History Characters / PokemonTheSeriesMay

[[center:[[WMG:''[[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Pokémon anime]]'' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeries characters index]]\\
[-'''Series-wide:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesAshKetchum Ash Ketchum]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesPikachu Pikachu]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesTeamRocketTrio Team Rocket Trio]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesTeamRocketTriosPokemon Team Rocket Trio's Pokemon]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesTeamRocketOrganization Team Rocket Organization]]\\
'''Major Characters:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesMisty Misty]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBrock Brock]] | '''May''' | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesDawn Dawn]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesPaul Paul]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesIris Iris]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesSerena Serena]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesLillie Lillie]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesGoh Goh]] \\
'''Original Series:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheOriginalSeriesAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Kanto, Orange Islands, Johto)]]\\
[[Characters/PokemonTheOriginalSeriesCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheOriginalSeriesGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheOriginalSeriesOneShotCharacters One-shot Characters]]\\
'''Advanced Generation:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Hoenn)]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireGymLeadersAndFrontierBrains Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireVillains Villains]]\\
'''Diamond and Pearl:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearlAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Sinnoh)]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearlCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearlGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesDiamondAndPearlVillains Villains]]\\
'''Black and White:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhiteAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Unova)]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhiteCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhiteRivals Rivals]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhiteGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhiteVillains Villains]]\\
'''XY:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesXYAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Kalos)]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesXYCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesXYRivals Rivals]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesXYGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesXYMegaEvolutionSpecials Mega Evolution Special]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesXYVillains Villains]]\\
'''Sun and Moon:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoonAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Alola)]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoonCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoonKahunasAndGuardianDeities Kahunas and Guardian Deities]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoonVillains Villains]]\\
'''Journeys:''' [[Characters/PokemonJourneysTheSeriesAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Journeys)]] | [[Characters/PokemonJourneysTheSeriesCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonJourneysTheSeriesGalar Galar]] | [[Characters/PokemonJourneysTheSeriesOneShotCharacters One-shot Characters]]\\
'''Horizons:''' [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesLeadCharacters Lead Characters]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesPokemon Pokémon]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesAntagonists Antagonists]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesSupportingCast Supporting Cast]]\\
'''Movies:''' [[Characters/PokemonMovies Movies 1 to 19]] | [[Characters/PokemonIChooseYou I Choose You!]] | [[Characters/PokemonThePowerOfUs The Power of Us]] | [[Characters/PokemonSecretsOfTheJungle Secrets of the Jungle]]-]]]]]

!May (Haruka)
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[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/273px_may_ag.png]]

-->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' KAORI
-->'''Voiced in English by:''' Creator/VeronicaTaylor (4Kids), Creator/MicheleKnotz (current)
-->'''Voiced in Latin American Spanish by:''' Ana Lobo (Season 6 and first episodes of season 7), Creator/LilianaBarba (temporary replacement in Season 6), Creator/MarianaOrtiz (rest of the series), Agustina Priscila (Movies 6 and 7)
-->'''Voiced in European Spanish by:''' Cristina Yuste
-->'''Voiced in European French by:''' Creator/MaiaBaran, Isabelle Volpé (Movie ''Jirachi Wish Maker''), Laurence Sacquet (Movie ''Destiny Deoxys'')
-->'''Voiced in Canadian French by:''' Éveline Gélinas (Movies ''Jirachi Wish Maker'' and ''Destiny Deoxys'')

