#pokemon regional championships

[pokemonblog]

Day 1 of the 2025 Pokémon Lille Regional Championships now underway featuring Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon TCG and Pokémon GO events, tune in to the official livestream feeds here

The Pokémon Company is continuing to host official Play! Pokémon competitive events on a regular basis: Pokémon TCG Stream: Twitch.tv/PokemonTCG, YouTube.com/Pokemon Pokémon VGC Stream: Twitch.tv/Pokemon, YouTube.com/Pokemon Pokémon GO Stream: Twitch.tv/PokemonGO, YouTube.com/Pokemon Pokémon UNITE Stream: Twitch.tv/PokemonUNITE, YouTube.com/PokemonUNITE To find out more about the Play!…

[lyriquette]

Currently hanging at the Pokémon Regional championships. Never have I seen so many switch chargers in one place.

[grey-matterz]

Been really into competitive pokemon lately and at the Indeanapolis Regionals today the caption writers were going OFF I was laughing my ass off. He KNOWS.

[blow-a-kiss-make-a-wish]

so according to the CT pokemon discord, I’m the only female in our state that’s going to be participating the pokemon tcg regional championships

I wish there was more female representation for our state! This also puts a lot of pressure on me cause now I feel like I really have to give it my all & represent

[lozabii]

2021-04-25 Kairyu "Ike, Ryuseigun!"

The match vs Iris was definitely one of my favorites!! I could not stop rewatching it over and over. It inspired me to draw this. I was very happy and proud with the results.

Hope you like it too!

[mister-leonn]

Now we're in the year Ash is leaving as main character... my brain can't compute im so used to his face...

Credit : @skmkz10 twitter

[nitw]

i miss pokemon swsh y'all were so mean about that game too when it came out but i've always really liked it 😤 especially the human characters

[dragontamer05]

I love that Ash has gotten to win yet another league  (He did Win Alola’s Championship and while not as prominent won the Orange Islands too)

However it’s definitely not the end of his journey or even I’d say having reached his goal- even if say the anime itself were to for whatever reason end itself. The reason I believe that really becoming world champion would only be another step towards his goal is because

1) Ash/Satoshi loves pokemon far to much to just stop there anyway, he’d want to travel to find even stronger trainers and pokemon, go to new places and meet new pokemon and people. Kid isn’t one to just stop or stay still, maybe take a bit of relaxation time visit old friends sure but never stop

2) He’s never really explained or defined what being a Pokemon Master - to him- means, like I’m pretty sure I can recall at least once a character, one of his friends/companions maybe it was one of the ones in Alola Idk, but someone had asked him about how he planned to become a Pokemon Master or what that even meant something like that and as far as I can recall the response he gave was a pretty vague/ unhelpful one.

At the very least at no point has he made it clear that being champion was the end goal- a step to reaching that goal maybe but not the end goal.

Now obvs for Pokemon Journey’s itself yes his end goal was wanting to fight Leon and be #1 in the World Championship of course but come on you really believe he’s gonna stop there?

[infizero]

also i just realized uh. where is the elite four in all this??

[pokemonblog]

Video: Watch Rahul Reddy Vs Steven Varesko - Pokémon TCG Top 8 from the 2025 Pokémon Baltimore Regional Championships

The Pokémon Company is continuing to host official Play! Pokémon competitive events on a regular basis: Rahul Reddy Vs Steven Varesko – Pokémon TCG Top 8 | Baltimore Regionals 2025 Watch Rahul Reddy Vs Steven Varesko in the Pokémon TCG Masters Top 8 at the 2025 Baltimore Regionals! Pokémon TCG Stream: Twitch.tv/PokemonTCG, YouTube.com/Pokemon Pokémon VGC…

[powerfultenderness]

omg. catching up on vgc day 2. and Fiona beating Luka in 2 games is crazy! what deity did she please to be hitting fissure that many times!!! 😱

lol and the caster screaming “NO! FIONA STOP!!” 🤣

[malereadermaniac]

Relationship headcanons ~ Raihan x Male Reader

Random relationship headcannons with Raihan word count: 830 m!reader (no genitalia mentioned) / FDNI

The media had a field day when some paparazzi photo got leaked of you two out on a date. Even though Raihan is extremely vain and social media-present - you're not, and your boyfriend does nothing but respect that. But once that picture was on on every gossip page on Instagram, you two decided to lean into it. If anything, it would boost Raihan's popularity more!

