Pokémon
Unintentionally Unsympathetic in this series. open/close all folders
Games
- Pokémon X and Y: Your rival will either be viewed as this or The Woobie. On the one hand, yes, they have severe issues with losing to you over and over and feel terrible about it. On the other hand, they purposefully taunt you up until the battle for the Mega Ring about how they are better than you in Pokémon battles without ever trying to prove it. It comes off as them being cowardly and not wanting to risk actually losing to you early on due to them wanting to appear as the best trainer to their friends. Further evidence for this comes up following the battle for the Mega Bracelet. After they lose, suddenly, they keep challenging you to fight after fight, more than any rival before them, almost like you wounded their pride and now feel a bit desperate to get it back by beating you.
- Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire:
- Zinnia is presented in a more sympathetic light than Archie/Maxie, but her plan to get Rayquaza to stop a giant meteor that threatened the planet involved becoming a grunt in Team Magma/Aqua to assist awakening Groudon/Kyogre and hoping that the impeding cataclysm would result in Rayquaza’s direct intervention à la 3000 years ago. Had she succeeded, this would have likely resulted in Hoenn being destroyed before Rayquaza arrived. She then needlessly antagonized everyone else, acting all smug with her Holier Than Thou attitude while ruining the plan to teleport the meteor to another dimension arguing it would endanger its inhabitants despite offering no evidence it was inhabited and there being no other option save her plan, which would have failed if not for the lucky break of the player character having a MacGuffin on them. She caused at least as much harm as Archie/Maxie, yet doesn't even get their Heel Realization and gets Easily Forgiven by the others.
- In a similar situation, in the same post-game episode, is Courtney (Omega Ruby) or Matt (Alpha Sapphire), who attempt to destroy the world and everyone in it just because Maxie or Archie was depressed after having been beaten. Yet the game seems to expect us not only to sympathize with her/him and her/his flimsy motivations, but Maxie or Archie ends up having to apologize to her/him for their own depression "making them" do it, and just like Zinnia, he/she is promptly Easily Forgiven.
- Pokémon Sun and Moon: Lusamine is supposed to win the player's sympathy due to her being a victim of Nihilego's mind-altering toxins, which helped warp her into a horrible person selfishly obsessed with the Ultra Beasts at the expense of everyone else and drove a wedge between her and her children. However, the attempts at sympathy fell flat for many players as Nihilego's toxin is less of a brainwashing substance and more of something that amplifies the worst traits in someone, making her come off as someone who'd be horrible with or without Nihilego's influence. In addition, the claims that they were genuinely good prior were undercut by how they spent their whole time on-screen as a Faux Affably Evil Bitch in Sheep's Clothing, with neither specific details of their former kindness (the closest being Lillie relaying a tale of how she'd went and danced in the rain with her when Lillie was young, causing them both to catch colds), nor direct depictions of their attempts to atone (the closest being Lillie explaining that Lusamine had wanted to come to the player character's Champion ceremony after waking from her coma). Notably, this was a rare case where it made the character better received as such a Love to Hate, realistically personal villain whose conflict was seen as the one great stand-out of the game's otherwise bland story. The creators later recognized the story they wrote for her wasn't coming off as intending her to be sympathetic, so every future portrayal went to great pains to tone down their nastiness, usually by adapting out or downplaying Nihilego's role in warping in her mind, such as the anime's version being a completely decent version who has no involvement with unleashing the Ultra Beasts, while retaining a core piece of their character: being a lousy parent with messed up priorities.
- Pokémon Sword and Shield:
- The Big Bad of the game, Chairman Rose, is portrayed as a sympathetic Anti-Villain who only resorted to using Eternatus as an energy source in a desperate bid to solve Galar's future energy crisis problem, later turning themselves in out of guilt. But earlier in the game, they disqualify Bede due to him destroying the mural in Stow-on-Side, claiming he has "no love for Galar", and yet they themselves go on to nearly destroy the entire region. Even if they did start the Darkest Day in a misguided attempt to solve Galar's future energy crisis, they still treat Bede very harshly, even going so far as to disown him despite Bede having wanted to collect Wishing Stars to help him with his plans. Those who do take their position into consideration still find them to be unjustified because the energy crisis isn't going to pose any threat for another 1000 years which is more than enough time to come up with a viable solution that doesn't involve nearly wiping Galar off the map. The fact that they can't even wait a single day for Leon and the player to have their Champion Battle before they cause another Darkest Day when that was the ONLY thing Leon asked of them in exchange for his cooperation does them zero favors either.
