May

May as seen in Pokémon: Ruby and Sapphire Versions
May
Species	Human
Hair color	Light Brown
Eye color	Blue
Age	12 (as rival)
Relatives	Player Character Norman (father) Mother Rival Character Professor Birch (father) Mother, Brother
Voiced by	Deneen Melody (2021)
Debut	Pokémon: Ruby/Sapphire Versions

May is the potential female playable protagonist of Pokémon: Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald Versions. Depending on the gender chosen by the player at the beginning of the game, she is one of two characters: the player character (and the daughter of Norman) or the rival character (and the daughter of Professor Birch). Brendan is the alternate male lead.

Background

Playable Character

May was the daughter of the gym leader Norman. She was born in Johto, but her family moved to Littleroot Town in Hoenn after Norman became a gym leader there. She soon met the neighbors, including her future rival Brendan and his father Professor Birch, the latter of whom he saved from a wild Pokémon using one of three Pokémon (Treeko, Torchic, or [[Mudkip]) from Birch's bag. Afterwards, Birch thanked her and let her keep the Pokémon. He sent her to Oldale Town where Brendan would teach her about being a Pokémon trainer, and after the two battled and returned to Littleroot, Professor Birch gave May a Pokédex for use in recording data on Hoenn's Pokémon, while her mother gave her a pair of Running Shoes as a parting gift.

Soon she started to explore Hoenn, challenging and conquering its eight gyms as she traveled. Early in her journey, she taught a sickly boy named Wally how to catch Pokémon at her father's request, which helped Wally to recover and improve as a Pokémon trainer. May also battled Brendan several times throughout her journeys, and she learned how to use Mega Evolution in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire after receiving a Key Stone from Steven Stone. She eventually defeated even her own father. At the same time, May had a series of confrontations with members of the criminal organization Team Magma (in Rubyand Omega Ruby), Team Aqua (in Sapphire and Alpha Sapphire) or both organizations (in Emerald). This culminated in a battle with Archie and/or Maxie followed by a crisis involving Groudon and Kyogre. The problem was resolved when May defeated the raging Pokémon (in Ruby/Sapphire and Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire) or when May summoned Rayquaza to break up the two warring Pokémon (in Emerald).

May became the Pokémon League champion after defeating Hoenn's Elite Four and their champion Steven Stone (or Wallace in Emerald). Afterwards, her Pokédex was upgraded to National Mode by Professor Birch, and Norman gave her tickets to the S.S. Tidal. In Emerald Version, Scott then invited her to come to the Battle Frontier and test out her skills there.

Delta Episode

In the Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, the events known as the Delta Episode occurred right after May became champion. Steven Stone enlisted May's help with an effort to stop a meteoroid that was bound to crash into Hoenn and cause mass devastation. Their plan was to use a controversial technology called Infinity Energy (which drained the life force of Pokémon) to power a dimensional shifter that would send the meteoroid somewhere else. Along the way, May looked into the thefts of Mega Stones around Hoenn and had encounters with a mysterious girl named Zinnia, who was descend from the ancient Draconid tribe. Zinnia opposed their plan, because of the use of Infinity Energy and the possibility that the meteoroid could be sent to a different version of Hoenn.

Zinnia ultimately destroyed the shifter, and their only hope left was Zinnia's plan to summon Rayquaza. May came with Zinnia to the Sky Pillar, and she learned about the past of the Draconid people and Rayquaza along the way. When Rayquaza was summoned, it did not have enough power to Mega Evolve. It turned out that a meteorite within May's backpack had the power it needed, and May then had to battle and capture Rayquaza in order to prove herself. Once she had Rayquaza, it Mega Evolved, and the two of them managed to destroy the meteoroid together. Afterwards, she and Brendan were able to watch a star show at the Mossdeep Space Center together.

Rival Character

May's Emerald costume.

May was the daughter of Professor Birch living in Littleroot Town, and often set out to help him with his research. She met Brendan when he visited her house at Littleroot Town in the beginning of the game, and Professor Birch later sent him to meet her while she was collecting data at Route 103. There May would challenge Brendan to a battle in order to teach him about Pokémon training. She then sent him back to Littleroot to receive her Pokédex and gave him several Pokéballs to begin his journey with. In Emerald, she met Brendan again in Rustboro City, and after registering each other in Match Call, May would propose another battle, but this one was optional. May would then meet Brendan along Route 110. Challenging her yet again, this time after being defeated she gave him the Itemfinder. She then met him outside Lavaridge Town and gave him the Go-Goggles.

