Kris vs Lyra: Pokémon’s Radical Replacement 

Also, I’m using a new mic and am still getting used to the settings, so please bear with me. But let me know how it sounds so far.

To this day, replacing Kris is a baffling decision. But I will say this for Lyra - her design does fit Johto for me. It's a very pastoral region, with lots of rural routes and farmlands and only one big modern city, so it makes sense that she looks like a farm girl.

Honestly the thing I hated the most about them replacing Kris with Lyra for the remakes is that Kris was the first playable female protagonist! That alone should net her more recognition in official pokemon media. I hope we get to see more of both Kris AND Lyra in the future.

Crystal was my first game, I chose Kris, and picked Totodile as my first pokemon ever so they hold a special place in my heart.

Seems like the reason Kris was replaced was because she was the character for crystal game, its even in her name. Since the remakes were for gold and silver it seems like they decided to create a new character for them since there was no female character in them, rather than pulling from crystal as that is not the game being remade. If there was it will be a crystal remake for whatever reason, Kris is very likely to return.

I love Lyra mostly because everytime I see her design it just reminds me of Mario

My name is Krista, Kris for short, and when I was little and I got Pokémon Crystal when it came out, I was able to play a video game as my own gender for the first time, and if that weren’t enough, my name was the character default name. It blew my mind. For that, Kris and Pokémon Crystal will forever be my fav’s.

Crystal holds a special place in my heart. As a little girl who felt left-out because video games were for boys, being able to play as a girl made me so happy. I remember that moment. Especially since I did a lot of role-play when I played my rpgs, it made it easier for me to imagine myself as Kris.

As an avid pokemon adventures/special reader, I could tell you that Crystal as a character is probably where the Masters Kris took inspirations from. She's a trainer that specializes in Pokemon catching and her whole journey started to help Professor Oak as an assistant and still continues that because there really is no end to the amount of Pokemon to catch and research. Unlike Lyra, Crystal is definitely more serious and uptight which is why Kris is less upbeat than Lyra. I really enjoy their take on Crys/Crystal and how they implemented HGSS. So just like the Crystal games introduced, Crystal arc really follows the game in which there's a focus on Suicune as Crys follows it after a fateful encounter. However, the manga really implemented this third game by having her journey in the middle of the whole Johto arc that started with Gold and Silver as it slowly but surely ties the three main characters together and conclude it. For the remake arcs in the manga, they tend to focus on the new locations/events the remakes provide. FRLG=Sevii Islands, HGSS=Sinjoh Ruins, ORAS=Delta Episode. Because it's such a small arc that delves deeper with how the main cast tackle these new problems presented to them. If they introduce a new character as Lyra, it becomes very counterproductive and introductions to a supposedly new main character when we already have an established main character to fill that role. It also shows the relationship between Gold, Silver and Crys that was only glimpsed with their introductory arcs and Emerald, because the manga is always trying to move to new arcs and a new cast so it's rare to see the old ones.

I didn't even know about Kris until I decided to play Crystal and wanted to know why she and lyra look so different from each other. Tbh, I prefer Kris's design over Lyra's but both have a place in my heart

I'm not going to lie. As someone who's all time favorite game IS Crystal, I might have almost cried when they gave Kris Suicunne in Pokemon Masters as that was the one pair I had been hoping they'd make, and not only that they made her look SO pretty. My 10 year old self would have been so happy haha.

Kris is my favorite because she has a unique aesthetic that works for anime, while looking very athletic. Lyra follows the common main player aesthetic, having plainly colored hair and clothing that is cute because she is the female character.

Kris was probably replaced because her design was very "of its time". Her hair is a very good example of Sugimori's design work back in gen 2 and doesn't really fit into modern (at the time) Pokemon's art style. Sugimori was probably trying to update the design and thought enough major changes were needed to bring it up to date that she just wound up as a different character. Pokemon protagonists outside of Kris tend to have naturalistic hair colours as well rather than unnatural ones (Dawn is dark blue but it's an implied black), unfortunately Kris's design suffered as being of it's time.

There was also unused data found in HGSS of Kris' head sprite for the Pokegear map. Pretty much suggesting Lyra was an afterthought.

