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One of the Pokemon games of Sun/Moon, not sure if those or the redo-s of those but regardless, essentially confirmed that a multiverse exists in Pokemon, and everything's a mess technically anyways. Whether or not gamefreak etc considers it canon or not, who knows. Pokemon was a mess to start anyways, but an enjoyable mess regardless.
They named her Leaf to avoid confusion in international marketing, since G1 rival is Green in Japan and Blue internationally. They'd have to print separate merchandise packaging and prepare warehouse data for foreign markets. Confusion between naming female and male rivals would be hard to untangle. I think they should've done the same in Let's Go and just call her Leaf Green to fit the naming scheme.
Wouldn’t it make more sense that her full name is “Leaf Green” and is known by either her first name or surname? To reconcile both names for what is essentially indeed the same intended character?
I just figured she was related to one of the professors because they all have names that come from trees. Her name is Leaf and she came from a tree like Birch, Oak, Elm, ect. That was my old theory.
That would cause confusion with Japanese audiences mostly because Blue, Red's rival, is named Green instead (because they got Red and Green first). When Pokémon Adventures came out, the third trainer was named Blue (with Pokémon Blue's release), but renamed Green internationally.
Considering how you discuss Adventures earlier in the video, I'm surprised that you didn't mention how the manga handled the situation. In Adventures, they did a FireRed/LeafGreen arc, and in it, Green changes her clothes to resemble Leaf from the remakes, straight up showing that, at least in that canon, they are the same character. Granted, during the HeartGold/SoulSilver arc, they do the same thing with Kris, giving her Lyra's clothes making them the same, but it makes a lot more sense in Green/Leaf's case, since clothes aside, they already look pretty damn similar.
I mean Kris and Lyra do have the same haircut, it's just that Kris has blue/black hair and Lyra had brown hair, so she could have dyed it and her name is just Kris Lyra or Lyra Kris and she goes by the nicknames "Kris" and "Lyra".
Because game freak designers choke at every thing they do. Even they choke all the beta mons from gen 1 and 2 and didn't give us 1997 gold but rather the one we have now
@@itzpat215Choke? It’s normal for literally every game developer to scrap tons and tons of early drafts and designs for characters, locations, story beats, dialogue, etc. The only difference is with Game Freak, we get to see what they scrapped thanks to the leaks. We don’t get that luxury with other game devs, but they literally go through the same thing. Even Toby Fox does, and he made Undertale. His newsletters sometimes have him reveal some of the many, many things he says he’s scrapped in his games.
@@itzpat215Gold 1997 was in a very unfinished state though. It was still made with the Super Gameboy in mind, and when the GBC came out in 1998, they basically had to scrap most things and start anew.
So if Red's internal name is Ninten and Blue's is Sony in the western releases, then this removed female trainer would've been internally named Sega, and Leaf would've been Micros, as Microsoft is too long to fit in.
Leaf and Green are the same character. It's just confusing naming. She looks exactly the same. In the manga, she wears both outfits as Green. Leaf could just be a nickname, you know.
But in the manga we also have Krys wearing the same outfit as Lyra, even though those two are supposed to be two different characters. I used to think that Green = Leaf and Krys = Lyra, but nowadays I only thing Green = Leaf, but Krys ≠ Lyra, unfortunately.
Here are the reasons why I personally think that Green and Leaf are intended to be the same character: - Leaf's Lodge Pair is a Clefable. Since lodge pairs are based on mons that characters have as NPCs, this means that Dena took Green’s NPC team into consideration when giving Leaf her Lodge Pair. - The Kantonian Mix Pairs are references Kantrio’s Classic Starters. Leaf’s Mix pair ended up being Blastoise, confirming that they consider LGPE Green as Leaf’s classic counterpart. - Leaf's personality is basically Green’s if she was a protag instead of a rival. (As she's a cheerful and fiesty girl, who's generally friendly but still has a cheeky/sassy side sometimes, can be pretty quirky and gets obsessed with her favorite mons, and as shown with her interactions with Valerie is open minded about blurring the lines between humans and pokemon; Which is very similar to Green's personality) - Masters actually gives Leaf an established relationship/history with Chase and Elaine, just like Green would, instead of making them unfamiliar with each other due to being from different games/timelines. - Leaf's unit literally makes references to LGPE. Right off the bat she has an Eevee who has a move called “Let's Go!” (or “Everyone, let's go!” in Japanese) and one of her topics in the Trainer Lodge is Pewter Crunchies. - Last but not least, Green's design is basically Leaf's if she was made to look more like the Beta Kanto Heroine, as explained in the the video. Also, if you think about it, Leaf co-existing with Red and Blue and growing up together is more inspired by LGPE lore than FRLG lore; as she can only co-exist with Red in the former games instead of the latter games...
When Mix Leaf was revealed I now really believe this idea. Blastoise is arguably LGPE Green's most recurring partner so a few players were legit speculating that she was now gonna be added there. But it ultimately didn't happen and it was Leaf once again, which I'm honestly glad so it doesn't generate confusion on casual players and because I honestly prefer her FRLG design. And Leaf's established familiarity with the LGPE MCs kinda gave it away anyway.
Leaf's design is cool, but Green's is so genuine. She kinda have these 90's soft gothic vibes (the only thing missing is a crucifix in the neck) and it contrasts so much with Red and Blue designs. I would love to see her in a mostly future remake of Kanto, rather than Leaf.
My personal theory is that they’re from different worlds/dimensions, kind of like how the characters in ORAS deviate from their original designs/personalities.
It was outright stated in ORAS that each game exists in its own universe. This was basically official confirmation that what happens in Red has no bearing on what happens in FireRed, and that Diamond and X may not even exist in the same timeline. Thus why I think it's important to not overthink this stuff. Leaf is a character. Green is a character. They might be similar but aren't the same.
