Research A Look at Japan's Most Popular Champions Poll

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Just recently, I came across a poll that was run in Japan earlier this month. The poll ran from September 8-September 14 2021, and the assessment overall was for participants to vote for who their favorite Champion is. The results were quite interesting.

https://nlab.itmedia.co.jp/research/articles/354675/vote_result/#votewidget

Here is the source of the results and the poll is listed in a bar graph. Now even with Google Translate, the poll image cannot be translated, but I took the honor of translating the results myself. And lo and behold, here they are.

Total votes: 917

1. Cynthia (233 votes) 25.4%
2. Leon (154 votes) 16.8%
3. Steven Stone (141 votes) 15.4%
4. Iris (105 votes) 11.5%
5. Red (102 votes) 11.1%
6. Blue (66 votes) 7.2%
7. Lance (54 votes) 5.9%
8. Diantha (22 votes) 2.4%
9. Alder (18 votes) 2%
10. Wallace (7 votes) 0.8%
11. Mustard (6 votes) 0.7%
12. Peony (4 votes) 0.4%
13. Trace (3 votes) 0.3%
14. Others (Please leave a comment) (2 votes) 0.2%

The results ultimately are largely as expected based on worldwide fandom, but here we are. Of course, Cynthia takes the crown as the most beloved Champion by a notable margin, with her being so iconic especially across all of her depictions in Platinum, the anime, and everything, being one of the strongest, most challenging Champions by far with a great team and an iconic signature Pokemon (the GOAT Garchomp), and of course a lot of charm. No matter what you value in a Champion, she has it all. Sinnoh gang we've WON!

Leon is runner up, which is of course great. Leon has ascended to be one of my favorite Champions imo and it seems Japan's fandom agrees that he's one of the best. Great personality, and he lives up to his portrayal as the unbeatable Champion, being one of the strongest we've had so far, between an iconic team with GOATs like Dragapult, Aegislash, Haxorus, and a Galar starter to be a force to be reckoned with, and his G-Max Charizard is a powerhouse in and of itself. He really has a lot of character in all of his depictions and he's one of the most memorable Champions.

Going down the list, we have Steven in third: no surprise given his charisma and how great of a Champion he is in the Hoenn games with his involvement and his mighty Metagross. Taking 4th place, we have Iris! Perhaps the anime has something to do with it with her recent ascension to Champion having been one of Ash's past travelling companions, and of course BW2 is excellent and she was a great final boss with a strong team, which likely secured her a great deal of popularity.

Going further down, we have Red taking 5th and Blue/Green as 6th. The OG Champions, Blue being the first and an iconic rival, and Red being the literal OG player character with his battle atop Mt. Silver in Johto (GSC and HGSS) being one of the coolest, most iconic moments in a Pokemon game period. Lance is just a bit lower down, which I assume is because he's second banana to Blue in Kanto, while in the Johto games while he's the Champion, he is ultimately overshadowed by true final boss Red in GSC and HGSS.

Diantha and Alder are among the least popular Champions, sadly. Diantha has next to no presence in X and Y and her battle is pretty easy which I assume has led to her becoming unmemorable. Alder is overshadowed in many ways and gets replaced no matter what happens: in BW1 he's overshadowed by N who serves as the actual climax boss when you get to the League the first time, and he's a post-game final boss in that game, and in BW2 he gets replaced by Iris who ultimately overshadows him as the more popular and iconic Unova Champion. Especially now that the anime has followed suit recently and revealed that Alder has lost his Champion position to Iris, who is now the current Unova Champion in the animeverse.

The remaining are from third versions/DLC, which of course do not sell as well as base versions so less people know of them. Wallace is only the Champion in Emerald, and with how his team is so easily exploitable in a Water centric region, and only being in a third version which is less popular than RS or ORAS, he certainly does not live up to Steven's legendary fame in the slightest. Mustard and Peony are ex-Champions from the DLC of SwSh, and given that they're from the DLC and not Champions when you face them they are likely overshadowed by Leon as Champions, even if they are fun and memorable characters imo.