The fact that Kris’ sprite is still in the data for HGSS, alongside the fact that Ethan and Silver BOTH have prototype sprites/designs, leads me to believe Kris was initially in HGSS at some point but was replaced pretty late Pre-release footage/pics at the time also only showed Ethan for a while, with no sign of Lyra till a bit later. Were they deciding what to do with Kris, or ironing out Lyra’s design?

I knew those sandals looked familiar! It's weird, Pokémon Masters finally made me come to terms regarding Kris and Lyra. When Lyra debuted in the remakes I was intrigued but a bit offended Kris wasn't considered. Then I kinda lost interest in Pokémon until a few years ago, around the time Masters was announced. Seeing Kris included in the game was like meeting a friend I hadn't seen in forever, so I was pretty excited about it. And comparing their personalities in game, for me pretty much all Johto protagonists have synergy going on (Kris is like that friend who moved cities/countries and you see her again after so long but she's still your friend, and Lyra is the newcomer but has such good vibes/personality you get along with rather quickly), so both girls are fine coexisting in the same space.

Kinda sad Kris is the only protagonist without any updated artwork so her official artwork always stands out next to all the others

This is merely speculation but honestly would not have been a bad coincidence in design but I think Kris letting her hair loose but still pointed like her pigtails in her Sygna Suit makes her hair resemble that of a waterfall with the pointed side ends representing the splash in which the waterfall ends at. So I think it helps fit more of the theme of Suicune being a legendary deeply tied with nature and water as well as just make the typing fit so right with the blue hair. Also they did recently added an event story with a cutscene that has Kris, Hop, and Lucas learning from Professor Oak as all three are seeking to be up-and-coming Pokemon researchers so it does add more to them giving Kris the personality and desires of being a Pokémon ecologist and grants a version of the wish for her to interact with others of the same interest. (And I guess I should note they written Lucas to be Rowan’s assistant in Masters and Dawn being a contest star, so neither are truly tied to the idea of beating the League so that’s what Lucas is tied too in case anyone wonders why he’s involved)

I’d definitely love to see a video covering the Pokémon Masters alternate outfits , you break those down so well. Or even just a review of their voice acting for certain characters, since Masters is the only game that gave a lot of these characters voices for the first time .

If we ever get a let’s go Johto (not saying that we need one, but if it does happen) I hope they give kris a special appearance like they did with Green at the end while Ethan and Lyra can appear throughout like Red and Blue.

I remember being super disappointed that Kris didn't get redesigned and highly amused that Kris's Pokemon Adventures counterpart wears Lyra's outfit now. That said, Lyra as a character did grow on me, but Kris holds a special place in my heart.

Crys in Pokémon Adventures is pretty similar to Kris in Masters, they both are more interested in collecting and researching Pokémon, with Crys working with professor oak in the manga. I’m guessing Masters got inspiration for her personality from there.

The idea that Lyra spends too much time talking is such a good detail

I remember being a little 6 year old and playing Red and Yellow, then Silver when it came out. Crystal was so wild because I'd never even thought they'd have a female character option! Kris will always be the OG. When HGSS came out I was REALLY mad that they sidelined her, and I remember a bunch of us in the fanart community made fun of Lyra's design. I kinda warmed up to her over the years, but Kris definitely deserves more recognition. She was and still is my favorite character. It's weird to think that the newer people playing Pokémon these days might just now be getting introduced to her because of a mobile game. BTW, always worth reading PokeSpe (the manga).

I always enjoyed Kris design more then Lyra designs. I was disappointed when she was replaced during the remakes so I just decided to go with ethan / gold.

This is the greatest gen 2 debate of all time.

I’m so glad I can watch a channel like this to get the insights on the cool parts of Pokémon Masters without actually having to play it Always been a Lyra fan but this gave me some more appreciation of Kris

Kris has a more tomboyish design I like her better

I honestly can't choose a favourite out of the two of them. Initially it was Lyra, because I'd played SoulSilver more recently than I had played Crystal. But I ended up getting Kris before Lyra in Masters and spent more time with her, which lead to me noticing that Kris's model design is closer to the art style used for Crystal itself... And having grown up on the older games, I found that adherence to style really endearing. Plus her nerd personality is really cute!