@@drygnfyre That's a pretty boring way to think about it though. If GameFreak didn't want us to consider the other games, then they wouldn't leave in so many references to those other games. Well, for the older games at least, before Sword and Shield. Most of the newer Switch titles have so few references linking back to older games that it's clear they want people to forget about those now.
@@kryzethx You don't "have to" do anything. If you want to relate them to previous games, that's fine. Lots of long-running series have references and callbacks to previous games, even if they aren't related. And if you still remember the previous games, I guess they're not doing a good job :3
@@drygnfyre Sorry if my initial response came off a little aggressive lol. The first comment just sounded to me like "don't think about it, it doesn't really matter anyways, who cares", but I might have misinterpreted the tone. I really like the theorization and discussion about potential links between games, so that "don't overthink things" just hit me the wrong way lol.
personaly, this one likes the idea that Leaf and Green are seperate characters, but sisters that both ended up with somewhat similar teams. Or even just straight-up alternate universe counterparts of one another, like the difference between Rainbow Rocket Giovanni and main timline Geovanni
Among The Most Accredited Fandom Theories , Anyway Never Made Officials By The Pokemon Company And Games Freaks, There Is Precisely That Of 2 Different Universe Lines ... ... 😁 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Green has Leaf’s exact outfit at one point in the manga. Since the manga is the games’ story, I think it makes more sense to view it as Leaf and Green are the same person. I’d love to see Yellow, Emerald and other characters you see in the manga but not in the games or anime though. Especially Yellow. She’s so cute I love her. The only trio I can think of that make it outside the manga are Diamond, Pearl and Platinum
The manga is absolutely not the game's story lmao, or else half of the Kanto gym leaders would be part of Team Rocket, and Lance and the rest of the Kanto Elite Four would be villains, not heroes. The manga is its own canon, and the games are their own canon, just like the anime is its own canon (even if it features characters that look like the manga or game counterparts)
One of the major characters in ORAS stated that every Pokemon game exists in its own continuity. This was the closest you can get to official confirmation that each game and characters might be similar but aren't the same. Thus, I think this explains why you have Green in Let's Go and Leaf in Masters. They might be similar but aren't intended to be the same character. And may not even exist in the same continuity.
I never knew they considered a playable female this far back. Pretty cool, especially how they seemed to bring this design back for the Let's Go stuff!
It is way easier to just see then as equivalents from different timelines, we don't really have one fixed pokeworld after the multiverse stuff was introduced anyway, even Masters EX is kind of weird with the timeline placement of certain characters.
I think its interesting they had her in the circle with Red & Blue cause obviously they had plans to use her but its a big what if. Maybe lack of time? Might be my best guess. It would still take till crystal till a female character could be chosen. Weird right the 3rd Version of a Johto game like why the 3rd version and not the originals Gold & Silver
@@TheObsessiveGamer It definitely seems like it was thought about quite late into development and there wasnt time to fully implement it. I also wonder if any other outside factors could have been the case too. Since there wasnt a female character added till Pokemon Crystal i wonder if it was a cultural thing at the time
Did you know that Green/Leaf finally made her debut as an NPC in Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee? Also that’s Squirtle she chose in that famous image as the Ace of her team as a fully evolved Blastoise
@@Morgil27 I could have...but that just simply adapted what existed in the game so not much I had to really say on it. (ironically I watched it before making the video lol)
Something you neglected to mention in Masters, but Leaf also has unique dialogue when partnered with Elaine and Chase (and vice-versa for them), which to me, implies she and Green are kind of meant to be the same individual. Regardless, the naming scheme for the character is quite confusing.
Another point of contention was Smash Bros Ultimate. Both it and LGPE came out in the same year and yet the former has Leaf as the feminine alt of Pokemon Trainer, which itself keeps the FRLG Red design from Brawl despite the eventual LGPE redesigns. And to further add to the confusion. If you noticed, basically any media that used Green (animated shorts, Unite), she's never with Red or Blue, just by herself. So we kinda don't really know what the other 2's current official designs are, the LGPE throwbacks or the long established FRLG makeovers. Idk, if there's ever a Kanto revisit or this main trio is brought back in a GF developed game (maybe Gen 10 for the 30th anniversary?), that's where the stance of the trio's designs (and names in the girl's case) should be cleared up. Anyway, it's fascinating how the intent of having a female protagonist was an idea set up since the beginning and yet probably cut because of cartridge space or time constraints. It didn't become a feature until Crystal after all, with how difficult the development of everything that came before was. Though I'm glad the Adventures Manga rescued the original scrapped Green design and even more glad that Masters EX gave Leaf a second wind, especially considering the latter's exclusion in HGSS and especially SM just out of her not being in RGBY. And even after all these years, Leaf is still one of the best designed female MCs, probably on 3rd or 4th imo. Serena and Hilda might always be the best ones to me, but Leaf is fairly high up there.
It's amusing with the Japanese version of the games, Gary/Blue is known as Green in Japan... and him taking over Viridion City's Gym was fitting because the Earth Badge was known as the Green Badge As for the girl... One part I want to assume alternate realities/multiverse since as far back as OR/AS, they confirmed a multiverse exists, mentioning another world where Mega Evolution never was discovered. So perhaps Leaf is from the GBA remake universe onward while Green is in the Switch remake universe. Or maybe Game Freak would want to consolidate it by having her real name be Green and by wearing her alternate outfit, she goes by an alias of Leaf, a stage name if you will.
As another comment mentioned, it would have been very cool if the GBA remake fixed the naming conventions and reverted Blue/Gary's name to Green/Gary, Blue being the late girl who shows up in media all of a sudden with Red and Green makes perfect sense, since Blue was a later, kind of an unsung release in Japan (and it was sort of an exclusive one at that).
