6th Gen Is Game Freak starting to diversify its characters?

Just because he is wearing a Vanillish shirt doesn't have to mean he loves to eat lots of ice cream. He might just love that particular Pokemon and/or be an Ice type trainer. ^ ^

I wonder..if I wore a Lilligant shirt, would people think I was a Celebrity? xD (supposedly celebrities love Lilligant)

SnowpointQuincy said:

Characters in Pokemon are little more than their appearance. Thus the need for more variety in the looks.

It would be nice if Pokemon was good at writing Character and Plot, but that has never been a Primary goal of the game. The 2013 roundtable had a chart, "Collect, Trade, Battle" This is the 3 Primary goals of Game Freaks design. Story telling doesn't make the list.

Pokemon need to appear on clothes more often. Like the Gyrados on the Biker's Jacket. Those details are important part of making the world feel real.

Click to expand...

Well, I do realize that the main goal Pokemon is indeed collecting, but Sugimori Ken do the job at designing so damned good it feels like a waste when you realize how bland they are. They at least have tried with N, and look how he is well received and have many fans among Pokemon players. It is not like improving the story would detract enjoyment from anybody. If everything, it actually improves it.

I'm just a minority who cared about the character more than the Pokemon though many fanarts depict human more than the pokemon, so what can I say?

Since most of pokemon takes place in Japan none of the characters where white. They were all Japanese. BW BW2 however is based regionally off of new york where it's more diverse. Lenora wasn't the only black person The fight type E4 guy was black as well. as well as Iris. Seeing how next gen is based off of france where there's a mix of white and black and asian people, I don't really see whats the problem with an overweight character. There's been plenty before. Hikers. That guy talking about the way we connect in base towns etc.

LOL HIS GOAL IS TO DANCE. Sorry, I don't know why I found that hilarious. He'll get distracted battling because of dancing. This will be interesting though for his pokemon. The dancing thing was from bulbapedia

Nintendo and many of their game developers have definitely responded to the social justice movement in a great way. Outside of Pokemon we have female characters like Peach being made main characters in major franchises (shes not even sexualized in the new cat suit power up; something that wouldnt happen with Microsoft etc). And thats only one example. So it's only normal that we get protagonists like this in the new Pokemon games.

I am a bit worried about the Vanillite shirt, still.

Keiran777 said:

Nintendo and many of their game developers have definitely responded to the social justice movement in a great way. Outside of Pokemon we have female characters like Peach being made main characters in major franchises (shes not even sexualized in the new cat suit power up; something that wouldnt happen with Microsoft etc). And thats only one example. So it's only normal that we get protagonists like this in the new Pokemon games.

I am a bit worried about the Vanillite shirt, still.

Click to expand...

Nintendo really is the frontrunner when it comes to recognizing that they have a diverse fanbase. As much as I can see what they're doing in Pokemon as a mixed bag, at least they're trying and I appreciate that.

Miss Anne Thrope said:

Congradulations, they included one black person last generation and this generation there's a significant character that's fat. Classic token-characters, in my opinion. There are a few fat people and black people in Japan. In New York, there's way more black people than Lenora. In all of the world, there's way more body diversity than what Pokemon presents. I think it's always going to be on a thin-white-young bias, but at least they're progressing some amount.

However, there's no doubt in my mind that this new fat character is going to be caught behaving in a sterotypical "fatty" manner. Running out of breath constantly, eating all the time, being lazy. I'll be very pleasantly surprised if they don't.

Click to expand...

His official description says that he is "nimble", and wants to create a dance team with his Pokemon. So please.

I agree that Pokemon needs more diversity, and I think that the inclusion of Tierno as a main rival character should be celebrated. Also, the fact that you can now choose your character's skin colour is a pretty big deal.

I would hope that they are going to include more characters with different skin colours throughout the game as well, as it would look strange if you were the only black person in the entire game while all the NPCs and gym leaders are white.

I think the addition of "less than thin" characters is great. It adds some realistic features to the game. I've been waiting for stuff like this, Game Freak is really meeting my expectations with X and Y. 3D landscape, variety in characters, and things like horde mode! Really the only thing I am unhappy with so far in this new generation is the new type. I am not opposed to new types, not at all. I'd love to see more! But...fairy? I mean, before this was revealed everyone was going crazy over Light and Sound because it made sense! Ask me how and I'll explain it but, for now, I'll leave it be. But, when they announced Noivern, that was just a big **** you from Game Freak, they may as well have been saying "lololololol nope! No sound type but, LOOK AT THIS THING!" Noivern screams sound type, so hopefully it is inevitable.

