Why do queer people love Pokémon?

[@whimsiclaw]

I think part of it is also that even in the early generation games pokemon introduced kids to gender-nonconformity. For example, Bugsy: many kids learned was a boy after thinking he was a girl. In gen 5, N was specifically designed to be a sort of bishounen, androgynous man. Tate and Liza look nearly identical despite being different genders. Also some gym leaders like Fantina and Elesa really have a campy look to their designs. Even though Pokemon's protagonists fit into more rigid binaries, the characters you meet often play with gender and loud expression in a way that can easily be read as queer. There's also the tale as old as time of "I'm gonna pick the other gender because I like their design," and many kids' first experiences with same-gender attraction was to pokemon characters. For example, when I was 13 and still learning about myself, I was playing Sun. I saw Lillie's interactions with my protagonist and immediately started reading it as gay. This is not only because of her lines and actions that could be read as flirting, but also the fact that she was this girl who was dictated on how she was supposed to dress and act. She hid a big secret from everyone other than the protagonist (Nebby), and her mother was not accepting of her. She was on the run and you were at her side every step of the way. While I've had a relatively kind queer journey in one of the most queer-accepting states in the US, she still felt relatable to me somehow. A year after I played Pokemon Sun, I came out as a lesbian.

[@TheDancingMudkip]

How did your parents take it?

[@stwbmc98]

I remember feeling very similarly about the fireworks scene with Shauna in X & Y. Learning that that scene plays out almost exactly the same way with the girl trainer (albeit with a less explicitly romantic connotation) definitely stirred something in me

[@tristanalain9239]

​@@stwbmc98I won't lie, still find it hilarious they give that scene, and then the Butler LITTERALLY hands you Protect(ion). As for Lillie, yeah I definitely agree. And honestly, Selene (female protagonist)x Lililie is probably my favorite ship in the series because of how they write the relationship in game, and how natural and wholesome it feels. And just cute.

[@whimsiclaw]

@@TheDancingMudkip My dad took it well, but my mom said I was too young to be gay and that when I so much as bought a pride thing I was "shoving it in her face." Luckily over the years she turned around and became more accepting.

[@BookWyrmOnAString]

How could you forget Wallace

[@featherglacier6822]

Shout out to the mystery dungeon games that ask what gender you want to play as (not what gender you are) that literally only affects anything if you’re a pokemon with a gender difference (like Eevee with its tail)

[@CristataArt]

Not quite. In the earlier titles some of the player Pokémon options were gender locked, even if the actual species isn't a single gender. More specifically... In the original Red and Blue rescue team games; Chikorita, Skitty, and Eevee cannot be chosen if the player character is a boy. ...even though Chikorita and Eevee are both way more likely to be male, and Skitty has a 25% chance to be male. And in Time, Darkness, and Sky; Vulpix, Eevee, and Skitty are only available if the player chooses to be a girl, while Shinx, Phanpy, and Riolu are only available if the player character is a boy. ...But both Phanpy and Shinx have a 50/50 gender split, and none of them are a single gender species.

[@crobatoverlord7378]

@@CristataArt that's not entirely true. In PMD time/Darkness, all starters can be ether gender, but they had to make some space in the starter roster to include the new options in Sky, as they kept the questions and personalities the same. That's why Meowth and Munchlax are Partner only there and Skitty became female only.

[@axolotl8533]

When eevee evolved into sylveon every queer came fr fr

[@CosmicCake07]

I mean... Yeah The XY anime got me into pokemon when i was a kid and i loved serena and sylveon lol

[@axolotl8533]

@@CosmicCake07 same, serena made me realize I was trans because I wanted to be her, not with her, I wanted to be with Ash even if he's a complete dork and sometimes asshole

[@SunaStarr]

This was literally me as kid 😭😭

[@asadplatypus3940]

@@axolotl8533 damn same but mine was misty and then iris

[@barreiraxe8217]

When Eevee evolved into Sylveon, we evolved into a new form too :D

[@VCV95]

In my opinion, Pokemon is our era's collective diversity. Look at the insane research into things for single pokemon, and they are always respectful and responsible with pretty much all representation. Pokemon is for everyone, and lately especially, is made by everyone. Look into fan games, regions, fakemon, and even the myriad of ways to play official games made by the community. It's a nice reminder that community and collaboration helps us all.

[@madnessarcade7447]

Although I do think fan games should be their own ip I agree with the rest

[@SweetTaleTeller]

As an Autistic Person, I kind of read Autism from Nemona because her obsession with battle kind of reflects my obsessions with story writing and Pokémon. She is my favorite Rival because if I did live In Paldea I genuinely think I would battle with her endlessly. My team definitely wouldn't be as strong though LOL the games turn us into unstoppable forces of nature.

[@BJGvideos]

Nemona is totally autistic.

[@user-xl1ix8tj9q]

Jessie and James is a friendship between a dom lesbian and a submissive gay man and meowth is the supportive straight friend.

[@0ctoSquid-rh2ed]

LITERALLY!!

[@rafaelandradesantos7883]

that’s right

[@novapulses]

@@rafaelandradesantos7883meow that’s right 😭😭

[@sashaanne703]

Cute that you think Meowth is straight.

[@blackheart2728]

Genuinely think James was genderfluid or at least gender nonconforming

[@raymaikeru]

It was Lillie that practically made me the way I am. I was just entering my teens when I played Pokémon Sun, and looking back now as a man hitting the 20's, I have Lillie to thank for. She made me learn that you don't need to be living under the expectations your parents set up. You can live to be your own you. My mom was one of those Asian moms who expects nothing but straight As, and while I know she was just looking out for me and my siblings hoping we succeed in life, we won't lie when we told each other how pressuring it is to be straight A students 24/7. Lillie was the one who woke me up it, and I practically became Gladion with my mom during COVID when circumstances made it harder for us to succeed. When Lillie started to talk about her feelings towards the player, I felt like I fell in love with her. So she became that character of "you changed my life, I am literally a fictional character." Then when I was around 17, I noticed people shipped Selene with Lillie more than Elio and Lillie. Was curious to know why, so I looked up dialogue for Lillie when the player is Selene, and sure enough she has the same romantic gestures toward Selene as she does with Elio. While I personally don't actively ship Selene and Lillie, even though I think Pokemon Company well agrees with the ship (GOTCHA), I can say for sure if someone were to ask me Lillie's romantic preference, I'd say "she definitely ain't straight." And then 19 hit...... look who found out they were bi.

