So why is no one talking about Pokemon GO? It's going to be awesome assuming it keeps the micro transactions tolerable.

Because I am an inside child.

def excited about this

what regional pokemon will you all get in your area?
mine will be mostly swamp pokemon

Sorry if this comes out of the blue but -- Does anyone think Pokémon can be a little...sexist?

Nope I like seeing hot female trainers

How so? Because it pretty much generalizes everyone into stereotypes.

Ah. No, you're right, that is what they do. They've never been actually sexist, they're just really bad at being gender equal. They play to stereotypes.

And don't get me wrong. There are a TON of don't-need-no-man characters in the games. Seriously. They're really good about that. It's just that they are also simultaneously not so good at it. :p For every female character that defiantly subverts gender roles, of which there are plenty, there are like four that are questionable.

I mean I can't help but notice that Nidoqueen and Latias have the exact same stats as their male counterpart, but with less attack and more defense. And why is that, hmmm? Because ladies are more nurturing? Well, whatever. It's not that big of a deal. But then there's the fact that most Pokémon LOOK male. Blissey and Audino are stereotypes, Lopunny exists, and there's no denying that Flannery and Malva (Malva is like my favorite character in Pokémon by the way,) are supposed to be a pun on "hot girls".

It might just be due to fanservice than anything. (Have you read some of the dialogue in these games? Gamefreak has the occasional Rare-style humor, surprisingly.) And I get that most of the designers etc. are male, but it's just something to think about. They posses both bias and forward-thinking in equal measure.

I've honestly never thought of Pokemon as being sexist. I don't really see it. Maybe I'm just a dummy ;p

Well I've just been to see if anyone else was saying anything about this. I'll quote some other dude.

"The series definitely has some sexist, narrow-minded overtones in how the characters of each gender have certain 'characteristics.' Little boy trainers like bug Pokemon; little girl trainers like cute Pokemon. Male trainers have notably 'cool' Pokemon like Gyarados. Female trainers have feminine ones like Jynx. Almost every male trainer in both the games and the anime has male Pokemon; almost every female trainer has female Pokemon. It's almost like Gamefreak and the anime writers think a trainer using a Pokemon of the opposite gender is a hideous thing; Ash's Bayleef and Aipom (and, again, Aipom eventually got shoved into Dawn's party, and Bayleef stopped showing up after the show left the Johto region) are just about the only explicit exceptions to this unwritten rule.

"Additionally, female trainers are associated with the Normal type (because Normal Pokemon are cute) and the Grass type (because girls like flowers); I think Grass Pokemon have been paired with female characters in almost every major game. The Celadon Gym was 100% women; so was the Eterna Gym. Rosie from PBR was modeled after, and used, Grass Pokemon. Even in the TCG Game Boy game, the Grass Club was all women. Similarly, Bug Pokemon (because girls find bugs 'gross') and Fire Pokemon (because little boys think fire and explosions are 'cool'; not to mention that fire beats plants in general) are associated with male trainers, with almost every major Fire trainer being male (Flannery is the only exception) and the Fire Club in TCGGB being an all-boy's club.

"Pokemon is definitely NOT an explicitly sexist series; indeed, the creators did make sure to include many female characters for both humans and Pokemon alike. However, reading a lot of the things I just posted, it does make you wonder if there's an implicit sexism in the series. That's not entirely impossible: Pokemon is 'targeted' for the fabled 6-12 male demographic in both Japan and in the United States, kind of like the Power Rangers franchise. However, I find this a very interesting topic because, as an American male who was part of both series' target demographic during their respective fad stages, I always found myself not gravitating toward the stereotypically 'male' bits (like using 'cool' Pokemon or liking the male leader of the Power Rangers) but instead toward the more 'girly' parts like the cute Pokemon and the female Power Rangers. "

qwerty go outside

I will stress again that there's a lot of forward-thinking in Pokémon -- Levanny's all nurturing and stuff for example, and Burgh is kinda implied-gay, so good for them -- but it's just really weird how much of a double-edged-sword they are about it.

Absolutely not. (Insert Pokémon Go joke.)

Y'know what, I forgot it's Japanese. Clearly this explains all. Discussion over.

Haha, Pokemon's target demographic is 6-12 years old, I think in terms of boys using male and girls using female Pokemon, it's easiest to understand for a younger mind.

That, and there are so many trainers who don't adhere to that little rule.

Also, about the girls using cute and guys using cool Pokemon thing, that reminded me of the biker with a Cleffa. But it also reminded me that the NPCs are still stereotypes and they're using Pokemon they'd be using to fit the stereotypes, which isn't always indicative of a Pokemon someone would like either.

I mean just like at B2/W2 when all the punk rockers in the beginning of the game used Poison type Pokemon like Koffing. That's because it fit the appearance and stereotype of them.

Just my opinion though, and I'm tired so I can't really fully flesh it out

Pokémon is the one game series where a male character can take a ferris ride with an equally male hiker who very clearly has affections for him and may or may not be doing sexual things during.

It pokémon stereotyping, heck yes. Do I care? Nope :)

Fair enough. I shouldn't have started this topic whilst half-asleep.

