#neo champion leaf

[unoriginalgangsta]

Tumblr accept my offer

(no motivation to draw it)

[pokemas-conversation-repository]

[sapherin]

((!POKEMON MASTERS SPOILERS!))

My girl is wearing black again! It’s like she came full circle 🍃🖤

[cynthiaandsamus]

Got the Genshin girl

[lorekeeper-backset]

Apparently you can't have duplicates on the victory screen because I went in with Phantom Thief Zinnia not Neo Champ Leaf.

[crystalelemental]

Unit Teambuilding - Neo Champion Leaf

It should have been Articuno, this was such an easy setup, why does DeNA keep fucking this shit up?

General Overview Apparently this is based off which bird they get in the manga, so once again the non-games media has ruined my life.

Leaf's main move is Leer, which hits -1 Atk/Def/Sp Atk/Sp Def and -1 Fire Rebuff thanks to her passives. After a passive is set, she gets access to her Buddy move, which is 150BP, sets Sun on first use, and doubles current debuffs on the single target she hits. While under Sun, she prevents all status and interference for the entire team. TM is immediate +6/+6/+3 offenses, so no real need for support. Her last skill is Potion, which at least gets MPR3 instead of MPR2. Grid skills can include Solar Sync for one more Sun application, Extend 3 on Sun, a chance to burn on Buddy move, and a chance to confuse on Leer. It's a decent spread of tools.

Leaf's strength, then, is compression. She's the Tech equivalent of SS Morty, gaining value from providing multiple relevant tools to allies. Rebuff and Sun are great Fire damage modifiers. Offensive debuffing and Potion are great for supports that can't heal manually. Defensive debuffing, setting sun, and providing team immunity to status and interference, means Leaf has traits that are valuable even beyond on-type damage. And all of this while offensively keeping up with other damage dealers in her type. Sync is a bit stronger than SS May, DPS a bit stronger than SS Hilda.

So okay, why don't I love this? I love the jack of all trades approach, and adore debuffs and field effects. I should love this. Why don't I love this?

Leer is horribly slow to accumulate debuffs. I understand it's a spectrum debuff, but anyone familiar with Classic Elesa is aware that a -1 across all stats is generally not exceptional. It can do a lot to disrupt a target, but it doesn't kick off multipliers for allies that well, and most critically, doesn't set her up well. TM -> two Leer -> sync is only -8. She'd be operating at 2/3rds full capacity on first sync without help. Her buddy move doubling current debuffs also doesn't help. TM -> 3 Leer -> 1 Buddy move and TM -> 1 Leer -> 3 Buddy Moves gets you the same amount of debuff on a single target, with the only difference being the former gets you better spread debuffing, and the latter gets you Sun sooner. And if at any point an X item is used by your opponent on a stat you wanted debuffed, congrats on losing two turns of work in one.

Solar Sync with Extend 3 is a goddamned embarrassment with Adaman dropping three months ago. Dude has the same rebuff ability, way stronger sync, but somehow gets Solarize and Extend 5. If Leaf had even one of those, this could be a different discussion. But both angles were limited, for no reason.

Leaf does not replace current top damage meta. She supplements it. SS May, SS Hilda, they're still approximately as good. Which is a sad state of affairs for a Master Fair, and a sadder state when lined up next two Red and Blue, who get to go absolutely ballistic with powercreep. Leaf's limitations are so unnecessary it's outright insulting. DeNA really does not like Leaf.

EX, Role, and Move Level? 1/5 maintains her debuffs and her rebuff and her Sun setting on first attack. All very good traits to have. 3/5 is nice for sync, Potion MPR, and Solar Sync with Extend 3. EX is nice only if she wants to sync. Personally, I think many people who have strong Fire types already will be fine with 1/5 playing third wheel to comps they already had. Her EX Role is support, which is...fine. I don't entirely agree with it, but it's fine. No explosive coverage, no faster access to next sync, so I guess just double DPS for the team? It gives some added stats for bulk, so who knows, maybe it'll make her a good off tank with the debuffs and Potion. While this is very worth talking about, given her stats shoot up to nearly 900 HP and 270 defenses, I'm not talking about it because there's not going to be an F2P way to earn cake for another 2-3 months.

