>>58170473True, though I don't know what an alternative would be.
>>58170512Sapphire's supposed to look dumb though. Roxanne is also meant to look like a bully in all languages, in fact her Pokespe personality is mostly just her being a bitch. All of Roxanne's students laugh at Sapphire too. Or is bullying only justified for Japanese kids who haven't studied their moonrunes enough?
The whole Rustboro Gym fight was really just a Sapphire bullying gauntlet. It's the first real test of her character, when one of her weaknesses isn't just exposed but she gets her face rubbed in it too. The reader likely goes in with the assumption if anyone mocked a tarzan like Sapphire, she'd bear a grudge and later take revenge, because she's so aggressive and isn't it obvious? Maybe she'll punch Roxanne in the face and then commit trainer school genocide. It's also easy to assume the worst of Sapphire here because on Ruby's side of the story, Ruby is in a constant state of angry seething at both his dad and the whole world for misunderstanding him. So you expect Sapphire to be the same when she actually is being treated unfairly.
But later when Sapphire wins her battle against Roxanne, she doesn't use use the opportunity to take revenge. Sapphire seems to just let it go and forgives Roxanne. So Roxanne is impressed at her character, and finally learns to respect an illiterate subhuman.
There's parallels here where Sapphire's humility tempers someone else's arrogance, or she forgives jerks who probably don't deserve it. Here it's Roxanne but Sapphire later has a similar effect on Ruby
and Emerald and Zinnia. Sapphire being le empathy powers character instead of just some brute is the twist.