You now feature in videos from time to time and you even have a special segment in his match videos of you cheering him on. Raihan loves that he gets to show you off now, every single one of his instagram posts has you in it, he has about 3 highlights of just you - it's very sweet.

The region also loves you. They originally had a lot of questions (which Raihan answered in a Q&A, of course) but now everyone sees you and Raihan as THEE Galar couple - people wanna see you just as much as they do Raihan!

The muscular gym leader loves to treat you like a Prince, he figures that if he has all this money from being a gym leader and an influencer that he should put it to good use on you.

Dates almost every night, and if you two can't be bothered to go out, then you call it a movie night and cuddle until one of you falls asleep in the others' arms.

Dates with Raihan are also all inclusive - this man pays for everything! It started with your first couple of dates being treats on him, which you would protest and demand to split the bill. But later on, you slowly let Raihan pay for your dates more and more - the conversation usually going something like:

"Is today's treat on you?" Already expecting the answer to be a yes

Raihan just smugly nodding with a small smirk in the hottest way ever

"You're buying?" You ask again with a small smile forming on your face subconsciously

"Of course, love" Raihan says with his signature grin after he swallows the huge mouth of food he was munching on

You then treating him in your own way and kissing Raihan's cheek cutely, making the grown man blush.

Now that the two of you are so deep into your relationship (4 years to be exact), you don't even bother to bring a form of payment with you on dates. But you still make sure to ask Raihan if today's treat is on the house, knowing all you have in your bag is chapstick and lube.

It boosts Raihan's ego to tell you that he's paying for you, who are you to deny your boyfriend such childish pride?

The two of you pokemon battle to decide most things, or just whenever you feel like it really. And even though Raihan promises he doesn't hold back, it is strange that you beat the 8th gym leader of Galar every time the two of you scrap.

Raihan also gifted you an Eevee on your one year anniversary saying that "just like an eevee can turn into everything, you turned my life into everything" - you never expected the strong and popular Raihan to be such a sappy man! That eevee is still on your team, your ace and partner pokemon (eeveelution). And even though it's YOUR pokemon, Raihan loves it just as much.

On the topic of pokemon and battles, not only do you support your boyfriend at every single one of his matches, but you two are the Double Battle champions at the Wyndon Battle Tower - a title you two have held for a while now. You two have such great synergy during battles that you rarely have to talk to understand eachother, one of you just has to tell your pokemon to attack with a certain move and the other will know what to do next!

The biggest fan of your relationship is Leon by far! He acted as your bodyguard when the paparazzi photo leaked, keeping crazy fans and more media representatives away from you - sacrificing his time to answer their silly questions about his championship in order to give you a chance to slip away.

He's also the one who forced Raihan to actually ask you out, the charismatic man actually being a wet wipe when it came to communicating his feelings to you!

And to this day, Leon is willing to 3rd wheel you and your boyfriend - and it isn't even awkward. The two of you hang out like close friends do.

You couldn't be happier than you are with Raihan

He treats you like a God and respects you and your boundaries no matter what. And he isn't too hard on the eyes either!

You ground him when his adrenaline junkie personality gets the best of him (especially during battles) and bring up his mood if he's ever feeling down for whatever reason - you're both the light of each others lives.

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

So i hope its okay... Can i request arven penny nemona and kieran Meeting a pokemon Trainer that is basiclly Pokemon sword/shield MC and maybe hop or marni come to visit? Or it can just be Just the Trainer i wouldn't mind anyway here's the team

A inteleon is kinda like a big brother to the team but still is Sometimes mischevous

Zamazenta who May look cold but is essentialy a big puppy

Gerdevoir who kinda has a sibling like rivaly with with salazle on who's stronger

Salazle who is a little diva but both her or gardevoir will beat you up if you insult the other

And a sylveon and glaceon who are like peas in a pod and will go out to defend the other if something happend

Anyway you don't have to write it if you don't want to since its kinda long and have a good day/night 💜💛

Arven

Apparently saving a region from an ecological crisis wasn't your first rodeo..as you've done this in Galar too.