The least popular Champion in this poll is in fact Trace! From Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee. He's a friendly rival and not an iconic jerkass like Blue and like Wallace, Mustard, and Peony, lives in the shadow of another Champion from the same region (in this case Blue).

The last vote was miscellaneous. I can't tell for sure, but reading the comments one person commented that their favorite was N from BW1, who was an honorary Champion in and of himself. Another person said they wanted the SM/USUM protagonist as an option. Those are the two who I believe voted for the other/miscellaneous option.

Anyway, what do you think about these results? Feel free to discuss!

 

[Pikachu315111]

Can we have this merged with the poll discussion thread?

Anyway, interesting results.

Red & Blue at 5th and 6th is a shock, especially being below Iris and Steven (and Lance too is pretty low).

Speaking of Iris, her getting 4th is a bit of a surprise though, as you noted, she has more presence due to being one of Ash's companions (and she is also now Unova Champion in the anime).

Also surprised Wallace is so low, though that could be because any one who voted for a Hoenn Champion voted for Steven.

Poor Mustard and Peony never had a chance. Also kudos to the two who voted for N and Gen VII/Alola's Playable Character. Also isn't it implied that Opal was a former Galar Champion since Mustard became Champion after defeating her?

Though with all that said, I wonder if Cynthia got a little push being BDSP is coming out soon. Not saying she isn't popular nor they rigged the poll, but more that she's on everyone's mind now when it comes to Champion as many players are looking forward to battling her.

 

[Yung Dramps]

>mustard and alder below diantha

cri. no respect for the kings, just none whatsoever

 

[The Mind Electric]

First thoughts:

-Cynthia was basically guaranteed to be first, no surprises there.

-Red and Lance should be much lower.

-I do not understand what they see in Diantha. Her theme bangs but other than that there's nothing about her that puts her above some of the champions below her.

-Alder being that low is unsurprising but I'm still upset.

 

[Chadlad50]

I think we all knew Cynthia was gonna be number 1. Leon being number 2 is surprising though. Maybe I just hang out too much with the Reddit Pokemon fanbase because I thought everyone hated that dude. Pleasant surprise though, I actually like Leon, he's cool.

I don't know if I actually like Lance, or just his team (Dragonite gang, plus cool Gyarados and Charizard).

I don't get why Diantha is that high though. I like her design, it's cute, and Gardevoir as an ace is an interesting choice, and her theme is good, but other than that there's not much about it I care for. Complete pushover in the game, lackluster character, and an unmemorable team outside of Gardevoir. Not better than Mustard or Peony for me, despite the fact they don't feel like Champions (because, well, they're retired, but still)

 

[Wukong]

First thoughts:

-Cynthia was basically guaranteed to be first, no surprises there.

-Red and Lance should be much lower.

-I do not understand what they see in Diantha. Her theme bangs but other than that there's nothing about her that puts her above some of the champions below her.

-Alder being that low is unsurprising but I'm still upset.

I'm actually surprised Red and Lance were so low. I agree they're overrated but I thought the general opinion held them in quite high regard. Particularly Red who I thought would only be beaten by Cynthia perhaps.

And with Diantha I wonder if she's helped by playing a role in the XY anime which was perhaps the most well received anime season(s) in the series. That's the only redeeming factor I can think of.

I'm also surprised Iris ranked as high as she did. I think she deserves it but between the BW anime seasons not being well received (with her being a big reason why) as well as B2W2 not selling all that well, I didn't think she would be that popular.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

Though with all that said, I wonder if Cynthia got a little push being BDSP is coming out soon. Not saying she isn't popular nor they rigged the poll, but more that she's on everyone's mind now when it comes to Champion as many players are looking forward to battling her.