Personally, I like Kris more, but that might be my love for Crystal talking. Though I thought that Gold represented Gold, Lyra for Silver, and Kris for Crystal. Since HGSS didn't include a "Mind Crystal" or some thing, I guess that's why they swapped out Kris for Lyra. 🤷‍♂️

Fun fact: Lyra in the Pokemon Diamond & Pearl anime is voice acted by the same person who voiced Team Galactic commander Jupiter, and Iris in the Black & White anime who was the Opelucid City Gym Leader in the White Version game and the Unova League Champion in Black Version 2 and White Version 2.

I honestly prefer Kris' design over Lyra, but I feel Masters really gives her a vibe to match her outfit. It's like you said, she's on a stroll through Johto, taking detours, taking in the sights, having fun. Kris on the other hand is on a bit more active path, exploring pokemon ecology, testing out battles, and her outfit fits that more, looking a bit like the Hoenn fashions.

i modded my rom of soulsilver to have kris instead of lyra. her design is sooo much better

I feel bad for Kris. She got done dirty by getting replaced and had to sit around doing nothing for 2 decades. That being said I prefer Lyra. She has such a nice design. Still, I gotta put respect on Kris. She is the first female Pokemon protagonist after all.

I love both, Kris and Lyra. A lot....so it's sad one fanbase seems to hate the other

I really love kris’ design, but Lyra’s personality in the game was really fun. Imo. So I think I like Lyra more cause we just got more from her. Hope kris makes a return

The shot at 5:12 is so hilarious to me cause it's like Kris and Lyra looking badass in their Suicune/Celebi inspired dresses! Ethan/Gold rockin his Lugia outfit! Silver (They should have given him a Ho-oh outfit, my mans has been wearing the same clothes for like 20 years 😔)

LMAO Marina and Jimmy cameod in Pokemon Journeys during the Masters 8 Tournament Lance vs Diantha

It's really interesting I felt like the whole reason why Kris was ditched it's because she looks really different from Ethan. Like in newer games male and female protags look like they can be siblings. But Lyra doesn't much look like Ethan either, so I wonder why they made her

TEAM KRIS!!! while i do like lyra, kris will always be one of my top favorites. i love that she gets so much story and development in masters, AND a new pretty dress to contrast her tomboyish default outfit. if i am not immune to tomboy propaganda, im seriously weak to tomboy-suddenly-dressed-femininely propaganda

Find it intresting that Kris didn't get remodeled or redesign for masters. Her 3d model is based of Crystal's art and it's so retro looking. She definitely sticks out with her huge shoes and small eyes

I never even knew about Kris until this video since my first games were gen 4. Kinda weird that there's seemingly just no explanation for why she was replaced. The artists are honestly so good at designing characters for these games that maybe they just thought they'd flex a little and make a brand new one for the fun of it

Lyra uses bigger gun! Kris uses swat shield! Kris is protected! Lyra uses uhhh...less big gun? Kris dies.

Lyra's entire design is just really bland. Kris is where it's at.

Oh boy I remember everyone absolutely hating on Lyra during the HGSS era. I mean I like Kris more but poor Lyra.

Hmm... personally, though it's a bit hard choice, I'd say I prefer Kris more over Lyra. If I had to point at a specific reason... it'd probably be hairstyle, as it simply appeals to my fashion sense.

i've been playing since red and blue, around the time i was born my mother's special edition pikachu gameboy was stolen by someone who was later caught on terrorism charges. she didnt get it back, we do have a pichu gameboy color somewhere around the house, i miss playing it. i remember as a youth freaking out when my mom's gold cartridge got corrupted, i knew it had celebi registered in the dex and was impossible to obtain normally and got super scared, since i had fallen asleep clutching the gameboy. kris is my favorite mainline pokemon protagonist.

Mad disappointed you didn´t comment how Lyra dresses up as Mario

I like how Kris's hair looks when down.

I want to point out that the Anime episodes with Jimmy/Marina/Vincent were originally a special, that never got dubbed until way later, hence why the animation matched the late Johto episodes more than when it was released in English which was... I don't remember but mid Hoenn or early Sinnoh

When I was on the earlier internet as a kid the Lyra hate made me so sad shes always my fave Pokémon female protag design. I think Kris is valid too though! Hating a character because you like the other is stupid

Kris has cooler hair and eye color but I enjoy Lyra's outfit.

