AlthoughPokemon Scarlet and Violetwere not received positively at launch due to performance issues that are still present, there is a lot to Gen 9 that breaks the mold compared to older entries in the series.Pokemon BlackandWhitewere the first to feature a more mature story that wasn’t about a child’s journey to catch them all, but rather they featured a teenager approaching their young adult years as a protagonist, one that this time didn’t want to be perceived as a kid. Two out of the three main storylines in the game are more about social and personal issues that characters likePokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Pennyand Arven are going through, all while still offering those familiar coming-of-age themes that young players can relate to.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Starfall Street pathis all about bullying, with Team Star initially appearing as villains, but later being revealed as a group of academy misfits that were only trying to metaphorically punch the bullies back. Team Star leaders, alongside Penny herself, all make a point about the rippling effects of bullying on their self-esteem, their social status, their studies, and much more. And yet, in the face of a more intimate story,Pokemon Scarlet and Violetmanage to send contrasting messages about bullying by featuring inappropriate lines from some trainers in the overworld.
RELATED:Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Remove Long-Standing Female Empowerment Feature for No Reason
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Representation of Body Types, Queer Characters, and Bullying
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s customizationis one step forward and two steps back, with players being able to choose from many more options than ever before, but also being limited in terms of clothing due to the school uniform. Still, Gen 9 makes an effort to introduce multiple body types in the game that, while inaccessible to players, make NPCs more believable than just the same ten or so recycled models from past games. This is a good change, but it’s not always done right.
For instance, one of these body types is that of a male overweight figure, which is found as trainers throughout Paldea. Most of the time, these trainers make self-deprecation jokes or are given big Pokemon that would be considered “fat,” such asPokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Oinkologne, which is a pig, and thus associated with overeating habits in common imagery. In fact, one of these trainers has a team of only Oinkologne, which seems to be a conflicting message about bullying as intended during the Operation Starfall storyline inPokemon Scarlet and Violet, where the phenomenon is always associated with the targets being minorities and out of the ordinary.
Another of these trainers is found on Glaseado Mountain, where the weather is typically snowy. This specific trainer is wearing the academy’s winter uniform but goes on to state he hoped his “layer of fat” would have kept him warm after players manage to beat him. There is a fine line between self-deprecating jokes and bullying a certain body type, and in a game likePokemon Scarlet and Violet, where the story finds its way to an adult audience and not just kids, this kind of comment shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
As such,Pokemon Scarlet and Violetdo condemn bullying on a superficial level when it comes to Team Star, but then don’t show restraint toward characters with body types that don’t necessarily meet the beauty standards imposed by the same people that would marginalize Team Star leaders. Although bullying gets some much-needed and unexpected representation in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Gen 9 games could have done much better to make it a wholly positive experience. Then again,Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s LGBTQIA+ representationfeels a bit forced at times, and a character like Rika (who is seemingly presenting as nonbinary) is introduced to players as an “eccentric type,” showing thatPokemongames have yet a long way to go.
PokemonScarlet and Violetare available now on Nintendo Switch.
MORE:Pokemon Scarlet and Violet New Pokemon Tier List
