>>58671117May and Dawn don't count, they have the anime buff. Males were still considered the default at the time of development while girls were modeled to be companion characters which is what happens when you don't pick them in-game. They clearly intended Dawn to be your support character, but her popularity completely eclipsed Lucas to the point people don't even remember he exists
Gen V in general is when that stopped, but Rosa in particular is where the shift from male-focused promotional material happened. Her reception + development of the 3D games focusing more on finalizing the female trainer designs while the males would be treated like an afterthought is noticeable in the Teraleaks. From stuff like using Hilda for engine tests of XY, to May being finished before Brendan in ORAS to Gloria being the player in the SwSh betas
