Not counting BDSP since they don't redesign the characters' base outfits, which set of protagonists are your favorites?
Serene/Calem
ORAS May/Brendan
Selene/Elio
Ailey/Ray (Same as SM's but USUM promo material used different names)
Gloria/Victor
Akari/Rei
Juliana/Florian
Harmony/Paxton
Voting ended onAug 25, 2025
I really like that we're having older protagonists again in Legends, tho of the modern protagonists, Calem and Serena are my favorites! I also really like the outfits and energy of USUM's protagonists in their standard art, they're really cute and look so excited to explore Alola! 🥺
My least favorites are Juliana and Florian for pretty obvious reasons (dorky and bland in their base outfits and you can't escape it unless you buy the DLC for more clothing options), and ORAS Brendan and May. RS Brendan used to be my favorite protagonist design, I always thought he had dyed white hair until literally high school (when I first read the manga) and I thought his outfit was cool.
I don't like that ORAS got rid of his hat's ambiguity, and I don't like the look of the wetsuit shirt, tho I do realize it makes more sense for Hoenn's climate and how often we're travelling over water in that game. I also think May looks too stick-thin and awkward in her base ORAS art, her proportions in the Gen3 games look more natural imo. (Her sporty look was also really cool in RSE.) They're also both really starey in Pokemon Masters and their base game art, and it's kinda unsettling.
Characters: Jackson storm, Ray Reverham, Mentioned backround characters
Tags: Isolation, experiment, angst, comfort
Word count: 1402
Jackson is an experiment bought into the industry having been sold off by his parents.
The racing centre was busy, scientists and trainees and trainers were wandering around the centre to do their tasks for the day, the trainees were using the main equipment, some being led to back rooms away from the main training room. The trainees were all grey with assigned colours on them and had numbers painted on the side, they were only called that number unless visitors were being given a tour of the facilities, although the tour was never the entire centre just the part of the centre that seemed most legal. Behind the main room were labs, Dorms and isolated locations.
The training centre as they had named the facility was actually a giant laboratory. Cars were experimented on, modified and given chemicals to alter their bodies. The aim to make the strongest fastest cars that was possible to race, to make money, to win championships. The moment the cars became trainees they were no longer civilians they were experiments for the company to do as they wished.
These companies full of power and greed would do anything they could just to make the best racer. They would buy kids into their company to experiment on from a young age. Send out advertisements saying there was an opening for up and coming racers. These experiments could be as young as 3 being experimented on.
---
On the third floor was some of the isolated areas, in one was a small child, he had the number five on his side and his own trainer. The kid had been in the training centre for two years now he was one of the few that had been bought purely to be experimented on. The kid was 4 years old and was one of the youngest trainees in the centre, he had a trainer who he had accidentally called dad more times than he could count.
The small child had 3 main areas that he was allowed in. The first room was his bedroom, it had a standard looking bed with some cartoon bed sheets. He had some toys he could play with but not many. The second room contained a lot of technology mainly a small simulator that mimicked racing on a racetrack, the kid had to use the simulator as much as he could as part of his experimentation and his change in reaction time and skill. The third room was the room he hated the most, it was the largest room in the area, it contained a hospital bed, a lot of monitors. The locked drawers that lined the walls contained needles and sheets to record the child’s reaction to whatever the scientists gave him.
It was late in the afternoon when the door to the kid's room opened, and his trainer drove in.
“Jackson, I have dinner for you” Ray stated looking down at the kid, Jackson was playing with some coloured mats and some toy cars. Ray knew he shouldn’t call Jackson by his name, but he couldn’t bring himself to call him Number 5 it seemed wrong to Ray.
“Ray!” Jackson beamed happily as he quickly sped over to his trainer. Jackson was always excited to see Ray, Ray was his favourite person.
Ray placed the oil for Jackson on his small table as he lowered himself as much as he could so he could be similar eye level to Jackson. Which in itself was quite difficult for a pickup.
“Thanks Ray!” Jackson said mouth half full of the oil that Ray had brought him.