After sharing stories of how you became champion, prevented Chairman Rose from causing a second "Darkest Day" with Eternatus, revived the Hero Duo (with Zamazenta being living proof), etc...Arven's fully convinced you need a vacation.

Funny enough, Paldea was meant to be your fresh start and a way to begin your studies like a normal kid.

But of course that didn't happen.

Facing the Titan Pokémon together reminds you of the Dynamaxed ones, but you thanked Arceus they weren't that gigantic nor have any brutal G-Max moves.

When it comes to food, Arven learns you can make a mean curry dish, often trading each other recipes.

In fact, you've made so many types that your team is just happy to eat whatever you've cooked up.

Speaking of which..your current team is the same one from Galar. You decided they were ready for a new adventure in a new region by your side.

Inteleon, once a timid Sobble, tended to sneak bites of curry/sandwiches from the others, but otherwise acts like a cool older brother to your team.

His Snipe Shot is deadly and he lowkey missed being able to Gigantamax, although he likes how flashy he becomes when terastalized.

Zamazenta actually enjoys belly rubs, discovering this only after witnessing Arven give Mabosstiff pets on the stomach.

Gardevoir and Salazzle have been rivals since they were a Ralts and Salandit, having a few sparring matches during camps/picnics.

But trust they will BOTH go on the offense if anyone dared hurt the other. Arven witnessed this firsthand down in Area Zero when an Iron Hands attacked Salazzle with a ground move, and Gardevoir's Moonblast absolutely destroyed it.

Finally, Sylveon and Glaceon were two inseparable Eevees. You couldn't catch one without taking the other with you, and ever since then they've stuck together like glue, even evolving at the same time.

When Hop and Marni visited you in Paldea (whether to just travel or study abroad), Arven gets a little jealous that they were your friends before he was..but learns to get along with them.

Penny

Assuming she was studying abroad in Galar (after ditching Team Star) when the events of SWSH took place, she definitely would have seen your face around social media and on nearly ever TV station.

She knew you defeated Leon in the championship.

But she NEVER would've guessed it was you who also stopped the second Darkest Day from happening--and quelled Eternatus, of all things.

It was like you were the protagonist of some epic anime, doing all this heroic stuff yet being so casual when talking about it to her, Arven, and Nemona.

But she wants to hear all about your adventures!

Even though she was a little jealous you did all these cool things while she had to continue her studies.

She's thrilled to meet your Sylveon and Glaceon, finding their strong bond to be sweet and similar to her own Eeveelutions.

If you went to Crown Tundra, she immediately asks if you met her father and apologizes on his behalf if he was too overbearing.

But you amuse her with the story of how Calyrex kept temporarily possessing his body to speak to you.

The first time you brought out Zamazenta, Penny was a little intimidated by the way it looked at her menacingly...

Until it does the same thing Miraidon/Koraidon did to her during Operation Starfall:

And that is tackle her in kisses and icky wolf slobber.

She wonders why all your Legendaries do this to her..

Underneath the gruff, tough, and battle-hardened appearance, it turns out that it's really just a giant puppy longing to be spoiled like a Growlithe.

Nemona

Right from the get-go, she knew you were Galar's most recent champion and wanted to see how you fight.

Of course, that meant you had to adapt from the Dynamaxed battles you were so accustomed to and get used to Terastalized battles instead.

But you're a quick learner.

In fact your Inteleon, despite being at a disadvantage against her Pawmot, still managed to sweep half her team.

Sometimes you'll have your Paldea starter in your party in place of Zamazenta, but when you brought the shield wolf out for the first time during a picnic...Nemona was in awe.

"So THIS is one of the legendary heroes that Ms. Raifort taught us about????" She gawks, especially as you bring out the rusted shield and let it transform.

