Random: Fans Are Not Impressed With The Pokemon Scarlet/Violet Main Trainer Designs
Last week, The Pokemon Company revealed Pokemon Scarlet And Violet, the newest entries into the Pokemon series, which included shots of gameplay, the starters, and the new designs for the main character trainers.
Although the starter Pokemon have been met with a lot of positive reception, the same cannot quite be said for the new main character trainers. Over on social media, fans have been criticizing the designs for being “ugly” and “overly realistic”, with Japanese fans in particular describing them as “doll-like” or comparing them to emojis.
主人公の顔、海外の人も嫌がってる時点でダメだろ #PokemonDay pic.twitter.com/DYnUqYCnte
— 窓ぎわのタイソン◆7XyW/iFZek (@aa31291071) February 27, 2022
主人公の顔。海外向けにしてるのにあっちにもそっぽ向かれたらもうおしまいだろ。まじで考え直してくれゲーフリ #PokemonDay pic.twitter.com/r5sr4LNq3W
— 窓ぎわのタイソン◆7XyW/iFZek (@aa31291071) February 27, 2022
https://twitter.com/SUREI_FN/status/1497976430239817728
this protagonist is the biggest dweeb of all time more like pokemon get shoved in a locker version pic.twitter.com/CKF9IIsuaw
— Patterrz (@Patterrz) February 27, 2022
According to some posts highlighted by Japanese site Hachima Kikou and Kotaku, the reason fans may be uncomfortable could be due to the eyes of the new characters. In a side by side comparison with official art of past trainers, the eyes for the new trainers are much more rounded, which could be unconsciously making longtime fans a bit uncomfortable.
ポケモン主人公の顔なんか違和感あるなって思ったら、歴代と違って目が丸っこいからだ。 pic.twitter.com/VYgYJ5xibC
— 虚無ボーイ𓀫 (@unknown_robin4) February 27, 2022
Other fans are more critical of the choice of clothing, which are not only literally more uniform compared to past main character trainer duos, but also come across as a lot more plain. Some fan-artists have even tried their hand at coming up with their own interpretations of the look, attempting to breathe more life into them while keeping with the general theme.
gen9 protag redesign 🍎🍇 pic.twitter.com/LP1KkTIoTq
— Shio 🍰 (@reversiblekiss) March 1, 2022
My spin on the new Pokemon ScarletViolet trainer. 🎀 pic.twitter.com/CW3XUbutep
— 。:゚(。ﹷ ‸ ﹷ ✿)🌷🎨 (@camiinoa) February 27, 2022
new pokemon protag edit pic.twitter.com/JoMFSsryK4
— THE NOODLE (@onebadnoodle_) February 28, 2022
Although players will likely be able to customize their trainer like in past games, people are nonetheless not too hot about these designs being the default look in official media. Only time will tell whether players will eventually warm up to these designs moving forward.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.