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In an almost beat-for-beat repeat of the discourse surrounding the self-perpetuated-but-ultimately-false hopes of the LGBTQ community that Splatoon 3s Shiver was non-binary, various Nintendo sources have deconfirmed recent speculation that newly revealed Pokmon Scarlet & Violet Gym Leader Iono is a non-binary and transgender character.

Source: Guess Ionos Pokmon Partner? Pokmon Youtube

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Revealed to the world on October 12th via the official Pokmon YouTube channel, Iono is the pint-sized Electric-type gym leader of the Paldea regions Levincia city.

When not testing the mettle of challenging trainers, the blue-and-pink-haired, oversized-yellow-sweater-clad Iono spends her free time serving as the titular internet personality behind the Iono Zone livestream.

Shortly after Ionos reveal, taking notice of both her color pallet and the lack of pronouns in her introductory tweet from the official Pokmon Twitter account, the founder of popular Pokmon fansite Bulbagarden Liam Pomfret posited the possibility that the Electric-type trainer could identify as non-binary and transgender.

Worth noting that, alongside being a bokukko (i.e. feminine presenting while using the masculine pronoun boku) stated one of, if not the most prominent proponents of the idea. The colours of Ionos hair and Magnemite hair accessories appear to evoke the transgender flag.

Source: Liam Pomfret, PhD Twitter

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Interestingly, Ionos names in the different languages are basically all a bunch of references to concepts related to questions and mystery, he continued. I havent checked all languages yet, but Im also seeing a lack of gendered language in how the official accounts introduced them as well.

Source: Liam Pomfret, PhD Twitter

Ultimately, Pomfret closed his speculation with the acknowledgement that it appears the Spanish language account did use explicitly feminine language (la influencer).

Mind you, Im given to understand Spanish doesnt really have gender neutral terms, and it seems like itd be difficult to phrase this without any gendered terms, he concluded, so *shrugs*.

Source: Liam Pomfret, PhD Twitter

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Unfortunately for Pomreft, his theory would have the lights turned off on it less than twenty-four hours after he put it forward when an update to the official English Pokmon website confirmed that Iono did not identify as a non-binary and transgender individual, but rather a girl who uses feminine pronouns.

Smash That Like Button for Iono, the Supercharged Streamer, read an official piece of marketing copy shared by Nintendo. Get amped up to meet this electrifying Gym Leader in Pokmon Scarlet and Pokmon Violet but who is her partner Pokmon?

Source: Source: Ionos Pokmon Scarlet/Violet Character Announcement

Ionos female gender was further confirmed on October 13th with the official Japanese Pokmon Twitter accounts announcement of a subsequent trailer introducing her aforementioned partner Pokmon, the ElecFrog newcomer Bellibolt.

Nanjamo [Iono in English], a gym leader in the Paldea region and a popular video distributor, introduced her partner Pokmon Harabar (Bellibolt) on Donnamonja TV (Iono Zones Japanese Counterpart)! wrote the account (via DeepL). Were everyones predictions correct?

Source: Pokemon Japan Twitter

Likewise, in their respective sharing of the trailer, the official North American, UK, Spanish, German, Italian Twitter accounts similarly used feminine pronouns in reference to the electrifying internet personality.

The Levincia Gym leaders feminine identity was also explicitly confirmed in her character profile, as published on the official Pokmon website.

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Iono is the Gym Leader of Levincia, one of the Paldea regions prominent cities, specializing in Electric-type Pokmon, reads said profile. Shes also known as the Supercharged Streamer, having gained popularity as the host of the Iono Zone.

She even streams her work as a Gym Leader and seems to place great emphasis on viewer engagement on her channel and the number of views she gets. it adds. Her catchphrases include: Your eyeballs are MINEcaught in my Electroweb! and Ello, ello, hola! Ciao and Bonjour!

Source: Iono Pokmon Scarlet/Violet Character Profile

Pokmon Scarlet and Violet hit shelves exactly one month from today on November 18th, 2022.

Source: Meet Bellibolt | Pokmon Scarlet and Pokmon Violet, The Official Pokmon YouTube channel

NEXT: Pokmon Scarlet & Violet Trailer Reveal New Pokmon, Box Legendaries, World Exploring Multiplayer, and Release Date

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'Pokmon Scarlet & Violet' Official Sources Refute Social Media Speculation That New Gym Leader Iono Is Non-Binary And Transgender - Bounding Into...