Penny made a good point: you may as well be a modern-day hero of Galar yourself!

She also wanted to hear all about your trials and tribulations with the gym challenge, having seen your battle on television and how Leon congratulated you for winning the championship.

Ngl it made her tear up the first time she rewatches it with you, proud of how you were still eager to finish it even though the Second Darkest Day interrupted the match and almost destroyed the whole region.

It lowkey made her feel bad when you, her, and the others had to go down to Area Zero and prevent another disaster that would've also unleashed dangerous Pokémon all across the region...

Yeah, you definitely needed a break and a chance to feel like a normal trainer.

And what better way to do that than to battle Nemona again and again?

Kieran

When you first met in Kitakami, you never struck him as the type to be Galar's Champion (as well as its savior from the second Darkest Day--the first one being an event he read about in books).

It's not something you liked to brag about anyways. So you downplayed your experiences while talking to him during the signboard project.

All he knew was that you lived in Galar and participated in the gym challenge. That's it.

Only when you show up to BB Academy does he overhear people talking about you like you're some celebrity, and he realizes you've been keeping even more secrets from him...

"Did you hear?? The Galar Champion is joining the league club!"

"I heard they reawakened Zacian and Zamazenta! They brought the heroes of Galar back to life!"

He refuses to believe it up until the moment you two battle, where Gardevoir and Salazzle worked incredibly well together, before you sent out Zamazenta near the very end.

Ofc Kieran is FURIOUS, screaming about how you lied to him yet again and "never changed".

"You told me you were just a normal kid from Galar...WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU BEEN KEEPING FROM ME?!!"

It's so unfair. You're hailed as a hero in a different region, you held two (and eventually three) champion titles, AND you have Zamazenta on your side...while he's a nobody from Kitakami who gave up so much and worked so hard--only to realize he'll never be even half as great as you.

How could he ever be like you with so many achievements under your belt?

But after you two become friends again (with you apologizing for not fully telling him the truth about yourself), Hop called you in hopes of visiting the academy's Terarium to research the Pokémon there.

You introduce him to Kieran, and they have a long chat about their rivalry with you.

Things get a little awkward when Hop rambles about his constant losses against you and his desires to become stronger (plus his struggle to step out of Leon's shadow), only to find his true calling as a professor in the end.....before asking Kieran how he coped.

"...oh um...I-I didn't really cope that well. I got jealous and bitter and..let's just say I wasn't very nice to [y/n]." He mutters, feeling ashamed.

"Awh really? But you seem like a nice chap now!" Your Galarian rival/friend tries cheering him up, although he understood his pain and felt that same humiliation several times before.

But Kieran did learn a thing or two from him, just like he did from Nemona. Battling was still his calling, but he forgot how to have fun with it, and he needed that reminder.

He mentions trading you an Applin, and Hop does a spit-take, asking if he knew what that meant (or if you told him).

If so, then he congratulates you both on your new relationship.

If not, then you let Kieran google it on your rotomphone...

Before he buries his face into Zamazenta's fur a few seconds later, trying to hide his worsening blush while you and Hop just laugh.

[yamujiburo]

POKEMON SERIES RANKED (IMO)

I get this question a lot and haven't made an updated list with Journeys

Original Series (S1-S5)

Sun & Moon (S20-S22)

Chronicles (S0)

Diamond and Pearl (S10-S13)

Advanced (S6-S9)

Journeys (S23-S25)

Black & White (S14-S16)

XY (S17-S19)

Original Series (S1-S5)

OS had that first season charm. Very unpolished, still finding its footing but super enjoyable for those reasons

Probably the strongest series comedy-wise

That GORGEOUS 90s anime style

Main character dynamics were REALLY strong

Ash's personality felt much more like a shitty little 10 year old which was entertaining

Dub writing was also the best hands down

Sun & Moon (S20-S22)

Honestly tied for first with OS for me

REALLY fun ensemble cast! They do a fantastic job giving each character enough time for you to get to know and care about

Excellent modern anime style that perfectly fit the vibe of the season and allowed for some of the best character animation of the show's run

Finally figured out how to write Ash like a 10 year old again (but in a kind/sweet 10 year old way as opposed to OS)

Very different from previous series in terms of the formula they'd follow. Doing a school series instead of another "8 badges to championship" plot felt new and fresh!

