>>38998485>>38999074Really? They always seemed 16+ to me, especially Hilda, May and Serena. Add about a year to that to factor in the time they spend walking around their region and participating in the league preparation. As you said, they're obviously older in the art and these blacked stories.
It occurred to me that most of these Pokémon protagonists are the product of single mother households or have an absentee father at best (May). As if Hilda needed another factor pushing her into a series of temporary, unstable relationships with blacks during her adventure.