Leaf & Red

Gen Relationship
Relationship:	Japanese: レッド & リーフ (Red & Leaf) English: Leaf & Red
Alternative name(s):	血縁主人公 (meaning Blood-Related Protagonists)
Fandom:	Pokémon
Type:	Childhood friends; sister and brother
Canonical?:	Friends (in Pokémon Masters)
Prevalence:	Popular
Archives:	n/a
See also:	Kanto Games Trio, which adds Blue Oak BurningLeafShipping, their romantic pairing
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Leaf & Red is a common gen (combi in Japanese) relationship in the Pokémon fandom. It pairs Leaf (Leaf) and Red (Red), the female and male playable characters in Pokémon Fire Red and Leaf Green respectively.

The two characters have only appeared in the Pokémon game series. Their cross-canon counterparts in the the Pokémon Special manga, Blue and Red, are shipped to form Blue & Red.

Leaf/Red, the romantic version of their relationship, is less popular

Canon Overview

Origin as Kanto Protagonists

See also: Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow § Plot Overview

Red is the default name of the playable protagonist of the first Pokémon video games (1996). Red and other characters were adapted into a manga series: Pocket Monsters Special, also known as Pokéspe, and released in English-language markets under the title Pokémon Adventures. Alongside Red, one of the story's main characters is a female character, Blue (instead known by the name Green in English localizations), who was based on the unnamed female character that appeared with Red on the illustrated cover of the official strategy guide for the Pokémon games.

Beginning with Pokémon Crystal, the capstone game of the Generation II era, games began giving players the option to play the games with a female protagonist. In the Generation III era, the Generation I games were remade as Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (2004); in these games, players could now choose to play as a female protagonist. This character came to be known among fans as Leaf, one of the default names provided by the game.

Sugimori Ken, foremost illustrator for the game series, has commented that the design of this female protagonist was influenced by that unnamed female character from the original strategy guide. Beginning with the Generation III games Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald (RSE), the character not chosen as the playable protagonist would instead go on to fill a role as a non-player character (NPC); for example, if the player chooses the female option May as the playable protagonist, then the male option Brendan would appear in the story in a non-playable role as the protagonist's new friend and rival.

Unlike most protagonist alternates, Red and Leaf do not appear together or interact within their main game. Without a canon basis for what sort of relationship the characters would have if they were to appear together, fans have come up with their own headcanons and fanon ideas. While fans are fond of Leaf, most accept Red as the canon protagonist of the Kanto games, and so fans tend to create Leaf's characterization and personal history in a way that complies with the canon established for Red and his achievements. Because Red and Leaf have the same house, mother, hair color, and childhood rival, many fans enjoy the idea that the two coexist as brother and sister; alternatively, some fans headcanon that they're childhood friends from the same hometown. Other fans import their characterizations and relationship dynamics from the Pokespe manga adaptation.

Characterization

Pokémon protagonists tend to be intentional blank slates. Both Red and Leaf have extremely limited in-game characterization; their sprites are both depicted with serious, intense expressions in Pokémon battles. However, the limited number of official FRLG illustrations depict Leaf smiling, while Red tends to have a serious expression—many fans have run with headcanons of a complementary "grumpy and sunshine" dynamic. Generally fan art portrays Leaf as somewhat more cheerful and sociable than Red, but both of them tend to be more quiet and reserved compared to other series protagonists, giving them a quiet, comfortable relationship. Humorous fan works portray exaggerated contrasts between them, prompting wacky personality clashes.

Leaf returns: 2018-present

After fourteen years of no new media appearances since FRLG, Leaf's 2018 comeback in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate provided some more contrasts between cheerful Leaf and serious Red in their gestures and expressions; Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! also characterized them as very different individuals. Game-based versions of Leaf and Red officially interacted for the first time in the spin-off mobile game Pokémon Masters. Here it is established that the Kanto Trio are very close friends with each other. They are childhood friends from the same town, and Leaf set out on her journey in tandem with Red and Green.

Fanon and Tropes

• Alola Pokémon Sun and Moon
• Super Smash Bros.
• Twitch Plays Pokémon
• "Abandoned Lonliness"
• Red and Leaf (Pokemon) are Twins

In FRLG, if you choose one protagonist while playing, the other protagonist will not appear. In fan fiction, the two are interpreted in a variety of ways, with some portraying them as childhood friends, others as brother and sister.

なお、FRLGではプレイ時に片方の主人公を選ぶともう一方の主人公が登場することはない。二次創作では二人を幼なじみとしたり兄妹/姉弟としたりするなど、人によって解釈は様々のようである。

Fan Works and Fan Communities

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

Fan Art

• ホームスイートホーム by zheN, ^{Archived version} (2013)
• When Prof. Oak isn’t home by jen-jen-rose, ^{Archived version} (2014)
• Fan Art by oshoyu38, ^{Archived version} (2019), alternate colors of their appearances in Super Smash Bros
• "no matter how much you grow up, you'll always be my son" by kawacy ^{[Unable to archive]} (2014)
• She chose Dome :'( by rubies_are_red, ^{Archived version} (on Reddit), ^{Archived version}(2014), Leaf choosing evil in the Twitch Plays Pokémon canon.
• Fan Art by lillinhuang, ^{Archived version} (2020)
• Birds of a feather die together by c0rinarii, ^{Archived version} (2024), Abandoned Lonliness AU.
• 只今！by 泊木, ^{Archived version} (2010)
• お兄ちゃんと妹 by がみこ, ^{Archived version} (2010)

Fan Comics

• She deserves it by rainyazurehoodie, ^{Archived version} (2018), Leaf and Red receiving their Super Smash Bros. Invitation Letters + dubbed animatic by GabaLeth, ^{Archived version}

Fan Fic

• "The Leaf Green Incident" [1]^WBM by MintyElectronica (2012), There's a reason why no one remembers Leaf. Written for the Pokécommunity's Small Writing Contest
• "Fallen Leaf" [2]^WBM by sparklingdemon (2019), with a dramatic reading by sparklingdemon, ^{Archived version}
• Hello Beaches! by yaaadooon (candy), ^{Archived version} (2024), Leaf visits Alola for a much needed vacation, but she's not having the greatest time. Maybe a quick challenge at the Battle Tree can fix her mood? Maybe 50 battles at the Battle Tree? In a row?

Animatics and Fan Animation

• POKÉMON RED SERIES by Pedro Araujo, ^{Archived version} (~2020)

External links

• 血縁主人公 on PixivEncyclopedia
• Leaf & Red (Pokemon) tag on Archive of Our Own (AO3)