I guess the results can be sexist, but really all they're doing is stereotyping because of appearance. And I'm fine with that because there are a whole lot of trainers and I can't reasonably expect the devs to come up with a unique team for every single NPC based on personality (although, thinking about it, what if Trainers also had stats, which influenced what kind of team they raised?). I wish their main characters were a little more fleshed out in general, and I wish there was a more gender-neutral option, but I can't say it's ever felt too sexist to me. Like Brian said, there are a good amount of trainers who subvert gendered tropes too.

I personally love that you can have a trainer for every profession and pokemon to match

I really hate that people use the same damn pokemon online and in tournaments cause there really is enough to fit everyones personallity

I dislike competitive pokémon playing for that reason.

I'd much prefer it if people just made teams of pokémon they themselves really liked, not because of Stats or IVs or natures, but just because they think it's a cool and good pokémon.

thank you yes! the idea of pokemon is fantastic but it's ruined by the competitive scene

I occasionally play competitive when it isn't that...well, competitive, -- because it's fun. But I insist on only using Pokémon that I like and want to play with.

It doesn't work.

My point of view on the Pokemon series is that it has evolved so much that I'm sure it's dying down outside of Japan because it is seen as a game for children (which we all know is not true, a lot of adults enjoy it). The last game I played was Y and I found it overwhelming. I prefer the simplistic Pokemon games from Generation 4 and back because it's not overly complicated and they really were well done. Even though the 3D effect is awesome, clothing, roller-skates and the fact that there is Internet connectivity on the Generation 6, I just couldn't relate to the game as much as I could with the others. I'd go back and play it just to fill the Pokedex and maybe see if it has aged well a few years down the track, but I don't think I'd want to restart it and play it again in a hurry. I just prefer the simplistic acts of going to different towns, battling trainers, learning about the story and grinding etc.

But don't get me wrong, I love Pokemon in general and the games won't put me off the series unless they are colossally shit, which probably won't happen. The movies and anime are great and I love the toys that are released for Pokemon.

I still have a soft spot for the movies love seeing the legandaries duking it out and the battles are still ****ing cool

..hehe

I didn't even pick that up haha

I think the problem doesn't necessarily lie with that it's a game for kids, it's that the people who were kids in the early generation now simply aren't the target audience anymore. It's really only a very natural thing to slowly grow out of it as you yourself are growing up. Which is not to say it can't be fun anymore, it just won't be as magical as it was when you were a kid which is something you'll never be able to get back again other that through nostalgia.

I agree and I think at some point in a decade or two that it'll just die down because newer and more appealing fads will replace it. It'll be a sad day for diehard fans like us but everything takes its course.

Y was terrible it's the only pokemon game I could delete with out any emotional restraint

That would be Diamond/Pearl for me.

Y was friggin amazing.

I actually found a team I was happy with in Black

Each game has a different impact on the player depending on if it's your first or most recent in my opinion. As it's so late in the series (at the moment), most people have played a game before Black & White. So it comes naturally for them to choose Pokemon who can counter the different types and have a certain set of moves, rather than going in blindly on R/B, G/S/C, R/S/E etc. where you have no knowledge about the game and it's more exciting. You learn by making the right and wrong choices rather than just the correct ones in the newer games.

It's a lot more fun when you have no idea what's going to happen than knowing that after you complete all 8 gyms, you have to fight against the greatest Pokemon trainers in that region.

very true
My first real adventure was crystal just me and my meganium Vs the entire team rocket..man..you don't get that with the newer games

Yeah I played Sapphire and Gold first and I remember on sapphire when I found the Team Aqua base after many hours and that was an achievement haha. I also remember on Gold when I finally made my way through the Ilex Forest after hours and it was an amazing feeling as a kid

I actually played blue first but I had to share it with my brother..and that's no way to play/experience a pokemon game

Mine deleted my sapphire save file when I was on the walkway to Steven

ouch!

Exactly my feelings. An arrow to the heart :(

actually I kinda did this with Black and White.

Upon the games upcoming release, knowing it would have only original pokémon in it, I gave myself a news embargo that held up surprisingly well. I went into playing White without knowing just about anything about the games and it made playing it SO GOOD.

I think a big part of why new Pokémon games are less awesome is because everything and their Pokémothers are leaked about the games before they release (in the west), so the games become more about looking for the things you already know than discovery and wonder. This to me is why Black/White will always hold a really high spot on my list of favourite Pokémon games because I had that sense of discovery once more that I hadn't really felt since the original games came out.

Silver was my first main series Pokemon game, and I'll never be able to forget the way it made me feel. Playing it and even just listening to the music floods me with emotions every time. I think I played Hey You, Pikachu! around the same time, but Silver and Crystal are my most vivid Pokemon memories. It was also the first cartoon I remember watching. Pokemon opened up the world to me and sparked my imagination like nothing has since. I'll probably unashamedly eat up the games until I die, because I can still feel that magic. Pokemon Go is something I've dreamed of since I was a baby.

Idk exactly where this post was going but god damn I love Pokemon.

@ Smouvy I bought Black a year or two ago and haven't had time to play it yet. I probably will over the next few months but I played White on an r4 (naughty) so I know quite a few of the Pokemon and other things but I'll make sure I enjoy it because I didn't finish it the first time.

@ Jubilee They've affected us so much that we'll never forget the simple lessons they taught us. I love video game music and every time I listen to a song from Pokemon, I lay back and reminisce about all the good times back in the day :P

I love Puzzle League but I have a feeling I'm not quite on your level

if you really listen to Diamond and Pearl music the town themes kind of sound like it's a brodway performance or at the very least a play