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[[center:[[WMG:''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Pokemon}} characters Index]]''' ''([[Characters/PokemonTypes Pokémon Types]], [[Characters/PokemonRecurringArchetypes Recurring Pokémon Archetypes]])''\\
[-'''Pokémon Family Species:''' [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIFamilies Gen I]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIBulbasaurToParasect Bulbasaur to Parasect]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVenonatToCloyster Venonat to Cloyster]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIGastlyToMiltank Gastly to Miltank]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIMagikarpToMew Magikarp to Mew]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIFamilies Gen II]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIChikoritaToGranbull Chikorita to Granbull]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIQwilfishToCelebi Qwilfish to Celebi]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIFamilies Gen III]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIITreeckoToSharpedo Treecko to Sharpedo]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIWailmerToDeoxys Wailmer to Deoxys]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVFamilies Gen IV]] | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVFamilies Gen V]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVVictiniToZoroark Victini to Zoroark]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVMinccinoToGenesect Minccino to Genesect]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIFamilies Gen VI]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIChespinToHawlucha Chespin to Hawlucha]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIDedenneToVolcanion Dedenne to Volcanion]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIFamilies Gen VII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIRowletToComfey Rowlet to Comfey]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIOranguruToMelmetal Oranguru to Melmetal]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraBeasts Ultra Beasts]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIFamilies Gen VIII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIGrookeyToHatterene Grookey to Hatterene]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIImpidimpToCalyrex Impidimp to Calyrex]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGlitches Glitches]]\\
'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivals Protagonists And Rivals]] ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | '''Champions'''\\
'''[[Characters/PokemonVillainTeams Pokémon Villain Teams]]:''' [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamRocket Team Rocket]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamAquaMagma Team Aqua/Magma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamGalactic Team Galactic]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamPlasma Team Plasma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamFlare Team Flare]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamSkull Team Skull]] / [[Characters/PokemonTeamYell Team Yell]]\\
[[Characters/PokemonFrontierBrainsAndOtherFacilityHeads Frontier Brains And Other Facility Heads]] | [[Characters/PokemonTrainerClasses Trainer Classes]] | [[Characters/PokemonOtherNonPlayableCharacters Other NPCs]] ([[Characters/PokemonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraReconSquad Ultra Recon Squad]] / [[Characters/PokemonMacroCosmos Macro Cosmos]])\\
[[Characters/PokemonLegendsArceus Pokémon Legends: Arceus]]-]]]]]

After defeating the Elite Four, the trainer now has to face the regional Pokémon Champion. Pokémon Champions are the toughest trainers in the entire region and serve as the FinalBoss of the main campaign. Defeating them triggers the CreditsRoll, and unlocks post-game content.
----
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:General Champion Tropes]]
!!The Champions in general
* TheAce: As the Champion, they're supposed to be the strongest trainers of their respective regions.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: It's implied they have some sort of legal authority, though it's not made clear exactly what their exact responsibilities are.
* BigGood: [[ZigZaggedTrope ZigZagged]] throughout the series. Some Champions act as guides for the protagonists throughout their journey but leave stopping the evil teams's plots to them (Steven, Cynthia, Alder, Kukui), some don't do anything noteworthy outside the League (Iris, Diantha), while others are actually shown patrolling and defending the region (Lance, Leon).
* BossBonanza: They're at the end of one against the Elite Four.
* ColorMotif: With the exception of [[{{Irony}} Blue]] and Trace, the Champions are always assoiated with a specific color that shows either in their Champion room, battle screen or clothes.
** Lance: Vermilion.
** Steven: Purple.
** Wallace: Cyan.
** Cynthia: Black.
** Alder: Dark Red.
** Iris: Violet.
** Diantha: White.
** Leon: Burgundy.
* DareToBeBadass: Their mere existence basically serves as this to all trainers in their region, as beating the Elite Four and then the Champion is seen as one of the hardest things to do, and for good reason.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Your end goal is to do this to them.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In Generation I, while those who defeated the Elite Four were always called Champions, the concept of a standing Champion (that is one who serves as a final challenge after defeating the Elite Four) didn't exist, and it was implied that the League's Elite Four was led by the member that faces the challenger last. Starting from Generation II, a standing Champion is introduced to lead the Elite Four and gets faced only after the others are defeated. This is explained in detail in ''Let's Go, Pikachu!'' and ''Let's Go, Eevee!'' where the decision to change how the Elite Four and Champion work is discussed at the end of the game.
* FightingYourFriend: With Blue being the notable exception, the Champions are friendly to the player, with some of them also serving as mentor figures who provide guidance to the player in their journey, and Trace being the player's [[FriendlyRivalry friendly rival]], then the player challenges the Champion for the title in a climatic battle.
* FinalBoss: They're the last big challenge of the main story (or in Mustard's case, the DLC story) before the credits roll. {{Averted|Trope}} with Alder, as you have to beat N [[spoiler:and Ghetsis]] instead, and you can only battle against Alder in post-game.
* GracefulLoser: They almost always lose with dignity, with the closest that they get to anger being disbelief.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: A meta-example. While the player is capable of using 6 Pokémon from the moment they get their starter, most NPC opponents do not use 6 Pokémon, except for Rivals (and only near the end of the game) and Pokémon Breeders (in some games, and their teams tend to be weaker than the average trainers in the area to make up for that). Champions however, ''always'' have a full team.
* KingIncognito: While Alder and Leon introduce themselves as the Champions immediately, and Blue and Trace weren't the Champions until the end, usually the Champion is a recurring character who doesn't show any signs of their status aside from a few clues until you defeat the Elite Four.
* PersonalityPowers: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]]. Some of them have their personalities and teams built around a general theme (around a specific type or motif), while others don't.
* SignatureMon: While as individuals they all have their own ace, as a whole, they favor Fossil Pokémon and the pseudo-legendaries [[note]] Powerful non-Legendary, non-Mythical Pokémon with a three-stage evolution line and a base stat total of 600 before Mega Evolving.[[/note]]. Starter Pokémon as well as other powerful Pokémon that don't meet the definition of a pseudo-legendary, such as Gyarados, Milotic and Aggron, have also shown up in a number of Champion teams. Many of the Champions also include at least one Dragon-type Pokémon in their teams, even if they do not specialize in Dragon types.
* WalkingSpoiler: Generally, the Champions fall into this, since the game keeps the identity of the Champion a secret until the player faces them in the Pokémon League, until the games have been out for long enough, by which point, the identity of the Champion becomes something everybody knows. The only exceptions are Alder and Leon, who are casually introduced as Champions in the first five minutes of their screentime.
[[/folder]]

! Kanto and Johto

[[folder:Blue Oak ''[-(Green Okido)-]'']]
!!Blue Oak / Green Okido (オーキド・グリーン ''ookido guriin'')

The Kanto Champion in ''Red, Blue, Yellow, [=FireRed=], and [=LeafGreen=]''.

For more information on Blue, check the Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto page.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Lance ''[-(Wataru)-]'']]
!!Lance / Wataru (ワタル ''wataru'')
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lanceart_3099.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/YoshimasaHosoya (JP, ''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations''), Creator/BenDiskin (EN, ''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations''), Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa (JP, VideoGame/PokemonMasters), Bill Millsap (EN, VideoGame/PokemonMasters)
-->''"We will battle to determine who is the stronger of the two of us. As the most powerful trainer and as the Pokémon League Champion... I, Lance the dragon master, accept your challenge!"''

Lance is a world-famous Dragon master, and the leader of the Elite Four in ''Red'', ''Blue'', ''Yellow'', and the Gen I remakes. In ''Gold'', ''Silver'', ''Crystal'', and their remakes, he has become the Champion for the joint Kanto/Johto Pokémon League.
----
* AdaptationalBadass:
** His Dragonite in ''Yellow'' knows Fire Blast, Blizzard ''and'' Thunder, making it much more formidable than it was in ''Red and Blue''.
** In his initial Champion battle in ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'', Dragonite's Outrage hits much harder than in ''Gold and Silver'', because Generation IV has increased Outrage's base power from 90 to 120 and classified Outrage as a physical move, which Dragonite is able to take full advantage of due to having higher Attack than Special Attack.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Discussed in ''Masters''. Lance notes how Blue had believed himself to be "the strongest" after beating him and winning the Pokémon League, only for another trainer to show up [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue shortly afterwards]] and beat both of them. As a result, he no longer has any interest in pursuing titles like "the strongest", as he's aware the distinction is fleeting; sooner or later, ''someone'' is going to surpass you. The indication that he's talking about losing to Blue, and then both losing to Red afterwards is that he notes it occurred while he was still an Elite Four member, before he ascended to Champion three years later.
* AscendedMeme: His extreme policy on tossing Dragonite and have it use Hyper Beam on ''humans'' doesn't go unnoticed in ''Masters'', where people actually bring that up as a ''compliment'' to his skills. His character episode even has him blasting a Team Break grunt with Dragonite's Hyper Beam. And to cement things further, a Karate Man at the center reveals (and whines) that it was him whom Lance Hyper Beam'd at Team Rocket's Johto HQ.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: He jumped up in rank by honing his skills further between games.
* AwesomeButImpractical: In Generation II, and in fact every game he has been in before Generation IV, barring ''Pokémon Stadium'', every Pokémon he uses knows [[BreathWeapon Hyper Beam]]. In later generations he tends to teach his dragons moves with very high power but low accuracy, such as Dragon Rush. This carries over to ''Masters''' real-time battle system, where Hyper Beam is one of the few moves in the entire game that uses up ''four'' bars of your move gauge, and Lance's Dragonite is, as of the game's second anniversary, one of only four Pokémon that can learn it, alongside Lance's Gyarados.
* BadassArmfold: In ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'', Lance folds his arms after he teams up with the player to battle Ariana and a Team Rocket Grunt.
* BadassCape: He's never seen without a cape in all his appearance across the games. The lone exception is his New Year 2021 attire in ''Masters'', and even then, he expresses his desire to get a cape to match said outfit. According to the Fame Checker in ''[=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]'', he buys his capes at the Department Store in Celadon City.
* BackToBackBadasses: He teams up with the protagonist during a part of the Rocket plot in ''Gold'', ''Silver'', ''Crystal'' and their remakes, and with Clair as a DualBoss in ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]''.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: He's a chill guy who cares about Pokémon and even humble when you face him in the Indigo Plateau. He's also not afraid of using Hyper Beam on human beings if he has to and considering he held the place of Champion, this is definitely not someone you want to get on the bad side of.
* BlowYouAway: Since there weren't enough Dragon-types to fill his team back in ''Gold and Silver'', he uses several Flying-type Pokémon that are draconic in appearance (but not as far as the series' ElementalRockPaperScissors is concerned) on his team. In both his primary teams in Generation I and Generation II; Lance ''only'' uses Flying-types or Pokémon that evolve into Flying-types (Specifically Dragonair). This gets averted in rematches in the remakes and the Pokémon World Tournament in ''Black 2 and White 2''.
* CapeWings: Evokes this in his ''Gold and Silver'' battle sprite.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard:
** In ''Red'' and ''Blue'', his Dragonite knows Barrier, a move that to this very day the Dratini line cannot learn. The closest this has ever come to "legal" was the release of this same original Dragonite as a downloadable event pokémon in 2016.
** In ''Gold and Silver'', his three Dragonite are all below legal level, two at 47 and one at 50 when Dragonair doesn't evolve until Level 55. His Aerodactyl also knows Rock Slide, though this example is legal in later games.
** In ''Stadium 2'' his levels fluctuate between 50 and 100, but below 55 he'll still have a Dragonite ''and'' a Tyranitar, which also evolves at 55.
** During a team-up with the player at the tail end of the Rocket Hideout infiltration in ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'', he uses a Level ''40'' Dragonite.
* DinosaursAreDragons: Since Dragon-types were scarce in early games, several of his Pokémon are dragons in appearance and/or dinosaur-inspired such as Aerodactyl, Lapras, Kangaskhan and Tyranitar. Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'', when he refers to his Gyarados as a dragon. When the player character points out that Gyarados isn't a Dragon-type, Lance responds that "not all dragons are Dragon-type Pokémon".
* DiscOneFinalBoss: He serves as this In both the Kanto and Johto games.
** In the Kanto games, he's the final Elite Four member you face, leading you to believe that he's the FinalBoss. He even has a special room with a long hallway and everything. However, once you defeat him, it turns out Blue or Trace (depending on the version) has become the Kanto Champion, thus the actual FinalBoss instead.
** In the Johto games, Lance does become the Champion, which would have made him the FinalBoss, but his defeat gives you access to Kanto itself, which is a whole other region to explore, complete with its own campaign of Gym Leaders. Defeating all of them lets you fight Red, the TrueFinalBoss of the game.
* DragonTamer: Specializes in Dragon-type Pokémon, but due to their general rarity, especially in early generations, he often uses Pokémon that are draconic in aesthetic like Aerodactyl and Charizard.
* DualBoss: You can fight him alongside his cousin Clair in ''[=HeartGold and SoulSilver=]'' as an OptionalBoss in the Dragon's Den, but only after you've fought your rival at Mt. Moon (as he's your partner against them).
* FireIceLightning: A recurring theme is for him to distribute moves of these types among his team, particularly the move trios of Fire Blast, Blizzard, and Thunder, as well as Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt. His Dragonite in ''Yellow'' knows all the former group, and as the Champion in the Johto games, his three Dragonite each get one of the moves. In his ''[=FireRed and LeafGreen=]'' rematch, one of his Dragonite has Flamethrower while the other has Thunderbolt and Ice Beam, and the Kingdra that replaces his second Dragonair with also has Ice Beam. In ''[=HeartGold and SoulSilver=]'', his Gyarados, Aerodactyl and Charizard know Ice Fang, Thunder Fang and Fire Fang respectively, while his three Dragonite keep Thunder, Blizzard and Fire Blast.
* {{Foil}}: To Clair, his cousin and fellow Dragon trainer. She introduces herself to the player by bragging about her skills and claiming she's on the Elite Four's level (despite being a "mere" Gym Leader and having a weaker team), is a SoreLoser upon being defeated, and couldn't pass the Dragon Den master's quiz. By contrast, Lance introduces himself to the player in the Johto games as just another Pokémon Trainer (despite being the very Champion), is a GracefulLoser, and was stated to have passed the quiz.
* FossilRevival: He uses an Aerodactyl, who resembles a wyvern.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Lance is apparently willing to sic his Pokémon on human criminals. When you meet him at Team Rocket's Johto HQ, the first thing he does is tell his Dragonite to Hyper Beam the grunt running the front store. You can find another grunt downstairs who's also been blasted, and when Executive Ariana tries to double-team you with a grunt, the Dragonite physically slams said grunt away from you. All three grunts apparently survive, thankfully.
* GreenThumb: In ''Let's Go, Pikachu!'' and ''Let's Go, Eevee!'' he uses the Grass/Dragon-type Alolan Exeggutor for his rematch team.
* GuestStarPartyMember: In ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'', he teams up with the player to battle against Team Rocket Executive Ariana and a Team Rocket grunt in the Mahogany Town hideout.
* HumbleHero: He became this during his tenure as the Champion in the Johto games, hiding his status from player and claiming to be just another trainer, before the player faces him in the Pokémon League.
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: He's perfectly willing to rough up Team Rocket grunts; this includes having Dragonite use Hyper Beam on them.
* LargeHam: The way he announces the name of the Champion in ''Red and Blue'' comes across as this. When he himself is the Champion, he's not much less hammy, as he demonstrates with the moves he makes with that cape.
* MeaningfulName:
** A '''lance''' is a weapon used by knights, often fabled for slaying dragons and all that. [[ShoutOut And that's not mentioning]] [[Literature/{{Dragonlance}} the famous series of books beginning publication in 1984...]]
** In the German versions he's named "Siegfried", after a legendary Germanic hero who is said to have slain the dragon Fafnir.
** In the French versions, he's "Peter", the French name of the hero of ''Film/PetesDragon1977''.
* NiceGuy: Despite his intimidating appearance and status, he's actually a fairly nice person; he's helpful to the protagonist, and has passed the Dragon's Den test, which requires knowledge of proper Pokémon care.
* PowerEqualsRarity: Dragon-type Pokémon are known for not only being powerful, but also relatively rare compared to Pokémon of other types, especially in early generations, and Lance has the status to accompany the power of Dragon-type Pokémon by being either a Champion or the final member of the Elite Four the player faces. In fact, in ''Red'', ''Blue'', ''Yellow'', he is the only NPC trainer in the game to use any Dragon-type Pokémon at all.
* ReasonYouSuckSpeech: After running circles around Silver in a battle, Lance gives one to Silver about how the latter's lack of compassion towards his Pokémon is what makes him a subpar trainer. Silver doesn't take it well, but a couple more losses to you manages to convince him that Lance is right.
* RuleOfThree: He has three Dragonite in his team when he's the Champion in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Gold, Silver and Crystal]]''. In the remakes, he swaps two of his Dragonite out for Salamence and Garchomp in his rematch team, which still includes three Dragon-type pseudo-legendary Pokémon. For his Pokémon World Tournament team in ''Black 2 and White 2'', he also has three Dragon-type pseudo-legendary Pokémon — Dragonite, Salamence and Hydreigon.
* SignatureMon: His highest-leveled Pokémon is always [[InfinityMinusOneSword Dragonite]], the only fully-evolved Dragon-type in ''Red, Blue and Yellow'' and the first pseudo-legendary Pokémon in the series.
* SignatureMove: He prefers [[BreathWeapon Hyper Beam]], so much so, in fact all of his Pokémon in ''Red, Blue and Yellow'' and their remakes, as well as in ''Gold, Silver and Crystal'', ''Stadium 2'' and ''Masters'' know it.
* SuperMode: In ''Let's Go, Pikachu!'' and ''Let's Go, Eevee!'', his Charizard from his rematch team can Mega Evolve into Mega Charizard X.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Red]]
!!Red (レッド ''reddo'')

The true Kanto/Johto Champion in ''Gold, Silver, Crystal, [=HeartGold=], and [=SoulSilver=]''.

More information on him can be found on the Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto page.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Trace ''[-(Shin)-]'']]
!!Trace / Shin (シン ''shin'')

The Kanto Champion in ''Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!''.

For more information on Trace, check the Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto page.
[[/folder]]

! Hoenn

[[folder:Steven Stone ''[-(Daigo Tsuwabuki)-]'']]
!!Steven Stone / Daigo Tsuwabuki (ツワブキ・ダイゴ ''tsuwabuki daigo'')
[[quoteright:267:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/steven_oras.png]]
-->Voiced by: Creator/AkiraIshida (JP, ORAS Promo), Creator/XanderMobus (EN, VideoGame/PokemonMasters), Creator/TomoakiMaeno (JP, VideoGame/PokemonMasters)

-->''"What did you see on your journey with Pokémon? What did you feel, meeting so many other Trainers like you? What has awoken in you? I want you to hit me with it all! Now, bring it!"''

