#like for real how old is hapu? thays a lot of responsibility to drop on a kid

[zz-chikorita]

Role swap! What would Leon and Guzma be like if it was Guzma as a champion and Leon leading the band of misfit grunts? And would you still have Plumeria be close with Guzma (perhaps also part of the league in a role close to the champion) or would she now be Leon's bestie and help look after the grunts?

Ooh, that's an interesting one. I could see this going in a couple of directions...

So alternate universe where Guzma's dad isn't a piece of shit, and raised his son with love and encouragement, maybe he actually became a trial captain and eventually a Kahuna. He still has a pretty boisterous and snarky personality but uses it to endear people to him rather than as a front to mask his insecurities.

Leon, on the other hand, maybe was unable to compete in the pokemon league, or simply was never able to beat the champion. Discouraged, he left home, believing his mother would have an easier time providing for one child instead of two.

He wandered far and wide... not really intentially, he just kept getting lost, casually battling to earn just enough money to feed himself and his pokemon. He spent time in Kanto, Johto, and even Kalos. While in Johto he discovered he was rather good at counting cards, allowing him to easily make some extra cash.

He eventually made his way to Unova, where he found he had the most difficult time surviving. After getting mugged and assaulted one too many times, he makes his way to Alola.

He always wanted to go to Alola since he knew they didn't have a pokemon league- seeing all the gyms and challengers depresses him, regardless of region.

I imagine, once in Alola, his situation became similar to Guzma's in that he joined an existing gang in order to survive and then worked his way up and broke off because he didn't like how things were run and didn't want to be pushed around anymore. And if that's the case, then I guess it would make sense for Plumeria to more or less stay in the same situation (which eventually leads to being Leon's right hand).

Leon is a very different Boss than Guzma in that he is extremely reserved, even to Plumeria, and rarely speaks, choosing to let his pokemon "speak" for him with their sheer power. (This is also at least partially due to the fact that he never underwent speech coaching and thus has a tremendously difficult time talking without his heavy south galarian dialect. He'd rather avoid conflict and prevent himself from being othered whenever possible). If he must speak, he will usually whisper to Plumeria and have her relay the information.

He does have a soft spot for the younger grunts, as they remind him of his brother, and will protect them fiercely. He's grown extremely powerful in his travels, and would be more than capable of becoming the Galar Champion, but that dream has long been forgotten. However, anyone who messes with his kids will feel the full power of him and his team. He has a reputation of being a merciless and cutthroat battler among the island inhabitants as a result.

He was livid when he found out they were beginning construction on a pokemon league in the region and, subsequently, the Team became more active and destructive.

Guzma, being the Kahuna, attempts to open communications about this with Leon, who is far less than receptive.

It's rather irritating considering Guzma is usually so good at winning people over and it eventually becomes a personal challenge for him.

Over time, he figures out the one thing that won't give him a dead stare and cold silence as a response: flirting. The first time he tried it, it caught Leon so off guard he completely dropped his mask and blinked wide golden eyes at the Kahuna and sputtered something barely intelligible. He, eventually, realized what happened and quickly stormed off in an embarrassed huff.

Guzma himself was shocked... shocked by just how cute that stubborn haole could be...

And I'll leave it at that 😁