I would assume maybe a little, but even if it weren't for BDSP I think she would still be on top. She really just left that much of an impression on players back in DPP in many ways, from her challenging and diverse team, her strong presence in both Platinum and the anime, and just everything about her just makes her incredibly memorable. Not to mention she has had the honor of making guest appearances in HGSS, the Unova games, and the Alola games since then and appeared again in the BW anime and will do so yet again in Journeys so she's never left people's minds, she's just that iconic.

I think we all knew Cynthia was gonna be number 1. Leon being number 2 is surprising though. Maybe I just hang out too much with the Reddit Pokemon fanbase because I thought everyone hated that dude. Pleasant surprise though, I actually like Leon, he's cool.

Eh that's just Reddit being Reddit, ya know. He's one of the more well liked Champions from what I've seen around other places and several months ago Japan had a poll for most popular Sword and Shield character and he came in second, so he's got tons of fans. He's definitely one of the more memorable Champions of the lot, not just because he's genuinely one of the better Champion battles out there but because he's just got a great character with interesting dynamics, relatable backstory, and such and he left an impression. Certainly helps that he's been in tons of media as of late, with the anime of course giving him an active presence, not to mention Twilight Wings and Evolutions portraying him as of late.

-Red and Lance should be much lower.

Nostalgia is a powerful thing.

-I do not understand what they see in Diantha. Her theme bangs but other than that there's nothing about her that puts her above some of the champions below her.

I don't get why Diantha is that high though. I like her design, it's cute, and Gardevoir as an ace is an interesting choice, and her theme is good, but other than that there's not much about it I care for. Complete pushover in the game, lackluster character, and an unmemorable team outside of Gardevoir. Not better than Mustard or Peony for me, despite the fact they don't feel like Champions (because, well, they're retired, but still)

Do keep in mind Diantha is still on the lower end of the popularity scale. 22 votes is hardly impressive out of 917 votes, so I wouldn't call that particularly popular in the slightest. She's still far, far behind every other iconic Champion in the series especially when the likes of Cynthia and Leon have achieved 233 and 154 votes respectively and others like Iris, Red, Steven, and Blue are still comfortably ahead of her.

If you count every Champion from the base games of a generation (minus Alder), she's rock bottom. The ones below her are cases where they are overshadowed by another Champion in the same region. Diantha is the only Champion in Kalos, and therefore she's not overshadowed in her own region. Wallace, Mustard, and Peony are all from enhanced versions/DLC and exclusively so, and are overshadowed by Steven and Leon. Alder likely is low as he is because you don't battle him in the main game of BW1 and his spotlight is usurped by N, which I'm sure hurt his popularity and memorability, and in BW2 Iris takes the reins as Champion which further steals his spotlight. The anime even made it clear lately that he lost his position.

On the contrary, the anime probably gave her a bit of popularity that she wouldn't have obtained otherwise, since she's a much more active presence in the XY and XYZ anime than she ever was in the games. Certainly makes up for how unmemorable she is in the games.

Speaking of Iris, her getting 4th is a bit of a surprise though, as you noted, she has more presence due to being one of Ash's companions (and she is also now Unova Champion in the anime).

I'm also surprised Iris ranked as high as she did. I think she deserves it but between the BW anime seasons not being well received (with her being a big reason why) as well as B2W2 not selling all that well, I didn't think she would be that popular.

Yeah it's a little surprising. Maybe it's a bit of recency bias though since she only ascended to Champion in the anime this year and her return in Journeys was quite memorable and I'm sure some people found her appearance this time around more likable than previously. She may come from a less well known game, but she's the more memorable Champion of the two in Unova and Unova is pretty well liked in Japan, and her battle in BW2 itself is great for a final boss. Her only competition when it comes to Unova is Alder, and obviously he never really got a chance in BW1 or BW2 for that matter. She may not have been well liked at first but I'm sure people warmed up to her in her most recent anime appearance as well.

