So who was the champion of Kanto before Blue became the champion? The person Blue had to beat to become the champion?
It couldn't of been Lance because he is apart of the elite four. Unless he was the champion and replaced another member of the elite four after losing his champion status.
No one. The league was brand new and he was the first champion as he was the first one to defeat the elite four.
It was Tracy
It's not stated in the games so it's up to the suspension of disbelief of the player. As a stretch, you could say something like that there is no champion since no one before defeated the E4, but that's also not stated. Anything contrary to this is just headcanon and moronic.
No, this is you being confused by later games having "the Elite Four" be 5 people. It's made very clear in the game that the Pokemon League is a battle against the Elite Four, and when you beat them you're told that this would've made you the best Pokemon trainer ever... if it wasn't for the fact that someone else had beaten them too, so now the two of you need to battle to determine who is TRULY the champion.
At no point in the game is it ever even remotely implied that there's a fifth person you have to beat to defeat the Elite Four. Because there isn't one.
>There's an email message here!
>...
>Calling all POKéMON trainers!
>The elite trainers of POKéMON LEAGUE are ready to take on all comers!
>Bring your best POKéMON and see how you rate as a trainer!
>POKéMON LEAGUE HQ INDIGO PLATEAU
>PS. PROF. OAK, please visit us! ...
The implication is that the League has been recently established and there is no reigning Champion, only the elite trainers the League has managed to scrounge up for its lineup. Blue already having defeated them and being the de facto strongest trainer in the land you have to challenge for the title is sprung on you as a surprise after Lance's defeat, as points out.
so to recap:
>The Pokemon League is newly formed
>They want to be associated to the legendary trainer Samuel Oak but Oak is retired from battling (Agatha in particular feels betrayed that he gave up battling to make the pokedex)
>Blue is the first champion but there can only be one champion, hence why you battle him
>When Silver becomes champion he doesn't need to fight Red because nobody even knows how to contact Red. Red also might have failed to renew his title or Champion of Johto might be a different title than Champion of Kanto
>Ethan/Gold beats Silver getting the title of Indigo League Champion publicly then beats Red in private in Mt. Silver
The only thing I'm confused on is if the Indigo League still recognizes Red alongside Ethan (perhaps allowed since they live in two different regions) or if Red lost his title from inactivity
>Silver
Lance, you mean. It's never explained how exactly Lance took the champion seat, but seeing as Red is implicitly stronger as the final boss and is off sitting around in remote wilderness, Lance could have gotten the title by default while the Elite Four roster got shuffled around to accomodate. Gen 2 kind of skips a lot of these more nitty-gritty explanations.
I totally forgot it was Lance instead of Silver. Lance is from Blackthorn city so he's a Johto champion like Ethan is
There was no Kanto champion. Blue is just so godlike he was the first one to beat Lance. All other champions job to Blue
It was going to be Oak but he refused the invitation as he thought he was past his prime. The entire pokedex thing was a trick to motivate Red and Blue to pursue the gym challenge and fill in the spot in his place. Agatha is also Gary’s grandmother, btw. I received this information through divine providence.
I KNEEL
who's gary
MODS
SOVL
Professor Oak...he was too powerful and they cut his battle.
They cut Green as well because she had too much soul
There was no champion. There being a 5th person after the E4 is something the later games invented because they were fricking lazy and had to rehash Gen 1.
>A trainer strong enough to defeat the Elite 4 usually only comes around every couple of years
>They're usually not interested in sticking around to defend their title for more than a few months before they want to go off and travel a different region to find new Pokémon, or get an actual job
>Hence the position of Champion is vacant the majority of the time
Conclusion: Kanto and Johto is primarily comprised of jobbers and before the protags + Blue the champions were random travellers
Technically noone. Lance was the de facto.