to do with that, and you probably shouldn't answer (maybe if you reeeeaaaallly want to share that story, DM me)

I mean, DPPt seems pretty dark, too, but I see your point (and it seems ridiculous for them to make them older just because of fashion, but I once again see your point).

Ehh, the climax kind of is, but that's true for most Pokemon games. It's not as mature though, BW is a more mature plotline because it gets into deep philosophical issues about the relationship between people and Pokemon.

Well, you might want to look at mattyburrito’s series, he seems to have other plans… I don’t think he even aged them up. I don’t watch any of his videos that much.

Oh certainly some will try, they're never going to be able to completely stop it, it's just something Game Freak and TPC are probably going to want to discourage.

And I’ve heard of younger adults living with their parents for those reasons, I might plan on it.

That's usually not something you like to plan for, you do it because it's the only thing you can afford to do. Housing is expensive nowadays T_T

 

[DigitalGen6]

I mean it's true that usually girls develop around 12 (for guys it's actually at a slightly older age, usually around 14. Which is about when I did myself), although I have heard that the age is getting younger over time and supposedly some girls have developed as young as 10. Whatever the case, as far as Chase/Elaine, they do look a bit shorter and have smaller proportions than the average protagonists, and even seem to be shorter than the average trainer. So I do think they're legitimately younger.

That’s true.

I'm afraid to ask what a Wii has to do with that, and you probably shouldn't answer (maybe if you reeeeaaaallly want to share that story, DM me)

Actually, I don’t think I want to share it. When I said I got a Wii that year, I meant I was seven when ORAS came out.

Ehh, the climax kind of is, but that's true for most Pokemon games. It's not as mature though, BW is a more mature plotline because it gets into deep philosophical issues about the relationship between people and Pokemon.

Oh yeah, and Team Peta (you know what I mean)

Oh certainly some will try, they're never going to be able to completely stop it, it's just something Game Freak and TPC are probably going to want to discourage.

Mhm! (OMG I failed to mention Wazy’s Pokémon White video. I watched it, and some of the stuff is funny, but some of the inappropriate stuff is just sad).

That's usually not something you like to plan for, you do it because it's the only thing you can afford to do. Housing is expensive nowadays T_T

When I finish school, I’ll get a job and live at home until I can afford a place.

 

[Ransei]

Both SV protagonist designs are my least favorite in the series. Part of that is because these were the only protagonists in a major main series game I believe look  under 10 from their physiques alone. I would like if protagonists looked a fair chunk older, like the ones in X and Y, Black and White, and Legends Arceus, although will give a pass to the Sun and Moon ones for their charming designs + the 3DS model scaling. I don't think Gen 7 (or a 3DS game in general, wouldn't matter what gen) was the right place to start making trainers appear behind their Pokémon in every battle, but since this did happen, the protagonists being short at least helped make the 3DS model scaling look not as bad in pvp/mock battles.

 

[Bolt Strike]

Actually, I don’t think I want to share it. When I said I got a Wii that year, I meant I was seven when ORAS came out.

Oh, so you're significantly younger than the original audience (and to clarify, by "original audience" I mean the fans that started in 1st Gen, the ones that have been Pokemon fans since the beginning). Good call not wanting to share it then, you're about 2 years too young to be discussing those sorts of topics anyway.

I was much closer to the original audience then you, I started with Silver and that game released when I was 8. So I was reaching my teens late 3rd gen/early 4th gen and looking back I think I subconsciously developed a crush on May and didn't really understand those feelings until a few years later, her design and the timing of when her game released relative to my age really hit hard. And I don't think I was the only Pokemon fan to go through a similar experience so yeah... probably a lot of fans had those kinds of thoughts towards May. Again, they're never going to stop it to some degree, those kinds of thoughts are always going to inevitably pop up in the minds of teenage and adult fans, but I do think there's an intentional effort to discourage this by attempting to make the more recent protagonists younger and less developed.