Pokemon is a hugely successful series and is a global phenomenon. From the original Game Boy games, which featured pixel graphics in black and white, to the transition to 3D player characters and NPCs in more recent times, we’ve come to see increasingly realistic depictions of humans in the games. But with the popularity of Pokemon, it is notable that there are relatively few options for player-character customization.
This point was brought up lately in relation to the forthcoming Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. Earlier this week, a new trailer was shown that revealed more about the region players will be exploring, the new Terastal evolution mechanic, and the ridable legendaries. But it’s unclear how customizable character selection will be.
In the Pokemon subreddit, a user posted about the need for more skin tone options, a prescient point considering how many people all over the world play the games.
“It’s always been weird to me how limited the initial character selection is Pokemon games,” they wrote. “Especially when they have other NPCs with different skin tones than the ones available (Shauna, Kukui, Leon etc)”.
They said they usually choose the tan/brown skin option since this one most resembles their own skin tone. However, it still wasn’t “as accurate as it could be, especially since, like I said, there are other characters that have skin tones more similar to mine.”
They brought up another point too about how customization was gender limited. “Things like dresses, skirts, hairstyles, and some face/make up options are limited to only the girl character, the longest boy hairstyle is like the shortest girl hairstyle (which again, it’s weird since characters like Leon or Piers have long hair) .”
Over on the official Pokemon Scarlet & Violet website, there is information about what customization options players can expect. It mentions that your character’s eye shape, mouth shape, hairstyle, hair color, and eyebrows can all be altered, while school uniforms can also be customized. It does not, however, mention skin tones. From the looks of images, there will be at least four different skin tones on offer.
In the comments, many agreed with the OP. “They should just not tie clothing or hair options to gender. It’s 2022, let people wear what they want,” expressed JaxOnThat. Bulbamew said, “As with basically any form of media, the people who say they “don’t care” about representation options are the people who are already best represented and will never know what it’s like to not have it.”
Dethb0y suggestion a solution: “Should just be a color gradient like The Sims has so you can pick whatever color you want. It’s 2022, we’re not on the NES anymore.”