Leon

"It’s hardly my fault that the world is full of wonderful, lovable people. Such a thing really motivates one to get out there and save it."

- Leon

Leon (レオ Reo, Leo in the Japanese version) is a playable character from Fire Emblem Gaiden and its remake, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. He is 24 years old.

Profile
A former soldier, Leon reluctantly joined the Rigelian army when an unnamed man, whom Leon had long held a love for, enlisted. Said man died in battle, and Leon entered a state of depression. However, due to Valbar's encouragement and kind words, he got back on his feet and has been attached to him ever since. After Barth is defeated, he joins Celica's party.

After the war, he joins the knighthood of the newly formed kingdom of Valentia, continuing to working alongside Valbar. In the remake, Leon retires to open a shop, but remains in contact with Valbar. If Valbar dies, however, he remains in the military and becomes an instructor.

Personality
Leon has a pretty boy personality and sharp tongue, but he is an honest man that tells no lies. Leon has a nihilistic side, claiming he has desired to die in battle during his death quote in Gaiden.

In both versions of the game, Leon has a very close relationship to Valbar, describing him as his sworn brother and saying he will go wherever Valbar goes. In the remake, it is made clear Leon's attachment to Valbar is romantic, with Leon saying that women do not interest him and Valbar is all he needs, even if Valbar never notices Leon's love for him.

He also mistakenly thinks that Kamui is hitting on him in their support conversations, declining him while, at the same time, talking about Valbar being his ideal man. In his third base conversation with Celica, even she recognizes that his feelings for Valbar are romantic.

Recruitment
If he survived the previous battle, talk to him at the Pirate's Fortress.

Growth Rates

 * 50%
 * 20%
 * 20%
 * 10%
 * 10%
 * 30%
 * 0%
 * }

Overall
Leon is the only Archer unit available in Celica's route. Archers in Gaiden come with many useful perks that make them one of the better classes in the game. If they equip a Weapon, they automatically bump their natural range of 3 up to 5. When they Promote to Bow Knight, their range is always 5. With a weapon equipped, they also do bonus damage to Flying Units. They are at very little risk of being harmed and can easily pick off weakened enemies or bring them down in health so your other units can finish them off without the enemy hitting them back.

That being said, Leon's starting stats are standard, and his growths are very unfortunate. Archers in Gaiden have very little use for HP or Defense because they outrange all other units in the game. That Leon excels at these defensive stats at the cost of poor offensive growth means he loses major potential as a unit. His Speed base and growth is low enough that he will have difficulty Double Attacking anything, and his Promotions will do nothing to fix this. However, the Archer class is useful enough that these poor growths do not prevent him from being a solid unit. Leon should be able to safely stick back and pelt enemies with little risk to himself, so even with his unsatisfactory stats, there is no real downside to using him.

It is worth noting that Atlas is able to promote into an Archer in Celica's route. When comparing the two, Atlas winds up as a superior Archer as he will have roughly the same Skill and Speed as Leon, but he will have significantly higher Strength which makes him the better unit. Atlas promoting to an Archer is the only real route for him to take where he winds up being superior to other characters of the same class. Python, the Archer from Alm's route, winds up being a superior attack unit to both Atlas and Leon.

Base Stats

 * Due to equipped Iron Bow

Growth Rates

 * 45%
 * 30%
 * 50%
 * 30%
 * 30%
 * 30%
 * 4%
 * }

Supports
Passive Supports
 * Valbar
 * Kamui
 * None

Fire Emblem Gaiden
"I have long desired to fall in battle..."

- Leon's death quote in Gaiden

Recruitment Conversation
"You're going off with them, old friend? Well, they'd better make room, because I go where you go! No complaints about that, right? Everybody on the same page? ...Great."

- Leon's recruitment conversation in Echoes.

Level Up

 * "This feels funny—and not the ha-ha kind." (1 stat up)
 * "Did I get stronger AGAIN? Goodness!"

Class Change

 * "I'm excelling beyond words!"

Turn 1 Selection

 * "I'll handle this myself."

Enemy does one or no damage

 * "Somebody's eager."
 * "Ugh, almost gave me a heart attack!"

Upon Being Healed

 * "Well, aren't you nice?"

Critical Attack

 * "Get lost!"
 * "Excuse me?"
 * "We're done here!"
 * "Hands off!"

Finishing Blow

 * "Like this?"

Enemy Defeated

 * "So sorry!"
 * "It's unfair how good I am."
 * "Shouldn't have tried me!"
 * "Good night... Mwah!"
 * *sighs*
 * *chuckles*
 * *laughs* "Perfect!"

Nearby Ally Defeated Enemy

 * "I've gotta hurry and catch up!"

Summary Screen

 * "Honestly? I was pretty much perfect back there."

Death Quote
"This is so embarrassing... What a...clumsy way to go... I always pictured something more... impressive..."

Fire Emblem Gaiden
"As one of the knights of the kingdom, he works towards the restoration of Valentia."

Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia
"Welcomed into the One Kingdom's Brotherhood of Knights, Leon remained at Valbar's side until an injury ended his fighting career. He then took up work as a merchant in the city market, where he lived free, happy, and dauntlessly true to himself to the last." "Dealt a grievous blow by Valbar's death, Leon disappeared for a time before returning to join the One Kingdom's Brotherhood of Knights. There, he fought with the strength of a hundred men, and later served as an instructor to new recruits, contributing greatly to the order."
 * (If Valbar lives)
 * (If Valbar dies)

Trivia

 * In the Japanese version of Echoes, Leon uses the pronoun Atashi, which is generally considered to be feminine.
 * Leon showed up in an April Fools gag in the official site which claimed a new Fire Emblem game in the style of the 8bit originals would be made. This fake game would star Leon, Valbar, and Kamui in a setting based on medieval Japan.
 * Leon talks about his ideal man and expresses disinterest in women during his Support conversations with Kamui and Valbar respectively, heavily implying that he is a homosexual.