This series genuinely made me cry the most (MEMORIES IN THE MIST!!!!! LIKE ARE YOU KIDDING ME)

Chronicles (S0)

Fun concept! It was really nice to see more of the side characters without Ash there. We get to see more of Misty, Tracey, Daisy, Brock, Ritchie, Oak, Delia, Butch, Cassidy, Jessie, James and Meowth!

Stylistically really nice. Just solid drawings all around and it retained the 90s anime style in digital form more successfully than other digitally done series imo

BUTCH AND CASSIDY!!! Team Rocket centric episodes!!! Training Daze!!!!!!!

Idk how possible it would have been (seems like a TON of work) but it made me want one of these in between each season, where we'd follow the characters that Ash had just said goodbye to for the next region.

Diamond and Pearl (S10-S13)

Series I grew up with! Honestly I was kinda a hater as a kid but having watched it back, I love the series

Love that Ash and Dawn were bros. They had a really fun dynamic.

Debatably peak Team Rocket. They had some of the best Team Rocket centric episodes this series.

Contests were really fun and a bit more figured out compared to the Advanced series

Fun, memorable rivals for Ash (Paul and Barry) as well as Dawn (Zoey, Kenny and Jessilina sometimes)

This is unfortunately where I stopped caring about Ash as much. He feels kinda watered down for the next couple series.

Advanced (S6-S9)

Pretty tied up with DP for me

Really fun series! Still had some of that early Pokémon charm

I appreciated that they put Ash in more of a mentor role for May (but he still had a lot to learn himself).

Ash and May constantly butting heads was really fun

May was a very compelling character to me, being very clumsy, kinda lazy, directionless, not really into Pokémon, etc. But then over time, she comes around and finds something she's interested in!

Journeys (S23-S25)

I love the episodic take as well as the way they let the characters jump around from region to region at random

Goh was a GREAT travel companion to Ash. They contrast each other nicely, have moments where they get on each others' nerves but still get along and have a mutual admiration for one another.

It was fun that they made Goh's thing catching every Pokémon (the motto of the entire series) so they could focus on Ash just training and prepping for Worlds.

Amaaaazing style. Took the great parts of classic Pokémon, roundness of SM and blended em together for a really fun look.

Black & White (S14-S16)

I don't think it's that controversial to have BW this low haha

I did enjoy Iris and Cilan but it felt like the writers didn't reaaally know what to do with them? Also this was their first time in a while not having Brock and it shows. I feel like Brock was successful because he was grounded and lower energy compared to the rest of the kids. Having 3 pretty eccentric characters is kind of a lot. No hate to the characters in the slightest, there was just not as much balance.

I think maybe they leaned on Cilan and Iris for more comedic relief because they killed the comedic relief that was Team Rocket this series. I appreciate them trying something new with Jessie, James and Meowth but I don't think it worked very well lol

XY (S17-S19)

I've ranted about this series a lot LOL. I get the appeal of it, but it just wasn't for me. I felt like it was the weakest comedy-wise and took itself a bit too seriously for my taste

My main gripe is that Serena, Clemont and Bonnie all like,,, worship Ash. By doing so, Ash begins to feel like a side character because we're constantly looking at Ash through their eyes. There's so little conflict within the group so their dynamics feel really flat. I think this dynamic could have worked if they leaned waaay more into Ash being a mentor and maybe feeling the pressure of having to be a role model for the people around him.

Team Rocket very much feels like an afterthought in this series. They did in Journeys as well, but at least in Journeys they were doing something silly and also had a handful of episodes dedicated to em.

