discusson Pokemon Champions - Role, duty or just a title?

[Oscarus]

Champion... 'The' title for which many young and veteran Pokemon Trainers aspire, and wish to become one, to prove to the entire world that they're on the top of the game. But... what does it mean "to be Champion"; is it just a fancy title/position, or there's more behind it? And who are to be one? Generation 9's Paldea League, V19 of Pokemon Reborn, Pokemon Insurgence and more got me thinking, so I, Oscar "Oscarus" Samson*, invite all of you for a discussion titled: 

POKEMON CHAMPIONS - ROLE, DUTY, OR JUST A TITLE?

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Y'think that title's safe? There's nothing iffy about it or anything, right?

*oh, and to clarify, that isn't my real name - i'm not naive; i do know the capabilities of modern day hackers. Consider it my... "artistic name" 

 

Before we begin, a few clarifications:

• I'll be looking mainly at canon sources (mainly game and anime, and occasionally manga), but I might bring up an example or two from non-canon sources like fanmade games.
• While examples from Paldea will be brought up, don't worry - there will be no spoilers from the Scarlet/Violet; only info known before the games' release and some basic info from the very beginning of the game that, I think, everyone should know by now (and if not, they aren't much of a deal, in fact)
• Basically all the situations talked about here will be said and considered from anime/lore point of view. So... no levels, base stats, EVs, IVs, and so on (natures apply only to Pokemon personality)
• The "lore" situations that didn't happen in canon, but could if Pokemon was real irl, would be analyzed from the real life angle. Obviously, there are situations and possibilities which GameFreak haven't shown us... for obvious reasons, but I'll discuss because I believe it to be important logically.
• Some argument may contradict each other, but that is because some Leagues function differently from the others, and also canon sources aren't consistent between each other - often outright opposing each other's claims. 
• I won't be taking Orange Archipelago into account in this project - Orange League is in comparison to any other in terms of structure, challenges, plus the original, Japanese dub calls the winners of the "Winner's Trophy" not "Champions" as English dub does, but "Orange League Honored Trainers", so that's that.
• The "participants" are open to speak their mind, as long as it isn't outright offensive, blatant, or so controversial it could polarize the entire community - let's keep it E, ok? (or... PG-13 at least...)

 

 

Who is "Champion"?

"Champion", short of "Pokemon League Champion" (also known is some languages as "Master" or "Grand Champion"), is the highest rank in most of Pokemon Leagues around the world. Pokemon Champions are #1 in their respective League, and usually the strongest Trainer in the entire region(s). In most Pokemon Leagues out there, there can be only one Champion at the time; with the only canon exception being Paldea League, where there can be many Champions, but only one Top Champion; I'll discuss that later.

In the franchise, Champions have been often presented as the respected authorities, symbols of power and justice. And not once there have been situations where other Trainers, inspired by Champions, decided to follow the career of Trainers, with hopes of matching the strength of their idols (like in case with Sawyer and Steven). In some cases, that inspiration may be a little... stronger (Marina was basically "in love" with Lance). But regardless, Champions have been shown as ever-reliable, noble yet incredibly powerful and talented. There... are some~ exceptions to this rule, yes, but, in like 95% cases, those who you will encounter are good-aligned. Not to forget, they're as popular as it gets, not only in their own region, but in others as well - with the strongest known worldwide (Cynthia is considered quite known in Unova, region which is located literally on the other side of the planet to Sinnoh, with Lance and Leon also being world renowned). Not to mention, it has been well-documented that Champions are good friends with fellow League Representatives (for the most part...)

 

How to become Champion? (Gym Leaders)

Becoming Champion is... no easy task. While in games, it can be considered a relatively trivial thing (with most fanmade games actually making this task much harder), in lore; so in-anime and in-manga universes, the challenge is far more difficult. First, you actually need to show that you're worthy of becoming Pokemon Trainer, because... I highly doubt you'd be given any Pokemon, let alone a possibility to become Trainer, if you were a cold-hearted sociopath who enjoys suffering and threw temper tantrums, swinging and throwing knives wherever you lost. But since the chance of that happening is extremely low, especially if you're a child/young teen (and if somehow there exists one like that... what kind of uprising have they experienced?), we can neglect that in this discussion.