The son of the president of the Devon Corporation, Steven is fascinated by rare stones and frequently goes out to explore old caves and ruins. In ''Ruby and Sapphire'' and their remakes, he is the Champion of the Hoenn League, championing Steel-types.
----
* HundredPercentAdorationRating: In-universe, pretty much everyone gets along with him or respects him, which is helped by the fact that he's friendly, generous, proactive, responsible and protective of the region, well-versed with its lore, and even actively helps his Elite Four members get stronger just because he can. His attractive looks also get commented on by multiple [=NPCs=] and make him rather popular. This makes it all the more jarring when Zinnia actively antagonizes him, something nobody else has done before.
* AlliterativeName: His full name is '''St'''even '''St'''one.
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: In the Delta Episode of ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', his father jokes about him being impatient, and then takes advantage of that impatience to tease him further by dodging the purpose of their meeting. He also praises Steven ("That's my boy!") by calling him smart after Steven makes an easy guess. Steven is visibly humiliated and frustrated.
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: It's rather easy to distract this man with any sort of rare stone.
* BackToBackBadasses: With the player in ''Emerald'', teaming up against Maxie and Tabitha during the invasion of Mossdeep City's Space Center.
* BadassBookworm: Hoenn's League Champion is a daring geologist, and perhaps even a paleontologist given his fossil Pokémon. ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' also shows that he's one of the few people researching Mega Stones.
* BadassInANiceSuit: As one of the strongest trainers in the series and heir to the resident MegaCorp, Steven certainly looks the part with his suit.
* BadassLongcoat: In ''Masters'', he wears a black tailcoat with golden patterns that are styled after his partner Shiny Rayquaza for his Anniversary 2021 attire.
* BarrierWarrior: In your fight with him against Maxie and Tabitha in ''Emerald'' he's more focused on covering you than attacking, starting with a Metang with Reflect and Light Screen, as well as an Skarmory and Aggron with Protect, [[DownplayedTrope although he also packs some powerful attacks, such as Psychic and Dragon Claw]].
* BirdsOfAFeather: His fascination with rare stones is matched up with Roxanne's, which shouldn't come as a surprise.
* {{Bishonen}}: He is always good-looking, but it's in the remakes where his looks are acknowledged InUniverse:
** In the ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' Special Demo, a Team Magma Grunt calls him "a quite stunning male specimen", and a Team Aqua Grunt says he is "totally my ideal type of guy". '''Tabitha''' even calls him a "silver-haired pretty boy"!
** In the game itself, a Team Aqua Grunt refers to him as an "alluring gentleman".
** During the Delta Episode, the old Draconid woman calls him a "silver-haired dreamboat".
** He gets a BishieSparkle during his Champion battle intro.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: His enthusiasm for rare stones is well-known in-universe, while also being noted as an incredibly powerful Pokémon trainer. In ''Masters'', he is even described by Wallace as eccentric but the best of the best when it comes to Pokémon battling.
* TheCameo: In ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]''. He turns up in Kanto, gives you a Hoenn starter, will trade Beldum for Forretress, and participates in an event involving Latias or Latios (depending on version).
* ChickMagnet: No matter if you're neutral, evil, or super old, the girls ([[EvenTheGuysWantHim and some guys]]) keep commenting on his looks.
* ClassyCravat: Wears a red one, though he defies the stereotype.
* DishingOutDirt: He uses Rock- and Ground-types alongside Steel-types.
* DragonTamer: In ''Masters'', for the game's second anniversary, he forms a sync pair with a Shiny variant of the Dragon/Flying-type Rayquaza that can Mega Evolve.
* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: His Champion battle intro in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' has him surrounded by many sparkles.
* ExtraOreDinary: Uses Steel-types primarily, though his teams also include some Rock- and Ground-types.
* FanServicePack: He is always handsome, though his original appearance from ''Ruby and Sapphire'' has him in a modest suit, then his suit in his redesign from ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' has his jacket unbuttoned, combined with a waistcoat underneath and form-fitting pants that accentuates his slender figure. In ''Masters'', his Summer 2020 attire has him showing more skin by wearing shorts and a short-sleeved jacket with a scoop neck shirt underneath, and his Anniversary 2021 attire has him wearing thigh-high boots and a tailcoat with a shirt underneath that has a low neckline.
* {{Fiction 500}}: As the son of Mr. Stone, the CEO of [[MegaCorp the Devon Corporation]], he generally [[NonIdleRich subverts]] most of the [[SpoiledBrat qualities associated with this trope]], though he ''was'' heavily implied to be the previous owner of the [[BigFancyHouse Villa]] in ''Platinum''.
* FinalBoss: The final boss of ''Ruby and Sapphire'' and their remakes.
* FossilRevival: As an avid rock collector, he often finds fossils of extinct Pokémon. His original Champion team has the 2 regional Hoenn fossils (Cradily and Armaldo), while his team in the Pokémon World Tournament in ''Black 2 and White 2'' features an Archeops in addition to the aforementioned two. In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', he uses an Aerodactyl in the rematch with him.
* GuestStarPartyMember:
** In ''Emerald'', he becomes the first NPC in any Pokémon game to team up with the player to battle. Here, it is to fight a tag-team of Maxie and Tabitha at the Mossdeep Space Center.
** In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', he also teams up with the player to battle on multiple occasions. In the demo, he aids you against Tabitha and Matt in a Mirage Cave. In the actual game itself, he aids you at [[spoiler:the Southern Island side-quest during the main plot and at the Mossdeep Space Center during the Delta Episode]], both times against Team Magma (''Omega Ruby'') or Team Aqua (''Alpha Sapphire''). He is also one of the NPC trainers you can partner with during the Multi Battle mode in the Battle Maison.
* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', his Hoenn fossil Pokémon from his initial Champion team have this dynamic -- his male Armaldo focuses on physical attacks while his female Cradily focuses on special attacks.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Wallace. This relationship is explored further in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', with Steven trusting Wallace enough to make him the new Champion if he (Steven) leaves.
* HighClassGloves: In ''Masters'', he wears a pair of black gloves to match his black tailcoat as part of his Anniversary 2021 attire.
* InfinityMinusOneSword: Post-game, he leaves behind a Beldum in his house as a gift for the player in ''Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald'' and ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire''. And in ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'', he'll trade you one for a Forretress. He's also the original trainer of the event Shiny Beldum in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire''.
* ItWasAGift: He's a lot more generous than most characters. He gives you a Mega Bracelet among many other items (the Steel Wing TM, the Devon Scope, the Eon Flute, etc.) as well as gifting the Elite Four with Key Stones. He also personally breeds you a new Lv.1 Beldum for a gift, and in ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'' gives you a Hoenn starter of your choosing.
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Like his father, he likes to collect rare stones and has a generous personality.
* MacGuffinEscortMission: His father asks the player character to deliver a letter to Steven in Dewford Town.
* MeaningfulName: '''Ste'''ven sounds like steel. His surname Stone also indicates his use of Rock types and love of rare stones.
* MentorArchetype: He serves as a mentor figure to the player character in the Hoenn games, giving them advice throughout their journey and assisting them when the region is in crisis.
* MightyGlacier: Half of his main Pokémon team — Aggron, Armaldo and Metagross — fit this role, being slow but having strong Attack and Defense stats and powerful moves. Though Mega Metagross in the remakes is most definitely a LightningBruiser, being much faster than regular Metagross.
* NiceGuy: Steven notably defies the Champions from previous games, [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Blue]] and [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique Lance]], by being a personable, polite man.
* NonIdleRich: Does a lot despite being really rich.
* NotSoStoic: He becomes increasingly frustrated during the events of the Delta Episode in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', thanks to [[spoiler:the world being in crisis again, and the fact that he can't do anything and has to rely on you once again, as well as Zinnia actively hindering his own efforts while mocking him for having lost the title of Champion to the player.]]
* OlympusMons: In ''Masters'', he partners with a Shiny Rayquaza that is capable of Mega Evolving for the game's second anniversary.
* OnlySaneMan: During the crisis, he's one of the few trying to do anything about it.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: During the Delta Episode in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', the fact that he acts frustrated and irritable is a clear sign of the dire situation.
* OutOfCharacterMoment: Like Flannery, his sprite in ''Ruby, Sapphire'' ad ''Emerald'' portrayed him being [[PerpetualFrowner bitter]] [[HairTriggerTemper and angry]] all the time ([[OffModel not even matching his official art]]), despite encounters with him in the games usually showing otherwise. This was corrected in the remakes.
* PurpleIsPowerful: He often wears clothing with purple accents, and he exudes coolness by constantly being referred to as a skilled Trainer. Additionally, as the Champion in ''Ruby and Sapphire'', his room is depicted with a light shade of purple, and his battle screen has a purple background.
* SharpDressedMan: He has a very nicely tailored suit.
* SignatureMon: [[MightyGlacier Metagross]]. So much so that the only way to get one of your own in its debut generation is evolving the Beldum he gives you as a gift for beating him. In the remakes, he can [[SuperMode Mega Evolve]] it.
* TheStoic: He's normally calm and collected, befitting a Steel-type trainer.
* StoneWall: Other half his main Pokémon team — Skarmory, Claydol and Cradily — don't hit too hard, having (Special) Attack stats that come short of average, but they take hits very well (Skarmory on the physical side mostly).
* SuperMode: In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' and ''Masters'', his Metagross can Mega Evolve, so can his Shiny Rayquaza in ''Masters''.
* {{Superboss}}: In ''Pokémon Emerald'', where he's given up the title of Champion, he can be found in Meteor Falls after the player enters the Hall of Fame, and he's the strongest NPC trainer in the game. In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', his Champion rematch team's overall level is even higher than his own post-game team in ''Emerald'', and is the second highest-leveled team in the game, only behind Wally's final team.
* WaistcoatOfStyle: Wears a purple one underneath his suit jacket in his redesign from ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire''.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility: He states that doing everything in his power to resolve the crisis caused by the villainous team (and presumably any other) is his duty as the Champion. Understandable, as he's perfectly capable of wiping the floor with practically every wrongdoer coming his way — so much so, that an '''Eon Dragon''' recognizes this and seeks his help at one point!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Wallace ''[-(Mikuri)-]'']]
!!Wallace / Mikuri (ミクリ ''mikuri'')
[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wallace_oras.png]]
-> Voiced By: Kōsuke Kuwano (JP, VideoGame/PokemonMasters), Michael Christopher (EN, VideoGame/PokemonMasters)

-->''"Show me the power you wield with your Pokémon. And I, in turn, shall present you with a performance of illusions in water by me and my Pokémon!"''

Wallace is the Hoenn region's eighth Gym Leader at Sootopolis City, training Water-types. Or rather, he is in ''Ruby and Sapphire''. In ''Emerald'', Steven has stepped down from his position, and Wallace has stepped up to take his place as Hoenn Champion. The ''Ruby and Sapphire'' remakes have him back as a Gym Leader, but there are implications that, as in ''Emerald'', Steven is going to vacate the Champion position and leave it to Wallace sometime in the future.
----
* TheAce: While he is not the first Pokémon trainer who is shown to have taken on more than one type of role or discipline in the series, Wallace manages to be both Gym Leader ''and'' Champion in games taking place in roughly the same time frame (as opposed to Koga, Lance, or your Rival in ''Red/Blue/Yellow'' who move on to different positions in the ''next'' generation, as well as Iris who becomes a Champion in the sequel that takes place two years after her debut games). And to top it all off, Wallace is also portrayed as skilled in Contest Spectaculars — this man can do it all!
* AdaptationalSkimpiness: His redesign in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' has him in a much more revealing outfit than in ''Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald''.
* AgentPeacock: He's flamboyant and pretty, but a very powerful Trainer, not to mention all of his dialogue in-game is actually very serious and strait-laced. Remains the same for the remakes, though the camp is ramped up.
* AmbiguouslyBi: If ''Masters'' is anything to go by: there’s a fair amount of subtext between him and Steven, even more so than usual. Not to mention the ever-escalating campiness. However, he does not appear to shun female attention, given that his Gym is full of girls who admire him.
* AmbiguouslyRelated: Wallace and Wally, who are both green-haired dudes dressed in white introduced in Generation III; even their Japanese names — Mikuri and Mitsuru — are similar. Despite their similarities, no games have yet deigned to notice.
* BadassCape: Wears one in ''Emerald'', doubling as an AllEncompassingMantle in artwork.
* {{Bishonen}}: He's very fair-featured and handsome.
* {{Camp}}: While he dressed and posed flamboyantly in the original ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'', ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' dialed it UpToEleven by giving him a {{Stripperiffic}} outfit, a uniquely sassy overworld pose, and several sudden photoshoots.
* TheCasanova: His gym is full of female trainers who say nothing but adoring things about Wallace.
* CoolUncle: To Lisia, who he took under his wing as his apprentice since her mother — who is also Wallace's older sister — was very sickly.
* FinalBoss: The final boss of ''Emerald''. His team during the Delta Episode of ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' is based on his Champion team.
* FriendlyRivalry: In ''Masters'', he considers Steven both his friend and rival, stating that Steven drives him to accomplish greater deeds himself.
* HelpingWouldBeKillStealing: Oh gee, thanks for sitting on the sidelines and not offering to help fight Groudon/Kyogre/summon Rayquaza! Justified to an extent in both games. For ''Ruby and Sapphire'', Sootopolis citizens are forbidden to enter the Cave of Origins. ''Emerald'' justifies it by having him go to the Sky Pillar with you, but then starts to become worried about Sootopolis when he notices the storm spreading rapidly and states he has to go back.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Steven. This relationship is explored further in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', with Wallace accepting Steven's offer to take up the Champion position after the latter steps down.
* InSeriesNickname: Lisia refers to him as "Uncle Wall".
* MakingASplash: He mainly uses Water-type Pokémon.
* MeaningfulName: '''Wa'''llace uses water.
* MrFanservice: He's really pretty, his redesign wears an outfit that shows a ''lot'' of skin, and said outfit strongly suggests that [[GoingCommando he has nothing on underneath it]]. Even in-universe, he seems to be considered this trope, with his gym being full of fangirls.
* MythologyGag: He goes back to being a Gym Leader in the remakes. However, in the Delta Episode, you get to fight his Champion team from ''Emerald''.
* NiceHat: Wears a beret.
* SignatureMon: Water-types, with his most powerful being [[MightyGlacier Milotic]]-fitting his emphasis on beauty.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: His redesign in the remakes shows about as much skin as ''Elesa's'' in ''Black 2 and White 2''.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' introduces his niece Lisia, who has a similar hair and costume color scheme.
* {{Superboss}}: In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', he'll sometimes be an opponent during Master Rank Contest Spectaculars after you defeat his niece Lisia.
* WaterIsWomanly: {{Inverted}}. ({{Gender Flip}}ped, even!) Wallace is a Water-type trainer but a man. Despite this, he's ''very'' campy and flamboyant, uses the elegant Milotic as his SignatureMon, and leads a gym made up entirely of female trainers who all use female Pokémon.
* VaporWear: His pants in the remake hang low enough on the hips to imply he's GoingCommando.
[[/folder]]

! Sinnoh

[[folder:Cynthia ''[-(Shirona)-]'']]
!!Cynthia / Shirona (シロナ ''shirona'')
[[quoteright:170:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cynthiaart_8571.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/AyaEndo (''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations'' - JP), Creator/MieSonozaki ([[VideoGame/PokemonMasters Pokémon Masters]] - JP), Tara Sands (''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations'' - EN), Creator/AllegraClark (EN, ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'')\\

-->''"Together, you and your Pokémon overcame all the challenges you faced, however difficult. It means that you've triumphed over any personal weaknesses, too. The power you learned... I can feel it emanating from you."''

Champion of the Sinnoh league, she's an archaeologist who explores ancient ruins and investigates ancient legends. After her debut in ''Diamond and Pearl'', she appears as a {{Superboss}} or cameos in every main series game until ''X and Y''. Unlike some champions, she has no type of preference; she trains a diverse and balanced team.
----
* AdaptationalCurves: Her appearances in ''Pokémon Masters'' and the ''Diamond and Pearl'' remakes give her a more defined bust.
* AdventurerArchaeologist: She's an archaeologist and also Champion of the Sinnoh region, which Lenora references in ''Black and White''.
* AmbiguouslyRelated: Volo and Cogita, the [[spoiler:human BigBad and BigGood respectively]] of ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'', bear a striking resemblance to her; the latter is closer to her in appearance, while [[spoiler:the former has a nearly-identical team and a similar battle theme to her]]. It's unknown whether either or both of them are Cynthia's ancestors, or whether one is more closely related to her than the other. Both also profess to be the last inheritors of the Celestica people, meaning Cynthia is also likely of that lineage.
* AscendedExtra: Since Generation III, the series has gone way off the NonLinearSequel scale — characters from previous generations are assumed to be far away, and barring some stray cameos here and there, you're lucky to even hear about them. Cynthia was in every game since her introduction, including ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver HeartGold and SoulSilver]]'', though [[PutOnABus this trend was broken]] in ''X and Y''. [[TheBusCameBack She returns in]] ''Sun and Moon'' however.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Played with. As of Generation VII, trainers have a "thinking" animation they adopt occasionally in battle to show them strategizing. During the battle with Cynthia in the remakes, she often adopts this pose twice in a row, suggesting she puts a lot more thought into her battle strategy than the other trainers.
* BadassBookworm: A scholar ''and'' a League Champion.
* BadassLongcoat: Wears a long black coat and is Champion of the Sinnoh region.
* BigGood: In the plot of ''Diamond, Pearl and Platinum''. She actually leaves most of the good stuff to you, but is around to guide and help you repeatedly along the way.
* BossInMookClothing: For players who may have missed her in Gen IV, her appearance in a random villa in Undella Town in ''Black and White'' could be mistaken as just another trainer. And then..."You are challenged by Champion Cynthia!". Averted in ''Black 2 and White 2'', where she tells you who she is first.
* BossBanter: During battle she occasionally lets you know she's having a lot of fun.
* BreakingOldTrends: She is the first female NPC Champion in the series.
* BreakoutCharacter: By far the most beloved Champion, especially after ''Platinum'' gave her an even bigger role in the story. Game Freak would later on feature Cynthia in many more games, going on to be the most featured Champion and in general one of the most recurring characters in the franchise. Additionally, two of the three Pokémon which have been on every one of her teams are Lucario and Garchomp, two breakouts in their own right. Even in ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'', which takes place before her time, two major characters in the story are directly modeled after her and are implied to be related to her, with one having a nearly identical team to her.
* BrilliantButLazy: Her place is a jumbled mess of research papers and she'd rather leave saving the world to under-qualified preteens. She's also by far the most powerful trainer in the region, at least until the player character bests her.
* ContinuityNod: In ''Black and White'': "You certainly bear a resemblance to that trainer who faced [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Giratina...]]"
* CoolBigSis: She's an older sister, and she acts like this to you. Her younger sister back in Celestic Town eagerly describes Cynthia's interests in mythology.
* CuttingOffTheBranches: In ''Black and White'' she mentions a "young trainer" (ostensibly the player character the Gen IV games) who defeated Giratina, implying ''Platinum'' is the canon game of those three Gen IV games.
* DarkIsNotEvil: She is dressed in dark clothes and she uses Spiritomb, a Ghost/Dark type, but she's a really nice person. Taken further in ''Masters'' with her second Sygna Suit, which is styled after her partner Giratina, a Ghost/Dragon type.
* DependingOnTheArtist: Has CombatStilettos in her Sugimori art, but her sprites in Gen IV and Gen V give her flat shoes. Her models in Gen VII, Gen VIII, and ''Masters'' give her the high heels, however.
* DragonTamer: Champion Cynthia's ace and strongest Pokémon is the Dragon/Ground-type Garchomp. Despite being her only Dragon-type, it hasn't stopped people from saying she's a Dragon-type master. This becomes a point of contention among fans of hers in ''Pokémon Masters'', where she gets compared against Lance, who is world-renowned as a Dragon-type Master. In ''Masters'', she also partners with Kommo-o and Giratina for each of her two different Sygna Suits.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the original ''Diamond and Pearl'', she has a Gastrodon on her team, which is notably mismatched when compared to the other Pokémon on her team: Garchomp is a psuedo-legendary (and thus rare and very powerful), Spiritomb is extremely rare and can only be found in Odd Keystones, Lucario is also very rare and powerful, Roserade is only obtainable through using a rare evolutionary stone, and Milotic is notoriously difficult to evolve from Feebas, a Pokémon already infamous for being hard to obtain. On the other hand, Gastrodon can be obtained easily in the wild on multiple routes, not to mention its typing overlaps with the Garchomp and Milotic, even though Cynthia is consistently known for her team diversity in all her other appearances in the series. Her Gastrodon was later replaced by the considerably stronger and rarer Togekiss in ''Platinum''. Cynthia would reappear in later games with a wide variety of powerful Pokémon each time, but her Gastrodon never returned outside the ''Diamond and Pearl'' remakes.
* ExposedToTheElements: {{Inverted|Trope}}! She keeps her all-black outfit (complete with BadassLongcoat) in the tropical region of ''Alola'' in ''Sun and Moon''.
* FightingYourFriend: Cynthia actually becomes quite friendly with the player over the course of ''Diamond, Pearl and Platinum'', making it all the more interesting when you finally face off.
* FinalExamBoss: Comes with the usual territory of being Champion and having a balanced team as opposed to one type specialization, but what makes her especially notable is that two of her Pokémon, Roserade and Lucario, were first used by Sinnoh Gym Leaders.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In ''Black and White'', she says, "Once every few years, the Champions of each region gather and compete to see who is the strongest! An interesting idea, don't you agree?" In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', we get the Pokémon World Tournament, which is exactly this taken UpToEleven.
* GracefulLoser: Up to the battle, she does the usual "I see the strength in your heart and accept the challenge" bit that nearly all powerful trainers in the series seem obligated to recite by contract. But as the battle progresses, she gradually stops bothering, and her response when you beat her is basically a "[[SincerityMode Yay for you!]]".
* GuestStarPartyMember: You can team up with her for the Multi Battle mode in the Battle Tree in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon''.
* HairFlip: Flips one of her bangs before throwing a Poké Ball in ''BDSP''.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Really long blonde hair, and par for the course for a Champion, a really nice person.
* HelpingWouldBeKillStealing: Only the player character has the strength to thwart Cyrus and Team Galactic, even after she enters the Distortion World with them... wait, don't you have an entire team of elite Pokémon with [[MinMaxing perfect IVs]]?
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Various comments from her and Professor Rowan indicate that when she was younger she was given a Pokédex and went on a journey that culiminated in her becoming Champion, just like the player would do years later.
* ImpossiblyLowNeckline: Cynthia's concept art reveals that the shirt she wears underneath her coat has [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ezsw8IDXsAANAcd?format=jpg&name=large a neckline so low]] that it partially shows her cleavage both above and [[{{Underboobs}} below.]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: Two of them; one during the dialog before battle and the other during battles. She keeps both across generations, promoting them from normal FinalBoss themes to this. Her introductory theme can be heard any time in ''Platinum'' if one's villa has a piano.
* IronicName: Her Japanese name '''Shiro'''na means white, but her Champion room and outfit is the opposite of it.
* LadyOfWar: She's composed, elegant, polite and the ''Champion''.
* MasterOfAll: Her ''Platinum'' team has no overlapping types and she has a damaging move for every one in the series up to that point except for Steel.
* MinMaxing: Going through the data of the Sinnoh games shows that her Pokémon have the highest possible [[GuideDangIt Individual Values]]. This makes her team notably bulkier and stronger than the rest of the Elite Four.
* MsFanservice: [[StatuesqueStunner Tall]]? Check. Cleavage? Check. TheTease? Check! Cynthia clearly fills this role for the Pokémon Champions. Her concept art goes even further with this, revealing the shirt she wears under her coat actually has an impossibly low neckline that shows some slight underboob and sideboob, and later games show she's actually quite well-endowed since she gets rendered with a 3D model. One female Swimmer trainer asks the player if they didn't come to the beach just to see Cynthia in a swimsuit.
* NiceGirl: A really friendly and caring person all-around, around the levels of [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Steven Stone]]. Especially seen in ''Platinum'', she trusts the player [[ItWasAGift an Egg to take care of]], is thankful after saving the world from inside the Distortion World, and is [[GracefulLoser genuinely happy]] when she gets to see your coronation as the Champion.
* NonElemental: She has no type specialty, like [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Blue]] and preceding [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Diantha]], [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Kukui]] and [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Leon]].
* OlympusMons: Her second Sygna Suit in ''Masters'' pairs her up with Giratina.
* PeekABangs: Her hair covers her left eye.
* RapunzelHair: Her hair reaches down to her knees.
* SignatureMon: Garchomp, Lucario, and Spiritomb are the only members of her team that are in every encounter with her. However, her hair accessories mimic the ones found on Lucario. Still, her [[InfinityMinusOneSword Gar]][[LightningBruiser chomp]] is the biggest example. It is her highest-leveled Pokémon in every encounter, with exception to the Pokémon World Tournament which locks levels at 50, although like every other ace Pokémon in the tournament she still always leads with it. It's also her Pokémon partner in ''Masters'', where many trainers (and fans) consider her the strongest Dragon-type master ''just'' because of her Garchomp.
* {{Socialite}}: Being one is one of her reasons for being in Unova.
* SpiritedCompetitor: Enjoys battling worthy challengers, and in ''BDSP'' her expression before throwing her Poké Ball is a very eager grin.
* StatuesqueStunner: She towers over other characters, and is absolutely ''gorgeous!''
* SuperMode: In the Battle Tree, her Lucario and Garchomp can Mega Evolve, so can her Garchomp in ''Masters''.
* {{Superboss}}: She appears as a hidden superboss in the post-game of both Gen V games, in a villa in Undella Town.
* TheTease:
-->"Hmm. This is difficult. I was greedy and bought a lot of swimsuits, but now I can't pick which one to wear." \\
"Here's my problem. I have a white swimsuit and a black swimsuit... Which one would look better on me?"
* TwoGirlsToATeam: {{Gender inverted|Trope}}. She's never had more than two male Pokémon on her team. In ''Diamond and Pearl'', her only male Pokémon is Lucario. In ''Platinum'' and the rematches in ''Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl'', her female Gastrodon is dropped for Togekiss, who is also male. In ''Black and White'', Togekiss is dropped for Braviary, a male-only species, and in ''Black 2 and White 2'', Togekiss is re-added. ''Black 2 and White 2'' also play with this with her team for the Pokémon World Tournament, where the gender of each Pokémon owned by [=NPCs=] is selected at random, thus it is possible for Cynthia to use three male Pokémon when you face her there.
* UncattyResemblance: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; her hairpieces resemble a Lucario's ears.
* UselessUsefulSpell:
** For the first few generations of her appearances her Garchomp always had the Sand Veil ability, which boosts its evasion in a sandstorm. Too bad she has no Pokémon that can cause it, regardless of game. {{Subverted}} in the Battle Tree, as her Garchomp (the moveset with the Garchompite) has Sandstorm, but it'll be used more for Sand Force instead. The ''Diamond and Pearl'' remakes avoid the issue entirely by giving her Garchomp its overall more useful Hidden Ability Rough Skin.
** Togekiss in ''Platinum'' has it even worse. Its ability, Hustle, boosts its physical Attack at the cost of accuracy on its physical moves. But since it doesn't have any physical move, its Ability is practically useless. This was fixed in ''Black 2/White 2'', where its ability was changed to Serene Grace (although in Pokémon World Tournament, it's randomized every time you fight her).
* WorldsBestWarrior: Cynthia is the highest-leveled female NPC trainer across all ''Pokémon'' games. In ''Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl'', her final rematch team's overall level is actually the highest of all NPC trainers in the series — while her highest leveled Pokémon is a tie with Red in ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'' (Garchomp and Pikachu, at level 88), the rest of her team is a few levels ahead of Red's. Cynthia's combination of balanced team composition, level, and MinMaxing makes her one of the strongest trainer encounters in the entire franchise as far as actual gameplay goes. Though, it is worth noting that in his adulthood, Red still ends up being the only NPC trainer to combine Mega Evolution and Z-Moves in the same team, whereas Cynthia at most has only been shown using one at a time.