[@EnigmaticGentleman]

Don't forget the scene with Lillie and Olivia, like they were very much implying Lillie wasn't straight there the camera hangs way too long for that not to be the case.

[@lunalunaluna666]

as a transfemme getting to play as the girl trainer was a really emotional experience as a child before i had other ways to express my femininity openly. i swear i damn near cried every time i started a new game

[@MooneyBabbler]

I remember in like 3rd or 4th grade I asked my friend why he always chose the male character in Pokémon, and he said he didn’t really know, he just preferred it. He came out as trans 4 years later.

[@AllanGuiHaya70]

And then I would always use the excuse... "I picked cuz I thought it'd be funny!!!! I swear I don't like being a girl!!! It's just that I don't want to beat up a girl in battle!!!" Denial at its finest...

[@sistybomb23]

How many transfemme’s first trans experience was playing as the girl in Pokémon as a child? ✋

[@JacksonVoet]

@@AllanGuiHaya70 I mean, I’m comfortable with myself and my identity. But you can’t deny that the female characters typically have the better design options.

[@Bigbadbo121]

@@sistybomb23 Reporting for duty ma'am! 🙋‍♀

[@tokofukawap4055]

I used Pokemon to escape my traumatic life. Trigger warning I was tortured as a child and I mean that literally, I was also abused in every way. At school I was bullied by the principal several teachers and most of my class. Just because I was gay. Pokemon was my only healthy escape, and it was the only place I could go to be safe without worrying about pain or dying. Edit: Y'all are so sweet, thank you. I am completely safe now other than being in the state I live in lol, but my home life is waaaaaay better and I'm an adult now. I also have a very healthy relationship.

[@laer423]

🫂

[@dinosyracia]

I am so sorry about what happened to you. I hope you are happy and in a better place.

[@TheDancingMudkip]

Was CPS an option?

[@thibautsoria1956]

Same here (without the physical abusement, i am sorry for what you’ve experienced). Pokemon is just a cool way of escapism and the diversity of creatures just makes it so everyone can have their gamestyle.

[@T4N7]

I hope u r in a much safer environment now. My condolences for the suffering u endured. Thank u for sharing ur story, takes guts to talk about that kind of trauma, especially with strangers on the internet. ❤️ I wish every day for u is better than the last

[@TheAsvarduilProject]

I personally love Gardevoir. They are a powerful, graceful Pokemon that can be male or female, and are valuable in most games they can appear in. Mega Gardevoir is even more amazing, partially because I'm a sucker for poofy dresses. I feel like Elite 4 Karen from Gen 2 said it best: strong or weak doesn't matter; win with your favorites. I think there's ideas, like identity and love, that apply to. Love matters and self matters. Be, and love, as you will.

[@shizukuchizu]

As someone who's aroace, I think one of the main reasons why Pokemon was very appealing to me was that it felt as a safe place. In a lot of other series and franchises, sometimes you'll see hints (or very in your face) allonormativity, how the good ending meant that boy and girl were together at the end. You could also stumble upon some misogyny, some clearer than others, when you'd seen women be sidelined and just be there to be an accessory. I don't remember ever feeling that in Pokemon games. Within the Pokemon world there are couples of course, and I'm sure there's bits and pieces that didn't age very well, but I never felt like the Pokemon narrative explicitly leaned into that being "the ideal" or "the only way". I liked that there was talks of love that went beyond just a romantic partner, especially with the bond of a trainer and a Pokemon. It felt like it told me I could be loved in ways that weren't just romantically and still be just as important and fulfilling. That I could go far and beyond with those friends and achieve great things on my own terms, with no need to "settle down" with someone at any point. My connections to others, be it Pokemon or humans, were just as valuable as any other.

[@JacksonVoet]

Pokémon has never really been about romance. Mostly oneness with nature, comradery, and the human desire to be the very best. Sure, the shipping community is real, and plenty of characters are implied to be a thing, but overall, Pokemon is Pokémon.

[@zerjiozerjio]

Would’ve never noticed this without this comment. It’s so obvious that it totally escaped me. There is something rather aroace about it all, isn’t there?!

[@twigthetroll9279]

HECK YEAH. Also I've always headcanoned Ash as aroace and I saw awhile ago that they actually confirmed it in an interview awhile back YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@pietra3476]

Yes! You know how in our world everyone is obsessed about the romantic relationship between humans? In the Pokemon world everyone is obsessed about the relationship between humans and pokemon! Me growing up as an aroace in our society felt (and feels!) just like May in the beginning of Advanced saga! Everyone there is so obsessed about how people and pokemon SHOULD get together and love each other that she was so annoyed all time in her life because of that vibes of the environment! That was a true aroace tale. Incredible.

[@gravityknows]

"i feel like many queer people are fans of pokemon idk why" JESSIE AND JAMES i rest my case

[@208getalife]

Is it queer? Queer people: Yes

[@prozierozie5692]

Thats the answer

[@bab__beaaa]

The conclusion of the video reminded me of something that I heard in the video by Jessie Gender about trans/queer representation in Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse, and the fact that even if Gwen didn't have the trans flag in her room queer/trans people would have still connected with her and her experience because the way she is written is highly relatable to us and so it would be a sort of projected representation but would still feel like representation, because it acts on a way deeper level than just having a queer flag showing up on screen. And I think it's similar with what you're saying about pokemon, maybe it is us "making it queer", but just because the starting material itself is very good and we can connect with it on a deeper level even if it's not explicitly queer.

[@Mologna]

Rika! Pokemon Rika Elite Four Rika from Pokemon! 🥺❤

[@EsperLunaria]

Came down here to check whether anyone said this! YES!

