>>58606502I think it would have been more emotional if your starter pokemon had sacrificed themselves for you in the final part of the game; that would have been a real blow to the player.
Az was just another NPC to me. I would understand if, instead of Az, the game were set 50 years in the future and it was an old Calem who died. That would create a certain connection, since he's the character I used years ago.