- Bede himself is treated as a Jerkass Woobie by the narrative, having Opal and Sonia take pity on him after he is disqualified from the Pokémon League. While many fans do indeed see him as such, others say that he got exactly what he deserved for both his unsportsmanlike conduct (win or lose), starting Hop's confidence loss, and trying to use one of the Chairman's Pokémon to destroy the mural. The latter is particularly egregious, as vandalizing a historical monument is a serious offense (akin to breaking the stone pillars at Stonehenge or painting graffiti on the Mona Lisa), and would have reflected very badly on the Chairman, who not only lent him the Pokémon that he tried to destroy the mural with, but also sponsored his participation in the league — something Bede was constantly bragging about until his punishment came about and the special treatment ended. It doesn't help how, even with his Character Development set in, he's still unnecessarily rude and still has bitter issues with the player character.
- Pokémon Scarlet and Violet:
- Penny's tendency towards abrasiveness and sarcasm when she gets annoyed can cause this for some players. Her being rude to people who are nice to her also comes off as hypocritical, as Penny's storyline is focused on the results of bullying.
- Nemona's single-mindedness in wanting the Player Character to become her rival and equal stems from her fixation on battling coupled with becoming a Champion rank trainer at a young age alienating her from her peers, resulting in Nemona lacking friends and feeling Lonely at the Top until the Player Character comes along. While most players sympathize with her, some players interpret her obsessiveness with the Player Character as creepy, pushy, and disrespectful. It doesn't help that her backstory isn't discussed in depth until the postgame, while Arven and Penny's backgrounds are the central focus of two of the main storylines; for some people, Nemona's background beyond being a battle-happy strong trainer being revealed in postgame comes too late to salvage their impression of her.
- Gamefreak released a video backstory for Pecharunt detailing how it was beloved by an elderly couple and only wanted to please them after feeding them its mochi and how terrified it was of Ogerpon. However, this falls flat with Pecharunt willingly enslaving a town seemingly just for the heck of it, or that it fed its mochi to enslave the elderly couple because it felt they "didn't love it enough", or that Ogerpon went on a rampage because Pecharunt stole her beloved masks and possibly killed her Only Friend. As a result, many fans consider it a Jerkass Woobie at best and completely unsympathetic at worst.
Anime
- Pokémon: The Series:
- In "The Path to the Pokémon League", we're supposed to see AJ as this guy who's tough but fair to his Pokémon, especially his Sandshrew, but it's hard to think so with the whips he lashes out and giving them short breaks of rest.
- There are numerous occasions where Misty and Brock will self-righteously (or at least smugly) claim that Ash only got his first two badges out of pity. It's treated as a needed splash of cold water in the face to deflate Ash's ego, but these claims drastically underplay what actually happened and come across as little more than a selfish preservation of Misty and Brock's own fragile egos. Misty's sisters gave Ash the Cascade Badge because he saved their gym from Team Rocket in the middle of his match. Pikachu didn't want to battle against Misty, so Ash respected its wishes and didn't force it to battle. Misty's sisters later noted that if Ash had used Pikachu, then Misty would have lost for sure, and even without its participation, Ash was on the verge of beating Misty's Starmie when the match was interrupted. As for Brock, he was the one who insisted on giving Ash the badge after Ash refused, not wanting to take further advantage of accidentally setting off the gym's fire sprinklers; it was actually Ash who felt sorry for Brock, not the other way around. Repeatedly saying that Ash only got their badges out of pity, when he simply showed better sportsmanship than they did, comes across as sour grapes from Misty and shameless hypocrisy from Brock. When they bring it up again during the Sun & Moon seasons, it can seem less like old friends joking about the good old days, and more like Misty griping about her sisters not declaring her the winner of a match she had essentially lost already. It doesn't help that even after Ash definitively defeats her on other occasions, she still keeps up this attitude.
- In the episode after Ash loses the Indigo League, you were supposed to side with Misty when she (and the others) scold Ash for moping around when he lost the Indigo League. While Misty was correct to call Ash out about the latter's poor training regime, the whole argument wouldn't have happened if Misty just respected Ash's wishes to be left alone at the time when he was moping about his Indigo League loss. It doesn’t help that nobody acknowledges the fact Ash was only forced to use Charizard because he got kidnapped by Team Rocket which severely weakened the rest of his team, meaning that he had to go into his match against Ritchie with a severe and unfair handicap. Worse still, after Professor Oak comes in and defuses the argument, Misty immediately re-escalates it by calling Ash a lazy trainer who didn't even deserve to get in the league in the first place. This just overall made her look petty.
- Paul was not a sympathetic character per se, but his character was defended and his strength as a trainer was praised on the principle of respecting those with different opinions, as Paul would eventually come to do himself — but before he finally got there, Paul routinely failed to respect different opinions by disrespecting those who disagreed with him or failed to live up to his expectations, and "different opinions" was no justification for his punishing treatment and abandonment of Chimchar for being weak (which has happened before in the series, but when it did it was treated unquestionably as the point the perpetrator was considered Beyond Redemption). The ostensible catalyst for Paul's redemption — his loss to Brandon and discovery that Ash had beaten him — had its effect weakened by Paul defeating Ash in a rematch almost immediately after. In the end, even if there was something to be said for Paul's ideas of how to train Pokémon, the show went beyond that and routinely tried to insist Paul was respectable when he generally wasn't.