[@TheShapeshifter100]

I generally think I'm cis, but Rika is the only time I've gone 'your gender, gimme'

[@Asm0d3u5]

Ye ye! My sibling LOVES Rika because of her gender expression!

[@xavibun]

As a trans woman, seeing mega absol when they were officially revealed in 2013 awakened something within me

[@unknownairlines]

I'm personally appreciative that I can simply play Pokemon with my favorite birds and not have to worry about dancing around dialogue or actions that could lock me into romance routes. I had Corviknights and Talonflames to admire, shinies to find, and worlds to save!

[@Shinntoku]

I think there's something to say about like, how the game mechanics aren't queer but a lot of the designs are. Like, Rika p's popularity with women is not an accident, you know?

[@nedrostram2360]

Penny, Brassius, Hassel, Saguaro, and Dendra are also queer coded.

[@flerpaderp4397]

Grusha is a 100% a boymoder

[@BJGvideos]

​@@nedrostram2360Coded? Pretty sure they're very direct about Brassius and Hassel.

[@whyisthomyorke]

Pokémon is a more utopian society so it makes sense that it’s a more inclusive society :)

[@laer423]

wake up honey, cecilily uploaded a video about Pokémon and queer people ❤️‍🔥

[@imghostingg]

I'm queer and autistic, and i adore pokemon with my whole heart. Its my special interest, im super passionate about almost every aspect, I even care about the human characters more than the pokemon. It is kind of a shame that pokemon itself will never acknowledge the coding though. The human and even pokemon characters that are pretty damn queer are amazing and plentiful, there are so many just casual examples of it too. Volo having long hair in a more "feminine" style, Melli being so beautiful and gender neutral, Penny being the most autistic character ive ever seen, Arven being obviously aroace, and stuff like Nemona being so in love with Juliana but not the mc makes me so happy, only for it to never be acknowledged. For example, Cogita. An underrated character that im convinced im the only person to know is a raging divorced lesbian. In an obscure sidequest in a room most people wont know about you take a quest and find a journal in the icelands, guarded by a Froslass. What i noticed is that the author off the journal had a near identical writing style to the Old Verses, another reasonably obscure series of poems that was so obviously written by Cogita. The journal describes Cogita's beloved, someone shes romantically with, as looking like a Froslass. A small queer connection hidden under so many steps that i barely even figured out myself. I love pokemon. I love pokemons queerness. I could go on about the queer characters for hours, but only for them to be forgotten about so easily :((

[@zillycat8534]

My brain reading “Why do queer Pokémon love people?”

[@BJGvideos]

Ask Meowth. I've seen those boss fantasies. There is no heterosexual explanation for him fantasizing about shirtless oiled up Giovanni so often

[@lewiswernham6791]

Pokémon cracked a lot of eggs, and I'm not talking about breeding

[@MannyBoy96]

This was really well put together, and the music choices were SOLID. Driftveil City for the intro, and Cynthia's piano coming in at the perfect time to buildup to Cynthia herself showing up.

[@Nova-_-]

I love that there isn't one single answer as to why queer people love Pokemon. Because the answers are as diverse as we are.

[@Uggnog]

15:13 Not in PLA! When I finally was like "Oh shit, I might be a little fruity" I realized I could give my character (originally a boy) all the feminine clothing and hairstyles I wanted!

[@glitchystaticz]

this is how i find out i picked the girl character for no reason this time 💔

[@Uggnog]

@@glitchystaticz well, they don’t change the pronouns, so if you had picked the boy character, the characters would just be like “hello boy man dude bro”

[@glitchystaticz]

@@Uggnog exactly

[@sailorplanetmars6103]

I think it helps as well that Pokemon, at least from Gen III (which was my first generation) was the closest thing to a "gender neutral" product that existed, at least in that sphere of popularity. It's easy to forget how viciously gendered the 90s and 00s were, even worse than now - but the only time McDonalds wasn't running "boy toys and girl toys" for their happy meals was when it was Pokemon. I could play Pokemon and (at least from Crystal forward), everyone would happily assume I was playing it the "boy way" - meanwhile, I was picking the female player character ~70% of the time, and always found myself catching the designated "cute Pokemon for girls" every time I could - Skitty in gen 3, Buneary in gen 4 and so on - even though they were often rare, hard to raise and hard to use. I loved Contests, especially Cute Contests for some reason, and decorating Secret Bases with bright baudy colours. The neutrality of Pokemon made it safe refuge for my more feminine or feminised interests, whereas my interests in more overtly girly things like Sailor Moon and other magical girl shows was *ahem* heavily discouraged. I distinctly remember my father and sister explicitly making me promise that I would stop watching our VHS tapes of Sailor Moon on my 9th birthday, which of course didn't stop me, I just did in it secret. But Pokemon didn't *have* to be secret, because it was a "boy thing" - never mind the girl avatar and the pink chintz and fuzzy lil kitty cat. Not to say that Pokemon was unique in this regard - unsurprisingly, Digimon stands out in my memory as holding a similar distinction, although the games were much less popular and not distributed as widely - but I can imagine plenty of people found Pokemon to be an extremely safe entry point to cross-gender behaviour.

[@zodayn]

Pokémon was played by everyone in my middle school, jocks, nerds, boys, girls, I think what makes it so popular is it not being as gender coded as most other kids media. And the pokémon community now has a lot of queer people in it. But it's still a majority cis/straight community seemingly, just because it's so popular that the majority is non-queer by default. What I think makes pokémon appealing, but especially to queer people, is its low emphasis on conflict. In pokémon the evil team usually only causes a catastrophe in the one act before the game's finale. The rest is just a chill be on your way. The pokémon world isn't even that dangerous. And for queer people, who have a rough time out there irl, just exploring a world that is generally positive and safe is a big plus.

