XY character customization definitely needs to be in, with the option to look like
Ruby/Sapphire Brendan and May or
Emerald Brendan and May.
I was just about to post this image; that redesign of May's outfit looks so pretty and sweet and hot and cute all at the same time! :3 I always imagined her in a bluish outfit since that's what her
Pokemon Special/Pokemon Adventures manga counterpart seems to wear...? Her fanny pack looks huge, though. XD On the other hand, I hope May isn't redesigned too much; she (alongside Dawn) has one of the more solidified character designs (particularly because of the
Pokemon anime), even compared to Red and Gold/Ethan.
The redesign of Brendan looks way too overdone, IMO. :< Brendan's original designs were both amazing (in both
Ruby/Sapphire and
Emerald, including May's outfits), so I honestly wouldn't mind their return.
Except the hat. Ugh, DAT "HAT"! Um, yeah, even though Ken Sugimori confirmed that the "white mass" atop Brendan's head is a knit cap, I refuse to believe it as such and in my own headcanon/fanon, it is Brendan's
HAIR, now and always! Regarding the "white mass": as a hat, it's one of (if not
the) the stupidest/goofiest hats I've ever seen; as hair, it's some of the coolest hair that I've ever seen a kid rock - the difference of interpretation is
that great, at least in my opinion. Additionally, "white hair" helps to make Brendan a bit more visually distinct from all of the other player characters, of who everyone just
has to have brown/black hair, for some reason (it also complements Brendan's mostly-black outfit). If I call the "white mass" hair, I'd probably mistake Brendan for
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum's Lucas! The (official, likely from Game Freak) artist that drew this picture had the right idea; it looks so much better as actual hair!
So, yeah, white hair and a mostly-black outfit help to differentiate Brendan from all of the other player character dudes, so if he's returning, I hope that the "white mass" is retconned as his hair.. Otherwise...I'll just keep calling it his hair (one wonders if they'll make it blatantly obvious as hair
this time around.. ;-;).
Yeah; even if
OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire uses the same plot as the original
Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire, Game Freak can pull a "Lyra" at any moment and just replace Brendan and/or May; nothing's really stopping them (except for maybe fan complaints). I'm hoping that Brendan (who is quite a bit more obscure than May, at least generally) and May return, though..