Something I’ve been thinking about is how Paldea having a champion-rank is that it makes being a champion probably the least stressful in any region outside of the Indigo League before the events of RBGY/FRLG/LGPE Because instead of just one sitting champion, you can just pass the assessment test get the rank and move on. Sure you have the top champion in Geeta but other than that Nemona and the player are free to do whatever. And we don’t even know how many other champion-ranked trainers are out there and are just chilling doing something else with their lives. Which is great because in the end, the gym challenge is nothing more than a very organized sporting event which has been true all the way since Kanto. And going on a journey has at it’s core always been about coming of age. So making a child to be the sitting champion and whatever it may entail (which varies from region to region) can seem to be too much (especially when you consider that for the regional protagonist they also had to deal with some threat). But having a champion rank allows for more children to at least attempt to be the best with little pressure and commitment afterwards should they succeed. Which is great because again Pokemon battling is just an organized sporting event and the Pokemon journey is again a coming of age challenge. Having proficient talent in battling shouldn’t force a child to be in the limelight or put in a position where they may be expected to intervene in dire situations.
It shouldn’t even force an adult either because you know what if an adult had a full time career they loved but they enjoyed Pokemon battling as a hobby and wanted to see how far they could go? Should they be forced to now take up a mantle and added responsibility just because they wanted to have some fun or try something they couldn’t do as a kid? While we don’t know everything about how the Paldean League works, it doesn’t seem as if Geeta just had the responsibilities of being chairwoman of the leagued dumped on her because she was top champion, but rather that she chose to do so. And that her status as Top Champion was gained because she decided to prove to she was the strongest of the champion-ranked trainers of her own free will. She could’ve chosen a quiet life after passing the champion assessment but she chose not to. And her losing a battle doesn’t mean that she loses a job. Sure in other regions it’s “once a champion, always a champion” (as in you’ll always have that hall of fame record) but you lose your league position when you lose a title defense match. And that’s probably one of the most ideal systems to have for a sport like Pokemon Battling. Let people go as far as they want and choose how much involvement they want in the league if they make it to the top. The only other league that can compare is surprisingly the Indigo, but that’s only before the events of Gen 1 and Let’s Go. Let’s Go actually outright states that having a standing champion was new and when you look at RBGY/FRLG that’s also true when you think of the email Oak got from the league. So up until Blue/Trace all you had to do was beat the elite four and you were a champion but you didn’t have to stay there if you didn’t want to.