She appeared to Brendan again and battled him outside Fortree City, this time rewarding him with HM 02: Fly upon being defeated. May could then be found outside Lilycove City's department store on an errand for the professor, where she would challenge Brendan once more. After losing, she decided to return to Littleroot and help Professor Birch with the Pokédex using the information she had gathered. Hearing about Brendan's ambitions to challenge the Pokémon League, she considered doing the same one day before returning to Littleroot using Fly.

May made one last appearance at the game's end in the original games, with her and Birch showing up after Brendan had become the Pokémon League champion by defeating Steven Stone. May apparently did not notice that Brendan had already defeated Steven, as she attempted to reveal Steven's weakness to him.

In Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, May made additional appearances throughout the game, including teaching Brendan about the DexNav and giving her HM 04: Strength. She also went to see Professor Cozmo and ended up teaming up with Brendan in a battle against members of Team Aqua or Team Magma to save him. May also appeared at Sootopolis Town to support Brendan during the Groudon/Kyogre crisis. She also once again appeared at the Pokémon League at the game's end, but this time she then accompanied Brendan for the trip home and challenged him to one more battle afterwards (which was the only battle without any experience points).

At the beginning of the Delta Episode, Zinnia broke into May's home and stole her Mega Stone. Brendan's quest started as trying to receive that Mega Stone, which was successful in the end. Afterwards, Brendan and May went to see the star show for the Litlenoid meteor shower at the Mossdeep Space Center, using a pair of tickets provided by Brendan's parents. May could also appear as a battle partner for Brendan at the Battle Maison.

Pokémon Roster

• Treecko/Grovyle/Sceptile, Torchic/Combusken/Blaziken or Mudkip/Marshtomp/Swampert - May's starter Pokémon, she uses it in every battle. It will always be a Pokémon with a type advantage to that chosen by the player character. This Pokémon evolves into its second form before the Route 110 battle. It does not reach a third form in the original games, but in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, it evolves to that form prior to the Lilycove City battle. This Pokémon will also be Mega Evolved during the post-credits battle.
• Shroomish/Breloom - Used in all battles starting with the Route 110 battle in all games except for Emerald. May uses this Pokémon only if she has a Combusken or Marshtromp. In Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, it evolves into Breloom by the Lilycove City battle.
• Numel - Used in all battles starting with the Route 110 battle in Ruby/Sapphire only. May uses this Pokémon only if she has a Grovyle or Marshtromp.
• Wailmer/Wailord - Used in all battles starting with the Route 110 battle in all games except for Emerald. May uses this Pokémon only if she has a Grovyle or Combusken. In Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, it evolves prior to the Lilycove City battle.
• Swellow - This Pokémon is used starting in the Lilycove City in all versions except for Emerald.
• Lotad/Lombre/Ludicolo - Used in all battles starting with the optional Rustoro City battle in Emerald only, and it is only used if Brendan has a Torchic/Combusken or Mudkip/Swampert. It evolves into Lombre by the Rustboro City battle and Ludicolo by the Route 119 battle.
• Slugma/Magcargo - Used in all battles starting with the optional Rustboro City battle in Emerald or the Roue 110 battle in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire. Replacing Numel from the original versions, May only uses this Pokémon if she has a Treecko/Grovyle or Mudkip/Swampert. In Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, it evolves into Magcargo for the Lilycove City battle.
• Wingull/Pelipper - Used in all battles starting with the optional Rustobro City battle in Emerald only, and it is only used if May has a Treecko/Grovyle or Torchic/Combusken. It evolves into Pelipper by the Route 119 battle.
• Tropius - Used in the final battle at Lilycove City in Emerald only.
• Raichu - Used for the post-credits battle in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire only.

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters EX, May and Mudkip were made available as a playable sync pair that could be recruited at random through the game's Sync Pair Scout feature starting in January 2021. Her Mudkip could evolve into Marshtomp and Swampert through Sync Pair Stories (in which she had to defeat Brendan and Wally, respectively, in one-on-one battles), and her Swampert could Mega Evolve during battle. There were also several variants that were only made available through the Sync Pair Scout during limited time periods: a Spring 2021 variant of her in a rabbit-themed outfit that was paired with Lopunny (with Mega Evolution) which was fist made available in April 2021, an Anniversary 2022 variant that was paired with Latias which was first available in February 2022 and a Sygna Suit variant that was paired with Blaziken (also with Mega Evolution) which was first available in August 2022. May could also alternately pair with Wailmer, which was unlocked by reaching Friendship Level 100 with her at the Trainer Lodge starting in August 2022. In this game, May was depicted as the friendly rival character who was the daughter of Professor Birch and who focused on Pokémon Contests as well as field work, while Brendan was shown filling the role as the protagonist character. Despite her initial sync partner in the game being Mudkip, the description for her Sygna Suit variant and some of her in-game dialogue indicates that Blaziken was actually her traveling companion in Hoenn, implying that Torchic was her starter.