Starting the ''Advanced'' series as a newbie trainer, May, the daughter of Petalberg City's renowned Gym Leader Norman, only wanted to travel the world at first, until a chance encounter (and one fried bicycle) with Ash Ketchum lead her on a journey she never forgot. She initially disliked Pokémon before experience around them changed her mind. She aspires to be a Pokémon Coordinator, leading towards a quest [[DistaffCounterpart similar to Ash's]].
----
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Tropes A-C]]
* TheAce:
** {{Subverted}} during her guest appearance on ''Diamond and Pearl''. Despite being favored to win the Wallace Cup, and having obtained fame as "The Princess of Hoenn" (which she hadn't been called before), she admits to Ash's group that she's still struggling against Drew, Harley, and Solidad in Johto. Moreover, while she manages to defeat Zoey (something Dawn never accomplished), she narrowly loses to Dawn in the final round. By that point, she was certainly better than when she started out, but she still had a long way to go.
** PlayedStraight during ''Journeys'', where [[spoiler:Serena]] suggests that May has become well-reputed enough to become a legend on the contest circuit, referring to her by her InSeriesNickname. [[spoiler:Her final appearance in the show reveals that May has indeed become a popular coordinator, as she's part of an Idol Unit with Serena and Lisia.]]
* AchillesHeel: May's battling style in contests, though very flashy, leaves a lot of room open to reprisals if the Pokémon aren't quick enough to get out of the way in time. This causes her to get utterly trounced against Solidad, who's more aware of this style's flaws and is quick to exploit them.
* AcquiredSituationalNarcissism: After going on a hot-streak with contest victories and garnering a fan club, May briefly lets her success go to her head. Naturally this immediately leads to a BreakTheHaughty moment when she's disqualified for pushing her newly-caught Bulbasaur too hard during a match.
* AdaptationalBackstoryChange: {{Zig Zagged}}. In the games, if she was selected as the main player, her family is indicated to have only recently moved to Hoenn, whereas picking Brendan makes her Birch's daughter, and therefore a native of the region off the bat. She mixes the two stories by being Norman's daughter, but having lived in Hoenn for a while.
* AdaptationalNationality: {{Zig Zagged}}. In the games, picking her as the main player makes her a recent arrival to the Hoenn Region, while picking Brendan makes her a Hoenn native. The anime chooses the latter option.
* AdaptationalSympathy: Her game counterpart was either Norman or Birch's daughter, depending on the player's choice of gender, allowing her to serve as the protagonist or rival. She's given the former option here, showcasing her as struggling to break out of her father's shadow, as well as being forced down the Pokémon path when she had no interest in them to begin with. It takes traveling with Ash to help her better appreciate these creatures, as well as developing a love for contests.
* AdaptationalWimp: Like with Misty, she's not nearly as skilled as her game counterpart (whom, if selected as the rival, is shown to have some experience with Pokémon on account of being Birch's daughter) or her ''Pokémon Adventures'' iteration (who is a WildChild who literally fights Pokémon barehanded). She does [[TookALevelInBadass get better]] over time.
* AesopAmnesia: It takes her a few times before she realizes that Harley is not to be trusted, and is faking any apparent remorse he has for his past actions.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter:
** To Jessie. May was part of the main cast during [[VillainDecay Team Rocket's arguably most ineffectual tenure]], and Jessie was an UnknownRival to her in Pokémon contests, failing every time to outdo her. Even during the Sinnoh contests, [[TookALevelInBadass where Jessie proved far more competent]], she failed to challenge May in any capacity during her brief return (though that could be blamed on Jessie getting too overconfident in herself).
** And to Harley. He managed to defeat her only once. The Japanese version also implies he's insecure about her being cuter (and thus more popular) competition than him. These are among the more unecessary reasons he has for hating her.
** She was on the other side of the equation in regards to Drew, whom she only managed to beat once. While she grew into a skilled Coordinator in her own right, Drew proved to be a far superior trainer--even after she beat him in the Kanto Grand Festival, he managed to one-up her in a practice rematch (though it didn't help she was in a bad funk at the time). During her journey through Johto, she mentions that he was proving difficult to compete against.
** {{Zig Zagged}} with Dawn. She did lose to her successor in the Wallace Cup, and Dawn actually managed to get to the finals in the Sinnoh Grand Festival, but May notably was the only one to actually beat Zoey, whereas Dawn was never shown doing so.
* AlwaysSecondBest: Like Ash (initially), she never won a major Coordinating Competition, only placing eight in the Hoenn Grand Festival and fourth in the Kanto Grand Festival. She did remarkably well, but was soundly beaten by Drew and Solidad respectively.
* AmusingInjuries: She gets subject to a fair amount of slapstick, notably getting soundly smacked by the entire Azurill line in her second episode. However most of her DamselInDistress moments seem to lampshade her lack of ToonPhysics. Her almost falling down the exact same cliff Team Rocket passively shot down Wile E Coyote-style was completely PlayedForDrama.
* ArtEvolution: For her cameo in ''Journeys'', she's redesigned to match the new series' art style, with more rounded eyes, a smaller nose, and a more streamlined look to her hair.
* AsideGlance: Sometimes during her "expedition team" routine, she would act like she's reporting "progress" to the audience.
* AttackAttackAttack: Scott and Brock observe that May is inadvertently influenced by Ash's battle style, which relies heavily on dazzling power attacks. While this approach served her well in the past, it proves ineffective against an experienced coordinator like Solidad, who shares the style, but is aware of the glaring flaw of vulnerability to maneuver and reprisal assaults. This ultimately leads to May's crushing defeat in the Kanto Grand Festival semifinals.
* AuthorityInNameOnly: While she's called "The Princess of Hoenn", it's more of a formality to her fame than an actual indicator of royalty.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: With Max. No matter how many times they argue, they still really care for each other; after all, they're still brother and sister.
* BackFromTheDead: She's eaten alive in ''Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew'' by The Tree of Beginning's protectorate cells, but is brought back when the Mew living there is able to convince the Tree that she and her friends aren't a threat to it.
* BadassAdorable: She isn't called "The Princess of Hoenn" for no reason; she's a well-regarded Coordinator who's got a gaggle of powerful Pokémon at her disposal.
* BareFistedMonk: Her Blaziken has Fighting Type as his secondary typing.
* BareMidriffsAreFeminine: Like Misty before her, she's the only girl in the group. While she doesn't show it off in her normal outfit, she gets a few bikini scenes (notably in the eight and ninth movies), she wears a BedlahBabe outfit for the Wallace Cup during ''Diamond and Pearl'', and her [[spoiler: contest outfit from [=JN132=] (lifted from ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'')]] shows off her stomach.
* BedlahBabe: May wears an outfit that wouldn't look out of place on a real belly dancer for her return for the Wallace Cup.
* BerserkButton: She gets very mad [[LostFoodGrievance when food is stolen from her,]] sometimes to the point of violence. As shown when she returns for the Wallace Cup and finds out Team Rocket stole all of the food:
-->'''May:''' ''(as a fiery background appears behind her and she has glowing red eyes)'' I'll tell you NOBODY STEALS MY FOOD AND '''GETS AWAY WITH IT!!!'''[[note]]The Japanese version gave her a ''demonic voice'' just to drive it home![[/note]]
-->'''Dawn:''' [[BewareTheNiceOnes ''What happened to our princess?!'']]
* BetweenMyLegs: In "Ruin With a View", when she spots an Azurill (the shot framed by May's legs, not the Azurill's).
* BewareTheNiceOnes: She's TheCutie most of the time, and is even more easily duped or kidnapped by Team Rocket than Ash. Some of their [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge most vicious comeuppances]] throughout the entire series have been inflicted by her however, and usually more a result of [[BerserkButton pressing her buttons]] than actual self defence.
* BigCreepyCrawlies: She owns the Bug Type Beautifly, although it's a lot prettier an example than is typical of this trope.
* BigEater: Worse than Ash in this regard. In fact, in one episode, Ash was actually astounded by how much she could eat. Taking her food in any way is a good way to get her mad.
* BigSisterInstinct:
** Shows at times with Max. She and Liza once inflicted an ExtremeMeleeRevenge onto Team Rocket for kidnapping him. Deconstructed in one episode where a promise May made to her mother about keeping an eye out for Max nearly cost her a chance for getting into her first Grand Festival.
** Also helps pivot Ash's BigBrotherInstinct characterization, being the first main character trainer more novice than him and being protected by him several times over. Possibly inverted since both characters are ten.
* BirdsOfAFeather:
** When she arrives in Sinnoh, she and fellow Coordinator Dawn hit it off almost instantly. It helps that both trainers have a "bird" for their starter.
** [[spoiler:Later implied with Serena, a fellow Coordinator, Eeveelution owner, and former traveling companion of Ash, whom she's seen with watching Ash's battle again Leon. The two even hold hands when it seems like Ash is on the verge of losing.]]
* BoundAndGagged: She arguably holds the unflattering record of getting tied up, string shotted or otherwise restrained by Team Rocket or another antagonist most out of any of Ash's companions.
* BothSidesHaveAPoint:
** May let her two contests victory's [[AcquiredSituationalNarcissism go to her head]] during her fourth contest in Rubello Town, and she gets upset with Ash for trying to offer advice to one of her competitors/friends, noting that what they do as Trainers is entirely different. However, May ended up losing when she pushed her freshly caught Bulbasaur too hard and she gets scolded by the judges when she tries to contest it, then is flat out told she's showing no care for the well being of the poor grass type, leaving her to run off in embarrassment. Seeing this, Ash, who was more than likely reminded of his younger days when he could have just as been haughty as she was, talks to May as he told that she was right that what they do as Trainers is different because he focuses on collecting Gym Badges while she focuses on getting contests ribbons. However, Ash also had a point as he told May that they may have different roles as Trainers, but what they do with Pokémon and bonding with them will always be the same.
** In the Hoenn Grand Festival, May bought [[EvilIsPetty Harley's]] feigned reformation in order to get her to mess up during the contest out of [[DisproportionateRetribution petty revenge for beating him in their last encounter]]. When Drew tells May of Harley's deceit, she rightfully chews him out for tricking her like that. He doesn't deny it, and in fact brags about it in front of everyone, but he retorts that she fell for it nonetheless, which she somberly realizes that it was true.
* BrattyHalfPint: Downplayed case. While usually sweet-natured, May can sometimes have a very huffy temperament, especially when she starts to get too confident in her abilities. Notably, the one time she acts like a brat towards Ash when he's just trying to offer genuine advice, her swelled head pops when she gets disqualified and chewed out by the judges for pushing her Bulbasaur too hard.
* BreakingOldTrends:
** May is the first main character besides Ash to obtain a starter, marking the first generation he didn't get all three of them (a trend of which would repeat throughout every generation except Unova).
** She's the first companion to obtain a Pokémon that Ash himself caught, starting with Bulbasaur and Squirtle. To this date, only Kiawe (who inherited a Charizard from his late grandfather) and Goh (who caught several Pokémon Ash owned, most notably a Froakie in Kalos) would obtain similar feats.
** She's also the first main character who has ''both'' parents still around, something of which wouldn't be seen until Lana, Sophocles, and Kiawe in ''Sun and Moon'', followed by Goh and Chloe in ''Journeys''.
* BreakTheCutie:
** When May loses her first and second contests, and later the Hoenn Grand Festival, she's utterly crushed and breaks down in tears.
** The Battle Frontier Arc eventually took its toll on May. After losing the Kanto Grand Festival (and having to say goodbye to Manaphy in ''Temple of the Sea''), she's become a StepfordSmiler by the time Ash defeats Brandon. She's able to bounce back somewhat by going on her own journey through Johto, but she's still struggling to keep up against Drew, Harley, and Solidad, and loses the Wallace Cup to Dawn during her guest appearance.
* BreakTheHaughty: One contest arc has her get a swelled head, causing her to dismiss Ash's advice. She winds up pushing her freshly-caught Bulbasaur too hard and is disqualified, causing her to get upset when she's scolded for it.