 

[King Feraligatr]

Diantha being higher than Alder is a crime... Just why? Alder's a somebody, Diantha's a nobody. ... People...

 

[Samtendo09]

Nostalgia is a powerful thing.

Correction: Nostalgia is a powerful cash-in thing.

I don’t think I can comment much without repeating what others said. With Leon though, he’s certainly a step in the right direction as a champion compared to Diantha, and the more I think about it, the more the chilling actually have good intention and making sense, even if going overbearing about it.

in-game stuff

In-game, it is not hard to see why. His team may not be seen as unique with an all-out attacker team, but the composition rounds out nicely despite one overlap (two if you picked Sobble).

Aegislash is an all-rounder powerhouse and a gimmick done right. The Steel-type also complement nicely with Haxorus and Dragapult’s Dragon-type. These two Dragon-types are also threats, one hitting hard, the other is very fast.

The fourth and fifth slot depends on the player’s starter; if Grookey is picked, Seismitoad and Cinderace will be used. Cinderace does make a Fire-type overlap with Charizard, though it is physical while Charizard is special, so it’s not completely redundant. Seismitoad comes in handy against opposing Fire-type Pokémon, as well as Ground and Rock type that can threaten half of Leon’s team.

If Scorbunny is picked, Mr. Rime and Intelleon are used. Mr. Rime have both Freeze-Dry and Thunderbolt, which will threaten opposing Water-type and, with Thunderbolt, isn’t entirely helpless against Corviknight either. Inteleon also help taking out opposing Fire-type, Rock-type and Ground-type, and have Mud Shot to slow down non-Flying threats.

If Sobble is picked, Rhyperior and Rillaboom are used. Rhyperior have EdgeQuake STAB and Megahorn + Heat Crash coverage vs Grass. Rillaboom and Charizard’s Drum Beating and G-Max Overgrowth respectively will take care of opposing Water-type, although that does leave the team overall much weaker against Ice as four out of six Pokémon are weak to Ice.

And finally, last but not least, the controversial ace but definitely not a pushover, Charizard. Gigantamax Charizard’s G-Max Wildfire steadily reduce your Pokémon’s HP which stacks with Sandstorm damage, G-Max Overgrowth knock your Water-type and especially Rock-type out of the park, and G-Max Airstream boost up it’s Speed as if Charizard isn’t speedy enough. Unless you slap a Choice Scarf on a Galar Fossil with Fisheous Rend / Bolt Beak (preferably with Strong Jaw Dracovish for best result) or Galarian Darmanitan with Rock Slide, or cheesy Anti-Dynamax measures with Trick + Eject Button + Damaging Priority, you want to keep your Dynamax for Charizard in particular.

 

[Worldie]

Diantha being higher than Alder is a crime... Just why? Alder's a somebody, Diantha's a nobody. ... People...

We both know the reason (spoilers it also has a lot to do with Cynthia being first), but I won't go over it because I like to keep this forum kid-friendly

I am however glad that Leon managed to get the 2nd spot. Even without the ... whole Charizard issue, it does appear that actually making the Champion show up often during the story (and even be quite relevant to it!) compared to just being a nobody that sits atop the League while doing absolutely nothing other than challenge you at the end does, indeed, provide for a successful charachter design.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

You both have nailed a lot on what makes Leon such a successful Champion, including his team being really good and strong making for a great boss fight and his involvement in the story being a huge part of what makes him memorable.

But more than anything is that he's also a very multi-dimensional character that we can learn so much about over the course of the game and even in other media we've seen him in. Right from the get go he's introduced as not only the Champion, but he's the "unbeatable" Champion, and he's never lost an official match. He's a celebrity in Galar and he's a charismatic presence wherever he goes. He steps in and protects Galar whenever needed. He's a star.

