>>45501575Leaf is the OG Kanto MC character who appeared for the first time in the Gen 3. In Gen 1, Female MCs weren't a thing. (The first female MC is unironically Kris/Marina - who had BOTH game AND ashnime representation).
Green is sorta based on Leaf's "prototype" concept art but for all means and purposes Green is a Gen 8 character since her first official appearance was on the Switch.
Their designs are distinct enough to count as separate characters (just like Kris and Lyra) so we might as well count Leaf and Green as separate characters.
>inb4 muh manga!!!The manga isn't canon to anything, neither the anime nor the game acknowledges it, it's target audience is way smaller and it's basically its own thing. It doesn't hold any media influence or importance unlike the game or the anime since it's derivative from the games for the most part unlike the games which ARE the original content or the ashnime which is more or less original as well