Then comes the most well-known, I think, part of that road - facing Gym Leaders. Gym Leaders are, as you probably know, experienced Trainers who are very strong in their own right as well, just not as much as Champions. 99% of the time, they specialize in just one type of Pokemon, and are seen as authorities in that type. Now, you may say "Oh, but I can just win with just one Pokemon with supereffective STAB and OHKO them", and if you were to face one in real life, I'd say "Good fucking luck". In lore, Gym Leaders are far more powerful than they are in initial battles... because they are holding back. First episode of Pokemon Origins shows that perfectly - when Brock asks Red how many Badges he has, and is replied with "None", Brock picks two selected Pokemon. He could choose more, and the stronger ones, but no. Full-power Gym Leaders are beasts, but they limit themselves because of one reason... so you can defeat them. 

Not every Trainer is like Tobias who could waltz in to the Gyms with overpowered Pokemon, beat them in no time, "gg ez" and refuse to elaborate further. While they will hold back, they won't hand-carry you. They will use just enough power so you could defeat them, but also enough for them to defeat you. The primary job of a Gym Leader is to test you; examine your abilities, talent, intelligence, strategy, bonds with your Pokemon, and force you to use all that knowledge and passion in practice. You must show that you want to win, that you want to push forward, and that you are worthy. Them using only one type of Pokemon in battle doesn't handicap them; on the contrary, it gives them immense advantage as they tend to know basically everything about their type specialty - strong sides, weak sides, positives, negatives, strengths, weaknesses, you name it. Additionally, Gym Leaders are the ones throwing rules - they decide what kind of battle their Gym will be specializing in: be that 1vs1, 2vs2, 3vs3, 6vs6, Singles, Doubles, handicap, forest field, icy field, they have no limitations.  ...Okay, that's not completely true - there are some "unwritten" rules, like Gym Leaders can't use more Pokemon than the challenger, or that Gym Leaders cannot switch their Pokemon out (that second rule isn't always "active", as Lenora in anime can switch in and out her Pokemon during Gym Battles as she pleases; but vast majority don't switch, unless the move/Ability causes the switch out). Generally speaking, it's far more difficult as it appears, but the hard work pays off - when you manage to defeat Gym Leader fair and square (or you tie and Gym Leader thinks you did well), you are given Gym Badge. You need at least 8 official Gym Badges (for the most Leagues, in the world there are official regional Leagues like in Reborn or Aevium where you need 18, and other Leagues might have other conditions as well...) to go to "the next stop". If you didn't manage to defeat Gym Leader, don't worry, as you can rematch them as much as you like (however, there tends to be a "one match per day" limit, so you can't really leave and enter after 10 seconds like in games). But since in some regions there are more than 8 official Gyms, you can challenge those which you want to, in any order, without consequences. Also there's a chance that after "the League season" (which tends to last a whole year) ends, Gym Badges become invalidated, but since I couldn't find any reliable source to claim it, that might be just my babbling.

 

How to become Champion? (Conference/Elite Four)

So, let's say you have gained those 8, or more, Gym Badges. Does that mean you can challenge Champion now? Hah, you wish. There is one more step, which is... even more endangering and challenging. Since games, anime and manga all are inconsistent on that part, I'll say it - there are two ways to have the opportunity to challenge Champion (well... three, in fact - the third one is to win an event or tournament of sorts that guarantee facing League Champion for the title, like Junior Cup in Unova, but those aren't constant, all over the place, and not as prestigious, for the most part).

