Leon (Galar)

Leon is a character appearing in , who is the Pokémon Champion of the Galar region and the older brother of Hop.
==Appearance==
Leon is a tall man, with long, purple hair and amber eyes. He wears a baseball cap tilted upwards to show off the crown design on the brim, a red fur-lined cape that has logos of sponsors on the back, and a black striped shirt that has a sword and shield on it. He also wears white shorts with white tights underneath with a black and gold diamond pattern down the side.
==Personality==
Leon is a very confident person, even to the point where he can sometimes come off as self-centered. During his champion battle against the player, he is still very focused on himself and his winning streak, not even considering the possibility that he may lose. He also only has pictures of himself in his house, and, strangely enough, none of his brother Hop. However, he is still a kind and compassionate human being, as shown when he shields Hop and the protagonist with his Charizard from a blast from Eternatus.
He is also poor with directions, getting lost quite easily.
==Etymology==
Leon's name may be derived from the plant dandelion, hence his Japanese name, "Dande". It may also come from "lion", which is a symbol of English royalty that ties into Leon's regal attire and status as the Champion.
==Biography==
Leon is the Champion of Galar, having been undefeated since he succeeded the position from Mustard. Many Trainers have tried to beat him, but Leon always prevailed against each one. His most notable rival is Raihan, who has made it his goal to end Leon's winning streak.
After finishing up a match, Leon arrived at Wedgehurst to meet up with his brother Hop and the player. There, Leon gave them the option to pick their First partner Pokémon. After they picked them, Leon took the remaining Pokémon under his care and watched them have some friendly matches with each other. After Hop told him he wanted to join the Gym Challenge, Leon decided to endorse the two, seeing that they might have potential.
Leon would oversee the player's journey across Galar and note their remarkable talent for battle alongside his brother. After the player acquired the Dark Badge from Piers and left Spikemuth, heavy rumbling occurred when he was about to meet them, heading through the tunnel into Route 7. There, he found a Dynamaxed Perrserker and defeated it with ease.
When the player acquired the Dragon Badge from Raihan, Leon watched the Champions Cup and was excited to see that he would be challenging the very Trainer that he had endorsed. He promised to have a good meal with the player and Hop at the Rose of the Rondelands. However, Chairman Rose had called him over to talk about the energy crisis, causing the player and Hop to head to the tower to find out what was going on. After defeating Oleana and her staff, the two confronted them at the top of the tower. While Leon was willing to help, he did not understand why Rose was making such a big deal over a matter that could be dealt with later and returned to the hotel with them.
The following day, just as the player and Leon were about to have their long-awaited match, Rose interrupted and casually told everyone that he had started the second Darkest Day, blaming Leon for not listening to him. Leon apologized to the player for not having dealt with the issue and went off to Hammerlocke to confront Eternatus. Despite the massive Pokémon preventing him from using Dynamax or Gigantamax, Leon was able to somewhat prevail by the time the player and Hop returned from Slumbering Weald. He threw a Poké Ball at Eternatus, but the Pokémon broke free and shifted into its Eternamax state. He later watched as the player, Hop, Zacian and Zamazenta were able to subdue Eternatus, with the player capturing it.
Three days later, Leon had his match with the player. Despite his powerful team of Pokémon, the player's team prevailed against his. Leon gave up his title to the player, celebrating their victory and thanking them for the exciting match. Despite losing his title, Leon still wanted to have everyone enjoy a good battle, so he took over the Rose Tower, turning it into the Battle Tower and retaining the Macro Cosmos staff as BT employees. 
If the player returns to his family home, they can discover a Poké Ball in his room which contains a Charmander capable of Gigantamaxing, left by Leon as a gift for the player.
===League Card entries===
====Regular League Card====
====Rare League Card====
===Other appearances===
==Pokémon==
===Champion Cup===
If the player character chooses:
===Battle Tower===
Leon's team is selected from the following Pokémon, but he will always have Charizard in the last slot.
===Galarian Star Tournament===
As an opponent, Leon can team up with Hop, Mustard, Peony or Raihan.
==Trivia==
*Leon's outfit more closely resembles that of a baseball player, rather than a soccer player (like most other Galarian Trainers). This is more noticeable when he takes off his cape.
**Leon also throws his Poké Ball in a similar fashion to a baseball pitcher.
*Leon has a poor sense of direction and tends to get lost easily. Sonia claims that Yamper used to help Leon find his way.
*Leon is the first Pokémon Champion to give out First partner Pokémon to new Trainers.
*Leon and Mustard are the only non-playable Trainers whose uniform numbers are both not a pun in Japanese and only consist of a single digit.
**In Leon's case, his uniform number, "1", refers to his status as Champion.
*Leon, along with others, appeared in the music video, GOTCHA!, of the group, 's single, Acacia.
*If the player has Eternatus in their party when challenging Leon during the Champion Cup, he'll give a remark about it.
==Gallery==
Pokémon Sword & Shield Leon and Charizard artwork.png|Artwork of Leon and his Charizard
Leon in Game.png|Leon in Sword and Shield
Leon and Charizard.PNG|Meeting Leon and his Charizard in Wedgehurst