“Don’t speak with your mouth full Jackson, eat the food then speak” Ray scolded lightly, Ray wasn’t only in charge of ensuring Jackson was ready for the more intense training when he’s older but also making sure he was well mannered unlike some of the older trainees.
Jackson nods and goes back to eating.
---
Jacksons life was pretty much the same until he became thirteen. For 10 years of his life he was experimented on and isolated from everyone else, as far as he knew he was the only person in this place that it was only the size of the room he was in and that outside was just trees and grass like he had read in his books and seen on screens.
When Jackson had officially turned 13 Ray had brought him out of his room, he had known all his life. When Jackson walked out it was overwhelming, Jackson didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know how to react. Standing just outside his door Jackson stood frozen, he turned to Ray.
“why, when was this here?” Jackson asked there was an audible tremble in his words he looked around again it was so big already Jackson didn’t know if he would be able to remember where everything was.
“It's always been here kid, what did you think was out here?” Ray asked almost concerned at Jacksons reaction but also not surprised by the reaction the kid had been isolated for an unfair amount of time.
“I thought... it was trees and grass, like the books I read when I was younger” Jackson says tears pricking at his eyes the entire situation becoming too overwhelming to him.
Ray brought Jackson in for a hug, he couldn’t even imagine how Jackson may feel after being let out of a room he had been in his entire life. To Jackson he thought the world was his room that maybe there was something out there but he didn’t know what, to find he was just in a room would be such a shock and a struggle to comprehend. Jackson started sobbing against Ray.
---
Jackson managed to calm down after a while, he pulled away from Ray and looked up at the latter. “Can we go looking around the place?” Jackson asked softly.
Ray smiled softly. “of course kiddo, lets go” Ray stays close to Jackson as he begins to lead the kid around the centre, they drove down the long halls. The first stop was the dormitories, he showed Jackson where the older kids always slept.
Jackson looked around the room it was empty but there were 4 beds and some desks, Jackson looked in awe at how bland the rooms looked. “They’re much more… boring than my room” Jackson commented looking at Ray.
“Yes well, this is the room you will be staying in from now on, that old room, is no longer yours, you have grown out of it” Ray said trying to put it gently, but he knew that Jackson needed to know about it.
Jackson looked at Ray in despair. “But, its my room, why can’t I stay there? Its my room!” Jackson looked at Ray scared and confused learning about this he felt like crying again.
“Jackson you are thirteen now you have to move here, its, its how this works” Ray tried to explain. The way Jackson looked at him, it was heart breaking. “come on Jackson. Lets have a look at the rest of the facilities”
Jackson nodded and the two left the dorms and headed towards the training areas. Jackson saw just how many trainees there were there were trainees and scientists at every area. Jackson looked at everything taking in everything that was there.
“Its like, what I’ve been using all my life, but bigger” Jackson said a little lost.
Ray nodded and looked at Jackson. “They are, because all the trainees that use them are much bigger than when you were using your smaller equipment, and now you will get to use these facilities, you can improve your speed even more” Ray smiled “eventually you’ll be sharing a dorm with 3 other trainees and you will work together with them”
Jackson looked back at the training centre. “Will, the scientist still… experiment on me” Jackson asked anxiously.
Ray frowned he didn’t want to tell Jackson the truth, but he knew the kid deserved to know. “Yes, until you’re older and have been put into races” Ray explained.
Jackson frowned but nodded reluctantly, he kept looking around the area it was so much different to the world he grew up in. But a hint of determination filled Jackson, He was going to be the best here, he was going to show that no matter what he would end out on top. But that’s what the wanted and Jackson will learn that one day.
And finally, to cap off the Pokémon protagonist pixel posting, here’s some overworld sprites! Kanto thru Sinnoh are in the Gen 4 style, Unova thru Galar are in Gen 5 style. Ray/Ailey are separated from Elio/Selene, and there’s a couple alt sprites in there.
They’re all based on my headcanon versions of the protagonists, and I might make posts explaining all about them in the future!
Here’s some OCs too, based on unreleased/beta characters:
