Lifestyles of the tough and famous

[Baby Seals]

I'm dedicating this topic to speculation on the life styles of Gym Leaders and other important Trainers.

What do you think life is like for Gym Leaders and Elite Four members when they're not battling Trainers?

Do you think they live alone or with families? Do you think they have lots of people surrounding them constantly or they are more lonely? What about their relationships with other Gym Leaders? (I'm not talking about shipping, I'm talking about things like getting to know other leaders in the region and in other regions.)

I think it depends on the Gym Leader and what their occupation is. For example, Elesa is a supermodel and Roxie is in a rock band, so naturally they has a lot of people following them around. On the other hand, Morty and Flannery do not seem to do anything like that, so I would assume their lives are a little more private.

It might even vary between the games, the anime, and the manga. In the games, Falkner clearly has no occupation besides Gym Leader. But in the manga, he helps out with the police. The anime gives some insight to their life styles, but the games kinda leave it a little more vague - especially the older ones where Gym Leaders are not shown outside of their Gyms.

Who they live with might depend on the age. I'd expect a lot of the younger Gym Leaders like Roxie, Falkner, Janine, and Bugsy to still live with their parents. But older ones like Lt. Surge, Clair, Fantina, and Drayden would probably live on their own - maybe with spouses or children if they have them.

Elite Four members, on the other hand, probably do get quite a bit of publicity and attention. They probably have very good living quarters too. And don't even get me started on Champions.

 

[CrackFox]

Most gym leaders in the anime seem like loner types. You get the impression their duties take up most of their time.

 

[Almonds]

Roark and Byron are miners obviously. Roark even explains you about the Underground when you first get there. Their jobs are better showcased in the anime.

Steven is the heir to the Devon Corp. But he spends time in caves and stuff. I guess he might have already completed business school or so...

 

[NoirGrimoir]

I figure most gym leaders have a day job that they are doing between pokemon training and battles. I mean, we know Lenora works in a museum, Burgh is an artist, Elesa is an Idol/Model, the trio bros are waiters/hosts, Sabrina is an actress now, etc. All the other gym leaders I figure they are too young to have day jobs yet (I mean, Falkner and Flannery are still teenagers, you know? What are they going to do?), are old enough to be retired (like Price and Blaine), or have a job or do things that the games just don't mention. And I figure they spend time educating people about pokemon and their pokemon type specialty, and helping the trainers that hang around their gyms and whatnot. And they probably get some money doing advertizements and promotions and stuff, since they are relatively famous, and maybe they enter pokemon competitions that give out monetary prizes.

I do have my own little fanon bits about the various gym leaders lives that we don't know about, though. For instance, I think Mr. Psychic is Sabrina's father, that Volkner and Flint were delinquents when they were younger, Clair is some kind of Miko/priestess, and that Morty is a folklorist and in charge of historical preservation of the two towers and stuff in Ecruteak.

 

[Champloo]

I'm going to go in on Volkner specifically...I think he lives THE LIFE...he probably gets all the ladies.

I have no doubt he is the DOMINANT presence among his fellow gym leaders and I'm sure that everyone looks up to him...I mean after all he revamped his whole gym out of boredom...talk about being productive one your spare time.

Volkner = all time favorite Gym leader

 

[Almonds]

Kanto

Spoiler

Brock: museum curator, personal trainer
Misty: Lifeguard
Lt. Surge: Soldier
Erika: Florist
Koga/Janine: Ninja
Sabrina: Actress
Blaine: Retired scientist
Giovanni: Mafia godfather
Lorelei: Teacher
Agatha: Retired something
Bruno: Black belt XDD Martial arts specialist
Blue/Green: Personal trainer

Johto

Spoiler

Falkner: Cop
Bugsy: Researcher
Whitney: Unemployed
Morty: Psychic, shrine priest
Chuck: Martial arts expert
Jasmine: Lighthouse keeper
Pryce: Retired something
Clair/Lance: Dragon Tamer or shrine priestess/priest
Will: Psychic or magician
Karen: Model?

Hoenn

Spoiler

Roxanne: Student/teacher
Brawly: Professional surfer
Wattson: Retired technician
Flannery: unemployed or Hot springs manager
Norman: Personal trainer
Winona: Pilot
Twins: Psychics
Wallace/Juan: Coordinators/Artists
Sidney: Rocker
Phoebe: Hula dancer
Glacia:...??????
Drake: Captain
Steven: Stone Collector/stone maniac/Rich boy/corporation heir...

Sinnoh

Spoiler

Roark: Miner
Gardenia: Florist/Gardener
Maylene: Martial arts trainee
Crasher Wake: Professional Wrestler
Fantina: Coordinator/Dancer
Byron: Miner
Candice: Shrine priestess or teacher
Volkner: Technician
Aaron: ....???
Bertha: Retired something
Flint:.......???
Lucian: Psychic or Librarian
Cynthia: Ruin maniac

Unova

Spoiler

Triplets: Waiters
Lenora: Librarian or Museum curator
Burgh: Artist
Elesa: Fashion model
Clay: Businessman
Skyla: Pilot
Brycen: Actor
Drayden: Mayor
Cheren: Teacher
Roxie: Punk rocker
Marlon: Fisherman
Grimsley: aristocrat/gambler
Caitilin: aristocrat/princess
Shauntal: Writer
Marshal: Professional boxer
Alder: Retired something
Iris: ...Dragon tamer???

