Pokemon Sword and Shield's Champion Should Probably Be In Prison

Pokemon Sword and Shield's Champion Leon finds himself in a precarious legal situation at the end of the game's main storyline. One of the major characters in Pokemon Sword and Shield is Leon, the cape-wearing Champion of the Galar region. Leon serves as a mentor to the main character and provides the player with occasional assistance throughout the game. He also acts as a public figure that protects Galar from several Dynamax Pokemon who periodically appear in the wild due to events that occur in the game. Basically - Leon is part superhero, part sports superstar, and part...public non-elected safety official.

We learn in Pokemon Sword and Shield that Chairman Rose is attempting to harness Dynamax Energy to solve an energy crisis that might occur in the Galar region hundreds of years in the future. His plan involves imprisoning the Legendary Pokemon Eternatus, the source of Dynamax Energy, and then using it to power an energy plant built underneath one of the Galar region's major cities. During one critical scene, Leon agrees to help Chairman Rose with his scheme, even though both know that the plan is dangerous and that Eternatus was likely the cause of the Darkest Day - an ancient cataclysm that almost destroyed the Galar region. Leon vows to help Chairman Rose after completing his obligations as Champions by battling the player character the following day, but Chairman Rose goes along with his plan that pushes players to the end game.

At the end of the story, Chairman Rose turns himself into the authorities and Leon loses his title as Champion to the player. However, Leon's actions during the game might put himself is a serious legal position. After all, Leon knew about Rose's scheme and agreed to help with it. Even though Leon decided to help thwart Rose's scheme, he could likely be indicted as a conspirator in Rose's plans for agreeing to participate in it. There's also a potential accessory charge that could be tossed in, although that is a bit murky depending on whether Galar follows an English code of law. Leon might also get in trouble for not reporting on Rose's plans depending on what his duties as Champion entails. Previous Champions have worked with law enforcement, so it's possible that Leon could also be guilty of not reporting Rose's plans to the proper authorities if he's considered to be a government employee of some kind.

While Chairman Rose is definitely the real bad guy here, we shouldn't overlook Leon's inaction as a key reason for the near disaster experienced by the Galar region. At the very least, Leon is at the center of a major scandal and probably would have his reputation sullied as a result of his going along with Rose's plans for so long. Leon is no Champion, no matter what Hop says in the new Pokemon games.

Pokemon Sword and Shield is available now.