The Pokemon League - What purpose they serve?

[HollowGap]

One popular organization but less mentioned in the game is not the antagonistic Villain Team, but rather, the Pokemon League.

Johto and Kanto have Indigo League. Alola has kahuna and trial system rather than gyms, which are present in most of the official games. Hoenn and Sinnoh have Battle Frontier. But who made pokemon battle such a thriving sport? Trainers everywhere seek badges and title of champion. But what does being a champion really mean? What does being a gym leader and elite four really mean? Are those status merely for [pokemon sport hall of fame, or do they hold some level of authority and take part in national defense? So far, we know the champions are good, honest people. But what will happen when the champion has his own agenda? Will the position help his mission, or nah, it doesn't mean anything like the Giovanni twist? (For me, Giovanni acting as gym leader or not doesn't affect the game plot at all. It's just a twist to have a... twist.)

Well that's a lot of question. But all of them came from one background entity of the pokemon world which almost no one asks.

So... what do you think about the Pokemon League?

 

[Phi-Bi]

Your idea about Pokemon League's hidden agenda could be interesting to be explored further into its own fan-game.

However, as of now--based on official resources, I think Pokemon League so far served kinda like World Cup in the real world or something like that. As for the origin of Pokemon League maybe similar with the origin of sport competition in the real world as well. Unova and Kalos' League could be the "Western" Sport Competition in Pokemon World. Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh which are based on Japan has the same league's format with Unova and Kalos due to cultural influence similar like how modern Japan nowadays got many Western influences. The Battle Frontier perhaps pointed to the region's innovation to attract tourist. Alola has distinct League format due to cultural differences with the rest of the regions.

As for the Champion, I think they acted as the region's ambassador kinda like Mr/Mrs. Universe in the real world although their involvement in the government may vary. Now to think about it, official games never explored the political sides of Pokemon world which is strange since the current trend for evil team is to conquer the world.

 

[TechSkylander1518]

The Pokemon League can be as relevant or irrelevant as you want it to be!

The Unova League is almost certainly some form of government for the region. N becomes Champion and Team Plasma's castle surrounds the Championship, and the player is urged to take his title from him to save the region.

But there are other regions that don't use their league in the same way. Kanto's League seems to be more of a sporting thing-we don't even know who the heck was the champion before Blue, so they're clearly not making themselves very relevant. Team Rocket is pretty unconcerned with the League, and the League doesn't really try to fight off Team Rocket, either-it seems the League is just a place to battle for sport, not to govern.

And if we want to start getting into worlds outside of the main series-multiple regions in spinoff games feature no Pokemon League at all. There's multiple stories where there's still a gym challenge, but the Championship isn't an Elite Four and Champion, instead being a massive tournament between trainers. (Uranium, the Pokemon Specials Manga, the anime, etc.)

And Alola's trials are something else entirely. They're not just a group for a sporting event, nor are they the local government. (Kahunas do have duties to their island, but they're more duties to challengers and to the Tapu, and Trial Captains are just teenagers) Instead, Alola's trials are a personal journey that people are invited to journey on, to learn more about their home and grow more self-reliant. The end result isn't a title or proving that you're stronger than another trainer-all the trainers you face fully intend to be able to be defeated, though they still want to be a challenge. The goal is to just complete the trial as a better person than you were before.

Professor Kukui has put together a League, but the League is more of a sporting event than anything-there's not any position the player earns by becoming Champion. (Given his fun as the Masked Royale, it makes sense Kukui would want to bring another sporting even to the region)The League does still hold Alola's value in their trials, though-a lot of the challengers the player meets while defending their title are there for their own personal journey!

Basically-make the League whatever you want it to be! The culture of a region varies, so why not do the same with your own League? Even following a formula can be done uniquely!