What Makes a Pokémon Rival GREAT?

[@TophDaGreat]

I really liked Hugh and feel he doesn't get enough praise. He wasn't a buddy buddy rival and had a story with a reason to dislike Team Plasma but at the same time wasn't a jerk to you the player. He was a good balance.

[@shepskydad]

Hugh is so underrated. I think too many people skipped B2W2, which is a huge bummer considering how amazing it is.

[@josephcirrincone9596]

Ikr

[@lipika2841]

Most talk about Blue, Silver or N (if counted as a rival tho not untraditional) being on the top, but Hugh is a sleeper pick.

[@Acacius1992]

@@shepskydad My main/only issue is with his bland team

[@Acacius1992]

@@lipika2841 Tbh, Silver is so god damn overrated. He is just a whiny edgelord and his team is so damn blaand. (They are strong but truly just generic and give him absolutly NO identity of his own.) His team in a Crystal rom hack fits him so much better while keeping the core.

[@alanwatterson6238]

Hop as rival feels like kicking a puppy

[@SomeoneInTheInternet-mk6ku]

For me what makes a great rival are two things: they actually present a challenge and they have different goals. When the goal is just becoming a champion or filling the pokedex they fill bland. But when the goal is becoming stonger and they all have a different personal reaso, that make them an actual character, with their own struggles, some you can relate and some you can hate. I would love a hackroom where you have rival and even if you loose, you dont need to repeat the battle and the story will just move on.

[@shepskydad]

Oooh the hack rom would be cool because you can have different things happen to the rival depending on what battles they win/lose! Overall I agree with you that they need personality and substance outside of “champion for the sake of champion”

[@trevorpacelli8056]

Another big problem with rivals in modern games is that they're more placeholders for tutorials and telling you where your next stop is rather than being compelling characters or actually challenging opponents. The fact that the rival as of Gen 6 now default picks the starter weak to the one you chose further evidences that they're just there to make the player feel they've accomplished a lot without actually achieving much of anything.

[@wikiuser92]

Nemona did so to actively challenge herself. She was doing a challenge run, deliberately putting herself at a disadvantage.

[@MousaThe14]

“Never lost to Brendan or May” look at this guy, the only person who apparently saw the Route 110 fight a mile away and wasn’t ambushed after wading though a treacherous path of tall grass and trainers just trying to get to the other side. I’m not saying they’re great rivals but I’m not the only person who’s had a Route 110 story.

[@shepskydad]

You can see them a couple steps before they ambush you 👀

[@Redfork2000]

I feel like this battle is a bit overrated. I remember not struggling with it at all my first time playing Ruby. The only time I remember having a hard time with this fight was during my solo run challenges, and the whole point of those is making the game a lot harder by trying to solo all battles with an underwhelming Pokémon.

[@katdelrey]

​@@Redfork2000its mostly considered hard if your starter was mudkip

[@piranha64]

Rename of the video: Shepsky Dad dunks on Trevor for 8 minutes straight

[@rudysarmiento8700]

This is also the reason why in the anime, rivals like Paul are so good

[@Acacius1992]

Well honestly the Anime is already so sickenly sweet and happy go lucky often, such a sour drop is a refreshing breath of Air

[@TimToonsTalks]

Sir, I suggest you watch what you say about May and Brendan not being challenging. To this day I can’t cross a bridge without observing every angle

[@palyername]

I cannot believe their theme song was not brought up as a point a single time

[@jenshast1488]

Hugh bros stay winning

[@shadowmarauder6033]

I agree with you on basically everything, especially that from gen 7 onward all rivals have had something interesting about them or at least have more personality than most older rivals. I also like how many recent friendly rivals have been handled. Hop, USUM Hau and Nemona demonstrate that you can be both a friend and a challenge to the player.

[@shepskydad]

It’ll be interesting to see if they go forward with mainly friendly rivals or if they start mixing it up!