Outside of that, the episodes weren't super memorable for me

I think it's just frustrating because there was sooooo much potential character-wise

[kafus]

over the weekend at the knoxville regional pokemon championships, i met up with a longtime internet friend in person for the first time, and he traded me a very special pokemon - a unique celebi that takes a bit of context to explain the significance of

from november 2001 to january 2005, the building that is now a nintendo world store in new york city was actually an american pokemon center, which hosted the "Gotta Catch ‘Em All!" station, a large machine that you could pop your gold/silver/crystal cartridge into (or later ruby/sapphire/firered/leafgreen, but that's not relevant here) and get a special distribution pokemon unique to the store. often times these were normal pokemon in eggs with special moves they couldn't usually learn, but other times they ran distributions for shiny legendaries, and of course, the mythical celebi.

there's very few pictures of the machine and all of them are pretty low quality, but you can see an iteration of it here during the gen 3 era:

when PCNY (pokemon center new york) shut down, the machine and its contents were presumed lost forever, but due to the preservation efforts and the good luck of a few individuals, some of the distributions have been preserved, as well as parts of the machine and its software. this is extra incredible because almost all gen 2 save files from the time the machine was actually functional are long since wiped due to the battery inside dying, meaning that very very few of the gen 2 event pokemon distributed from this machine at the time still exist. i won't go super in detail on that in this post but you can read an article about all of that here (julie, the person who runs this historical PCNY fansite is incredibly passionate and if you want to know anything about the PCNY store i absolutely recommend reading her writing!)

so, one day when i was rambling to my friend (his name is Venty!) about my fascination with the PCNY machine, and how i wish i had been born early enough to experience that, as well as wishing that i could have traded with anyone in gens 1-3 as a child but never got to due to isolation, venty told me that he's actually friends with a guy (Professor Rex) who knows the guy who owns the remnants of the PCNY machine (Gridelin), and he would love to reach out and ask if there's any way rex could distribute a celebi to himself and trade it to him sometime so that eventually when me and venty met in person one day, he'd be able to trade the celebi to me.

i pretty much burst into tears and very passionately explained how much that would mean to me - not just because owning a celebi actually distributed from the historical PCNY distribution station is just... insanely cool, but because like i said, i had never traded anyone in the old internet-less generations of pokemon, and having that be my first was just... a monumental thought. i am deeply fascinated with old gen event distributions because of the tactile, interpersonal nature of them, in direct contrast with my isolation and loneliness as a child. it might sound silly to be so worked up over a collection of bytes/pixels, but i really couldn't believe venty would offer me something so kind. and not only did he offer to ask - rex said yes!!

so on may 21st last year (2023) rex traveled out and distributed the celebi to his pokemon silver cartridge. specifically, the celebi is from the "Celebi Present Campaign" which ran from the 22nd of november 2002 to the 28th of november 2002. the display on the monitor is the same video that would have appeared on the screen in the PCNY store, but flipped sideways here haha. (the gen 2 distributions were special and had custom animations for the legendaries and stuff, which you can watch here in full quality on gridelin's channel - there's videos of the other distribution animations on his channel, too!)

and then months later, during the weekend of august 11th 2023, rex and venty met up at the pokemon world championship in japan and rex traded the celebi to venty's gold cartridge...

...then, finally, just this past weekend, on sunday (february 4th 2024) venty and i finally met in real life for the first time at the knoxville TN regional pokemon championships, and with link cable in hand the celebi finally made its way to me in my hotel room, after crossing the ocean twice and passing through canada to the US to japan and back to the US...!!

gen 2 pokemon data isn't very complicated, but you can tell that my celebi is unique from the other PCNY celebis dumped online (here and here if you'd like to play with some of these historical pokemon yourself) because it has the trainer ID of 00204 which none of the publicly available celebis have - though of course to me, regardless of what becomes publicly available in the future (and i hope one day the common layperson can simply emulate the PCNY machine, video game preservation >>> unique collections always) this celebi will always be special and unique because of how it got to me, and because it represents my friendship with venty who i care so much about. it was an extremely kind gesture i will never forget and i can't believe how much traveling and how many people were involved with getting this tiny bundle of bytes and pixels to me. i hugged venty after the trade was done haha

oh, and by the way, don't worry, i have the hardware to back up my gen 2 save files so this celebi will never die even after my crystal cartridge battery eventually dies once more!! (also, while i don't think it would be an issue i do want to say please don't bother any of the people mentioned in this post...! gridelin & co are working on making the distribution machine in question available for anyone to use, it'll come out whenever it's out and for now there are dumps of the events that were recovered. i would not want them to receive any annoying requests for pokemon because of me. thank you!)

