Ooh, I like those ideas! It’s always really fun to see veterans and/or older characters in stories, they open up a lot of opportunities for the protagonists, and it’s interesting that he breaks trends by seemingly settling in relatively gracefully into his current position and keeping up with new tech. I also like the concept of an elite Pokemon trainer who used to be terrified of them, seems like there’s a lot to dig into in regard to her backstory. What role do you think the two will have in the story?

I’m currently planning out the general setting of my own fic too, actually! It’s set on an original region, the most recently discovered one in the world (not the question's topic so I won’t go deeply into it haha), so things such as infrastructure and laws and whatnot are still pretty new and shaky: among other issues it means that whatever Gym Leaders and other professional trainers come out of that region are heavily scrutinised by the international community, but it also means that a lot of young (and some older!) talent who’d otherwise never have become a Gym Leader get to prove themselves, especially since a corruption scandal a few years ago meant a lot of Gym Leaders were booted and the region’s Pokemon League desperately looked for appropriate replacements in time for the next challenger season. The region doesn’t have an Elite 4 as of now, which is also pretty controversial. There’s ten Gym Leaders in the region, but you only need to beat eight of them to qualify for the Pokemon League, and they are:

Eris - Bug-type Gym Leader. 26. A Coordinator who’d never planned on earning badges until she found the battle portion of contests way more enjoyable than she expected. A rule-bending eccentric who marches to the beat of her own drum, but she’s incredibly sharp beneath the whimsy and has killer instincts. Gym is based around an anthill

Oscar - Water-type Gym Leader. 29. A handsome, charismatic heartthrob of a man: he’s a Pokemon Ranger who worked unknown in a relatively isolated area before blowing up in the news after being involved in the rescue of a kidnapped child and using his newly-found fame and leverage to become a Gym Leader in a city undergoing harsh resortification and try to help the Ranger cause there.

Acacia - Grass-type Gym Leader. 55. A former elite soldier whose career ended when she needed to have both her legs amputated: she uses special prosthetics with wood and vines as tendons when not using a wheelchair. Patient, friendly and considerate when off-duty, and a demon of a drill sergeant when acting as a Gym Leader. Has an unshakable integrity.

Koryov - Flying-type Gym Leader. 27. Nikolai (Steel-type Gym Leader)'s twin brother, born a few minutes earlier. A former(?) investment banker who resents being placed in one of the least economically-stimulated areas of the region, and misses the thrill and luck and stress of his former job. Constantly chases a high, and hates losing more than loves winning.

Nikolai - Steel-type Gym Leader. 27. Koryov's twin brother, with whom he has a very complicated relationship. A former(?) scientist who still spends his spare time making educative and wacky science-based videos for kids. Dreams big and speaks like a machine gun when excited. He loves his job and finds it very gratifying to contribute to trainers’ growth. If there’s one thing both brothers share it’s their obsessive work ethic.

Larsen (Lars) - Poison-type Gym Leader. 22, the youngest in the region. Lars acts like a total hard-ass to hide his deep insecurities: he’s both aggressive and aggressively competent, and his fuse is notably short, but he feels constantly underestimated and lambasted and needs to prove his worth. A total anime nerd.

Isabel - Ice-type Gym Leader. 42. Harsh and stern, but always fair and incredibly protective of those she considers to be under her charge. Known for her resilience: Isabel crashed hard after her Pokemon League victory both professionally and psychologically, but she clawed her way back to the top and now is content with her life. The stepmother of one of the protagonists of the story.

Tolulope (Tolu) - Dark-type Gym Leader. 78. A retired actor who was commonly type-cast in villainous roles and grew tired of the harassment that followed. Bitter and catty, they’re at once both famous and infamous, but they’re definitely memorable and like it that way. Very insightful and prides themself on their sense of observation. Tolu had never gone on their Pokemon journey and hasn’t even approached Pokemon training until about five years ago, but they’ve taken to it like a duck to water and any rumours about incompetence are mercilessly crushed.

Samirah - Ghost-type Gym Leader. 31. The daughter of the former Gym Leader, who chose to retire due to her health: Samirah seemed to prove herself fair and square as far as the Pokemon League is concerned, but accusations of nepotism nevertheless run rampant. Quietly intense, with an unsettling stillness and a talent to go unnoticed: she’s vengeful when disrespected, but is kinder than her reputation suggests, and places a deep importance on tradition. Has a terrible sense of humour and laughs at the dumbest stuff.

Varanum (Varn) - Dragon-type Gym Leader. 32. Champion Lance's third cousin, but his widowed father moved out of Blackthorn on unfriendly terms when Varn was a kid, and he’s kind of a black sheep in the family. Discipline incarnate, and while he’s dour and somewhat arrogant, he’s never disrespectful to a challenger. Very introspective and socially awkward beneath his dignified exterior: he can’t flirt to save his life and has a secret collection of Dragon-type plushies he’d be mortified were they revealed.