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Leaf
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Japanese: リーフ (Leaf) English, German, French, Italian: Leaf Spanish: Hoja Korean: 리프 (Ripeu) Chinese (Mandarin): 葉子 (Yèzǐ) Chinese (Cantonese): 葉子 (Yihpjí) (more on Bulbapedia) |
| Occupation: | Pokémon Trainer Pokémon Champion |
| Relationships: | n/a |
| Fandom: | Pokémon |
| Other: | Red (Pokémon) (male counterpart) Blue (Pokémon) (manga counterpart) Elaine (Pokémon) (spiritual successor) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Leaf is a Pokémon trainer and the female playable protagonist from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. She also makes appearances in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokémon Masters, and a version of the character appears in the Pokéspe manga adaptation. Although Leaf was originally a fanon-given name for her, Leaf became her canonical name in 2018 with her inclusion in Masters, 14 years after she was first introduced.
The character is popular with fans, though less so than her male counterpart Red, who is recognized as the original and canon protagonist of the Kanto region throughout Pokémon media.
Leaf is considered a Cross-canon Counterpart to Blue, a character who officially debuted in Pokémon Let's Go! Pikachu and Let's Go! Eevee, but had existed in the manga series ~19 years before and was planned as a featured character in Pokémon Red and Blue before that. Pairings that feature "Gameverse!Blue" will be featured in this article instead of that one.
The Pokémon that Leaf is most associated include Venusaur and Eevee.
Canon Overview
The original Pokémon games starred a playable protagonist known as Red. In the 2004 remakes Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (FRLG), the player may choose between a male option and a female option for the playable protagonist; the female option has come to be known as Leaf.
In the Kanto storyline of the video games, the child protagonist begins the game in Pallet Town, also home to a childhood friend-turned-rival, Green (known as Blue in most Western releases). The protagonist embarks on a journey to capture and index the 150 Pokémon species available in the Pokédex. Throughout this journey, the protagonist travels across the Kanto region, captures and trains Pokémon, fills the Pokédex, wins battles against the region's eight Gym Leaders, and thwarts the criminal organization Team Rocket, while Green stays ahead, occasionally challenging the protagonist to battle. The protagonist defeats the Elite Four and Green, earning the title Champion of the Indigo League.
The FRLG remakes include some additional post-game content, such as new locations like the Sevii Islands.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) introduced Leaf as the female option of Pokémon Trainer, with various palette swaps representing the outfits of other female Pokémon protagonists.
Leaf is a popular playable unit in the spin-off video game Pokémon Masters.
Popular Tropes & Fanon
- Distinguish from Red - 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. Some fans import Leaf's characterization from Blue in the Pokéspe manga adaptation.
- Dead - The Pokémon fandom is infamous for grimdark, angsty theories and headcanons. Unlike Red, Leaf makes no further appearances in the Pokémon series after FRLG—so a notable fanon explanation for Leaf's absence was that she died. Sometimes her death was played for drama; in other cases, her death was played for horror, especially existential horror and cosmic horror related to being erased from reality. This fanon has deceased in popularity since the character has reappeared in Super Smash Bros.
- Kanto Trio in Alola - Red and Green's appearance in Pokémon Sun and Moon (2016) kickstarted unprecedented popularity in the Kanto Trio. Red and Green briefly appear as opponents in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, visibly unchanged from their appearances in FRLG and HeartGold and SoulSilver. When they appeared as visibly older adults with updated designs in Sun and Moon, fans began coming up with their own headcanons for Leaf's adult appearance. Fueled by inspiration from the wildly popular Pokémon species variants trend of the 2010s and the canon Alolan regional variants of Pokémon, there was an outpouring of fan art and fan comics featuring fan-made designs for Alola-ready adult Leaf, amassing millions of views.
- What is Leaf doing away from Red and Green - Other than imagining Leaf accompanying Red and Green, fans come up with ideas for business that prompts her absence. One example of common fanon positions Leaf serving as Champion of the Kanto region while Red and Green are away.
Subjects of Fannish Interest & Meta
[discourse, trivia, popular memes, character analysis, fan reactions, really anything]
Leaf vs Blue vs Green
Fuguri
Before Leaf's name was canonized, some Japanese fans called her Fuguri (フグリ). Fuguri is the name of Veronica persica in Japan, (known in English as birdeye speedwell and other 'speedwell' names,) and is a small blue flower.
However, this word is also slang for testicles, so the change was welcomed.[1]
Relationships
F/M | NL
- Leaf is most popularly shipped with Blue Oak, forming ConflictingShipping. In Japanese, this is called グリリフ (Guririfu)
- 初代ライ主♀ is another way of writing it, meaning First Rival x Female Protagonist.
- This ship once had its own page on Bulbapedia, seen here, Archived version.
- ライ主♀, meaning Rival x Female Protagonist, also works.
- Leaf is also shipped with Red, forming BurningLeafShipping. In Japanese, this is called 赤葉 (Akaha), lit. "Red Leaves."
- See here, Archived version for the section on Bulbapedia
- Leaf is also shipped with Giovanni, forming ThwartShipping. In Japanese, this is called サカリフ (Sakarifu).
- 悪主♀, meaning Pokémon Villian x Female Protagonist, also works.
Gen | Combi
- Together she, Green/Blue Oak, and Red form the Kanto Trio.
- The gen (combi in Japanese) relationship between Leaf and Red may be called Leaf & Red in English.
- Many interpret Red as her brother or childhood friend, both non-canonical (with the exception of the latter friendship being canon within Pokémon Masters).
- In the scenario of the characters being siblings, the duo is known as 血縁主人公 ("Blood-Related Protagonists") in Japanese.
- As of this writing, Leaf & Red is Leaf's most popularly used relationship tag on Archive of Our Own.[2]
- Many interpret Red as her brother or childhood friend, both non-canonical (with the exception of the latter friendship being canon within Pokémon Masters).
- Blue Oak & Leaf is fairly uncommon compared to their ConflictingShipping ship, or to the Kanto Trio formed with Red.
- Having Leaf interact with Charizard has its own tag on Pixiv: リザリー (Rizarī). In English, this is called FriendlyFireShipping.
- Having Leaf interact with Mewtwo has its own tag on Pixiv: ミュウリー (Myuurī). In English, this is called MindwaveShipping.
Poly
- Blue, Leaf and Red are all shipped together, forming Blue Oak/Leaf/Red.
Less Popular Relationships
- RedwoodShipping - May x Leaf, the rarepair of the Generation III female protagonists
- SouerShipping - Serena x Leaf, a rarepair possibly launched on the basis of the characters wearing somewhat similarly shaped hats
More can be found on Neverending Romance, a community-created relationship name list.
Example/Notable Fanac
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fan Communities/Fan Events
- blue-pokemon, Archived version, a club on Fanpop
- pokemon-leaf, Archived version, a club on Fanpop
- burningleafshipping, Archived version, a club on Deviantart for Leaf/Red.
Wikis
Tags
- #リーフ(トレーナー) on Pixiv
- Leaf (Pokemon) on Archive Of Our Own (AO3)
- leaf_(pokemon) on Safebooru