Team 1: NC Leaf, SS Morty, SS May New and "improved." Prior, Colress was the best partner to May, thanks to Screech. Leaf has better matched theme skills, Leer's debuffs make the team effectively immortal while powering up May, and it's extra Sun application. This is a Leaf that works fine at 1/5, providing the needed debuffs for May and otherwise playing support and secondary DPS.

Team 2: NC Leaf, SC Jasmine, Leon Another nice thing about Leaf is that she's flexible. No need for any support, so she can facilitate an ally like Leon just fine. Because she sets sun, she fills in that role from SS Morty as well, really opening possibilities, while debuffing both defenses. Again, if Leon is the star, Leaf is fine 1/5 here.

Team 3: NC Leaf, Lodge Blue/SS Blue, SS Red/Agatha This seems weird, but allow me to state my case. SS Red got Standfast 9, and can now use Flare Blitz, which is powered up by Kanto Pride. His Trainer Move requires mega evolution to get the attack, which is never ideal, but enter Lodge Blue to work on that with him. Moreover, SS Red can fast-ramp with Propulsion 9 on TM, all he needs is flinch. Because of Blue's Stomp, congrats, you have flinch. Alternatively, if you want Leaf to be a one-woman show, SS Blue works beautifully with her, boosting defenses and having access to Pep Rally, as well as appreciating her pop Potions. I mention Agatha because Kanto doesn't have great flinch bots, so sleep bot it is.

Team 4: NC Leaf, Leaf, SS Leaf I will say, there's a certain joy in knowing this works. NC Leaf is the powerhouse, SS Leaf helps with debuffs (especially at 5/5), and base Leaf has Staggering and defense boosts on sync. With all the healing stacked in, they are more than capable of handling anything. Stallmaster Leaf.

Team 5: NC Leaf, Marley/Lodge Dawn, BP Falkner/Kukui/C!Elesa If NC Leaf is doing the damage thing, spending turns on Leer is generally not ideal. Bringing partners that debuff is then a very useful trait. Marley has matched theme skills and speed control for the party, but has Terrify on grid to contribute. Lodge Dawn can run Mind Games 2 as a lucky skill, and a single good roll snowballs into a very potent sync for Leaf, while also giving both defenses and speed boosts on a single move. BP Falkner is worth mentioning here. Speed is the one stat Leaf doesn't debuff, and more critically, Mud Slap can get really chaotic as Leaf starts spamming buddy move to just erase opponent accuracy. Kukui is an example of the budget slot. Defense is a good stat to debuff for her DPS, and any Leer bot with flinch can put in good work for her, stalling turns for more debuffs and adding a little more pressure. And of course, C!Elesa is the champion of spectrum debuffs, drastically speeding up Leaf's rotations.

Team 6: NC Leaf, MC Regirock, Gordie If desired for Gauntlet purposes, there is one way to get that Rebuff back. Gordie can apply Fire rebuff at will, which means he can keep her DPS active in Gauntlet. I do think this is a bit of a waste of his talents, but such is life I suppose.

Team 7: NC Leaf, BP Barry, Whitney/Lodge Irida But otherwise, you just have to wait until sync. This team is designed with that wait in mind. BP Barry is excellent for this. Crit Shield can be popped at any time, given Leaf's lack of need for support, to block sure crit AoE moves. Paralysis and Attack Trap will cover most known gimmicks, and with Synthesis and healing when attacking a paralyzed foe, Barry can sustain well. For Gauntlets that permit it, flinch from someone like Whitney is ideal, since she can also recover her own HP, limiting the pressure on Leaf's Potion. Lodge Irida is an alternative that flinches and kicks off Fire theme skills.

