6th Gen May & Brendan

Started by Dragon January 13th, 2015 1:19 PM
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  • 25 replies

Dragon

lover of milotics

Age 30
Male
Viridian City
Seen 6 Days Ago
Posted October 24th, 2022
11,170 posts
9.7 Years
So of course, May & Brendan returns as a rival (which one, depends on the gender you pick), along with a new outfit and everything. But this time, they sort of made new writing for them; we get to interact with them a lot more, when it comes to some scenery during the game:



We battle them again too at the usual spots, but they added a new 'final' May & Brendan battle right after you beat the pokemon league, just as something to show them how strong you've become, and the adventures that you both had. They also had their own mega-evolved pokemon too! We also see them again in the Delta-Episode, as we hang out with them in the space station.

Well, at any rate, the discussion for this thread is.. What do you think of May & Brendan in these games? If you had your misgivings for them, what would you do differently for them during the game? How difficult did you find the battles against them to be? Feel free to share any thoughts~!


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Alfieri

aka Ronnie

Age 27
Male
New York City
Seen June 23rd, 2019
Posted June 23rd, 2019
2,850 posts
9.2 Years
I love the SHIPPING! ♥.♥
I always shipped them when I was a little kid and to see it subtly happening in the remakes is just amazing. I love that May gets implemented into the story more. I hated that you never saw her starter fully evolved in the original games and how she just popped up out of nowhere in the Pokemon League after last seeing her in Lilycove. This time she's with you at the Cave of Origin, and the Delta Episode, and other spots too. It's awesome.
Seen December 23rd, 2022
Posted August 27th, 2015
111 posts
8.4 Years
To be honest, I didn't like how sometimes during a conversation, her face would be stuck at one facial expression .___. Seems kinda weird imo


See this?
You know, I never noticed this.

I think May/Brendan as rival is a bit weak in terms of character development. You don't get to fight her/him very much, and then she quits being rival two-thirds into the game. There's no competition (Barry, Hugh) or douchebaggery (Blue, Silver) that make the most of the other rivals unique.
Age 28
Male
Oregon
Seen September 24th, 2018
Posted July 3rd, 2018
17,520 posts
13.1 Years
You know, I never noticed this.

I think May/Brendan as rival is a bit weak in terms of character development. You don't get to fight her/him very much, and then she quits being rival two-thirds into the game. There's no competition (Barry, Hugh) or douchebaggery (Blue, Silver) that make the most of the other rivals unique.
Well if May/Brendan (and to some extent Wally) were like that than neither of those groups would be so unique now would they?

I like that she (I played as Brendan) is added more into the story line. Also it seemed as if I battled her more than I did Serena, plus she when she lost she quickly got back up and was her oldself showing her peppy attitude. Strangely she was easier this time despite having Blaziken (and later Mega Blaziken)...though I did have some trouble in the final battle, but the AI was dumb so she didn't attack me ^_^.

P.S. I love the shipping too.
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They were a little too commercial like: 'Well, see you later, buddy!' but I liked them. 8D At least they were crushing on each other and didn't hide it like some psychopath named CALEM < why am I still alive why hasnt gamefreak had me assinsated

They were cute, they didn't stretch on their dialogue longer then they had to and they were kind of fun to battle. (Unlike Calem who was a total pushover that even a preschooler with a level 1 caterpie could win against)

I liked them and I liked how their expressions got stuck 'cause it made me want to throw up from the disturbingness. =D
Male
Ohio, USA
Seen July 28th, 2020
Posted February 7th, 2015
55 posts
8.4 Years
I played as Brendan on my first (hopefully not only) playthrough, and I have to say, I LOVE May. In the original Hoenn games, your rival was just kind of there. Probably overall one of the weakest rivals in the whole series. They never were that interesting and took a backseat to the much cooler plot.

However, in Alpha Sapphire, May felt so much more like a character. Probably the addition of all the cute and funny emotes, the more defined writing, and the additional scenes combined to make me overall really happy whenever she showed up.

I hear a lot of people complain about the excess of dialogue in some of these games (especially near the beginning) and whenever a character, usually one of the rivals, comes up and says things without wanting to battle or anything. I never got any of that. In Y and in Alpha Sapphire, I loved all the rival characters and was happy everytime I got to talk to them. It really injected even more life into the series for me.

I really hope Game Freak continues adding moments like these in, where you're just hanging out with a friend that you are on a journey with. It's great for character development and immersion imo. It's one of the things that make me love all the Gen 6 games so far. :)

PokéMew

Pokémon Fuchsia

Male
Refresh
Seen October 5th, 2022
Posted April 8th, 2017
484 posts
9.7 Years
To be honest, I didn't like how sometimes during a conversation, her face would be stuck at one facial expression .___. Seems kinda weird imo


See this?
I'll have to agree with you there, those awkward moments when May's face stayed the same for like 5 text boxes was kind of weird... Other than that though, I think it was a great improvement from the originals, and I think they did a fine job updating each others encounters. Of course, the new X and Y engine made it possible.

jombii

Crobat is ProBat

Male
Philippines
Seen June 28th, 2019
Posted April 13th, 2019
3,412 posts
8.9 Years
The shipping is real OMG.