The first one, used regularly in the anime, and usually in manga as well, is event known as League Conference. This is perhaps the most-known, annual Pokemon battling event of a regional scale. Every Pokemon Trainer with at least 8 Badges is allowed to participate in it. Conferences differ between the Leagues, but what all have in common is the single-elimination tournament-based structure and at least two parts. The first, which can appear in some Leagues, but doesn't have to, is qualifying round - series of quick battles, usually 1vs1, to weed out weak Trainers. it's used in situations where there were too many Trainers qualified. This lasts until those deemed strong enough are left... or just enough to fit the "2^x" formula used for all high-rank real-life single-elimination tournaments. Next is preliminary round; this is when the real Conference begins. This is a series of 1vs1, 2vs2 and/or 3vs3 matches (the quantity of the Pokemon used is consistent across the entire rung (Top 64, Top 32, etc.) of the tournament) between competitors, all in a ladder-style set-up. Those matches happen rapidly one after the other, until Final 16 (in most cases; currently all anime Conferences decided on the Top 16 borderline) has been revealed. Those sixteen Trainers and their Pokemon will participate in the final round. And while the tournament formula is still uphold, the ladder-style isn't, as the opponents are being selected randomly. They battle in either 3vs3 or 6vs6 single format... usually. Battles like that are uphold, with little breaks for relax/training, until the winner is decided. Fun Fact: in most Conferences in anime, battles are fought on special biome-based fields, like forest, icy, water, rocky, etc.  Fortunately (or not, depends on the point of view), those fields don't give boost the damage or empower the Abilites, but they can be used as a part of some pretty unorthodox strategies - Ash is perhaps the best example.

The other way, found in games, and mentioned in the anime (but never actually seen outside of anime-tized game shorts), is facing Championship League. In short, this is a gauntlet against the Elite Four (also known as "Four Heavenly Kings"; which is, in my opinion, perhaps one of the most badass names ever for a group of 4 powerhouses in all of fiction). In game, you just need to officially get 8 (or more/less, depending on the League) Badges, and in anime, you additionally have to win League Conference (but, to be honest, we've never see anyone actually do the Championship League stuff in the anime, and it's hinted that it's just a one try, as all winners fail to get the Champion title after Conference we've seen, except Manalo Conference but that was a tournament to reveal first Alola Grand Champion so it doesn't count).

Elite Four is, well... elite - they're said to be 4 strongest Trainers in the League right after the Champion, and are no pushovers either. In order to challenge League Champion, you have to defeat all members of the Elite Four... at once. You go in, defeat one, go to another, defeat them, and so on until all have been conquered. Depending on the League, you face Elite Four Members in fixed order (f.e.: Indigo Plateau, Hoenn, Paldea, Reborn) or in any order you want (f.e.: Unova, Kalos, Rikoto, Torren). The one thing is constant - if you fail to win at least once, your progress is reset, and you have to redo the Gauntlet from the beginning. Granted, in games and some manga versions, you can heal in-between, so it's not that bad, but don't let your guard down.

Elite Four members are veterans, and talented in Pokemon battling, even more than most of the Gym Leaders. They tend to have a type speciality, just as Gym Leaders, but they may also lean more toward some 'theme', like weather team, strat team (Baton Pass, Trick Room), biome team, or team based on some similarities, like color. But unlike Gym Leaders, they won't hold back. Fighting 4 mighty Trainers in rapid succession, with them having full or near-full teams filled with strong Pokemon, and the Elites being far more competent and experienced, using a variety of strategy you've never seen... By Arceus, I won't lie - defeating Elite Four in one go is already an incredible achievement... but there's still one, battle, left.

 

How to become Champion? (Championship Battle)

Facing Grand Champion of the Pokemon League is already a huge honor, but being possible to face them for a region's Championship? Stakes couldn't have been higher! (well, they could, but that'd need to involve human lives, and no one wants that). However, you must know that facing one is far, FAR harder in lore than in game, and Champions can be defeated only by other Champions, or other Champion-class Trainers - no wonder they tend to hold their positions for years. But, when facing one, you must know that one slip-up is enough to be crushed into nothingness.

Champions, except for being uber strong, are generally far more intelligent and keen than most, if not all, other Trainers, and outsmarting them is no easy task, even when relying on unorthodox style of battling (in fact, some Champions also prefer that way of fighting, so if you happen to challenge one... well...). And that's just the tip of an iceberg - Championship battles are almost always 6vs6, or 1vs1, but defeating Champion in 1vs1 if you're not already on their level is outright impossible, so let's focus on Full Battle format here. Unlike Gym Leaders and most Heavenly Kings, Champions will present a wide variety of Pokemon; in type and function, but mainly type. In fact, out of all 14 Grand Champions known in games (I excluded Nemona because she's 'a' Champion, not 'the' Champion - who knows, that knows), only 6 are listed as type specialists: Lance and Iris use Dragon-types, Steven and Peony use Steel-types, Wallace uses Water-types, and Mustard uses Fighting-types. But 4 of those 6 used to be Gym Leaders, and the 5th one was an Elite Four member. Additionally, only Wallace and Peony use teams fully representing their types, with the others having 3-4 Pokemon be from their type specialty, and the other are simply Pokemon which suit them or are loosely connected to their type specialty. So even if you brought a team full of counters to the specific type, that wouldn't work as smooth as you'd plan... and let's be honest, even if it could work, do you think that'd be that easy? Champions in Title Defense also can switch Pokemon in and out, unless they handicap themselves and opt against it, but if they don't, they might use switches to throw you off-guard and nullify the strategy, just like you were doing. And, as I've already mentioned, they're extremely powerful, smart, (oftentimes beautiful/handsome), and experienced. There aren't much tips I'd say, except one - watch out for their ace.

