Feelings for Female Trainers

The post about the Iris episode got me thinking that perhaps female Pokémon Trainers don't get all the respect they deserve. If Pokémon is well-liked by everyone, then it follows that there would be female Pokémon fans as well. And of those female fans, understandably some would take up the role of Pokémon Trainers as well, to follow the exact same typical roles in the main series. I think this is a fully respectable thing for any Pokémon fan, especially if they're female fans.

Within the main series games, female Trainers have been recognized since the beginning of the series; even back in the first games, many Trainers in the field are female, and certain Gym Leaders in Kanto are female. However, the protagonist could not be recognized as female. In the following generations, this was changed, and now a standard question asked at the very beginning of every game is "are you a boy or are you a girl?", which sometimes gets a few jabs, but at least it provides a way for all genders to express themselves suitably.

Meanwhile, in real life, I recall efforts of holding all-female tournaments for the main series games. I applaud this effort as a way to include female players into the game, however few there are. In fact, there hasn't been one specifically held in recent memory, possibly because of this very reason. Even so, that hasn't stopped female Trainers from shining; last time I participated in a really major tournament, there was a notable female appearance in the later stages. What I hope is that this becomes an inspiration for other female players to rise up to the challenge.

The world of Pokémon is by all means open to not only males but also females. The main series games already provides the means to express oneself as a female and thereby supports those of this gender. And if that's not enough, perhaps a little motivation on the battlefield for the women may help, encapsulated in a ditty by a well-known diva, which does evoke images of female Pokémon Trainers on the field - for me at least:

The best thing about being a woman
Is the prerogative to have a little fun

Oh, oh, oh, go totally crazy, forget I'm a lady
Men's shirts, short skirts - oh, oh, oh,
Really go wild, yeah, doin' it in style
Oh, oh, oh, get in the action, feel the attraction
Color my hair, do what I dare - oh, oh, oh,
I wanna be free, yeah, to feel the way I feel
Man! I feel like a woman!
-- "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!", Shania Twain

Hmm. May all female Pokémon Trainers feel empowered to express themselves as they are.