May (game)

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May
ハルカ Haruka
Emerald May.png
Art from Emerald
Gender Female
Hometown Littleroot Town
Region Hoenn (originally Johto if chosen by the player)
Relatives Mom, Norman (as player)
Professor Birch, unnamed mother and little brother* (as rival)
Trainer class Pokémon Trainer, Player character
Generation III
Games Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald
Anime counterpart May
Counterpart debut Get the Show on the Road!
Manga counterpart(s) Sapphire

May (Japanese: ハルカ Haruka) serves as the rival in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, should the player choose to play as the male character. She is also the female choice in the games, but May is never among the default names for the character.

The Generation III games deviated from the tradition of naming characters as their respective game names, such as Red in the Generation I and Generation II games. As such, May's counterparts include May from the anime and Sapphire in the Pokémon Adventures manga.

In the games

Role

If May is selected as the player character she starts her journey moving from her home in Johto to her new home in the town of Littleroot in Hoenn. After saving Prof. Birch from a wild Pokémon, she is given one of the three starters of the Hoenn region. May develops a close bond with Brendan, and eventually Wally, who both act as her rivals. May goes on to gather the eight badges of Hoenn, stop the plans of Team AquaWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc./Team MagmaWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc. and conquer the Pokémon League all before going off to face the Battle Frontier.

If May is not selected as the player, she is helping her dad finish the Hoenn Pokédex and becoming a Pokémon professor. She is also the player's rival and friend. Unlike other rivals (except for Brendan when playing as May), she gives up being a Trainer, making them the only rivals unavailable for battle after defeating the Elite Four. Additionally, they both are the only ones to not evolve their starter Pokémon into its final form.

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

First battle

Treecko If the player chose Treecko:



Torchic If the player chose Torchic:



Mudkip If the player chose Mudkip:



Second battle

Treecko If the player chose Treecko:



Torchic If the player chose Torchic:



Mudkip If the player chose Mudkip:



Third battle

Treecko If the player chose Treecko:



Torchic If the player chose Torchic:



Mudkip If the player chose Mudkip:



Fourth battle

Treecko If the player chose Treecko:



Torchic If the player chose Torchic:



Mudkip If the player chose Mudkip:



Pokémon Emerald

First battle

Treecko If the player chose Treecko:



Torchic If the player chose Torchic:



Mudkip If the player chose Mudkip:



Second battle (optional)

Treecko If the player chose Treecko:



Torchic If the player chose Torchic:



Mudkip If the player chose Mudkip:



Third battle

Treecko If the player chose Treecko:



Torchic If the player chose Torchic:



Mudkip If the player chose Mudkip:



Fourth battle

Treecko If the player chose Treecko:



Torchic If the player chose Torchic:



Mudkip If the player chose Mudkip:



Fifth Battle

Treecko If the player chose Treecko:



Torchic If the player chose Torchic:



Mudkip If the player chose Mudkip:



Quotes

Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.

Pokémon Emerald

050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Match Call

Rad Neighbor MayWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.

Strategy
I'm not so good at battles.
Trainer's Pokémon
I'll use any Pokémon!
Self-Introduction
My Pokémon and I help my father's research.

Names

While the player can name this character as is the case with all player characters, there are several default names provided for her. In Ruby and Sapphire, she has four default names, including three shared between the two versions. The two variant names between games collaborates with the theme of the plot, referring to "land" and "sea" respectively.

In the English version, these names are Terra and Marina; in the Japanese version, ムツミ Mutsumi and ナミ Nami (陸 mutsu means land and 波 nami means a wave of water). This is also the case in other languages. Unlike Brendan's name list, none of the three shared names correspond to this theme.

In all translated versions of Emerald, May has the same default names as in Pokémon Ruby, as well as 16 additional names which don't seem to hold any significance, with the exception of the German version. In this case, Emerald has only 15 additional names, plus the corresponding Sapphire name, Martina. Consequently, in the rest of the translated versions, there is no default name that relates to "sea". Notably, as the player character, the name May (or its other language counterparts) is never offered as a default name in any version.

As a rival, May's name is static.

The full list of default names for May as the female playable character in the games are as follows:

Artwork

Ruby Sapphire May.png File:MayWailmerPail.png Rayquaza Encounter.png Jirachi Encounter.png Sugimori May AG.jpg
Official artwork from
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions.
Artwork of the
Wailmer Pail.
Encountering
Rayquaza.
Encountering
Jirachi.
Ken Sugimori's artwork of May for the
Advanced Generation series.

Sprites

File:RS May.png RS May Back.png File:E May.png E May Back.png Colo May.png File:XD May RS.png File:XD May Em.png
May's sprite from
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions
May's back sprite from
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions
May's sprite from
Pokémon Emerald Version
May's back sprite from
Pokémon Emerald Version
Image of May from
Pokémon Colosseum
A headshot of May from
Pokémon XD
(R/S variant)
A headshot of May from
Pokémon XD
(E variant)


Counterparts

File:MayDiamondPearl.png
May in the anime

In the anime

Main article: May (anime)

In the anime, a character based on May was a Pokémon Coordinator and Ash's traveling companion throughout the Advanced Generation series.

In the manga

Her counterpart in the Pokémon Adventures manga is Sapphire who, unlike her other counterparts, takes up Gym challenges and is an all-around tomboy thanks to a traumatic incident with Ruby where a Salamence attacked them when they were children. She does have a feminine side however, as is shown in later volumes.

A counterpart to May, Sapphire, appears in the Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire manga. Just like May's anime counterpart, she is a Coordinator who chooses Torchic as her starter Pokémon.

Although they do not look alike, she has the same Japanese default name as Haruka from the Pokémon Chamo-Chamo ☆ Pretty ♪ manga series. Likewise, Haruka is a Coordinator who also chooses Torchic as her starter Pokémon, just like May's anime counterpart.

Trivia

  • As the player character (along with Brendan), they are the only set of player characters that have both a mother and a father present in the games.
  • May and Brendan are the only rivals whose starter Pokémon does not reach its final form.
    • They are also the only rivals who can't be fought in rematches after the player defeats the Elite Four.


Language Name Origin
Japanese ハルカ Haruka From 春花 haruka, spring flower. May also be taken as 遼 haruka, far away, in relation to her possible father, Senri (千里), 1000 li.
English May Could be a reference to her Japanese name, as May is a month in spring.
French Flora Similar to Fleur, which means "flower".
German Maike From Mai, which means "May".
Italian Vera From primavera, which means "spring".
Spanish Aura From aura, a figure of speech that means "gentle breeze" and is commonly associated to spring, as in aura primaveral ("spring breeze").
Korean 봄이 Bom'i 봄 means "spring"
Chinese (all versions) 小遥 Xiǎo Yáo From 遥 haruka, far away.



Player characters
Core series RedLeafEthanKrisLyraBrendanMayLucasDawn
HilbertHildaNateRosaCalemSerenaElioSelene
ChaseElaineVictorGloriaReiAkariFlorianJuliana
Side series WesMichaelNateCyndy
Spin-off games MarkMintTodd SnapLucy Fleetfoot
LunickSolanaKellynKateBenSummer
HeroHeroineTim GoodmanScottieBettie

Rival and friend characters
Core series BlueSilverBrendan/MayWallyBarryLucas/DawnEthan/LyraCherenBianca
NHughCalem/SerenaShaunaTiernoTrevorLillieHauGladionTrace
HopMarnieBedeKlaraAveryNemonaArvenPennyCarmineKieran
Spin-off games RonaldPauloLearTina


Project CharacterDex logo.png This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.