May (Japanese: ハルカHaruka) serves as the rival in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, should the player choose to play as the male character. She is also the female choice in the games, but May is never among the default names for the character.
If May is selected as the player character she starts her journey moving from her home in Johto to her new home in the town of Littleroot in Hoenn. After saving Prof. Birch from a wild Pokémon, she is given one of the three starters of the Hoenn region. May develops a close bond with Brendan, and eventually Wally, who both act as her rivals. May goes on to gather the eight badges of Hoenn, stop the plans of Team Aqua and Team Magma and conquer the Pokémon League all before going off to face the Battle Frontier.
Names
While the player can name this character as is the case with all player characters, there are several default names provided for her. In Ruby and Sapphire, she has four default names, including three shared between the two versions. The two variant names between games collaborates with the theme of the plot, referring to "land" and "sea" respectively. In the English version, these names are Terra and Marina. This is also the case in other languages. Unlike Brendan's name list, none of the three shared names correspond to this theme.
In all translated versions of Emerald, May has the same default names as in Pokémon Ruby, as well as 16 additional names which don't seem to hold any significance, with the exception of the German version. In this case, Emerald has only 15 additional names, plus the corresponding Sapphire name, Martina. Consequently, in the rest of the translated versions, there is no default name that relates to "sea". Notably, as the player character, the name May (or its other language counterparts) is never offered as a default name in any version.
As a rival, May's name is static.
The full list of default names for May as the female playable character in the games are as follows:
Language
Ruby and Emerald
Sapphire
Emerald only
English
Terra
Kimmy
Nicola
Sara
Marina
Kimmy
Nicola
Sara
Allie
Aubree
Bella
Camila
Halie
Hazel
Jayla
Lianna
Lillie
Lucy
Monica
Nadine
Ruthie
Tanja
Tiara
Yasmin
Japanese
ムツミ Mutsumi
アイコ Aiko
マキコ Makiko
キョウコ Kyōko
ナミ Nami
アイコ Aiko
マキコ Makiko
キョウコ Kyōko
アヤナ Ayana
アン Ann
エミィ Emy
カオリ Kaori
カレン Karen
サエ Sae
スイ Sui
ジュリ Juri
チエミ Chiemi
チヨコ Chiyoko
テルコ Teruko
ナナエ Nanae
ヒナ Hina
ミサコ Misako
モニカ Monica
ユウメ Yūme
German
Petra
Tanja
Andrea
Sara
Martina
Tanja
Andrea
Sara
Beate
Carolin
Claudia
Denise
Gabi
Eva
Jamie
Jasmin
Katrin
Kerstin
Meike
Mirjam
Nadine
Simone
Svenja
Spanish
Teresa
Raquel
Mariau
Sara
Marina
Raquel
Mariau
Sara
Arancha
Carlota
Daniela
Elena
Julieta
Lara
Lina
Lucita
Marcela
Mona
Noelia
Nuria
Olimpia
Palma
Paola
Roberta
French
Solène
Agnès
Claire
Sophie
Marine
Agnès
Claire
Sophie
Ariane
Bella
Cathy
Cindy
Cynthia
Edith
Fanny
Janyce
Lilly
Maeva
Maud
Monica
Nadine
Pauline
Roxane
Tania
Italian
Teresa
Annie
Elisa
Sara
Marina
Annie
Elisa
Sara
As rival
If May is not selected as the player, she is helping her dad finish the Hoenn Pokédex and becoming a Pokémon professor. She is also the player's rival and friend. Unlike other rivals (except for Brendan when playing as May), she gives up being a Trainer, making them the only rivals unavailable for battle after defeating the Elite Four. Additionally, they both are the only ones to not evolve their starter Pokémon into its final form.
In the games she appears in, May battles with the following Pokémon.
Her counterpart in the Pokémon Adventures manga is Sapphire who, unlike her other counterparts, takes up gym challenges and is an all-around tomboy thanks to a traumatic incident with Ruby where a Salamence attacked them when they were children. She does have a feminine side however, as is shown in later volumes.