Team 8: NC Leaf, SS May, SS Hilda Fire Gals. NC Leaf is not particularly bulky, but if you do give her the cake, she gets some respectable stats and can serve as tank with Potion. Debuffs apply well to SS May's damage, while SS Hilda is your 3v3 sync nuke win condition. You have pretty much everything you need, considering Hilda's fast self-setup, so I do think this comp can work out well.

Final Thoughts Leaf is...fine. Her debuffing support kit is slower acting than contemporaries, but the spread of it means some value everywhere. Her DPS is hilariously gated in a way that's going to hurt her gauntlet performance. And unlike Adaman, who gets Sun on every single sync, Leaf gets one. Just one. For no reason. Awesome. Hopefully she sells well enough to get anything else in the next three years. But with Paldea and Hisui coming in, I am not optimistic.

[zachsketches]

An #illustration of Neo Champion Leaf. This started off as a small study using @pastelstarstuff 's purple shadows trick I saw on Instagram, but I kind of got carried away. 😅

[9823678]

What is your favorite music of Pokemon Masters EX version ? mine is here!

[bunnygirl678]

I'm gonna vent okay?

Last night I was playing pokemas and my kid has it on her little phone so she decided to play at the same time, anywho she wanted me to help her get more people and so I did the coin thing for neo champ Red and who does she pull on the first freaking try, RED...

I've been trying for ages to get him, but noooooo

Now I'm going for Green/Blue and I swear I'm about to drop money on this dumb game so I can get those two losers. And probably Leaf too. Which I can't seem to get from anything and my kid has her too. UNFREAKINGFAIR

[firecodex]

Transcript

Blue: So all three of us became Neo Champions, but…

Blue: Me and Zapdos are definitely the coolest!

Leaf: Whaaat? That's gotta be me and Moltres!

Red: … … …!

Blue: No one's backing down, huh?

Leaf: Should we decide who's the best again?

[epicspheal]

[Image Description: Fan art of the Neo Champion Outfits of for adult Red, Blue Oak/Green Ookido and Leaf. Red's outfit has been modified to have a longer light blue cape and a longer asymmetrical tail on his waist coast that looks like Kantonian Articuno's Wings. Leaf's dress has more of a flare with flames reminiscent of Kantonian Moltres' wings at the skirt portion. /end Image ID]

i tweaked their fits a little...

[pokemas-conversation-repository]

A little nod to Copycat!

Yay!

[epicspheal]

Alright so that Neo Champion event was...disappointing. Infuriatingly so. So to start off Professor Oak sees that there are a bunch of new trainers who are struggling. Professor Oak feels like they are aiming too high and that could cause problems for them and wants to help them. So he calls Lance to gather Red, Blue and Leaf. The Kantrio think they are being summoned to help be judges when Lance surprises them by saying he wants them to be participants by teaming up with the beginner trainers. Lance and Professor Oak mention the parameters of the tournament which provides my first and probably most major critique. There's two parts: a knowledge part and a battle part. Now, the problem I have here is there should've been three parts. The name of the event is "Three Trainers, Three Minds" which implies that we're going to see how three trainers with different mindsets mentor others. So theoretically there should be three parts that showcase the strengths of their individual training styles Only there's two...so someone is going to get left out. Leaf suggests to Red and Blue that because this is an opportunity to grow they should try using new Pokemon. She mentions she was inspired by the Galar NC trio, so this gives the hint that the three had already caught the legendary birds (par for the course so far for the Neo champion events in that the Pokemon they're paired with are ones they already owned). Now it's time to train!

