#pokemin

In order to keep my sanity, I refuse to think about Pokemon's protagonist problem. It's so bad.

Like, in gen 1-4 at least it's less apparent in my opinion, cuz the story is kind of simple really. It's to become champion and defeat the evil team + catch box legendary. Obv, there are interesting characters, but (from what I remember) their arcs aren't too impacted by the player character being a self insert.

I can't speak on other games, cuz I haven't had the time to play through gen 5-7

Gen 8 is so bad, it's genuinely... Just bad. And it could be good, if the player character was an actual character. What pissed me off bad was that at the start of the game we get introduced to Leon and Hop's like "oh, right you two haven't met yet".What??? Aren't Hop and player character childhood friends? How could they have never met Leon? Like, it's a small problem, and from gameplay standpoint I get it, but it genuinely made me fear for the rest of the story and stuff. And I was right.... Swsh the game you could have been if the player character wasn't a self insert.

Gen9 was good in the base game, because I think it kinda fell into gen 1-4 simplicity?? I don't know how to put it. Basically, story didn't need the player character to be something special. They were just a kid talented with Pokémon battling. Penny, Arven, Nemona (and the box legend a bit) were the heart of that story, and it worked without much involvement from player character. You said that White/black were good because the player wasn't really the main character, and it'd say it's kinda true here also( maybe I'm wrong, I haven't played gen5 yet). Your companions are main characters, you're just the hired muscle. Kinda. Idk if I'm explaining my vision correctly.

But the dlc really doesn't allow that kind of detachment. Kieran and Carmine connect with the player character, them as a person are important to the story. Kieran's character arc wouldn't have happened without the player character. And the story suffers for that, because the player character must stay a no-flavour self insert.

I think the formula works great for gens1-4! Admittedly I have less personal attachment to them because I started playing during gen5 (every time I remember what they did to the sinnoh girlies with those remakes tho I get so furious on your behalf), but for the earlier versions of the games when pokemon was really finding its footing I think it does wonderfully. It stopped working once they tried to split from the norm with BW1, and haven't been able to go back since.

Gen8 is so infuriating because it wasn't like XY, which was just kind of mediocore in an inoffensive way. Gen8 could have been good. I just wish they'd had the time. The protagonist having never met Leon seems like a bit much, but considering how Rose has been taking advantage of Leon's time and energy since he was ten, I could maybe see it. The little pieces we see of Leon and Hop's personal lives are really so interesting. It's just that they really wanted to do a theme of succession and passing it down to the next generation, and how exactly does the protagonist play into that? At all??? It really would have made more sense if they had known Leon. And also the protagonist has exactly zero affect on any of the rivals' or characters' developments in a way that, again, hasn't worked since gen4. Especially when it feels so cruel in the context of SwSh's story.

Oh, man, ScarVi specifically is like. Okay, I think where it works is that doing the gym challenge, taking down Team Star, and defeating the titans are all presented as choices the protagonist can choose to do at the beginning of the game. It gives the protagonist a bit of a false sense of agency. They have to actively decide to become the rival Nemona wants, help fix Penny's mistakes, and save Arven's dog in order to reach the end of the game. The protagonist may be a little bland, but they speak volumes through their actions, and their actions say that they're a kind person who wants to help people. I think this is most prevalent with the box legendary because you have to give your bike those sandwhiches, even if the player tries to say no. There is, of course, the Doylist perspective that you need these power-ups to get through the game. Still, from an enitrely in-universe lens, the protagonist wants to help their bike recover from whatever trauma left it in the state they found it in on that beach. If nothing else, that is completely undeniable.

In a way, the gen9 protagonist plays the same role to the box legendary that the BW1 ones do for N- as a vehicle for their development as like, the actual hidden main character. Except this time, the secret main character is a bike. Seriously, the climax of the story with the triumphant music is Koraidon/Miraidon finding its true strength via the power of friendship and defeating a dark figure from its past to protect its newfound companions. It's the one who actually saves Kieran from Terapagos.

Besides that, I think the most notable thing the gen9 player does is bring together and act as the glue of the arven/penny/nemona/bike friendship. Coming off the PLA protagonist, it's a bit toned down, and it is still a self-insert protagonist, but it's all there if you're looking.

AND THEN THEY THROW ALL OF THAT OUT THE WINDOW WITH THE DLCS. Why the fuck would the protagonist, from the brief glimpse of what we've seen of their true character, ever do any of that to Kieran. Like, obviously Kieran isn't an angel himself, but??? The most charitable read I can give it is as somebody who speaks better through actions, the protagonist didn't know how to properly communicate with Kieran and just did what they always do and helped Ogerpon. But then why would they make you actively lie to Kieran????????? They could have just had Carmine keep speaking over you like she does initially, but no, they make you click a dialogue box to lie to Kieran. How did they manage to assassinate the character of somebody who wasn't even a character. That's really why I always have Juliana as the main game protag and Florian as the DLC protag in my fan works. I don't know who Gamefreak thought they were fooling, but that is not the same guy.

Pokemon day! Silvally is best pokemon!