but ah HA!
thats not true!
in R/S the champ was Steven. but in Emerald it was Wallace.
and then in SS the champ of hoen is still Steven.
so they do acknowledge the fact that a champ was defeated.
No, that's not what I meant lol. They never really seem to acknowledge the fact that YOU (the Player) are the new Champion.
Non-playable characters, such as Wallace and Steven, are a different story. Something like this even takes place in the new games.