And yet beneath it all, he's got a down-to-earth backstory, interesting relationships with other characters, and his own unique quirks as a person. He may be "unbeatable", but really he's like you, the player: he went on a journey across Galar when he was young, and did the Gym Challenge and even the IoA trials in his days, and ultimately won his Champion title at the end and has been defending his title ever since. He's Hop's older brother and one who Hop aims to surpass during his character arc. He's childhood friends with Sonia who was also his rival when they did the Gym Challenge. Raihan is also his rival even now and they have quite the friendship. And despite his charisma, he has a horrible sense of direction (especially in IoA where Mustard says he could never find either of the Towers). Another thing that makes him so strong isn't just his talent, but his passion for battling. He loves battling and wants Galar's Trainers to work together to become the strongest, especially after he loses his Champion title where he inherits Rose's former properties and turns Rose Tower into a Battle Facility and becomes League Chairman and gets those Sordward and Shielbert weirdos to fund the Galarian Star Tournament. The recent Evolutions short revealed another side to his character about how stressful his title is to him at times.

He's a very well realized character, and he's so much more than just a Champion, which makes him memorable to many. His presence is strong in many ways and that solidifies his popularity amongst people imo.

We both know the reason (spoilers it also has a lot to do with Cynthia being first), but I won't go over it because I like to keep this forum kid-friendly

Yeah you're right...I really should have suspected as much

 

[Appletun a la Mode]

The recent Evolutions short revealed another side to his character about how stressful his title is to him at times.

the evolutions short really tipped me from 'i don't mind leon, he's a pretty solid character' to 'shit, i really like this guy.' i never disliked him, but that sudden shift in perspective & additional layer of depth they managed to convey with such a brief animation won me over. he was already likeable even if he's kind of presented as a ditz, but then they had to go and confirm that yes, actually, being galar's main line of defense against monsters like eternatus will in fact give someone actual trauma and suddenly he's too human for me not to like. if he was a lady with cynthia's (ahem) specific advantages i think he might have given her a run for her money.

 

[Chadlad50]

Honestly I really like Leon a whole lot after reading this thread. He's a fun character, his fight was actually hard enough for me to break out Eternatus (I'm so sorry Leon), and I really like his team, even if it does have a good amount of type overlap (was Haxorus necessary when he already has Dragapult? I mean it doesn't offer anything else besides mono dragon, but I digress).

His appearance in the Twilight Wings and Evolutions shorts only made me like him more. I think it's really interesting how in the Twilight Wings short "Sky" he kinda has that same "I'm a little tired of this" expression until he meets John and puts on his Champion face for him. Or maybe he doesn't do that and I'm just reading too much into it, but still, great character.

Also I don't care if Charizard is overrated or whatever, I think it's a cool ace. It fits well with his whole celebrity character, with Charizard being one of the most popular Pokemon of all time, along with a Champion's Pokemon being a starter being a really cool choice.

 

[Hugin]

One thing that's interesting about Leon is that he's very much supposed to be based on a player character. He takes forever to get anywhere, has a team of ridiculous broken mons(2 pseudos, Aegislash, 2 starters), and has literally never lost. It seems very intentional that he's designed to fit how the fandom experiences the game, which I'm not sure I love, but I definitely like that they tried it.

 

[Rapti]

We both know the reason (spoilers it also has a lot to do with Cynthia being first), but I won't go over it because I like to keep this forum kid-friendly

if he was a lady with cynthia's (ahem) specific advantages i think he might have given her a run for her money.

Like what is the reason exactly? "They're both girls and therefore must be sexualized, hurr hurr"?
can people just have voted for Cynthia just cause she's cool?
I mean I hate Diantha and even I would have thought of her before Mustard or Peony (I mean really; Peony) when it comes to champions

It's not as if they're even sexualized in game! they're not possed or designed like Olivia or every other female Swimmer are

is this really the position the fandom has on female characters? "hurr hurr woman has vagina, vagina SEX TOY ONLY!!!!"? cause I don't really think that
hell, I don't think you think that either

yes "women in japanese cartoon = sex toy" is an easy joke to make and to be fair it is something that otaku do a lot

but I find that equating the worst examples of a subset (even in Japan!) of cartoon fans to Pokemon fans facetious at best

please don't do that

 

[sb879]

Also, the insinuation that Leon could have been as popular as Cynthia IF ONLY he was HOT like her is just bizarre. I got news about Leon for y'all...

