Excuse me, but why in the world is this still a thing in Pokémon games?

[Sweet Serenity]

Is this an example of sexism regarding Pokémon, mainly as in sexism among the developers or perhaps even in the Pokémon world?

In every Pokémon game where Pokémon have genders, all the starter Pokémon (other than Pikachu in certain games) have a gender ratio of 7 males to 1 female. I never understood why Game Freak insists on establishing such a gender ratio for the starter Pokémon. This is even more eye-opening when you consider that quite a few Pokémon are extremely feminine in appearance and behavior. For example, Pokémon such as the Chikorita line look feminine and have feminine sounding names. Even Ash's Chikorita and eventually Bayleef was female. The Snivy line is also very feminine in my opinion and even Ash's Snivy was female and a very feminine acting one on top of that. The Fennekin line, especially Braixen and Delphox are undoubtedly very feminine and you'd just naturally assume they're female. Lastly, Primarina is probably the most feminine starter Pokémon of them all next to Braixen. Yet, somehow, they are all more likely to be male than female. I never understood why and I hope this changes. I always strongly preferred female starters and always had to reset to get one. I feel I shouldn't have to reset for a female starter.

 

[Devalue]

Always assumed it was to make them harder to breed (and thus, rarer and more dependent on trading). Applies to fossil Pokemon, Eevees, and Snorlax too.

 

[Sweet Serenity]

Always assumed it was to make them harder to breed (and thus, rarer and more dependent on trading). Applies to fossil Pokemon, Eevees, and Snorlax too.

But Ditto is a thing.

 

[Devalue]

Sure. Requires both knowing about Ditto's properties and location, however. Tends to only show up at mid- to late-game. Earliest locations:

• Red/Blue/Yellow: East of Fushcia (before breeding at all)
• Gold/Silver/Crystal: Route 34/35, both early and right next to the breeding area.
• Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald: Post-game in Emerald only.
• Diamond/Pearl/Platinum: PokeRadar (Complete the Sinnoh Pokedex) and Trophy Garden (Platinum only)
• Black/White: Giant Chasm (level 53+, although less in Black 2/White 2)
• X/Y: Pokemon Village (just before final gym)
• Sun/Moon: Mount Hokulani (after second Grand Trial)
• Sword/Shield: Lake of Outrage (after the sixth gym) and rare Max Raids from a single den.

 

[Sweet Serenity]

Sure. Requires both knowing about Ditto's properties and location, however. Tends to only show up at mid- to late-game. Earliest locations:

• Red/Blue/Yellow: East of Fushcia (before breeding at all)
• Gold/Silver/Crystal: Route 34/35, both early and right next to the breeding area.
• Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald: Post-game in Emerald only.
• Diamond/Pearl/Platinum: PokeRadar (Complete the Sinnoh Pokedex) and Trophy Garden (Platinum only)
• Black/White: Giant Chasm (level 53+, although less in Black 2/White 2)
• X/Y: Pokemon Village (just before final gym)
• Sun/Moon: Mount Hokulani (after second Grand Trial)
• Sword/Shield: Lake of Outrage (after the sixth gym) and rare Max Raids from a single den.

But trading exists too.

 

[Devalue]

But trading exists too.

Yes. But are you going to trade your only Mudkip with no way to easily get another? Likewise, is the other person going to trade their Torchic under the same conditions?

Could obtain a Ditto via trading. Requires finding someone with access to a progressed or completed game. Essentially agrees to break the main story experience by doing that, not dissimilar from trading in higher-level Pokemon. Placed (mild) restrictions on that too during the main story via disobedience.

Wants your starter/fossil/Eeveelution/Tyrogue choice to matter during the main story. Allows more freedom after (or near) completing the game. Reflects your status as a Pokemon Master.

 

[Sweet Serenity]

Yes. But are you going to trade your only Mudkip with no way to easily get another? Likewise, is the other person going to trade their Torchic under the same conditions?

Oftentimes, you might not even have to give up your starter Pokémon. You'd be surprised at how many people in the Pokémon community are nice enough to trade you a Ditto for almost anything, especially on Discord and even this website in the Trade Corner, believe it or not.