Funny enough, Kris, Hop and Lucas battle Cynthia and Red. They were learning from Prof Oak when Cynthia came and asked about Red. Kris, Hop and Lucas goes with Cynthia while she looks for Red. I think I wouldve cried if we had to fight Dialga, Zamazenta and Suicune ;-;

Leaf and green / blue(JP) are in a similar situation too. …well before we just assumed that green and leaf are just counterparts where one is from the manga and the the other from the games, but then Pokémon lets go pikachu and eevee happened and now both green and leaf exist in the games

In terms of names, I still mixup both lol.

Marina appeared in journeys recently as a cameo though alongside Jimmy when Lance battled Diantha

Kris PokeMas has take same interest with Kris on Her PokeSpe Character. They mostly into Pokemon research and want to become Profesor someday

I really like both of them and I would really like to see a Johto remake with the unova dynamic of three protagonists

I definitely prefer Kris over Lyra in design only because Kris has that "cool" look to her and of course, Kris is my first ever female protag. When I first got Cyrstal, I was so excited to be able to play as a girl for once.

I’ve always preferred Kris

Short answer : no one knows Long answer: I wanted to make an 8 minute video of google images and talking about absolutely nothing, contributing nothing to anyone and reaping the ad revenue for people looking for an answer

Crystal itself had a different story, I just assumed that the remakes for DS just made the different female choice because it wasn't based on the focus of Crystal's story... because the whole game was this fanfic around Suicune and the legendary dogs.

Crystal is probably the Pokemon game I played the most and even as a dude I always picked Kris because she had a cool design and because Crystal was her game. I will always prefer her because my attachment to Crystal and because she just looks cooler than Lyra

Something that I really liked when it comes to the Masters versions of these characters is that Kris seems to take a lot of cues from her interpretation in the manga. There, she's the character who takes the job of completing the Pokedex most seriously, to the point that by the end of the Johto arcs she had caught every non-legendary Pokemon and completed the pokedex. The theme of her caring more about researching Pokemon than battle with them is one that I was happy to see make it into the game.

Crystal and Lyra arelike Calem, both are more overlooked protagonists who get overlooked since they have the least designs out of any player characters. And are competing against two of the most iconic player character Gold and Serena.

Kris was always my favorite and to have her replaced, just frustrated me to no end. I accept Lyra now, but won’t say I’m still a little salty. Kris was amazing in the manga. She has one of my favorite Pokémon on her team arcanine.

Fun fact: Fun fact due to Lyra's existence there is actually more female mc's than males.

6:06 Oh fuck....

You haven’t read the Pokémon adventures manga? I highly recommend! It’s one of my favorite depictions of the Pokémon works aside from the games. And Red actually talks in these

I prefer Kris because of her tomboyish style, but I like Lyra's hair/eye color more. When I was a kid playing Heart Gold, her brown hair and eyes made it easier to self insert. If Lyra looked more tomboyish then I think I'd prefer her over Kris.

I was so disappointed they changed out Kris for Lyra. Lyra just seems like a half-baked Pippi Longstocking ripoff while Kris had more originality

7:44 awoke some nostalgia inside of me that I forgot I had

Justice for Kris

6:36 So would she be called... _LYRIS_ ? (✯ᴗ✯) Anyways ... I don't know who out of these two I prefer tbh. XD (I love Kris's Sygna Suit way more though)

Kris was easily my favorite.

I feel like it's the same situation as Gary and Blue, that they're the same character but like in diffrrent universes

I honestly think they made Lyra so it was easier for the female audience to relate to the player character. Kris is a more acquired taste and is heavily themed around the times she was made. Lyra is an outgoing casual character design while Kris has a more adventurous and independent look. This can even be seen by how Lyra has rounded hair but Kris has sharper hair. I think they're equals but I can see why people prefer one over the other, they're different takes on the same design principles for a female character.

It's like Pac-Mom replace Ms. Pac-Man in Pac Man World Re-pac

Kris is definitely my favorite Pokemon games protagonist ❤️

I love these character analysis videos. Mayhaps we could get one on a Colosseum/XD character? And how Game Freak/DNA are idiots for not including them as a sure-fire money printer for Masters? Don't lie. You'd pay ALL THE MONEY to roll for Wes or Miror B.