- Kenny is meant to be seen as a guy who secretly loves and admires Dawn despite his teasing. However, many fans feel that Kenny's Loving Bully tendencies lean far too much into the bullying angle to be seen as genuine affection. This perception is caused by how often Kenny embarrasses Dawn by sharing embarrassing stories from their youth and by constantly referring to Dawn as "Dee Dee", a nickname Dawn has made clear she hates and finds the incident that caused it rather traumatic, to the point interacting with a Plusle & Minun caused her to faint. Compounding the issue, Kenny's final appearance has him try to force an ultimatum on Dawn by making a bet with Ash that states Dawn has to travel with him instead of Ash if he beats Ash in a Pokémon battle, something that screams Entitled to Have You. While he accepts Dawn's choice to go with Ash anyway, even when Kenny wins the battle in question, it can still be hard to reconcile with his pushy behavior in this episode and others.
- Iris was supposed to a Jerk with a Heart of Gold who's hypocritical teasing of Ash was meant to be counterbalanced by her own insecurities her attitude was to cover up. But the episodes that explored her insecurities enough to be sympathetic were seen as too few and far in-between to offset this and, unlike the similar teasing dynamic with Misty, Ash was now such a Nice Guy it came off as unfair bullying continuing even after Iris's intended redeeming developments.
- Whenever Lillie's her strained relationship with her mother is brought up, we’re meant to be on her side, however while her mother's parenting is undeniably flawed (she's constantly busy due to her work), the areas she chooses to critique makes Lillie look entitled. Lillie is angry with her mother for once evolving a Clefairy that was under her (not Lillie's) ownership without consent. And if Lusamine's Imagine Spot is to be believed, Clefairy had no problem with evolving, so Lille can't even claim to be standing up for it. In the present day, Lusamine brings the whole gang to Aether Paradise for a tour, but when she uses the opportunity to try and make small talk with her daughter, Lillie actually takes offense and angrily storms off with the rest of the gang, more upset with being treated like a child than happy her mother is attempting to set aside time for her. Furthermore, given Parental Ababdonment is somewhat common in the Pokémon anime, Lusmaine making an active effort to be part of Lillie’s life no matter how small says a lot. When Lusamine is taken by Nihilego, Lillie continues to treat her mother as selfish and condescending for being absorbed despite Lusamine Taking the Bullet for Lillie's brother. The speech she gave her mother did get cleaned up and made a bit more impactful in the dub as Lillie did say near the end she respected her mother. Part of this issue seems to be because of the Adaptational Heroism and Adaptation Personality Change given to Lusamine, who, in the games, was the Big Bad. Lillie's behavior works for the game characters, but due to the anime's changes, she no longer comes out as being entirely in the right.
- Faba is meant to be somebody whose villainy came from letting jealousy get the better of him in a Moment of Weakness and is working towards improving himself and making amends. However, since Faba's first action upon being caught was trying to pin his crimes on Lusamine, his Heel Realization occurs offscreen, along with a lack of any major changes in his behavior (such as the Alola League proving he’s still willing to resort to dirty tactics to obtain victory), makes many feel he's just pretending to be remorseful to gain a lighter sentence.
- Pikachu in the Pokémon Journeys: The Series episode "Betrayed, Bothered, And Beleaguered!". We're supposed to sympathize with Pikachu over his feelings of neglect and see Ash as acting like a poor trainer and friend for putting Riolu before Pikachu. However, Riolu is a baby Pokémon, at most he's a few weeks old. It's been consistently portrayed in the past that newly hatched Pokémon require much more care and attention than other Pokémon. Pikachu understood this with Ash's previous baby Pokémon (Phanpy, Larvitar, Scraggy, and Noibat) and even helped out by acting like an older brother to them. So Pikachu getting jealous to the point of running away comes across less like a neglected friend lashing out, but rather a spoiled brat throwing a temper tantrum for no longer being the center of attention.
- Lillie the Shiny Nihilego is meant to be seen as a Tragic Villain who only lashed out of fear of losing Mohn after he treated her like his own daughter for years. Several fans however, see Shiny Lillie as an abusive gaslighter for doing everything in her power to keep Mohn from regaining his memories, such as not letting him venture far from their cabin or smashing any reflective surface, being so desperate to keep Mohn at arm’s length she won’t even let him see his own reflection. Despite this behavior we are supposed to see her being welcomed into the Aether family as a Happy Ending, when it comes off closer to rewarding her for not physically hurting Mohn.
