>>716322681
Good thing I'm white.

>>58029513
Kalos' issue is that all of its supporting cast were fighting for what little screen time they were given and you were stuck with an undeveloped friend group for 80% of the game who never really impacted things more than just saying what they were into every other route. If you cut the friends to focus on these fucks, they could've been good characters. If you cut them to focus on the friends, maybe they could've had the same chemistry as Bianca/Cheren did because those two got to change over the course of the story. Flat characters aren't bad, Hau is a mixed reaction but that mix is stronger than any of the reactions people had for XY's cast

I've come around to these idiots but they really needed to do more things than just exposit shit. There's implications that Dexio is super proud about being your senpai and that he went on his own journey 2 years ago which is only ever alluded to in your first interaction with them and then never really brought up again. Afterwards they explain to you features, say catchphrases and leave. The moment Masuda left Pokemon the characters stopped being like this entirely, for better or worse

Here's my 5 step program to save male protags

>1: Actually unique, shonen designs
Billed caps haven't been cool since the 90s. Give them cooler messy hair and vary the colors up to more hot-colors instead of just relying on the same old browns and blacks. Female characters have looked varied for years but the male characters have never stepped out of Red's shadow. The male character we got with the biggest dick since Red is Juliana
>2: Slightly older looks
Nobody wants to play as gakis unless they want to self-insert as pathetic shotas being preyed upon by older women. This isn't cool, it's pretty gay. Save that shit for NPCs like Allister or Kieran, the protags should look able
>3: Multiple Save Slots
This isn't technically related, but Pokemon is 100% held back by this. A big reason why people wouldn't want to pick the other Gender ever is because they're stuck with one slot per game. I feel this limitation is also what encourages a lot of the franchise's bad design decisions as of late
>4: Female option is your rival
This is a given. People love when your friend group includes the character you didn't pick. It means the design doesn't go to waste and you can save on game assets. It should've been standard, no idea why Unova, Alola, Galar and Paldea don't have this especially since they put so much emphasis on writing. This also ties into my last suggestion
>5: Dateable NPCs
The instant win. It doesn't have to be real romance mechanics, it can just be social link stuff that implies romance. People will flock to male protags to self-insert with this option. It'll take another 20 years for faggots to normalize same sex dating mechanics in a baby RPG like Pokemon so this is the perfect time to incorporate these mechanics. Better if the closer you bond with girls, the better their teams get to fight them in-game as if they learn how to deal with (You) specifically