[@lilaniloxi]

7:47: i find this argument pretty dang interesting, because that's the EXACT same reason why Splatoon specifically has such a queer/neurodiverse fandom, at least in the western side of it. Except the whole "self-expression" aspects is quite literally one of the serie's direct appeals, i'd even argue it's one of the series thesis statements. That and there's definitely some canon queer characters. (cough cough Pearl and Marina)

[@creature6715]

Bede is trans fem to me. -notice that he gets more feminine and also seems happier simultaneously -Opal took one look at him and started ranting how "pink" he is -Ballonlea gym only has woman trainers. Thats all, lol

[@Alsyoutubeaccount]

I think the reason we see a lot of queer people loving pokemon is because it’s one of the few things that we loved as a kid that’s still acceptable to like as an adult

[@ZunkleFunkle]

Forgot that the James in the thumbnail is an actual anime screenshot and was like "YOOOOOOOO Weedle Twineedle cameo?!"

[@nakarilexfortaine2897]

I will never forget being asked The Question as a kid in Crystal. Not only was it my first time getting to choose the gender of my character, but it actually did make me stop for a moment. Was it okay if I, a boy(at the time), picked the girl character? Was it okay that I *wanted* to? It's stupid, looking back on it, but to my little kid brain, a world quietly started to open up. That started my trend of playing female characters every chance I was given, and when I finally had that moment of accepting myself as who I am, that question ran back through my brain at the end. Really hit me how I made the right choice, all those years ago.

[@magiradyne]

Aaaa first of all, thank you for using the reply I wrote in the middle of the night while high off my ass in your video! I think this whole project was a really good way to explore the topic-- it's so nuanced, full of so many angles and individual experiences that it would be impossible to conclusively answer. But by looking at all those individual experiences, all those versions of "meaning" and "truth" produced by different people, we can start to faintly see the shape of why this series is so special.

[@mauriciopatino7469]

I think a cool video idea is how Inteleon became a trans icon after Cyrus Davis won the 2023 NA International Championship. It was a super reassuring moment for me as a queer pokemon fan to see someone like me at the top of the game at the time.

[@katepuddings2]

my first moment ever recognizing myself as feminine or female was on the release of pkmn black/white. I must have been around 10 when the games came out and when I first started I thought the boy character looked kinda lame but I just fell in love with the design of the female character Hilda. Was this my pre-pubescent mind that was just realizing girls were hot speaking? probably! but there was a lot of genuine appreciation for the character, I wanted to be just like her. I remember thinking of a name for her and that name was very special and who I referred to myself as before I knew I was a woman. I use a different name now for the most part but the name Ivy and pkmn b/w will always hold an important place in my queer heart

[@wisdomrain1239]

As someone who aroace, the answer is just simple. It’s fun, I just enjoy the adventure each time with these “monsters”. Every playthrough I grow a bond with them and the memories with them I’ll always cherish. Pokémon can be played casually, competitively, hell even collection shinies. It’s a game for everyone so it makes sense why a lot of queer people play it. I even grew up with the anime, and it’s always been a confront show for me.

[@bugginonthewall]

So obsessed with this channel. Can’t wait to see you blow up!! ❤

[@StylusShade]

I'm not sure if Pokémon has such a queer fanbase because of any queer elements directly; it tries to appeal to everyone, so of course queer people would get into it. Of course, queer-coded characters like James certainly help. However, queer people also tend to be heavily neurodivergent, and whether it's autism or ADHD or something else, one trait we tend to have in common is hyperfixation on the things we find interesting. And Pokémon has something for everyone to look at and focus on. I'm a goth transfemme capoeirista with history of being an outcast, and just look at all the mons I can turn to: Hitmontop, Gengar, Quaquaval, Gardevoir, Gothitelle, Primarina, Chandelure, Darkrai, Mimikyu, and so on. BTW, love your bandeyra. Feliz Orgulho!

[@COMETINMOOMINVALLEY]

It's in an old, obscure manga not being made anymore ("How I Became A Pokémon Card.") But there is a character in it that's trans masc/a trans man! His name is Akari. It's over 20 years old which explains why not a lot of people talk about it much. 😭

[@BJGvideos]

Also it was never translated, likely due to a mix of the belief at the time that foreigners didn't want to read manga and the difficulty in getting the rights to the TCG images shown in the series (even though they're all by the manga artist)

[@narobii9815]

One of the things I think that helps a lot is the fact that while there are a lot of characters who "flag" being queer including the kalos girl who used to be a fighting king, but for the large part all the queer characters just exist, they are like everyone else just a normal part of the pokemon world. The fact that it's not called out is something I think that helps a lot, since pokemon is first and foremost and escapist fantasy world we can go to for fun and to get away from life.

[@tristanalain9239]

I would argue Jessie and James are the origin point of the concept of "Chaotic Bisexuals" as a trope or description. And then you have Penny in SV who is incredibly transcoded as a character based on things I have seen from people who understand this more. And honestly, I can definitely see it

[@edgargaebolg9307]

Penny's ace being a Sylveon and talking about revealing the true self when Terastalizing it is a huge sign

[@Anaea]

she's good with coding and hacking. we all know transwomen are the programmers... /j

[@emiwisp9277]

I think a very important piece that didn't get talked about is that Pokemon is both welcoming and safe as a community even on a higher level. I've been playing in competitive spaces for about two decades, and the number of people in leadership for events is rather striking, especially when you compare it to other games. This past year, the 2023-2023 competitive format had three different organizers for the NA regionals, and two of them are headed by women who have been big names in the competitive sphere for a very long time. It's even reached a point where we even get major side events dedicated to women and gender minorities. I bring this up because it's clear to me at least that Pokemon is led by people who want the community to be as welcoming as possible and are legitimately trying to be more inclusive. And that attitude helps fans feel welcomed in being who they are and interacting with the series in ways that may feel limiting in other series. I also think that Pokemon's presentation of important roles factors into this as well. Not every legendary or mythical Pokemon are big bad dragons that emphasize how cool they are. There's also strong Pokemon like Mew, Cresselia, and Xerneas that give an atypical presentation of power and what it means. And hey, silly moments like the fairy Pokemon 'Sleeping cuties' plushies (ie Gardevoir and Mew) having the trans flag as their tag doesn't hurt either. (Real thing. Look it up. It's amazing)

[@Brorca]

I mean... I've always read Arven as aro/ase, which is part of why I'm so fond of him. Also, when his mabostiff opened its eyes, I cried like an infant.