May's spring variant was featured during the "Pasio Eggsplorers" Story Event, where she and Burgh organized an egg hunt on Pasio and helped to find a Pokémon Egg that had gone missing in the process. During this event, Brendan worried that she was going to give up being a Pokémon Trainer to become a Professor like her father. May ultimately placated his fears, assuring him that while she thought of becoming a Pokémon Professor someday, that would not happen until further into the future, and she would tell Brendan first before making such a decision. She was also featured in the "Masters of Land and Sea" Story Event, where she helped to keep tabs on Archie and Maxie after their arrivals in Pasio. Her anniversary variant was featured in the "Pasio Friendiversary" Story Event, in which she helped to organize an event to celebrate Lear and Hoopa's 'friendiversary'. May was encouraged to take part in a Contest Spectacular, and Lisia offered to help her become a contest idol with Latias back in Hoenn. May was also featured during the Main Story's Villain Arc chapter "Hoenn: Delta of Land, Sea and Sky", in which she and Brendan helped out when Groudon and Kyogre went out of control.

In Pokémon Go, the parts of May's Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire outfit were made available as free Style options during Pokémon GO Tour: Hoenn, and a Pikachu wearing May's hat also appeared.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• May was featured as a main character in the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald-based episodes of the Pokémon anime, acting as Ash Ketchum's new traveling companion following the departure of Misty. In this version, May was the daughter of Norman and had a brother named Max who also traveled with them for a time. She initially disliked Pokémon and became a trainer just to travel, but she grew to like them over the course of her adventures with Ash. She ended up competing primarily in Pokémon Contests, while Ash took on the gym leader challenge. Her starter Pokémon was a Torchic which evolved to Blaziken. After they completed their challenges in Hoenn, they continued in Kanto, with May still competing in Pokémon Contests while Ash took on the Battle Frontier. After that series ended, May parted ways to compete in contests at Johto. She also made guest appearances during the Wallace Cup episodes of the Diamond & Pearl episodes, where she competed in the tournament and lost to Dawn. In the Pokémon Journeys series, May made a cameo appearance watching Ash's final battle against Leon in the Masters 8 tournament over television alongside May, Serena and Lisia.
• She appears in the Pokémon Special manga as Sapphire, being featured in the story arcs based on the third generation games. Sapphire was shown as being very tomboyish and dressing in leaves to catch Pokémon, focusing more on her work than appearance and hygiene. After meeting Ruby, who was obsessed with beauty, they decided to compete by seeing if, within 80 days, Ruby could win all of Hoenn's Pokémon Contests and Sapphire could beat all the gym leaders, with Ruby also giving Sapphire "real" clothes to wear. She made her way through the various gyms, crossing paths with Ruby and battling Team Aqua several times along the way. Eventually she trained under Winona after losing to her in order to prepare for the fights against Team Aqua and Magma, only to be disappointed when Ruby acts irresponsible. Flashbacks revealed that Sapphire was inspired to be such a committed trainer by seeing how powerful the prodigy Ruby was as a child, although that same incident made Ruby too afraid to utilize his talents. After Ruby returned, and they both trained under Juan, Sapphire and Ruby recognized each other from that childhood event, which caused them to confess their feelings to each other. However, after time is altered following the last battles, only Sapphire seemed to have remembered their confessions. Regardless, Sapphire defeated Norman offscreen to earn her last badge and completed their challenge. In the Emerald arc, she and Ruby arrived at the Battle Frontier to help Emerald capture Jirachi, with Winona advising Sapphire not to give up on Ruby. By the end of the arc, all of the Pokédex trainers teamed up to defeat Archie and the artificial Kyogre. She was later featured as a protagonist again in the Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire arc.
• May appeared in the sixth episode of Pokémon Evolutions, which adapted part of the Delta Episode. She was depicted in the protagonist role, and the story showed the events that unfolded with Zinnia at the Sky Pillar, resulting in May catching Mega Rayquaza and ending on the start of her battle with Zinnia. May was depicted with no dialogue beyond effort noises, and she was shown to have a Swampert and riding a Latios.

Trivia

• Like all of the playable protagonists of the Pokémon games, her name is actually chosen by the player. May is assumed as her canon name as it is the name automatically given to her as a non-playable character and has been used by other sources such as the anime and Pokémon Masters.
• In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, one of the female Pokémon Trainer's alternate costumes has a color scheme based on the color scheme of May's outfit from Emerald.