It's simple. There's the original three: Red, Green/Blue (Rival), and Green/Blue (Girl) who also appear in the LGPE games. Then there are the remake counterparts FireRed (Red), Leaf (Girl), and Green/Blue (Rival). There is no Blue in the Japanese version of Gen III, since the focus was on the two players, instead of Player vs. Rival. There was also no point in releasing a third version of a remake, especially since all JPN Blue did was fix several bugs and overhaul many early Pokemon sprites. Things where pretty refined by Gen III.
In all honesty, it’s obviously the same character but with different names. Probably can be seen as an AU situation and/or whatever design they feel like using in these games that just so happens to have specific name branding for them.
Having played the beta pokemon green leak where in the game had been programed with 186 pokemon (and Bird type was still a thing) they had a lot of extra content originally, which included Silph Tower which ends with you battling Professor Oak (the one that can still be accessed in Red/Blue) wherein you're allowed to challenge Mewtwo. After that there's that weird sprite to the right of the female trainer whom you talk to in Celadon City which takes you to another town where there's a 9th gym and cut CAPUMON content... so there was definitely room for Green!
There was no Pokémon Green Beta leak, you likely just played a ROM hack Even more if it was in english since the localization apparently started way after Red and Green were released since it used assed from the Japanese Blue version
The first two games released in Japan were Red and Green, where both the main character and their rival shared the same names as the game titles. When the games were released internationally as Red and Blue, the localization followed the same pattern, but used "Blue" as the default name for the rival instead of "Green." If we look at the character designs, Leaf consistently has blue accents in her clothing, Red has red accents, and Blue (International)/Green (Japan) has green accents. This suggests that the designers always intended for Leaf to represent "Blue." The confusion arises from differences in localization, leading to the misunderstanding of her identity internationally.
This feels like a fever dream. But, a really _good_ one. Like, if I was sick with the crud and had a dream like this, I'd be really upset that I woke up so soon. My only complaint is that it was in HD despite being from "1996".
Green's apperance in Let's Go, having a Blastoise, alongside Red in his original design having a Venasuar and Blue having a Charizard for me makes a far simpler explanation. Let's Go is adjacent to Pokemon Adventures, and this set of Red, Blue and Green are meant to be an homage to their Adventures counterparts. Even having similiar teams to what they used in the Pokemon League in the finale of the Red and Blue chapter of the manga. Plus we have to remember Multiverse is canonical in Pokemon. They can be the same character in different universes/timelines which also fixes the name issues. In one she's Leaf, in the other Green. Although I prefer my Pokemon Adventures homage solution
fyi the Adventure line of the starters is simply done that way due to Sugimuri's original art that showed that. This is more a reference to that then Adventure.
@@TheObsessiveGamerTrue. That is also why I noted the teams. Additionally Blue's personality is closer to his in Adventures than it is in the original games. Less arrogant, more cocky and responsible. It's clearly an homage to both the original artwork and Adventures.
Alternative theory: they're sisters or cousins, maybe even twins. That or Leaf/Green has more than one identity and wants others to believe each one is a different person.
When picking the character in LeafGreen, hitting OK w/out a name filled out, it will randomize a name for you... both LEAF and GREEN are options that can come up.
You've forgotten the most obvious explanation which is canon - there are two timelines. Green is the character from one timeline, and Leaf is the same character from the other timeline.
Hmm.. it's really tough to say.. but personally, I do prefer them being separate characters with their own separate personalities, just like Kris and Lyra. Green as depicted in Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, is quite unique as a character, very aggressive when compared to how her more tame counterpart is depicted in Pokemon Masters. Leaf is more of a player character to me, like Rosa and Ethan and Serena, all very friendly characters, whereas Green felt more like a rival character, giving a similar energy to Zinnia in the postgame of ORAS. Less of a friend and more of a wild child. But that might just be my own interpretation; they really do leave it up to the fans to decide their own headcanon (I still can't wrap my head around the timeline, after Let's Go broke everything)
The answer is simple: Both are the same, the difference is that FRLG changed her outfit just like it happened with Red and Blue. Since Lets Go depicts the previous two as their original designs, Leaf was also shown as her original design to match the others. She just got a change of wardrobe.
Her full name is Leaf Green and she just goes by the nicknames "Leaf" and "Green" depending on how she is feeling that day and has two or three main outfits she likes to wear. Her name should be Water Blue or something in Japan, but Leaf is still called "Leaf" in Japan so her Japanese name would be Leaf Blue. Yeah it sounds odd but Blue (a.k.a "Garry Oak" in the anime series) is still called Green in Japan, so it is what it is.
Revitalising unused ideas and concepts would be absolutely necessary to justify another Gen 1 remake in my opinion; although I guess it'd make more sense to call it a re-imagining in that case. Some might still complain but that's inevitable.
Either Leaf & Green are twins, or BC pokemon is a multiverse, she's simply called Green in some universes, and Leaf in some others- in other words, same character, different names.
I have been confused about Green and Leaf but then all the Pokémon protags are in a somewhat awkward situation since it all depends on player choice. How does Leaf coexist with Red? Is Norman Brendan's father or May's father? There is not really a singular right answer.
We've got at least two canonical timelines in the pokemon universe, not sure how well her appearance line up but is it possible she's "Leaf" in one timeline and "Green" in the other?
It's a shame a female option for gen 1 was cut. I really like the design of her in that early Ken Sugimori art. The fact she's just Red as a girl is nicer to me than having different, more stereotypically female, design. At least the designs of Green and Leaf are nice, though I still prefer the beta design.