[@BJGvideos]

"Oh don't worry, I know it looks dire, but we'd never kill off Arven's *dog*..."

[@benjamincooper358]

“Okay but what are you INTO, dude!” “Right now basil, I know it’s kind of basic but I just don’t think food tastes as good without it!”

[@thiagoalves7272]

Eu não sabia o quanto eu estava DESESPERADO por um canal com conteúdo Queer e de pokémon, e só melhora por tu ser brasileira. Todo sucesso pra tu e vou acompanhar fielmente

[@KCharbonnet11]

Happy Pride Month!! I found you from your Amoongus video and I’m loving your content so far. This is another great video! As I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten more and more into the Pokemon fandom and I honestly think, like you said, it’s because we the fans have made it such an inclusive place. 15+ years ago the space was a bit more toxic, or at least a bit more traditionally nerdy (aka male-dominated and slightly hostile to minorities). I remember being so into Black & White when it was originally released and the online vibe of the community was…not great. There was a fair bit of misogyny and toxicity in online fan spaces, and it’s crazy seeing how popular B&W are now when I remember how reviled it was by a large part of the fan base at release lol. I specifically remember being told myself and other “girls” (I was 20 at the time) were the reason the game “sucks so much now” and were why GF added things like the Dream World and a “joke” enemy like Team Plasma. The GameFAQs boards were definitely a mixed bag back then lol. I’ve honestly loved the growth in the community these last years! And folks like you just keep making it better ❤️

[@EstrogenPnzr]

Pokemon didn't crack my egg, that honor belongs to dark souls, but having a tapu lele on my team should have been a sing

[@master-of-dreams7455]

Akari from the 1999 "How I Became a Pokemon Card" Is a trans boy. Blanche from Pokemon Go use they/them pronouns One much older example than the other and not much of a list still but a couple more to add to the list of ones you mentioned in the video.

[@owenbridgers]

Blanche is the best

[@MyJW24]

I guess I never really thought about it, but being able to use clefable and Infernape on the same team, even being encouraged to do something like that, was always really cool and weirdly empowering

[@honeyyfern9781]

what a gem of a channel!! i found you through the amoongus video (of course :P) and as an ally whose nerd friends have changed in so many ways without losing their love for the games (a vast majority coming out in various ways!) this definitely speaks to me. im a late life diagnosed adhd/asd pokemon superfan and its such a joy to have such a massive franchise be a bridge to so many other communities! you meet so many likeminded ND folks as well as wonderful trans people in pokemon servers, pokemon go meetups, and everything in between. great little video and enjoy pride!! ❤️

[@andretostesmusic4863]

Eu não poderia estar mais feliz por saber que você cresceu ao ponto de não conseguir mais responder as pessoas 🤧 facilmente minha melhor descoberta do YT nos últimos tempos, merece TODO o sucesso do mundo!

[@Mille.D.Purple]

Nossa simm! Eu conheci o canal dela agora a pouco e eu to apaixonada, ela merece todo sucesso do mundo!

[@_zurr]

Jesse and James probably opened a lot of kids' eyes on subverting gender norms.

[@jaspersagem9469]

I've been a pokemon enthusiast for most of my life, but when I realized I was queer, my interest in pokemon (and everything else I like) became queer too. I'm gonna bring my lived experience everywhere I go, which means I'm going to project my identity onto any fictional character I connect to.

[@potatopotayto8332]

sylveon being basically the trans flag (shiny included) is definetly important hehe also, hello fellow brasilian! i didn't know about the bandeyra so it's great to see it!! love ur videos girl 💕

[@tadashisueyosi8550]

I also like to think pokemon not as just a product made by a company, but made by workers, and this will of course reflect their visions on the product they made (I'm a social science student, sorry for being to Marxist). Maybe this can also explain these "coded" characters, even tho we can't have a male expressing character wearing a skirt, we can have a short diologue about transition or a trans flag pokemon in game. Just wanted to mention that your channel has been a great discover for myself, the way you speak so confident about repressed feelings of many people is just beautiful, you make me feel like I'm not alone with my thoughts ❤

[@cecilily]

I LOVE the marxist take actually! it's a super cool angle! thanks for the sweet comment!

[@cat21860]

As a trans man, my biggest thing was the escapism. People didn’t say I was “so inspirational ” for battling monsters to the death like they did for me taking advanced math or science classes. I know Pokémon isn’t the only IP that does that, but it’s big enough to me many people’s first experience with it.

[@BJGvideos]

Advanced math is inspirational?

[@cat21860]

@@BJGvideos two of my mom’s three sisters didn’t graduate high school due to teen pregnancy, doing calculus in high school was basically unheard of

[@BJGvideos]

@@cat21860 Wait are those statements connected?

[@loura246]

I live in New Orleans, a city with a fairly big queer community, and my partner said they saw more trans fem people at NAIC than at the Pride parade last weekend.

[@loura246]

On one hand, very cool to see that diversity at the pokemon event! On the other hand, not cool to see the trans presence at Pride be so small 😕 its rough out there

[@ammarannafi4144]

​@@loura246They're too busy at the NAIC to be at the other event probably.

[@loura246]

@@ammarannafi4144 well, most of the people at NAIC were from out of town, so it shouldn't have affected Pride attendance that much. Plus, the pride parade was only one day, while NAIC was 3 days

[@BJGvideos]

​@@loura246Air conditioned building would win for me honestly.

[@Sammiwammi69]

Tulip to me comes off as an incredibly trans-coded character, no cis woman is THAT high femme and makes it work 💅

[@Weavileiscool]

They do exist but it isn’t socially acceptable for them to show it because of how trans women are associated with it

[@nedrostram2360]

Penny also came off as a trans-coded character, especially with how she starts off with a male Umbreon and ends with a female Sylveon.