!!! Tropes that apply to ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/370623bda2045e10b9183da540a268c1.jpg]]
'''Rating:''' 5 Stars\\
'''Sync Move:''' Earthquake of Ancient Lore (Garchomp), Historymaker Clanging Scales (Kommo-o), Shadow Force (Giratina)\\

The Champion of the Sinnoh League. The first story mission shows a Punk Girl and a Street Thug harassing her and demanding to battle her. She is too tired from battling all day to take up their offer, so it's up to you to show them off. Her sync pair partner is Garchomp. She is added as a playable character on January 1, 2020. She also forms a sync pair with Kommo-o while in her first Sygna Suit, and becomes playable on August 17, 2020. She gets a second Sygna Suit and forms a sync pair with Giratina, which is released on December 27, 2021.
----
* BadassInDistress: Downplayed. As stated above, she's too exhausted from her day job of being the Sinnoh Champion to engage with the punks who are demanding to battle her. Rosa sticks up for her, but it's up to the player character, Brock, and Misty to chase them off. Cynthia is impressed by your battling, and looks forward to giving you a proper battle later.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Shows up at the very beginning of the main story, then promptly vanishes. She returns in the main story after Chapter 18.
* GlassCannon: Cynthia and Garchomp have attack and speed, but is balanced out by below average defense stats.
* TheRival: One of her goals while on Pasio is to defeat Lance in a battle of Dragon Pokémon.
* OneWomanArmy: In Chapter 20, she single-handedly clears out an ''entire'' Team Break hideout. She's typically modest afterwards, claiming she couldn't have done it if you hadn't been there to distract them.
[[/folder]]

! Unova

[[folder:Alder ''[-(Adeku)-]'']]
!!Alder / Adeku (アデク ''adeku'')
[[quoteright:254:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Black_White_Alder_4806.png]]

-->Voiced by: Creator/MasakiTerasoma (JP, VideoGame/PokemonMasters)

-->''"I've really been looking forward to deciding who's the strongest Pokémon Trainer in the Unova region! Kiai!"''

Champion of the Unova league, Alder once trained only to be powerful. The illness and death of his starter Pokémon changed Alder's outlook on life, and he adopted a more reserved temperament. He's stepped down from his position in ''Black 2 and White 2''. His teams lean towards Bug-types, but have a balance of other types as well.
----
* ActuallyIAmHim: In the previous games, the story keeps the identity of the Champion a secret until you actually fight them, and that Champion is always there to give you aid at appropriate times. Alder is the first in line to actually introduce himself as Champion before the mandatory Elite Four challenge. Of course, given [[BaitAndSwitchBoss what happens at the end of the game]], this was probably intentional.
* AllYourPowersCombined: In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' his team in the Champions tournament is his signature Volcarona, a mon that represents each of the Elite Four (Krookodile, Chandelure, Reuniclus, Conkeldurr), [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Braviary]], embodying the [[{{Eagleland}} region as a whole]].
* AnimeHair: Hair styles in the series are ''usually'' restrained. Alder's is a giant spiky mane/ponytail combo that resembles the wings of a Volcarona.
* AntiquatedLinguistics: In the Japanese version, he has an archaic speaking style.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: He does this to Cheren by asking him [[AndThenWhat what would he do after becoming Champion]].
* BadassTeacher: In ''Black 2 and White 2'' he now teaches two school kids the basics of Pokémon battling. He can still kick ass if need be as seen in the optional post-game battle.
* BaitAndSwitchBoss: You don't get the traditional battle against the Champion in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''. Rather, when you enter his chamber, N has curbstomped his entire team, and raises a huge castle up, making the version mascot, N, and Ghetsis the actual final bosses. You do get to fight him during the Pokémon League rematches, though.
* BigCreepyCrawlies: His ''Black and White'' team contains three large and powerful Bug-types, Accelgor, Escavalier, and his ace Volcarona.
* BigGood: Of Unova, being its Champion, and tries to stop N by beating him at the League, even though he fails.
* BigOlEyebrows: He sports these.
* BreakingOldTrends: He's the first Champion to introduce himself as the Champion right when you first meet him, and he's the first Champion that isn't the FinalBoss thanks to the Team Plasma plot taking center stage after the Elite Four.
* CoolOldGuy: He's old enough to have a grandson and uses AntiquatedLinguistics in the Japanese language.
* DeadSidekick: It's mentioned several times throughout ''Black and White'' that Alder spends a lot of time wandering when he's not taking challengers due to the death of one of his Pokémon. In the post-game he mentions it was his starter which is a Larvesta.
* DragonTamer: Has the pure Dragon-type Druddigon on his team in ''Black and White''.
* DramaticWind: Blows both before you battle him, and in his sprite animation. [[RuleOfCool Even though you're inside.]]
* FieryRedhead: An energetic old man with red and orange tinted hair that resembles a Volcarona.
* FrontlineGeneral: He is the only Champion so far to actually try and directly fight the BigBad [[TheManBehindTheMan (while it is still implied to be N, anyway)]]! [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Lance]] helps fight Team Rocket, but is nowhere to be found during the Radio Tower takeover. [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Steven and Wallace]] merely sit on the sidelines, and [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Cynthia]] follows you in ''Platinum'' into the Distortion World but [[HelpingWouldBeKillStealing makes you fight Cyrus by yourself.]]
* {{Kiai}}: In ''Black 2 and White 2'', he'll shout "Kiai" before a battle with him. Training with him is probably where Marshal picked up the habit.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxu5K2HlAxE Alder's theme]] is a calm flute solo, reflecting his age and wisdom.
* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: He basically decides to deal with N and Team Plasma by making him beat the Elite Four and fight the Champion instead of directly confronting him beforehand; it doesn't work.
* MeaningfulName: His English name refers to the Alder species of moths, as well as the Alder plant--a diet of many species of moths and butterflies. Both these reference his Volcarona. In addition, an "alderman" is a person who is recognized as the eldest and most influential member of a council, reflecting his position as Unova's champion.
* MentorArchetype: To the Player Character and Cheren. In the sequels, he shows up and does a little of this to the new Player Character towards the beginning of the game.
* NonElemental: Like Cynthia, he has no type specialty. Half of his team is Bug-type, though this seems more due to chance than deliberate design choice.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: According to Iris in the Memory Link, she ''really'' had to earn the title of Champion by fighting him.
* OldMaster: Alder's the oldest Champion with a grandson who's the same age as the player character and is the most powerful trainer in the region.
* PermaStubble: Emphasizing his wise nature guru look.
* RetiredBadass:
** Deconstructed in ''Black and White''. Alder gets called out of semi-retirement to stop N's ascent to power, but he's badly out of practice and gets [[CurbstompBattle curbstomped]] offscreen by N and Reshiram/Zekrom. Reconstructed post-game when Alder starts training again and becomes the game's TrueFinalBoss.
** Played straight in ''Black 2 and White 2'', where he's officially retired.
* SignatureMon: His most powerful Pokémon is [[SquishyWizard Volcarona]].
* {{Superboss}}: In ''Black 2 and White 2''. Aside from appearing in the World Tournament, he can battled once after beating the Elite Four.
* SupportingLeader: He aids out the player multiple times throughout the game.
* TrueFinalBoss: In ''Black and White''. He may share Cynthia's levels, but you merely battle her in a villa while to get to Alder, you have to re-fight the entire League. Beating him brings minor plot and character arcs to a close and registers you in the Hall of Fame.
* UncattyResemblance: To his signature Pokémon, Volcarona. Most notably, his hair color and style resemble Volcarona's wings.
* TheUnfought: In the main story, at least. It's ultimately subverted; you ''can'' fight him in the game, but you don't get the big endgame showdown against him previous generations would have conditioned you to expect.
* WalkingTheEarth: He spends most of his time in ''Black and White'' doing this because of the aforementioned DeadSidekick above. It can also be inferred he also did this to teach passerby trainers that he encounters, like Cheren.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:N]]
!!N (N ''enu'') / Natural Harmonia Gropius (ナチュラル・ハルモニア・グロピウス ''nachuraru harumonia guropiusu'')

The figurehead of Team Plasma. He defeats Alder and becomes the unofficial Champion of Unova shortly before the player reaches Alder's room in ''Black and White''.

For more information on N, check the Characters/PokemonVillainTeamPlasma page.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Iris]]
!!Iris (アイリス ''airisu'')
[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/champirisart_1484.png]]
[[caption-width-right:275:[[labelnote:Black/White]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iris_pokemon_bw.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->Voiced by: Creator/RinaHidaka (''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations'' - JP), Creator/AyanaTaketatsu ([[VideoGame/PokemonMasters Pokémon Masters]] - JP), Creator/CheramiLeigh (''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations'' - EN), Creator/CassandraLeeMorris ([[VideoGame/PokemonMasters Pokémon Masters]] - EN)

-->''"The Trainers who come here are Trainers who desire victory with every fiber of their being! And they are battling alongside Pokémon that have been through countless difficult battles! If I battle with people like that, not only will I get stronger, my Pokémon will, too! And we'll get to know each other even better!"''

Iris is a Dragon-type trainer, and the Opelucid Gym Leader in ''White''. Between the first games and their sequels, she grew older, stronger, and challenged and defeated Alder to become the new Champion in ''Black 2 and White 2''.

For her anime counterpart, see Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhiteCast.
----
* AffirmativeActionLegacy: Being an AmbiguouslyBrown girl, she was this to Drayden as a Gym Leader in ''White'' and was aiming to become one in ''Black''. In ''Black 2 and White 2'', now that she's the Champion, she became this to Alder, with Drayden resuming his place as Gym Leader.
* AirplaneArms: Seems to be her default pose.
* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: Her room initially is borderline, the back wall featuring a large starfield with emblems representing the Champion and Elite Four circling it like planets. Then the battle begins and that serves as the basis for the field.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: She is visibly brown-skinned, though her ethnicity is unclear.
* AnimeHair: She has a similar hairstyle to [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Black_White_Iris_3954.png her old one]] from ''Black and White''. It now resembles the wings of a Hydreigon, the first Pokémon she sends out.
* TheBabyOfTheBunch: Literally the youngest Champion among the rest of the Champions.
* BadassAdorable: Youngest known Champion (aside from the players and possibly Blue), who does a pretend roar when you fight her. Then sends out a Hydreigon, and that's just her first Pokémon.
* BeYourself: In her story event in ''Masters'', Iris deals with the fact she isn't as prolific as the other older Champions and is criticized that she doesn't reach the same level of importance as her peers, which causes her to [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness get more serious]] and makes her be unable to calm down her Hydreigon after Team Break brings out its inner violent behavior through a machine. It's only after she mulls over and gets advice from Diantha that she comes to her senses and gains the admiration of people.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: She retains her perky personality even as a Champion, as shown by her pre-battle animation with her attempting to imitate a dragon's roar.
* CallBack: In Challenge Mode or her rematches, her Hydreigon has the exact same moveset as Ghetsis's in the original ''Black'' and ''White''.
* CoolCrown: It certainly fits her as a Champion.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard:
** Her [[{{JustForPun}} Hax]]orus in ''White'' version was under-leveled, just like Drayden's.
** She also has an under-leveled Hydreigon in ''Black 2 and White 2'' in the main adventure, whether Challenge Mode is on or not.
* DinosaursAreDragons: Her Champion team is based off of dinosaur mons, which consists of mostly Dragons.
* DragonTamer: Specializes in Dragon-types as a Gym Leader (Though she branches out in ''Black and White 2'' when she becomes Champion), and her Gym Leader RedBaron is "The Girl Who Knows the Hearts of Dragons".
* {{Fangirl}}: She greatly admires Cynthia.
* FinalBoss: In ''Black 2 and White 2'', taking Alder's place as the Champion.
* FossilRevival: She uses an Archeops on her Champion teams.
* GenkiGirl: If emulating a roar in her animated sprite in her Champion battle is any indication.
* GirlishPigtails: Sports those in ''Black and White''.
* HeirToTheDojo: She was Drayden's apprentice and adoptive granddaughter, training to take over the gym when he retires.
* InfinityMinusOneSword: She has a psuedo-legendary on her team similarly to other Champions such as Lance, Steven and Cynthia, with hers being a Hydreigon. Her Challenge Mode team in the post-game gives her another one with her Salamence replacing her Druddigon. This makes her one of few NPC trainers to have multiple psuedo-legendaries that are all unique, alongside Lance (in ''Stadium 2'', ''[=HeartGold=]'', ''[=SoulSilver=]'', ''Black 2'' and ''White 2''), Clair (in ''Black 2 and White 2''), [[VideoGame/PokemonColosseum Evice]], [[VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness Battlus]] and Cynthia (in ''Masters'').
* LastChanceHitPoint: Her Haxorus is always holding a Focus Sash, allowing it to get off at least one [[StatusBuff Dragon Dance]].
* LittleMissBadass: She's both the youngest and the eighth Gym Leader in ''White'', and then Unova's Champion in ''Black 2 and White 2''.
* MagicalGirlWarrior: While not actually a MagicalGirlWarrior, as a Champion her battle theme and outfit, as well as room are all very evocative of the genre.
* MundaneUtility: Discussed. In ''Masters'', she really doesn't see the fact she can completely understand Dragon-types as such a big deal to everyone who learns about her, because she always sees that skill as simple common sense that naturally comes to her as easy as breathing air.
* MythologyGag:
** The eighth Gym Leader has become the Champion in the next game? Gee, [[Videogame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire where have we heard a story like that before]]? Also, once she becomes the Champion her teacher and the former Gym Leader takes the gym position over again, much like with Juan taking over after Wallace.
** Also, a (generally speaking) Dragon-type expert becoming a Champion in the direct sequel sounds a lot like Lance, the final Elite Four member in ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'', becoming the Champion in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver''. In another similarity to Lance, while not all of her Pokémon are Dragon-type, they all at least resemble dragons and are saurian in design. Specific parallels exist even, with her Archeops, Lapras and Aggron corresponding to Lance's Aerodactyl, Gyarados and Tyranitar.
* NiceGirl: Helpful and sweet. In ''Masters'', N is utterly confused as to why she doesn't think of him as a bad person for all he did while working under Team Plasma and defeating Alder. She says that he only defeated Alder because, as Alder put it, his dream of helping Pokémon was simply stronger than his dream that helped N beat Alder, meaning that he didn't have any bad intentions but truly won with a good heart.
* PaintingTheMedium: If you select Kanji View in the Japanese version, she'll still speak only in kana.
* PimpedOutDress: Wears one as a Champion. A flashback in the Memory Link shows that Drayden picked it out for her. Shows that PinkMeansFeminine, and she does a GirlySkirtTwirl when she first puts it on.
* PurelyAestheticGender: The only real difference between her and Drayden as Gym Leaders is that her Pokémon are female and her Druddigon has [[StrongButUnskilled Sheer Force]] instead of Rough Skin.
* PurpleIsPowerful: She commands Dragon-type Pokémon (the type itself is commonly depicted with a purple hue) as a skilled Gym Leader/Champion, with her blazing purple hair exemplifying the trope even further.
* RaisedByWolves: The creators say that she was raised in a forest full of Dragon-types..
* RapunzelHair: Not as much as Caitlin, but enough. More prominent in her first appearance.
* ShesGotLegs: Her Champion outfit apparently leaves her legs completely bare.
* SignatureMon: Has [[GlassCannon Haxorus]] as her strongest Pokémon whether she's a Gym Leader or a Champion. She does, however, partner with Hydreigon in her Champion attire in ''Masters''.
* StockNessMonster: Has a Lapras in her Champion team.
* {{Superboss}}: In ''Black 2 and White 2'', she can be rematched in the post-game and is the second strongest trainer in the game behind Benga, who only has three Pokémon compared to Iris's full team of six, and in Challenge Mode, her rematch team was the highest-levelled Champion team in the entire series before getting surpassed by Cynthia's final rematch team in ''Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl''.
* TheUnfought: In ''Black'', where Drayden is the eighth Gym Leader.
[[/folder]]

! Kalos

[[folder:Diantha ''[-(Carnet)-]'']]
!!Diantha / Carnet (カルネ ''karune'')
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dianthaart_4644.png]]
-->Voiced by: Creator/SayakaOhara (JP, ''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations''), Creator/LauraPost (EN, ''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations''), Antonia Flynn (EN, ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters''), Creator/AyaHisakawa (JP, ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'')

-->''"...Battling against you and your Pokémon, all of you brimming with hope for the future... Honestly, it just fills me up with energy I need to keep facing each new day! It does!"''

The Champion of the Kalos League, Diantha is more famous and loved for her acting as a movie star. However, her true passion is Pokémon battling, though she doesn't often meet truly interesting and powerful trainers.
----
* TheAce: She's very famous in-universe, being a movie star and the Champion of the Kalos League.
* AchillesHeel: While the typing is varied, half of her team has a weakness to Steel ([[AchillesHeel one having it at quadruple damage]]) and the other half has a weakness to Ice. In the Battle Chateau, her Gardevoir will be unable to do ''anything'' to hurt a Dark-type Pokémon other than use Struggle while any Writ of Challenge is active.
* AllYourPowersCombined: Doesn't have any type theme, like Blue, Cynthia and Alder.
* ArtificialStupidity: The Battle Chateau decides a Pokémon's movesets based on what they learn by leveling up, rather than forming movesets based on strategy. This hits Diantha really hard, giving Gardevoir useless moves [[note]]The Black Writ of Challenge gives her Stored Power, but no boosting moves to use it[[/note]], moves that help you [[note]]Gardevoir has Heal Pulse when the Blue Writ of Challenge is active[[/note]], or an entirely awful moveset. [[note]]A regular or Red Writ of Challenge gives her Gardevoir Imprison, Future Sight, Captivate and Hypnosis. Hypnosis is extremely unreliable, Future Sight works on a delay and can be easily worked around, the the other two moves are basically useless. She could be easily defeated by any low-level Dark type.[[/note]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Diantha gets an extra mention because not only is she a world-renowned actress and the Kalos Champion, she also has the title of "Grand Duchess" in the Battle Chateau, the highest rank there is and one that is only shared by the player character (who has to actually reach it before being able to battle Diantha at the Chateau).
* BadassLongcoat: She is the Champion of Kalos and wears a white one.
* BigOlEyebrows: She sports these.
* ChekhovsGunman: Like many of the other Champions, she appears throughout the story pretending to be just a random Trainer with no relevance whatsoever to the Pokémon League. [[LawOfConservationOfDetail But of course]]...
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: She looks ''a lot'' like Creator/AudreyHepburn. They're even both actresses.
* CulturedBadass: Given that she's able to debate philosophy with [[BadassBookworm Lysandre]] and is a very powerful trainer, she definitely qualifies.
* DragonTamer: Her team includes the Rock/Dragon Tyrantrum and pure Dragon Goodra.
* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: When battling Diantha as Champion, her pre-battle portrait has falling sparkles and rays of light.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: A downplayed example, usually actresses DREAD the idea of aging (even considering it a fate worse than death) as it limits their potential starring roles in cinema. Diantha on the other hand actually looks forward to it, seeing aging as a chance to play roles she could never play at her current age.
* FamedInStory: Famous as both Champion and actress.
* FinalBoss: She's the final boss of ''X and Y''.
* FossilRevival: Has both Aurorus and Tyrantrum, the evolved Kalos fossils.
* FormerChildStar: Lysandre mentions that she had played a young girl in her debut. Depending on how young she was, she could be an aversion of this trope, becoming successful into adulthood.
* KnightInShiningArmor: Her Poké War Games costume in ''Masters'' has her in a full suit of armor, making her look similar to Wikstrom.
* LadyOfWar: Very elegant, her signature Pokémon is a Mega Gardevoir, and radiates this while in battle.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Greatly resembles Creator/AudreyHepburn.
* OlympusMons: She uses Keldeo during the Poké War Games event in ''Masters''.
* PrimAndProperBun: Wears her hair tied up in a spiky bun.
* PsychicPowers: Has a Gardevoir (which can [[UpToEleven Mega Evolve]]) as her team ace.
* SignatureMon: [[SquishyWizard Gardevoir]] — to be more specific, Mega Gardevoir.
* SuperMode: Her Gardevoir can Mega Evolve.
* UselessUsefulSpell: Pixilate is a devastating ability when used in conjunction with Mega Gardevoir's immense Special Attack - but ''none'' of its movepools have any Normal-type moves for it to run off. Similarly, Diantha's Aurorus also cannot make use of Refrigerate.
* WeCanRuleTogether: She is given this offer by Lysandre in her first appearance, and quickly shoots down his argument.
* WhiteDwarfStarlet: Averted. Despite Lysandre's assumptions that she would be afraid of becoming this, Diantha is actually excited to grow older and take new roles with it.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Looks forward to aging and being able to play new types of roles, causing her to refuse Lysandre's offer of eternal youth and bewildering him in the process.
* WhoWearsShortShorts: Hers are dangerously short.
[[/folder]]

! Alola

[[folder:Elio / Selene]]
!!Elio / Selene (ヨウ ''you'' / ミヅキ ''mizuki'')
The protagonist of ''Sun and Moon'' and their enhanced versions ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', and the inaugural Champion of the Alola Pokémon League.

Information about them is found in Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professor Kukui]]
!!Professor Kukui (ククイ博士 ''kukui hakase'')
In ''Sun and Moon'', after defeating the Elite Four, the Player is approached by Professor Kukui. While not the Champion, Professor Kukui is the founder of the Alola League and the [[FinalBoss final trial]] before the Player can be officially recognized as the first Champion of the Alola Pokémon League.

More information about him can be found on Characters/PokemonProfessors.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hau]]
!!Hau (ハウ ''hau'')
In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', after defeating the Elite Four, the Player is approached by Hau, who stands as the [[FinalBoss final trial]] before the Player can be officially recognized as the first Champion of the Alola Pokémon League.

More information about him can be found in Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola.
[[/folder]]

! Galar

[[folder:Leon ''[-(Dande)-]'']]
!!Leon / Dande (ダンデ ''dande'')
[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/champion_leon.png]]
->Voiced by: Kai Jordan (EN, WebAnimation/PokemonTwilightWings) / Creator/TakahiroSakurai (JP, WebAnimation/PokemonTwilightWings, ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'') / Cedric L. Williams (EN, ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'') / Creator/AleksLe (EN, ''WebAnimation/PokemonEvolutions'')

The Champion of the Galar region. He's the most popular trainer in the entire region due to his skills in Pokémon battles and charming personality. Leon claimed the position in his first-ever Gym Challenge without incurring a single defeat in battle, with his formidable talent for Pokémon battles yet to be matched. He's aided in his countless victories by his partner Charizard, and he's known to go all out during battles, no matter who he’s facing.

