Lionel

Lionel's English name, Leon, is a reference to the lion, which is considered a symbol of English royalty and is related to Lionel's royal attire and his status as a champion. However, its name may also be based on the dandelion, which explains its Japanese name, Dande. Lionel's attire resembles that of a baseball player more than that of a football player like most coaches. This is most noticeable when he takes off his cape. Lionel also throws his Poké Ball similarly to a baseball pitcher. Lionel has a poor sense of direction and tends to get lost easily. Lionel is the first Pokémon Champion to give out starter Pokémon to new Trainers. Lionel and Mustard are the only non-playable Trainers whose uniform numbers are not a pun in Japanese and consist only of a single digit. In Lionel's case, his uniform number, "1", refers to his status as Champion. Lionel's champion logo is only displayed when the player enters the center of the Edge City stadium before the battle royale. When the player enters the area before the championship match, which is interrupted by Rose, the regular Edge City logo is displayed instead. Interestingly, while Paul selects the starter that has a type disadvantage to the player's selected starter, Lionel uses the starter that has a type advantage over the player's starter. Lionel failed Sally's audition, getting only one of three answers correct. Sally's notes on Lionel are: "Your talent in Pokémon battles is beyond anything I've seen, but you're quite hard to read..."

Eternatus proves impossible to control, and Rose is forced to interrupt the Championship Battle between the player and Lionel to enlist its help in catching Eternatus. Paul and the player follow Lionel to the Power Plant to confront Rose and then help him capture Eternatus. However, although Lionel had exhausted the Pokémon, he was unable to catch it, but Eternatus is eventually stopped by the combined forces of the player, Paul, Zacian, and Zamazenta before being captured by the player.

After the incidents, the player finally faces Lionel for the championship and after a tough fight manages to defeat him, becoming the new champion. After the events of the main story, Lionel obtained ownership of the Rose Tower and transformed it into the Battle Tower. The reason for this was to fulfill a lifelong dream he had while still the Champion, to create a place where Galarian trainers can become the strongest in the world. Another reason behind the Battle Tower was so that he could never get lost inside it. Some say that Lionel has become more lively than when he was Champion and is currently struggling to find a new catchphrase to use.

Later, Lionel travels by train to his home in Par Town, where he entertains a crowd outside the station with his Charizard until Paul and the player meet him. Together, the trio returns to Paul and Lionel's house in Par Town. Once there, Lionel reveals the gifts he brought for Paul and the player: the starter Pokémon Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble and allows the player and Paul to choose which of the three Pokémon they want, while he keeps the remaining Pokémon. Leon then watches the battle between the player and Paul before joining a barbecue that he and his mother are hosting at their house.

Lionel would then motivate his brother and the player to begin their journey and participate in the Gym Challenge. During the player's travels, Lionel argues with Chairman Rose about his plan to secure a power source for Galar that could prevent an energy crisis projected 1,000 years in the future. When Paul and the player head to Rose Tower to find Lionel for not showing up for dinner, they overhear an argument between him and Rose, with Lionel arguing that Rose's plan can wait until after the Championship and Rose insisting on taking action immediately. She then apologizes for delaying them, but after Lionel leaves, Rose begins to execute her plan. Eventually, the player manages to advance through the Tournament of Champions and reaches the finals, where they would face Lionel for the championship. However, at that moment, Rose releases Eternatus, which had been powered by Wishing Stars collected by Berto, intending to provide Galar with a near-infinite supply of energy, but creating a second Darkest Day in the process.

Lionel originally began his journey as a Trainer at the age of 10 with his partner Charizard when he entered a Gym Challenge after being backed by Rose, who saw talent in him. He proceeded to win his first Gym Challenge and become the Galar League Champion, never losing a single battle. Since then, he and his partner have remained undefeated in every single League and Exhibition they entered. He has been called "the unbeatable champion" and "the greatest Trainer in all of Galar," being considered a hero by many Trainers across Galar. However, he is also known for his poor sense of direction. His catchphrase is "Let's have some champion time!" According to Mustard, Lionel was once his best student at the Master Dojo, but was never able to finish his training there, as he never made it to Two-Fist Towers due to his terrible sense of direction.

Lionel first appears in the game's opening cinematic, where Rose introduces him as the undefeated champion of Galar at the Edge City stadium. He exchanges greetings with his opponent Roy, who challenges him with his Duraludon, before Gigantamaxing his Charizard. Their subsequent battle is not shown on-screen, but it is known that Lionel defeated Roy to retain his title.

He shares similarities with Dianta and Máximo Peñas: In battles against the three, their most powerful Pokémon undergoes the evolutionary phenomenon of the respective game (Lionel's Charizard Gigantamaxes in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, Diantha's Gardevoir Mega Evolves in Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, and Maximus' Metagross Mega Evolves in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire). All three, after completing the main story, give the player the first evolutionary stage of their most powerful Pokémon (Charmander, Ralts, and Beldum, respectively). His Battle Tower battle theme was composed by Toby Fox, creator and composer of the Undertale video game. Go Ichinose, the composer of most of the Pokémon songs, and he are good friends, and he offered him the chance to create a song for the game. Not counting his Pokémon in the Battle Tower, his Seismitoad is the only member of his team to have a Hidden Ability, in which it absorbs water. Lionel is a very self-confident person, even to the point that he can sometimes appear self-centered. During his championship battle against the player, he is still very focused on himself and his winning streak, not even considering the possibility of losing. He also only has pictures of himself in his house and, strangely, none of his brother Paul. However, he is actually a very friendly, kind, and compassionate person, as shown when he protects Paul and the protagonist with his Charizard from an Eternatus attack.

Lionel is a tall, dark-skinned man with yellow eyes, long purple hair, and a dark goatee. His attire is similar to that worn by trainers competing in Pokémon Gyms in Galar: white shorts with the number 1 printed on them, long socks, and shoes of the same color, all with black and yellow details. His shirt, on the other hand, is black with the symbols of a blue sword and a red shield printed on it. He also wears a glove on his right hand and a cap, all black and yellow. He also wears a large red checkered cape with a light-colored fur trimmed edge, and the back of which features sponsoring brand logos. On his left wrist, he wears a Dynamax wristband, while on his right, he wears a normal white wristband.

Gender: Male Home: Village Yard Region: Galar Class: Pokémon League Champion President of the Pokémon League

He is the Galar region's Pokémon League Champion and the older brother of Paul, the rival of the protagonist of the Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield video games. He is a young man greatly admired in Galar as he has never been defeated in an official Pokémon battle. After his defeat in the Pokémon League and the events of the story, he becomes the President of the Galar Pokémon League.