First we have Blue, who enlists the help of three previous neo champions to help train his team: Bede, Hop and Calem. Now this is cool because they all have the same thing in common with struggling to beat their rivals (the protagonists) and it seems like there might be some discussion where Blue talks about learning from past mistakes...or not they just kind of skip over any discussion. Oh and where's Zapdos? Not around apparently. Blue was really eager to take up Leaf on the idea of using his legendary bird but of the three he's the only one not shown to be practicing with it with his mentees. Leaf does actually use her Moltres to her team and her part of the story involves her instructing her team on how it's important to deepen their knowledge of Pokemon not just by looking at a Pokedex but by bonding with them. It then cuts to Blue meeting with Leaf in the town square. Both of them feel like training is going well for their teams, but then the conversation switches to Red. They're both concerned about their silent friend as they don't know about his teaching skills. So they decide to check on him They eventually find Red and his Articuno...relentlessly beating his team. The trainers look visibly panicked and even say they surrender at one point. Blue and Leaf try to caution Red about overdoing the tough love and that they're being judged on how well they mentor the others. Red assures them (silently) that he has this in mind and that's why's he going all out on them Now Red going ham on his team invokes him Gigantamaxing his Snorlax in the Rocket Hideout back in the Villain arc. He clearly isn't one to go easy. But where you can at least justify him really not liking Team Rocket and wanting to shut them down with haste...it's hard to say the same when of the Kantrio, he has the youngest mentees (a youngster and a camper). It felt like overkill. I can 100% buy Red not being the most natural mentor. He's not perfect and it's a good way to show that. I thought it was a little much to have him go that hard on newbies. If his team was slightly more experienced trainers but who were stuck in a rut it would've felt a little less heavy-handed. Then it's the day of the tournament. We see Blue and Leaf with their teams who are clearly nervous. Blue's team tell him they're scared of holding him back and despite them winning against Hop, Bede and Calem, they apparently lost more times than they won. Blue tells them to have more confidence in themselves but honestly it felt like they needed to hear different words of encouragement. Meanwhile Leaf's team is also feeling similarly, however Leaf manages to respond with telling them to relax and have fun. That they won't be able to show their best if they're too anxious. Where's Red and his team? Well thankfully he didn't scare his group off. In fact they run into Diantha, Alder and Steven and eagerly challenge the three champions to a battle. Congrats, Red you're Bootcamp was successful.

The tournament begins. First part is the knowledge assessment. Everyone does well but Leaf is the clear winner. Professor Oak compliments her and her team's deep knowledge of Pokemon and their love too.

Blue remarks "trust and love in your Pokemon"...which almost certainly reminds anyone who played RBGY/FRLG of what was told to Blue after he lost to Red. That was a key part he was missing. And years later, he missed it again.

Now to the battle portion. We already know Leaf has secured her spot as a neo champion so now we know narratively we're about to see another Red vs Blue matchup. Well with the Neo champion stadium being about growth and seeing interesting upsets (Calem finally beating Serena and Bede, Hop and Marnie finally taking down Gloria, Victor AND Leon) surely we're about to see something unprecedented right? Ha. Hahaha. Red, Blue and Leaf all make it to the semifinals, with Blue's team taking out Leaf's team. But then it's time to face Red's and it's clear he's at a disadvantage. Where Red's team takes the powerful hits in stride, Blue's team quickly becomes frazzled and his two mentees get knocked out rather quickly leaving only Blue left. A final clash happens between Zapdos and Articuno but Red's Articuno emerges victorious. So Blue focused too much on training them up quickly that he forgot to teach them to enjoy battling. Despite Red's training from hell, his team managed to at some point lose their fear of losing (as seen by them being fearless enough to challenge the likes of Diantha, Alder and Steven to a battle). Once again we see Blue repeat a mistake that cost him the championship title years ago: being so afraid of losing he forgot to just enjoy the battle. This leads me to my second major problem with the arc. Blue has been hinted throughout Pokemas to not only enjoy mentoring others, but to be good at it. Yet if I'm being honest, he did poorly in this story. He failed to realize his team needed better words of encouragement, he was the only one of the Kantrio to not use his legendary in training, and he failed to teach his trainees how to better bond with their Pokemon and how to enjoy battling. The only saving grace in this is that he at least in both instances of failure against Leaf and Red recognizes where he messed up and apologizes... Which would've been a great jumping off point for a third arc where he can correct those mistakes and give his team a chance at victory...oh wait...it's only two parts to this tournament. Welp With the trend of Neo Champion events being a chance for the rivals to triumph over the protagonist friends, it was really jarring and disheartening to see Blue not get a clear distinct moment to shine against both Red and Leaf (yeah he wins against Leaf in the battle portion, but it's never stated he came in second place to her for the knowledge portion which would've implied that he at least beat Red at something). We come to the end where they announce the Neo champions. Leaf is first and she's praised for having a deep knowledge of Pokemon and true love for them as well. Red is last and he was praised for being able to conquer his team's fears of losing and how sharp they looked, reminding Lance of when Red challenged him. Oak does mildly chide Red for his methods being harsh but it was kind of downplayed.