Aces of Champions are Legendary Pokemon in disguise; far stronger than anything you had experienced since then (unless you happened to have some really insane journeys along the way). Expect them to be much more of a challenge to defeat that... rest of the squad combined, in fact. With these Pokemon, oftentimes, being Champion's starter Pokemon (which isn't something I've thought of on the spot - Lance had Dratini as his first Pokemon, Cynthia had Gible, Leon had Charmander (despite being in Galar) and Alder had Larvesta... althought the 'had' part here is the most matching... sorry), is also their strongest; spending the most time with their Trainer, being bonded with them the most, seeing and experiencing falls and rises, kinda like your average shonen protagonist. And like your average shonen protagonist, defeating them won't come easy, as the Pokemon may be just as determined/ready/hyped as you are. The Champion might be as well, remember - Pokemon battles are only fun if you fight a Trainer on your level. And that is what many Champions are waiting for; a worthy opponent. In fact, there are cases when Champions might get a little "depression" because being on top means all the other are below you; Cynthia almost willingly resigned from being Champion, and battling as a whole, as no one outside of other Champions was a challenge for her (and might I remind you that she's late 20s' at the absolute latest; quite a young age for such a passion burnout... but I can relate to with all my heart), and Leon is hinted to have some strong desires to see worthy challenge, as before battling Ash, he has been losing a maximum of 2 Pokemon per battle (with the only known Trainers to accomplish it were Raihan and Diantha). 

But if you manage to defeat them fair and square, and sign your name on the cards of history inside Hall of Fame, you might fulfill two wishes at once - giving old Champion a battle they've wanted for very long, and becoming new Champion yourself. Yet defeating Champion for the title doesn't mean you are new Champion, with the most often (and realistic) reason is... simple refusal. Natural did so, despite defeating Alder without any help (barring Reshiram/Zekrom, but shhh~). Now, the question - is the refusal the right way? 

 

What are Champion's Duties? 

Again, the answers depend on the region. In most cases, Champions are representatives/ambassadors of the League and "guardians" of the region - one-man special army, if you will. They may have an actual role in controlling Pokemon League, but in most cases the one who holds the full control is the League Chairman/Chairwomen, so Kukui in Alola, Rose (later Leon) in Galar, and Geeta in Paldea. In most regions, Champions aren't shown to be in direct control of the League, but it is shown that they might have some influence in there; able to summon Gym Leaders and Elite Four members to assist (like Diantha did in XYZ anime while facing Lysandre and Giant Zygarde Rock). 

Of course, that doesn't mean they are free all the time, as some Champions have additional duties outside of being region's #1 - Steven is an heir to Devon Corporation, a worldwide known company, Lance in the anime is one of the Pokemon G-Men's elite agents, Diantha is a world renowned actress, who's said to have a rather strict time schedule, and Geeta is the Paldea League Chairwomen. But since Champions without those "additional" duties are mostly needed only in some specific situations, that means they tend to be free outside of major sporting events or region-endagering situations.

 

Can Champion do whatever they want?

Theoretically, yes... as long as their actions don't threaten the safety of other living beings. Canon Champions were shown to have a variety of hobbies they pursue: geology, archaeology, teachings... or just battling. They aren't any different that normal human when it comes to personality or avocations. While in-universe people love to sing how their Champions are legends, gods, etc... the reality couldn't be any more different, as we often see those "almighty Trainers" in rather silly-at-first situations, especially around each other; Alder flirting with Cynthia, Iris wanting a selfie with Cynthia and Diantha, Steven having casual conversations with Wallace and Lance... there are countless examples. There's no point in keeping ever-serious facade in public; just be yourself.

