South 2016 Leaders

After studying Pokémon paleontology at the Nacrene Museum, Cliff started traveling the world searching out rare fossils, and training his fossil Pokémon. Mines, caves, deserts: wherever a pokemon fossil turns up, so does Cliff. Some say that his fossil collection is larger than that of any museum. His plan is to someday open a park of restored fossil Pokémon to educate and amaze visitors of all ages. But until he can get the real estate, he’s known for being the preeminent fossil gym leader. If you can bust up his rock-type Pokémon, you’ll earn the Fossil Badge!

Mayura is a native Southern girl with a passion for the arts, with music right at the top! After settling down in the Kalos region at a young age after a life of constant moving, she’d knew she wanted to be a professional singer. She realized her dream when her PR videos made in Lumiose City got her signed to a deal! Now before her first tour she’s coming to Pax South to show her passion for not just music but Pokemon as well! Don’t let her small stature fool you, she knows her stuff! Outperform this young maestra to earn the Crescendo Badge!

Growing up in the Orange Archipelago, Commodore never liked maps. The only parts that he enjoyed were the edges, where he saw pictures of sea serpents and the words “Here be Dragons.” Commodore set off to see what lay beyond the edges of the maps for himself, and to search for those mysterious monsters. A fairy or ice Pokemon will stop a dragon cold, but a water serpent will need to be zapped or sapped! You’ll need to decide if each of Commodore’s Pokemon is more water type or dragon type to sink his ship and earn the Uncharted Badge!

Born into a rich family, Penelope was pampered all her life. At eight years old she was presented with an Eevee bred specially for contests. Though she excelled at contests, Penelope longed for a traditional trainer’s life of travel. On her tenth birthday Penelope and her newly evolved Sylveon started an adventure of their own. Showing just as much promise as a battler, Penelope became famous as a fairy type trainer, known as the “Pink Princess”. Don’t underestimate these fierce fairies to earn the Princess Badge!

From an early age Jaird has been fascinated by psychic type Pokémon. Unlike the human children his age, the Pokemon were more understanding, intelligent, and insightful. They helped him to learn about and appreciate his fellow classmates. They showed him how to socialize and to better understand people’s behavior. Not everything is as black and white as the young trainer once believed. As an adult, Jaird has put those skills to use as a psychiatrist and as a battler. His goal is to help others learn and grow the way his friends helped him. Jaird faces each challenge side-by-side with his team, on and off the arena. Visualize your victory to earn the Ink Blot Badge!

This high-flying lass hails from the old country, traveling far and wide across regions with her bird Pokemon. Her training techniques represent a long upheld heritage, honed through generations to make the strongest fliers. See if you can meet the speed she brings, or outwit the weight of her experience. The best fliers are those that can deal with adverse conditions, be they rock or rain. This Courier carries only the best, defeat her and prove yourself worthy to bear the Jetstream Badge!

Luca was born in Dewford Town in the Hoenn region. From a young age he enjoyed watching the local gym battles, so it was no surprise that his favorite pokemon were fighting types. When Luca was still young his family moved to the Unova region. Luca became enthralled with the local legends of the Tao Trio and the idea that all things in nature have an ebb and flow. Luca trains his pokemon with balance always in mind to help them become the strongest that they can be. Tip the scales in your favor to earn the Zen Badge!

Leo was a corporate employee who worked hard, and focused all his energy on optimizing profits for the company. Whilst on the annual mandatory company retreat Leo discovered a hurt baby Kangaskhan. After some debate Leo put all work related business aside to break off from the group and go on a search for the mother, finally finding her three days later. When Leo returned to work he realized everything was still running just fine, and that his time had been better spent reuniting the baby and it’s mother . He started taking more time off and better balancing his work and personal life. He became more productive and happier while working, and joined a gym in his spare time. Leo rose to become an executive of the company, and the leader of the gym. Fight your way up the corporate rungs to earn the Ladder Badge!

Emi has been surrounded by everything electrical her entire life. When she’s not helping her parents in their electronics shop, Emi can always be found in the nearest arcade. She loves being immersed in the bright lights, clacking buttons, and the mixing of sounds from 8-bit to full music tracks. Her absolute favorite machines though, are the dance games. Deciding to up her game’s amperage, Emi has traveled to PAX South, looking for fellow trainers to share in her enthusiasm for not just dance games, but in electrically charged battles as well. Show her your moves in dance or battle to earn the Dance Badge!

Originally from the Unova region, Emre traveled to Kanto for an internship with Bill while he was developing an early prototype of the PC system. During that time Emre spent many hours assisting Bill in fixing bugs and defects in PC system programming. Unknown to them at the time, a bug was causing small portions of data to be leaked whenever someone withdrew or deposited a Pokemon. That corrupt data was interpreted by the system as a poison type Pokemon. Emre eventually discovered the error and the powerful PC-born poison Pokemon. Today, Emre has joined the PPL and is ready to take on any trainers who dare to challenge his corrupted pokemon. Make sure to bring plenty of poison heals if you want to earn the Heartbleed Badge!