[@whimsiclaw]

@@nedrostram2360 Not to mention when she terastalizes sylveon she literally says "Shine bright like the starry sky and become who you really want to be!"

[@wyverewings1790]

Scarlet and Violet has so many implied and outright confirmed queer characters, its great

[@BJGvideos]

Yeah I feel like she overlooked the Nemona music video

[@GabrielLopes-yu3dt]

Muito bom saber que você é brasileira ❤ seus vídeos além de ser bastante informativos, são bem feitos, muito belos, e o roteiro é maravilhoso, tudo flui maravilhosamente bem! ❤

[@DoneRandomLee]

I think it is a mixture of many things said. For the initial games you have a series many kids grew up with that had a lot of self expression. And then the anime had a lot of queerness with James in both the dub and sub. Like he did often crossdress and take on a more traditional feminine role. But I think Jesse and James's success lead to them testing out more designs. Scarlet and Violet was the most queer imo from so many different character designs you could identify with to I think the first time there was hints of gay characters that wasn't flamboyant with brassius and hassel. Plus brassius probably gifting hassel a applin to not only show both their type specialities but also all the extra lore about how gifting one is a super romantic gift is just awwwwww

[@randomedgygamer2191]

As a gay guy I think it’s wholesome and accepting of differences as a franchise that it makes us feel good

[@alecfinlayson6583]

Yes, being ace totally makes you immediately into Pokemon.

[@terrenceojeda7172]

Goh, the closest thing to an autistic gay boy inlove with Ash in the Pokemon series and they're the same age too so it ain't a problematic ship. What a miracle.

[@ItsAllNunya]

It ain't real do what you want. To preempt the ridiculous arguments, Don't take the responsibility away from predators for their actions by putting the blame on literally any tactic and item they may use(and they use way more than "problematic media". Cue the candy, puppies, and white vans stereotype. It sure does come from somewhere).

[@christiancinnabars1402]

(Note, non-LGBT person here, so what I am saying is based off of primarily secondary or even tertiary information) For Pokemon, I feel that a big factor for it bringing in a large amount of queer fans is, in addition to straight up having characters and mons that are very queer-coded in design and personality, it doesn't actively push any anti-LGBT/"dudebro" type of content. Compare it to, for example, Resident Evil, who's games after the third mainline installment have a hard time even pushing woman in a non-supporting role, and the general queer following for each are almost night and day. Slap on gratuitous violence, various demeaning one-liners by the player characters, heavily mutated zombies that for some reason occasionally end up interacting with the female characters in a weird almost fetish-like manner, and you're done. You've made a dudebro playground. And I won't say there aren't _any_ queer fans of the franchise, but they are very few in numbers compared to the overall fanbase and have to be a lot more secretive or otherwise only approach queer topics in a joking manner, else get blasted by the rest of the fanbase for "forcing their ideologies where it isn't needed." So for Pokemon, it helps a lot that it both includes its queer-coded designs and interactions in a straight-forward manner and _generally_ doesn't push trains of thought that drag groups of people down (side-eyeing the anime for having Misty take on the motherly role to raise Togepi, and for making almost all the female main characters function more like Ash's love interest instead of being proper, serious rivals).

[@natalimoina]

Eh, I think you might have some misconceptions with the anime lol. Misty isn't exactly a "motherly" character. And there are only 2 main female characters that have crushes on Ash. While I won't defend Serena as her character was handled... not great, the rest of the female main characters are actually treated really well, with their own agency, motivations, strengths, weaknesses, development, relationships, that all get a lot of focus and care put into.

[@BJGvideos]

I know a lot of queer people who love Resident Evil. But most of them say it's peak camp.

[@MelodyMute]

I think one very important part of Pokemon is built around the idea of diversity and acceptance. We naturally accept that these creatures with wildly different types, stats, powers, and abilities are part of the same world. We not only acknowledge that, but are encouraged to learn how they're different so we choose them for our team. Even when we play a game blind, we're happy seeing how a pokemon evolves or learns moves that change how we use them. The game and world is built on learning what makes someone different and wanting to be a part of it. The games and anime want to teach this and make sure that characters who learn to appreciate diversity in pokemon do so in the people around them too.

[@lethargicAilurophile]

Personally - pokémon being queer for me was less about the actual monsters and more about the people living in the world who were following their dreams with their friends by their side. I saw bugsy in crystal as a kid and had never really seen a gender neutral person irl before and I really latched on to them, really confirmed a lot of feelings I had inside as a child. So many great and flamboyant designs for gym leaders too! Definitely had a crush on Erica, Flannery, Winona, Claire, etc etc before I had a crush on anyone in real life or even really knew what a crush was. The gender expression is so diverse it's wonderful. To see people living authentically and be recognized as strong, not for physical prowess but for coordinating and working together as a team is very gay themes imo. Big Themes of found family as well. Thank you for the video 💖

[@blueburner]

I didn’t really perceive until just now how diverse Pokemon characters are, and how gender norms are really non existent. Yes, for the most part player character options exist on a binary, but at least there are no expectations for them. Men and women have completely equal opportunity to be great Pokemon trainers and choose the kind of trainer they want to be. Women can fight tough battles, men can be Pokemon coordinators, and it’s never addressed from a gender perspective. Champions like Cynthia, Iris, and Diantha are hailed as great trainers. Period. Not “strong independent girlbosses” or something corny like that because no one in the Pokémon world would doubt that a woman can do it. All trainers are encouraged to pursue their dreams. Even among your relationships with others characters, you don’t make friends, allies, and rivals among people in your demographic. You are forced to meet and interact with boy and girls your age, kids younger than you, adults older than you, and everyone trusts you to make the right decisions. Therefore, I think that queer people are drawn to Pokémon because the Pokemon world is so kind, accepting, encouraging, and diverse.

