Why do queer people love Pokémon?

In one of my last videos, I asked: "Why do queer people love Pokémon?" and a LOT of you replied with your own takes. To commemorate pride month, I chose a few comments that picked my attention to discuss in our collective investigation to find out if Pokémon is, after all, a queer series, and to understand why so many members of the LGBTQ+ community feel such a strong connection to this series.

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📚 Chapters:
00:00 - Previously, on Cecilily
01:05 - Happy Pride Month!
04:03 - Why do queer people love Pokémon?
14:38 - My hot take
17:33 - Outro

🎵 In this video you heard soundtracks from Pokémon BW, Pokémon HGSS, Zelda and Mario Kart.

[EthanAshcraft-Newton]

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

[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.

[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 look who found out they were bi.

[featherglacier]

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)

[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.

[axolotl]

When eevee evolved into sylveon every queer came fr fr

[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.

[gravityknows]

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

[VCV]

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.

[Mologna]

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

[lunalunaluna]

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

[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.

[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.

[lewiswernham]

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

[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!

[xavibun]

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

[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 :((

[tokofukawap]

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 better and I'm an adult now. I also have a very healthy relationship.

[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!

[whyisthomyorke]

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