[@joopvanhedel1372]

Wally gets a huge update in the remakes

[@seanroughley4060]

Honestly, if May/Brendon showed up around each gym to fight you, it would have been AMAZING to meet Wally on routes exploring himself after the 2nd encounter with him, and then you meet him near the end of Victory Road as the final fight, would have made him stand out more even if he isn't a challenging fight

[@pisz1267]

Speaking of challenging rival battles he forgot about battle at route 110 in ruby and sapphire

[@shepskydad]

Only difficult if you’re speedrunning or solo running with Mudkip 😂

[@melvint-p9500]

I'm pretty sure that team doesn't have a move with more than 40 base power

[@animevillainscourge8074]

i think silver has to be one of my favorite rivals, i love how much of an edgelord he is. while he does come off as a bit of a tryhard, he goes about it in such a funny way that i was sad when i finished the last battle with him. the silence of the player character juxtaposed against his monologues about power and strength is just so amusing. im glad you can rematch him at the indigo plateau, as i recently finished heart gold and its fun to be able to see him again.

[@selder_7]

I think one of the most under appreciated moments in the franchise is the twist reveal that when you take on the elite FOUR and beat Lance who is the FOURth member who has a bigger walk up towards him and different music and the prestige of the dragon type, that you then get hit with the twist that there’s one more fight because that jerk Blue was once again one step ahead of you, and now the game will end as it started with you taking on blue who has a starter type advantage locked in. This is the “I am your father” of the Pokemon franchise, a twist so well known that it’s forgotten how mind blowing it was. Blue was a perfect antagonist for the first Pokemon game

[@cparle87]

I can see some folks in the comments have gen3 bridge trauma.

[@Snap1820]

Great video, well put together. Looking forward to seeing more

[@silverseedva]

The fact that this video came out DAYS before Teal Mask came out… Yeah, GameFreak definitely perfected the rival formula with Kieran

[@flamboyantwarlock7101]

I honestly feel like a big part of it comes down to how much of a challenge/roadblock they are. Like, Blue works because hes a beast. He has Gyarados, Rhydon, and up to 2 Psychic types in a gen where that meant something. In gen 3, he picks up Tyranitar for his rematch. He also had the uncanny ability to show up when youre least prepared to ruin your whole day, like on the S.S Anne and inside Silph Co. Silver similarly has a stacked team, with Gengar, Alakazam, Crobat, and probably a Feraligatr. May/Brendan have one tough fight, on the bridge, and nothing else. They never even fully evolve their starter. At least Wally does something in the remake. Starting in gen 4, Rivals got easier and easier. Barry can be a challenge, but it depends entirely on what Starter you give him. I cant even remember what pokemon Cheren, Bianca, and Hugh used, all I remember is stomping them. Calem/Serena are absolute pushovers, who literally cry about it. Alola guy had a Psychu, that was his only good pokemon and the only one I remember. Leon's brother sucks ass and his whole character arc is about coming to grips with that, just like with Serena.

[@selder_7]

I so wish that Ultra Sun and Moon had been sequels where Lillie was now your rival. Would’ve been a unique take to have a rival that I didn’t want to beat

[@Professor_Wisteria_]

this is why Gen 5 is my favorite: it gives you THREE rivals. one that seeks power and the strength to become Champion because that's the best trainer in the world, one that seeks greater strength to prove to her family AND TO HERSELF that she is capable of becoming an adult and carrying that responsibility, and one that seeks the power of a legendary dragon in order to grant freedom and peace to all pokemon and even later on turns on his evil father to tear down his corrupt organization. instead of trying to smash it all into one person, they decided to split it up and allow each of those paths an even deeper level of storytelling and even leads to some pretty sick plot twists and endings. i will never understand how Gen 5 became such a hated generation, it does so many things so incredibly well in my eyes. also yes i know X/Y has a bunch of rivals but as he said in this video they're all total chumps and i didn't even remember Trevor's name before watching lmao (i only remember Tierno because Ludicolo and Shauna because of the trading card game. not a good look for them as characters)

[@tommymdladlana8255]

I've lost a ton to may and her marshtop 😭

[@Didyouknowthatiexist]

Choose mudkip then

[@tommymdladlana8255]

@@Didyouknowthatiexist no I just caught shroomish

[@lvl5Vaporeon]

You missed one thing about Barry that I feel is incredibly important. Barry's team. You see, Barry is a hotheaded impatient guy. In my eyes, it makes ZERO SENSE how this person has both a SNORLAX AND A HERACROSS on their team when the only way of obtaining those is to wait PATIENTLY on a honey tree. It just kills the character to me because I honestly can't see Barry doing anything like this. As for Blue? I can see him totally assembling a team that can take on any type. He seems like a guy who would cover up loose ends and plan ahead. You also immediately saw this trait when he picked your starters weakness and instantly thinks of grabbing the map from his sister. I don't think Barry thinks that hard...honestly I feel like he would throw his pokemon at a brick wall if it would made them stronger...