My thoughts with the help from my blog comments.

 

[Baby Seals]

There's no way that Caitlin is royalty. She's from Unova, and I doubt it has a royal family. However, there are lots of people who think they are royalty, only some of whom are actually from wealthy families.

Aristocracy is possible, though.

I'm actually thinking of writing a fanfic where Falkner is asked to be a cop. (But knowing who I am, I might make it a funny story instead of a serious one.) And I TOTALLY agree that Volkner must be a bad boy.

 

[Typhlosionisafirebadger]

well Drayden is prob mayor for life in Opelucid

wouldn't you vote for the dude who wrestles dragons in his spare time/training?

Marlon is a pro surfer and was on the Hoenn circuit w brawly back in the day

Grimsley seems like he was a grifter,y'know? the E4 thing is a legit gig. He prob cheated quite a few folks at Voltorb Flip

Iris is like 12 so Middle school CHAMPION prob

 

[Hidden Power]

When gym leaders and elite four members are not battling, they are training and studying, as it is required to the job they're responsible.

Moreover, when not battling they are cooking, sleeping, pooping and all other things a normal person does.

 

[Drake.]

Other than just doing things that any other normal person would do, most of these people probably have some role in the government. The Elite Four and Champion definitely play large roles in the region's government, and I'm sure the gym leaders have some degree of governmental authority in their respective cities.

 

[reynard]

I think gym leaders basically live the same lives as normal people do. I don't think many of them would have another job, not a full time job anyway. Being the leader of the gym means being the owner, and that seems pretty demanding. Think about it. They have to do maintenance on their battle field, or make sure they get someone for maintenance (those battles must do regular damage, Flannery for example). They have to care for all the Pokemon they keep in the gym, give them attention, exercise, and make sure they purchase enough food, so on and so forth. And since it is a gym, people come there to learn and practice. For example, in the anime Sabrina's gym had lots of people testing their psychic abilities. Erica teaches classes, and she has a perfume shop too. But generally gym leaders may be too busy to do anything else full time. Brock sure didn't, what with his brothers and sisters.

And sure, Cilian and his brothers have a restaurant, but isn't that built into the gym? And as for living spaces, that could vary too. I mean it would be really convenient for the Gym leader to live there. But the gym would have to have those sorts of living spaces built into the architecture. That might be possible for those that build the gym.

Of course gym leaders probably charge something for people that come to learn at the gym, that would make sense as a form of income. I remember Misty's sisters putting on that show, that would count too. Or maybe the Pokemon League gives out the sanctioned gyms money.

When it comes to the Elite Four, that's tougher. I mean the Elite Four are only officially challenged with the league conference, and that's yearly, far less frequent than gyms. So they must find something to keep them busy.

 

[zakisrage]

I'm sure most of them do know each other pretty well. How they get along...well that might depend.

 

[reynard]

I'm sure most of them do know each other pretty well. How they get along...well that might depend.

Yeah, you would think they would maybe meet each other. Maybe all the leaders of the official gyms have a meeting where they get to talk amongst themselves and league officials.

Also, what's this about Sabrina being an actress? This is the Sabrina from Saffron City, right?

 

[NoirGrimoir]

@reynard; In BW2 there are movie-making side quests at Poke'star Studios, and one of the actresses is Sabrina. She plays an evil witch.

 

[hyperspeed]

Chuck apparently likes to sit under a waterfall. All day. Every day.

 

[Almonds]

There's no way that Caitlin is royalty. She's from Unova, and I doubt it has a royal family. However, there are lots of people who think they are royalty, only some of whom are actually from wealthy families.

N was the King, though XDD And the anime featured royal people a few times. There was the Queen in Movie 8, and there was also a princess that looked exactly like Dawn in DP.

Caitilin lives in the Battle Castle XDD She might be an aristocrat, but she could also be a princess.

 

[reynard]

@reynard; In BW2 there are movie-making side quests at Poke'star Studios, and one of the actresses is Sabrina. She plays an evil witch.

Huh. I'm only used to the anime so I am...surprised...and yet not surprised. On the one hand, I never expected Sabrina of all people to be an actress. I guess she got better at emoting, and, you know, not turning people into dolls and all that.

On the other hand...the part she's playing...

 

[Baby Seals]

Huh. I'm only used to the anime so I am...surprised...and yet not surprised. On the one hand, I never expected Sabrina of all people to be an actress. I guess she got better at emoting, and, you know, not turning people into dolls and all that.

The turning into dolls thing was from the anime. The games don't normally follow the anime. But it could be a cross-canon reference.

 

[reynard]

Huh. I'm only used to the anime so I am...surprised...and yet not surprised. On the one hand, I never expected Sabrina of all people to be an actress. I guess she got better at emoting, and, you know, not turning people into dolls and all that.

The turning into dolls thing was from the anime. The games don't normally follow the anime. But it could be a cross-canon reference.

Still, speaking purely from the anime version, I'm glad to see her therapy is going well. That Haunter deserves a medal. Someone please give it one.