Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have had a bit of a mixed reception among both fans and critics. Some have praised the new Pokemon designs and the sheer breadth of the games' open worlds, while others have pointed out its unfortunate performance issues and frequent lack of level scaling. One issue players have noticed is the game's approach to character creation and the gendering of player characters. While some steps have been taken to decouple gender and character, the game's heavy use of gendered language - especially when other characters address the player - can still make playing Pokemon Scarlet and Violet a frustratingly binary experience.
Before release, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet revealed that character customization would involve players simply choosing a "look" for their character, rather than designating their character as male or female. In addition, some cosmetics, including certain types of makeup, are no longer locked to female-appearing characters - which many saw as a step in the right direction. There are also a greater variety of hair lengths available, and all players wear a gender-neutral school uniform. However, these positive steps make it even more frustrating that the game has doubled down on addressing the character in a gendered manner.
Clavell and the Teachers are Frustratingly Old-Fashioned
The player character of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is a student at either Naranja or Uva Academy, which is led by an elderly man named Headmaster Clavell. Clavell is consistently portrayed as a somewhat stuffy, old-fashioned character, even referencing "the good old days" when Trainers had to write their Pokedex by hand instead of storing data on their Rotom Phones. Because Clavell is portrayed so old-fashioned, the fact that he talks rather formally is generally understandable. However, one aspect of his formal speech feels unnecessary: his constant, insistent referring to the player as "Master" or "Miss" rather than simply their name.
Clavell is the character who does this most frequently, but most of the other Academy teachers and even some Pokemon Center staff also use the "Master" or "Miss" wording. Given how much time is spent at school, a player is constantly reminded that their character is assigned a gender regardless of what the player themselves may want.
This feels like a step backward for the Pokemon games. If the developer wanted Clavell to refer to the player by a title, there are many non-gendered options available, such as "Trainer," "Student," or even "Young One." This is especially frustrating as previous games have had most characters, even adults in positions of authority such as Gym Leaders or Pokemon Professors, refer to the player character simply as "Trainer" or by their chosen name. One of the few characters in Scarlet and Violet to regularly eschew gendered language with the player is Arven, the focal character of the "Path of Legends" storyline, who refers to the player as his "little buddy" regardless of gender.
Pokemon Customization Steps Forward, Language Steps Back
The insistent use of gendered language towards the player frustratingly contrasts with the game's character creation system and the appearance of other characters in the game, many of which move away from adhering to a strict gender binary. All players, regardless of gender, wear the same school uniform and can access many of the same accessories in stores scattered throughout Paldea. Prior to the games' release, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet received praise from the LGBTQ+ community for the removal of the Professor's traditional "Are you a boy or a girl?" question at the beginning of the game, as well as the greater variety of hairstyles and the ability for any player character to wear makeup or have long eyelashes. With the developer clearly aware of the need to move away from heavily gendered player characters, doubling down on the use of such archaic gendered titles as "Master" and "Miss" feels like a step back.
While no non-player characters in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are explicitly nonbinary, transgender, genderfluid, or openly express LGBTQ+ identities, the game's overall character design choices do heavily favor gender-ambiguous and nonconforming designs. Geeta, the game's Champion, wears a classy suit, and many of the other Gym leaders and Elite Four members follow her lead and favor practical pants and suits over dresses. Rika of the Elite Four and Grusha the Ice-type Gym leader gained particular popularity among LGBTQ+ Pokemon fans for their androgynous designs - in particular, the male-identified Grusha openly wears makeup. Also popular is Scarlet and Violet's take on the Hiker class of Pokemon trainers. Paldea's Hikers are muscular men who flaunt their looks in tight tank tops and short shorts and sport an attractive combo of long, flowing hair and dashing five-o-clock shadows, creating an overall look that greatly appeals to queer fans of the game.
How Does Scarlet and Violet's Treatment of Gender Match Up?
Ultimately, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's approach to gender feels like "one step forward, one step back." Its more open character creation and customization system is well-liked, and seen as a continuation of the trend started in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Pokemon Legends Arceus of making the majority of clothing options and accessories available to all players. However, some non-cis players find the use of "Miss" and "Master" triggering and experience gender dysphoria while playing the game. Hopefully, a future update to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet introduces the option to disable the use of gendered titles or have Clavell and the teachers switch to a more non-binary, friendly option like "Trainer." While some could argue that the old-fashioned Clavell's way of speaking fits the games' "past vs. future" themes, it does so at the cost of player comfort and safety.
Gendered character creation is still a major issue in gaming, and it is at least a positive step that Pokemon is willing to address it at all. However, it can feel frustrating to players when they are able to openly express queer identities in some games while remaining limited in others. In particular, the Square Enix farming sim / RPG hybrid Harvestella, which released only a few weeks before Scarlet and Violet, allows for the creation of explicitly non-binary characters who are referred to by "they/them" pronouns in-game. Fans remain hopeful that a similar non-binary option and the option to select character pronouns beyond "he" and "she" may appear in future Pokemon titles, but are disappointed that Scarlet and Violet did not choose to include this option.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are currently available for the Nintendo Switch.
