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Pokemon Masters
33 Comments
Lance represents dragons of the sky, Claire represents dragons of the sea. I think their designs, and especially their signature Pokemon, communicate this well.
I think it's really interesting, especially since she very much as an inferiority complex towards her cousin
She is supposed to be the strongest trainer of her region outside of the Elite 4
Maybe even strongest of two regions without counting Blue
But despite that, she will always be overshadowed by her cousin who is also not in the Elite 4 anymore, he is the Champion now, probably the most recognised trainer in both regions
I think she tried to contrast with him, to distance herself from him and get her own individuality
Also, as someone else in the comments pointed out, she thinks her style is great but she's the only one
I also think that her design contrasts a lot with her personnality in a way that works really well
She's not mature enough to be a gym leader, she doesn't want to give you the badge when you defeat her, thinking you don't deserve it
She tries to seem badass and competent because she is convinced that she is when she is not
I do think that Clair's remake design is way better than Lance's and should not be denounced as a knockoff. Lance is the one who hasn't aged well. You can tell that Lance is still stuck in the 90s, especially with that generic hairstyle and face. Clair has far stronger colors and an actually unique hairstyle. Clair also resembles her signature Pokemon Dragonair, while Lance doesn't have that same design connection with Dragonite.
There's this theme in pokemon GSC that, the game is LESSER than RBY, you explore a less "tecnologically advanced" region, a big part of the dex is dedicated to babys of gen 1 mons, your proffesor is clearly less experienced, half of your elite 4 is taken from kanto, the champion here is just an elite 4 member in rby and the most powerful gym leader in johto is a brat that REALLY wants to be lance.
On top of that, the whole deal with the team rocket is them sticking to the past, the great era that took place during rby, and to top it all off you even go to kanto (and everyone is way higher level mind you).
Theres lots of arguments one could make from this but i think it makes ethan/kristy/lyra's journey a very satisfying one, as by the end, they managed to surpass the hero red, it feels like a very sucessful mesage about not letting ur life be defined by the past and trying to do better.
See, we would argue Clair's design is better at representing the two dragon type lines we had in Gen 2, where Lance represents more the general power of the dragon type.
Claire's blue long freeflowing hair almost looks like something flying type trainers would have, representing Dragonite, who is part flying type, you can even argue her cape does a similar idea. Meanwhile, her clothes almost look like swimmer wear, referencing the new dragon type of Gen 2, Kingdra (and possibly the pre evolution of Dragonite, who are associated with water)
Lance still does a better idea of what Dragon type as a design looks like, but Clair is good a representing the smaller pool of dragon types we had in the Gen 2 days
You know what really would get tiring? Have two gym leaders in the same reason throw hissy fits after they lost and refused to give you their gym badge.
i think it's interesting she's the only one that doesn't experiment considering how tied she and her people are to customs and tradition
I honestly enjoy how extra and goofy the dragon type trainers look because it does work in contrast with itself typing. They’re trying to look intimidating to match their type but they end up looking silly almost like cartoon supervillains.
She's so hot, though T_T
Girl, it's just the 2nd Gen. The "tired" critique would have make sense if it's Gen 4 or 5. 😅
I…. Did not realize until now that they were cousins 😅
Is this the fastest short you did for a trainer? Lmao
On her own, she's the kind of design I prefer, a bit more dramatic but not OVERLY so to be trying too hard.
It's when she's in context to everyone else… she kind of has that "Enemy Stand User could be Anyone" energy, saved by the existence of Lance.
Design aside, it's wild to me that they made ghost and dragon-type gyms for a generation that only added one new Pokemon for each of those types. Clair at least uses Kingdra, but I don't know who thought it was a good idea to give Morty two Haunters over a Misdreavus.
Shoutout to the page on Clair in the Heartgold/Soulsilver strategy guide I had as a kid for making me a lesbian
Kind of disagree on the score becuse of what you said.
She is supposed to be hard core traditionalist that has not ventured out of her dragon tribe.
She lacks the world view that Lance has. And then it makes thematic sense that Lance has red and orange like Dragonite while Clair has the design of Dragonair. Not fully evolved and moved on from her roots.
She is not elite four. She can't make it that far as she is. She is stuck in the past while the player is not.
Giving Clair anything less than an "A" feels wrong tbh. Like yeah she's very clearly inspired by Lance but she's supposed to be? Her fate is to be forever stuck in Lance's shadow; a competent trainer on her own who will nevertheless always be compared to Lance because of her familial ties and close proximity to his home region. For the subtle visual story-telling the game does, her design does the job competently and I feel like giving her such a low grade is unfair. Would you give Larry negative marks because he's a boring salaryman even though that's literally his whole gimmick?
Shout out to Clair for having a gym literally filled with lava, it’s so extra and terrifying in a way Morty’s invisible path only hints at and I love it
Day 4 of asking if you can do a series on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33… it's one of the most beautiful and stunning games I've ever played, with its theme of grief and its stunning abstract visuals are beautiful. I'd love to see you have another lets-play series like what you have with Bloodborne.
Skyen… This is the first extended family we see in Pokémon, as a whole. It doesn't expand on the design concept, it expands on the world and establishes the existence of the Blackthorn dragon clan. Which, in turn, begins to further expand d on the history of the pokémon World. And, I'd argue that's the point. It's not supposed to establish something new, it's supposed to establish something more. Though you are correct, in that the design doesn't really stand out on it's own.
She is also a very immature person. Less master, more spoiled princess.😂
He wears a full suit
She wears a spandex
He founded Google
She works at Yandex
<w<
"This just ends is feeling a bit tired"
Clair's Family is also feeling a bit tired of her.
I can't remember if there were any dragon type trainers in the first game, but that could explain why she is so unoriginal. The designers couldn't explore that idea until now. And the reason Jasmine as the steel type gym leader is a bit more creative is that in that case they were working from scratch. With Clair, they already knew what a dragon type trainer looked like.
“She wears short skirts. I wear t-shirts.” I thought that was how this was going for a second
I actually really like how her design skews a bit close to Lance's, since it lends itself to their familial/clan bond.
You phoned this one in
"No need to tell me they were cousins, we can tell"
Can… We? I didn't even know they were related and I would've never guessed……
Tbh i like her design way more than lances
If I ignore the existence of Lance I love her design
She’s a joke. 100%
my first pokegirl crush as a young lad
Clair being designed just like Lance makes sense in a way. She claims that she’s able to hold her own against the Elite 4, so it is possible she’s thrown down with her cousin for the champion title at least a few times. She might have a desire to surpass him, but always comes up short. He’s the champion while she’s stuck as 8th gym leader. Actually, her HGSS rematch team has the same Pokémon Lance had in his champion battle (Charizard, Aerodactyl, Gyarados, Dragonite)
She’s a strong trainer, but she’s always second place to Lance. Whether it’s in skill, fame, strength, or trainer rank, Clair is always in her cousin’s shadow.