* BrokenWinLossStreak:
** During her trek through Hoenn, May lost her first contest, but managed to win two in a row. However, she lost her fourth contest when she [[AcquiredSituationalNarcissism wound up with a swelled head]] and pushed her Bulbasaur too hard during the last round, getting her disqualified. She did win her next three after that, but lost the Grand Festival during the quarter finals.
** She did have it better during Kanto, since she only lost one contest to Harley (the only time he won, in fact) in Wisteria Town. She bounced back pretty quickly (in spite of Harley's cheating), but her streak came to a halt when Solidad walloped her in the semi-finals of the Grand Festival.
* ButtMonkey: Like Misty before her, May was prone to getting subject to a fair amount of slapstick, starting off with ramming her bike into a tree, getting soaked by a Mudkip when she neglects to tell it where to aim its Water Gun, having said bike fried by Pikachu, and getting decimated by the entire Azurill family on her first outing.
* ButNowIMustGo: After winning the Terracotta Ribbon with Ash, May decides she needs to leave the group permanently and travel to the Johto Region by herself, wanting to find her own way of performing in contests without being stuck in Ash's shadow. While it does leave Max briefly distraught at not being able to go with her, a quick conversation helps him understand, and the two leave for Hoenn so they can get Max home before she sets off.
* TheCameo: While May hasn't physically appeared since ''Diamond and Pearl'', she does make flashback cameos during "The Dream Continues!" and [=JN105=]. [[spoiler:She would make a cameo in the flesh for [=JN132=] where she and Max join Serena and Lisia in watching Ash's match against Leon]].
* CharacterCatchphrase: When calling her Pokémon for a Contest, "Stage On!"/"Take The Stage!"
* CharacterDevelopment: At first, May didn't like Pokémon, only becoming a trainer since she wanted to travel, but Ash's Pikachu and her first two Pokémon (Torchic and Wurmple) change her opinion, and she has come to really love Pokémon. In "Cruisin' for a Losin", after pushing her newly caught Bulbasaur too hard and listening to a fellow competitor tell her that the ribbon she already has is a reminder of how hard her Pokémon worked for her, May realizes that the same is true for her Pokémon and the two ribbons they won, and vows to never take them for granted again.
* ClothingDamage: {{Downplayed}}. In "Sharpedo Attack!", her new swimsuit gets roughed up a little when a group of Sharpedo attack, but it doesn't cause the damage typical of this trope. She's still quite angry that it got torn though, on account of it being brand new.
* CloudCuckooLander: Whenever she starts her "expedition team" narration and FingerFraming, it's a sure-sign that she's..."lost".
* CompositeCharacter: Between the two Hoenn Protagonists, she picks up the trait of being the lead choice and Norman's daughter, but picks up the other lead's backstory of being native to Hoenn instead of having moved there just recently. Brendan himself does exist in the anime via cameos in ''Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea'' and ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'', but there's little known about him.
* ConflictingLoyalty: In the episodes leading up to the Petalburg gym battle, Max gets on her case several times about who May wants to win: their father Norman, or Ash. In the gym match itself, she clearly chose Ash's side.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: To Misty as the show's female lead. While Misty was Ash's coach, mainly followed him to support his goal, and was a Type A {{Tsundere}} toward him, May is Ash's mentee, has her own independent goal that [[RotatingArcs rotates with his]], and a Type B {{Tsundere}} toward Drew. Moreover, while Ash and Misty got into a lot of arguments due to the latter finding Ash to be a haughty and lazy trainer way in over his head, May and Ash very rarely got into a fight, and she looked up to him for guidance (albeit that Ash had mellowed out of his arrogant phase for the most part).
* ContrivedCoincidence: How she happens to meet Ash. The day she was going to get her starter was the day he came to Hoenn, rushing to save his wounded and exhausted Pikachu after Team Rocket ambushed him on the way over. With the [=TRio=] still in hot pursuit, things go south very quickly, Pikachu recovers and fries both his foes and May's bike, and she finds herself wanting to travel with him.
* CostumeEvolution: She goes from her ''Ruby and Sapphire'' outfit to her ''Emerald'' outfit by the time she rejoins the main group.
* CrazyPrepared: In "Brave the Wave!", once the group arrives in town, May shucks off her usual outfit and shows she has a green bikini on underneath, having been ready to hit the beach even before they got there.
* CurbstompBattle: On her first contest battle, Drew smashed her into the ground ''hard''. And in her last battle in the Kanto Grand Festival, Solidad wiped the floor with her using her Slowbro and Pidgeot.
* CutenessProximity: If a Pokémon looks cute, she's going to gush over it. Although there was one time she squeed over Gulpin, a.k.a. the ''living stomach''.
* TheCutie: Probably the dorkiest and childish of Ash's female companions. In keeping with the trope, she gets a lot of BigBrotherInstinct moments out of Ash and Brock.
* CuttingOffTheBranches: Depending on the player's choice of protagonist in ''Ruby and Sapphire'', May is either Norman's daughter, or Birch's daughter. She's made the former in this continuity.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes D-J]]
* DaddysGirl: Although her father doesn't appear as much in the series, she's still driven a lot by the fact he's a gym leader. In fact, there's a strong implication that being the daughter of a famous gym leader pressured her into going out to be a Pokémon trainer, despite her general disinterest at the time. Nevertheless, he supports her decision to become a Coordinator, and when Ash finally challenges him, she's conflicted about whether or not to root for him or Ash.
* DamselInDistress: Ash has saved her life several times on the show, notably in ''Temple of the Sea'' when he put her and Pikachu in a torpedo tube to help them escape the sinking Sea Temple while he tried to undo the damage wrought by The Phantom.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Apart from the Contest arc, the [[Anime/PokemonRangerAndTheTempleOfTheSea ninth movie]] comes to mind.
* DeadpanSnarker: She can provide snark especially where her brother is concerned, but Ash and Brock tend to take the heat as well.
* DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife: She starts off the series not wanting to be a Pokémon trainer at all, but feeling like she only had to because her father is the famous Norman of Petalberg City, only using it as an excuse to travel. Once she learns about contests, she quickly finds that purpose.
* {{Determinator}}: Like Ash, she isn't one to quit easily. She suffers from the occasional blow to her confidence, but she always manages to bounce back and find a way to compete in contests again.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: To Ash during "Advanced Generation" - even the final major battle (an unofficial contest they both enter) reflects this mindset. Like Ash, she (eventually) wants to be the very best at a major Pokémon competition (in her case, contests), but she winds up getting put through the wringer more than once, including when she got as swelled a head as Ash did during his early days. Nevertheless, she persists hard until she achieves her dreams. For added bonus points, she even obtains two of the starters (Bulbasaur and Squirtle) that Ash himself got during his travels (albeit they didn't evolve like hers did).
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Part of her loss during her second contest loss (besides [[AcquiredSituationalNarcissism a swelled head]]) was that she decided to press her Bulbasaur into the competition despite the fact she only caught it a few days before, giving her little time to be properly trained in what to do. When May pushed her too hard, she was disqualified.
* DisproportionateRetribution: On the receiving end by Harley, who's done everything he can in his power to destroy her. Why? When they met, she called his cookies "not bad" and found his Cacturne to be scary.
* DistressBall: Even after becoming one of the most active and capable female companions, she often couldn't catch a break with this. This usually inflicted BigBrotherInstinct moments from Ash.
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: KAORI, May's Japanese VA, sings AG's final ending theme, which is also May's ImageSong, herself.
* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: May was slightly taller than Ash in her debut, whereas later episodes make her more diminutive in both [[YourSizeMayVary height]] (and personality), likely so Ash can better take on a BigBrotherMentor role towards her.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: An offscreen variation. Since May hasn't appeared in the series outside of flashbacks or cameos due to her Japanese voice actress retiring, [[spoiler:Serena]] reveals that May is revered in Hoenn on the contest circuit, suggesting she finally managed to achieve her dreams after all the trauma she got put through during ''Battle Frontier''.
* EasilyForgiven: {{Deconstructed}}. She gives Harley god-knows how many chances to redeem himself before she finally gets the hint and that he's only interested in destroying her.
* EvenTheLovingHeroHasHatedOnes: May is sweet to everyone she meets. The one person she initially dislikes is Drew, but even then she starts to become very {{Tsundere}} with him and earns enough of his respect that he stops treating her so harshly. Harley, however, is one person she grows increasingly less fond of the more he pulls his stunts on her.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When she's first introduced, May is shown riding her bike to get her starter, only to get frightened by a Duskull and [[WatchOutForThatTree slamming into a tree]] while her self-narration indicates she's not a big fan of Pokémon.
* FamedInStory: Because she's Norman's daughter, the entirety of Petalberg City worships the very ground she walks on, which didn't help the one time that Team Rocket [[PaperThinDisguise rather unconvincingly]] disguised themselves as Norman's family and sicced the whole town on the Twerps. By the time of ''Diamond and Pearl'', her reputation had grown in the Coordinator circuit enough to where she was called "The Princess of Hoenn", which ''Journeys'' indicated held some serious respect amongst her competitors.
* TheFashionista: Amongst Ash's companions, she, Misty, Dawn, and Serena have shared the most varied outfits, though May's mostly worn more varieties of swimsuits and casual outfits. She's also the first of them to change her outfit permanently after leaving the group, which only Serena has followed suit in.
* FatalFlaw: Her lack of confidence. She's never able to beat Drew aside from one time because she has little faith in herself. Even though she gets better, she's still very prone to self-doubt, causing her and her Pokémon to falter at inopportune moments. Notably, the one time she did beat Drew was because she cast her doubts aside and pushed to the end, but lost to him once more when losing to Solidad at the Kanto Grand Festival crushed her confidence ''hard''. Part of the reason she decides to journey out on her own is because she thinks it will help her find herself without being stuck in Ash's shadow.
* FigureItOutYourself: After brutally losing to Solidad at the Kanto Grand Festival, May spends a lot of time down in the dumps, but realizes that she's borrowed far too much of Ash's own battling style for herself--something that isn't helping her improve in contests. Once she and Ash have their last battle, she decides to strike out on her own, hoping that she'll be able to find her own style. While ''Diamond and Pearl'' indicated she's still struggling in that aspect, mentions of her in ''Journeys'' indicates that she eventually grew to find it.
* FlawExploitation: Drew is able to take advantage of May's lack of self confidence and beat her down just enough that he wins at the Hoenn Grand Festival (though he loses himself in the next round). The next time they face in the Kanto Grand Festival, May is able to pull herself together that she narrowly beats Drew...only for Solidad to exploit her ''other'' flaw of leaving her Pokémon too open to reprisal while showing off their moves, resulting in a crushing defeat.
* FlungClothing: In "Brave the Wave!", she immediately shucks off her usual outfit ''right in front of her friends and brother'' to show off the new swimsuit she had on. Ash and Max panic when she does so.
* {{Foil}}: To several of the previous characters in the series.