But Blue gets told his team was solid in both performances so the judges thought he should get the title too. Honestly didn't feel like he was really solid because he made two critical mistakes (that again were supposed to have been ingrained in him after his loss at the Indigo Plateau). Also the praise was more directed at his team having a solid showing but not the one thing I felt like he did really well which was own up to his faults and saw room for improvement. It's an important part of leadership and the fact that was dismissed too was annoying. Again, a third leg of the tournament the writers could've used that strength of his to give him a chance to unequivocally defeat Leaf and Red instead of just being the solid number 2. Yeah it was nice to (finally) see Professor Oak praise Blue to his face, but it honestly felt a little unearned in the sense he didn't feel amazing the way Leaf and Red got to be. It felt more like a participation trophy than him getting to back the claims up that he's made over the story of Pokemas of being a good mentor (and as he said in his sygna suit sync pair story he's supposed to be better at it than Red). So yes, the Kantrio get to all be Neo Champions but it felt like this story didn't capture the same level of growth and resolving loose ends the previous two did. Blue failed to triumph, Red kind of got away with harsh training that would've been scolded a bit more harshly otherwise, and Leaf kind of shines in a safe way but not really challenging her skills.

[jadeazora]

So, Neo Champion Kanto and the Kanto Birds, I guess? Looks like a Neo Champion outfit. To be honest, I'm not especially thrilled with this.

Mostly because it means Red will get anniversary focus again for the third time. The first anniversary featured him, Blue, and Leaf in their Sygna Suits (he was our featured half-year Anniversary Pair), then last year again with Ash and Aura Cynthia, it would just be kinda redundant if he got featured as an Anniversary Pair again.

This would also make Blue another character with six alts, putting him on par with Steven, so that's kinda excessive too.

That said, I would not mind seeing Leaf get more alts. It always felt weird to me that she didn't have a seasonal or something extra since a lot of other female protagonists have them.

[lorekeeper-backset]

Okay you def can't have duplicates on the sun screen cause I went in with Hilda not Lisia. Second time it's replaced a duplicate sync pair.

[crystalelemental]

A Reddit thread came up that ended with me fact checking the damage calculation chart again. Comparison of DPS and sync between NC Leaf, SS May, and SS Hilda.

Assumptions: Sun, -6 Def for all; assume SS Morty/Colress as the team. Leaf spams Leer for -3 Atk/Sp Atk/Sp Def (damage calc increases from -12 to -15, but I think that’s in error), and has a -1 Rebuff in her corner. Lucky skills are shown at the top.

Based on this, Leaf holds a sync on par with SS May, if a bit lower, but DPS is nearly double event with just CS2. With WW3, it’s almost exactly double. The real fun part is it significantly outperforms SS Hilda’s V-Create.

Overall, this is a good showing. Leaf may not push previous boundaries too significantly, but keeping pace while providing spectrum debuff, Sun, and Rebuff for the team is a pretty valuable setup. I do think she has significant limitations but the damage is better than I expected.