I think they really are two separate characters, similar but not the same. You even mention it yourself, they have similar outfit colors but inverted, yet you don't address the obvious elephant in the room. Green has a very specific design, Leaf has another very specific design. Look at every time the character is named Green and every time she's named Leaf and you see that Green has the darker taste in clothing, Leaf has a lighter taste in clothing. Green wears mostly black, Leaf wears mostly white and blue. But the biggest difference is the biggest accessory: The hat. Only Leaf has it, Green NEVER wears a hat, unless you count the original prototype version, but then again, every trainer wears that same hat in those images. But when Green was made a proper character alongside Blue, no more hat. Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the correct one, and you think about the design process... why would they make every other character the same, yet Green got a total redesign for... reasons? And if the Japanese name was indeed Leaf and not Green, then it would stand to reason that Leaf was NOT Green, but rather a whole new character entirely. I dunno about you, but if I was designing a remake, and we already had a female character, I wouldn't waste time reinventing the wheel, I would have just used Green's original design and been done with it if that was the intention. You don't "accidentally" redesign a character, you do so with a purpose and there is no other purpose outside of intentionally making the two characters as different as possible, which only makes sense if they were MEANT to be different.
I always hated the fan name "Leaf" that people gave her. I don't know why they thought that made sense with the whole color theme Kanto has, and the two other prominent characters, Red and Blue (Green) were named after colors as well. So why did they think "Leaf" fit into this, when Green (Blue) was right there. Not only does it fit in this theme, but it also matches with the three starter types that the other two protags have. I'll continue to call her Green until we are told otherwise cuz that name just makes more sense.
Perhaps Green's character in Gen 1 was supposed to be tied to the Legendary Bird trio. Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres never really had a backstory unlike every other Legendary Pokémon (Mew and Mewtwo included)
Wouldn't it be easier to just address her as "Leaf Green", Leaf being her first name and Green being her last name? It would simplify the arguement so much....
I personally use both names i am calling her Leaf green basically using green as her last name just because it's prevent me from getting a headache from this name debate
I wish we got that cancelled game, Pokemon Pink, I bet they'd have finally added her there. It was a huge missed opportunity to add her in gen 3's remakes. With Pokemon no longer even wanting to call player characters boy/girl, just body type a/b, I doubt we'll ever see her again even in another remake because acknowledging gender is archaic, apparently.
The code for pokemon red, blue, and green was so sensitive, that anything could mess the game up. I assume they tried to implement the female trainer, but messed up the game somehow lol
I'm still upset they didn't use Leaf as the final trainer in HeartGold/SoulSilver if you play as Lyra. Maybe in a future Let's Go Cindaquill/Let's Go Totodille (?)
@@TheObsessiveGamerI mean she is as powerful as Red since she is her female counterpart. In an alternative timeline she is the protagonist of Pokemon and Red was scrapped on GEN I (?).
Or perhaps Game freak sees her as one thus giving her a full name (Leaf Green, or Green Leaf). It can be the same person. Or we take both are real and they are twins or first cousins.
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One of the Pokemon games of Sun/Moon, not sure if those or the redo-s of those but regardless, essentially confirmed that a multiverse exists in Pokemon, and everything's a mess technically anyways. Whether or not gamefreak etc considers it canon or not, who knows. Pokemon was a mess to start anyways, but an enjoyable mess regardless.
@@lionguardfan2019 Give us the short version.
They named her Leaf to avoid confusion in international marketing, since G1 rival is Green in Japan and Blue internationally. They'd have to print separate merchandise packaging and prepare warehouse data for foreign markets. Confusion between naming female and male rivals would be hard to untangle. I think they should've done the same in Let's Go and just call her Leaf Green to fit the naming scheme.
They could even resolve the original rivals name discrepancy by naming him "Blue Green" and making Leaf and Blue siblings or cousins or something 🤷
Wouldn’t it make more sense that her full name is “Leaf Green” and is known by either her first name or surname? To reconcile both names for what is essentially indeed the same intended character?
@@arc7375 I agree, course that is still just us fans wanting that and not what they officially have said 😅
Red's full name isn't Fire Red, only their western names should be considered canon.
I just figured she was related to one of the professors because they all have names that come from trees. Her name is Leaf and she came from a tree like Birch, Oak, Elm, ect. That was my old theory.
@@MacUser2-il2cx Actually she's just Green.
That would cause confusion with Japanese audiences mostly because Blue, Red's rival, is named Green instead (because they got Red and Green first). When Pokémon Adventures came out, the third trainer was named Blue (with Pokémon Blue's release), but renamed Green internationally.
Considering how you discuss Adventures earlier in the video, I'm surprised that you didn't mention how the manga handled the situation. In Adventures, they did a FireRed/LeafGreen arc, and in it, Green changes her clothes to resemble Leaf from the remakes, straight up showing that, at least in that canon, they are the same character. Granted, during the HeartGold/SoulSilver arc, they do the same thing with Kris, giving her Lyra's clothes making them the same, but it makes a lot more sense in Green/Leaf's case, since clothes aside, they already look pretty damn similar.
I mean Kris and Lyra do have the same haircut, it's just that Kris has blue/black hair and Lyra had brown hair, so she could have dyed it and her name is just Kris Lyra or Lyra Kris and she goes by the nicknames "Kris" and "Lyra".
Nevermind, I guess Kris and Lyra showed up together in Pokemon Masters - 9:56 .
She's a "New leaf"
I like to think that her name is Green and Leaf is a nickname she goes by.
It should be noted she also had a Clefable and Blastoise in the Adventures manga.
In the manga, Green changes to wear "Leaf's" outfit in the FRLG Arc.
She should've been in the game. Idk why they would leave out such an important character.
Because game freak designers choke at every thing they do. Even they choke all the beta mons from gen 1 and 2 and didn't give us 1997 gold but rather the one we have now
@@itzpat215Choke? It’s normal for literally every game developer to scrap tons and tons of early drafts and designs for characters, locations, story beats, dialogue, etc.
The only difference is with Game Freak, we get to see what they scrapped thanks to the leaks. We don’t get that luxury with other game devs, but they literally go through the same thing.