** First, to Ash himself. Ash was an overeager, immature, and sometimes JerkWithAHeartOfGold who wanted to be a Pokémon trainer right off the bat, while she was a shy, somewhat mature, and more reserved NiceGirl who only became a trainer because of her father, only picking up on a career choice when she got the hang of traveling around. Ash overslept and missed getting his pick of a starter, leaving him with a disobedient Pikachu that only started listening to him when he saved his life, and the two remained inseparable since, while May arrived early and got her choice of a fully obedient Torchic that she often overlooked until it evolved. Both trainers got enough qualifying badges/ribbons to make it into their prospective competitions, but got eliminated by their rivals in the Top 8, the difference being that Tyson had only become Ash's brief rival recently, while Drew was May's rival since the beginning. Both trainers also got a Bulbasaur and a Squirtle, but Ash never evolved his, while May did. Meanwhile, Ash would achieve his goal [[spoiler:after he bested Leon]] 25 years in real-time after his journey begin, while May managed to become world-famous far earlier in the Pokémon universe (though it's not clear how much she's accomplished her goal). Both also met [[spoiler:Serena, the former as a child before traveling through Kalos with her, the latter when Serena went to Hoenn and became a Coordinator.]]
** Likewise, with Misty as Ash's female traveling companion. Misty was a gym leader and the youngest of four siblings, May was the daughter of a gym leader and the eldest of two. Misty often butted heads with Ash and held the fact that he destroyed her bike over his head, but she did care for him deep down, and even developed feelings for him later on. May, on the other hand, rarely got into a spat with Ash, never made an issue with him destroying her bike, and any sense of a crush was far more subtle. Misty couldn't stand her sisters, May loved Max in spite of the fact they bickered often. Misty chose to specialize in water types only, while May acquired several different types of Pokémon.
** She's also presented as one to her rival, Drew. She's a rookie to the Coordinator scene, while he's a bit more experienced. Her SignatureMon is the Fire-Fighting type Blaziken and later the Ice type Glaceon, while his are the Grass-Poison type Roserade and the Dark type Absol. She's a NiceGirl who grows from an under-confident noobie into a seasoned veteran, while he's a DefrostingIceKing that is impressive to start with, but keeps upping his game nonetheless. Neither of them win their Grand Festivals, with Drew being knocked out of the Hoenn Festival in the Top 4, while May fell in the same place in Kanto.
** Her other rival, Harley, is yet another {{Foil}}. She's sweet, polite, kind, and as fashionable as Harley is deceitful, manipulative, and a downright cheat who would happily screw May over if it meant he could win.
** On her ''Diamond and Pearl'' guest appearance, she's presented as one to Dawn. Unlike May, Dawn wanted to be a Coordinator the moment she could, but struggled far worse than May due to getting too focused on the performance itself and not having fun, while May's problem largely stemmed from a lack of confidence in herself. Both also picked the bird-themed starter of their respective regions, but Piplup is a feisty water type who doesn't want to evolve, while Blaziken is a mighty Fire[=/=]Fighting type who did evolve all the way.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: She can serve in either role with Max depending on the situation. While she's the more experienced Pokémon Trainer on account of her reaching the age requirement to begin, he's far smarter than her on most things Pokémon in spite of not being able to become a trainer yet.
* ForgottenFirstMeeting: Harley claims that May stole his lunch as a child, long before the two met on the Contest Circuit. Given he's a known liar, it's very hard to say if he's telling the truth.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Sanguine: She's a very sweet and caring girl who's an elegant performer and plenty easygoing, but she can get very distraught in troubling situations, and her confidence can shatter very easily when she's handed a lopsided defeat.
* FreudianExcuse: It's implied she doesn't like Pokémon that much because her mother mistook her for a Tentacool and tried to catch her while one was getting too close for comfort. She gets over it.
* FriendlyRivalry: Her relationship with Drew eventually grows into this, once she started heeding his advice and became a far more serious coordinator. Though the series does imply [[ShipTease something more on their part.]]
* GoodIsNotSoft: Despite her NiceGirl status, pissing her off is not a good idea, especially if you threaten to hurt her brother or you trick her.
* GoodLuckCharm: Describes her half of the Terracotta Ribbon, which she tied with Ash, as her lucky charm during her travels in Johto.
* GuestStarPartyMember: She briefly returns for the Wallace Cup arc in "Diamond and Pearl" for four episodes.
* TheHeart: She occupied this role in the ''Advanced Generation'' party, thanks to her NiceGirl status, though a lot of the focus on the series was on her finding her footing in the Pokémon world.
* HeroicBSOD: Losing lopsidedly to Solidad at the Kanto Grand Festival shook her confidence so badly, she could barely function. Seeing Ash overcome Pyramid King Brandon does help her recover, leading her to decide to strike out on her own.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: [[spoiler:She and Serena evidently crossed paths with one another during their travels, and perform contests together in Hoenn, as the two are seen watching Ash's final match against Leon.]]
* HerOwnWorstEnemy: May's lack of confidence in her own abilities led her to struggling in her Coordinator Career early on, and getting handed lopsided losses only crushed her confidence to the point she could barely function.
* HiddenDepths: ''Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea'' puts her in the position of the surrogate mother to Manaphy, which she manages to catch on quickly with. She even demonstrates that she's a pretty good singer while giving it a lullaby.
* IconicOutfit: Her red bandanna, red shirt, white skirt, and black boots, which even her later outfits have drawn some inspiration from.
* IdenticalStranger: She (apparently) looks just like a girl that stole the last bit of Harley's lunch when he was in preschool. Given that Harley is an UnreliableNarrator, we can't tell if he's being serious.
* IdiotHero: At times, she demonstrated she could be just as bad as Ash in that regard. Not only did she keep falling for Team Rocket's disguises, but it took her a long time to stop falling for Harley's bad bits of advice.
* ImageSong: "Watashi, Makenai!", AG's final ending theme.
* AnIcePerson: She owns the Ice Type Glaceon.
* InnocentBlueEyes: She's got big, bright blues, and has a far more innocent outlook on the world.
* InSeriesNickname: ''Diamond and Pearl'' establishes her as "The Princess of Hoenn".
* IronicEcho: Ash teaches May the basics of catching Pokémon, and May later returns it to him word-for-word when he forgets those basics.
* {{Irony}}:
** She starts out the series not liking Pokémon, but is the daughter of one of Hoenn's premier Gym Leaders.
** When she first begins, she refuses to take Mudkip due to a bad experience with one. Later, Brock gets a Mudkip, which she has no problem with hanging around.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: She really doesn't want to let Manaphy go, having grown very fond of it, but she accepts that it needs to fulfill its destiny, no matter how much it hurts to let her "child" go.
* JerkassBall: As sweet as she is, she can get pretty angry with Ash or Max for no good reason. One time, she and the former got into such a huge argument, it devolved into a GirlsVsBoysPlot where even ''Team Rocket'' got involved to settle the score. All Brock, Max, and Pikachu could do was watch--and referee in the former's case.
* JerkassRealization: When she's disqualified from a contest for pushing her Bulbasaur too hard, she runs off in tears. She soon realizes how unfair she was to her Pokémon, and how much she let the fame go to her head.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes K-Z]]
* KarmicJackpot: May is nearly unable to compete in the Kanto Contest Circuit because Harley tricked her as to how registration actually worked. However, she's still able to get in anyway when a Nurse Joy witnesses her help to rescue a group of stolen Pokémon from Team Rocket, allowing her to compete (much to Harley's chagrin).
* LethalChef: Pokéblocks are edible for humans and Pokémon (to be fair, they are made of berries, after all). May's Pokéblocks? Not so much.
** The first time she made a batch, only Beautifly liked them.
** On another, more [[http://serebii.net/anime/pictures/houen/394ps4.shtml infamous occasion]]. They were so bad that it knocked out almost everyone who ate them, with James noting that they tasted of ''jet fuel'' and ''burning tires''. The only two who liked them were Munchlax, which will eat almost anything, and Jessie, who was able to stomach [[ContinuityNod another female's nasty concoction]].
* LikeParentUnlikeChild: She starts off the series not really liking Pokémon, while her father is a dedicated Gym Leader specializing in Normal Types. She grows out of the disliking Pokémon part, but she notably declines to partake in Gym Battles and chooses to go into Contests instead.
* LivingLegend: By ''Diamond and Pearl'' and ''Journeys'', May is revered as "The Princess of Hoenn" for her various contest exploits.
* LongBusTrip: Between Misty, Dawn, Iris, Serena, Lana, Mallow, and Lillie, May has been absent from the series longest, having last shown up in "Strategy With A Smile!" back during the ''Diamond and Pearl'' era.[[note]]Though this is due to her Japanese voice actress, KAORI, having semi-retired due to spasmotic dysphonia, and a refusal to recast the role until she decides to return.[[/note]] It wouldn't be until [[spoiler:[=JN132=] that she would show up in the flesh alongside Max, and even then it's a silent cameo, marking her as the only one of Ash's companions he wouldn't reunite with in ''Journeys'' prior to the character being retired as the lead.]]
* LostFoodGrievance: May does ''NOT'' take it lightly when someone steals her food.
* LovableCoward: A bit of a scaredy-cat at the beginning of the series. Whenever faced with threatening Pokémon, she would be seen cowering behind a male companion's (usually Ash) back. She eventually grows out of it, but an early Battle Frontier episode sees her as the only one of the twerps who cannot sleep peacefully inside a ghost town.
* MakingASplash: She owns the Water Type Wartortle, and for a time was the caretaker of the Mythical Water Type Manaphy.
* MamaBear: She tends to be very protective of her Pokémon, and develops a mother-child bond with Manaphy in ''Anime/PokemonRangerAndTheTempleOfTheSea''.
* MeaningfulName: Her English name, May, is quite fitting considering her initial lack of confidence and indecisiveness in her abilities.
* MsFanservice: While nowhere near as much compared to Misty, the anime definitely found May attractive enough and wasted no time in giving her numerous bikini scenes, with ''Lucario and the Mystery of Mew'' and ''Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea'' being the most noteworthy of them. Her BedlahBabe outfit from the Wallace Cup also qualifies.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone:
** In "Cruisin For A Losin", after pushing her Bulbasaur too hard and getting scolded for her bad behavior, May realizes her actions were inappropriate and tearfully apologizes to her Bulbasaur, before running off the stage in shame.
** In "Take This House And Shuppet", May shows regret when she realizes that she's really hurt Max's feelings during her argument with him and said some things that she shouldn't have.
* MythologyGag: Both of her outfits in ''Diamond and Pearl'' and [[spoiler:[=JN132=]]] are taken from ''Emerald'' and ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' respectively.
* NiceGirl: May is extremely sweet and friendly to almost everyone.
* NiceMeanAndInBetween: Between the three rivals, she's the Nice to Harley's Mean and Drew's In Between.
* NonElemental: Both her Munchlax and Skitty are Normal Types.
* NoodleIncident: According to Max, she once had a bad encounter with a Tentacool, which explains her slight fear of Pokémon at the start of her journey.
** It's revealed (by Max accidentally giving information to Harley and broadcasted through the speakers) that when she was little she had a blue swim cap and was swimming in the water...and Tentacool were there. She called for help but instead her mom mistook her for one of the Tentacool and tried to capture ''her'' instead!
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Due to real-life circumstances relating to her Japanese voice seiyuu, much of May's exploits, achievements, and adventures after her guest star appearance in ''Diamond and Pearl'' are only hinted at, with characters alluding to her reputation. [[spoiler:''Journeys'' reveals that she became skilled and popular enough to be deemed the Princess of Hoenn, with talent on par with Serena and Lisa, who are considered to be the top coordinators in the Hoenn regions. How she got there is left to the imagination.]]
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: [[spoiler:''Journeys'' revealed she eventually met Serena, another former traveling companion of Ash's and a fellow trainer with an Eeveelution, as the two joined Max and Lisa in watching Ash's battle against Leon.]]
* PalsWithJesus: She becomes a surrogate mother to a baby Manaphy in ''Anime/PokemonRangerAndTheTempleOfTheSea.'' She bonded very closely with it, but was heartbroken when it came time to say goodbye.
* ParentalNeglect:
** Related to the above - her parents couldn't be bothered to watch their ''toddler'' at the beach, and do nothing after hearing her cries for help. Norman goes back to sunbathing, and Caroline decides to try and catch some Pokémon!
** For a human to Pokémon example, she soon began paying more attention to her Beautifly and Skitty more so than her own starter, Torchic, which left Max worried about the chicken's well being. However, when he and Ash are asked to watch some starters being given out to new trainers, and that Torchic busts loose, beats up some wild Pokémon and [[FromBadToWorse evolves into Combusken]], Max decides to [[ExploitedTrope exploit]] the situation by having May's Torchic pose as the one intended to be given away, while steering the new trainer towards picking Treecko or Mudkip so they won't take Torchic instead. Unfortunately for him, May notices Torchic is missing and is less than pleased that Max tried to pull that stunt.
* ParentalSubstitute: In ''Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea'', she winds up in the care of a Manaphy that was being targeted by The Phantom so he could use its power to steal the titular Sea Temple's treasure. The young Manaphy sees May as its "mama", and she happily takes the title after a while. Unfortunately, she's forced to let her child go so it could fulfill its destiny.
* PlayingWithFire: Her starter is the Fire Type Blaziken.
* PluckyGirl: Brave, optimistic, kind, and at times, awkward, she definitely fits.
* PoisonousPerson: Her Venasaur is partially a Poison Type.
* PowerCopying:
** Her Skitty knows Assist, which can copy any of the attacks her current party knows, though it's never the same one twice. At one point, this is {{Deconstructed}} when Harley once again tricks her by saying she should just use Skitty's Assist in the Battle Round. She falls for it hook, line, and sinker, and gets docked points for not using more varied moves. She still wins, but is peeved that she got duped again.
** Another subtle example came up that was subject to a similar deconstruction. It turns out May had been unconsciously using Ash's own battling style for her contests--a strategy that's fine for Gym Battles, but nowhere as suitable for the Coordinator scene. In doing so, she gets utterly destroyed by Solidad during the Final Four of the Kanto Grand Festival, as the elder Coordinator recognizes the flaws with such an approach and is quick to exploit them.
* PrincessesPreferPink: Although her title of "Princess" is more an indicator of her fame, her Wallace Cup outfit and her [[spoiler:contest outfit in [=JN132=]]]both have prominent pink elements.
* PutOnABus: She leaves for her own journey at the end of ''Advanced Generation'', and, aside from a four-part guest appearance in ''Diamond and Pearl'', she hasn't been seen outside of flashbacks or Ash reminiscing about his companions [[spoiler:until [=JN132=]]]. This is even more glaring compared to Misty, Dawn, and Iris, as they've all come back, but May still has yet to reappear.[[labelnote:Explanation]]This is due to the fact that May's Japanese seiyū Kaori has been diagnosed with vocal cervical dystonia (spasmodic dysphonia) in 2012, which severely impairs her ability to speak. Due to the anime industry's reverence and respect to seiyū in general, replacing Kaori with another seiyū would be seen as disrespectful to her and thus [[RealLifeWritesThePlot May is simply relegated to non-speaking cameos until Kaori feels ready to reprise the role]].[[/labelnote]]
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The reason she never came back to the series outside of silent cameos or flashbacks (not even during the ''XY'' era, which brought her back in the games as the lead for the Gen 3 remakes), was due to her Japanese voice actress being forced to retire due to her vocal chord issues.
* RedBaron:
** "The Princess of Hoenn" when she appears for the Wallace Cup.
** [[spoiler: In ''Journeys'', Serena tells Chloe the outfit she's suggesting Chloe wear during her performance was formerly used by "The Princess of Hoenn" indicating May is still called that, and that the name still seems to carry some serious respect, though it isn't expanded upon]].
* RedIsHeroic: She's clad primarily in red, and she's one of the series main protagonists.
* RedOniBlueOni: The red to her rival Drew's blue. She's far more passionate in her everyday life compared to the more stoic and reserved Drew.
* RememberTheNewGuy: [[DubInducedPlothole Dub]]-only, where it's implied that May and Max had already met Ash's Charizard prior to the latter's actual debut in AG.
-->'''May''': Oh no, not again. (referring to Charizard's [[RunningGag way of saying]] [[AshFace hello to Ash]].)\\
'''Max''': Of course, that's the only way Charizard knows how to say hello.
* ReplacementFlatCharacter: Replacing Ash as the show's clueless newbie.
* RiddleForTheAges:
** How exactly she wound up time-traveling into the past (or got back to the present for that matter) is never given any explanation, as there's no hint of Celebi being involved, and Dialga had yet to be introduced at the time.
** How and when she was deemed "The Princess of Hoenn" was never established in the series.
* RotatingArcs: The focus of her seeking out Pokémon Contests alternates with Ash's own quest for the Hoenn League and later the Battle Frontier. Notably, in the latter ''she's'' the one who had to contend with a TournamentArc, since Ash's own quest at that time is more along the lines of a RunTheGauntlet.
* RunningGag: Early on, the group would frequently be slow to get going because May was adjusting her appearance in a mirror.
* ShaggyDogStory: May decides to travel to another region to register in the Wallace Cup and end her losing streak, but winds up losing in the finals to Dawn.
* ShipTease:
** She receives some with Ash, sprinkled liberally throughout ''Advanced Generation'' and especially in ''Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of The Sea''. In the former, she guilts Ash into letting her tag along due to her bike being destroyed (which she happily cheers out when he accepts), and the latter sees her and Ash swimming underwater in amazement of the sea life.
** Also gets quite a bit of this with Drew, especially once their rivalry starts to become more friendly; the most cited hint is Drew frequently giving her roses, although he insists it's for her Pokémon.
* SiblingYinYang: With Max. She's more of a NiceGirl with a naive streak, while he's a BrattyHalfPint DeadpanSnarker who veers into KnowNothingKnowItAll territory.
* SignatureHeadgear: Her bandanna, which she always wears a variation of. In ''Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea'', Manaphy actually goes out its way to get it back for its "mama" when she drops it in the ocean.
* SignificantWardrobeShift: Her entire outfit changes from her more familiar red, white, and black clothes to the outfit she wears in ''Pokémon Emerald'' to signify she's out on her own.
* SmallNameBigEgo: In one episode she develops a group of admirers and an over-inflated ego. Then she enters a contest. You can imagine [[BreakTheHaughty what happens next]].
* SociallyAwkwardHero: As skilled of a coordinator she grows to become, she still gets a few moments of fluster and shyness, even around her rival Drew.
* SuperGullible: One of May's flaws. She gets tricked by Team Rocket a lot and she even trusted Harley when the latter manipulated her with misleading advice in the ''Advanced Generation'' season. Harley was quick to point out that [[JerkassHasAPoint she was the one dumb enough to keep falling for it.]]
* SurpassedTheTeacher: [[DownplayedTrope A Downplayed example]]. Near the end of the ''Advanced Generation'' saga, May decides to follow her rivals to compete in the contests in Johto due to wanting to come up with her own unique style in contests after realizing that emulating Ash's more offensive-battling style isn't good for contests. As a result, she decides to stop traveling with Ash, realizing such a step is necessary for her to step out of his shadow, but she still expresses her gratitude to him for everything he has taught her.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Averted. While she takes Misty's place as Ash's female companion, her personality is rather different. [[CollectionSidequest May's competing in Contests]] also mean she has a much more active role in the narrative than Misty did.
* SweetTooth: Prominent for her BigEater tendencies, she's shown numerous time munching down on various sweets.
* TenderTears: After her various contests losses, she breaks down crying. Luckily, Ash and co. are there to help comfort her.
* TimeTravel: Encountered a rather random case in "Time Warp Heals All Wounds", where she teams up with Meowth of all people to undo a stranger's death in the past. Said stranger being spared from his death results in her egg finally hatching into an Eevee.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: She fulfills both roles.
** Tomboy: To her successor Dawn's Girly Girl. May is much into the travel aspect of her Pokémon journey while also borrowing a lot of Ash's battling techniques, while Dawn places a lot more emphasis on her performance.
** Girly Girl: To her predecessor Misty's Tomboy. Misty is a Gym Leader who can wallop foes through sheer force, while May is a Coordinator much more interested in performances.
* TookALevelInBadass: May took a noticeable level in badass somewhere around the time of Combusken's evolution. The first half of the season had her freezing up a lot and relying on blind luck -- shortly post-Combusken she was holding her own against villains of the day. By ''Battle Frontier'', she entered every contest with confidence. ''Journeys'' indicates that she's managed to become a world-respected coordinator, famous enough to be a part of an Idol Unit with the likes of [[spoiler:Lisia and Serena]].
** Not only that, but most of her Pokémon also got this change.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Noodles; specifically, Tonkotsu Ramen. It gets to the point in "Pasta la Vista" that she'd fight off against Ash in order to make sure she can ''enjoy'' those noodles, combined with a fiery aura to show how determined she was.
* TraumaCongaLine: A more benign example than most, but the ''Battle Frontier'' era really put May through the wringer. She nearly misses registration because Harley once again tricked her by feigning reformation. While she's able to breeze through most of her contests, and even gets two new Pokémon, she's subject to numerous attempts of humiliation (and one defeat) by Harley, sometimes with Team Rocket's help, and she actually ''dies'' in ''Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew'' (albeit temporarily). Things finally take their toll when loses lopsidedly to Solidad in the Kanto Grand Festival only ''after'' she manages to finally beat her rival Drew, leaving her a sobbing mess. And though she's able to find solace again when she becomes a surrogate mother to a baby Manaphy, she winds up having to bid farewell to it after nearly dying a few times trying to protect it. By the time she and Ash part ways, she's barely holding together, and even when she reunites with him, she admits she's still struggling to find herself in Johto. Even the Wallace Cup proves unfruitful, as she narrowly loses to Dawn. Poor girl doesn't catch a break until ''Journeys'', and even then it's all offscreen.
* {{Tsundere}}: A Type B, meaning she's mostly sweet and gentle...unless [[JerkWithaHeartOfGold Drew]] is around, or Ash and/or her brother Max pisses her off.
* TheUnfavorite: Downplayed. Her parents are generally a lot more interested in Max, though that's probably just because he's younger and needs more attention. They do a good job of cheering her on in Contests, though -- her mother traveled all the way from Petalburg to Slateport City to support her when the Hoenn Grand Festival came!
* TheUnreveal: [[spoiler:Exactly when she and Serena crossed paths, how they learned about their connection to Ash, and when they decided to start competing together has yet to be revealed.]]
* VerbalTic: "-kamo" in the Japanese version, which even squeezed its way into her ImageSong!
** StealthPun: Her starter was Achamo, which could easily mimic this sound. The VerbalTic isn't present in the dub, and would have to be changed anyway as Achamo's English name is Torchic. However, "kamo" is used to suggest uncertainty and can be translated to "may," which makes her English name quite appropriate.
* WatchOutForThatTree: She slams her bike into one after getting scared by a Duskull--in her ''debut episode'' no less!
* WhatTheHellHero: Received an earful from Nurse Joy and the other judges for pressuring her Bulbasaur too hard in its first Contest.
* TheWorfEffect: While May did admirably well in the Kanto Grand Festival, she got walloped by Solidad so badly due to her being far less experienced and having borrowed too much from Ash's own battle style to effectively see the flaws with using it in contests. The defeat practically broke her for a good while.
* WorfHadTheFlu: Although she finally beat Drew in the Kanto Grand Festival, she lost to him in their next bout in a practice contest because she was utterly broken about having lost to Solidad.
* WorthyOpponent: May has no care for Harley as a person, but she does admit that he's a skilled Coordinator in his own right. Even later on, she describes him as being quite tricky to deal with, even against the likes of Drew and Solidad.
* YankTheDogsChain:
** Despite finding some semblance of happiness when she becomes a parent to Manaphy, she's forced to bid it farewell so it can fulfill its destiny.
** Her arc in the Wallace Cup amounts to her managing to make it to the finals, only for Dawn to narrowly edge her out.
* YourSizeMayVary: Was roughly Misty's height in her first episode. In all later episodes she's slightly shorter than Ash, though some OffModel moments occur, most commonly the actual difference in height between her and Ash.
[[/folder]]