Leon personally endorses the player character and his younger brother Hop, enabling both of them to start their journeys to become the next Champion.
----
* HundredPercentAdorationRating: He's adored by pretty much everyone in Galar and a single line can cause any crowd to erupt with roaring applause. He also mentions that his matches are always sold out.
* TheAce: Not only is he the Champion in a region obsessed with battles, but he has a perfect win record in professional matches and is beloved by the whole region.
* AchillesHeel:
** No matter what starter the player picks, two of his Pokémon are Ghost-type in Aegislash and Dragapult and have a Dark-type weakness and nothing on his team resists it. If Scorbunny is picked then he has a THIRD Dark weakness in Mr. Rime.
** While his Aegislash resists Ice, he also has a Haxorus which is weak to Ice along with the aforementioned Dragapult. If Sobble is picked he'll have two more Ice weaknesses in Rhyperior and Rillaboom.
* AdultsAreUseless: Averted. Peacekeeping is one of his duties as the region's Champion. As such, he appears sporadically throughout your journey to resolve conflicts so gym challengers can go on their way unimpeded.
* AffectionateNickname: In the English version, Hop calls him "Lee" for short.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: His skin-tone is notably deeper than some of the other characters, similarly to his brother Hop and the rest of their family.
* AwesomeByAnalysis: He's able to determine if a Pokéball is going to fail to hold a wild Pokémon before it busts out. [[spoiler:This allows him to signal his Charizard to protect the protagonist and Hop in time before Eternatus causes a huge explosion while doing so.]] He's noted to be very observant in general, being able to tell with one look how much taller Hop has grown since he last saw him. Likewise, Leon states he has remained undefeated for so long because he learns from everything he sees in every battle he witnesses or takes part in.{{Iron|y}}ically, his powers of observation do nothing to prevent him from getting hopelessly lost everywhere he goes.
* BadassArmfold: It is his general pose when you encounter him throughout your journey including when you first meet in Wyndon Stadium [[spoiler:before the battle is abruptly interrupted by Rose.]]
* BadassCape: Wears a red, fur-lined cape that would benefit a king. Fitting in with battles in the Galar region paralleling professional sports, it even has sponsorships on the back. Though hilariously enough, the one NPC who has anything to say about the cape thinks it's tacky as all hell.
* BadassInDistress: Subverted when [[spoiler: it's thought he's being held hostage by Rose at Rose tower when he's late for dinner. Turns out they've just been having a long, but heated discussion]]. Played straight when [[spoiler: Eternatus breaks free of the Pokéball Leon tried to catch it with and knocks him unconscious]].
* BigBrotherInstinct:
** When the player character and Hop end up lost in the Slumbering Weald and pass out cause of Zacian/Zamazenta, he comes just in time to help them after getting worried. Especially this because he actually went where he wanted to go instead of getting lost.
** When Eternatus is about to break free from the Pokeball, his first instinct is to have Charizard shield Hop and the player rather than protect himself.
* BigGood: Is the region's longtime Champion and plays a primary role in keeping the Galar region safe and secure, such as stopping a rogue Dynamax Pokémon that appears near Hammerlocke. [[spoiler: He later tries to talk Chairman Rose into at least postponing his grand plan until after the Championship finals, and when Rose goes through with it anyways he immediately goes to confront Rose and try to take down Eternatus. In the postgame it's revealed he's more or less the new Chairman of Macro Cosmos, having taken over leadership of several of their projects and turned the Rose Tower into the Battle Tower.]]
* BloodKnight: He deeply enjoys Pokémon battles. It's quite telling that if you stick [[spoiler:EldritchAbomination Eternatus]] in your party, his response is ''excitement'' at the potential of a strong opponent.
* BringIt: Occasionally gives this gesture in the [[spoiler:Battle Tower]] battle.
* BrainsAndBrawn: He is the Champion and has the strongest team in the main game, but he also no slouch when it comes to physical strength either. However, he is also quite spacey and has NoSenseOfDirection, making him the brawn to Hop's brains.
* BrokenWinLossStreak: You and Hop intend to break his winning streak by defeating him at the Champion Cup. Naturally, you succeed in the ending.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Leon is noted by several characters to be pretty spacey, getting easily lost in his own thoughts and having NoSenseOfDirection, to the point where Hop and the player are sent to pick him up from the station at the beginning of the game because they doubt he'd be able to get home on his own, even though the way there is a ''straight line'' from the station. That said, he is also the Champion of Galar, and has a flawless battle record to boot.
* TheCameo: [[spoiler: Averted in regards to the Isle of Armor's cameos. He doesn't appear on the titular island. Though it is mentioned he was a former student on the island which is possibly why he had no reason to return. ]]
* CatchPhrase: "Let's have a champion time!" Becomes an AbandonedCatchphrase after he loses the champion title, and his rare league card mentions that he's still trying to come up with a fitting substitute.
* CharacterDevelopment: [[spoiler:The conflict between him and Rose at the end of the main quest makes Leon realize that he's been fixating on his Champion position and the sport of Pokémon battling too much at the point of ignoring legitimate problems in Galar that he could be dealing with, such as the energy crisis. As such, he tells the protagonist after being defeated that it's high time he and other adults start focusing more on fixing such problems so that the younger generation can continue to enjoy the sport of battling. His new outfit at the Battle Tower in the postgame reflects his more mature outlook.]]
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Notably, when Dynamaxing, he's one of the only trainers who throws his enlarged Pokeball one-handed. With almost everyone else throwing theirs two-handed, this implies that Leon is no slouch in terms of physical strength. Further demonstrated when you go to Leon's room in Postwick, where he has a set of workout equipment set up.
* ChildProdigy: A former one. The story of how he claimed the Champion title in his first ever championship run at the tender age of ten is a well-known one in Galar. In fact, it mirrors the meteoric rise of several other Pokémon protagonists.
* ChildhoodFriends: He and Sonia have been close friends since they were kids. He even brings this up in ''Masters''.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Is of the firm opinion that, as Galar's champion, it's his responsibility to deal with any problems which may threaten the region. [[spoiler:Rose exploits this during the climax of the game, going ahead with awakening Eternatus knowing full well that if something went wrong Leon wouldn't hesitate to jump in and try to resolve things.]]
* TheCoatsAreOff: He dramatically flings off his cape before his battle with the protagonist.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: [[spoiler: When facing off against Leon in rematches at the Battle Tower, his Galarian starters can all potentially have their hidden abilities, which isn't legally available for the player at the time.]]
* CoolBigBro: To Hop, who adores him and wants to be just like him at the start of the game.
* CovertPervert: Implied--inspect the bookshelf in his room and you'll find he has books higher up on the shelf (presumably so Hop can't reach them) that [[PornStash "only adults read"]].
* DareToBeBadass: Before his battle with the protagonist, he dares them to make their match one that will go down in Galarian history forever.
-->'''Leon:''' Come on, [[HelloInsertNameHere [player name]!]] Let's make this a final match that'll go down in Galar's history. No, a match that will change Galar forever! We're gonna have an absolutely champion time! ''[poses and points to the sky as the crowd cheers]''
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype:
** Leon's role in the story ultimately involves to addressing the reoccurring trend in the series of [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything the champion's tendency to being largely hands-off]] to whatever issues are plaguing their region. Leon is so hyper-focused on retaining his title [[spoiler:that he ignores all of Chairman Rose's pleas of the potential tragedy in the region, which ends up being the catalyst to the latter's FaceHeelTurn]]. Post-game, Leon vows to take a more active role in protecting the Galar region [[spoiler:abandoning trying to recapture the title of champion and instead focusing on training other trainers at the Battle Tower.]]
** To add to this, Leon is probably the MOST active Champion when it comes to regional threats as before [[spoiler: Eternatus knocking him out]] Leon takes care of everything to the point that the player is left out of the loop. This is compared to Champions like Steven and Cynthia who are on the sidelines and let the player handle the threats when they were just as capable of getting directly involved. Outside of the above spoiler, Leon takes the idea of being the region's protector more seriously than the other Champions.
* DragonTamer: Uses the Ghost/Dragon Dragapult and pure Dragon-type Haxorus in battle. While not a Dragon type, his ace Charizard is draconic in appearance. In ''Masters'', he also forms a sync pair with the Poison/Dragon-type Eternatus while wearing his Sygna Suit.
* EyeObscuringHat: When defeated, he pulls the brim of his hat over his eyes to hide his frustration before acting as a GracefulLoser for the cameras.
* FashionableAsymmetry: He wears a single glove on his right hand and a sweatband on his left wrist.
* FinalBoss: He's the final boss of ''Sword and Shield''.
* FloralThemeNaming: His English and Japanese name were named after the dandelion.
* GorgeousPeriodDress: [[spoiler:His Battle Tower outfit is an extravagant affair that's ripped straight out of RegencyEngland, from the frock coat down to the riding boots.]]
* GracefulLoser: Is visibly torn up after losing his championship title to the protagonist, but is quick to push any hard feelings aside to offer his congratulations and heartfelt thanks for the great match.
* HonestCorporateExecutive: [[spoiler:He becomes the new chairman of [[MegaCorp Macro Cosmos]] after Rose turns himself in.]]
* HotBloodedSideburns: He can be just as energetic as Hop and has the sideburns to match.
* InvincibleHero: He has a reputation for his incredible undefeated winning-streak. Even his in-universe theme song sings to the tune of, "Leon, Leon, the greatest Champion ever! Leon, Leon, will he be beaten? Never!" At least, he does until you're through with him.
* MeaningfulName:
** His English and Japanese names were named after the dandelion which is the symbol of Happiness and Joy. It makes sense with him being a StepfordSmiler [[spoiler:and him being even livelier still when working as the new chairman in the Battle Tower.]]
** His English name also means "Lion", which is a symbol of English royalty that ties into his regal attire and status as champion.
* MentorArchetype: Throughout the story, he serves as a mentor figure to both the player and Hop, giving them their starter Pokémon and encouraging them on their journey.
* MythologyGag: His backstory as an invincible ChildProdigy who became Champion at the tender age of 10 mirrors the rise of numerous Pokémon protagonists over the years. His SignatureMon is Charizard, one of the original starter Pokémon, and he even has his own baseball cap like Red, Ethan, and Hilbert. He also patrols the region to handle trouble wherever it pops up, again like previous protagonists.
* NiceHat: Wears a baseball cap much like Red, Ethan, and Hilbert: his has markings on the underside of the rim that resemble a crown, symbolizing his status as the "king" of the Galar region's League. He throws it into the air after being defeated at the end of the game to reflect his being dethroned.
* NoSenseOfDirection: Several characters ''and his own League Card'' comment that he gets lost easily:
** At the beginning of the game, the player and Hop are tasked to pick him up from the station in the neighboring town because he likely wouldn't be able to find his way home on his own despite the route between his house and the station ''being a short straight road''.
** Another cutscene has him admit that Charizard helps him navigate outside of battles, since his own sense of where to go is so bad.
** Part of the reason he [[spoiler:took over Rose Tower and turned it into the Battle Tower]] is because it's easy ''not'' to get lost in there.
** ''Isle of Armor'' reveals that despite being Mustard's greatest pupil in terms of raw ability, he doesn't have a Kubfu because he completely failed all of the dojo's trials, due to knowledge of the island's geography. He couldn't even find the Towers, which are visible from just about anywhere on the island.
** In ''Masters'', he and his Charizard truly don't know much about Pasio's locations. However, once they both get lost, the player character tells him the city is south. Not even 4 seconds pass without Leon casually going ''west'' from the player.
** And again in his story in ''Masters'' where he had a battle with Steven after getting lost again in Pasio. After the battle was called off, he decided to go to the forest to look for more trainers to meet and battle with but went the wrong direction, causing the player to stop him.
** This comes into play again during his and Hop's story in ''Masters'' when Gloria and Hop offer to join Leon to the Lab because of this. The chapter ends with him going the wrong way and Gloria having to stop him.
* OlympusMons: Not in the main game itself, but in ''Masters'' he partners up with Eternatus when wearing a Sygna Suit and Ice Rider Calyrex for Holiday 2021.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Three of his Pokémon (Charizard, Dragapult and Haxorus) are dragons, though with Charizard being Fire/Flying he isn't biased towards the actual Dragon type the way Raihan is. Funny enough, Charizard is the one based on actual fantasy dragons, while Dragapult and Haxorus are based on [[DinosaursAreDragons prehistoric animals]].
* PickyEater: In ''Masters'', he mentions that he prefers meals he can eat quickly so he can have more time for battling.
* PoorPredictableRock: A subverted case in regards to his ace Pokémon Charizard, which knows Solar Beam. Since Leon will almost always Gigantamax his Charizard after sending it out, any player who sends out a Rock or Water-type Pokémon in response will be in for a nasty surprise when it suddenly unleashes [[GreenThumb Max Overgrowth]]. Further subverted in that he doesn't specialize in any one type and Charizard isn't the only one with coverage moves.
* ProductPlacement: InUniverse example. His cape has sponsorships on the back of it, fitting with the Galar region's ties between Pokémon battling and professional sports.
* RecurringElement: Much like [[spoiler:Professor Kukui,]] he ends up using the final evolution of the starter that's strong against your own during your battle with him in the finals.
* RecurringRiff: His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUG_NS0xqSY battle theme]] features the classic Hall of Fame theme, highlighting the cheerful and celebratory nature of the battle against him, compared to the much more climactic and serious fight against [[spoiler: Eternatus]].
* RedIsHeroic: Is the BigGood of the Galar region and his burgundy colored cape is easily his most notable feature. Even after being defeated he remains this as he [[spoiler: [[HonestCorporateExecutive takes the reigns of Macro Cosmos]] and wears a frock coat the same shade of burgundy as his cape.]]
* SharedFamilyQuirks: He and Hop have the same habit of slapping their own cheeks to snap to attention before a battle.
* ShowyInvincibleHero: He's a showman by trade and frequently talks about how unbeatable he is. Given that he ''does'' have a flawless record, he has every right to be confident.
* SiblingTeam: When in the Galarian Star Tournament, one of his potential partners when you challenge him is Hop. He even tells him that their bond as brothers is stronger than any Champion.
** He and Hop work together again in ''Masters'' to take down Eternatus after it defeats the player and Gloria quite easily.
* SignatureMon: Charizard. It's his highest-leveled Pokémon and the one he Gigantamaxes. Even his signature pose is based on Charizard's hand. He has also been associated with Dragapult who, in addition to being featured in all of his battles, has been the only other Pokémon to be paired with him in merchandise and to appear under his ownership in the majority of adaptations. His Sygna Suit variant in ''Masters'' has Eternatus which he can Dynamax, and his Holiday 2021 variant uses Ice Rider Calyrex.
* SoProudOfYou:
** By the post game, Leon acknowledges how proud he's got of you and Hop and how far you've come. [[spoiler: When you defeat Leon during Ranked Matches in the tower, he will express his faith in you and how proud he's got.]]
** In ''Masters'', he talks about how proud he is of Hop and his development. This is especially shown in their story when they go to help Eternatus, he tells Hop he's proud to be his brother
* SoreLoser: Downplayed, but he's clearly upset when he's defeated by the protagonist. During the Championship finals he gives a grimace before becoming the epitome of a GracefulLoser, but when the cameras aren't rolling, [[spoiler:like during his defeat at the Battle Tower, he takes much longer to recover - blatantly obscuring his face while he regathers his composure while clenching his fists all the while.]] Justified since he's been completely undefeated since he became the Champion when he was at least ten years old, so he's not used to taking losses. In addition, he's not upset with the player for beating him, but himself for letting his team down. He explicitly states at one point that he fears losing because it'd be like he failed his Pokémon and all their hard work.
* StepfordSmiler: Implied by [[spoiler: his rare league card, stating that he is much livelier now that he is no longer Champion and Opal's notes on his audition from his Gym Challenge]]. Given the fact that Leon has been in the spotlight ever since he was 10, it's likely he had to develop this to protect his image.
* SuperMode: His Charizard can Gigantamax. In ''Masters'', his Eternatus can Eternamax.
* TearsOfJoy: Admits to shedding these after seeing Hop and the protagonist's passionate battle during the championship semi-finals.
* TechnicolorEyes: He has brassy gold eyes like Hop.
* TrueCompanions: After defeating Leon [[spoiler: in a Max Ranked Battle Tower match]] has him state that he views the player character, Hop, and his Charizard to be this to him.
* VSign: His signature "Charizard pose" is raising one while also raising his thumb to emulate Charizard's hand with a confident grin. The player can do the same thing by spinning around for a few seconds.
* VictoryGloating: In a surprise [[SubvertedTrope Subversion]] from the above SoreLoser entry, if Leon actually ''does'' defeat the player [[spoiler: in one of their Battle Tower rematches, he actually gets upset with the victory and thinks the player [[WorfHadTheFlu wasn't fighting with the same passion they had in their Championship match]]]].
* WhoWearsShortShorts: His shorts are pretty damn short, rivaling [[MsFanservice Nessa's]] for length, in contrast to the other male gym leaders who's shorts vary from knee length to mid-thigh.
* {{Workaholic}}: He never seems to take a break and is always working to ensure he becomes a symbol of inspiration for Galarian trainers to become the best they can be by attempting to beat him, which turns out to have a negative effect on his close friends, as discussed in ''Masters'' by [[spoiler:Calyrex, who points out that his quest to become stronger is only pushing people away from him if no one can ever hope to actually defeat him.]]
* WorthyOpponent:
** He says there's no better challenger than a hero like you once you challenge him. He'll also notice if you have [[spoiler:Eternatus]] in your party, and says that just makes him even more excited to battle you.
-->'''Leon:''' A real hero who battled alongside the Legendary Pokémon, Zacian and Zamazenta. I couldn't have dreamed of a better challenger to help increase my winning streak! Oh... And you've even added [[spoiler:Eternatus]] to your party. The greatest challenger along with the most powerful Pokémon, is that it? Now you're really getting me excited!
** Several events in ''Masters'' imply that he views Steven this way. Especially in his story, he is having a battle with him. And during the game's second anniversary event, his Eternatus seems to form a rivalry with Steven's Shiny Rayquaza as they prepare to battle together.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mustard]]
!! Mustard
[[quoteright:274:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sword_shield_mustard_3.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/SungWonCho (EN) (WebAnimation/PokemonTwilightWings)

A former Gym Leader and later a Champion of the Galar region in a time before Dynamaxing was added to the League. He held the position of Champion for a record 18 years. He was the one who discovered Leon's talent and served as his mentor. He currently runs a dojo on the Isle of Armor, and debuts in the "Isle of Armor" DownloadableContent for ''Sword and Shield''.
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* TheAce: In his youth. Not only did he win the position of Champion on a type disadvantage, but he had the longest winning streak of any champion at 18 years straight, and only began losing because his partner Pokémon tragically passed away.
* AffectionateNickname: Much like Klara, he tends to add "kins" to the end of people's names as shown with Hop and Peony (calling them Hoppy-kins and Peo-kins).
* BareFistedMonk: Specialized in Fighting-types while he was a Gym Leader. He fields Mienfoo/Mienshao in his first and final battles and Kommo-o in his final battle, and his signature Pokémon is Kubfu/Urshifu (the style the player didn't pick).
* BigOlEyebrows: His eyebrows are grown out to the point they reach below his chin. They stand straight up when he gets serious, and the sheer length of them makes it look like his head has wings.
* BorrowedCatchphrase: When he partners up with Leon in the Star Tournament, he uses his "Let's Have a Champion Time" quote. He at least acknowledges it at first.
* {{Catchphrase}}: He enjoys using the word "muster" now and then.
* ChildhoodFriends: He's implied to be this with Opal whenever they are paired up or competing against each other in the Star Tournament.
* ClarkKentOutfit: He's actually still extremely fit for his age, but hides it with his baggy track jacket and constant hunch.
* TheCoatsAreOff: He removes his jacket and hat when he fights at his full strength.
* CoolOldGuy: Mustard's a jovial fellow who loves playing video games and still quite the capable trainer long after his reign as Champion ended. As far as his own physical prowess goes, he's one of the most acrobatic humans in the ''series'' - showing off with a triple backflip when you fight him.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: The death of Mustard's first Pokémon [[HeroicBSOD hit him so hard that he scored his first loss in nearly two decades not long afterwards]], thus losing his Champion title, and he began losing more and more battles after that (though he still remained fairly popular as a trainer). Things got even more shameful for him when eventually the chairman of the time tried to have him win a ''rigged match'', presumably to try to salvage Mustard's career, which finally convinced him to retire from the League. He would eventually find a new purpose/path in life by building a dojo and mentoring aspiring trainers.
* DragonTamer: Uses the Dragon/Fighting-type Kommo-o.
* DuelBoss: The second battle with him is a one-on-one match between your and his Kubfu.
* EccentricMentor: He's always acting like a doofus and having fun playing the part of the senile old man... with a heavy emphasis on "playing the part". He especially enjoyed messing with Leon's head when he trained him.
* EdibleThemeNaming: With his wife, Honey. Not only are they both named after edible spreads (with Mustard's name still following the [[FloralThemeNaming plant theme]] most characters' names in the game have), but if you put their names together, you also get "honey mustard".
* EmbarrassingNickname: Much like Opal, he doesn't like being referred to as "Old Man" as shown in his dialogue with Peony in the Star Tournament.
* FinalBoss: He's the final boss of the Isle of Armour DLC in ''Sword and Shield''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: One of the first things said about Mustard, by Honey, is to not be fooled by how he looks and acts at the moment, and that his true self is quite a "beast."
* HappilyMarried: With his wife, Honey. They fell in love and got married after they met during one of Honey's business trips, and they also have a son together.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: He usually signals that he's getting serious by taking off his hat and jacket, revealing his old Champion outfit and surprisingly fit physique.
* IWasQuiteALooker: His rare League Card shows a pic of him when he was younger. [[spoiler:He was even wearing the cape that Leon now wears.]]
* MayDecemberRomance: He's at least in his late sixties according to his rare league card, and Honey looks young enough to be his own daughter.
* MentorArchetype: Was once Leon's mentor back when he was starting out, and owns a dojo where he trains a whole bunch of promising Trainers.
* OffscreenTeleportation: Performs this to everyone's shock when he calls for the player character and their rival to take their places for the final trial, moving from the edge of the arena to the center of it as soon as the viewer's eyes are off him.
* OldMaster: Was the Champion of the Galar region in a time before Dynamaxing became part of league battles (with his League Card pointing out the previous Champion was a Fairy specialist, meaning that he earned his title through a straight type disadvantage), and is still regarded as a legendary trainer. He held the seat of Champion for 18 straight years, a record that has yet to be broken.
* OlympusMons: Has an Urshifu as his Signature Pokémon, and is notably the only Champion to use a Legendary Pokémon in the main series games.
* PopCulturedBadass: Outside of his past as Galar's Champion, he also owns a Switch and is a fan of ''VideoGame/PokemonQuest''.
* RecurringBoss: You battle him three times over the course of the ''Isle of Armor'' DLC.
* ScissorsCutsRock: According to his rare card, he beat the Fairy-type Gym Leader (not explicitly stated but implied to be none other than Opal, considering she hold her Gym Leader position for 70 years) to become the Champion. Fairy types deal super-effective damage against his favored Fighting-types.
* SignatureMon: Urshifu, of course. It's the emblem of his dojo and the strongest 'mon on his team. He will be using whatever style you didn't pick for your Kubfu's training.
* ThrowingTheFight: Inverted and defied. Apparently a previous chairman of the League asked him to win a rigged match (presumably due to his HeroicBSOD induced losing streak). He was so offended, he opted to retire instead.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Downplayed in that Mustard is far from ugly for his age (at least when he's not pretending to be a frail old man), but his wife Honey [[MayDecemberRomance looks at least]] ''[[MayDecemberRomance thirty]]'' [[MayDecemberRomance years younger than him]].
* UnusualEyebrows: His long eyebrows stand up straight when he gets serious during battles, making them look almost like wings. His rare League Card shows that his eyebrows were just as long when he was younger, though they were more jagged and looked like lightning bolts.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: His Rare League Card shows this was how he dressed in his prime.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Peony]]
A retired Gym Leader and former Champion who serves as your Expedition Teammate in the Crown Tundra DLC in order to track down the legendary Pokémon.

