Leon (anime)

Leon ダンデ Dande
Leon
Gender	Male
Eye color	Yellow
Hair color	Purple
Hometown	Postwick
Region	Galar
Relatives	Unnamed mother and father, younger brother
Trainer class	Champion, Pokémon Trainer, Monarch
Game counterpart	Leon
Champion of	Galar Pokémon League
Anime debut	Flash of the Titans!
English voice actor	Alejandro Saab
Japanese voice actor	Daisuke Ono

Leon (Japanese: ダンデ Dande) is a recurring character in the Pokémon anime. He is the Champion of the Galar region's Pokémon League and becomes the strongest Pokémon Trainer in the world after obtaining the title of Monarch in the World Coronation Series in Flash of the Titans!.

In Pokémon Journeys: The Series, defeating Leon is the main objective of Ash and several other characters.

In the anime

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

History

Leon and Sonia as children

Pre-series

Born and raised in Galar, Leon was a childhood friend of Sonia's. Due to having to take care of his family for a long time, she was his only friend and taught Leon the concepts of a Pokémon battle. During this period, Leon found a Charmander that would become his first Pokémon and what motivated him to go on a Pokémon journey. Sonia and Leon traveled together when they started on their journey.

In his first victory in battle, it was evident that Leon had a natural gift for being a great Trainer. In this period, Leon met more people and knew more about Pokémon. As revealed in Toughing It Out!, Rose was responsible for inserting Leon into the world of Pokémon battles. But, Leon's closeness to Rose ended up driving Sonia away from him, which made the two go their separate ways over time. In Sword and Shield: "From Here to Eternatus!", Rose reveals that his goal with this was to guide Leon so that he would become the hero of Galar, and be able to control Eternatus.

On his Journey, Leon went through the Pokémon League of Galar undefeated, which eventually guaranteed him the top spot among the Eight Masters of the World Coronation Series.

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

Leon as a teenager

Leon debuted in Flash of the Titans!, where he had a bout against Lance in the finals of the World Coronation Series at Wyndon Stadium, using his Charizard to go up against Lance's Gyarados. After a hard-fought battle, Leon emerged victorious, making him the Monarch of the World Coronation Series. Shortly after the battle with Lance, in The Climb to Be the Very Best!, where Leon heard a commotion outside the stadium and went to see what was happening. Leon saw Ash battling a Gigantamax Drednaw with his Pikachu and noticed that he had Gigantamaxed without a Dynamax Band. He gave Ash advice that allowed him to defeat Drednaw before properly introducing himself to them. The next day, Leon approached Ash and Goh at the Wyndon Pokémon Center and accepted Ash's earlier request for a battle. Beforehand, Leon gave Ash an explanation of how Dynamaxing and G-Max Moves worked and gave him his own Dynamax Band. During the battle, both sides Gigantamaxed their Pokémon, with Pikachu even managing to land a couple hits on Charizard, but in the end, Pikachu was defeated. Ash and Leon then promised to each other that once Ash was strong enough, they would battle again.

Leon reappeared in a flashback in Dreams Are Made of These!, when Ash explains to some kids about his goals.

Leon and Raihan

In Toughing It Out!, Leon has a battle for the World Coronation Series with Raihan and his Duraludon. After a tough match, Leon emerged victorious, with this victory, Leon manages to defend his Monarch title. Afterwards, he greeted Ash and Chairman Rose and encourages Raihan to retrain so they can battle in the future.

In Sword and Shield, Slumbering Weald!, during a series of Pokémon attacks that were using Dynamax and Gigantamax in an uncontrolled way, he had Charizard attack a rampaging Gigantamax Centiskorch. After defeating it, Leon reunited with Ash, and they flew off together to deal with other rampaging Pokémon. Later, they encountered a Dynamax Pangoro, which defeated in Sword and Shield: The Darkest Day!. He later took on a Coalossal that had Gigantamaxed and took it down alongside Ash. Soon after, Rose and Oleana arrived. Leon was later seen in Hammerlocke, where it was revealed that he was suspicious of Rose, and that he planned to investigate the city's Energy Plant. This investigation took Leon to the place where Eternatus was being held prisoner, when he ended up breaking free and getting out of control, Leon decided that he had to capture it so he could calm the Pokémon down. Leon met Rose, who revealed his real intentions and, after confronting his former tutor together with Ash, he went to face Eternatus.

