5th Gen Iris vs. Alder

[Rivvon]

Unova saw two different Champions throughout your two-year stay--Alder, the traveling wise-man, and Iris, daughter of dragons. Who did you prefer, either as a character or as a Champion, and why? Was it their battle music? Their design? Any reason is a valid one!

Here are some other conversation-starters that you may consider answering: how did you feel about Alder acting as a mentor towards Cheren, ultimately leading towards his major character growth? How did you feel about Iris becoming Champion at all in B2W2? Do you prefer how she went from Trainer to Champion in Black, or from Gym Leader to Champion in White? What sort of themes can you find that link the two?

I'd like to hear what you all think!

 

[Hikamaru]

I voted Iris, mainly because I find her team more stronger than Alder's and you have to admit, I loved most of the female characters in the game, and her new design made look a lot like a princess.

 

[classiccartoonsftw]

As a champion, I think Alder is better. But I like Iris' battle theme more.

 

[Oddball_]

Alder was just a better everything. No question. Iris was boring as a character, and despicably easy as a gym leader and champion. I uh... I really don't like Iris or her not-even-a-story story.

 

[thedestinedblade]

Alder as a character, but Iris, I guess, was the better champion overall (battle-wise) I was always a fan of Alder's free-spirited personality, design, and just his overall outlook on pokemon. He has an active role in the story (and an awesome encounter theme) and seems to impart knowledge every time he opens his mouth. Not that Iris is a bad character, mind you, but her impact just seems to be lacking. I think he became my favorite champion in the series after that speech atop of Celestial Tower.

"Strength isn't something that remains unchanged forever. However, the joy one feels in being with Pokémon—that is the real thing." :)

 

[Rivvon]

While I appreciated Iris's role in BW, Alder served to develop one of the best rivals the series has ever had. While I enjoyed Alder's battle music and team, the presentation of Iris's battle is still one of my favorite out of all the games. Both have solid, appropriate designs representative of who they are.

I think for me the difficult part in picking who I prefer is tied to how they are presented as Champion. While both are good Champions, because the story of BW makes Alder into a post-game boss, he doesn't seem to be at the forefront of peoples' minds when they think of the series's Champions. On the other hand, Iris is the final boss of B2W2, so more care is taken in her battle's presentation, making the battle with her much more memorable. Ultimately, while I prefer Alder as a character, the aspects of Iris as a Champion are greatly appealing.

I'm also saying this from the viewpoint of someone who played Black and Black 2, so for me Iris didn't have any background in being a Gym Leader--she was your normal Trainer, with a strong drive and lots of potential, who made her way up to Champion without having stopped to become a Gym Leader first. In that sense, she's pretty similar to the protagonist, which I thought was a nice touch.

So in that sense, Iris serves as a successful Champion while I feel Alder is a more successful character overall, unrelated to his title.

 

[lamePotato]

Iris, if not only for her stellar theme.

 

[Rivvon]

Iris, if not only for her stellar theme.

That is an exquisitely subtle yet appropriate pun and I applaud you for it.

But I do want to add: I agree, I think her battle theme is one of the best Champion battle themes in the series. When I think of Alder, I think of his time spent in the story of BW, but when I think of Iris I think of the battle with her in B2W2.

 

[lamePotato]

That is an exquisitely subtle yet appropriate pun and I applaud you for it.

But I do want to add: I agree, I think her battle theme is one of the best Champion battle themes in the series. When I think of Alder, I think of his time spent in the story of BW, but when I think of Iris I think of the battle with her in B2W2.

Puns are great, aren't they? Was hoping someone would pick up on that. xDDD

 

[illumine]

You might wonder what this guy would think. A pleasant shade of grey much.

You might actually go with Iris out of these two, but they are very similar. They are both quite generic by this point. An 8th Gym Leader becoming the Champion seems more like a temporary thing, because it's mostly an attempt to adapt a role which allows for variable Pokvmon - they did try Lance in G/S/C, but that couldn't last long, as he was associated with one type, and only seemed to work because he often didn't train this type, and indeed Clair was also fairly vague about this - while skipping over the rest of the Elite 4, but you sort of wonder if they're not assuming few players here, as the player-character seemingly just vanishes constantly after beating the Elite 4 or around there. In that sense, Iris does have the issue of seemingly also being put over the player-character, or they couldn't seem to get over their initial role of guiding people to become a target, but Alder is a character with a gimmick that just constantly acts opposite to this gimmick, and as such you'd sort of have to say he comes off badly. In a sense, though, again, there isn't much of a difference there, but it has to be said that Iris is no Red.