As a broader point: yes, attractiveness often plays a part in character popularity, but there's this weird notion among a lot of people that that only applies to women.

 

[Worldie]

Like what is the reason exactly? "They're both girls and therefore must be sexualized, hurr hurr"?
can people just have voted for Cynthia just cause she's cool?
I mean I hate Diantha and even I would have thought of her before Mustard or Peony (I mean really; Peony) when it comes to champions

It's not as if they're even sexualized in game! they're not possed or designed like Olivia or every other female Swimmer are

is this really the position the fandom has on female characters? "hurr hurr woman has vagina, vagina SEX TOY ONLY!!!!"? cause I don't really think that
hell, I don't think you think that either

yes "women in japanese cartoon = sex toy" is an easy joke to make and to be fair it is something that otaku do a lot

but I find that equating the worst examples of a subset (even in Japan!) of cartoon fans to Pokemon fans facetious at best

please don't do that

You must have slightly (not completely though) misunderstood what I meant.

I meant that one of the reason for Cynthia being first (and Diantha being anywhere not at the very bottom) is because they're women, yes, and Cynthia expecially features far more ...questionable art than probably all of pokemon charachters combined.

You can pretend to be wholesome as much as you want but we all know that one of the big reasons for Cynthia's popularity is the amount of sexualization she received over the years.

Now, I didn't say ALL of it. I'm pretty sure a part (hopefully, the majority, but I have no faith in humanity) of the fans of Cynthia love her because of her story / ingame presence / personality / x. But denying that lot of her popularity is due to the massive sexualization the fanbase has made of her is... quite optimistic of you.

 

[Appletun a la Mode]

Also, the insinuation that Leon could have been as popular as Cynthia IF ONLY he was HOT like her is just bizarre. I got news about Leon for y'all...

As a broader point: yes, attractiveness often plays a part in character popularity, but there's this weird notion among a lot of people that that only applies to women.

Like what is the reason exactly? "They're both girls and therefore must be sexualized, hurr hurr"?
can people just have voted for Cynthia just cause she's cool?
I mean I hate Diantha and even I would have thought of her before Mustard or Peony (I mean really; Peony) when it comes to champions

It's not as if they're even sexualized in game! they're not possed or designed like Olivia or every other female Swimmer are

is this really the position the fandom has on female characters? "hurr hurr woman has vagina, vagina SEX TOY ONLY!!!!"? cause I don't really think that
hell, I don't think you think that either

yes "women in japanese cartoon = sex toy" is an easy joke to make and to be fair it is something that otaku do a lot

but I find that equating the worst examples of a subset (even in Japan!) of cartoon fans to Pokemon fans facetious at best

please don't do that

going w/ worldie here.

cynthia's a genuinely good character! she is! nowhere did i say she wasn't.

but she's also an attractive female character, and on top of that, an attractive female character that many members of a male-weighted fanbase grew up with. so of course i'm going to make the obvious tongue in cheek comment that it looks like half the thread was also thinking--idk how my comment in particular stuck out more egregiously than the ones up-thread.

nowhere did i say 'that's the only reason she topped #1,' though. in fact neither of us said that (and no one in the rest of the thread did either) and it feels a lil disingenuous to act as though that's what we were implying. but to pretend that she doesn't get bonus points for ^ the above, or that it doesn't give her an easy edge over other characters like Blue, who has featured longer and in almost as many spinoffs (and had arguably more character growth over 2 decades) also does seem intentionally naive. we can argue about the size of the advantage, sure, but i also never implied the lead was so large that leon would actually beat her out, just that the gap might've been shorter.