[@GrayAvian]

I remember hearing somewhere that a lot of the staff for S/V were queer in a joke tweet, I hope it's true because there is no heterosexual explanation for the characters

[@eizzilbubble]

I love how we all seem to just point at Wallace and say: You. Queer. Anyways, I always saw pokemon as a piece of beautiful escapism, and still very much do. Especially with the younger characters, you get a sense of fun and joy and youth. I remember just wishing I had friends like the characters in the adventures manga (pokespe) when I was little, and watching those characters grow up with me primed them to just. I saw them as my friends so I assigned the same sorts of emotions and new senses of community I found to them, and I just feel less alone. Not that I wouldn't have read these characters as queer and neurodivergent if I hadn't grown up with them, I still very much would have, but the way I interpreted these characters became so intrinsically tied to their canon characterization it almost blurred. Even more recently, I was replaying through pokemon Sun and I realized how much I wished I had friends like the other characters that show up at that age. These characters feel like real people, especially to those who grew up with them, so it almost feels natural for someone to flesh out their character in their mind, and see themselves in them. Long-winded explanation aside: Great video! Thanks!

[@yRuffo]

tenho a teoria de que começou simplesmente sendo uma franquia grande e assim atraindo todos os públicos (principalmente os mais excluidos, por ser bem diversa), e que com o tempo a TPC "percebeu" o quão grande era a comunidade queer em Pokémon e começou a fazer mais personagens queercoded e ND-coded. enfim, ótimo video!! conheci esse canal pelo video do amoonguss e automaticamente me apaixonei 💖 definitivamente virou meu canal favorito! :)

[@jaredwall1510]

Just got off a flight and saw this was uploaded! Coming back to watch as soon as I can!!! Ive wanted to see a video on something like this for so long!

[@viniiscool]

the serena conests on the XY and XYZ anime were my drag race

[@Double_crisis]

I like pokémon because Maxie is hot (and playing the male characters makes me feel less shitty)

[@BJGvideos]

Do you prefer original or remake Maxie?

[@Idkpleasejustletmechangeit]

I just grew up with it. I grew up with it, because my sister did too. Thus dragging me into it.

[@Kiravibesonly]

Late to the party. But i wan´t to add something to the "Are you a boy or a girl" question. Ofc nowadays it is a non queer question. But I was 6 when Red/Blue came out and I had to be a boy in the game. Gold/Silver too. So when I was asked for the first time in my life if I was a boy or a girl that was huge. In the privacy of my handheld that I would never show to anybody I could always be a girl. Ofc with most role playing games you can choose your gender. But being asked the question this way, being able to choose was a big deal for me. So as a child that was a very queer aspect of the game, or rpgs in general. And when i finally realized that I am trans way too many years later, seeing that I always picked female charakters and how much it always meant to me was one little puzzle piece :) Ofc this only applies to a trans girl for that much. But I guess everybody who had to find their own gender identity appreciated having more than one option. Or sitting in front of the question and being like "...I kind of feel neither of those". But you are right, I try to make Pokemon queer and helpful here, when it is problematic at the same time :D

[@luiszuninonunez7474]

It curious, just this week i feel a little sad, cause for a lot of time i considered myself as a weird person, just for liking fantasy worlds like pokemon or another stories like my hero academia, or other games like bayonetta... i almost have a emotional breakdown for that, but now i can feel good about it, im queer, im weird, and i LOVE this kind of fantasy worlds. Send love to all People ❤❤

[@alexsch2514]

Idk. All I know is that yall are great and deserve your beloved headpats :3

[@EnigmaticGentleman]

Pokemon actually has a confirmed queer relationship in Juliana and Nemona. Granted its only in a novel exclusive to Japan, but with a franchise like this you take what you can get (also look up the music video "biri biri" if you doubt me).

[@70Lu07]

Ferrothorns seething rn

[@TrulyAtrocious]

"Unfortunate" doesn't begin to describe

[@TheBdougs]

Cis/het but hobbyist fanfiction writer. The title is the exact question I was asking myself so it was nice to see all these perspectives in one place.

[@star7communicator]

Of course we love Pokémon! Who doesn't love Pokémon? Pokémon has something for everyone!

[@atropa.belladonna]

I think the person that said expressing yourself + having ways to play appeals to many queer people has a point, another game that appeals to a lot of queer people is dnd, and that allows players to play very freely.

[@arichagas6474]

seus vídeos são incríveis, nunca pare de postar, vc é muito necessária pra comunidade

[@cecilily]

@@arichagas6474 obrigada meu amor!!

[@barreiraxe8217]

"MY BANDEIRA" When I watched you for the first time on the Amoonguss video, I was absolutely astonished to find a trans woman here in Brazil... that ALSO likes pokemon! It makes me so happy! In fact, it makes me question how was your journey to become so fabulous...

[@Sayuchq]

idk if im queer or not tbh but Pokemon are literally the best since i was a kid i loved the pretty ones and the strong ones too i always loved the concept of characters having a trusted battle companion thats not human for idk what reason and then not only did pokemon have a huge fanbase there was also pokemon who evolved through frienship at some point and i think kids who felt lonley really loved the concept- pokemon were always portrayed like dogs from character, extremely loyal best friends to the trainer and having a little cute creature to go on adventures with is really a concept that resonated with them. Besides that there was also a conecction with the fandom becouse what better to bond about then an anime/game both parties like? there are so many aspects you can start conversations with like favourite type , game or just pokemon and the fact you could make OC`s of both the pokemon and the trainers hell even put your favourite characters from OTHER medias into a crossover bc who didnt read mha x pokemon crossover at least once in thier life.. i remember spending hours thinking abt what pokemon Naruto would have and i to this day do this with my favourite characters i dont really know what the point of this long comment is just listing a few points but yeah there is so much to love about pokemon (random fact too as a kid who grew up watching horrors there was nothing better then seeing those super dark creepy pokedex entries from mostly ghost types that was a huge factor too)

[@jacobpepin3681]

"Welcome to social science, we don't have any answers" ✨️

[@birdpants9860]

To me, the appeal of Pokémon is that everyone in their world is equal. It doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or girl, kid or adult, you’re respected as you are. Anyone can be a trainer, which is shown in Pokémon’s wonderfully diverse cast of characters. P.S. my gender awakening was Roark.