Even Toby Fox does, and he made Undertale. His newsletters sometimes have him reveal some of the many, many things he says he’s scrapped in his games.
@@itzpat215Gold 1997 was in a very unfinished state though. It was still made with the Super Gameboy in mind, and when the GBC came out in 1998, they basically had to scrap most things and start anew.
@@itzpat215final Gold/Silver are great games. i'm so fucking tired of johto slander.
@@alicevioleta3184 afuckingmen gen 2 is my FAVORITE and its so tiring to hear the SAME ish and complaints over and over again like ffs
So if Red's internal name is Ninten and Blue's is Sony in the western releases, then this removed female trainer would've been internally named Sega, and Leaf would've been Micros, as Microsoft is too long to fit in.
Ninten is also the name of the protagonist of mother 1.
Leaf and Green are the same character. It's just confusing naming. She looks exactly the same. In the manga, she wears both outfits as Green. Leaf could just be a nickname, you know.
But in the manga we also have Krys wearing the same outfit as Lyra, even though those two are supposed to be two different characters.
I used to think that Green = Leaf and Krys = Lyra, but nowadays I only thing Green = Leaf, but Krys ≠ Lyra, unfortunately.
Man the channel name REALLY makes sense with this title :3
Nice! I didnt expect new info from this vid but I havent seen those sprites before. Great research
Here are the reasons why I personally think that Green and Leaf are intended to be the same character:
- Leaf's Lodge Pair is a Clefable. Since lodge pairs are based on mons that characters have as NPCs, this means that Dena took Green’s NPC team into consideration when giving Leaf her Lodge Pair.
- The Kantonian Mix Pairs are references Kantrio’s Classic Starters. Leaf’s Mix pair ended up being Blastoise, confirming that they consider LGPE Green as Leaf’s classic counterpart.
- Leaf's personality is basically Green’s if she was a protag instead of a rival. (As she's a cheerful and fiesty girl, who's generally friendly but still has a cheeky/sassy side sometimes, can be pretty quirky and gets obsessed with her favorite mons, and as shown with her interactions with Valerie is open minded about blurring the lines between humans and pokemon; Which is very similar to Green's personality)
- Masters actually gives Leaf an established relationship/history with Chase and Elaine, just like Green would, instead of making them unfamiliar with each other due to being from different games/timelines.
- Leaf's unit literally makes references to LGPE. Right off the bat she has an Eevee who has a move called “Let's Go!” (or “Everyone, let's go!” in Japanese) and one of her topics in the Trainer Lodge is Pewter Crunchies.
- Last but not least, Green's design is basically Leaf's if she was made to look more like the Beta Kanto Heroine, as explained in the the video.
Also, if you think about it, Leaf co-existing with Red and Blue and growing up together is more inspired by LGPE lore than FRLG lore; as she can only co-exist with Red in the former games instead of the latter games...
When Mix Leaf was revealed I now really believe this idea. Blastoise is arguably LGPE Green's most recurring partner so a few players were legit speculating that she was now gonna be added there. But it ultimately didn't happen and it was Leaf once again, which I'm honestly glad so it doesn't generate confusion on casual players and because I honestly prefer her FRLG design. And Leaf's established familiarity with the LGPE MCs kinda gave it away anyway.
Leaf's design is cool, but Green's is so genuine. She kinda have these 90's soft gothic vibes (the only thing missing is a crucifix in the neck) and it contrasts so much with Red and Blue designs. I would love to see her in a mostly future remake of Kanto, rather than Leaf.
She looks like a stripper. >_>
My personal theory is that they’re from different worlds/dimensions, kind of like how the characters in ORAS deviate from their original designs/personalities.
It was outright stated in ORAS that each game exists in its own universe. This was basically official confirmation that what happens in Red has no bearing on what happens in FireRed, and that Diamond and X may not even exist in the same timeline.
Thus why I think it's important to not overthink this stuff. Leaf is a character. Green is a character. They might be similar but aren't the same.
My thoughts exactly
@@drygnfyre That's a pretty boring way to think about it though. If GameFreak didn't want us to consider the other games, then they wouldn't leave in so many references to those other games. Well, for the older games at least, before Sword and Shield. Most of the newer Switch titles have so few references linking back to older games that it's clear they want people to forget about those now.
@@kryzethx You don't "have to" do anything. If you want to relate them to previous games, that's fine. Lots of long-running series have references and callbacks to previous games, even if they aren't related.
And if you still remember the previous games, I guess they're not doing a good job :3
@@drygnfyre Sorry if my initial response came off a little aggressive lol. The first comment just sounded to me like "don't think about it, it doesn't really matter anyways, who cares", but I might have misinterpreted the tone.
I really like the theorization and discussion about potential links between games, so that "don't overthink things" just hit me the wrong way lol.
7:10 They most likely gave her that name so they wouldn't have to worry about the Blue vs Green nonsense.
personaly, this one likes the idea that Leaf and Green are seperate characters, but sisters that both ended up with somewhat similar teams. Or even just straight-up alternate universe counterparts of one another, like the difference between Rainbow Rocket Giovanni and main timline Geovanni
Among The Most Accredited Fandom Theories , Anyway Never Made Officials By The Pokemon Company And Games Freaks, There Is Precisely That Of 2 Different Universe Lines ... ... 😁 ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Oh I like the idea of them being sisters.
My theory? A time traveler moved a chair at Gamefreak.
