The New Normal – League Government
Champion
-Directs policy and sets overall direction of Indigo by making proposals that need to be accepted by a committee of high ranked League officials.
-Can sit on the committee and have a large, but not majority, vote to select and appoint Gym Leaders and Elite Four members.
-The committee is ultimately the one that decides who to appoint and can ignore the Champion's opinion.
-Can remove Elite Four and Gym Leaders if Champion challenges them to a battle and defeats them without losing more than 2 Pokémon in the battle.
-Should not be done recklessly, as it can be bad for public perception. Also, an Elite Four/Gym Leader can only be challenged this way once per 6 months.
-Can be removed if 80% of the public votes to impeach them. Alternatively, if a challenger (who has won the Indigo Conference) has defeated all the Elite Four members, they may challenge the Champion and replace them if the challenger wins.
-If the challenger is originally a Gym Leader or an Elite Four member, then they do not need to challenge the other Elite Four members and may directly challenge the Champion.
-A Champion may be replaced at any time, but a new Champion cannot be replaced until the end of that circuit.
-Therefore, it may be beneficial for challenges to occur at the start of a circuit to allow for a longer grace period.
Committee
-Made up of high ranked League officials and the Champion. Committee members are all appointed by the public by vote and need to be re-elected.
-Popular support is very important to keeping their positions.
-Has the power to appoint Gym Leaders/Elite Four through a majority vote. Can also vote out a Gym Leader/Elite Four by the same majority vote.
-Discusses policy created by the Champion. Can stonewall the Champion if the committee disagrees with their course of action by voting against it.
-Can create own laws/policies but the Champion can vote against it. Can bypass the Champion's vote simply by having more than the majority vote in approval.
-Effectively serves as a check on Champion's power and gives representation to the public, as committee needs the public to remain elected. Thus, the Champion must keep an eye on public opinion to pass things through the committee.
Elite Four
-Is responsible for carrying out the orders given by the Champion and the committee. Sort of like the 'arms' of the Champion. Often serves as diplomats and representatives.
-Can be appointed to their positions by the committee. Alternatively, a challenger who has won the Indigo Conference or a Gym Leader can challenge a member of the Elite Four directly and replace them if they win.
-Can be removed either by a majority vote from the committee, or an 80% public impeachment vote. Can also be removed if they lose to the Champion without defeating more than 2 Pokémon.
-Can technically ignore the orders of the Champion if the committee and the public are hostile to the Champion.
-Hence, winning the Elite Four over is important for any good Champion.
-Elite Four members can be challenged at any time by challengers. They have a one-month Grace period where they cannot be replaced.
Gym Leaders
-Technically they share power with the mayor of their cities but are definitely more respected.
-The mayors are often more concerned with the development of the city itself, while Gym Leaders are more focused on running their Gyms.
-In charge of the stability of their cities and to ensure the steady continuation of the circuit.
-At minimum, each Gym Leader should be strong enough to fend off at least 7-badge challengers.
-Their ability to serve as a 'learning block' for trainers are more important than their overall strength. Though strength is always valued.
-Can directly challenge a member of the Elite Four and Champion to replace them.
-Are given their positions by the committee or are inherited from their family members.
-Can be voted out by the 80% public impeachment vote or by a majority vote from the committee.
-Can only be replaced during the off-circuit, barring emergencies or a special vote of no-confidence. Gyms can sometimes continue functioning without their Gym Leaders if the Gym Trainers take up the task.
The Challenger
-Must have 8 badges and win the Indigo Conference or is at least a Gym Leader/Elite Four member.
-Any challenger may only challenge an Elite4/Champion once every 3 months.
-Challenges who have only won the Indigo Conference and are not a Gym Leader/Elite Four have a limitation period of 3 years to challenge for a position. After 3 years they must requalify.
-No penalty for losing a challenge, but repeated losses look bad on your reputation and makes it less likely for you to be selected in case of a vacancy.
A.N Thought I would write this up to clarify some aspects of the political scene of Indigo. Sorry for the overlap between them, but I just wanted to make it clear what they all do. I stressed about this part of my story way too much, and eventually this is what I came up with. Once again, it's definitely not perfect, but I at least hope it's serviceable for my story's purposes.