[@madnessarcade7447]

Same reason anyone else loves Pokemon

[@wotahcatto8914]

One of my queer awakenings was indeed, cynthia

[@lostonessoul5154]

Coming from a long time pokemon fan since the early 2000's and as someone currently trying to figure out who they really are, I feel like what makes pokemon queer is both us, and how we grew up with the games. As someone born with adhd, Glaucoma in my right eye, Sturge Weber Syndrome, and a big port wine stain birthmark on my face, I was definitely one of the strange outcast kids growing up, who is only recently really starting to try and figure out who I really am. Because of this, I grew up with pokemon being my imaginary friends. With them I began to learn more about me, what I liked, what I disliked, so on, until today where I'm asking myself "I was born a boy...but...is that really what I am?" So with that being said, I suppose for me I've always seen pokemon as a game where self-discovery took the lead. From the pokemon you use, to how you create your player character through out the generations, to even things outside the games like who's your favorite character, pokemon feels like a game where self-discovery is important, but what does this have to do with pokemon being queer? Well aside from the points stated in the video, I imagine a lot of people have discovered they're some kind of queer through pokemon in some form or another. Maybe it was watching the anime and going "Oh...I'm like Jessie/James.", maybe it was playing the games and realizing your attracted to a character normally you wouldn't be (Example: A girl playing as Dawn in Platinum and being attracted to Cynthia, or playing a hilbert in black and white as a guy yourself and realizing you have a crush on N), or maybe it was reading the Manga and realizing you relate way too close to a certain character's struggles despite said struggles not really fitting what would be considered the norm. however you found out, in someway pokemon was either the cause, or helped you find out. But that's just my overly long take on it.

[@Satanika]

Because we all look like ambipom

[@notsointerestingperson7618]

Talking about being neurodivergent, Ash definality has ADHD.

[@natalimoina]

True, and definitely on the aromantic spectrum as well

[@notsointerestingperson7618]

@@natalimoina uhm a lot of ppl say that but idk to be honest, many 10 year olds hasn’t experienced romance yet considering how young they are. If Ash was like 15 well yeah, but honetly I don’t think you can call a 10 year old aromatic considering how young you are. I know a lot of ppl who didn’t start feeling romantic/sexual attraction until they were like 13/15

[@0ctoSquid-rh2ed]

Real. (I headcanon him as pan and demi romantic.)

[@Tyler-is7gm]

​@notsointerestingperson7618 I was aro as a kid and still am. You'd surprised at how much kids love talking about having a gf/bf

[@notsointerestingperson7618]

@@Tyler-is7gm wow! 10-13 is the average age of when you first feel romantic attraction, maybe he just hasn’t experienced it yet, because he is so young and focused on pokemon and battles instead? Surprised?

[@crownedoll]

it doesn’t have meaningless romance plots and it’s simple. that’s all it took to make me feel accepted as a queer kid. i never really related to straight romantic stories and avoided them as a kid. so pokemon was very comfortable to play for me lol. and i was always obsessed with animals and pokemon has so many cool animal like creatures.

[@forceoffriction]

I think an important thing is that in both the anime and the games, characters are generally not solely defined by their gender. They have character traits and interests unrelated to gender. Yes, Misty is a girl. Misty is also largely depicted as a strong trainer, compassionate person, and mature counterpoint to Ash. Yes, Brock is a guy. Brock is also largely depicted as goofy and fun, caring, and family-oriented. Jessie and James are both depicted cross-dressing in disguise, but never with an unnecessary line like "I can't wear that, I'm a...". Gender is largely unimportant to how the characters are depicted as people. Many early-series female characters are also often depicted as strong, competent, and representing types that, in the West, might often be associated with men: Sabrina (psychic), Agatha (poison/ghost), Jasmine (steel), Clair (dragon), Janine (poison, and the ninja aesthetic). Many characters (particularly male characters) have been more ambiguously gendered, like Buggsy, Will, Tabitha (original design, later more intentionally masculine), Lucian, Tate & Liza, Burgh, Grusha, and Rika. Many characters are also quite campy, like Wallace and Ortega. I think the most important thing that Pokemon as a whole did that gravitates so many of us to the series is treating characters as people first, and gendered second.

[@mothbag]

I think to me, pokemon was sort how most video games felt: a way to cross dress without judgement or feel represented in the way I wanted to be represented in my own life. I know I was too young to really know why I wanted to play as the "female character" of pokemon every time, but it definitely came together in the end. It connected with me particularly because it was simply cool, you could kick ass with a team of monsters fighting beside you??? hell yes please sign me up.

[@MegaEdeath]

actually back in the 90s Pokémon did a 1 off manga where they had a trans masc protagonist, the overall message is a bit vague on whether or not its trans positive but i just wanted to point out that there was more than that 1 off Pokémon X trainer

[@BJGvideos]

The overall message was that his quest to be more masculine was making him a jerk because he had a very set idea of what men had to be like. Trans men also deal with toxic masculinity so I figure it's a net positive to see him dial that back and realize it doesn't make him less of a man to have a cute pokemon

[@nedrostram2360]

Because for many of us, the ability to choose our gender in a world and a time where society didn’t help trans people is magical.

[@yonas136]

i have to mention for the culture that a female azurill has a 30% chance to become male on evolve and i think it's cool

[@cecilily]

I mentioned that in the video!

[@wind64a39]

The origin of Daisy, my shiny Azumarill. Even stranger, I forgot to trade him over before restarting, and he showed up in the exact same spot, both in playtime and area, the second time.

[@yonas136]

@@cecilily oh sorry i didn't pay attention to it

[@yonas136]

@@wind64a39 the bond between you was too strong, this is a really cute story

[@0ctoSquid-rh2ed]

James is my icon. That’s all I need to say. (Also my earliest sign of being gynosexual was being in the Brock fan gang. And as for being tri gender… I use a spinner wheel in the old games for the gender.) ✨