Green has Leaf’s exact outfit at one point in the manga. Since the manga is the games’ story, I think it makes more sense to view it as Leaf and Green are the same person. I’d love to see Yellow, Emerald and other characters you see in the manga but not in the games or anime though. Especially Yellow. She’s so cute I love her. The only trio I can think of that make it outside the manga are Diamond, Pearl and Platinum
The manga is absolutely not the game's story lmao, or else half of the Kanto gym leaders would be part of Team Rocket, and Lance and the rest of the Kanto Elite Four would be villains, not heroes. The manga is its own canon, and the games are their own canon, just like the anime is its own canon (even if it features characters that look like the manga or game counterparts)
People really should just accept the simple fact. They are all different continuities...
No one talking about her pokeballs?????
Guess not
Honestly it is an overused image whenever UA-camrs talk about her appearance in the manga, at this point it is white noise
I always had the headcanon of her name being Green and her just having Leaf as a nickname ^^
Because she knows where to get the best Stinky Herb
Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks of them as alternate universe versions of each other.
One of the major characters in ORAS stated that every Pokemon game exists in its own continuity. This was the closest you can get to official confirmation that each game and characters might be similar but aren't the same. Thus, I think this explains why you have Green in Let's Go and Leaf in Masters. They might be similar but aren't intended to be the same character. And may not even exist in the same continuity.
Considering the two names only seem to be used for specific outfit, I'm guessing her clothes are the key to what name she uses at any given moment.
I never knew they considered a playable female this far back. Pretty cool, especially how they seemed to bring this design back for the Let's Go stuff!
Or maybe her full name is "Leaf Green" /"Green Leaf" and she's just the same character with a slightly different appearance.
It's funny, sometimes beta versions of games have more interesting stuff than the final game.😅
It is way easier to just see then as equivalents from different timelines, we don't really have one fixed pokeworld after the multiverse stuff was introduced anyway, even Masters EX is kind of weird with the timeline placement of certain characters.
The Let’s Go games established the multiverse, so Leaf is in the non mega universe and Green is in the mega universe
I think its interesting they had her in the circle with Red & Blue cause obviously they had plans to use her but its a big what if. Maybe lack of time? Might be my best guess. It would still take till crystal till a female character could be chosen. Weird right the 3rd Version of a Johto game like why the 3rd version and not the originals Gold & Silver
@@Venemofthe888 I mean yeah that is my theory as I mentioned in the video being it was late in development
@@TheObsessiveGamer It definitely seems like it was thought about quite late into development and there wasnt time to fully implement it. I also wonder if any other outside factors could have been the case too. Since there wasnt a female character added till Pokemon Crystal i wonder if it was a cultural thing at the time
it's*
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She'll always be Green to me and they always intended for her to get Squirtle.
Did you know that Green/Leaf finally made her debut as an NPC in Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee? Also that’s Squirtle she chose in that famous image as the Ace of her team as a fully evolved Blastoise
I hate when english localizers fuck up the names like that. They could've fixed it in FRLG, like Square fixed the FF numbers
I'm surprised you didn't bring up the final episode of Pokémon Evolutions.
@@Morgil27 I could have...but that just simply adapted what existed in the game so not much I had to really say on it. (ironically I watched it before making the video lol)
Fr tho, that episode made me fall in love with the LGPE version of the character!
Something you neglected to mention in Masters, but Leaf also has unique dialogue when partnered with Elaine and Chase (and vice-versa for them), which to me, implies she and Green are kind of meant to be the same individual.
Regardless, the naming scheme for the character is quite confusing.
Another point of contention was Smash Bros Ultimate. Both it and LGPE came out in the same year and yet the former has Leaf as the feminine alt of Pokemon Trainer, which itself keeps the FRLG Red design from Brawl despite the eventual LGPE redesigns.
And to further add to the confusion. If you noticed, basically any media that used Green (animated shorts, Unite), she's never with Red or Blue, just by herself. So we kinda don't really know what the other 2's current official designs are, the LGPE throwbacks or the long established FRLG makeovers. Idk, if there's ever a Kanto revisit or this main trio is brought back in a GF developed game (maybe Gen 10 for the 30th anniversary?), that's where the stance of the trio's designs (and names in the girl's case) should be cleared up.
Anyway, it's fascinating how the intent of having a female protagonist was an idea set up since the beginning and yet probably cut because of cartridge space or time constraints. It didn't become a feature until Crystal after all, with how difficult the development of everything that came before was. Though I'm glad the Adventures Manga rescued the original scrapped Green design and even more glad that Masters EX gave Leaf a second wind, especially considering the latter's exclusion in HGSS and especially SM just out of her not being in RGBY. And even after all these years, Leaf is still one of the best designed female MCs, probably on 3rd or 4th imo. Serena and Hilda might always be the best ones to me, but Leaf is fairly high up there.
Pokémon has different universes/timelines. There is Leaf and there is Green.
It's amusing with the Japanese version of the games, Gary/Blue is known as Green in Japan... and him taking over Viridion City's Gym was fitting because the Earth Badge was known as the Green Badge
As for the girl... One part I want to assume alternate realities/multiverse since as far back as OR/AS, they confirmed a multiverse exists, mentioning another world where Mega Evolution never was discovered. So perhaps Leaf is from the GBA remake universe onward while Green is in the Switch remake universe.
Or maybe Game Freak would want to consolidate it by having her real name be Green and by wearing her alternate outfit, she goes by an alias of Leaf, a stage name if you will.
As another comment mentioned, it would have been very cool if the GBA remake fixed the naming conventions and reverted Blue/Gary's name to Green/Gary, Blue being the late girl who shows up in media all of a sudden with Red and Green makes perfect sense, since Blue was a later, kind of an unsung release in Japan (and it was sort of an exclusive one at that).
It's simple.
There's the original three: Red, Green/Blue (Rival), and Green/Blue (Girl) who also appear in the LGPE games.
Then there are the remake counterparts FireRed (Red), Leaf (Girl), and Green/Blue (Rival). There is no Blue in the Japanese version of Gen III, since the focus was on the two players, instead of Player vs. Rival. There was also no point in releasing a third version of a remake, especially since all JPN Blue did was fix several bugs and overhaul many early Pokemon sprites. Things where pretty refined by Gen III.