----

!May's Pokémon

[[folder:In General]]
* NotAllowedToGrowUp: In ''Advanced Generation'', most of her team consisted of cute, unevolved Pokémon, though this is largely subverted for her return in ''Diamond and Pearl''. By the time of the Wallace Cup, only Skitty and Munchlax have not evolved, while the rest of her team have evolved at least once.
* PutOnABus: Beautifly and Skitty were left behind at the Petalburg Gym, while May chose to leave Bulbasaur at Oak's so she could learn from Ash's own Bulbasaur. She later reclaimed the former two before heading to Johto, and now rotates all of them in and out of her roster.
* SignatureMon: Thanks to the anime's influence, Torchic (in its first stage, if not fully evolved) is usually depicted as May's partner in most promotional material, including the ''VideoGame/PokemonOmegaRubyAndAlphaSapphire'' commercials, various statues, and even as her ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' counterpart Sapphire's first 'mon. Glaceon also qualifies, given how she used it in the Wallace Cup and how [[spoiler:it was her only Pokémon present in [=JN132=] for her cameo.]]
* SimilarSquad: May's Pokémon in ''Advanced Generation'' tend to draw parallels to Pokémon Ash caught during his early journey: her [[TheAce strongest Pokémon]] is a fully evolved Fire-type starter, mirroring Ash's Charizard; her first capture/evolution is Beautifly, mirroring Ash's Butterfree; her Bulbasaur and Squirtle mirror Ash's own Bulbasaur and Squirtle; and her Munchlax mirrors Ash's Snorlax.
* TookALevelInBadass: May obtained each of these Pokémon in their first stages, and they all grew from oddballs into fully-capable fighters and performers.
[[/folder]]

!!!Hoenn

[[folder:Torchic-Combusken-Blaziken (Achamo-Wakasyamo-Bursyamo)]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may_torchic.png]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_may_combusken.png]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may_blaziken.png]]
-->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Creator/ChinamiNishimura (Achama and Wakasyamo), Creator/KatsuyukiKonishi (Bursyamo)
-->'''Voiced in English by:''' Creator/RachaelLillis (Torchic), Darren Dunstan (Combusken, 4Kids), Bill Rogers (Combusken second voice and Blaziken)

----
* EleventhHourSuperpower: Evolved into Blaziken right as ''Advanced Generation'' was hitting its finale (handily beating Team Rocket in the process), and also just in time for use against Ash and Sceptile in the unofficial Contest at Terracotta Town.
* TheAce: It's not only May's first Pokémon, it's also her strongest, as demonstrated in her final battle against Ash.
* BadassAdorable[=/=]KillerRabbit: As cute as it was, Torchic could prove itself to be a capable fighter...[[DownplayedTrope at least while it wasn't getting its butt handed to it.]]
* BareFistedMonk: Combusken and Blaziken's secondary type is fighting, and it gains access to fighting moves upon evolving.
* BerserkButton: After May got Torchic and returned home to Petalberg City, Max made the mistake of insulting it. Torchic promptly pecked him.
* TheBigGuy: Once May left the main group, Blaziken was the strongest and biggest of her Pokémon she had (though her Venasaur took that slot when she rejoined the group in ''Diamond and Pearl''). At the very least, Blaziken is the tallest of her team.
* BigGuyLittleGuy: When May went to Sinnoh for the Wallace Cup, she teamed up with Dawn for a tag battle. Blaziken and Piplup fit together quite well with this trope.
* ButtMonkey: Prior to evolution, Torchic got walloped pretty much every time it came out of the Poké Ball. [[TookALevelInBadass After evolution though...]]
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: To Ash's Charizard and Quilava. Torchic winds up fully evolving into a powerhouse like the former, but like the latter, was a shy and timid Mon who couldn't quite get the hang of things at first. Where this chicken differs is that it's a LightningBruiser who relies on speed and power all at once, compared to Charizard being TheBigGuy and Quilava having a standard fighting prowess. Also he's a Fire-Fighting type, whereas Charizard is a Fire-Flying type, and Quilava is just a Fire type.
* TheDogBitesBack: Corphish goes right back to being a JerkAss to Torchic once the events of "A Shroomish Skirmish" are all over. Problem is, Torchic is now Combusken and isn't having it, type disadvantage be damned.
* OutOfFocus: An InUniverse case. When May started competing in contests and started using Beautifly and Skitty more often, Max pointed out that she barely paid any attention to Torchic. He wound up exploiting this when he and Ash were asked by the local Nurse Joy to watch over some starters she was preparing to give out for a new trainer, only for that Torchic to break loose, get into fights with wild Pokémon, and ''evolve''. Thinking May wouldn't notice her Torchic was missing, Max took it and tried to substitute it for the freshly evolved one while he and Ash tried guiding the new trainer into picking Treecko or Mudkip. Unfortunately for them, May ''did'' notice.
* PlayingWithFire: It knows Ember starting as a Torchic, but gains access to more powerful moves like Fire Spin as it evolves, Overheat and later Blaze Kick as well. Its ability is Blaze, which activates during May's final battle with Ash.
* PlotParallel: Its evolutions mirror May's own growth as a Trainer. It starts as a clueless and overly naive starter as a Torchic, develops into a more focused and competent partner as a Combusken, and then finally a confident and independent powerhouse as a Blaziken.
* {{Shoryuken}}: It knows Sky Uppercut, allowing it perform a shoryuken on its foes.
* SignatureMon: Being one of the Hoenn Starter and May's first Pokémon, it naturally is her Signature Mon. However, Torchic had to fight for this status, since Beautifly, Skitty and Bulbasaur got more attention from their trainer than it did. After evolving into Combusken, it rose to the rank of May's Ace Pokémon, to the point that most other versions of May have Torchic as her starter.
* SignatureMove: During its time as Torchic, it was Ember, but after evolving into Combusken, its Signature Moves became Fire Spin and Sky Uppercut.
* TookALevelInBadass: Torchic's evolution into Combusken...and to up the ante, it evolves into Blaziken at the end of AG.
* [[WellDoneSonGuy Well Done Chicken Mon]]: Torchic went through a personality change when evolving into Combusken. It went from timid and cutesy to a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race Mon]]. What triggered this personality change? May paying more attention and spending more time with her other Pokémon (who, it must be said, ''were'' getting more attention to prepare for Contests while Torchic was left behind).
* WhosLaughingNow: Literally happens in "''A Shroomish Skirmish''". Torchic settles its differences with Corphish after Corphish protected Torchic from a herd of angry Breloom, and Torchic returned the favor by evolving into Combusken to save him. At the end of the episode, Corphish attempts to steal Combusken's food again (which started their squabble in the first place) but was now intimidated by the more powerful Combusken, and Combusken simply laughs it off.
* WindFromBeneathMyWings: It knows Peck, a Flying Type move, [[{{Irony}} in spite of not being a flying type.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Wurmple-Silcoon-Beautifly (Kemusso-Karasalis-Agehunt)]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may_wurmple.png]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may_silcoon.png]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may_beautifly.png]]
-->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Creator/RyokoShiraishi
-->'''Voiced in English by:''' Tara Jayne (Wurmple), Creator/RachaelLillis (Silcoon and Beautifly 4Kids), Creator/MicheleKnotz (Beautifly, current)