Leon about to face Eternatus

In Sword and Shield... The Legends Awaken!, Leon and Charizard battled against Eternatus after it was re-awakened, but despite Charizard's best efforts they still struggled against the might of the Legendary Pokémon. When Leon attempted to Gigantamax Charizard, Eternatus absorbed all of the Dynamax energy from the area, preventing Leon from successfully Gigantamaxing Charizard. Along with Sonia, Leon witnesses Ash and Goh joining forces with Zacian and Zamazenta and finally managing to contain the power of Eternatus. When everything was finally resolved, Sonia revealed to Professor Magnolia that Leon was searching for Rose who disappeared after the entire incident. Leon made a cameo appearance at the end of Ultra Exciting from the Shocking Start! while watching Ash's World Coronation Series match against Volkner.

In The Sweet Taste of Battle!, Leon visited the Glimwood Tangle before heading to Ballonlea, where he met up with Raihan, Ash, Goh, and Chloe. Leon took part in Opal's All-Alcremie Decoration Challenge, but lost to Ash. He then agreed to referee the battle between Ash and Opal.

In Battle Three With Bea! and A Battle of Mega Versus Max!, Leon appeared at the Stow-on-Side Stadium, watching the World Coronation Series match between Ash and Bea. During the battle, he arrived late, shocking the entire audience and serving as a commentator. At the end of the battle, Leon decided to leave without talking to any of the competitors, which left Ash disappointed.

In JN100, Leon defended his title in a battle against Flint. After yet another victory, Leon met up with Ash and invited him to a training session. Upon arriving at a place within the Wild Area, Leon and Ash decided to camp and participate in activities with some Pokémon they found in the place. After having the experience interrupted by a pair of Corviknight, they discovered that one of the Rookidee from their nest was injured, so they decided to help them. At the end of the day, Leon revealed some feelings and doubts to Ash before leaving to meet with Goh and Sonia.

In JN108, Leon was interviewed giving his opinion on the upcoming battle between Ash and Raihan. In the next episode, he was one of the commentators of said battle at the Hammerlocke Stadium.

Character

Leon doing his signature Charizard pose

Leon is a strong Trainer, having reached the final round of the World Coronation Series and subsequently becoming the Monarch, thus being undefeated for some time. Although Leon comes across as unstoppable, he revealed to Ash that since Darkest Day he felt powerless to deal with the threat. This made him question if there are people stronger than him and how far the strength limit of each one goes. Sonia is apparently the only person who can see this side of Leon, unlike most people, to her, Leon is more child-like in his relationship with Pokémon.

Leon is also a good sportsman, as seen in Flash of the Titans!, when he complimented Lance after their battle and shook his hand and again in all his battles in the World Coronation Series, acting the same way after his battles with Raihan and Flint. Leon also has a very strong sense of justice, refusing to follow Chairman Rose's orders to capture Eternatus for the former's personal ambitions, opting to seal Eternatus away to prevent the Darkest Day from occurring.

Leon and Ash

Leon is remarkably knowledgeable about the Gigantamaxing phenomenon, as seen in The Climb to Be the Very Best!, when he advised Ash on how to battle with his Gigantamax Pikachu in order to deal with a Drednaw that also had Gigantamax. During Ash's battle against Opal, he realized that Pikachu had not Gigantamaxed, but rather bloated from the cream of G-Max Finale. Furthermore, Leon is shown to have great knowledge on how Mega Evolution works, being able to recognize the great bond Lucario has with Ash.

As stated by some people, Leon and Ash have a lot in common, mainly in the way they take care of Pokémon. During the course of the anime it is shown that Leon takes a keen interest in Ash's battles and more than once, Leon declared to Ash his desire to face him in an official battle. This even made Rose offer the same offer he made to Leon to be trained by him, but Ash refused even before knowing Rose's real intentions.