But, as I've said, if your actions are considered a sin against nature or humanity, others WILL stop you, even if you're Champion. The only difference between ordinary villain and Champion doing crime is that the latter might be more difficult to stop in direct confrontation. Plus, you will get stripped of the title, fame, freedom and even your own Pokemon if you fail... Is that worth it? To risk the existence of Earth and all who live here, with the risk of becoming prisoned for the rest of your own life, for some... rather petty reasons?

To be fair, no canon Champions have done such sins (the same cannot be said about some from fanmade games, like Reukra, or... 'The One Who's Name Shall Not Be Spoken On This Server'), but in some cases they've done some morally questionable choices, with perhaps the most known example being Lance having Dragonite Hyper Beam point-blank one of the Rocket Grunts - dude'll be traumatized for life, that's for sure. Geeta isn't also a pure example of lawful/neutral good, but I'll avoid continuing the topic for two reasons, with the first being spoilers, and the second... those who've played Scarlet/Violet and read the dialogues, or knows the lore, should know. And the last but not least, Cynthia had the MC, 12-13 year old teen, go to the twisted, completely unfamiliar to humanity dimension overrun by one of Pokemon Universe's main gods, banished by opposing Arceus themselves, in search for depressed psychopath who's days were basically counted... like, what the fuck?! And you guys still adore her like some goddess?! Dear Pokemon fans... you are beyond me...

 

How much political power Champion has?

I'll surprise you - not as much as you'd think. As previously mentioned, despite being the strongest Trainer in the League, and oftentimes in the whole region, Champions are more akin to Ambassadors/Head Representatives of the League. Of course, the title itself brings attention, and the power Champions possess can be used when necessary (or when they want to). But officially, they tend not to control the League directly - in some sources it's been said that Champions may be doing Gym Inspections where asked to do. They may have some influence over League decisions, but that have never been brought up; heck, Elite Four is said to have more political power and influence that Champion (at least in games and in Adventures manga... in most regions). Given, there are regions like Torren or Sacroc where Champion has the near-absolute power, and their word is law. But in most, they serve mostly as ambassadors, icons, and glorified mascots of the Pokemon League. 

Whenever that's a good or a bad thing, is debatable. Of course, if you're among the strongest, you'd like to have some influence and political power, yes? But maybe the reason why they aren't given such opportunity is because people are afraid their Champion becomes evil. Then, the dream would become nightmare overnight. Also, looking at canon, and some fanmade Champions, they aren't seemingly bothered by it - they live their own life, and that's it... if they have any "free" life, that is (looking at you, Amethyst - death is not always the best solution... kewk). Perhaps that's why they are among the most beloved people in-lore: they have the power, the might, they're intelligent, cunning, talented, they could create a plan and easily conquer the entire region, if not the entire world, even without using Legendary Pokemon (which is something Indigo Elite Four almost did in the manga). But nope - they simply don't care about domination; they want to live normal human life and fight the strongest. No wonder they are 'Champions'

 

Final conclusion?

I guess that's all major questions to be answered. 

In short, Pokemon Champions are amongst the strongest Trainers in the world, are extremely respected and beloved, and becoming one is very far from a mundane task. While it is near impossible for anyone to become one, being able to overcome weaknesses and reach the top is worth all the pain gathered during the journey. And even if Champions usually don't hold as much power and influence as people think, they're still respected by community and  . Plus, given their might, only foolish would dare to cross paths with them, not mentioning actually pissing them off. 

To answer the topic in the title... "Pokemon League Champion" is all at once: you are the #1 Trainer in the region, willing to represent and protect it from danger, upholding harmony and peace, and while they don't have literal influence, the popularity and flare they have, holding the title, surely recompensates... if you're not seeking for total domination, that is.

 

 

That, uh, took a while. I've been waiting, like, almost 2 months to write it - finally did. 

I hope you enjoyed my little lecture of sorts.

If you have questions, or additional info to share... Please do - nothing makes me more happy while doing such than positive feedback and ability to conversate. 

[IcyFlame]

My thoughts~

I think it depends on the culture of the region. But I think in every region, they're a guardian of the region, a beacon of hope...