This is something that I regard as rather a weakness of the traditional Pokémon game structure – becoming the Champion is basically the end of it. Obviously you have other sideshows to busy yourself with afterwards, and the games have been getting better and better at those as we’ve moved through the series, but they are, unmistakably, just that – sideshows. Of course, there’s always the Pokédex project, but I think we can all agree that the Pokédex project is something of a joke at this point. With the notable exception of Gold and Silver, and the remakes of those games, the storyline is ‘finished’ when the player becomes the Champion. I think it would be really interesting for a game to explore what powerful trainers can do in the world besides get more and more powerful, as well as the duties and responsibilities of a Champion.
Pokémon trainers are people who work with Pokémon. That is their skillset; that is their purpose. It makes sense to me that a powerful trainer with nothing else to do would work on solving Pokémon-related problems for people – or, to look at it another way, solving people-related problems for Pokémon! Think of it this way: once you become Champion – or, for that matter, after you have been ousted as Champion – you are, effectively, an extremely skilled specialist in human-Pokémon relations with a team of absurdly powerful bodyguards. Your services should, by all rights, be in very high demand! A group wants to start a new town halfway down a long, treacherous road to act as a rest stop – but how can they keep things friendly with the wild Pokémon in the area? There are Pokémon in the ruins that have just been discovered – how can we study the buildings and artefacts without disturbing them? Wild Pokémon have been attacking a local power plant – what’s going on? This is all stuff that people might well ask a Champion to check out – or a high-level trainer-for-hire.
Pokémaniacal 