Pokemon Go blog post appears to confirm that Blanche is non-binary

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Professor Willow encounters the Team Mystic leader in the latest Pokemon Go report

(Image credit: Niantic)

A recent Pokemon Go blog seems to have confirmed that Team Mystic leader Blanche identifies as non-binary due to its use of gender-neutral pronouns. 

In Willow's latest report where a log of his research concerning Team GO Rocket mentions Blanche, the professor refers to the leader with the pronoun "their." 

Willow’s report reads: “We had our first encounter with a Team GO Rocket Team Leader today. Testing needed to be done on the Rocket Radar prototype. Blanche has been an integral part of its development so naturally I included the Team Mystic leader to assist. We set out in hopes of testing its tracking abilities, but the prototype kept malfunctioning, causing us to be led aimlessly to random PokéStops. Blanche became visibly upset, which tends to happen when things don’t go to their carefully curated plans.”  

After Pokemon Go posted a series of Tweets on Twitter back in August that introduced players to Blanche, folks were quick to pick up on the absence of gendered pronouns in the character's description when compared with the rundown of Team Valor leader, Candela. There hasn't been any sort of official confirmation yet, but since the blog was posted, fans have already been expressing their joy over Willow's report. 

While it may indicate Blanche identifies as non-binary, as Pink News points out, "it's important to note that not all non-binary people use they/them pronouns - and not all people who use they/them pronouns identify as non-binary."

Team Rocket recently invaded the game after mysterious files were uncovered revealing new characters with ties to the nefarious group.  While working on the Rocket Radar, Willow and Blanche end up coming into contact with a Team Rocket Leader, Cliff. Cliff was one of the characters teased ahead of officially joining the world of Pokemon GO. 

Jumping into Pokemon Go yourself? Check out our Pokemon Go tips to help you catch em' all. 

Heather Wald
Heather Wald
Evergreen Editor, Games

Heather Wald is the Evergreen Editor, Games at GamesRadar+. Her writing career began on a student-led magazine at Bath Spa University, where she earned a BA (Hons) in English literature. Heather landed her first role writing about tech and games for Stuff Magazine shortly after graduating with an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University. Now with almost seven years of experience working with GamesRadar+ on the features team, Heather helps to develop, maintain, and expand the evergreen features that exist on the site for games, as well as spearhead the Indie Spotlight series. You'll also see her contribute op-eds, interview-led features, and more. In her spare time, you'll likely find Heather tucking into RPGs and indie games, reading romance novels, and drinking lots of tea.