Could obtain a Ditto via trading. Requires finding someone with access to a progressed or completed game. Essentially agrees to break the main story experience by doing that, not dissimilar from trading in higher-level Pokemon. Placed (mild) restrictions on that too during the main story via disobedience.

Based on my experiences, many people the Pokémon community are extremely kind and helpful to where they would trade Dittos and not ask for much in return. I've been helped out like this quite a few times. I remember, when I first asked for a Ditto a while back, I only had to trade a version exclusive so that my trading partner could be one step closer to completing her PokéDex.

Wants your starter/fossil/Eeveelution/Tyrogue choice to matter during the main story. Allows more freedom after (or near) completing the game. Reflects your status as a Pokemon Master.

After you get your Ditto, keep it, and transfer it to the next game for breeding. I've been doing that for years. Pokémon HOME makes this even easier today. That way, you don't have to get rid of anything important.

 

[Devalue]

Still relies on a game further along the main story than your own. Never stated it to be impossible to break the intended progression, just more difficult. Presumably intends you to play Pokemon alone or at the same time as friends, much like rivals. Will likely not have access to Ditto or, if so, too late to hatch a usable starter besides your own without plenty of grinding.

Alternatively, take a look at all the 7:1 male:female Pokemon:
- Starters
- Fossils (until Generation 8)
- Eevee line
- Snorlax line
- Togepi line
- Riolu line
- Zorua line
- Combee line
- Salandit line
- Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour lines

Did you notice something about the first seven? Cannot find any in the grass in their debut game. Purposely made all of them more difficult to breed during the main story (without trading). Wants them to be special without locking them out of egg moves. Locked out the Sword/Shield fossils from breeding entirely, also.

Invokes rarity again with Combee and Salandit. Gave both of them female-exclusive evolutions. (Dislikes this, personally. Stinks bad when you do not know until deep in a game.)

Lacks a reason for the monkeys. Hates them or something.

 

[Corveone]

I guess because Pokémon wouldn't be Pokémon without some archaic "traditions" that serve no purpose other than annoying players.

Personally, I'm not sure genders were a good idea to begin with... I mean, yeah, for breeding I guess, but battle-wise it's a feature that adds nothing of value to the gameplay. Infatuation is just another status condition to let RNG decide if opponent can attack or not, which is redundant, and Rivalry is an Ability players usually want to avoid at all cost.

 

[The Foogle]

I don't think it's sexism, per se. I think that it shouldn't be a huge deal on what a Pokemon's gender is, unless it evolves into a certain mon because of it. It's kind of a minor issue to me, since usually a pokemon's gender means i have to come up with a different nickname depending on sex. Most females/males have minor appearance changes, so it's not a huge dealbreaker if i wanted a girl Snivy but in reality it's a guy. However, i also say gender ratios should be evened out to 50-50 for most pokemon, since i'm pretty sure females can pass down hidden abilities with breeding. Oh, and it would help in Combee and Salandit's case, since only the females can evolve. Heck, you can go even further and give the males an evolution line, like how the Ralts line got Gallade in Gen 4. That would be cool.

Oh, and yes, i agree that Snivy is pretty feminine and i prefer girl Snivies over guys, but that's mainly because i have a harder time naming dude Snivies lol

 

[Megan]

Personally, I'm not sure genders were a good idea to begin with... I mean, yeah, for breeding I guess, but battle-wise it's a feature that adds nothing of value to the gameplay. Infatuation is just another status condition to let RNG decide if opponent can attack or not, which is redundant, and Rivalry is an Ability players usually want to avoid at all cost.

There was this thing in gen 2 where gender was tied to the attack DVs of a Pokemon. If the DVs where between 0-7 then it would be female and if it was greater then it would be male. It's fortunately a thing they got rid in gen 3.

 

[Sweet Serenity]

Still relies on a game further along the main story than your own. Never stated it to be impossible to break the intended progression, just more difficult. Presumably intends you to play Pokemon alone or at the same time as friends, much like rivals. Will likely not have access to Ditto or, if so, too late to hatch a usable starter besides your own without plenty of grinding.