----
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: To Jessie's Dustox, with Beautifly almost always besting Dustox in battles and contests, and being considered the prettier more impressive Pokémon by everyone but Team Rocket. Odd since this was subverted when they were both Wurmples, with Jessie's being the far more obedient and competent Pokémon.
* BigEater: Wurmple. When he had his first lunch with the other Pokémon, he ate not only all the Pokémon food...but also the lunch Brock made for everyone else!
* BrickJoke: During the gang's return to Petalburg for Ash's fifth gym battle, it's revealed that a Beautifly was something of a soft spot for Caroline because it symbolizes her marriage with Norman. At the beginning of the Battle Frontier saga, May cites that very reason as to why her Beautifly [[PutOnABus stayed in the Petalburg gym]].
* TheBusCameBack: Returned with May during the Wallace Cup arc; in fact, it was the first to greet Ash & Brock, while May's ship was entering the docks.
* {{Flight}}: It's a Bug-Flying type, and has wings, giving it this ability.
* HardWorkHardlyWorks: As a Wurmple, it was poorly trained and lazy, while Jessie's was diligent and loyal. May's still evolved into a competent Beautifly as she desired, and always outshone Jessie's Dustox.
* HeadPet: Beautifly's favorite roost. On one occasion, Ash as well.
* OnlyOneWhoLikesSpam: When May first tries making Pokéblocks, only Beautifly likes them.
* PrettyButterfly: It's the very reason May wanted to catch a Wurmple, thinking that Beautifly's looks would make it a shoe-in for winning Contests.
* PsychicPowers: Knows Psychic.
* SignatureMove: After evolving into Beautifly, Silver Wind immediately became its SignatureMove.
* WindFromBeneathMyWings: Beautifly's secondary type is flying, and it also knows Gust when it evolves.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Skitty (Eneco)]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may_skitty.png]]
-->'''Voiced by:''' Music/MegumiHayashibara

----
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Often has trouble keeping her head in the game, and gets easily distracted by several things, including moving curtains, toys, other Pokémon, and her own twitchy tail.
* ConfusionFu: Her Assist allows her to draw a random attack from any one of her teammates' arsenal.
* CuteKitten: Way too cute for her own good.
* CuteLittleFangs: Being a Skitty, she has two tiny ones.
* CutenessProximity: In ''I Feel Skitty'', everyone, including Team Rocket, thinks that Skitty is adorable.
* DividedWeFall: Skitty is ''terrible'' at teamwork, and this costs May in Battles and Contests more than once.
* FatalFlaw: As mentioned above, her inability to work as a team with May's other Pokémon.
* GenkiGirl: Skitty was incredibly energetic, with there being minimal scenes where she wasn't smiling or playing.
* NonElemental: Skitty is a Normal Type, and thus lacks access to most of the fancier moves that her other party members have besides Ice Beam. At least when it doesn't use Assist.
* PintSizedPowerhouse: One of the smallest members of the Hoenn ensemble, but she packs a mean punch when she can summon a ''[[AnIcePerson Blizzard]]''.
* PokemonSpeak: Averted -- her cry consists of "nya!" instead of her own name, which is the Japanese equivalent to "meow" in English.
* PutOnABus: Left at May's house following the Ever Grande Conference.
* RandomEffectSpell: Her SignatureMove Assist allows her to use a randomly selected move from one of May's other Pokémon.
* RunningGag: Chasing her own tail, then getting dizzy and falling over.
* SignatureMove: Two. Assist, with its random nature being Skitty's trademark, and Skitty's Blizzard.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bulbasaur-Ivysaur-Venusaur (Fushigidane-Fushigisou-Fushigibana)]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may_bulbasaur.png]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may_venusaur.png]]
-->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Miyako Ito (Fushigidane)
-->'''Voiced in English by:''' Tara Jayne (Bulbasaur)

----
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: When May was about to be attacked by the other Grass Pokémon in the reserve, Bulbasaur defended her since she saved the Pokémon from falling off a cliff.
* BirdsOfAFeather: After May catches her Bulbasaur, Ash decides to call his over to help show it the ropes. Naturally, the two hit it off pretty well. She later leaves her Bulbasaur at Oak's so Ash's could teach her.
* TheBusCameBack: May adds her back to the party during her own journey through Johto, at which point it evolves into Venasaur.
* {{Foil}}: Straightest parallel between May and Ash: she was basically the innocent, gentler version to Ash's TroubledButCute Bulbasaur.
* GreenThumb: Granted given it's a Grass Type.
* InnocentFlowerGirl: Started out as one, first seen trying to pick a flower at the side of a cliff, and the only non-hostile inhabitant of the grass preserve (this was probably due to May saving her from a nasty fall).
* NaiveEverygirl: During her first time outside the preserve, she would get distracted over several things, almost unknowingly endangering herself even, because of her innocence. Ash had to temporarily call in his own Bulbasaur to set her straight and teach her the ropes.
* PetalPower: Knows Petal Dance.
* [[PoisonousPerson Poisonous Pokémon]]: It's secondary type is poison, although it's not shown with any poison moves.
* PutOnABus: May leaves her at Oak's lab under the mentorship of Ash's own Bulbsasaur.
* SignatureMove: Petal Dance, which serves as yet another contrast between May's Bulbasaur and Ash's Bulbasaur who knows Solarbeam.
* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: Has a pair of heart-shaped spots on its forehead to indicate that it's female. As a Venusaur, it follows the games by having a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything seed in her flower/tree]].
* TookALevelInBadass: She evolves into Venasaur by the time of ''Diamond and Pearl''.
* VineTentacles: Knows Vine Whip.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Munchlax (Gonbe)]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may_munchlax.png]]
-->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Chie Sato
-->'''Voiced in English by:''' Darren Dunstan (4Kids), [[Creator/JimmyZoppi Billy Beach]] (current)

----
* {{Acrofatic}}: Can move really, ''really'' fast if he's [[HeroismIncentive motivated enough]].
* BadassAdorable: He packs quite a punch whenever May uses him-literally as he knows the move focus punch.
* BareFistedMonk: Knows Fighting-type Focus Punch. Unlike the games, Munchlax never needs to charge for the attack and can use it immediately. Other Pokémon would later follow his example.
* BigEater: Of course, even more so than May.
* BreathWeapon: Fires his Solarbeam out of his mouth.
* ClearMyName: Taking a liking to Munchlax after it devoured all her Pokéblocks, May set out to prove its innocence when Team Rocket framed it for stealing other trainers' Pokéblocks.
* ConfusionFu: It kicked Combusken's ass by ''not'' paying attention. Later played straight for having access to the Metronome attack.
* CuteLittleFangs: Has two that protrude from the bottom of his mouth, as he is a Munchlax.
* EarlyBirdCameo: As Gen IV species began making their way to the anime, Munchlax was the first one to be owned by a main character.
* ExtremeOmnivore: ''Only'' Munchlax was able to eat May's first original Pokéblock recipe. He has limits, however, as he didn't take with her second original Pokéblock.
** And of course, it swallowed a Pokéball and it still got captured.
* GreenThumb: Knows the Grass-type move [[LightEmUp Solarbeam]].
* NonActionGuy: May only captured him to save his skin. For the rest of Hoenn, he never competed in a single Contest, only getting a chance in the spotlight during Battle Frontier.
%%* NonElemental: Normal-type.
* RandomEffectSpell: Knows Metronome, which allows it to use pretty much any move a Pokémon can learn, but it's all at random. Some examples:
** It once joined a herd of Cleffa-line Pokémon in a mass use of Metronome that ultimately led to Team Rocket blasting off.
** Once, it used Metronome while confused, and did Splash.
** In a contest, May desperately called Munchlax to do Metronome. It picked up Rest, and got a ton of Cute points.
** When May used it to try to catch an Arcanine, it ''really'' hit the Lottery, picking up ''[[{{Acrofatic}} EXTREME SPEED]]!'' Just one problem: [[TheSnackIsMoreInteresting it abused the power to snatch and gorge on Pecha Berries instead]].
* SignatureMove: Solarbeam.
[[/folder]]

!!!Kanto Battle Frontier

[[folder:Squirtle-Wartortle (Zenigame-Kameil)]]
[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may_squirtle.png]]
[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wartortle.png]]
-->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Tomoe Hanba (Zenigame), Creator/KatsuyukiKonishi (Kameil)
-->'''Voiced in English by:''' Creator/EricStuart (Squirtle, 4Kids), Creator/MicheleKnotz (Squirtle, second voice), Craig Blair (Wartortle)