Since they're different enough they ended up as separate characters I still think it's nowhere nearly as sad as May's redesign. She went from 'obvious adventurer, can and will cycle all over Hoenn' to 'fragile moe character' 😞 then again they'd done the same to Gold before her... I remember that iconic 4chan meme clowning his redesign for his clothes, soulless eyes and chicken legs

Lyra is my favorite cause although I was alive for the release of pokemon crystal I hadn't yet realized my love of pokemon. I just loved lyra and her design so much. I especially loved her big hat.

Fun fact: the VA for Sygna Suit Lyra voiced the secondary protagonist “Prez” in the flight action game Project Wingman

I’ve been thinking about a future Pokémon legends game and I’d personally like to see a Pokémon legends game in ancient hoenn for the reason of Groudon and Kyogre fighting and how it would have affected ancient hoenn I can’t be the only one who would want to see this as I can imagine a less flooded hoenn only to start getting flooded with the two legends fighting…

Dudeeeee that advert at the end of the video sent me backkkkkkkkkk

Heartgold was my first Pokémon game and I felt sad that kris was replaced, but I love Lyra and she has a special place in my heart. I’m a big defender of old Pokémon playable character designs because they look more athletic and like they are in fact on a long journey (especially for girls), but Lyra will always be an exception. She is so cute. And she kind of looks like me, so it really felt like a self insert.

I dont hate Lyra, but the disappointment that we didn't get Kris when the remakes dropped was quite measurable amongst I and my peers.

In the Gold Silver and Crystal manga Crystal(The Character based odd of Kris) just gets a cool hat in the Heart Gold an Soul silver manga

You can definitely see that masters took inspiration from crys in the manga since shes interested in researching and learning about pokemon aswell as her relationship with suicune which she chased round johto.

I definitely love kris so much! :3 Not only was she the first female playable character but she has a good mix of be a really cool skater girl why still being feminine at the same time! I definitely agree that for some reason they made kris more of a girly character in the anime where as Lyra, dispite looking more conventionally feminine, is more Tom boyish which I thought was really interesting. I like both of them as characters. :3

Is no one gonna talk about the 1 framed image at 1:08 or around there?

I love both of them! But you make an absolutely great point. Kris needs her own Kotobukiya figure like Ethan and Lyra!!! Awesome video topic by the way! Ever since I found your channel, I've been binging all your content because you go really deep into Pokemon lore and stuff even I as a Pokemon fan never really thought about before! Thanks for always coming up with awesome new Pokemon topic videos!

Ok tbh i love the small theory thing near the end

Lyra's design is my personal favorite. Kris's isn't bad, but I think she could benefit from a redesign.

These outfits look pretty familiar... "Volo has appeared" *NONONONONONONONONO*

I’m playing Crystal for the first time right now so this hits different

I can’t Lyra and I want to make this Crystal clear now… I love both designs. I think it’s kinda adorable that Marina fit Crystal blue version unique. But in Pokémon Master is chief kiss and made me favor Kris. That dress is beautiful. Celeby dress is cool, also omg is that?!!!

The labcoat on her hints that she was meant to be a researcher all along which was the route the manga took and was put into masters naturally. The mangakas have said they have access to character bibles that are used for the game like how Silver was revealed to be Giovanni's son before Heartgold so they've got that insider info.

my first game was platinum, so i didn't grow up with them aside from their occasional appearance in the anime (and where i lived, they didn't air much of the side series with gold) and i didn't play hgss until i was an adult. i also haven't played masters. i knew of them from the media i saw featuring them online, but was never exposed organically to them in canon. saying this because my opinions are basically entirely based on their appearances; i like the 90's biker kid aesthetic kris has a lot and the blue/teal of her hair pairs really nicely with her biker shorts imo. i like lyra's outfit because it always reminded me of hello kitty, which is a cute aesthetic to go for when making a pokemon trainer. i love fanworks where i see them interact with each other as well as other trainers and their pokemon! there's this one artist i follow who has a whole AU for the trainers starting with red, blue, and green and seeing them interact in it is really fun. was excited to watch this because of how little i know about these two, very informative!

Kris!!!! Was the reason last hear I played and bought my first ever Pokemon Game, I antes to play pokemon Crystal for Kris!! And was going to buy a Gameboy color and a Suicune gane, then I found of that if the battery deis your Pokes too, so I did some reach er of where to play pokemon Crystal and the 3DS Virtual consol existe so I was happy to be able yo play as Kris and not lose my procese