But, on the topic, they have managed to almost stay the same than their originals. Only that, giving them facial expressions, along with other people, adds a little color to the player's interaction with them.

Hikamaru

Age 30
Female
Australia
Seen January 24th, 2019
Posted September 4th, 2018
50,214 posts
12.2 Years
I really enjoyed their role in this game, it was great to see the role get heavily expanded on compared to the original Hoenn games, such as the expressions added in and finally having a fully-evolved starter come Lilycove. It was great to see them also get their chance to use Mega Evolution as well, and they do so by Mega Evolving their starter in the final battle after the credits.

I kinda liked the scenes where Brendan was trying to act like he was shipping me with him. It sorta cracks me up, but good job Game Freak for improving this once-boring rival and giving him more personality (same applies for May if you're playing as a male trainer).
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Circuit

Wiring your Circuits

Age 27
Male
Berlin
Seen January 6th, 2021
Posted July 29th, 2020
4,815 posts
15.2 Years
I loved the interactions they had with the player in this game. My first playthrough was as Brendan, so I loved how over the game, May turns from being a plain rival, to your friend, and Wally takes over the Rival-role. And the shipping... I found it cute, I'll be honest XD I did ship the two back in Ruby and Sapphire, and now Gamefreak actually implemented it. I felt like a little kid smiling at them at the end of the Delta Episode. I feel like a parent watching them from going to the plain rivals they were in R/S to the pair they are now in OR/AS. I loved it :3

Altairis

take me ☆ take you

Female
database database
Seen December 29th, 2022
Posted October 5th, 2018
5,170 posts
11 Years
The happiest moment was seeing Brendan with a fully evolved starter at the end of the Delta Episode, because that really annoyed me in RSE before. I just wish we could have seen more of them, and been able to rebattle them later (as I'm not sure we can entirely?). I mean, they kinda seem to just give up and I would like to see them go the Bianca/Cheren route and actually become something.

ORAS/XYBW

jombii

Crobat is ProBat

Male
Philippines
Seen June 28th, 2019
Posted April 13th, 2019
3,412 posts
8.9 Years
I agree with GF finally giving them the final evolutions that seemed to lack in the original games. I mean, you can't exactly call him/her rival if their best Pokemon is a Grovyle, right?

I just hoped they added more now. like real expansion. Similar to what they did with Wally.
She/Her
Ryme City
Seen 1 Week Ago
Posted 2 Weeks Ago
365 posts
12.1 Years
I must begin by pointing out that I've never finished the original games for a few reasons, some or all of which might be hidden within my discussion of this topic but I've been given a pretty insightful idea in the previous comments of May's role after the Lilycove battle (The farthest I've made it is to victory road in Sapphire).
Also keep in mind that I've currently just arrived at route 111 after earning the Heat Badge in Alpha Sapphire.

Note: Since I've always played as Brendon after my first two or three gen 3 playthroughs and ergo don't recall him as the rival, I'm just going to exclusively examine May leaving it as a given that most every point I make also applies to Brendon for those who play as May.

Unfortunately, for the most part, the lack of character development that made May the poorest rival of the franchise in the original games still remains, such as how barely established her badge collecting is. Though it's actually one maybe two more than in the originals she mentions gyms so few times that each time she does and most of her appearances, in general, feel very random and inconsistent.
So far one of the most random moments that I've noticed in AS was when she transports you back to Petalsburg claiming she wanted to challenge Norman but then upon arrival wishes YOU luck challenging him and takes off like she totally forgot about doing it herself. O_o

The mentor persona is the biggest flaw; you can't claim that a character yours is meant to always best is the more experienced, that doesn't make a lick of sense especially paired with the earlier discussed (though little supported) fact that she is battling gyms. Some information is missing however that prevents this picture from being completed. Due there being absolutely no backstory of May's character we don't know how much more experience than your character she was supposed to have had and what kind.
One thing that can be determined from your battles with her is that she's not too focused on Pokemon training. Her team is always pretty under grown for the point you're at, so much so that at least in the originals she never fully evolved her starter and then she quits as a trainer after the Lilycove battle with pretty much no rhyme or reason. WTF?!

When you contrast to Barry who was a similar type of rival in D/P/Pt but was strongly driven and frequently showed up to remind you that he was a step ahead of you, hell even to Gary or Silver of R/B/Y/S/G/C May is spotlighted as being horribly written which makes the fact that she was the first friendly rival completely unnoticeable. It's in fact quite difficult to even call her a rival at all and to be honest while I like Barry and even Charen and Bianca of Black and White I kind of feel like it's the a$$hole rivals who were the most exciting.

The two more minor things that have still bothered me about this version of her so far are the fact that she'd correct herself when about to address Birch as 'dad' to your character even though you're kids and not speaking in a professional situation (recall Gary never had reservations about addressing Oak as 'gramps') and as mentioned the facial expressions. I like them but will agree that her tendency to be frozen in the same one for inappropriately long is a bit unsettling even for an anime character.