- The movies attempt to treat antagonistic Pokémon is Not Evil, Just Misunderstood, but unfortunately, this doesn't always work.
- Though Mewtwo is indeed portrayed as a villain in Pokémon: The First Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back, it tries to mitigate this by saying that he was driven to villainy by the revelation that he was an artificial being and is Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life. However, his first violent act is blowing up the laboratory where he was created, killing all of the people there, after a conversation that lasts for no more than five minutes. His creator may be a bit of a jerk by rather callously brushing off his questions, but there was no indicationOriginally, anyway that the scientists were actually mistreating Mewtwo or were going to do so in the future, thereby making him come off as a Manchild whining about how his life sucks because he never asked to be born.
- Pokémon 2000: The Power of One has Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, thanks to Early-Installment Weirdness. When the movie premiered, the anime portrayed most Pokémon as just animals with superpowers, so it could be assumed that the legendary birds just didn't have the capability of higher thought and were acting on instinct. But as the show went on, more and more Pokémon, especially Legendaries, were given fully developed personalities and were implied to have human intelligence, retroactively making the birds come off as so selfish that they're willing to wipe out all life on Earth just because they don't want to be around one another. Pretty much every Fan Fic that translates Pokémon Speak and references this movie has Lugia rip into them for their behavior.
- Kyurem may have had a point in Pokémon: Kyurem vs. The Sword of Justice when he attacks Keldeo as punishment for the latter's arrogance in challenging him when not remotely ready and lying about being a Sword of Justice, but that doesn't excuse Kyurem chasing him miles out of the arena and attacking a train and then a city populated entirely by people and Pokémon who don't have the slightest knowledge of their quarrel, just because Keldeo is there. He is never called out for this.
- The Genesect Army in Pokémon: Genesect and the Legend Awakened are supposedly Not Evil, Just Misunderstood figures who were revived 300 million years after their deaths and enhanced by humans, and their driving force is trying to reclaim their homeland. However, out of the five, only one actually cares about going home (and you might say too much). The rest of them, by contrast, are less angsty about their situation and are all too happy to invade a park and attack everything living there so they can have it all to themselves. Their leader, the Red Genesect, is a full-on jerkass who mind controls its fellow Genesect constantly, attacks anyone who disobeys it (up to and including its own kind and human children), and absolutely refuses to listen to reason. Oh, and when the evicted Pokémon return and fight back later on in the film, the audience is supposed to sympathize not with all the Pokémon who lost their home and try to get it back, but rather the overpowered Super Soldiers who forced them out at gunpoint. Ash even tells the Pokémon to stop fighting them, as if the Genesect Army had merely settled in peacefully!
- Pokémon Origins: In this miniseries, Red is depicted as a trainer who managed to rise his way to the top without losing sight of caring for his Pokémon. Contrast this with Blue, who Professor Oak (and the narrative itself) admonishes for treating his Pokémon like tools rather than friends. However, many fans argue that Red is no better than Blue, at least when it comes to any Pokémon not named Charizard. During Red's final battle with Giovanni, Red says that he considers any victory without Charizard meaningless. Although the assertion is meant to be a strong testament to Red's bond with Charizard, it instead comes across as a cruel insult to Red's other Pokémon who have fought their hardest in every battle, only for Red to admit that he sees no worth in any battles where his starter didn't participate.
Manga
- Pokémon Adventures:
- Norman from the Ruby & Sapphire chapter is meant to be seen as a flawed but understandable parent who wants to prepare his son Ruby for the world’s dangers, but struggles with the fact an accident Ruby causednote cost Norman a major promotion and hit to his reputation. In practice, many people see Norman as a controlling Abusive Parent due to his dismissal of Ruby’s trauma and willingness to use violence to bring him home after he ran away. Said accident involved Norman taking the blame to protect Ruby, but he was only six at the time so likely wouldn't have gotten serious punishment making Norman's self-inflicted by his needless sacrifice.
- A Running Gag in the Emerald chapter is Ruby not presenting himself as in a relationship with Sapphire, much to the latter's irritation. While this is meant to be seen as Ruby being afraid to take the next step in their relationship after their Love Confession during the climax of the Ruby & Sapphire chapter, several readers instead found Ruby's behavior to be rather callous. Rather than talking about the situation with Sapphire in private, Ruby chooses to act clueless whenever the subject of their relationship comes up. Ruby goes as far as to deny the fact he and Sapphire confessed their love for each other to Sapphire's face, which comes across as cruel and humiliating to the girl he supposedly loves. Likely as a response to these criticisms, the Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire chapter has Ruby get over this and eventually admits to his feelings, allowing for them finally go on their first date together.
