tinycartridge:

Pokemon XY’s implied transgender trainer ⊟

The English translation here isn’t as suggestive as her Japanese text, which reads, “I was a Karate King just half a year ago; the power of medical science is awesome, wouldn’t you say?” Note that “Karate Kings”, or “Black Belts” as they’re known in the West, are a male-specific character type in the Pokemon series, their female counterparts going by “Battle Girls.”

Hurray for more diversity in Nintendo games! We have a podcast episode coming up that talks about this trainer and Japan’s approach to queer characters — please look forward to it! (Or ignore it if these conversations grind your gears. Whatever makes you happy!)

Related: Pokemon X is just $34 on Amazon right now. Credit to Legends of Localization for the Japanese translation (via TC reader TomSkylark).

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