----
* BubbleGun: Knows Bubble.
* {{Foil}}: To Ash's Squirtle: while Ash's Squirtle was a leader-type and had a frosty side due to being abandoned by trainers, this one is prepared to be given to trainers and is known to be a cry-baby when first introduced.
* GooGooGodlike: Did unbelievably well in most of the fights it was in despite being very young and smaller than the average Squirtle.
* AnIcePerson: May's Squirtle knows Ice Beam, which serves as its Signature Move and sets it further apart from Ash's Squirtle who doesn't know Ice-type moves.
* MakingASplash: May's first Water-type Pokémon. It knows Bubble, Water Gun, Withdraw and later Aqua Tail.
* SignatureMove: Ice Beam, which also serves as another contrast to Ash's Squirtle who knows Hydro Pump.
* SpectacularSpinning: Knows Rapid Spin.
* TookALevelInBadass: A normal beginner Pokémon who was shown to cry when Max tried to say hello to it...soon learned Ice Beam to beat Harley's Ariados. In ''Diamond & Pearl,'' it's shown to have evolved into Wartortle, and pulls off a flawless Contest appeal with confidence and elegance, showing how much it's grown since its last appearance.
* UnskilledButStrong: When it first learns Ice Beam, it doesn't have much control over it, but the raw power of the move is enough to break it free from a Spider Web produced by Harley's Ariados.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Eevee-Glaceon (Eievui-Glacia)]]
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may_eevee.png]]
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mays_glaceon.jpg]]
-->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Music/MegumiHayashibara
-->'''Voiced in English by:''' Kayzie Rogers (Eevee), Music/MegumiHayashibara (Glaceon)

----
* ClingyMacGuffin: One Battle Frontier episode had the egg's incubator briefly stuck to a rampaging Elekid's plug head. Even though Elekid removed it relatively early, it became the reason why Ash and company went after the Elekid, since they think the mon still has it.
* DishingOutDirt: Knows Dig.
* ExtraOreDinary: Knows Iron Tail.
* FastTunnelling: Again, knows Dig.
* [[AnIcePerson An Ice Pokémon]]: After evolving into Glaceon, it changes its type from Normal to Ice. It knows Ice Beam and Ice Shard.
* NonElemental: It used to be a Normal-type when it was still an Eevee.
* PsychicPowers: It knows the Psychic-type move [[AttackReflector Mirror Coat]].
* SoulPower: Knows the Ghost-type move Shadow Ball, which is its SignatureMove.
* SignatureMon: Since evolving into Glaceon, it has been May's signature cute companion. In the Wallace Cup finals, May uses Glaceon to compete against Dawn's Piplup and only lost by 0.5 point despite being its first contest. [[spoiler:When May reappears in a cameo in [=JN132=] alongside Serena watching Ash vs Leon, Glaceon is her only Pokémon seen alongside her, paralleling with Serena's Sylveon.]]
* SignatureMove: For both, Eevee and Glaceon, it's Shadow Ball.
* TimeTravel: It winds up hatching thanks to May, Squirtle, and Team Rocket's Meowth going through one of this adventures, saving the life of the man who helps bring it into this world.
* TookALevelInBadass: Before reuniting with Ash, May took Eevee to Snowpoint City and evolved it to Glaceon with the Ice Rock.
[[/folder]]

'''Movies:''' [[Characters/PokemonMovies Movies 1 to 19]] | [[Characters/PokemonIChooseYou I Choose You!]] ([[Characters/PokemonIChooseYouAshKetchum Ash Ketchum]]) | [[Characters/PokemonThePowerOfUs The Power of Us]] | [[Characters/PokemonSecretsOfTheJungle Secrets of the Jungle]]-]]]]]

* DaddysGirl: Although her father doesn't appear as much in the series, she's still driven a lot by the fact he's a gym leader. In fact, the only reason she became a trainer was because of how famous her father was, and feeling she needed to follow in his footsteps. Nevertheless, he supports her decision to become a Coordinator, and when Ash finally challenges him, she's conflicted about whether or not to root for him or Ash.

* DistressBall: Even after becoming one of the most active and capable female companions, she often couldn't catch a break with this. Usually inflicted BigBrotherInstinct moments from Ash.

* SuperGullible: One of May's flaws. She gets tricked by Team Rocket a lot and she even trusted Harley when the latter manipulated her with misleading advice in the Advanced Generation season. Harley was quick to point out that [[JerkassHasAPoint she was the one dumb enough to keep falling for it.]]

* BareMidriffsAreFeminine: Like Misty before her, she's the only girl in the group. While she doesn't show it off in her normal outfit, she gets a few bikini scenes (notably in the eight and ninth movies), she wears a BellyDancer outfit for the Wallace Cup during ''Diamond and Pearl'', and her [[spoiler: contest outfit from [=JN132=] (lifted from ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'')]] shows off her stomach.
* BedlahBabe: May wears an outfit that wouldn't look out of place on a real BellyDancer for her return for the Wallace Cup.

* TheAce: Subverted during the Wallace Cup, when she returned in Diamond and Pearl. By then, she was pretty experienced and was known even in Sinnoh, where she had never been to until then, as "The Princess of Hoenn" and was implied to be the favorite of it (that is, most people predicted her to win), even being acknowledged by fellow Ace Zoey, and later defeating her, something Dawn never did. However, she did end up losing to Dawn at the Wallace Cup final round, and she admits when she first reunites with the gang that she was having some bumps in the road in the Johto contest circuit, showing that while she's pretty good, she has a long way to go to winning a grand festival and becoming a top coordinator, even if her fame is a bit elevated. ''Journeys'' suggests that she did eventually grow into this, as [[spoiler:Serena]] makes mention of May's title and implies it carries a lot of respect on the Contest Circuit.

->'''Voiced in Canadian French by:''' Éveline Gélinas (Movies ''Jirachi Wish Maker'' and ''Destiny Deoxys'')

'''Major Characters:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesMisty Misty]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBrock Brock]] | '''May''' | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesDawn Dawn]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesPaul Paul]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesIris Iris]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesSerena Serena]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesGoh Goh]] \\

* {{Catchphrase}}: When calling her Pokémon for a Contest, "Stage On!"/"Take The Stage!"

* CuteLittleFangs: Has two that protrude from the bottom of his mouth, as he is a Munchlax

* ParentalNeglect: Related to the above - her parents couldn't be bothered to watch their ''toddler'' at the beach, and do nothing after hearing her cries for help. Norman goes back to sunbathing, and Caroline decides to try and catch some Pokémon!

* VerbalTic: "-kamo", which even squeezed its way into her ImageSong!

* YankTheDogsChain: Her arc in the Wallace Cup amounts to her managing to make it to the finals, only for Dawn to narrowly edge her out.

* RedBaron: "The Princess of Hoenn" when she appears for the Wallace Cup.
** [[spoiler: In Journeys, Serena tells Chloe the outfit she's suggesting Chloe wear during her performance was formerly used by "The Princess of Hoenn" indicating May is still called that, and that the name still seems to carry some serious respect, though it isn't expanded upon]].

-->'''May''': Oh no, not again. (referring to Charizard's [[RunningGag way of saying]] [[AshFace hello to Ash]].)
-->'''Max''': Of course, that's the only way Charizard knows how to say hello.

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Due to real-life circumstances relating to her Japanese voice seiy&#363, much of May's exploits, achievements, and adventures after her guest star appearance in ''Diamond and Pearl'' are only hinted at, with characters alluding to her reputation. [[spoiler:''Journeys'' reveals that she became skilled and popular enough to be deemed the Princess of Hoenn, with talent on par with Serena and Lisa, who are considered to be the top coordinators in the Hoenn regions. How she got there is left to the imagination.]]

* AttackAttackAttack: Scoot and Brock observe that May is inadvertently influenced by Ash's battle style, which relies heavily on dazzling power attacks. While this approach served her well in the past, it proves ineffective against an experienced coordinator like Solidad, who shares the style, but is aware of the glaring flaw of vulnerability to maneuver and reprisal assaults. This ultimately leads to May's crushing defeat in the Kanto Grand Festival semifinals.

* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Due to real-life circumstances relating to her Japanese voice seiy&#363, much of May's exploits, achievements, and adventures after her guest star appearance in ''Diamond and Pearl'' are only hinted at, with characters alluding to her reputation. [[spoiler:''Journeys'' reveals that she became skilled and popular enough to be deemed the Princess of Hoenn with talent on par with Serena and Lisa, who are considered to be the top coordinators in the Hoenn regions. But how she got there is left to the imagination.]]

** She receives some with Ash, sprinkled liberally throughout ''Advanced Generation'' and especially in ''Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of The Sea''.

* GooGooGodlike: Did unbelievably well in most of the fights it was in.

'''Advanced Generation:''' [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireAshsPokemon Ash's Pokémon (Hoenn)]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireCast Supporting Cast]] | [[Characters/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphireGymLeadersAndFrontierBrains Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains]]\\

* BigEater: Worse than Ash in this regard. In fact, in one episode, Ash was actually astounded by how much she could eat. Taking her food in any way is a good way to get her mad (see above).

* LostFoodGrievance: May does ''NOT'' take it lightly when someone steals her food. See BerserkButton above.

[[caption-width-right:200:[[labelnote:Click here to see May's DP outfit]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may_dp_series.png[[/labelnote]]]]

* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Phlegmatic. She's a very sweet and caring girl who's an elegant performer and plenty easygoing, but she can get very distraught in troubling situations, and her confidence can shatter very easily when she's handed a lopsided defeat.

'''Horizons:''' [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesLeadCharacters Lead Characters]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesPokemon Pokémon]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesAntagonists Antagonists]]\\

-->'''Voiced in Japanese by:''' Kaori Suzuki

'''Horizons:''' [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesLeadCharacters Lead Characters]] | [[Characters/PokemonHorizonsTheSeriesPokemon Pokemon]]\\

* SignatureMove: Petal Blizzard, which serves as yet another contrast between May's Bulbasaur and Ash's Bulbasaur who knows Solarbeam.

* WhipItGood: Knows Vine Whip.

* MsFanservice: While nowhere near as much compared to Misty, the anime definitely found May attractive enough and wasted no time in putting her in many different bikinis, her many different Coordinator outfits also count as well.