There's not a single emotionally healthy female leader in the whole region. Whitney cries after losing and won't cough up her badge. Jazmine shuts her gym down entirely but somehow cannot find the time to either go to Cianwood herself or ask one of the dozens of sailors/swimmers to do it for her. Clair can't believe she has been defeated when she set up her dragon gym next to Ice Path, a place filled with ice Pokemon. When she inevitably loses, she sends the victor into the local dungeon which is filled with even more dragon users, implying that she is either extremely petty or has such low self-esteem she believes the dragon trainers in that cavern are stronger than her (especially the little girls).
It's no wonder they're sending trainers to Kanto's Pokemon league instead of running their own.