Information about him can be found [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar here.]]
[[/folder]]
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to:

[[center:[[WMG:''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Pokemon}} characters Index]]''' ''([[Characters/PokemonTypes Pokémon Types]], [[Characters/PokemonRecurringArchetypes Recurring Pokémon Archetypes]])''\\
[-'''Pokémon Family Species:''' [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIFamilies Gen I]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIBulbasaurToParasect Bulbasaur to Parasect]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVenonatToCloyster Venonat to Cloyster]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIGastlyToMiltank Gastly to Miltank]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIMagikarpToMew Magikarp to Mew]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIFamilies Gen II]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIChikoritaToGranbull Chikorita to Granbull]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIQwilfishToCelebi Qwilfish to Celebi]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIFamilies Gen III]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIITreeckoToSharpedo Treecko to Sharpedo]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIWailmerToDeoxys Wailmer to Deoxys]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVFamilies Gen IV]] | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVFamilies Gen V]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVVictiniToZoroark Victini to Zoroark]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVMinccinoToGenesect Minccino to Genesect]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIFamilies Gen VI]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIChespinToHawlucha Chespin to Hawlucha]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIDedenneToVolcanion Dedenne to Volcanion]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIFamilies Gen VII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIRowletToComfey Rowlet to Comfey]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIOranguruToMelmetal Oranguru to Melmetal]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraBeasts Ultra Beasts]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIFamilies Gen VIII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIGrookeyToHatterene Grookey to Hatterene]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIImpidimpToCalyrex Impidimp to Calyrex]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGlitches Glitches]]\\
'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivals Protagonists And Rivals]] ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | '''Champions'''\\
'''[[Characters/PokemonVillainTeams Pokémon Villain Teams]]:''' [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamRocket Team Rocket]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamAquaMagma Team Aqua/Magma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamGalactic Team Galactic]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamPlasma Team Plasma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamFlare Team Flare]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamSkull Team Skull]] / [[Characters/PokemonTeamYell Team Yell]]\\
[[Characters/PokemonFrontierBrainsAndOtherFacilityHeads Frontier Brains And Other Facility Heads]] | [[Characters/PokemonTrainerClasses Trainer Classes]] | [[Characters/PokemonOtherNonPlayableCharacters Other NPCs]] ([[Characters/PokemonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraReconSquad Ultra Recon Squad]] / [[Characters/PokemonMacroCosmos Macro Cosmos]])\\
[[Characters/PokemonLegendsArceus Pokémon Legends: Arceus]]-]]]]]

After defeating the Elite Four, the trainer now has to face the regional Pokémon Champion. Pokémon Champions are the toughest trainers in the entire region and serve as the FinalBoss of the main campaign. Defeating them triggers the CreditsRoll, and unlocks post-game content.
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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:General Champion Tropes]]
!!The Champions in general
* TheAce: As the Champion, they're supposed to be the strongest trainers of their respective regions.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: It's implied they have some sort of legal authority, though it's not made clear exactly what their exact responsibilities are.
* BigGood: [[ZigZaggedTrope ZigZagged]] throughout the series. Some Champions act as guides for the protagonists throughout their journey but leave stopping the evil teams's plots to them (Steven, Cynthia, Alder, Kukui), some don't do anything noteworthy outside the League (Iris, Diantha), while others are actually shown patrolling and defending the region (Lance, Leon).
* BossBonanza: They're at the end of one against the Elite Four.
* ColorMotif: With the exception of [[{{Irony}} Blue]] and Trace, the Champions are always assoiated with a specific color that shows either in their Champion room, battle screen or clothes.
** Lance: Vermilion.
** Steven: Purple.
** Wallace: Cyan.
** Cynthia: Black.
** Alder: Dark Red.
** Iris: Violet.
** Diantha: White.
** Leon: Burgundy.
* DareToBeBadass: Their mere existence basically serves as this to all trainers in their region, as beating the Elite Four and then the Champion is seen as one of the hardest things to do, and for good reason.
* DefeatingTheUndefeatable: Your end goal is to do this to them.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In Generation I, while those who defeated the Elite Four were always called Champions, the concept of a standing Champion (that is one who serves as a final challenge after defeating the Elite Four) didn't exist, and it was implied that the League's Elite Four was led by the member that faces the challenger last. Starting from Generation II, a standing Champion is introduced to lead the Elite Four and gets faced only after the others are defeated. This is explained in detail in ''Let's Go, Pikachu!'' and ''Let's Go, Eevee!'' where the decision to change how the Elite Four and Champion work is discussed at the end of the game.
* FightingYourFriend: With Blue being the notable exception, the Champions are friendly to the player, with some of them also serving as mentor figures who provide guidance to the player in their journey, and Trace being the player's [[FriendlyRivalry friendly rival]], then the player challenges the Champion for the title in a climatic battle.
* FinalBoss: They're the last big challenge of the main story (or in Mustard's case, the DLC story) before the credits roll. {{Averted|Trope}} with Alder, as you have to beat N [[spoiler:and Ghetsis]] instead, and you can only battle against Alder in post-game.
* GracefulLoser: They almost always lose with dignity, with the closest that they get to anger being disbelief.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: A meta-example. While the player is capable of using 6 Pokémon from the moment they get their starter, most NPC opponents do not use 6 Pokémon, except for Rivals (and only near the end of the game) and Pokémon Breeders (in some games, and their teams tend to be weaker than the average trainers in the area to make up for that). Champions however, ''always'' have a full team.
* KingIncognito: While Alder and Leon introduce themselves as the Champions immediately, and Blue and Trace weren't the Champions until the end, usually the Champion is a recurring character who doesn't show any signs of their status aside from a few clues until you defeat the Elite Four.
* PersonalityPowers: [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]]. Some of them have their personalities and teams built around a general theme (around a specific type or motif), while others don't.
* SignatureMon: While as individuals they all have their own ace, as a whole, they favor Fossil Pokémon and the pseudo-legendaries [[note]] Powerful non-Legendary, non-Mythical Pokémon with a three-stage evolution line and a base stat total of 600 before Mega Evolving.[[/note]]. Starter Pokémon as well as other powerful Pokémon that don't meet the definition of a pseudo-legendary, such as Gyarados, Milotic and Aggron, have also shown up in a number of Champion teams. Many of the Champions also include at least one Dragon-type Pokémon in their teams, even if they do not specialize in Dragon types.
* WalkingSpoiler: Generally, the Champions fall into this, since the game keeps the identity of the Champion a secret until the player faces them in the Pokémon League, until the games have been out for long enough, by which point, the identity of the Champion becomes something everybody knows. The only exceptions are Alder and Leon, who are casually introduced as Champions in the first five minutes of their screentime.
[[/folder]]

! Kanto and Johto

[[folder:Blue Oak ''[-(Green Okido)-]'']]
!!Blue Oak / Green Okido (オーキド・グリーン ''ookido guriin'')

The Kanto Champion in ''Red, Blue, Yellow, [=FireRed=], and [=LeafGreen=]''.

For more information on Blue, check the Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto page.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Lance ''[-(Wataru)-]'']]
!!Lance / Wataru (ワタル ''wataru'')
[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lanceart_3099.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/YoshimasaHosoya (JP, ''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations''), Creator/BenDiskin (EN, ''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations''), Creator/ToshiyukiMorikawa (JP, VideoGame/PokemonMasters), Bill Millsap (EN, VideoGame/PokemonMasters)
-->''"We will battle to determine who is the stronger of the two of us. As the most powerful trainer and as the Pokémon League Champion... I, Lance the dragon master, accept your challenge!"''

Lance is a world-famous Dragon master, and the leader of the Elite Four in ''Red'', ''Blue'', ''Yellow'', and the Gen I remakes. In ''Gold'', ''Silver'', ''Crystal'', and their remakes, he has become the Champion for the joint Kanto/Johto Pokémon League.
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* AdaptationalBadass:
** His Dragonite in ''Yellow'' knows Fire Blast, Blizzard ''and'' Thunder, making it much more formidable than it was in ''Red and Blue''.
** In his initial Champion battle in ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'', Dragonite's Outrage hits much harder than in ''Gold and Silver'', because Generation IV has increased Outrage's base power from 90 to 120 and classified Outrage as a physical move, which Dragonite is able to take full advantage of due to having higher Attack than Special Attack.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Discussed in ''Masters''. Lance notes how Blue had believed himself to be "the strongest" after beating him and winning the Pokémon League, only for another trainer to show up [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue shortly afterwards]] and beat both of them. As a result, he no longer has any interest in pursuing titles like "the strongest", as he's aware the distinction is fleeting; sooner or later, ''someone'' is going to surpass you. The indication that he's talking about losing to Blue, and then both losing to Red afterwards is that he notes it occurred while he was still an Elite Four member, before he ascended to Champion three years later.
* AscendedMeme: His extreme policy on tossing Dragonite and have it use Hyper Beam on ''humans'' doesn't go unnoticed in ''Masters'', where people actually bring that up as a ''compliment'' to his skills. His character episode even has him blasting a Team Break grunt with Dragonite's Hyper Beam. And to cement things further, a Karate Man at the center reveals (and whines) that it was him whom Lance Hyper Beam'd at Team Rocket's Johto HQ.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: He jumped up in rank by honing his skills further between games.
* AwesomeButImpractical: In Generation II, and in fact every game he has been in before Generation IV, barring ''Pokémon Stadium'', every Pokémon he uses knows [[BreathWeapon Hyper Beam]]. In later generations he tends to teach his dragons moves with very high power but low accuracy, such as Dragon Rush. This carries over to ''Masters''' real-time battle system, where Hyper Beam is one of the few moves in the entire game that uses up ''four'' bars of your move gauge, and Lance's Dragonite is, as of the game's second anniversary, one of only four Pokémon that can learn it, alongside Lance's Gyarados.
* BadassArmfold: In ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'', Lance folds his arms after he teams up with the player to battle Ariana and a Team Rocket Grunt.
* BadassCape: He's never seen without a cape in all his appearance across the games. The lone exception is his New Year 2021 attire in ''Masters'', and even then, he expresses his desire to get a cape to match said outfit. According to the Fame Checker in ''[=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]'', he buys his capes at the Department Store in Celadon City.
* BackToBackBadasses: He teams up with the protagonist during a part of the Rocket plot in ''Gold'', ''Silver'', ''Crystal'' and their remakes, and with Clair as a DualBoss in ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]''.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: He's a chill guy who cares about Pokémon and even humble when you face him in the Indigo Plateau. He's also not afraid of using Hyper Beam on human beings if he has to and considering he held the place of Champion, this is definitely not someone you want to get on the bad side of.
* BlowYouAway: Since there weren't enough Dragon-types to fill his team back in ''Gold and Silver'', he uses several Flying-type Pokémon that are draconic in appearance (but not as far as the series' ElementalRockPaperScissors is concerned) on his team. In both his primary teams in Generation I and Generation II; Lance ''only'' uses Flying-types or Pokémon that evolve into Flying-types (Specifically Dragonair). This gets averted in rematches in the remakes and the Pokémon World Tournament in ''Black 2 and White 2''.
* CapeWings: Evokes this in his ''Gold and Silver'' battle sprite.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard:
** In ''Red'' and ''Blue'', his Dragonite knows Barrier, a move that to this very day the Dratini line cannot learn. The closest this has ever come to "legal" was the release of this same original Dragonite as a downloadable event pokémon in 2016.
** In ''Gold and Silver'', his three Dragonite are all below legal level, two at 47 and one at 50 when Dragonair doesn't evolve until Level 55. His Aerodactyl also knows Rock Slide, though this example is legal in later games.
** In ''Stadium 2'' his levels fluctuate between 50 and 100, but below 55 he'll still have a Dragonite ''and'' a Tyranitar, which also evolves at 55.
** During a team-up with the player at the tail end of the Rocket Hideout infiltration in ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'', he uses a Level ''40'' Dragonite.
* DinosaursAreDragons: Since Dragon-types were scarce in early games, several of his Pokémon are dragons in appearance and/or dinosaur-inspired such as Aerodactyl, Lapras, Kangaskhan and Tyranitar. Lampshaded in ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'', when he refers to his Gyarados as a dragon. When the player character points out that Gyarados isn't a Dragon-type, Lance responds that "not all dragons are Dragon-type Pokémon".
* DiscOneFinalBoss: He serves as this In both the Kanto and Johto games.
** In the Kanto games, he's the final Elite Four member you face, leading you to believe that he's the FinalBoss. He even has a special room with a long hallway and everything. However, once you defeat him, it turns out Blue or Trace (depending on the version) has become the Kanto Champion, thus the actual FinalBoss instead.
** In the Johto games, Lance does become the Champion, which would have made him the FinalBoss, but his defeat gives you access to Kanto itself, which is a whole other region to explore, complete with its own campaign of Gym Leaders. Defeating all of them lets you fight Red, the TrueFinalBoss of the game.
* DragonTamer: Specializes in Dragon-type Pokémon, but due to their general rarity, especially in early generations, he often uses Pokémon that are draconic in aesthetic like Aerodactyl and Charizard.
* DualBoss: You can fight him alongside his cousin Clair in ''[=HeartGold and SoulSilver=]'' as an OptionalBoss in the Dragon's Den, but only after you've fought your rival at Mt. Moon (as he's your partner against them).
* FireIceLightning: A recurring theme is for him to distribute moves of these types among his team, particularly the move trios of Fire Blast, Blizzard, and Thunder, as well as Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt. His Dragonite in ''Yellow'' knows all the former group, and as the Champion in the Johto games, his three Dragonite each get one of the moves. In his ''[=FireRed and LeafGreen=]'' rematch, one of his Dragonite has Flamethrower while the other has Thunderbolt and Ice Beam, and the Kingdra that replaces his second Dragonair with also has Ice Beam. In ''[=HeartGold and SoulSilver=]'', his Gyarados, Aerodactyl and Charizard know Ice Fang, Thunder Fang and Fire Fang respectively, while his three Dragonite keep Thunder, Blizzard and Fire Blast.
* {{Foil}}: To Clair, his cousin and fellow Dragon trainer. She introduces herself to the player by bragging about her skills and claiming she's on the Elite Four's level (despite being a "mere" Gym Leader and having a weaker team), is a SoreLoser upon being defeated, and couldn't pass the Dragon Den master's quiz. By contrast, Lance introduces himself to the player in the Johto games as just another Pokémon Trainer (despite being the very Champion), is a GracefulLoser, and was stated to have passed the quiz.
* FossilRevival: He uses an Aerodactyl, who resembles a wyvern.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Lance is apparently willing to sic his Pokémon on human criminals. When you meet him at Team Rocket's Johto HQ, the first thing he does is tell his Dragonite to Hyper Beam the grunt running the front store. You can find another grunt downstairs who's also been blasted, and when Executive Ariana tries to double-team you with a grunt, the Dragonite physically slams said grunt away from you. All three grunts apparently survive, thankfully.
* GreenThumb: In ''Let's Go, Pikachu!'' and ''Let's Go, Eevee!'' he uses the Grass/Dragon-type Alolan Exeggutor for his rematch team.
* GuestStarPartyMember: In ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'', he teams up with the player to battle against Team Rocket Executive Ariana and a Team Rocket grunt in the Mahogany Town hideout.
* HumbleHero: He became this during his tenure as the Champion in the Johto games, hiding his status from player and claiming to be just another trainer, before the player faces him in the Pokémon League.
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: He's perfectly willing to rough up Team Rocket grunts; this includes having Dragonite use Hyper Beam on them.
* LargeHam: The way he announces the name of the Champion in ''Red and Blue'' comes across as this. When he himself is the Champion, he's not much less hammy, as he demonstrates with the moves he makes with that cape.
* MeaningfulName:
** A '''lance''' is a weapon used by knights, often fabled for slaying dragons and all that. [[ShoutOut And that's not mentioning]] [[Literature/{{Dragonlance}} the famous series of books beginning publication in 1984...]]
** In the German versions he's named "Siegfried", after a legendary Germanic hero who is said to have slain the dragon Fafnir.
** In the French versions, he's "Peter", the French name of the hero of ''Film/PetesDragon1977''.
* NiceGuy: Despite his intimidating appearance and status, he's actually a fairly nice person; he's helpful to the protagonist, and has passed the Dragon's Den test, which requires knowledge of proper Pokémon care.
* PowerEqualsRarity: Dragon-type Pokémon are known for not only being powerful, but also relatively rare compared to Pokémon of other types, especially in early generations, and Lance has the status to accompany the power of Dragon-type Pokémon by being either a Champion or the final member of the Elite Four the player faces. In fact, in ''Red'', ''Blue'', ''Yellow'', he is the only NPC trainer in the game to use any Dragon-type Pokémon at all.
* ReasonYouSuckSpeech: After running circles around Silver in a battle, Lance gives one to Silver about how the latter's lack of compassion towards his Pokémon is what makes him a subpar trainer. Silver doesn't take it well, but a couple more losses to you manages to convince him that Lance is right.
* RuleOfThree: He has three Dragonite in his team when he's the Champion in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Gold, Silver and Crystal]]''. In the remakes, he swaps two of his Dragonite out for Salamence and Garchomp in his rematch team, which still includes three Dragon-type pseudo-legendary Pokémon. For his Pokémon World Tournament team in ''Black 2 and White 2'', he also has three Dragon-type pseudo-legendary Pokémon — Dragonite, Salamence and Hydreigon.
* SignatureMon: His highest-leveled Pokémon is always [[InfinityMinusOneSword Dragonite]], the only fully-evolved Dragon-type in ''Red, Blue and Yellow'' and the first pseudo-legendary Pokémon in the series.
* SignatureMove: He prefers [[BreathWeapon Hyper Beam]], so much so, in fact all of his Pokémon in ''Red, Blue and Yellow'' and their remakes, as well as in ''Gold, Silver and Crystal'', ''Stadium 2'' and ''Masters'' know it.
* SuperMode: In ''Let's Go, Pikachu!'' and ''Let's Go, Eevee!'', his Charizard from his rematch team can Mega Evolve into Mega Charizard X.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Red]]
!!Red (レッド ''reddo'')

The true Kanto/Johto Champion in ''Gold, Silver, Crystal, [=HeartGold=], and [=SoulSilver=]''.

More information on him can be found on the Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto page.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Trace ''[-(Shin)-]'']]
!!Trace / Shin (シン ''shin'')

The Kanto Champion in ''Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!''.

For more information on Trace, check the Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto page.
[[/folder]]

! Hoenn

[[folder:Steven Stone ''[-(Daigo Tsuwabuki)-]'']]
!!Steven Stone / Daigo Tsuwabuki (ツワブキ・ダイゴ ''tsuwabuki daigo'')
[[quoteright:267:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/steven_oras.png]]
-->Voiced by: Creator/AkiraIshida (JP, ORAS Promo), Creator/XanderMobus (EN, VideoGame/PokemonMasters), Creator/TomoakiMaeno (JP, VideoGame/PokemonMasters)

-->''"What did you see on your journey with Pokémon? What did you feel, meeting so many other Trainers like you? What has awoken in you? I want you to hit me with it all! Now, bring it!"''

The son of the president of the Devon Corporation, Steven is fascinated by rare stones and frequently goes out to explore old caves and ruins. In ''Ruby and Sapphire'' and their remakes, he is the Champion of the Hoenn League, championing Steel-types.
----
* HundredPercentAdorationRating: In-universe, pretty much everyone gets along with him or respects him, which is helped by the fact that he's friendly, generous, proactive, responsible and protective of the region, well-versed with its lore, and even actively helps his Elite Four members get stronger just because he can. His attractive looks also get commented on by multiple [=NPCs=] and make him rather popular. This makes it all the more jarring when Zinnia actively antagonizes him, something nobody else has done before.
* AlliterativeName: His full name is '''St'''even '''St'''one.
* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: In the Delta Episode of ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', his father jokes about him being impatient, and then takes advantage of that impatience to tease him further by dodging the purpose of their meeting. He also praises Steven ("That's my boy!") by calling him smart after Steven makes an easy guess. Steven is visibly humiliated and frustrated.
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: It's rather easy to distract this man with any sort of rare stone.
* BackToBackBadasses: With the player in ''Emerald'', teaming up against Maxie and Tabitha during the invasion of Mossdeep City's Space Center.
* BadassBookworm: Hoenn's League Champion is a daring geologist, and perhaps even a paleontologist given his fossil Pokémon. ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' also shows that he's one of the few people researching Mega Stones.
* BadassInANiceSuit: As one of the strongest trainers in the series and heir to the resident MegaCorp, Steven certainly looks the part with his suit.
* BadassLongcoat: In ''Masters'', he wears a black tailcoat with golden patterns that are styled after his partner Shiny Rayquaza for his Anniversary 2021 attire.
* BarrierWarrior: In your fight with him against Maxie and Tabitha in ''Emerald'' he's more focused on covering you than attacking, starting with a Metang with Reflect and Light Screen, as well as an Skarmory and Aggron with Protect, [[DownplayedTrope although he also packs some powerful attacks, such as Psychic and Dragon Claw]].
* BirdsOfAFeather: His fascination with rare stones is matched up with Roxanne's, which shouldn't come as a surprise.
* {{Bishonen}}: He is always good-looking, but it's in the remakes where his looks are acknowledged InUniverse:
** In the ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' Special Demo, a Team Magma Grunt calls him "a quite stunning male specimen", and a Team Aqua Grunt says he is "totally my ideal type of guy". '''Tabitha''' even calls him a "silver-haired pretty boy"!
** In the game itself, a Team Aqua Grunt refers to him as an "alluring gentleman".
** During the Delta Episode, the old Draconid woman calls him a "silver-haired dreamboat".
** He gets a BishieSparkle during his Champion battle intro.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: His enthusiasm for rare stones is well-known in-universe, while also being noted as an incredibly powerful Pokémon trainer. In ''Masters'', he is even described by Wallace as eccentric but the best of the best when it comes to Pokémon battling.
* TheCameo: In ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]''. He turns up in Kanto, gives you a Hoenn starter, will trade Beldum for Forretress, and participates in an event involving Latias or Latios (depending on version).
* ChickMagnet: No matter if you're neutral, evil, or super old, the girls ([[EvenTheGuysWantHim and some guys]]) keep commenting on his looks.
* ClassyCravat: Wears a red one, though he defies the stereotype.
* DishingOutDirt: He uses Rock- and Ground-types alongside Steel-types.
* DragonTamer: In ''Masters'', for the game's second anniversary, he forms a sync pair with a Shiny variant of the Dragon/Flying-type Rayquaza that can Mega Evolve.
* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: His Champion battle intro in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' has him surrounded by many sparkles.
* ExtraOreDinary: Uses Steel-types primarily, though his teams also include some Rock- and Ground-types.
* FanServicePack: He is always handsome, though his original appearance from ''Ruby and Sapphire'' has him in a modest suit, then his suit in his redesign from ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' has his jacket unbuttoned, combined with a waistcoat underneath and form-fitting pants that accentuates his slender figure. In ''Masters'', his Summer 2020 attire has him showing more skin by wearing shorts and a short-sleeved jacket with a scoop neck shirt underneath, and his Anniversary 2021 attire has him wearing thigh-high boots and a tailcoat with a shirt underneath that has a low neckline.
* {{Fiction 500}}: As the son of Mr. Stone, the CEO of [[MegaCorp the Devon Corporation]], he generally [[NonIdleRich subverts]] most of the [[SpoiledBrat qualities associated with this trope]], though he ''was'' heavily implied to be the previous owner of the [[BigFancyHouse Villa]] in ''Platinum''.
* FinalBoss: The final boss of ''Ruby and Sapphire'' and their remakes.
* FossilRevival: As an avid rock collector, he often finds fossils of extinct Pokémon. His original Champion team has the 2 regional Hoenn fossils (Cradily and Armaldo), while his team in the Pokémon World Tournament in ''Black 2 and White 2'' features an Archeops in addition to the aforementioned two. In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', he uses an Aerodactyl in the rematch with him.
* GuestStarPartyMember:
** In ''Emerald'', he becomes the first NPC in any Pokémon game to team up with the player to battle. Here, it is to fight a tag-team of Maxie and Tabitha at the Mossdeep Space Center.
** In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', he also teams up with the player to battle on multiple occasions. In the demo, he aids you against Tabitha and Matt in a Mirage Cave. In the actual game itself, he aids you at [[spoiler:the Southern Island side-quest during the main plot and at the Mossdeep Space Center during the Delta Episode]], both times against Team Magma (''Omega Ruby'') or Team Aqua (''Alpha Sapphire''). He is also one of the NPC trainers you can partner with during the Multi Battle mode in the Battle Maison.
* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', his Hoenn fossil Pokémon from his initial Champion team have this dynamic -- his male Armaldo focuses on physical attacks while his female Cradily focuses on special attacks.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Wallace. This relationship is explored further in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', with Steven trusting Wallace enough to make him the new Champion if he (Steven) leaves.
* HighClassGloves: In ''Masters'', he wears a pair of black gloves to match his black tailcoat as part of his Anniversary 2021 attire.
* InfinityMinusOneSword: Post-game, he leaves behind a Beldum in his house as a gift for the player in ''Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald'' and ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire''. And in ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'', he'll trade you one for a Forretress. He's also the original trainer of the event Shiny Beldum in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire''.
* ItWasAGift: He's a lot more generous than most characters. He gives you a Mega Bracelet among many other items (the Steel Wing TM, the Devon Scope, the Eon Flute, etc.) as well as gifting the Elite Four with Key Stones. He also personally breeds you a new Lv.1 Beldum for a gift, and in ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'' gives you a Hoenn starter of your choosing.
* LikeFatherLikeSon: Like his father, he likes to collect rare stones and has a generous personality.
* MacGuffinEscortMission: His father asks the player character to deliver a letter to Steven in Dewford Town.
* MeaningfulName: '''Ste'''ven sounds like steel. His surname Stone also indicates his use of Rock types and love of rare stones.
* MentorArchetype: He serves as a mentor figure to the player character in the Hoenn games, giving them advice throughout their journey and assisting them when the region is in crisis.
* MightyGlacier: Half of his main Pokémon team — Aggron, Armaldo and Metagross — fit this role, being slow but having strong Attack and Defense stats and powerful moves. Though Mega Metagross in the remakes is most definitely a LightningBruiser, being much faster than regular Metagross.
* NiceGuy: Steven notably defies the Champions from previous games, [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Blue]] and [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique Lance]], by being a personable, polite man.
* NonIdleRich: Does a lot despite being really rich.
* NotSoStoic: He becomes increasingly frustrated during the events of the Delta Episode in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', thanks to [[spoiler:the world being in crisis again, and the fact that he can't do anything and has to rely on you once again, as well as Zinnia actively hindering his own efforts while mocking him for having lost the title of Champion to the player.]]
* OlympusMons: In ''Masters'', he partners with a Shiny Rayquaza that is capable of Mega Evolving for the game's second anniversary.
* OnlySaneMan: During the crisis, he's one of the few trying to do anything about it.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: During the Delta Episode in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', the fact that he acts frustrated and irritable is a clear sign of the dire situation.
* OutOfCharacterMoment: Like Flannery, his sprite in ''Ruby, Sapphire'' ad ''Emerald'' portrayed him being [[PerpetualFrowner bitter]] [[HairTriggerTemper and angry]] all the time ([[OffModel not even matching his official art]]), despite encounters with him in the games usually showing otherwise. This was corrected in the remakes.
* PurpleIsPowerful: He often wears clothing with purple accents, and he exudes coolness by constantly being referred to as a skilled Trainer. Additionally, as the Champion in ''Ruby and Sapphire'', his room is depicted with a light shade of purple, and his battle screen has a purple background.
* SharpDressedMan: He has a very nicely tailored suit.
* SignatureMon: [[MightyGlacier Metagross]]. So much so that the only way to get one of your own in its debut generation is evolving the Beldum he gives you as a gift for beating him. In the remakes, he can [[SuperMode Mega Evolve]] it.
* TheStoic: He's normally calm and collected, befitting a Steel-type trainer.
* StoneWall: Other half his main Pokémon team — Skarmory, Claydol and Cradily — don't hit too hard, having (Special) Attack stats that come short of average, but they take hits very well (Skarmory on the physical side mostly).
* SuperMode: In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' and ''Masters'', his Metagross can Mega Evolve, so can his Shiny Rayquaza in ''Masters''.
* {{Superboss}}: In ''Pokémon Emerald'', where he's given up the title of Champion, he can be found in Meteor Falls after the player enters the Hall of Fame, and he's the strongest NPC trainer in the game. In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', his Champion rematch team's overall level is even higher than his own post-game team in ''Emerald'', and is the second highest-leveled team in the game, only behind Wally's final team.
* WaistcoatOfStyle: Wears a purple one underneath his suit jacket in his redesign from ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire''.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatResponsibility: He states that doing everything in his power to resolve the crisis caused by the villainous team (and presumably any other) is his duty as the Champion. Understandable, as he's perfectly capable of wiping the floor with practically every wrongdoer coming his way — so much so, that an '''Eon Dragon''' recognizes this and seeks his help at one point!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Wallace ''[-(Mikuri)-]'']]
!!Wallace / Mikuri (ミクリ ''mikuri'')
[[quoteright:230:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wallace_oras.png]]
-> Voiced By: Kōsuke Kuwano (JP, VideoGame/PokemonMasters), Michael Christopher (EN, VideoGame/PokemonMasters)

