>>51016880Damn, forgot about Wallace because he's so easy to forget. But that just further illustrates the point of Cynthia not being noteworthy here since the same sequence had already happened three times before. Now the idea of a monster of a champion who is not only humble but relieved to be defeated by a promising trainer is indeed interesting, but GF wasn't doing that with Cynthia. All champions are portrayed as exceptionally strong and, writing wise, Cynthia was no exception. The "exception among exceptions" idea was introduced with Leon (maybe Red counts, but he's a proxy for the player anyway). Also Cynthia is pushed as super kind and generous and humble from the get-go and never deviates an inch from this so you're not allowed to even form a different impression. As.much as people rag on Lance, he at least looked like a 90s edgy rival type, talked of power and sicced his Dragonite on a criminal, but is all about love, friendship, and humility, even has a cousin character who gets the priorities mixed up. Cynthia doesn't have even that going, just Steven again but a girl and more fun to battle.
Alder does the same shit but he's different from the young adults in that it's not being cool, sexy, and lovable but being beyond the typical concerns. He's a champion because he's the most suited at the moment and is pleased to move on and let the young take over, playing the role of a guide. Blue gets upset but it's reasonable given he just became champion and lost to you before his grandpa can arrive to congratulate him, and instead gets chewed out. Savage. Iris is also initially upset, she's also a kid who hasn't been champ that long and gets beaten by an older kid. But idk, cute cheesy lines are more charming coming from a little girl, just like wisdom is more compelling coming from an old person like Alder.
