Top 10 Female Characters from the Pokémon Games
As it is Women’s History Month, I thought I would do a showcase on some of the most impressive female characters within the Pokémon games and write about their stories and the unique ways by which they are told. Whether it is Champions like Cynthia, Gym Leaders like Sabrina or even the baddies like Oleana, these NPCs have been presented over the course of the series 20+ years in diverse and varied ways. Since I have yet to fully play Scarlet and Violet, they had to be excluded from this list but still, there is already more than enough praise that I can sing so hang on tight and get ready to dive into Pokémon’s Women’s History with me.
10. Sabrina
Psychic was without question one of the strongest typings within the series’ first generation of games so Sabrina already has a reputation for being a tough boss to beat as its Gym Leader. But aside from being powerful, she also has an illustrious backstory. Not only does she have psychic powers such that she can communicate with her Pokémon telepathically, she had also beat the other Gym in her home city into submission such that they were no longer recognised as an official gym. In Gold, Silver and Crystal, it was further revealed that she can see the future. As if that isn’t already impressive enough, there’s still so much more to The Master of Psychic Pokémon. When every Gym Leader up till then is brought back for Black 2 and White 2’s Pokémon World Tournament, Sabrina outdoes everybody by appearing in an exclusive, downloadable tournament where she is paired with Mew Two, and on top of that, she can also be found in the Pokéstar Studios as well! This is truly amazing as even though we have yet another character who is said to be a famous and renowned actress, there is no similar side game that she appears in. So tell me, is there anything that Sabrina can’t do?
9. Oleana
There honestly isn’t much bout Oleana in terms of Sword and Shield’s script. She’s Chairman Rose’s secretary and she mostly does what is usually expected of someone in that role though it is clear that she has questionable morals. What makes her story so interesting however is the way that it is told, being her beautifully put together team. With Froslass, Tsareena, Salazzle and Milotic, there is a strong theme running through her collection but having her team conclude with a Gigantamax Garbodor reveals everything we need to know about her character. From that point of view, seeing it all unfold at the top of Rose Tower was honestly one of the most satisfying battles within the series’ history.
8. Whitney
For further proof of how effective an NPC’s team is for building character, one has to look no further than Whitney. Often regarded as the first real challenge in Gold, Silver and Crystal thanks to her Miltank’s incredible moveset, Whitney totally reinvented how the Normal type is perceived while keeping things cute. Aside from putting up a notoriously difficult battle, Whitney also has many iconic moments. Not only is she not there when you finish her Clefairy-shaped gym puzzle in HeartGold and SoulSilver, she also refuses to give you the Plain Badge when you find and beat her so she’s pretty much a girl that plays by her own rules.
Beyond this, I am also very curious about how she would be affected by the introduction of the Fairy type. Since her gym’s mascot is no longer her representative type, I often wonder how her gym and her team would change if they were to revisit Johto. Jigglypuff would be an easy swap but I’d love to see her with a shiny Aipom too, since it would definitely fit in with her trademark pink aesthetics.
7. Klara
On the topic of pink, Klara is yet another extra memorable character who is as cute as she is tough. Her impact was evident from the moment she was revealed as the fandom speculated wildly over her hair bow and whether it is a hint towards a Galarian Dustox. While that did not happen, this queen of mischief is still in my opinion, one of the best written rival ever as she delivers some of the funniest lines while executing a series of rather naughty pranks. My personal favourite is the hilarious quest that ensues as she got her Dojo Uniform stolen by fast Galarian Slowpokes.
Aside from her devilish presence within the Isle of Amor, her normal League Card also tells a comical tale about how she turned towards being a Gym Leader after selling only 8 copies of her debut album. But the story goes beyond words as well! Notice the hilariously warped Slowbro? Maybe her stint as an underground pop idol didn’t quite work out because she also has the power to bend space and time and the people just aren’t into that. What makes this even better is the way it contrasts from her Rare League Card where she is shown to be working out secretly with her Galarian Slowbro to show her growth as a character. With the Pokéworld’s own equivalent to a Love Island contestant becoming a minor division Poison Gym Leader by the time of the Galarian Star Tournament, Klara really is a character that had developed beautifully within a short amount of time.
6. Professor Burnet
More commonly known as Professor Kukui’s wife in Sun and Moon and a researcher in her own right, Professor Burnet is extra special because she actually has a much longer history with the series. While Sun and Moon may be the first mainline games, she actually made her debut in Pokémon Dream Radar which is a companion to Black 2 and White 2. So before becoming a scholar of Ultra Wormholes, she was also a researcher of dreams. The link between the two as other dimensions that Pokémon can appear in is regrettably not further explored within the series but still, it is amazing to see a character grow over the course of the series. Personally, I feel like it is a missed opportunity to not have her re-appear alongside the Ultra Beasts in The Crown Tundra (and maybe explore some sort of connection with Peony). On top of that, I feel like she should also have some sort of relationship with Darkrai and Cresselia too. Well, time for me to bust out some fan-fiction!
