Waifu Wednesday: Cynthia (Pokémon)

All Articles Features Headliners Waifu Wednesday
Conor Evans
December 22, 2021
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Enter Champion Cynthia! Welcome back once again you beautiful and cultured readers of Rice Digital. We know why you’re here — it’s Wednesday and it’s time to celebrate everything we love about waifus! Today I want to talk about a series that I wouldn’t really consider as being known for its waifus (Serena, Lusamine, Flannery, Misty and many more would beg to differ on that – Ed.), but in this one particular case, this series created one of the most beloved waifus ever: Cynthia.

That’s right! The Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remakes were recently released, and with that comes a rejuvenated and reinvigorated love for Cynthia — the best Pokémon Champion to ever exist. So today I will be fanboying over this wonderful character, and explain a bit about why I think she has become such a well-loved character.

Waifu Wednesday: Cynthia (Pokemon Diamond and Pearl)

Who is Cynthia?

Cynthia is the Elite Four champion in the Sinnoh region, seen in the fourth generation of Pokémon games. She is the granddaughter of a Pokémon researcher, and as a result, she has become completely infatuated by everything that is Pokémon. Throughout the story of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, she is a recurring character that the player will gradually come to know.

From her love of Pokémon, Cynthia comes into contact with many of her fellow trainers, and despite being quite a serious person when it comes to battling, she will always offer others advice and tips to grow and develop. This is evident in the way that she helps and supports the player throughout the game.

Why we love Cynthia

So one of the main reasons that I was initially interested in Cynthia was the fact that she was the first female Pokémon Champion to be introduced in the series. Up until this point, we had only encountered male characters as the Champions — Gary, Lance, and Stephen. So when we finally got to see the best girl as the Champion, it was like a breath of fresh air.

Another big reason is that when it comes to tough Champion battles, Cynthia is a genuine challenge. Maybe generation 4 of Pokémon was all around a bit more difficult, but Cynthia’s team when you come to finally battle her is exactly what you would expect from the person known as the strongest in that region. She single-handedly made Garchomp into the ever-popular Pokémon that it is today.

Lastly, I love her design with regards to both her appearance and her personality. She stands out from the crowd in the game with her fully black clothing and bright blonde hair that covers one eye. One of my favourite things, though is her gap moe. In battle, Cynthia is fierce, decisive, and strong as hell. Outside of battle, however, she is also a bit of an airhead who gets flustered trying to decide which flavour of ice cream she wants.

Why you’ll love Cynthia

Cynthia is a character that feels much more real than past champions — she will get involved with your journey as the player, she has a well-balanced team like you, and she has a powerful ace Pokémon, just like you will likely have by the end of the game. As a character, it feels like her journey to becoming Pokémon Champion mirrored that of ours, and that makes her so much more endearing and interesting.

Pokémon is pretty famous for its music, so if you’re a big fan of character and battle themes then you are about to fall in love with Cynthia all over again. Her theme is iconic and beloved by many and immediately sends me back to when I first battled her and was absolutely crushed.

Ultimately, Cynthia doesn’t just feel like another Champion in the next iteration of a Pokemon game — Cynthia is the Champion. That is the best way I can describe this character, and the reason why so many people adore her. She is a character that they haven’t really managed to recreate or better ever since her first appearance.

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