-->''"Show me the power you wield with your Pokémon. And I, in turn, shall present you with a performance of illusions in water by me and my Pokémon!"''

Wallace is the Hoenn region's eighth Gym Leader at Sootopolis City, training Water-types. Or rather, he is in ''Ruby and Sapphire''. In ''Emerald'', Steven has stepped down from his position, and Wallace has stepped up to take his place as Hoenn Champion. The ''Ruby and Sapphire'' remakes have him back as a Gym Leader, but there are implications that, as in ''Emerald'', Steven is going to vacate the Champion position and leave it to Wallace sometime in the future.
----
* TheAce: While he is not the first Pokémon trainer who is shown to have taken on more than one type of role or discipline in the series, Wallace manages to be both Gym Leader ''and'' Champion in games taking place in roughly the same time frame (as opposed to Koga, Lance, or your Rival in ''Red/Blue/Yellow'' who move on to different positions in the ''next'' generation, as well as Iris who becomes a Champion in the sequel that takes place two years after her debut games). And to top it all off, Wallace is also portrayed as skilled in Contest Spectaculars — this man can do it all!
* AdaptationalSkimpiness: His redesign in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' has him in a much more revealing outfit than in ''Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald''.
* AgentPeacock: He's flamboyant and pretty, but a very powerful Trainer, not to mention all of his dialogue in-game is actually very serious and strait-laced. Remains the same for the remakes, though the camp is ramped up.
* AmbiguouslyBi: If ''Masters'' is anything to go by: there’s a fair amount of subtext between him and Steven, even more so than usual. Not to mention the ever-escalating campiness. However, he does not appear to shun female attention, given that his Gym is full of girls who admire him.
* AmbiguouslyRelated: Wallace and Wally, who are both green-haired dudes dressed in white introduced in Generation III; even their Japanese names — Mikuri and Mitsuru — are similar. Despite their similarities, no games have yet deigned to notice.
* BadassCape: Wears one in ''Emerald'', doubling as an AllEncompassingMantle in artwork.
* {{Bishonen}}: He's very fair-featured and handsome.
* {{Camp}}: While he dressed and posed flamboyantly in the original ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'', ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' dialed it UpToEleven by giving him a {{Stripperiffic}} outfit, a uniquely sassy overworld pose, and several sudden photoshoots.
* TheCasanova: His gym is full of female trainers who say nothing but adoring things about Wallace.
* CoolUncle: To Lisia, who he took under his wing as his apprentice since her mother — who is also Wallace's older sister — was very sickly.
* FinalBoss: The final boss of ''Emerald''. His team during the Delta Episode of ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' is based on his Champion team.
* FriendlyRivalry: In ''Masters'', he considers Steven both his friend and rival, stating that Steven drives him to accomplish greater deeds himself.
* HelpingWouldBeKillStealing: Oh gee, thanks for sitting on the sidelines and not offering to help fight Groudon/Kyogre/summon Rayquaza! Justified to an extent in both games. For ''Ruby and Sapphire'', Sootopolis citizens are forbidden to enter the Cave of Origins. ''Emerald'' justifies it by having him go to the Sky Pillar with you, but then starts to become worried about Sootopolis when he notices the storm spreading rapidly and states he has to go back.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Steven. This relationship is explored further in ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', with Wallace accepting Steven's offer to take up the Champion position after the latter steps down.
* InSeriesNickname: Lisia refers to him as "Uncle Wall".
* MakingASplash: He mainly uses Water-type Pokémon.
* MeaningfulName: '''Wa'''llace uses water.
* MrFanservice: He's really pretty, his redesign wears an outfit that shows a ''lot'' of skin, and said outfit strongly suggests that [[GoingCommando he has nothing on underneath it]]. Even in-universe, he seems to be considered this trope, with his gym being full of fangirls.
* MythologyGag: He goes back to being a Gym Leader in the remakes. However, in the Delta Episode, you get to fight his Champion team from ''Emerald''.
* NiceHat: Wears a beret.
* SignatureMon: Water-types, with his most powerful being [[MightyGlacier Milotic]]-fitting his emphasis on beauty.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: His redesign in the remakes shows about as much skin as ''Elesa's'' in ''Black 2 and White 2''.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'' introduces his niece Lisia, who has a similar hair and costume color scheme.
* {{Superboss}}: In ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire'', he'll sometimes be an opponent during Master Rank Contest Spectaculars after you defeat his niece Lisia.
* WaterIsWomanly: {{Inverted}}. ({{Gender Flip}}ped, even!) Wallace is a Water-type trainer but a man. Despite this, he's ''very'' campy and flamboyant, uses the elegant Milotic as his SignatureMon, and leads a gym made up entirely of female trainers who all use female Pokémon.
* VaporWear: His pants in the remake hang low enough on the hips to imply he's GoingCommando.
[[/folder]]

! Sinnoh

[[folder:Cynthia ''[-(Shirona)-]'']]
!!Cynthia / Shirona (シロナ ''shirona'')
[[quoteright:170:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cynthiaart_8571.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/AyaEndo (''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations'' - JP), Creator/MieSonozaki ([[VideoGame/PokemonMasters Pokémon Masters]] - JP), Tara Sands (''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations'' - EN), Creator/AllegraClark (EN, ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'')\\

-->''"Together, you and your Pokémon overcame all the challenges you faced, however difficult. It means that you've triumphed over any personal weaknesses, too. The power you learned... I can feel it emanating from you."''

Champion of the Sinnoh league, she's an archaeologist who explores ancient ruins and investigates ancient legends. After her debut in ''Diamond and Pearl'', she appears as a {{Superboss}} or cameos in every main series game until ''X and Y''. Unlike some champions, she has no type of preference; she trains a diverse and balanced team.
----
* AdaptationalCurves: Her appearances in ''Pokémon Masters'' and the ''Diamond and Pearl'' remakes give her a more defined bust.
* AdventurerArchaeologist: She's an archaeologist and also Champion of the Sinnoh region, which Lenora references in ''Black and White''.
* AmbiguouslyRelated: Volo and Cogita, the [[spoiler:human BigBad and BigGood respectively]] of ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'', bear a striking resemblance to her; the latter is closer to her in appearance, while [[spoiler:the former has a nearly-identical team and a similar battle theme to her]]. It's unknown whether either or both of them are Cynthia's ancestors, or whether one is more closely related to her than the other. Both also profess to be the last inheritors of the Celestica people, meaning Cynthia is also likely of that lineage.
* AscendedExtra: Since Generation III, the series has gone way off the NonLinearSequel scale — characters from previous generations are assumed to be far away, and barring some stray cameos here and there, you're lucky to even hear about them. Cynthia was in every game since her introduction, including ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver HeartGold and SoulSilver]]'', though [[PutOnABus this trend was broken]] in ''X and Y''. [[TheBusCameBack She returns in]] ''Sun and Moon'' however.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Played with. As of Generation VII, trainers have a "thinking" animation they adopt occasionally in battle to show them strategizing. During the battle with Cynthia in the remakes, she often adopts this pose twice in a row, suggesting she puts a lot more thought into her battle strategy than the other trainers.
* BadassBookworm: A scholar ''and'' a League Champion.
* BadassLongcoat: Wears a long black coat and is Champion of the Sinnoh region.
* BigGood: In the plot of ''Diamond, Pearl and Platinum''. She actually leaves most of the good stuff to you, but is around to guide and help you repeatedly along the way.
* BossInMookClothing: For players who may have missed her in Gen IV, her appearance in a random villa in Undella Town in ''Black and White'' could be mistaken as just another trainer. And then..."You are challenged by Champion Cynthia!". Averted in ''Black 2 and White 2'', where she tells you who she is first.
* BossBanter: During battle she occasionally lets you know she's having a lot of fun.
* BreakingOldTrends: She is the first female NPC Champion in the series.
* BreakoutCharacter: By far the most beloved Champion, especially after ''Platinum'' gave her an even bigger role in the story. Game Freak would later on feature Cynthia in many more games, going on to be the most featured Champion and in general one of the most recurring characters in the franchise. Additionally, two of the three Pokémon which have been on every one of her teams are Lucario and Garchomp, two breakouts in their own right. Even in ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus'', which takes place before her time, two major characters in the story are directly modeled after her and are implied to be related to her, with one having a nearly identical team to her.
* BrilliantButLazy: Her place is a jumbled mess of research papers and she'd rather leave saving the world to under-qualified preteens. She's also by far the most powerful trainer in the region, at least until the player character bests her.
* ContinuityNod: In ''Black and White'': "You certainly bear a resemblance to that trainer who faced [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Giratina...]]"
* CoolBigSis: She's an older sister, and she acts like this to you. Her younger sister back in Celestic Town eagerly describes Cynthia's interests in mythology.
* CuttingOffTheBranches: In ''Black and White'' she mentions a "young trainer" (ostensibly the player character the Gen IV games) who defeated Giratina, implying ''Platinum'' is the canon game of those three Gen IV games.
* DarkIsNotEvil: She is dressed in dark clothes and she uses Spiritomb, a Ghost/Dark type, but she's a really nice person. Taken further in ''Masters'' with her second Sygna Suit, which is styled after her partner Giratina, a Ghost/Dragon type.
* DependingOnTheArtist: Has CombatStilettos in her Sugimori art, but her sprites in Gen IV and Gen V give her flat shoes. Her models in Gen VII, Gen VIII, and ''Masters'' give her the high heels, however.
* DragonTamer: Champion Cynthia's ace and strongest Pokémon is the Dragon/Ground-type Garchomp. Despite being her only Dragon-type, it hasn't stopped people from saying she's a Dragon-type master. This becomes a point of contention among fans of hers in ''Pokémon Masters'', where she gets compared against Lance, who is world-renowned as a Dragon-type Master. In ''Masters'', she also partners with Kommo-o and Giratina for each of her two different Sygna Suits.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: In the original ''Diamond and Pearl'', she has a Gastrodon on her team, which is notably mismatched when compared to the other Pokémon on her team: Garchomp is a psuedo-legendary (and thus rare and very powerful), Spiritomb is extremely rare and can only be found in Odd Keystones, Lucario is also very rare and powerful, Roserade is only obtainable through using a rare evolutionary stone, and Milotic is notoriously difficult to evolve from Feebas, a Pokémon already infamous for being hard to obtain. On the other hand, Gastrodon can be obtained easily in the wild on multiple routes, not to mention its typing overlaps with the Garchomp and Milotic, even though Cynthia is consistently known for her team diversity in all her other appearances in the series. Her Gastrodon was later replaced by the considerably stronger and rarer Togekiss in ''Platinum''. Cynthia would reappear in later games with a wide variety of powerful Pokémon each time, but her Gastrodon never returned outside the ''Diamond and Pearl'' remakes.
* ExposedToTheElements: {{Inverted|Trope}}! She keeps her all-black outfit (complete with BadassLongcoat) in the tropical region of ''Alola'' in ''Sun and Moon''.
* FightingYourFriend: Cynthia actually becomes quite friendly with the player over the course of ''Diamond, Pearl and Platinum'', making it all the more interesting when you finally face off.
* FinalExamBoss: Comes with the usual territory of being Champion and having a balanced team as opposed to one type specialization, but what makes her especially notable is that two of her Pokémon, Roserade and Lucario, were first used by Sinnoh Gym Leaders.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In ''Black and White'', she says, "Once every few years, the Champions of each region gather and compete to see who is the strongest! An interesting idea, don't you agree?" In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', we get the Pokémon World Tournament, which is exactly this taken UpToEleven.
* GracefulLoser: Up to the battle, she does the usual "I see the strength in your heart and accept the challenge" bit that nearly all powerful trainers in the series seem obligated to recite by contract. But as the battle progresses, she gradually stops bothering, and her response when you beat her is basically a "[[SincerityMode Yay for you!]]".
* GuestStarPartyMember: You can team up with her for the Multi Battle mode in the Battle Tree in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon''.
* HairFlip: Flips one of her bangs before throwing a Poké Ball in ''BDSP''.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Really long blonde hair, and par for the course for a Champion, a really nice person.
* HelpingWouldBeKillStealing: Only the player character has the strength to thwart Cyrus and Team Galactic, even after she enters the Distortion World with them... wait, don't you have an entire team of elite Pokémon with [[MinMaxing perfect IVs]]?
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Various comments from her and Professor Rowan indicate that when she was younger she was given a Pokédex and went on a journey that culiminated in her becoming Champion, just like the player would do years later.
* ImpossiblyLowNeckline: Cynthia's concept art reveals that the shirt she wears underneath her coat has [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ezsw8IDXsAANAcd?format=jpg&name=large a neckline so low]] that it partially shows her cleavage both above and [[{{Underboobs}} below.]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: Two of them; one during the dialog before battle and the other during battles. She keeps both across generations, promoting them from normal FinalBoss themes to this. Her introductory theme can be heard any time in ''Platinum'' if one's villa has a piano.
* IronicName: Her Japanese name '''Shiro'''na means white, but her Champion room and outfit is the opposite of it.
* LadyOfWar: She's composed, elegant, polite and the ''Champion''.
* MasterOfAll: Her ''Platinum'' team has no overlapping types and she has a damaging move for every one in the series up to that point except for Steel.
* MinMaxing: Going through the data of the Sinnoh games shows that her Pokémon have the highest possible [[GuideDangIt Individual Values]]. This makes her team notably bulkier and stronger than the rest of the Elite Four.
* MsFanservice: [[StatuesqueStunner Tall]]? Check. Cleavage? Check. TheTease? Check! Cynthia clearly fills this role for the Pokémon Champions. Her concept art goes even further with this, revealing the shirt she wears under her coat actually has an impossibly low neckline that shows some slight underboob and sideboob, and later games show she's actually quite well-endowed since she gets rendered with a 3D model. One female Swimmer trainer asks the player if they didn't come to the beach just to see Cynthia in a swimsuit.
* NiceGirl: A really friendly and caring person all-around, around the levels of [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Steven Stone]]. Especially seen in ''Platinum'', she trusts the player [[ItWasAGift an Egg to take care of]], is thankful after saving the world from inside the Distortion World, and is [[GracefulLoser genuinely happy]] when she gets to see your coronation as the Champion.
* NonElemental: She has no type specialty, like [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Blue]] and preceding [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Diantha]], [[VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon Kukui]] and [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Leon]].
* OlympusMons: Her second Sygna Suit in ''Masters'' pairs her up with Giratina.
* PeekABangs: Her hair covers her left eye.
* RapunzelHair: Her hair reaches down to her knees.
* SignatureMon: Garchomp, Lucario, and Spiritomb are the only members of her team that are in every encounter with her. However, her hair accessories mimic the ones found on Lucario. Still, her [[InfinityMinusOneSword Gar]][[LightningBruiser chomp]] is the biggest example. It is her highest-leveled Pokémon in every encounter, with exception to the Pokémon World Tournament which locks levels at 50, although like every other ace Pokémon in the tournament she still always leads with it. It's also her Pokémon partner in ''Masters'', where many trainers (and fans) consider her the strongest Dragon-type master ''just'' because of her Garchomp.
* {{Socialite}}: Being one is one of her reasons for being in Unova.
* SpiritedCompetitor: Enjoys battling worthy challengers, and in ''BDSP'' her expression before throwing her Poké Ball is a very eager grin.
* StatuesqueStunner: She towers over other characters, and is absolutely ''gorgeous!''
* SuperMode: In the Battle Tree, her Lucario and Garchomp can Mega Evolve, so can her Garchomp in ''Masters''.
* {{Superboss}}: She appears as a hidden superboss in the post-game of both Gen V games, in a villa in Undella Town.
* TheTease:
-->"Hmm. This is difficult. I was greedy and bought a lot of swimsuits, but now I can't pick which one to wear." \\
"Here's my problem. I have a white swimsuit and a black swimsuit... Which one would look better on me?"
* TwoGirlsToATeam: {{Gender inverted|Trope}}. She's never had more than two male Pokémon on her team. In ''Diamond and Pearl'', her only male Pokémon is Lucario. In ''Platinum'' and the rematches in ''Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl'', her female Gastrodon is dropped for Togekiss, who is also male. In ''Black and White'', Togekiss is dropped for Braviary, a male-only species, and in ''Black 2 and White 2'', Togekiss is re-added. ''Black 2 and White 2'' also play with this with her team for the Pokémon World Tournament, where the gender of each Pokémon owned by [=NPCs=] is selected at random, thus it is possible for Cynthia to use three male Pokémon when you face her there.
* UncattyResemblance: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; her hairpieces resemble a Lucario's ears.
* UselessUsefulSpell:
** For the first few generations of her appearances her Garchomp always had the Sand Veil ability, which boosts its evasion in a sandstorm. Too bad she has no Pokémon that can cause it, regardless of game. {{Subverted}} in the Battle Tree, as her Garchomp (the moveset with the Garchompite) has Sandstorm, but it'll be used more for Sand Force instead. The ''Diamond and Pearl'' remakes avoid the issue entirely by giving her Garchomp its overall more useful Hidden Ability Rough Skin.
** Togekiss in ''Platinum'' has it even worse. Its ability, Hustle, boosts its physical Attack at the cost of accuracy on its physical moves. But since it doesn't have any physical move, its Ability is practically useless. This was fixed in ''Black 2/White 2'', where its ability was changed to Serene Grace (although in Pokémon World Tournament, it's randomized every time you fight her).
* WorldsBestWarrior: Cynthia is the highest-leveled female NPC trainer across all ''Pokémon'' games. In ''Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl'', her final rematch team's overall level is actually the highest of all NPC trainers in the series — while her highest leveled Pokémon is a tie with Red in ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]'' (Garchomp and Pikachu, at level 88), the rest of her team is a few levels ahead of Red's. Cynthia's combination of balanced team composition, level, and MinMaxing makes her one of the strongest trainer encounters in the entire franchise as far as actual gameplay goes. Though, it is worth noting that in his adulthood, Red still ends up being the only NPC trainer to combine Mega Evolution and Z-Moves in the same team, whereas Cynthia at most has only been shown using one at a time.

