Oh boy, it came down to the wire between Shade and Sapphira. But in the end, I went with Sapphira. I'll admit it: I'm a sucker for badass, take-shit-from-no-one, powerful women characters who practically leave a quake in every step. And she absolutely fits the bill. People call her a Mary Sue, but I really don't think that's an accurate assessment. She's one of the most powerful gym leaders in the league, and she uses that power to help get the region back on track. It's definitely realistic in the world of Pokemon. Is it a bit unrealistic in the real world how she does things? Sure. But this is a world full of supernatural creatures that faithfully fight to protect their human partners. It's completely realistic in this scenario.
Anyway, enough about that. I also love how she is one of the few main character in the series that had no problem putting the terrorists 6 feet (or more since she sunk them) under to protect her family and to show them that nobody will put up with their shit anymore. We're not messing around anymore. You keep doing these criminal acts, your life will be on the line. Period. A lot of people might disagree with this mindset, but I'm proud to stand by it. You ruin other people's lives, you deserve no less. I'm tired of us toying around with Team Meteor, clearly posing no threat to them (in the sense that Team Meteor doesn't have to fear for their lives when encountering us, but we already know of one person who quit technically because of what Sapphira did), while they slaughter people left and right.
I can't wait to get to battle her and see just how tough she is. She better not disappoint me.