[@shepskydad]

I really want to know if GameFreak knew what they implied when they gave him Munchlax/Snorlax. I’m assuming Barry just got really lucky 😂

[@lvl5Vaporeon]

@@shepskydad Yeah but then a heracross on top of that? Barry should have entered the pokemon lottery and ran off with all the master balls easily!

[@brendan6555]

I think maybe the thing with that is that he's so hyper he can run back and forth between the honey trees like the flash.

[@Acacius1992]

Honestly? I think they gave him Munchlax/Snorlax exactly because of that. He is so hyperactive and impatient. Giving him one of the most slowest, laziest and needing the most patience to catch ist just peak irony xD

[@lvl5Vaporeon]

@@Acacius1992 I wish they double downed on it then by giving him calm/lax natures for his pokemon

[@dozzy9984]

I'm not sure if I remember Bianca correctly, but isn't part of her story that she can't beat the player and that she's not as good at Pokemon fights? Aren't we just her rival, and it's player who is compelling her to grow etc.? The question is, does rivalry has to be mutual? Btw. isn't Colress a rival as well? I know he's a grown man, but we encounter him few times through the game, fight and even end up changing his world view due to our actions.

[@ToxicAtom]

I'd say Colress is as much of a rival character as N is. Also I very much like your point about Bianca. From the player's point of view, she's a pushover that's trying too hard. From her point of view, you are her biggest obstacle getting in the way of self-realization. You are to her what, say, Silver or Gary is to you (minus being a jerk about it, hopefully.)

[@Professor_Wisteria_]

yes, Bianca's entire story revolves around how weak she is and how SHE wants to catch up to US, but failing to do so constantly until the end of the game where she actually admits that she would never be able to beat us, and decides to just cheer us on in our quest for the Champion Title

[@mitshah9869]

I’d say blue is the best and hau is the worst

[@almeidachannel7121]

Nice Video ! Sub & Big Like ! And love Pokemon games !

[@EinSilverRose]

I gotta be honest. Blue/Gary is extremely overrated. He talks big but you trounce him every time you battle. He's really only challenging due to the limited roster of Pokemon to choose from being the 1st generation after all. His only claim to fame is being the first rival of the series, being a dick, and getting every gym badge before the player does. Even as a kid who first played Red version he never left an impact on me. He's still likeable but he's such a push over. At least someone like Barry is the funny friendly rival whom we eventually find out has a bone to pick with his dad who is one of the best trainers in the world. Not every rival has to be compelling either. A lot of friendly rivals are just fine whether they have a good character design or have their own little character arc.

[@christophermitchell9739]

100% on this. Honestly he's one of the least compelling rivals to me. I never lost to him, even as a kid, and he didn't make me dislike him as much initially as Silver did or have enough of a turn around to make me really like him like Silver did in the remakes.

[@ComradeMaryFromMars]

It's weird he's so cocky for someone who gets completely destroyed everytime you fight him that was weird to me as a kid

[@GengarLover1342]

I havent played B2W2 in several years but I remember hating Hugh. Maybe I'll go back and see what the fuss is about.

[@sorcererCermet]

idec. i love hau. he has a great arc and only is held by back by the baby brains at game freak giving the rival the starter weak to yours

[@sonofksmith]

Sooooooo Marnie and galadion, got it

[@whit9172]

Me picking Barry immediately..

[@selder_7]

Wally is too “lil bro” to be a good rival

[@Dionysus626]

I disagree. Barry's monkey dance made me smile. Therefore he is the best rival. In a tier list of funny monkey dances, Barry is S tier and everyone else is F tier.

