TW: child abuse, disease, kidnapping, child experimentation, death, and suicide
Leaf is Team Rocket Admin Archer’s daughter. She’s technically from Celadon City and was a child born out of wedlock. The two parents did what they could to support her, but then, very early in life, she was diagnosed with a rare disease early and wasn’t supposed to live past 6. Her parents tried everything that they could to cure her but couldn’t find anything. This fact divided the two parents and Archer started leaving for an extended amount of time because of this.
Then, one day, desperate for a cure (and maybe cash as well), Archer convinced Leaf to come with him to see him fight another Pokémon Gym; however, this was a cover to get her kidnapped by Team Rocket in the Pokémon Mansion instead. Leaf was held captive for 7 years where Team Rocket constantly monitored and experimented on her to turn her into the ultimate lifeform; however, while they were able to cure her disease after one of these experiments, they were unable to drastically enhance her to achieve their goals. Thus, she is codenamed “The Prototype” within Rocket Circles.
Eventually, everyone outside started to give up looking for her. The police presumed her as dead while most of her family were too far away to consider anything. In addition, the fact that she was diseased added more doubt that she would be out there somewhere; however, her mother refused to give up. She searched hard for her daughter, finding leads and breadcrumbs to find her lovely daughter. Unfortunately, the time was cut short as a hitman ended her life before she could figure out the truth.
When Leaf was 11, Team Rocket decided to change tactics and eventually created Mewtwo by using Mew’s DNA, Leaf’s DNA, and other things. Strangely, Mewtwo and Leaf were able to create a psychic bond and became friends, talking about endurance and finding a way out of their situation. As Mewtwo grew, their bond became closer, and they talked about becoming a family together. All they needed was to let Mewtwo get stronger and to find an opening and they would be free at last.
However, one day, Mewtwo changed. It became distant towards her, even forgetting who both she and it were. Devastated that her only friend had become distant and with the fear of being alone again, Leaf lashed out one day, screaming and fighting all of the scientists and nearby Pokémon. Everyone tried to detain her, but she held her own well enough that she had to be attacked by several Pokémon at once.
However, once Leaf was nearly apprehended, Mewtwo broke out, joining her side before defeating and killing many of the scientists around them. This invigorated her, and the two did what they could to break free. Eventually Mewtwo managed to teleport it and Leaf to Pallet Town, away from the clutches of Team Rocket. Leaf had thought that this could be the start of a new life between her and Mewtwo, that they could find a place to be together….
…Instead, Mewtwo left her.
Mewtwo demanded that Leaf find a new life with humans that would care for her, and to stop spending her time chasing after a “monster” like him. It dropped her off in front of Professor Oak’s Laboratory in Pallet Town, knocked on the door and departed, expecting to never see its friend ever again.
Professor Oak opened the door to the lonely child and took her in as his own adoptive granddaughter. He introduced her to her soon-to-be-family in Red, Blue, Daisy, and Red’s mother. Leaf became fast friends with the two of them, becoming the heart of the not-yet-legendary trio by providing emotional support and unconditional love to them. Even when Blue slowly changed and started to bully Red, Leaf would be the glue of the friendship group, doing her best to de-escalate situations when they happened and talk to both of them about their feelings.
Eventually, however, the ultimate test of all of their friendships would come to a head with a single journey.
The day eventually came where the trio were to set off on their very own Pokémon journey. At first, only Red and Blue went off with their own starters, but Leaf demanded that she would join them. She convinced Professor Oak to let her on her own Pokémon journey by telling him about the dangers of Team Rocket, and that she needed to find her friend, Mewtwo – the very Pokémon that saved her in the first place. Professor Oak obliged, giving her a starter Pokémon of her own. Leaf journeyed through the Kanto region, crushing through the Pokémon league behind Red and Blue and, with their help, beating Team Rocket. However, no matter how far she would come, she would always remain one or two steps behind her brothers. She didn’t obtain her 8th gym badge initially, as Giovanni had disappeared and disbanded Team Rocket after Red defeated him. Instead, Leaf spent much of her time in the Pokémon Mansion, researching Mew’s finding and Mewtwo’s creation, battling remnants of Team Rocket and thieves that wished to get rich on anything that they could find. After digging and eliminating possibilities, she found the one location that could possibly hold something as strong as Mewtwo in the Kanto Region:
Cerulean Cave.
Leaf forced her way through Cerulean Cave, beating trainers that got in her way from getting inside. She beat powerful Pokémon that attacked her. She surfed and ran through many dangerous obstacles. There was nothing that could stop her from finding her friend once more. Eventually she reached the depths of the cave, hoping to finally reunite with her old friend.
… but she was too late…. Red had beaten her to it.
In a hidden rage, Leaf challenged Red to another battle, with the prize being the person to keep Mewtwo. Red and Leaf battled each other, with a showdown that was nothing short of Legendary; however, in the end, Red was victorious and got to keep Mewtwo. Leaf was distraught, but resigned to her fate. She wished them well and left Cerulean Cave – disappearing from the Kanto region entirely without warning. For 2 years, no one had any knowledge of Leaf’s whereabouts. Instead, people would randomly hear rumors of her appearing in a gym in the Johto region, challenging and beating the gym leader in the region, and disappearing again. The only definitive appearance of Leaf that could have been tracked was the time she entered the Elite Four. She challenged all of them, beating each without a single sweat and becoming Champion; however, before Professor Oak could make it to the scene to congratulate her, she denounced her championship and disappeared once more, leaving little trace of her existence once more.
Then, Team Rocket reappeared.
Leaf returned to Professor Oak’s lab two years after the incident with Red as rumors of Team Rocket’s return started to emerge. She apologized for her actions and even gave Professor Oak additional Pokédex data, capturing every non-Legendary Pokémon in the region. As such, Professor Oak offered her a job as a Professor Aide. In addition, she worked with the International Police as well as with Ethan, Lyra, Kris, and Silver to take down Team Rocket once more. Once the day was saved and Team Rocket was disbanded once more, Leaf continued investigating them in the hopes to find her father. She was responsible for many grunt arrests and a lot of information that was given to the International Police, but, for many years, information of her father was elusive. That was until a few years ago, she received a tip that Archer was in the hospital on his deathbed. He was dying from cancer and was soon to pass on soon. Leaf scrambled to the hospital where he was held, hoping to confront him one final time and to finally tell him that she was still alive – that it was her that helped stop Team Rocket the second time and that she was finally doing something for herself.
She wouldn’t get there in time. Archer passed away hours before she arrived.
Leaf was devastated. For her entire life outside of the facility, she was always one step behind – always one step too late for anything. Even when she worked as hard or harder than everyone else, she would never get the conclusions that she strived for. Leaf fell into a deep depression, not having an appetite or wishing to do anything with her family. Eventually, she had enough, and attempted to hang herself a few not long after her father passed away. It was unsuccessful – Red’s Charizard found her and saved her life while holding her close and letting out cries of concern.
Ever since Charizard saved her life and showed her love, care, and concern, Leaf slowly started to turn around. She started to improve herself, re-forging the bond between her, Red, and Blue. She went to get professional help and did whatever she could to help her no longer be in such a dark place ever again. She changed her outlook on her life and her past, enjoying the little victories in life as well as enjoying the time that she spends with not only her Pokémon, but with every Pokémon that she encounters. Leaf became Professor Oak’s top aide and works incredibly hard at what she does, even going on excursions to other dimensions alone with a Solgaleo she befriended to catch and obtain data about Pokémon from other dimensions, including duplicate Legendary Pokémon. She’s earned her place among the Battle Legend Trio, and will work every day to ensure this world is a better place for everyone.