>>31407974you're confusing tone with themes
like most other fantasy games, pokemon features evil organizations, clashing "gods," and, yes, even the concept of "death."
but the way a child relates to these themes necessarily differs from the way a young adult relates to them. if you make your protagonist older, there is a presumption that, because your character is actually capable of understanding and relating to the conflict-driving theme as an adult, the theme will be treated more seriously. you can, of course, fight this presumption by using other tropes and storytelling devices, but the point is that the assumed maturity is more likely to hijack the plot.
when the child is a protagonist, the story designers can still engage with these themes, without also having to force the MC to be any more/less mature than the player assumes them to be. a child MC with 0 experience with death can still face off against the god of death, without losing the feeling of grandeur that goes with fighting the embodiment of death. if a player prefers to headcanon a tragic backstory for the child MC, they can do so, without detracting from the experience.
a teenager/young adult who fights Death, but does not also demonstrate solemnity or an "adult understanding" of what he's facing off against, comes off as autistic