Or maybe her name is Leaf Green, like Blue Oak? Leaving Red with no known surname.
I thought her name was Lass Gizelle. The anime showed her off as a YGO GX academy expert .
In all honesty, it’s obviously the same character but with different names. Probably can be seen as an AU situation and/or whatever design they feel like using in these games that just so happens to have specific name branding for them.
lol the addition of the shorts
I would think this:
Leaf = Player version
Green = non-Player version
Something like that.
another amazing video!!! love this
Having played the beta pokemon green leak where in the game had been programed with 186 pokemon (and Bird type was still a thing) they had a lot of extra content originally, which included Silph Tower which ends with you battling Professor Oak (the one that can still be accessed in Red/Blue) wherein you're allowed to challenge Mewtwo. After that there's that weird sprite to the right of the female trainer whom you talk to in Celadon City which takes you to another town where there's a 9th gym and cut CAPUMON content... so there was definitely room for Green!
There was no Pokémon Green Beta leak, you likely just played a ROM hack
Even more if it was in english since the localization apparently started way after Red and Green were released since it used assed from the Japanese Blue version
This is the first I'm hearing of this leaked beta. Any sources on that?
To me. Leaf and Green/Blue are one in the same.
Wow thank you for this, I never knew much history or secrets- :o
What I’m waiting for is GameFreak suddenly depicting them both as identical twins
I like how they came back to the three rivals in black and white fitting due to it being a reboot
The first two games released in Japan were Red and Green, where both the main character and their rival shared the same names as the game titles. When the games were released internationally as Red and Blue, the localization followed the same pattern, but used "Blue" as the default name for the rival instead of "Green."
If we look at the character designs, Leaf consistently has blue accents in her clothing, Red has red accents, and Blue (International)/Green (Japan) has green accents. This suggests that the designers always intended for Leaf to represent "Blue." The confusion arises from differences in localization, leading to the misunderstanding of her identity internationally.
I wish they did more with her, especially in merchandising capacities. They need figures for red, blue, and green.
This feels like a fever dream. But, a really _good_ one. Like, if I was sick with the crud and had a dream like this, I'd be really upset that I woke up so soon.
My only complaint is that it was in HD despite being from "1996".
that pokegami demo is EVERYTHING! i want
Midori.
Oh, wait. That name is taken by another franchise.
I first got to know her in the adventure manga and she'll always be Blue to me 💙
Very interesting! Thank you
Green's apperance in Let's Go, having a Blastoise, alongside Red in his original design having a Venasuar and Blue having a Charizard for me makes a far simpler explanation.
Let's Go is adjacent to Pokemon Adventures, and this set of Red, Blue and Green are meant to be an homage to their Adventures counterparts. Even having similiar teams to what they used in the Pokemon League in the finale of the Red and Blue chapter of the manga.
Plus we have to remember Multiverse is canonical in Pokemon. They can be the same character in different universes/timelines which also fixes the name issues. In one she's Leaf, in the other Green.
Although I prefer my Pokemon Adventures homage solution
fyi the Adventure line of the starters is simply done that way due to Sugimuri's original art that showed that. This is more a reference to that then Adventure.
@@TheObsessiveGamerTrue. That is also why I noted the teams. Additionally Blue's personality is closer to his in Adventures than it is in the original games. Less arrogant, more cocky and responsible.
It's clearly an homage to both the original artwork and Adventures.
@tristanalain9239 Or maybe you're simply reading too deeply into it? 🤷♂️
Alternative theory: they're sisters or cousins, maybe even twins. That or Leaf/Green has more than one identity and wants others to believe each one is a different person.
When picking the character in LeafGreen, hitting OK w/out a name filled out, it will randomize a name for you... both LEAF and GREEN are options that can come up.
You've forgotten the most obvious explanation which is canon - there are two timelines. Green is the character from one timeline, and Leaf is the same character from the other timeline.
Hmm.. it's really tough to say.. but personally, I do prefer them being separate characters with their own separate personalities, just like Kris and Lyra. Green as depicted in Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, is quite unique as a character, very aggressive when compared to how her more tame counterpart is depicted in Pokemon Masters.
Leaf is more of a player character to me, like Rosa and Ethan and Serena, all very friendly characters, whereas Green felt more like a rival character, giving a similar energy to Zinnia in the postgame of ORAS. Less of a friend and more of a wild child. But that might just be my own interpretation; they really do leave it up to the fans to decide their own headcanon (I still can't wrap my head around the timeline, after Let's Go broke everything)
The answer is simple: Both are the same, the difference is that FRLG changed her outfit just like it happened with Red and Blue.
Since Lets Go depicts the previous two as their original designs, Leaf was also shown as her original design to match the others.
She just got a change of wardrobe.
Her full name is Leaf Green and she just goes by the nicknames "Leaf" and "Green" depending on how she is feeling that day and has two or three main outfits she likes to wear. Her name should be Water Blue or something in Japan, but Leaf is still called "Leaf" in Japan so her Japanese name would be Leaf Blue. Yeah it sounds odd but Blue (a.k.a "Garry Oak" in the anime series) is still called Green in Japan, so it is what it is.
What is that ROM hack called? The one you showed playing as Green? I'd love to try it.
Not sure what he was playing but can play as her in the rom hack Yellow Legacy
Leaf is just the player’s version of Green like how the character we play in Red version is not the canonical version but the player’s version.
My theory: It's the same person, she's just a troll and sometimes introduces herself as Leaf and sometimes as Green :P
Revitalising unused ideas and concepts would be absolutely necessary to justify another Gen 1 remake in my opinion; although I guess it'd make more sense to call it a re-imagining in that case.
Some might still complain but that's inevitable.
