>>58806984Somehow I forgot to add the most obvious thing ever, but Ruby's Mudkip/Marshtomp/Swampert is also his only male Pokemon, all his other Pokemon are female. It's probably another way to make Mudkip a representation of Ruby's past self which he tried to bury. In Ruby's view, Mudkip was this ugly little thing that kept growing into a bigger stronger and uglier brute, becoming what Ruby saw as this negative masculine stereotype he was so afraid of. But in reality the Mudkip has a chill and gentle personality, yet it was also physically powerful at the same time especially as it evolved. Being both gentle and strong isn't mutually exclusive, and masculinity isn't automatically bad, which was a main lesson Ruby had to learn in RS. And maybe raising Mudkip was one way Ruby started to realize this. By the time in ORAS later, when Mega Swampert ends up looking like a fucking inflated gorilla, Ruby doesn't have a problem with its masculine appearance anymore. So Ruby's Mudkip is actually very relevant to Ruby's backstory.
Inversely, Sapphire's Blaziken is her only female Pokemon on a team of males. Her Blaziken also has a quiet nature which is the opposite of Sapphire, who is notoriously loud. RS Sapphire's baggage was just the opposite of Ruby's where she was in a constant state of cope trying to avoid being a girl, since she saw it as a negative thing.
And no Ruby's Plusle and Sapphire's Minun aren't actually their Pokemon, they're just strays who joined them for awhile. But it is interesting that their sexes matched their temporary trainers too.
>>58809110To be fair Mudkip loses the cold once it becomes a Swampert, so it's actually perfect now. It's Ruby who stays cringe.