!!! Tropes that apply to ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters''
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/370623bda2045e10b9183da540a268c1.jpg]]
'''Rating:''' 5 Stars\\
'''Sync Move:''' Earthquake of Ancient Lore (Garchomp), Historymaker Clanging Scales (Kommo-o), Shadow Force (Giratina)\\

The Champion of the Sinnoh League. The first story mission shows a Punk Girl and a Street Thug harassing her and demanding to battle her. She is too tired from battling all day to take up their offer, so it's up to you to show them off. Her sync pair partner is Garchomp. She is added as a playable character on January 1, 2020. She also forms a sync pair with Kommo-o while in her first Sygna Suit, and becomes playable on August 17, 2020. She gets a second Sygna Suit and forms a sync pair with Giratina, which is released on December 27, 2021.
----
* BadassInDistress: Downplayed. As stated above, she's too exhausted from her day job of being the Sinnoh Champion to engage with the punks who are demanding to battle her. Rosa sticks up for her, but it's up to the player character, Brock, and Misty to chase them off. Cynthia is impressed by your battling, and looks forward to giving you a proper battle later.
* EarlyBirdCameo: Shows up at the very beginning of the main story, then promptly vanishes. She returns in the main story after Chapter 18.
* GlassCannon: Cynthia and Garchomp have attack and speed, but is balanced out by below average defense stats.
* TheRival: One of her goals while on Pasio is to defeat Lance in a battle of Dragon Pokémon.
* OneWomanArmy: In Chapter 20, she single-handedly clears out an ''entire'' Team Break hideout. She's typically modest afterwards, claiming she couldn't have done it if you hadn't been there to distract them.
[[/folder]]

! Unova

[[folder:Alder ''[-(Adeku)-]'']]
!!Alder / Adeku (アデク ''adeku'')
[[quoteright:254:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Black_White_Alder_4806.png]]

-->Voiced by: Creator/MasakiTerasoma (JP, VideoGame/PokemonMasters)

-->''"I've really been looking forward to deciding who's the strongest Pokémon Trainer in the Unova region! Kiai!"''

Champion of the Unova league, Alder once trained only to be powerful. The illness and death of his starter Pokémon changed Alder's outlook on life, and he adopted a more reserved temperament. He's stepped down from his position in ''Black 2 and White 2''. His teams lean towards Bug-types, but have a balance of other types as well.
----
* ActuallyIAmHim: In the previous games, the story keeps the identity of the Champion a secret until you actually fight them, and that Champion is always there to give you aid at appropriate times. Alder is the first in line to actually introduce himself as Champion before the mandatory Elite Four challenge. Of course, given [[BaitAndSwitchBoss what happens at the end of the game]], this was probably intentional.
* AllYourPowersCombined: In ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' his team in the Champions tournament is his signature Volcarona, a mon that represents each of the Elite Four (Krookodile, Chandelure, Reuniclus, Conkeldurr), [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Braviary]], embodying the [[{{Eagleland}} region as a whole]].
* AnimeHair: Hair styles in the series are ''usually'' restrained. Alder's is a giant spiky mane/ponytail combo that resembles the wings of a Volcarona.
* AntiquatedLinguistics: In the Japanese version, he has an archaic speaking style.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: He does this to Cheren by asking him [[AndThenWhat what would he do after becoming Champion]].
* BadassTeacher: In ''Black 2 and White 2'' he now teaches two school kids the basics of Pokémon battling. He can still kick ass if need be as seen in the optional post-game battle.
* BaitAndSwitchBoss: You don't get the traditional battle against the Champion in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''. Rather, when you enter his chamber, N has curbstomped his entire team, and raises a huge castle up, making the version mascot, N, and Ghetsis the actual final bosses. You do get to fight him during the Pokémon League rematches, though.
* BigCreepyCrawlies: His ''Black and White'' team contains three large and powerful Bug-types, Accelgor, Escavalier, and his ace Volcarona.
* BigGood: Of Unova, being its Champion, and tries to stop N by beating him at the League, even though he fails.
* BigOlEyebrows: He sports these.
* BreakingOldTrends: He's the first Champion to introduce himself as the Champion right when you first meet him, and he's the first Champion that isn't the FinalBoss thanks to the Team Plasma plot taking center stage after the Elite Four.
* CoolOldGuy: He's old enough to have a grandson and uses AntiquatedLinguistics in the Japanese language.
* DeadSidekick: It's mentioned several times throughout ''Black and White'' that Alder spends a lot of time wandering when he's not taking challengers due to the death of one of his Pokémon. In the post-game he mentions it was his starter which is a Larvesta.
* DragonTamer: Has the pure Dragon-type Druddigon on his team in ''Black and White''.
* DramaticWind: Blows both before you battle him, and in his sprite animation. [[RuleOfCool Even though you're inside.]]
* FieryRedhead: An energetic old man with red and orange tinted hair that resembles a Volcarona.
* FrontlineGeneral: He is the only Champion so far to actually try and directly fight the BigBad [[TheManBehindTheMan (while it is still implied to be N, anyway)]]! [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Lance]] helps fight Team Rocket, but is nowhere to be found during the Radio Tower takeover. [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Steven and Wallace]] merely sit on the sidelines, and [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Cynthia]] follows you in ''Platinum'' into the Distortion World but [[HelpingWouldBeKillStealing makes you fight Cyrus by yourself.]]
* {{Kiai}}: In ''Black 2 and White 2'', he'll shout "Kiai" before a battle with him. Training with him is probably where Marshal picked up the habit.
* {{Leitmotif}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxu5K2HlAxE Alder's theme]] is a calm flute solo, reflecting his age and wisdom.
* LetsFightLikeGentlemen: He basically decides to deal with N and Team Plasma by making him beat the Elite Four and fight the Champion instead of directly confronting him beforehand; it doesn't work.
* MeaningfulName: His English name refers to the Alder species of moths, as well as the Alder plant--a diet of many species of moths and butterflies. Both these reference his Volcarona. In addition, an "alderman" is a person who is recognized as the eldest and most influential member of a council, reflecting his position as Unova's champion.
* MentorArchetype: To the Player Character and Cheren. In the sequels, he shows up and does a little of this to the new Player Character towards the beginning of the game.
* NonElemental: Like Cynthia, he has no type specialty. Half of his team is Bug-type, though this seems more due to chance than deliberate design choice.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: According to Iris in the Memory Link, she ''really'' had to earn the title of Champion by fighting him.
* OldMaster: Alder's the oldest Champion with a grandson who's the same age as the player character and is the most powerful trainer in the region.
* PermaStubble: Emphasizing his wise nature guru look.
* RetiredBadass:
** Deconstructed in ''Black and White''. Alder gets called out of semi-retirement to stop N's ascent to power, but he's badly out of practice and gets [[CurbstompBattle curbstomped]] offscreen by N and Reshiram/Zekrom. Reconstructed post-game when Alder starts training again and becomes the game's TrueFinalBoss.
** Played straight in ''Black 2 and White 2'', where he's officially retired.
* SignatureMon: His most powerful Pokémon is [[SquishyWizard Volcarona]].
* {{Superboss}}: In ''Black 2 and White 2''. Aside from appearing in the World Tournament, he can battled once after beating the Elite Four.
* SupportingLeader: He aids out the player multiple times throughout the game.
* TrueFinalBoss: In ''Black and White''. He may share Cynthia's levels, but you merely battle her in a villa while to get to Alder, you have to re-fight the entire League. Beating him brings minor plot and character arcs to a close and registers you in the Hall of Fame.
* UncattyResemblance: To his signature Pokémon, Volcarona. Most notably, his hair color and style resemble Volcarona's wings.
* TheUnfought: In the main story, at least. It's ultimately subverted; you ''can'' fight him in the game, but you don't get the big endgame showdown against him previous generations would have conditioned you to expect.
* WalkingTheEarth: He spends most of his time in ''Black and White'' doing this because of the aforementioned DeadSidekick above. It can also be inferred he also did this to teach passerby trainers that he encounters, like Cheren.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:N]]
!!N (N ''enu'') / Natural Harmonia Gropius (ナチュラル・ハルモニア・グロピウス ''nachuraru harumonia guropiusu'')

The figurehead of Team Plasma. He defeats Alder and becomes the unofficial Champion of Unova shortly before the player reaches Alder's room in ''Black and White''.

For more information on N, check the Characters/PokemonVillainTeamPlasma page.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Iris]]
!!Iris (アイリス ''airisu'')
[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/champirisart_1484.png]]
[[caption-width-right:275:[[labelnote:Black/White]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/iris_pokemon_bw.png[[/labelnote]]]]
->Voiced by: Creator/RinaHidaka (''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations'' - JP), Creator/AyanaTaketatsu ([[VideoGame/PokemonMasters Pokémon Masters]] - JP), Creator/CheramiLeigh (''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations'' - EN), Creator/CassandraLeeMorris ([[VideoGame/PokemonMasters Pokémon Masters]] - EN)

-->''"The Trainers who come here are Trainers who desire victory with every fiber of their being! And they are battling alongside Pokémon that have been through countless difficult battles! If I battle with people like that, not only will I get stronger, my Pokémon will, too! And we'll get to know each other even better!"''

Iris is a Dragon-type trainer, and the Opelucid Gym Leader in ''White''. Between the first games and their sequels, she grew older, stronger, and challenged and defeated Alder to become the new Champion in ''Black 2 and White 2''.

For her anime counterpart, see Characters/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhiteCast.
----
* AffirmativeActionLegacy: Being an AmbiguouslyBrown girl, she was this to Drayden as a Gym Leader in ''White'' and was aiming to become one in ''Black''. In ''Black 2 and White 2'', now that she's the Champion, she became this to Alder, with Drayden resuming his place as Gym Leader.
* AirplaneArms: Seems to be her default pose.
* AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield: Her room initially is borderline, the back wall featuring a large starfield with emblems representing the Champion and Elite Four circling it like planets. Then the battle begins and that serves as the basis for the field.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: She is visibly brown-skinned, though her ethnicity is unclear.
* AnimeHair: She has a similar hairstyle to [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Black_White_Iris_3954.png her old one]] from ''Black and White''. It now resembles the wings of a Hydreigon, the first Pokémon she sends out.
* TheBabyOfTheBunch: Literally the youngest Champion among the rest of the Champions.
* BadassAdorable: Youngest known Champion (aside from the players and possibly Blue), who does a pretend roar when you fight her. Then sends out a Hydreigon, and that's just her first Pokémon.
* BeYourself: In her story event in ''Masters'', Iris deals with the fact she isn't as prolific as the other older Champions and is criticized that she doesn't reach the same level of importance as her peers, which causes her to [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness get more serious]] and makes her be unable to calm down her Hydreigon after Team Break brings out its inner violent behavior through a machine. It's only after she mulls over and gets advice from Diantha that she comes to her senses and gains the admiration of people.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: She retains her perky personality even as a Champion, as shown by her pre-battle animation with her attempting to imitate a dragon's roar.
* CallBack: In Challenge Mode or her rematches, her Hydreigon has the exact same moveset as Ghetsis's in the original ''Black'' and ''White''.
* CoolCrown: It certainly fits her as a Champion.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard:
** Her [[{{JustForPun}} Hax]]orus in ''White'' version was under-leveled, just like Drayden's.
** She also has an under-leveled Hydreigon in ''Black 2 and White 2'' in the main adventure, whether Challenge Mode is on or not.
* DinosaursAreDragons: Her Champion team is based off of dinosaur mons, which consists of mostly Dragons.
* DragonTamer: Specializes in Dragon-types as a Gym Leader (Though she branches out in ''Black and White 2'' when she becomes Champion), and her Gym Leader RedBaron is "The Girl Who Knows the Hearts of Dragons".
* {{Fangirl}}: She greatly admires Cynthia.
* FinalBoss: In ''Black 2 and White 2'', taking Alder's place as the Champion.
* FossilRevival: She uses an Archeops on her Champion teams.
* GenkiGirl: If emulating a roar in her animated sprite in her Champion battle is any indication.
* GirlishPigtails: Sports those in ''Black and White''.
* HeirToTheDojo: She was Drayden's apprentice and adoptive granddaughter, training to take over the gym when he retires.
* InfinityMinusOneSword: She has a psuedo-legendary on her team similarly to other Champions such as Lance, Steven and Cynthia, with hers being a Hydreigon. Her Challenge Mode team in the post-game gives her another one with her Salamence replacing her Druddigon. This makes her one of few NPC trainers to have multiple psuedo-legendaries that are all unique, alongside Lance (in ''Stadium 2'', ''[=HeartGold=]'', ''[=SoulSilver=]'', ''Black 2'' and ''White 2''), Clair (in ''Black 2 and White 2''), [[VideoGame/PokemonColosseum Evice]], [[VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness Battlus]] and Cynthia (in ''Masters'').
* LastChanceHitPoint: Her Haxorus is always holding a Focus Sash, allowing it to get off at least one [[StatusBuff Dragon Dance]].
* LittleMissBadass: She's both the youngest and the eighth Gym Leader in ''White'', and then Unova's Champion in ''Black 2 and White 2''.
* MagicalGirlWarrior: While not actually a MagicalGirlWarrior, as a Champion her battle theme and outfit, as well as room are all very evocative of the genre.
* MundaneUtility: Discussed. In ''Masters'', she really doesn't see the fact she can completely understand Dragon-types as such a big deal to everyone who learns about her, because she always sees that skill as simple common sense that naturally comes to her as easy as breathing air.
* MythologyGag:
** The eighth Gym Leader has become the Champion in the next game? Gee, [[Videogame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire where have we heard a story like that before]]? Also, once she becomes the Champion her teacher and the former Gym Leader takes the gym position over again, much like with Juan taking over after Wallace.
** Also, a (generally speaking) Dragon-type expert becoming a Champion in the direct sequel sounds a lot like Lance, the final Elite Four member in ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'', becoming the Champion in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver''. In another similarity to Lance, while not all of her Pokémon are Dragon-type, they all at least resemble dragons and are saurian in design. Specific parallels exist even, with her Archeops, Lapras and Aggron corresponding to Lance's Aerodactyl, Gyarados and Tyranitar.
* NiceGirl: Helpful and sweet. In ''Masters'', N is utterly confused as to why she doesn't think of him as a bad person for all he did while working under Team Plasma and defeating Alder. She says that he only defeated Alder because, as Alder put it, his dream of helping Pokémon was simply stronger than his dream that helped N beat Alder, meaning that he didn't have any bad intentions but truly won with a good heart.
* PaintingTheMedium: If you select Kanji View in the Japanese version, she'll still speak only in kana.
* PimpedOutDress: Wears one as a Champion. A flashback in the Memory Link shows that Drayden picked it out for her. Shows that PinkMeansFeminine, and she does a GirlySkirtTwirl when she first puts it on.
* PurelyAestheticGender: The only real difference between her and Drayden as Gym Leaders is that her Pokémon are female and her Druddigon has [[StrongButUnskilled Sheer Force]] instead of Rough Skin.
* PurpleIsPowerful: She commands Dragon-type Pokémon (the type itself is commonly depicted with a purple hue) as a skilled Gym Leader/Champion, with her blazing purple hair exemplifying the trope even further.
* RaisedByWolves: The creators say that she was raised in a forest full of Dragon-types..
* RapunzelHair: Not as much as Caitlin, but enough. More prominent in her first appearance.
* ShesGotLegs: Her Champion outfit apparently leaves her legs completely bare.
* SignatureMon: Has [[GlassCannon Haxorus]] as her strongest Pokémon whether she's a Gym Leader or a Champion. She does, however, partner with Hydreigon in her Champion attire in ''Masters''.
* StockNessMonster: Has a Lapras in her Champion team.
* {{Superboss}}: In ''Black 2 and White 2'', she can be rematched in the post-game and is the second strongest trainer in the game behind Benga, who only has three Pokémon compared to Iris's full team of six, and in Challenge Mode, her rematch team was the highest-levelled Champion team in the entire series before getting surpassed by Cynthia's final rematch team in ''Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl''.
* TheUnfought: In ''Black'', where Drayden is the eighth Gym Leader.
[[/folder]]

! Kalos

[[folder:Diantha ''[-(Carnet)-]'']]
!!Diantha / Carnet (カルネ ''karune'')
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dianthaart_4644.png]]
-->Voiced by: Creator/SayakaOhara (JP, ''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations''), Creator/LauraPost (EN, ''WebAnimation/PokemonGenerations''), Antonia Flynn (EN, ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters''), Creator/AyaHisakawa (JP, ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'')

-->''"...Battling against you and your Pokémon, all of you brimming with hope for the future... Honestly, it just fills me up with energy I need to keep facing each new day! It does!"''

The Champion of the Kalos League, Diantha is more famous and loved for her acting as a movie star. However, her true passion is Pokémon battling, though she doesn't often meet truly interesting and powerful trainers.
----
* TheAce: She's very famous in-universe, being a movie star and the Champion of the Kalos League.
* AchillesHeel: While the typing is varied, half of her team has a weakness to Steel ([[AchillesHeel one having it at quadruple damage]]) and the other half has a weakness to Ice. In the Battle Chateau, her Gardevoir will be unable to do ''anything'' to hurt a Dark-type Pokémon other than use Struggle while any Writ of Challenge is active.
* AllYourPowersCombined: Doesn't have any type theme, like Blue, Cynthia and Alder.
* ArtificialStupidity: The Battle Chateau decides a Pokémon's movesets based on what they learn by leveling up, rather than forming movesets based on strategy. This hits Diantha really hard, giving Gardevoir useless moves [[note]]The Black Writ of Challenge gives her Stored Power, but no boosting moves to use it[[/note]], moves that help you [[note]]Gardevoir has Heal Pulse when the Blue Writ of Challenge is active[[/note]], or an entirely awful moveset. [[note]]A regular or Red Writ of Challenge gives her Gardevoir Imprison, Future Sight, Captivate and Hypnosis. Hypnosis is extremely unreliable, Future Sight works on a delay and can be easily worked around, the the other two moves are basically useless. She could be easily defeated by any low-level Dark type.[[/note]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Diantha gets an extra mention because not only is she a world-renowned actress and the Kalos Champion, she also has the title of "Grand Duchess" in the Battle Chateau, the highest rank there is and one that is only shared by the player character (who has to actually reach it before being able to battle Diantha at the Chateau).
* BadassLongcoat: She is the Champion of Kalos and wears a white one.
* BigOlEyebrows: She sports these.
* ChekhovsGunman: Like many of the other Champions, she appears throughout the story pretending to be just a random Trainer with no relevance whatsoever to the Pokémon League. [[LawOfConservationOfDetail But of course]]...
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: She looks ''a lot'' like Creator/AudreyHepburn. They're even both actresses.
* CulturedBadass: Given that she's able to debate philosophy with [[BadassBookworm Lysandre]] and is a very powerful trainer, she definitely qualifies.
* DragonTamer: Her team includes the Rock/Dragon Tyrantrum and pure Dragon Goodra.
* EverythingsBetterWithSparkles: When battling Diantha as Champion, her pre-battle portrait has falling sparkles and rays of light.
* FaceDeathWithDignity: A downplayed example, usually actresses DREAD the idea of aging (even considering it a fate worse than death) as it limits their potential starring roles in cinema. Diantha on the other hand actually looks forward to it, seeing aging as a chance to play roles she could never play at her current age.
* FamedInStory: Famous as both Champion and actress.
* FinalBoss: She's the final boss of ''X and Y''.
* FossilRevival: Has both Aurorus and Tyrantrum, the evolved Kalos fossils.
* FormerChildStar: Lysandre mentions that she had played a young girl in her debut. Depending on how young she was, she could be an aversion of this trope, becoming successful into adulthood.
* KnightInShiningArmor: Her Poké War Games costume in ''Masters'' has her in a full suit of armor, making her look similar to Wikstrom.
* LadyOfWar: Very elegant, her signature Pokémon is a Mega Gardevoir, and radiates this while in battle.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Greatly resembles Creator/AudreyHepburn.
* OlympusMons: She uses Keldeo during the Poké War Games event in ''Masters''.
* PrimAndProperBun: Wears her hair tied up in a spiky bun.
* PsychicPowers: Has a Gardevoir (which can [[UpToEleven Mega Evolve]]) as her team ace.
* SignatureMon: [[SquishyWizard Gardevoir]] — to be more specific, Mega Gardevoir.
* SuperMode: Her Gardevoir can Mega Evolve.
* UselessUsefulSpell: Pixilate is a devastating ability when used in conjunction with Mega Gardevoir's immense Special Attack - but ''none'' of its movepools have any Normal-type moves for it to run off. Similarly, Diantha's Aurorus also cannot make use of Refrigerate.
* WeCanRuleTogether: She is given this offer by Lysandre in her first appearance, and quickly shoots down his argument.
* WhiteDwarfStarlet: Averted. Despite Lysandre's assumptions that she would be afraid of becoming this, Diantha is actually excited to grow older and take new roles with it.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Looks forward to aging and being able to play new types of roles, causing her to refuse Lysandre's offer of eternal youth and bewildering him in the process.
* WhoWearsShortShorts: Hers are dangerously short.
[[/folder]]

! Alola

[[folder:Elio / Selene]]
!!Elio / Selene (ヨウ ''you'' / ミヅキ ''mizuki'')
The protagonist of ''Sun and Moon'' and their enhanced versions ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', and the inaugural Champion of the Alola Pokémon League.

Information about them is found in Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professor Kukui]]
!!Professor Kukui (ククイ博士 ''kukui hakase'')
In ''Sun and Moon'', after defeating the Elite Four, the Player is approached by Professor Kukui. While not the Champion, Professor Kukui is the founder of the Alola League and the [[FinalBoss final trial]] before the Player can be officially recognized as the first Champion of the Alola Pokémon League.

More information about him can be found on Characters/PokemonProfessors.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hau]]
!!Hau (ハウ ''hau'')
In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', after defeating the Elite Four, the Player is approached by Hau, who stands as the [[FinalBoss final trial]] before the Player can be officially recognized as the first Champion of the Alola Pokémon League.

More information about him can be found in Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola.
[[/folder]]

! Galar

[[folder:Leon ''[-(Dande)-]'']]
!!Leon / Dande (ダンデ ''dande'')
[[quoteright:275:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/champion_leon.png]]
->Voiced by: Kai Jordan (EN, WebAnimation/PokemonTwilightWings) / Creator/TakahiroSakurai (JP, WebAnimation/PokemonTwilightWings, ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'') / Cedric L. Williams (EN, ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'') / Creator/AleksLe (EN, ''WebAnimation/PokemonEvolutions'')

The Champion of the Galar region. He's the most popular trainer in the entire region due to his skills in Pokémon battles and charming personality. Leon claimed the position in his first-ever Gym Challenge without incurring a single defeat in battle, with his formidable talent for Pokémon battles yet to be matched. He's aided in his countless victories by his partner Charizard, and he's known to go all out during battles, no matter who he’s facing.