I always thought pokemon characters had lots of charm but were not the most interesting. Although your right it has gotten better. I thought team plasma in BW2 (I did not play the first one) was amazing, I actually found myself kind of agreeing with them a little bit.

I like it, though I wouldn't say there haven't been "less than perfect" characters in the behavior department *wink wink*

Romaov said:

Iris.

Click to expand...

Oh and just an idea but Iris is probably middle eastern ;)

Iris could be more hindi than asian.

This good be the start of something...

Team Fail said:

Pokémon Black and White started it with the inclusion of Lenora, a non-white character that is essentially a protagonist in a sense. This was sort of a big deal, as she was the first non-white character in the Pokémon series game. Now, we introduce Tieruno. He isn't really... Well.. Thin.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but as far as I know, he is the first person that isn't thin to be part of a Pokémon game. Is Game Freak trying to become all-inclusive when it comes to different people? Is it possible that more can be done besides this?

Click to expand...

Lenora was awesome, her skin tone made me go like 'Whoa!' Not in a racist way, but so far they have all been white guys.

That fat Asian in that picture of yours is sort of a breakthrough, but not really. The Asians are conquering the world, so no wonder they made a fat Asian which looks like a fat, grown up version of Souske from Ponyo.

But he is pretty cool!

Wait, how are black characters "less-than-perfect"? That's pretty offensive.

Guys, I just want to state that you should avoid racial slurs, and insulting idioms towards any group or minority of people. Remember that this is against the rules. Just before this thread derails any further. If you see any examples of this, please report it and leave it at that. Thanks!

Toujours said:

Wait, how are black characters "less-than-perfect"? That's pretty offensive.

Click to expand...

I think he just meant that in gaming, characters tend to always be attractive, caucasian-ish, and thin. It seems to be the ideal character for many Japanese publishers. Look at Final Fantasy XV for example.. All of the characters in the trailer are white and thin.

jellotime91 said:

I think he just meant that in gaming, characters tend to always be attractive, caucasian-ish, and thin. It seems to be the ideal character for many Japanese publishers. Look at Final Fantasy XV for example.. All of the characters in the trailer are white and thin.

Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure all the characters in FFXV are asian more specifically Japanese. I'm pretty sure there aren't any "white" people in any of these games you play from different countries. It's just like anime different hair colors and eyes so you can diversify the more important characters. Everyone is asian unless they're skin tone is noticeably darker. I.E yoruichi and tousen, bleach lenora E4 guy Iris,BW BW2.

I like the addition of a fat boy in a prominent role, but please, did they need to add a Vanillite art to his shirt?

I was thinking about this post yesterday, here's what I made of it.

The important thing about portraying fat people in fiction is that they're, above all, people. They have the same feelings, the same needs of thin people. They can be somewhat gluttons because well, you're fat for a reason, but this can't "define" the character's personality, because there's much more to a person than his/her food preferences. Giving a character multiple dimensions is the joy of creating them, and why Hugh was so criticized (he's pretty much rambling about how Team Plasma stole his little sister's Pokémon the whole time). Food references are good as a light humorous reference, but the bulk of the character (no pun intended) needs to come from somewhere else.

I hope he's a great character, and a great rival. Cheren and Bianca were great characters and it would be nice if XY started with nice rivals too.

Cerberus I couldn't agree more with you. Hardly any games ever even hint at the idea that obese, or heavier people, exist. It's all always thin and attractive people. The addition of actually having a heavier-set character that is of actual relevance is a step in the right direction if you ask me. BUT, it's not like the Pokemon series doesn't acknowledge that some people are fatter, look at the in game Hikers? Every single game they've always been a bit heavier.

I think what the OP meant is "relatively different" character designs, they're not less than perfect, they're just different than all the white/skinny main chars in the previous games.
Maybe they ARE trying to imply the "You're perfect the way you are" idea & that's good, maybe offering skin color change in char customization is support to that idea, the question is maybe in the future they'll offer the option to be fatter? or older? or even gay or transgender? (I doubt that will happen but still).
What I really care about them doing is making better rivals, with a good spirit & acceptance of loss without arrogance.
Concerning the fat guy I hate his haircut & the "Hey look at me everyone I'm a fanboy!" T-shirt, remove those & it's acceptable for me :)

Even though he may be "less-than-thin" at least game freak is giving him an active personality as description reads as "Tierno is burly and nimble, and his goal is to create a dance team with his Pokémon! He pays close attention to Pokémon when they battle to see he if he can incorporate their actions into new dance moves."