(i'm also quite aware that leon is attractive, and i dunno how many of you play Masters but they certainly leaned into it when they designed his sygna suit. the evolutions short was very kind to him in that regard, too. so i'm sure he got his share of votes for being good-looking as well, but if we truly are opening the door to that portion of the popularity content then my above points about cynthia stand even more firmly since the majority of the fanbase is male and attracted to women, meaning if votes are cast solely on those merits she's going to put every other champion in the dirt.)

idk though. i was poking gentle fun at the fact that, all the above conditions being as they are, she was given a running start. that's just How It Works on the internet. if she didn't have the other merits that she does she wouldn't have taken and maintained an actual lead like she did! this was a poll with a fairly small number of participants so i'm not going to make a judgment of the integrity of the fandom at large based on it.

 

[Rapti]

nowhere did i say 'that's the only reason she topped #1,' though.

Nor did I intend to say you did but the whole joke about "girl = sex object" is very, very old, tired and also quite grating
and no the fact that "that's just How It Works on the internet" doesn't make it any better


this on the other hand makes me sad

Now, I didn't say ALL of it. I'm pretty sure a part (hopefully, the majority, but I have no faith in humanity) of the fans of Cynthia love her because of her story / ingame presence / personality / x. But denying that lot of her popularity is due to the massive sexualization the fanbase has made of her is... quite optimistic of you.

and yes I know is and ought shall never meet but saying "yo dog even in Pokemon bitches be meat", even if true, makes for one sad Rapti

(also fuck you Hume)

sigh...


anyways, wasn't Hau also a champion at some point? why didn't anyone vote for him? he's certainly a better choice than Peony for a champion

 

[Chadlad50]

I got the impression you were competing with Hau for the spot of champion, not fighting to replace him, but I'm probably wrong

 

[Appletun a la Mode]

Nor did I intend to say you did but the whole joke about "girl = sex object" is very, very old, tired and also quite grating
and no the fact that "that's just How It Works on the internet" doesn't make it any better

i can def understand that. i think we approach the subject (uncomfortable as it can be) from opposite sides of the coin. i try to wring an ounce of dry humor out of it. you find it irritating. it definitely IS a fact, however unpalatable, that male & female characters are received differently especially in online fandoms, we just seem to acknowledge it in different ways. i apologize if i seemed dismissive of the fact that that's, yknow, actually a Real And Pressing issue -- this just doesn't seem like the thread to be hashing out rampant sexism in fandom so i threw in a flat one liner that obviously didn't land for some people.

anyways, wasn't Hau also a champion at some point? why didn't anyone vote for him? he's certainly a better choice than Peony for a champion

as for Hau, he never actually held the seat! in regular S/M, he only appears as a challenger, and in USUM he appears as your fellow finalist. in theory if you, the player, lose to Hau in that battle he would be the champion, but i don't actually know how the games acknowledge a loss on the player's part during that battle because it's probably safe to say most people either won or reset on a loss!

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

I got the impression you were competing with Hau for the spot of champion, not fighting to replace him, but I'm probably wrong

Yeah he wasn't actually the Champion, you and he just happened to get to the spot at the same time and are competing to decide who will be Alola's first Champion.

anyways, wasn't Hau also a champion at some point? why didn't anyone vote for him? he's certainly a better choice than Peony for a champion

As I said above. Also I assume no one voted in that regard either because USUM's reception is divisive or because people like SM's finale more because it was against Kukui. Or because the one person who acknowledged it said SM/USUM player who is effectively the first Alola champion.

 

[PokemonCrusader]

Queen Diantha only 8th?

Alas, true greatness is only comprehended by a few.

 

[Coronis]

Queen Diantha only 8th?

Alas, true greatness is only comprehended by a few.

Looks way too high to me tbh. Saddened that Lance is so low.