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

By Heather Wald
published

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. 

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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
Senior staff writer

I started out writing for the games section of a student-run website as an undergrad, and continued to write about games in my free time during retail and temp jobs for a number of years. Eventually, I earned an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University, and soon after got my first official role in the industry as a content editor for Stuff magazine. After writing about all things tech and games-related, I then did a brief stint as a freelancer before I landed my role as a staff writer here at GamesRadar+. Now I get to write features, previews, and reviews, and when I'm not doing that, you can usually find me lost in any one of the Dragon Age or Mass Effect games, tucking into another delightful indie, or drinking far too much tea for my own good.