On a positive note, while little to none of her developmental flaws were touched in Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby, I HAVE found some noticeable improvement so far in my play through. The additional interactions with May and her slightly more involved role such as how now she is present and participates in the Meteor Falls scene does establish a stronger relationship with your character. You even get a bit more of a sense that researching Pokemon for Birch (her father) is her true passion.

The way the story was revamped in itself has increased my interest. As a writer myself, one of the things that bugged me about the originals was some of the amateur writing style, as though aimed at Kindergarteners such when you first walk into May's house and the mother begins every single sentence with 'Our daughter'.
"Our daughter was excited to make a new friend. Our daughter is up in her room."
It's so much more mature now and has a much better flow.

So overall, yeah I can tolerate May quite a bit more now but she is still my least favorite rival.


Pendraflare

Age 32
Male
Pennsylvania
Seen July 30th, 2021
Posted March 29th, 2021
6,263 posts
9.8 Years
To me, it was definitely nice that they gave these rivals more development in these games, because let's face it - in the original games they just sucked. When it came to me battling May, however? I didn't have much of an issue with her at all, since I had coverage for her Pokémon. And I found it hysterical when she would have that silly gasp look on her face at the beginning. xP
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Emboar

Male
Iowa
Seen 4 Weeks Ago
Posted December 28th, 2020
6,658 posts
8.7 Years
What do you think of May & Brendan in these games?

I found their characters to be a bit too quirky for my tastes, kind of like Bianca and Shauna, which led me to dislike them. I'm more of a fan of the mean, step ahead of you rivals, like Blue, Silver, and Barry.

If you had your misgivings for them, what would you do differently for them during the game?

I'd make their personalities less quirky and more strong and competitive, like past rivals.

How difficult did you find the battles against them to be?

I found battling them to be easier than in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald. Part of that is because the whole game is easier in general than Generation III.

Pepperton

Male
Texas
Seen February 1st, 2023
Posted February 3rd, 2021
3,397 posts
9.6 Years
Like, they were fine. I don't know, Pokemon doesn't really develop the character very much besides you're 10 and getting your first Pokemon, so. I guess it would have been nice if May and Brendan had more backstory, but I think the connection May and Brendan had in the cutscenes went above and beyond what Game Freak has done in the past.

accursed

Dragon Breeder

Female
The True North (strong and expensive)
Seen February 3rd, 2015
Posted February 2nd, 2015
22 posts
8.3 Years
I never noticed till now, his hair looks like a hat... that has ruined it for me, I always felt that he had the most epic hair out of any trainer in the series, now they turned his epic hair into a hat...
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Crady

It ain't even bright in here

Male
Seen November 26th, 2016
Posted June 25th, 2015
95 posts
9.4 Years
I never noticed till now, his hair looks like a hat... that has ruined it for me, I always felt that he had the most epic hair out of any trainer in the series, now they turned his epic hair into a hat...
I PSYDUCKING know right!????

When I was 8 I used to think he had white hair, now I'm like wtf?

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Age 31
Female
Germany
Seen November 18th, 2017
Posted October 8th, 2017
14 posts
8.4 Years
I never noticed till now, his hair looks like a hat... that has ruined it for me, I always felt that he had the most epic hair out of any trainer in the series, now they turned his epic hair into a hat...
I PSYDUCKING know right!????

When I was 8 I used to think he had white hair, now I'm like wtf?
But it always had been a hat.. even back then... o_o
Even though I need to admit that I also believed it's his hat until I saw him take it off in the manga.... XDD

Concerning the topic, I also like Brendan / May better than the originals, of course I somehow wish we could battle them more often but what can I do, I guess we need to be happy with the fact that they just simply appear more often than in the originals. But my imaginary shipping from back then finally seems a bit more realistic in those games! XD

DyingWillFlareon

Burning Candle

Age 24
She/Her
Under a bucket (still)
Seen March 11th, 2021
Posted March 10th, 2021
4,308 posts
8.5 Years
But it always had been a hat.. even back then... o_o
Even though I need to admit that I also believed it's his hat until I saw him take it off in the manga.... XDD
can we talk about franticshipping

I enjoyed Brendan's characer more this time around.(I played as May.) Battling was obviously not his strong suit but neither was Bianca's. Or Lucas/Dawn, but s/he managed to help beat Galatic in Jubilife.....

I would've liked more moments between them but GF did swell enough with the shippyness. Their little 'Delta Date' was cute. Shoot, I even let Brendan knock out a couple of my Pokemon in the credits battle without reviving then for the heck of it. But I also filled in the blanks with my imagination, as I have a tendancy to do that.....
I didnmt mind his face being stuck for however long, it looked fine to me. :/ And I never questioned if it was hat or hair I suppose, maybe I just didn't care enough until someone mentilned it around the time I picked up Pokemon Special as that is a big topic for some reason.

Now we wait for Kusaka to catch on to GF's hints and make Franticshipping canon
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Female
Seen February 17th, 2017
Posted July 26th, 2015
17 posts
8.2 Years
Did anyone else see the post comparing the intros between the two? It was pretty weird how much of a contrast there was between them.

On the one hand it's nice having established characters, and it'll make a cosplay easier, but on the other I really liked the customisation options in X/Y
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