5. Fantina
Fantina is both a Gym Leader and a Coordinator in the Diamond and Pearl games but what makes her extra special is the way her character plays with language. She is distinctively coded as foreign, evident through the broken Japanese she speaks in the original, but where exactly is she from? In the English games, her speech is peppered with French but the French version of the games have her speak with bits of English instead. Having read Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea, I always got the sense that Fantina is Creole, such that even though her genealogy may be European, she was raised within the colonies such that she speaks a blend of languages. This would explain her mysterious background, especially since she doesn’t have a presence in Kalos at all despite how prominent she is as a character in Sinnoh.
Words aside, Fantina is also interesting for the way she plays with structure. In Diamond and Pearl, you see her gym but you cannot challenge her though in Platinum, you may chose to battle her much earlier with a slightly more manageable team albeit without her ace Drifblim which her dress takes inspiration from.
4. Cynthia
As the first female Champion, she undeniably has a massive presence within the games and across the series. Not only does she offer help to the player all through Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, she also appears in the Unova and Alola games as well! Most impressive of all however is her cameo in HeartGold and SoulSilver as part of a special campaign involving Arceus.
On top of that, she has an incredible team with the most diverse typing of any Champion that just so happens to build nicely on her profession as an archeologist as well. So despite all that, why is she only at number four? Well, the Pokéworld does have lots of very interesting female characters other then the most powerful trainer in game! Don’t get me wrong, Cynthia is pretty impressive but I often feel like more could be done with her aside from being the most powerful trainer in game. She is said to come from a secret region but we never got any indication of where that might be. I was personally hoping that we would get something about her in Galar, maybe if the universities were recreated in the Pokéworld to reflect her scholarly status but that never happened. They did give her an ancestor in Legends: Arceus’s Volo but well, we’re trying to talk about Cynthia here.
3. Lusamine
Pokémon Villains had always been mostly meh to me but as the first women to take on that role, Lusamine absolutely hits all the right notes. Not only is she very clever for having a decoy team do all the dirty work for her, she is also incredibly nuanced as a character. She actually has strong, compelling reasons for embarking upon her evil schemes! After all, she is just a misguided mother who is struggling with the new role she has to take on after losing the love of her life to strange, unknown circumstances.
What makes her mind-blowingly awesome however is what she does at the game’s climax. SHE FUSES WITH AN ULTRA BEAST! With her speech about how she doesn’t care if things aren’t beautiful, regardless of if they’re her daughter or a rare Pokémon, she truly invites us to think about what it means to be a trainer but also as a person altogether. So all things considered, this is without doubt, the most satisfying boss battle ever.
2. Emma
Now she is a largely obscure character but I fell absolutely in love with her because her side quest (X & Y’s Looker Bureau post game) was what made me realise how powerful and emotive Pokémon’s story can actually be. It’s impossible to talk about her without going too much into spoilers (she starts out as an illiterate orphan, becomes Looker’s assistant and subsequently gets mind-controlled), but I was on tenterhooks throughout and absolutely bawling by the end of everything. One thing I was hoping for with an X & Y third version or remake is for her storyline to be more deeply into the main campaign so that her character wouldn’t get sidelined. While that doesn’t seem likely, one can only hope or produce more fan-fiction for myself so we all know what I’m going to be doing after this.
1. Caitlin
If it isn’t clear that I have a soft spot for characters that develop across games and those that have a penchant towards a pink palette, then let me outright say that yes, those are two massive plusses for me. So who else could be number one but Caitlin? It’s easy to miss her first appearance in the series as she is the head of the Battle Castle in Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver’s post-game Battle Frontier but if you do come across her, she has one heck of a presence. Said to be the most important person there, she is essentially its princess. Not only does she not battle, she has a butler, Darach, that fights on her behalf. Given that he wields the legendary beast Entei, Darach’s strength hints at how formidable she truly is as a trainer.
That aside, Caitlin is more commonly known by her appearance in Black and White as a member of Unova’s Elite Four. What I love about her presence in Unova is that her lore adds further details into her past such that it invites us to revisit the earlier games. Like Sabrina, she is also revealed to have psychic powers. In fact, she is said to cause significant damage if she ever lost a battle. This likely explains why Darach fought in her place in the Battle Castle but still, her growth and maturity is evident as she had traveled to Unova alone in order to develop her skills further. Similar to this list, Caitlin also loves gathering strong female characters together. The villa that Cynthia can be found at in Black and White? It actually belongs to Caitlin. Sinnoh’s Champion aside, other female Gym Leaders and Elite Four members also appear therein. If anyone in the Pokémon world is all about Girl Power, it definitely has to be her.
Bonus
So there we have it, ten of the most fascinating female characters within the Pokémon world to me though I’m sure that there’s definitely a lot more that we can talk about. While I can’t possibly list them all, I do feel like I must make a special shout out to Beauty Nova from X & Y who was, surprise surprise, just a Black Belt a mere half year ago. Black Belts are a character class that is male only so this is a truly special moment. At Nic and His Anti Hegemonic Thoughts, trans women are without a doubt, women too so she definitely would have made the list, if only there was a bit more to talk about. Perhaps she could come back as a Gym Leader or any other kind of NPC in a future game? Maybe she could get Iron Valiant as her ace?
