Despite being a gendered species, it has come to be regarded by many as typically female by the Pokémon fandom, who have produced a large number of fan works related to the character illustrating its popularity.

[4] In these games and their sequels, the player assumes the role of a Trainer whose goal is to capture and use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon.

Gardevoir stands 5 ft 3 in (160 cm) tall and appears as a slender, bipedal creature with red eyes and a mostly white body, save for its green arms and shoulders.

[29] The staff of Inside cited Gardevoir alongside the Pokémon Mawile as examples of Pokémon that stood out amongst the Ruby and Sapphire's cast for how cute they were, something they felt took players by surprise especially upon realizing they were not strictly female,[30] but despite this its caring nature coupled with its "beautiful woman" appearance made it highly desired by players.

[31] The addition of its Fairy-type as of Pokémon X and Y has also been praised, with Yash Nair of Dot eSports emphasizing how it himproved the species competitive viability in the games, while Malik Umair of Dualshockers called Gardevoir the poster child of the typing due to its moves and design.

[32][33] Paste writers Kevin Slackie and Moises Taveras named them one of the best Pokémon in the franchise in their eyes, praising its "beauty and grace" while citing its popularity with players across all of its game appearances.

[35][36] Woodrow repeated these sentiments in an article for Sports Illustrated, stating that Gardevoir has "a simple humanoid body that makes it look graceful, but the design of the head and arms bring in those weird elements that you want from a good Psychic-type".

[37] In 2015, Destructoid named Gardevoir the website's "favorite Pocket Monster", with Kyle MacGregor Burleson writing a poem praising the species' design and abilities.

[45] An interviewee for Vice attributed this particular popularity to its more "human" and "pretty" feminine design, something they felt Pokémon titles prior to Ruby and Sapphire lacked.

[42] This usage has led to some criticism, with Hideaki Fujiwara of Automaton arguing particularly that the character's portrayal in unlicensed mobile game Pocket Incoming served to "tarnish" the image of Pokémon as a franchise.

[41] Meanwhile, the high volume of erotic fan content has resulted in multiple media outlets to voice disdain for the trend or outright suggest one avoid looking for images of the species on search engines,[47][34][35] with USA Today in particular arguing that such presented a good argument for Game Freak to "stop designing humanoid Pokémon.

"[36] Other outlets noted the fandom's heavy focus on sex appeal towards Gardevoir has led to fans of the species being reluctant to say so to avoid negative connotations.

[37] In particular, TheGamer's Editor in Chief Stacey Henley voiced her displeasure, having taken a liking to the species due to seeing her own transgender identity reflected in Gardevoir's evolutionary line.

She was grateful that the games had chosen to emphasize a "pure [...] caring and nurturing" aspect of the species in titles such as New Pokémon Snap as compared to the sexualized fan interpretations, adding "Gardevoir is one of Pokemon's brightest stars, and it's a shame that they’ve been tarnished like this.