The rival character has been a staple in the Pokemon series ever since the beginning, and now we've ended up with 15 rivals across the main games. Given this range of different characters, it's only natural that some stay in our minds, while other's are forgettable, or outright annoying whenever we come across them. So, who are the best and worst rivals in Pokemon, and why? I'm going to rank them because I need something to procrastinate over, but if you want to save time you can just talk about your favourite and least favourite instead.
1. Silver: I love this guy. Not only is he one of the two rivals I find actually fun to beat because he's such a tool, but his character development is caused in part by you beating him constantly. It's really nice to see a character who starts off as such a jerk slowly realize that the only thing holding him back is his bad attitude and narrow mindedness.
2. Blue: Seriously, having a rival that's enjoyable to beat is like a lost art in Pokemon, I swear. Blue lacks the development that Silver gets which does kind of suck, but he's such an asshole that I don't care. I always look forwards to fighting this guy.
3. Wally: Wally is the opposite of Silver and Blue in that I actively feel bad for kicking his ass. Seriously, I found myself wishing in Omega Ruby that I could throw the last battle with him (before realizing that doing so would be super condescending and insulting). Plus, his character growth feels really natural and as if he's sorted most of this out himself, rather than relying upon the player.
4. Bianca: While she doubts herself a lot, I find Bianca's a really determined person who goes after what she wants and I respect that. I do wish she developed more after Nimbasa City though other than "oh maybe I kinda suck at battling" (which makes no sense to me considering her Pokemon's levels are still on par with Cheren's - and better than a lot of trainers - in the endgame).
5. Hau: Hau's just a really likable guy. He's just really fun to have on screen and I just enjoy seeing him around. I do wish they'd explored the idea of him appearing to not try at anything because he's afraid he'll never be good enough though.
6. May/Brendan: These two strike me as just nice people, although they feel a lot blander than Hau. Brendan is probably the more interesting of the two due to the fact that he doesn't really seem to respect you that much at the start of the game and it's nice to see that change (after like, five minutes, but still). What I do like about these two is that after getting beaten constantly, they actually realize after the 6th gym that maybe this isn't for them and stop fighting you, which shows a much greater level of self awareness than most other rivals.
7. Cheren: He's okay, I guess. He's a bit generic in that he just wants to become the Champion (although it's interesting that he himself isn't sure why he wants that), but he's not that bad. I think he would have been way cooler if over the course of his journey he was the one who found he sucked at Pokemon battling rather than Bianca, and realized that just being book smart doesn't mean you're automatically great at Pokemon. Ah wishful thinking.
8. Shauna: Okay, sure, Shauna's kind of stupid and I hate her design (her hair makes no sense) but... That fireworks scene with her is actually really sweet and just makes me wish they bothered to do something else with her throughout the game.
9. Barry: He doesn't have a heap going for him, and asides from being crazy hyper, he feels pretty generic. Although I'll admit his hyperactivity is kind of amusing at times so he's not a total pain.
10. Tierno: Like most of the XY rival's, Tierno is really lacking in terms of characterization and screentime but he's the only character on this list who's really interested in dancing and I like how that translates over into the Pokemon and moves he uses in battle. It's a cool concept... that they did nothing with, but hey that's XY for you.
11. Hugh: I want to like this guy, I really do. Having him be affected by seeing how much it hurt his sister to have her Pokemon stolen is cool, but, it's done in such a heavy handed manner that he feels completely unrealistic and flat out annoying at times.
12. Trevor: The fact that I had to check serebii to even remember this guy's name is probably a good indicator of just how forgettable he is.
13. Calum/Serena: Do these two even count as characters? They feel more like they're just blank placeholders rather than actual people. Why do they want to become the Champion? No idea (I don't think: my parent's a strong trainers is a read)... I was going to run off a bunch of questions about them but there's so little to them that I can't even think of meaningful questions to ask. Basically, it irritates me to interact with these blank slates.
1. Silver: I love this guy. Not only is he one of the two rivals I find actually fun to beat because he's such a tool, but his character development is caused in part by you beating him constantly. It's really nice to see a character who starts off as such a jerk slowly realize that the only thing holding him back is his bad attitude and narrow mindedness.
2. Blue: Seriously, having a rival that's enjoyable to beat is like a lost art in Pokemon, I swear. Blue lacks the development that Silver gets which does kind of suck, but he's such an asshole that I don't care. I always look forwards to fighting this guy.
3. Wally: Wally is the opposite of Silver and Blue in that I actively feel bad for kicking his ass. Seriously, I found myself wishing in Omega Ruby that I could throw the last battle with him (before realizing that doing so would be super condescending and insulting). Plus, his character growth feels really natural and as if he's sorted most of this out himself, rather than relying upon the player.
4. Bianca: While she doubts herself a lot, I find Bianca's a really determined person who goes after what she wants and I respect that. I do wish she developed more after Nimbasa City though other than "oh maybe I kinda suck at battling" (which makes no sense to me considering her Pokemon's levels are still on par with Cheren's - and better than a lot of trainers - in the endgame).
5. Hau: Hau's just a really likable guy. He's just really fun to have on screen and I just enjoy seeing him around. I do wish they'd explored the idea of him appearing to not try at anything because he's afraid he'll never be good enough though.
6. May/Brendan: These two strike me as just nice people, although they feel a lot blander than Hau. Brendan is probably the more interesting of the two due to the fact that he doesn't really seem to respect you that much at the start of the game and it's nice to see that change (after like, five minutes, but still). What I do like about these two is that after getting beaten constantly, they actually realize after the 6th gym that maybe this isn't for them and stop fighting you, which shows a much greater level of self awareness than most other rivals.
7. Cheren: He's okay, I guess. He's a bit generic in that he just wants to become the Champion (although it's interesting that he himself isn't sure why he wants that), but he's not that bad. I think he would have been way cooler if over the course of his journey he was the one who found he sucked at Pokemon battling rather than Bianca, and realized that just being book smart doesn't mean you're automatically great at Pokemon. Ah wishful thinking.
8. Shauna: Okay, sure, Shauna's kind of stupid and I hate her design (her hair makes no sense) but... That fireworks scene with her is actually really sweet and just makes me wish they bothered to do something else with her throughout the game.
9. Barry: He doesn't have a heap going for him, and asides from being crazy hyper, he feels pretty generic. Although I'll admit his hyperactivity is kind of amusing at times so he's not a total pain.
10. Tierno: Like most of the XY rival's, Tierno is really lacking in terms of characterization and screentime but he's the only character on this list who's really interested in dancing and I like how that translates over into the Pokemon and moves he uses in battle. It's a cool concept... that they did nothing with, but hey that's XY for you.
11. Hugh: I want to like this guy, I really do. Having him be affected by seeing how much it hurt his sister to have her Pokemon stolen is cool, but, it's done in such a heavy handed manner that he feels completely unrealistic and flat out annoying at times.
12. Trevor: The fact that I had to check serebii to even remember this guy's name is probably a good indicator of just how forgettable he is.
13. Calum/Serena: Do these two even count as characters? They feel more like they're just blank placeholders rather than actual people. Why do they want to become the Champion? No idea (I don't think: my parent's a strong trainers is a read)... I was going to run off a bunch of questions about them but there's so little to them that I can't even think of meaningful questions to ask. Basically, it irritates me to interact with these blank slates.