If you consider Gen 1 Red, Gen 3 Red, Gen 7 Red, and LGPE Red to be all different characters in different universes then it all makes sense
Either Leaf & Green are twins, or BC pokemon is a multiverse, she's simply called Green in some universes, and Leaf in some others- in other words, same character, different names.
I have been confused about Green and Leaf but then all the Pokémon protags are in a somewhat awkward situation since it all depends on player choice. How does Leaf coexist with Red? Is Norman Brendan's father or May's father? There is not really a singular right answer.
Female character may of being cut due to time, remember Pokémon Red and Blue nearly didn't have Mew at all
We've got at least two canonical timelines in the pokemon universe, not sure how well her appearance line up but is it possible she's "Leaf" in one timeline and "Green" in the other?
I think revisiting kanto would be cool as well as jotoh, hoenn, sinnoh and maybe add in the rest of Japan into one game
Leaf is also in Smash Bros. but no name is given to her as well as Red.
Itll be super awakward if Green becomes a new character in pokemon masters
I believe leaf and green are different people because the fact that there's alternate universes. And the remakes are in the alternate universe.
It's a shame a female option for gen 1 was cut. I really like the design of her in that early Ken Sugimori art. The fact she's just Red as a girl is nicer to me than having different, more stereotypically female, design. At least the designs of Green and Leaf are nice, though I still prefer the beta design.
I think they really are two separate characters, similar but not the same. You even mention it yourself, they have similar outfit colors but inverted, yet you don't address the obvious elephant in the room. Green has a very specific design, Leaf has another very specific design. Look at every time the character is named Green and every time she's named Leaf and you see that Green has the darker taste in clothing, Leaf has a lighter taste in clothing. Green wears mostly black, Leaf wears mostly white and blue. But the biggest difference is the biggest accessory: The hat. Only Leaf has it, Green NEVER wears a hat, unless you count the original prototype version, but then again, every trainer wears that same hat in those images. But when Green was made a proper character alongside Blue, no more hat. Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the correct one, and you think about the design process... why would they make every other character the same, yet Green got a total redesign for... reasons? And if the Japanese name was indeed Leaf and not Green, then it would stand to reason that Leaf was NOT Green, but rather a whole new character entirely. I dunno about you, but if I was designing a remake, and we already had a female character, I wouldn't waste time reinventing the wheel, I would have just used Green's original design and been done with it if that was the intention. You don't "accidentally" redesign a character, you do so with a purpose and there is no other purpose outside of intentionally making the two characters as different as possible, which only makes sense if they were MEANT to be different.
I always hated the fan name "Leaf" that people gave her. I don't know why they thought that made sense with the whole color theme Kanto has, and the two other prominent characters, Red and Blue (Green) were named after colors as well. So why did they think "Leaf" fit into this, when Green (Blue) was right there. Not only does it fit in this theme, but it also matches with the three starter types that the other two protags have.
I'll continue to call her Green until we are told otherwise cuz that name just makes more sense.
Perhaps Green's character in Gen 1 was supposed to be tied to the Legendary Bird trio. Articuno/Zapdos/Moltres never really had a backstory unlike every other Legendary Pokémon (Mew and Mewtwo included)
My favorite Pokemon character ngl
Wouldn't it be easier to just address her as "Leaf Green", Leaf being her first name and Green being her last name? It would simplify the arguement so much....
No
Third theory: twins. >_>
And then in the manga, she wears both outfits.
Leaf is just the mega evolution of Green
Mystery solved
I'm call her Blue actually 💙
Thank you!
She even wears blue lol
they are just variations from different universes. The Pokemon Multiverse is real since ORAS
I have to say, the concept art girl is "chubby" by female anime protagonists standard. even compared to the contemporary manga green/blue.
.......Leaves tend to be Green colored, how is this in any way, shape or form confusing?
I personally use both names i am calling her Leaf green basically using green as her last name just because it's prevent me from getting a headache from this name debate
To me there 2 different characters I even have both in the pkm game I made ❤
I wish we got that cancelled game, Pokemon Pink, I bet they'd have finally added her there. It was a huge missed opportunity to add her in gen 3's remakes. With Pokemon no longer even wanting to call player characters boy/girl, just body type a/b, I doubt we'll ever see her again even in another remake because acknowledging gender is archaic, apparently.
The code for pokemon red, blue, and green was so sensitive, that anything could mess the game up. I assume they tried to implement the female trainer, but messed up the game somehow lol
I'm still upset they didn't use Leaf as the final trainer in HeartGold/SoulSilver if you play as Lyra. Maybe in a future Let's Go Cindaquill/Let's Go Totodille (?)
The irony where Leaf Green is relegated to come the the psudo-remakes and be its true final boss every time.
@@TheObsessiveGamerI mean she is as powerful as Red since she is her female counterpart. In an alternative timeline she is the protagonist of Pokemon and Red was scrapped on GEN I (?).
...wait, i thought leaf's starter was bulbasaur o.0
its like red having ash hat pikachu. WHO!?
Or perhaps Game freak sees her as one thus giving her a full name (Leaf Green, or Green Leaf). It can be the same person.
Or we take both are real and they are twins or first cousins.
I liked the beta version, the outfit seems more rugged for the outdoors.
She is the same, her name is Leaf Green
日本国内だと初代は赤緑だけど海外だと赤青だったから名前が複雑になってて草。シゲル(グリーン)の名前がブルーだしね。
とても混乱します。だからこそ、西洋の基準に基づいてライバルの名前はブルーになり、女の子の名前はグリーンになることを明確にする必要がありました。
このようなことが起こった唯一の理由は、最初の 2 つのゲームがここでは赤と緑ではなく赤と青としてリリースされたためです。
また、悪く聞こえたら申し訳ありません。 Google翻訳を使用しました。