Leon personally endorses the player character and his younger brother Hop, enabling both of them to start their journeys to become the next Champion.
----
* HundredPercentAdorationRating: He's adored by pretty much everyone in Galar and a single line can cause any crowd to erupt with roaring applause. He also mentions that his matches are always sold out.
* TheAce: Not only is he the Champion in a region obsessed with battles, but he has a perfect win record in professional matches and is beloved by the whole region.
* AchillesHeel:
** No matter what starter the player picks, two of his Pokémon are Ghost-type in Aegislash and Dragapult and have a Dark-type weakness and nothing on his team resists it. If Scorbunny is picked then he has a THIRD Dark weakness in Mr. Rime.
** While his Aegislash resists Ice, he also has a Haxorus which is weak to Ice along with the aforementioned Dragapult. If Sobble is picked he'll have two more Ice weaknesses in Rhyperior and Rillaboom.
* AdultsAreUseless: Averted. Peacekeeping is one of his duties as the region's Champion. As such, he appears sporadically throughout your journey to resolve conflicts so gym challengers can go on their way unimpeded.
* AffectionateNickname: In the English version, Hop calls him "Lee" for short.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: His skin-tone is notably deeper than some of the other characters, similarly to his brother Hop and the rest of their family.
* AwesomeByAnalysis: He's able to determine if a Pokéball is going to fail to hold a wild Pokémon before it busts out. [[spoiler:This allows him to signal his Charizard to protect the protagonist and Hop in time before Eternatus causes a huge explosion while doing so.]] He's noted to be very observant in general, being able to tell with one look how much taller Hop has grown since he last saw him. Likewise, Leon states he has remained undefeated for so long because he learns from everything he sees in every battle he witnesses or takes part in.{{Iron|y}}ically, his powers of observation do nothing to prevent him from getting hopelessly lost everywhere he goes.
* BadassArmfold: It is his general pose when you encounter him throughout your journey including when you first meet in Wyndon Stadium [[spoiler:before the battle is abruptly interrupted by Rose.]]
* BadassCape: Wears a red, fur-lined cape that would benefit a king. Fitting in with battles in the Galar region paralleling professional sports, it even has sponsorships on the back. Though hilariously enough, the one NPC who has anything to say about the cape thinks it's tacky as all hell.
* BadassInDistress: Subverted when [[spoiler: it's thought he's being held hostage by Rose at Rose tower when he's late for dinner. Turns out they've just been having a long, but heated discussion]]. Played straight when [[spoiler: Eternatus breaks free of the Pokéball Leon tried to catch it with and knocks him unconscious]].
* BigBrotherInstinct:
** When the player character and Hop end up lost in the Slumbering Weald and pass out cause of Zacian/Zamazenta, he comes just in time to help them after getting worried. Especially this because he actually went where he wanted to go instead of getting lost.
** When Eternatus is about to break free from the Pokeball, his first instinct is to have Charizard shield Hop and the player rather than protect himself.
* BigGood: Is the region's longtime Champion and plays a primary role in keeping the Galar region safe and secure, such as stopping a rogue Dynamax Pokémon that appears near Hammerlocke. [[spoiler: He later tries to talk Chairman Rose into at least postponing his grand plan until after the Championship finals, and when Rose goes through with it anyways he immediately goes to confront Rose and try to take down Eternatus. In the postgame it's revealed he's more or less the new Chairman of Macro Cosmos, having taken over leadership of several of their projects and turned the Rose Tower into the Battle Tower.]]
* BloodKnight: He deeply enjoys Pokémon battles. It's quite telling that if you stick [[spoiler:EldritchAbomination Eternatus]] in your party, his response is ''excitement'' at the potential of a strong opponent.
* BringIt: Occasionally gives this gesture in the [[spoiler:Battle Tower]] battle.
* BrainsAndBrawn: He is the Champion and has the strongest team in the main game, but he also no slouch when it comes to physical strength either. However, he is also quite spacey and has NoSenseOfDirection, making him the brawn to Hop's brains.
* BrokenWinLossStreak: You and Hop intend to break his winning streak by defeating him at the Champion Cup. Naturally, you succeed in the ending.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Leon is noted by several characters to be pretty spacey, getting easily lost in his own thoughts and having NoSenseOfDirection, to the point where Hop and the player are sent to pick him up from the station at the beginning of the game because they doubt he'd be able to get home on his own, even though the way there is a ''straight line'' from the station. That said, he is also the Champion of Galar, and has a flawless battle record to boot.
* TheCameo: [[spoiler: Averted in regards to the Isle of Armor's cameos. He doesn't appear on the titular island. Though it is mentioned he was a former student on the island which is possibly why he had no reason to return. ]]
* CatchPhrase: "Let's have a champion time!" Becomes an AbandonedCatchphrase after he loses the champion title, and his rare league card mentions that he's still trying to come up with a fitting substitute.
* CharacterDevelopment: [[spoiler:The conflict between him and Rose at the end of the main quest makes Leon realize that he's been fixating on his Champion position and the sport of Pokémon battling too much at the point of ignoring legitimate problems in Galar that he could be dealing with, such as the energy crisis. As such, he tells the protagonist after being defeated that it's high time he and other adults start focusing more on fixing such problems so that the younger generation can continue to enjoy the sport of battling. His new outfit at the Battle Tower in the postgame reflects his more mature outlook.]]
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Notably, when Dynamaxing, he's one of the only trainers who throws his enlarged Pokeball one-handed. With almost everyone else throwing theirs two-handed, this implies that Leon is no slouch in terms of physical strength. Further demonstrated when you go to Leon's room in Postwick, where he has a set of workout equipment set up.
* ChildProdigy: A former one. The story of how he claimed the Champion title in his first ever championship run at the tender age of ten is a well-known one in Galar. In fact, it mirrors the meteoric rise of several other Pokémon protagonists.
* ChildhoodFriends: He and Sonia have been close friends since they were kids. He even brings this up in ''Masters''.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Is of the firm opinion that, as Galar's champion, it's his responsibility to deal with any problems which may threaten the region. [[spoiler:Rose exploits this during the climax of the game, going ahead with awakening Eternatus knowing full well that if something went wrong Leon wouldn't hesitate to jump in and try to resolve things.]]
* TheCoatsAreOff: He dramatically flings off his cape before his battle with the protagonist.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: [[spoiler: When facing off against Leon in rematches at the Battle Tower, his Galarian starters can all potentially have their hidden abilities, which isn't legally available for the player at the time.]]
* CoolBigBro: To Hop, who adores him and wants to be just like him at the start of the game.
* CovertPervert: Implied--inspect the bookshelf in his room and you'll find he has books higher up on the shelf (presumably so Hop can't reach them) that [[PornStash "only adults read"]].
* DareToBeBadass: Before his battle with the protagonist, he dares them to make their match one that will go down in Galarian history forever.
-->'''Leon:''' Come on, [[HelloInsertNameHere [player name]!]] Let's make this a final match that'll go down in Galar's history. No, a match that will change Galar forever! We're gonna have an absolutely champion time! ''[poses and points to the sky as the crowd cheers]''
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype:
** Leon's role in the story ultimately involves to addressing the reoccurring trend in the series of [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything the champion's tendency to being largely hands-off]] to whatever issues are plaguing their region. Leon is so hyper-focused on retaining his title [[spoiler:that he ignores all of Chairman Rose's pleas of the potential tragedy in the region, which ends up being the catalyst to the latter's FaceHeelTurn]]. Post-game, Leon vows to take a more active role in protecting the Galar region [[spoiler:abandoning trying to recapture the title of champion and instead focusing on training other trainers at the Battle Tower.]]
** To add to this, Leon is probably the MOST active Champion when it comes to regional threats as before [[spoiler: Eternatus knocking him out]] Leon takes care of everything to the point that the player is left out of the loop. This is compared to Champions like Steven and Cynthia who are on the sidelines and let the player handle the threats when they were just as capable of getting directly involved. Outside of the above spoiler, Leon takes the idea of being the region's protector more seriously than the other Champions.
* DragonTamer: Uses the Ghost/Dragon Dragapult and pure Dragon-type Haxorus in battle. While not a Dragon type, his ace Charizard is draconic in appearance. In ''Masters'', he also forms a sync pair with the Poison/Dragon-type Eternatus while wearing his Sygna Suit.
* EyeObscuringHat: When defeated, he pulls the brim of his hat over his eyes to hide his frustration before acting as a GracefulLoser for the cameras.
* FashionableAsymmetry: He wears a single glove on his right hand and a sweatband on his left wrist.
* FinalBoss: He's the final boss of ''Sword and Shield''.
* FloralThemeNaming: His English and Japanese name were named after the dandelion.
* GorgeousPeriodDress: [[spoiler:His Battle Tower outfit is an extravagant affair that's ripped straight out of RegencyEngland, from the frock coat down to the riding boots.]]
* GracefulLoser: Is visibly torn up after losing his championship title to the protagonist, but is quick to push any hard feelings aside to offer his congratulations and heartfelt thanks for the great match.
* HonestCorporateExecutive: [[spoiler:He becomes the new chairman of [[MegaCorp Macro Cosmos]] after Rose turns himself in.]]
* HotBloodedSideburns: He can be just as energetic as Hop and has the sideburns to match.
* InvincibleHero: He has a reputation for his incredible undefeated winning-streak. Even his in-universe theme song sings to the tune of, "Leon, Leon, the greatest Champion ever! Leon, Leon, will he be beaten? Never!" At least, he does until you're through with him.
* MeaningfulName:
** His English and Japanese names were named after the dandelion which is the symbol of Happiness and Joy. It makes sense with him being a StepfordSmiler [[spoiler:and him being even livelier still when working as the new chairman in the Battle Tower.]]
** His English name also means "Lion", which is a symbol of English royalty that ties into his regal attire and status as champion.
* MentorArchetype: Throughout the story, he serves as a mentor figure to both the player and Hop, giving them their starter Pokémon and encouraging them on their journey.
* MythologyGag: His backstory as an invincible ChildProdigy who became Champion at the tender age of 10 mirrors the rise of numerous Pokémon protagonists over the years. His SignatureMon is Charizard, one of the original starter Pokémon, and he even has his own baseball cap like Red, Ethan, and Hilbert. He also patrols the region to handle trouble wherever it pops up, again like previous protagonists.
* NiceHat: Wears a baseball cap much like Red, Ethan, and Hilbert: his has markings on the underside of the rim that resemble a crown, symbolizing his status as the "king" of the Galar region's League. He throws it into the air after being defeated at the end of the game to reflect his being dethroned.
* NoSenseOfDirection: Several characters ''and his own League Card'' comment that he gets lost easily:
** At the beginning of the game, the player and Hop are tasked to pick him up from the station in the neighboring town because he likely wouldn't be able to find his way home on his own despite the route between his house and the station ''being a short straight road''.
** Another cutscene has him admit that Charizard helps him navigate outside of battles, since his own sense of where to go is so bad.
** Part of the reason he [[spoiler:took over Rose Tower and turned it into the Battle Tower]] is because it's easy ''not'' to get lost in there.
** ''Isle of Armor'' reveals that despite being Mustard's greatest pupil in terms of raw ability, he doesn't have a Kubfu because he completely failed all of the dojo's trials, due to knowledge of the island's geography. He couldn't even find the Towers, which are visible from just about anywhere on the island.
** In ''Masters'', he and his Charizard truly don't know much about Pasio's locations. However, once they both get lost, the player character tells him the city is south. Not even 4 seconds pass without Leon casually going ''west'' from the player.
** And again in his story in ''Masters'' where he had a battle with Steven after getting lost again in Pasio. After the battle was called off, he decided to go to the forest to look for more trainers to meet and battle with but went the wrong direction, causing the player to stop him.
** This comes into play again during his and Hop's story in ''Masters'' when Gloria and Hop offer to join Leon to the Lab because of this. The chapter ends with him going the wrong way and Gloria having to stop him.
* OlympusMons: Not in the main game itself, but in ''Masters'' he partners up with Eternatus when wearing a Sygna Suit and Ice Rider Calyrex for Holiday 2021.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Three of his Pokémon (Charizard, Dragapult and Haxorus) are dragons, though with Charizard being Fire/Flying he isn't biased towards the actual Dragon type the way Raihan is. Funny enough, Charizard is the one based on actual fantasy dragons, while Dragapult and Haxorus are based on [[DinosaursAreDragons prehistoric animals]].
* PickyEater: In ''Masters'', he mentions that he prefers meals he can eat quickly so he can have more time for battling.
* PoorPredictableRock: A subverted case in regards to his ace Pokémon Charizard, which knows Solar Beam. Since Leon will almost always Gigantamax his Charizard after sending it out, any player who sends out a Rock or Water-type Pokémon in response will be in for a nasty surprise when it suddenly unleashes [[GreenThumb Max Overgrowth]]. Further subverted in that he doesn't specialize in any one type and Charizard isn't the only one with coverage moves.
* ProductPlacement: InUniverse example. His cape has sponsorships on the back of it, fitting with the Galar region's ties between Pokémon battling and professional sports.
* RecurringElement: Much like [[spoiler:Professor Kukui,]] he ends up using the final evolution of the starter that's strong against your own during your battle with him in the finals.
* RecurringRiff: His [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUG_NS0xqSY battle theme]] features the classic Hall of Fame theme, highlighting the cheerful and celebratory nature of the battle against him, compared to the much more climactic and serious fight against [[spoiler: Eternatus]].
* RedIsHeroic: Is the BigGood of the Galar region and his burgundy colored cape is easily his most notable feature. Even after being defeated he remains this as he [[spoiler: [[HonestCorporateExecutive takes the reigns of Macro Cosmos]] and wears a frock coat the same shade of burgundy as his cape.]]
* SharedFamilyQuirks: He and Hop have the same habit of slapping their own cheeks to snap to attention before a battle.
* ShowyInvincibleHero: He's a showman by trade and frequently talks about how unbeatable he is. Given that he ''does'' have a flawless record, he has every right to be confident.
* SiblingTeam: When in the Galarian Star Tournament, one of his potential partners when you challenge him is Hop. He even tells him that their bond as brothers is stronger than any Champion.
** He and Hop work together again in ''Masters'' to take down Eternatus after it defeats the player and Gloria quite easily.
* SignatureMon: Charizard. It's his highest-leveled Pokémon and the one he Gigantamaxes. Even his signature pose is based on Charizard's hand. He has also been associated with Dragapult who, in addition to being featured in all of his battles, has been the only other Pokémon to be paired with him in merchandise and to appear under his ownership in the majority of adaptations. His Sygna Suit variant in ''Masters'' has Eternatus which he can Dynamax, and his Holiday 2021 variant uses Ice Rider Calyrex.
* SoProudOfYou:
** By the post game, Leon acknowledges how proud he's got of you and Hop and how far you've come. [[spoiler: When you defeat Leon during Ranked Matches in the tower, he will express his faith in you and how proud he's got.]]
** In ''Masters'', he talks about how proud he is of Hop and his development. This is especially shown in their story when they go to help Eternatus, he tells Hop he's proud to be his brother
* SoreLoser: Downplayed, but he's clearly upset when he's defeated by the protagonist. During the Championship finals he gives a grimace before becoming the epitome of a GracefulLoser, but when the cameras aren't rolling, [[spoiler:like during his defeat at the Battle Tower, he takes much longer to recover - blatantly obscuring his face while he regathers his composure while clenching his fists all the while.]] Justified since he's been completely undefeated since he became the Champion when he was at least ten years old, so he's not used to taking losses. In addition, he's not upset with the player for beating him, but himself for letting his team down. He explicitly states at one point that he fears losing because it'd be like he failed his Pokémon and all their hard work.
* StepfordSmiler: Implied by [[spoiler: his rare league card, stating that he is much livelier now that he is no longer Champion and Opal's notes on his audition from his Gym Challenge]]. Given the fact that Leon has been in the spotlight ever since he was 10, it's likely he had to develop this to protect his image.
* SuperMode: His Charizard can Gigantamax. In ''Masters'', his Eternatus can Eternamax.
* TearsOfJoy: Admits to shedding these after seeing Hop and the protagonist's passionate battle during the championship semi-finals.
* TechnicolorEyes: He has brassy gold eyes like Hop.
* TrueCompanions: After defeating Leon [[spoiler: in a Max Ranked Battle Tower match]] has him state that he views the player character, Hop, and his Charizard to be this to him.
* VSign: His signature "Charizard pose" is raising one while also raising his thumb to emulate Charizard's hand with a confident grin. The player can do the same thing by spinning around for a few seconds.
* VictoryGloating: In a surprise [[SubvertedTrope Subversion]] from the above SoreLoser entry, if Leon actually ''does'' defeat the player [[spoiler: in one of their Battle Tower rematches, he actually gets upset with the victory and thinks the player [[WorfHadTheFlu wasn't fighting with the same passion they had in their Championship match]]]].
* WhoWearsShortShorts: His shorts are pretty damn short, rivaling [[MsFanservice Nessa's]] for length, in contrast to the other male gym leaders who's shorts vary from knee length to mid-thigh.
* {{Workaholic}}: He never seems to take a break and is always working to ensure he becomes a symbol of inspiration for Galarian trainers to become the best they can be by attempting to beat him, which turns out to have a negative effect on his close friends, as discussed in ''Masters'' by [[spoiler:Calyrex, who points out that his quest to become stronger is only pushing people away from him if no one can ever hope to actually defeat him.]]
* WorthyOpponent:
** He says there's no better challenger than a hero like you once you challenge him. He'll also notice if you have [[spoiler:Eternatus]] in your party, and says that just makes him even more excited to battle you.
-->'''Leon:''' A real hero who battled alongside the Legendary Pokémon, Zacian and Zamazenta. I couldn't have dreamed of a better challenger to help increase my winning streak! Oh... And you've even added [[spoiler:Eternatus]] to your party. The greatest challenger along with the most powerful Pokémon, is that it? Now you're really getting me excited!
** Several events in ''Masters'' imply that he views Steven this way. Especially in his story, he is having a battle with him. And during the game's second anniversary event, his Eternatus seems to form a rivalry with Steven's Shiny Rayquaza as they prepare to battle together.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mustard]]
!! Mustard
[[quoteright:274:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sword_shield_mustard_3.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/SungWonCho (EN) (WebAnimation/PokemonTwilightWings)

A former Gym Leader and later a Champion of the Galar region in a time before Dynamaxing was added to the League. He held the position of Champion for a record 18 years. He was the one who discovered Leon's talent and served as his mentor. He currently runs a dojo on the Isle of Armor, and debuts in the "Isle of Armor" DownloadableContent for ''Sword and Shield''.
----
* TheAce: In his youth. Not only did he win the position of Champion on a type disadvantage, but he had the longest winning streak of any champion at 18 years straight, and only began losing because his partner Pokémon tragically passed away.
* AffectionateNickname: Much like Klara, he tends to add "kins" to the end of people's names as shown with Hop and Peony (calling them Hoppy-kins and Peo-kins).
* BareFistedMonk: Specialized in Fighting-types while he was a Gym Leader. He fields Mienfoo/Mienshao in his first and final battles and Kommo-o in his final battle, and his signature Pokémon is Kubfu/Urshifu (the style the player didn't pick).
* BigOlEyebrows: His eyebrows are grown out to the point they reach below his chin. They stand straight up when he gets serious, and the sheer length of them makes it look like his head has wings.
* BorrowedCatchphrase: When he partners up with Leon in the Star Tournament, he uses his "Let's Have a Champion Time" quote. He at least acknowledges it at first.
* {{Catchphrase}}: He enjoys using the word "muster" now and then.
* ChildhoodFriends: He's implied to be this with Opal whenever they are paired up or competing against each other in the Star Tournament.
* ClarkKentOutfit: He's actually still extremely fit for his age, but hides it with his baggy track jacket and constant hunch.
* TheCoatsAreOff: He removes his jacket and hat when he fights at his full strength.
* CoolOldGuy: Mustard's a jovial fellow who loves playing video games and still quite the capable trainer long after his reign as Champion ended. As far as his own physical prowess goes, he's one of the most acrobatic humans in the ''series'' - showing off with a triple backflip when you fight him.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: The death of Mustard's first Pokémon [[HeroicBSOD hit him so hard that he scored his first loss in nearly two decades not long afterwards]], thus losing his Champion title, and he began losing more and more battles after that (though he still remained fairly popular as a trainer). Things got even more shameful for him when eventually the chairman of the time tried to have him win a ''rigged match'', presumably to try to salvage Mustard's career, which finally convinced him to retire from the League. He would eventually find a new purpose/path in life by building a dojo and mentoring aspiring trainers.
* DragonTamer: Uses the Dragon/Fighting-type Kommo-o.
* DuelBoss: The second battle with him is a one-on-one match between your and his Kubfu.
* EccentricMentor: He's always acting like a doofus and having fun playing the part of the senile old man... with a heavy emphasis on "playing the part". He especially enjoyed messing with Leon's head when he trained him.
* EdibleThemeNaming: With his wife, Honey. Not only are they both named after edible spreads (with Mustard's name still following the [[FloralThemeNaming plant theme]] most characters' names in the game have), but if you put their names together, you also get "honey mustard".
* EmbarrassingNickname: Much like Opal, he doesn't like being referred to as "Old Man" as shown in his dialogue with Peony in the Star Tournament.
* FinalBoss: He's the final boss of the Isle of Armour DLC in ''Sword and Shield''.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: One of the first things said about Mustard, by Honey, is to not be fooled by how he looks and acts at the moment, and that his true self is quite a "beast."
* HappilyMarried: With his wife, Honey. They fell in love and got married after they met during one of Honey's business trips, and they also have a son together.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: He usually signals that he's getting serious by taking off his hat and jacket, revealing his old Champion outfit and surprisingly fit physique.
* IWasQuiteALooker: His rare League Card shows a pic of him when he was younger. [[spoiler:He was even wearing the cape that Leon now wears.]]
* MayDecemberRomance: He's at least in his late sixties according to his rare league card, and Honey looks young enough to be his own daughter.
* MentorArchetype: Was once Leon's mentor back when he was starting out, and owns a dojo where he trains a whole bunch of promising Trainers.
* OffscreenTeleportation: Performs this to everyone's shock when he calls for the player character and their rival to take their places for the final trial, moving from the edge of the arena to the center of it as soon as the viewer's eyes are off him.
* OldMaster: Was the Champion of the Galar region in a time before Dynamaxing became part of league battles (with his League Card pointing out the previous Champion was a Fairy specialist, meaning that he earned his title through a straight type disadvantage), and is still regarded as a legendary trainer. He held the seat of Champion for 18 straight years, a record that has yet to be broken.
* OlympusMons: Has an Urshifu as his Signature Pokémon, and is notably the only Champion to use a Legendary Pokémon in the main series games.
* PopCulturedBadass: Outside of his past as Galar's Champion, he also owns a Switch and is a fan of ''VideoGame/PokemonQuest''.
* RecurringBoss: You battle him three times over the course of the ''Isle of Armor'' DLC.
* ScissorsCutsRock: According to his rare card, he beat the Fairy-type Gym Leader (not explicitly stated but implied to be none other than Opal, considering she hold her Gym Leader position for 70 years) to become the Champion. Fairy types deal super-effective damage against his favored Fighting-types.
* SignatureMon: Urshifu, of course. It's the emblem of his dojo and the strongest 'mon on his team. He will be using whatever style you didn't pick for your Kubfu's training.
* ThrowingTheFight: Inverted and defied. Apparently a previous chairman of the League asked him to win a rigged match (presumably due to his HeroicBSOD induced losing streak). He was so offended, he opted to retire instead.
* UglyGuyHotWife: Downplayed in that Mustard is far from ugly for his age (at least when he's not pretending to be a frail old man), but his wife Honey [[MayDecemberRomance looks at least]] ''[[MayDecemberRomance thirty]]'' [[MayDecemberRomance years younger than him]].
* UnusualEyebrows: His long eyebrows stand up straight when he gets serious during battles, making them look almost like wings. His rare League Card shows that his eyebrows were just as long when he was younger, though they were more jagged and looked like lightning bolts.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: His Rare League Card shows this was how he dressed in his prime.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Peony]]
A retired Gym Leader and former Champion who serves as your Expedition Teammate in the Crown Tundra DLC in order to track down the legendary Pokémon.

Information about him can be found [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar here.]]
[[/folder]]
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[[redirect:Characters/{{Pokemon}}]]
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* PowerEqualsRarity: Dragon-type Pokémon are known for not only being powerful, but also relatively rare compared to Pokémon of other types, especially in early generations, and Lance has the status to accompany the power of Dragon-type Pokémon by being either a Champion or the final member of the Elite Four the player faces. In fact, in ''Red'', ''Blue'', ''Yellow'' and their remakes, he is the only NPC trainer in the game to use any Dragon-type Pokémon at all.

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* PowerEqualsRarity: Dragon-type Pokémon are known for not only being powerful, but also relatively rare compared to Pokémon of other types, especially in early generations, and Lance has the status to accompany the power of Dragon-type Pokémon by being either a Champion or the final member of the Elite Four the player faces. In fact, in ''Red'', ''Blue'', ''Yellow'' and their remakes, ''Yellow'', he is the only NPC trainer in the game to use any Dragon-type Pokémon at all.

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