Alternatively, take a look at all the 7:1 male:female Pokemon:
- Starters
- Fossils (until Generation 8)
- Eevee line
- Snorlax line
- Togepi line
- Riolu line
- Zorua line
- Combee line
- Salandit line
- Pansage, Pansear, and Panpour lines

Did you notice something about the first seven? Cannot find any in the grass in their debut game. Purposely made all of them more difficult to breed during the main story (without trading). Wants them to be special without locking them out of egg moves. Locked out the Sword/Shield fossils from breeding entirely, also.

Invokes rarity again with Combee and Salandit. Gave both of them female-exclusive evolutions. (Dislikes this, personally. Stinks bad when you do not know until deep in a game.)

Lacks a reason for the monkeys. Hates them or something.

You do make some very good points, Devalue. I guess making certain Pokémon more difficult to breed definitely makes more sense when you put it that way. By the way Devalue, my guess regarding why the three elemental monkeys have the same 7 male to 1 female ratio is because they're supposed to function as pseudo-starters, as in to quickly provide the player with the two types that the player didn't get to choose after picking his or her starter. As for Combee and Salandit, this is understandable, as the females evolve into their own gender exclusive Pokémon and they want acquiring them to be more difficult to obtain. With fossils and Pokémon such as Snorlax however, these Pokémon are obtained late in the game in most games anyway. By the time you access them, you likely already encountered Ditto in the wild anyway.

Yet, I just don't understand why it would be an issue, especially in this day and age where practically every Pokémon breeder transfers a Ditto to each of their games. Even if the idea was to keep them rare, people are still going to breed and trade them eventually, thus not making them as rare anymore. The possibility also exists that you can play a previous game such as a game from the Virtual Console and transfer a Ditto to Pokémon Bank and eventually to Pokémon HOME. If you do this with generation II, which you can acquire on a rather early route after obtaining your second badge as you mentioned, then it doesn't require a game being too much farther than your own story. With that being said, I don't understand why they have to keep this tradition. I feel that the developers should make their games based upon how the times have changed.

I guess because Pokémon wouldn't be Pokémon without some archaic "traditions" that serve no purpose other than annoying players.

Personally, I'm not sure genders were a good idea to begin with... I mean, yeah, for breeding I guess, but battle-wise it's a feature that adds nothing of value to the gameplay. Infatuation is just another status condition to let RNG decide if opponent can attack or not, which is redundant, and Rivalry is an Ability players usually want to avoid at all cost.

I agree with you about the traditions, Corveone. I fail to see why Pokémon can't break certain traditions based upon how the times have changed. However, I believe genders were a good idea. As you mentioned, genders are useful for the breeding system, which is a very important feature for obtaining competitive Pokémon. It also adds realism, as most living creatures have genders. Battle wise, some Pokémon have completely different stats, moves, and playstyles based on their gender such as Meowstic, Indeedee, and even Nidoqueen and Nidoking whom are treated as two separate Pokémon only because they were created in a generation were genders weren't a thing yet. Rivalry is also a good ability for an in-game playthrough (but not competitive) when you consider that trainers tend to use Pokémon that are the same gender as themselves. Thus, you get a good idea of what Pokémon your Rivalry Pokémon can do extra damage to. As for moves such as Attract and abilities like Cute Charm, the less you give your opponent to attack, the better. Still, these moves and abilities are good for in-game playthroughs for the same reason as Rivalry.

There was this thing in gen 2 where gender was tied to the attack DVs of a Pokemon. If the DVs where between 0-7 then it would be female and if it was greater then it would be male. It's fortunately a thing they got rid in gen 3.

This is definitely true. If this isn't an example of sexism in Pokémon, then I don't know what is! It sounds way too specific to be a glitch.

 

[Palamon]

I don't think it's sexism, honestly. Starters are 7 to 1 male because they're supposed to be rare. All rare Pokemon are like this. Fossils, gift Pokemon (Eevee, etc) are just done so so it's harder to breed.

And most animals have sexes anyway in the real world, so /shrugs. I just think the term gender is used because the word sex is too PG for a Pokemon game or something.