Did anyone else feel Maria was under-utilized?

[EeveeBailey]

Come to think of it... yes.  I always found it a little odd that a former Champion would be the first Gym Leader instead of closer to the last -- if she was good enough to be the Champion, then shouldn't she be ranked a little higher?

In all honestly, it seems like all of the first three Gym Leaders -- Maria, Davern, and Cali -- could have had good potential for broader plot involvement or backstories.  Maria at least had some backstory; Davern and Cali both could have been pretty much any other Gym Leader from any other region.

By the time you start getting into the Nuclear Threat story, you all but forget about them (or at least, I did).  But then from Gym 4 on, all the Leaders have some sort of "extra" involvement in the game:

Sheldon...

Spoiler

... hated Vinoville until the meltdown at Zeta devestated the town, leading him to a change of heart and volunteering to help protect Legen from the rampaging Nuclear Pokemon on Route 11.

Tiko...

Spoiler

... got trapped in the Anthell and had to be rescued.

Rosalind...

Spoiler

... didn't have "plot" involvement, but had a the intrigue of being the "unknown" Gym Leader, and her backstory of how she managed to change the old theater traditions.

Vaeryn...

Spoiler

... okay, didn't have much of a backstory, but his Gym was unique enough -- plus his plot involvement of being the one to grant Mega Evolution is pretty crucial to the battle dynamics going forward.

And Hinata and Kaito...

Spoiler

... also had a unique Gym (rather like Vaeryn); they are the human embodiment of Aotius and Mutios, plus they volunteered to go to Omicron to defend it from CURIE.

Perhaps there would be room to involve Maria, Davern, and Cali more plot-wise into future updates.  Cali, for instance, might make a good fit to show up somewhere somehow in Angelure Town, since she favors Water-types and beach-themed Pokemon.  Maybe even link her in to the three ocean legendaries somehow?