Erika of Celadon City

Apologies to all my Otaku brethren, but I've never been a big fan of the kimono


okay wow that looks lazy and shitty gen 1 may have had some nice-ass Pokemon but the character design was just NOT THERE


now this is a little better. I find it funny that she's wearing a pokeball-pattern kimono, instead of something more traditional like azaleas or sparrows or waves or whatever. she still looks bland to me, but I can see a "big sister" style personality emerging.

In Heart Gold, she's got an even more interesting design (though she looks younger than ever), incorporating maple leaves, clouds, and pokeballs. and look how playful she is! that little smile, that the way she's holding her pokeball, that tiny little bend in her knees, it's all really really cute. I'm still not convinced kimonos are the height of beauty, or that Erika is suddenly interesting and wonderful, but it's a start.


Her gym end up usually being not that hard to beat, because most Grass-types suck. also she only lets in female trainers, because discrimination based on gender is alive and well in the Pokemon world. also her dialogue references her dozing off a lot, which seems kind of odd. Is she just really tired from watering plants all night, or does she have a condition?

though there's one thing she never conveyed - that she trains Grass Pokemon. Her badge doesn't even looks much like any flower I've ever seen, more like the kind of badge Elton John would give away. He'd use a Krokorok, of course.

Erika certainly gained more personality over time, and her design got more ornate. This is the good kind of progress. By the end of it, she brought herself all the way up to mediocre! If she had maybe gone with a green kimono, or perhaps flowers in her hair, she would've scored much better.


Overall: 4/10