In his battles, Leon tends to change the moves that his Pokémon uses, as seen in Toughing It Out!, where Charizard used three different moves than what it had used previously and always battles on equal terms with the opponent, always Gigantamaxing his Pokémon only after the opponent has the initiative to use it first.

Like his game counterpart, Leon has a difficult time with directions, resulting in him becoming lost in the Glimwood Tangle and needing wild Pokémon to show him the way to Ballonlea and later getting lost while traveling with Ash through the Wild Area.

Pokémon

This listing is of Leon's known Pokémon in the anime:

On hand

Voice actors
		Charmander → Charmeleon → Charizard ↔ Gigantamax Charizard
		Charizard is Leon's starter Pokémon, as well as his ace and capable of Gigantamaxing. It was first seen being used in Leon's battle against Lance in the finals of the World Coronation Series and won. In The Climb to Be the Very Best!, Charizard was used to battle Ash and his Pikachu, and once again, it emerged victorious. In Toughing It Out!, Charizard was used to battle Raihan and his Duraludon, emerging victorious in the end once more. In Sword and Shield... The Legends Awaken!, Leon called on Charizard to battle Eternatus. It was able to battle the Legendary Pokémon for some time, although Eternatus was able to prevent it from Gigantamaxing. After Leon's failed attempt at catching Eternatus, Charizard was injured in the blast caused by it transforming into its Eternamax form, forcing Leon to recall it. Charizard's known moves are Flamethrower, Air Slash, Fire Spin, Thunder Punch, Dragon Claw, Dig, Brick Break, Rock Tomb, and Flare Blitz. As a Gigantamax Charizard, it can use Max Lightning, Max Airstream, G-Max Wildfire, and Max Knuckle.
Debut	Flash of the Titans!
Japanese	Kenta Miyake
English	Kenta Miyake

Voice actors
		Dragapult
		Dragapult is Leon's second known Pokémon. In Sword and Shield: The Darkest Day!, Leon used it to battle a Coalossal that had Gigantamaxed alongside Ash's Pikachu and Gengar, eventually taking it down. In JN100, Dragapult was used in Leon's training. Sometime later, Leon used Dragapult to confront a pair of Corviknight that attacked him and Ash. Dragapult's known moves are Dragon Darts and Dragon Rush.
Debut	Sword and Shield: The Darkest Day!
Japanese
English	Daman Mills (Dreepy)

Temporary

		Alcremie
		Leon borrowed an Alcremie from Opal to take part in the All-Alcremie Decoration Challenge she had arranged. None of Alcremie's moves are known.
Debut	The Sweet Taste of Battle!

		Corviknight
		During his training with Ash in JN100, Leon encountered a pair of Corviknight that were attacking other Pokémon. After calming one of them, Leon took it away so Ash could save the injured Rookidee in Corviknight's nest. None of Corviknight's moves are known.
Debut	JN100

Achievements

Pokémon League

Leon's World Coronation Series rank

Leon has competed in the following Pokémon League Conferences:

Galar Champion Cup - Winner (prior to Flash of the Titans!)

World Coronation Series

Leon has competed in the World Coronation Series. His rank and class are as follows:

Monarch (Master Class; as of Flash of the Titans!)

Pokémon competitions

All-Alcremie Decoration Challenge - Participant (The Sweet Taste of Battle!)

Gallery

Leon being crowned the Monarch of the World Coronation Series

Artwork


Official artwork for Pokémon Journeys: The Series	Official artwork for Pokémon Journeys: The Series	Official artwork for Pokémon Journeys: The Series	Official artwork for Pokémon Journeys: The Series

Official artwork for Pokémon Journeys: The Series	Official artwork for Pokémon Journeys: The Series from the Animage Magazine	Artwork from Pokémon Journeys: The Series^[1]

Voice actors

Language		Voice actor
Japanese		小野大輔 Daisuke Ono
English		Alejandro Saab
Mandarin Chinese		于正昇 Yú Zhèngshēng
European French		Ilyas Mettioui
Indonesian		Ferry Kurniawan
Italian		Mattia Bressan
Polish		Wit Apostolakis-Gluziński
Brazilian Portuguese		Clécio Souto
Spanish	Latin America	Alejandro Orozco
Spanish	Spain	Adrián Viador