TIMELINE. Since Iâve been thinking about this a lot (and Iâve been interacting with a lot more canon/Galarian characters than I expected, I decided to put this timeline together to show where Emiâs main story fits in canon.
Emiâs journey starts when sheâs 16 years old. She departs Stow-on-Side with her Clefairy in the late summer. This is assuming the Gym Challenge season goes from late August to late May. Her gym challenge takes place two to three years before the events of SwSh.
By the time the Champion Cup rolls around, Emi is 17 years old and a force to be reckoned with. Following her loss at the finals and the confrontation with her father, she hops on the first train leaving Wyndon without care of destination. She ends up in Couriway, Kalos.
Emi spends a few months of soul-searching in Kalos. When she ends up in Laverre, gym leader Valerie recognizes her lost soul and takes her under her wing. After some training, Emi becomes a gym trainer at the Laverre Gym. This is the point where she begins to specialize in Fairy-type pokémon.
After about a year and a halfâs time under Valerieâs tutelage, Emi feels herself grow more confident. Her strength as a trainer becomes full-fledged and it becomes harder for her to hold back during gym battles. Valerie decides she has no more to teach her so Emi makes the bold decision to return to Galar with her mentorâs blessing.
Emi is 19 years old when she returns to Galar in the early fall, a few months after the SwSh protagonist defeats Leon and becomes the Champion. Hearing that gym leader Opal is searching for a replacement, she makes her way to Ballonlea and confronts the legendary gym leader to prove her own worth. [ NOTE: This timeline follows the idea that Bede did NOT want to become the Ballonlea gym leader. ]
Her 20th birthday marks her first month as the official Ballonlea gym leader. All interactions take place after this point.