[@sagetmaster4]

Pogggg

[@Alexs23743]

What makes a Pokémon rival great? Not being a yandere. Whoops; there goes Nemona! I had a fruitful battle with her, all right...Spoiled Apricorns! >xD

[@sweetwolfsteve5583]

A good rival needs to be 1. They need to be there and add to the story 2. They need to have a challenge and not be a pushover 3. They need to have a decent team 4. They shouldnt be friendly

[@Quartermistress]

If Hau 50% less i would like him a lot more

[@sweetwolfsteve5583]

1:24 the only good rival in that photo is blue silver hugh and n the rest were way to easy pushovers or just way way to annoying like nemona hop and hau who want to battle you every 5 steps i swear gen 5 was the last time we got good rivals nemona isnt near the top for a rival she sucks and shes beyond annoying wanting to battle you every route not to mention that shes a massive pushover the enitre game

[@sweetwolfsteve5583]

Im sprry but nemona is not better then hop hop is a really bad rival but at least you could breath thekugh the game with nemona you cant bc nemonas down your throat every route every town with i want to battle i want to battle

[@FuckYoutubeAndGoogle]

Lmao, it's not even close, Nemona is miles better than Hop for many reasons.

[@brendan6555]

Unpopular opinion (?) But Hugh is one of the worst rivals to me. Everytime he shows up he's just yelling at team plasma for stealing his sisters cat and its minorly obnoxious to me. This would be fine if he at least had good battles, but im pretty sure when you fight him after having 6 badges he only has 3 Pokémon... 2 of them being an elemental monkey and an Unfezant.

[@shepskydad]

A totally valid take. Hard not to criticize somebody when they use… *UNFEZANT*

[@evawhite1144]

I absolutely agree with you 100%. Hugh's team sucks. His motivation is shit too, like why should we, as the players, care bout his sister’s Purrloin? Holy shit dude, there's tons of them on the 1st route of the game. Go get her another one. It would’ve been a tiny bit better if the Purrloin was his, and not his sister’s. That way, his anger would be a little bit more justified. Another thing to make him better, would’ve been if perhaps, halfway through the game, he started having these realizations that the "past team Plasma" the ones that are good in the remakes and follow N, aren't so bad after all. I can kinda understand him hating team Plasma, even if his motivation really doesn't warrant it, but him indiscriminately hating on all of them, even after being shown and told and given proof that a big facet of them are actually good, he still hates them all the same, because they don't have his fucking cat. Also, he really doesn't seem to really care that team Plasma wants to control the region or anything? The only thing he's fixated on is finding that cat and nothing else. He literally only wants you to be strong so that you can help him find that Purrloin instead of actually saving the region. Like, idk Hugh, perhaps it doesn't make sense to save that Purrloin if by then there isn't a region left to live in, lol. But the thing I'll never forget is how he literally leaves you to fight the Shadow trio on your own, because he's "too traumatized and shocked that the Purrloin evolved into Liepard and it's evil now". Like, no kidding dumbass, you really thought they were going to keep your cat safe and cozy, waiting for you to find it? It evolved. He really expected it to not evolve in what, 3 years? That's what pokemon do. Honestly, Hugh's being surprised at that is as dumb as Shawna being surprised that you can catch pokemon inside the pokeballs in the X/Y catching tutorial at the beginning of the game. His edginess also feels forced. He doesn't have a tragic backstory to justify the emo/goth/punk teen vibe he has going on. Silver/Gladion/Guzma and heck even Bede! Have actual tragic backstories to justify why they're so asshole-ish and edgy. Hugh really doesn't, so it comes out forced. He's definitely one of the worst rivals, like Holly Heck, I think I would’ve preferred another Bianca to this Hugh guy. 😅

[@ToxicAtom]

I feel like Hugh gets a pass because his battle theme is great and colors his personality better than his actual dialogue, no pun intended.

[@FuckYoutubeAndGoogle]

​@evawhite1144 Do you seriously not understand why Hugh would be pissed that Team Plasma stole his little sister's beloved pet? Really? How about you go tell someone in the real world to just get a new pet after their pet is stolen, see how they respond to that.

[@KEATONSTOOS]

60 seconds

[@dartagnanearl1467]

The XY rivals were handle better in Anime anyways so who cares right and even Black and White don't try hate black and white try watching a play through or let's play to understand why you can't being Pokemon over you need contacted for that and this was before the Dex got cut and being use for DLC

[@3twibles4sweetrevenge]

I said barry

[@melvint-p9500]

Bad video. Hau is awesome

[@sweetwolfsteve5583]

No he's not he was a massive pushover and was way to whiney