[detectiphoenix]

A silly little Viravos-centric Pokemon AU where Viren is a Pokemon Professor, and Aaravos is a near-immortal Mythical Pokemon disguised as a human ~

I'll be tagging all art in this AU #phoenix's tdp pokemon au, so if the content bothers you, please block said tag! On the other hand, if you decide to make art/content of this AU, please use said tag 👀

Typed out tidbits underneath the cut!

AARAVOS, DARK/DRAGON MYTHICAL

Is "The Fallen Star"

Can appear as either his draconic Pokémon form or human - can also sprout horns and a tail if comfortable

Likes living as a human. Likes creating rumors about himself more

In his many years of life, has mastered fluent human Standard speak, but can also communicate telepathically

Horribly enamoured by the cute little Professor who thinks he's on top of the world

AMAYA HANSEN, GYM LEADER

Commands the easiest gym in the region, but boasts an impressive combat threat outside of gym battles

Celebrated for having extremely deep connections to her Pokémon

Favorite part about being a gym leader is giving new trainers their first badge

CALLUM ASPEN, POKÉMON TRAINER

Pokémon enthusiast!

Is very serious about his "catch-em-all" mission

Met Rayla when they were both trying to catch the same Pokémon

Acknowledges his last name is the name of the tree, and won't stop talking about his fate being to be a Pokémon Professor

CLAUDIA CYPRESS, POKÉMON TRAINER

Wanted to stay with her father to help him with his research, but he convinced her to stay with Soren for the time being

Determined to be a Pokémon Professor one day

An expert with her items and consumables

Cheers every time a trainer engages her in battle

EZRAN ASPEN, POKÉMON DAY CARE ASSISTANT

Is almost old enough to get his starter Pokémon, but isn't sure if he wants to be a trainer

Sneaks treats to all of the Pokémon under his watch

He thinks he's being sneaky, but everyone knows he's sneaking treats and no one says anything because all of the Pokémon adore him

HARROW ASPEN, POKÉMON CHAMPION

Defends his title with pride and a bright smile

Popular for his natural charisma, even outside of his region

His great-grandfather was a Pokémon Professor

Pip, a Talonflame he raised from a Fletchling, is his star fighter

JANAI COETZEE, ELITE FOUR

Despite being the newest member, is considered to be the most difficult challenge of the four

Often described as having a threatening aura during battle

After battle, however, her kind nature is clear

RAYLA COLLINS, POKÉMON TRAINER

Got the Pokémon

Determined to be the Champion one day

Wants to make her dads proud (they're already proud)

Began her journey saying she would only fight using stronger Pokémon to increase her chances at becoming the Champion, but gets extremely attached to every Pokémon she catches

RUNAAN COLLINS, RETIRED POKÉMON CHAMPION

Used to be the region's Champion, before retiring to spend more time with his husband and adopted daughter

Isn't that old, but has enough funds from his championship that he is able to live comfortably without a job

Still assists his husband, Ethari, with his Battle Items Shop

SOREN CYPRESS, POKÉMON TRAINER

The trainer that will run up to you and engage you in a Pokémon battle

Determined to be the Champion one day, or at least a cool gym leader in his home region

Very suspicious of that guy who keeps spending time with his father

Likes to travel across regions and bring his father Pokémon that don't appear in their home region

VIREN CYPRESS, POKÉMON PROFESSOR

Has spent the vast majority of his life researching "The Fallen Star"

Believes Aaravos to be a researcher as passionate as himself in the same field

Wants to be the first to discover "The Fallen Star", sees Aaravos as frustratingly intelligent competition

Needs reading glasses to read, but despises wearing them

Would have found "The Fallen Star" already, if not for an insufferably attractive individual's meddling