>>45032527The middle ground I've hit is only using characters that aren't terribly well developed in the series. Mid-level Team Admins tend to work out really well for this. None of us have really watched the show or read the manga, so all there is to go on is a few lines of dialogue in the games and one, maybe two fights. There's plenty of room for interpretation while still being faithful to what little is presented, and I can check bulbapedia to see if the other media have gone in the same direction I'm thinking of going without worrying about tracking down specific episodes or chapters where they appear.
Basically, if I need an NPC to serve a function, and it turns out that a poorly fleshed out preexisting character could fill that role, I do a basic check of whether or not it makes sense for them to be there and if the motives align. If so, Why not throw 'em in? I highly doubt anyone would accuse me of mischaracterizing these literal whos as long as they are soft, helpful, and can speak to pokemon I guess?
