Hello out there in Internetland! David Ishihara here with a list that I'm sure a lot of you are thinking. How do I rank Pokemon rivals? This is a bit of an interesting topic because rivals have been a staple in a lot of media over the years. Rivals serve the purpose of pushing a character to becoming stronger in many different aspects, and more often than not, provide at least a decent challenge to them whenever they clash in… Well, pretty much anything, depending on the medium. This goes double for Pokemon rivals, as the player encounters and battles them multiple times throughout their journey. They can range from the jerkasses that have that smirk on their faces that you are practically begging yourself to rip out, friendly and competitive just wanting to have fun, to everywhere in between. And because of how many rivals there have been over the years, this is a bit of a challenge to tackle on my own. So, I brought some help along.
Cheetah: Greetings. Glad to be of service.
Jexi: Hi. First time…top tier listing guy. Long time fan.
David: Now, you guys would probably be wondering how this list is gonna go. Simple. This won't be a Top 10 list. We will take all of the rivals from the mainline games and start from the bottom of the barrel all the way to the top. Factors will be personality, whatever arcs they have, and the teams they battle with. Now, onwards! To catch them all! Before your rival!
25-21: X/Y Friend Group
David: Starting off at the bottom rung on the ladder, we have the entirety of the friend group from X and Y. Don't get me wrong, I get what they were trying to do with these guys. They wanted to show that there was more to Pokemon than just the battling aspect. But having this many rivals at once just does that in a…very bizarre way.
Cheetah: Yes, it is no surprise that they would be at the bottom of a lot of people's lists. Shauna, Trevor and Tierno aren't even considered rivals in a traditional sense. They are all just one big friend group traveling together. And while there is nothing wrong with that, their teams are very lackluster. Shauna gets some extra points because she gets the starter weaker to the player's, but that isn't saying much.
David: I mean, individually, their teams in terms of species composition are relatively decent. But I think what really brings them down to the bottom is the fact that… Well, we don't really get to see much of their progress. Now, I know that you fight them like two or three times and most of the rival fights are against Calem or Serena depending on the gender, but the three of them are just so… Bland and one note. Which is especially disappointing on Shauna's end. You don't even get to see her starter's second state!
Jexi: Yeah. Serena and Calem were the better choices. The other three were piece of cake.
David: Calem and Serena were the obligatory competent rivals of the group, choosing the starter that has the type advantage over yours and the one you get to fight the most. Unfortunately, they're practically genderswapped versions of each other since if you picked one as your character, the other is the designated rival. And the results were…okay, I guess? I'm sorry to talk so lowly about them. But a lot of the people in Gen 6 were just there for the party because you had to have them there. Literally, there are 76 scientists in Team Flare, and I couldn't tell you ANY of their names.
Jexi: I don't think a majority even had them.
Cheetah: Yes, Gen 6 was clearly the weakest of the bunch.
David: Yeah, it's honestly a relief that Pokemon Z got canceled. There was only so much I could take…
20: Bede
David: Segwaying into our next spot, we have everyone's least favorite rival, Bede.
Jexi: Oh yeah. Psychic maestro to fairy lover in an unexpected turn.
David: I honestly didn't consider Bede much of a rival since he's more of a type specialist than anything. As Jexi said, he initially started with Psychic-types and then switched to Fairy-types. A lot of people say he's a return to form for the people that miss having jerkass rivals, but… He was just more ass than jerk to me.
Cheetah: It didn't exactly help that he has an ego as big as Eternatus just because he was endorsed by the Chairman and always seems to come up with excuses whenever he loses. After he damaged a mural that caused him to be disqualified from the Gym Challenge, he was discovered by Opal and then dragged along to become an apprentice, eventually taking over the Gym by the end.
Jexi: From bad to good in one fell swoop. And he takes after Marnie.
19-18: Brendan/May
David: Next up, we are pairing up the two playable characters from Ruby and Sapphire, Brendan and May. They were the first friendly rivals that you encounter. And you'd think that because of my Gen 3 nostalgia bias, they would be placed higher, but… I have my reasons for putting them so low here. First off, they tend to ride off that more experienced Trainer line bigger than Eric Sparrow's "I'm big in Japan!". But they're middle ground because they actually have well-designed teams.
Cheetah: Yes, they fill their teams with either Wailmer, Shroomish or Numel depending on their starter. And in the remakes, not only are their Pokemon evolved, but Numel gets replaced by a Slugma that evolves into a Macargo.
David: Yeah, the remakes give them a glowup. But in the original games… The whole thing was very unsatisfying. Not only do they not fully evolve their starter, but they aren't even your rivals in the Gym Challenge.
Jexi: I thought they were entertaining, specially in Emerald and Alpha Sapphire.
David: Yep. The remakes gave them quite the glowup by even allowing their fully-evolved starter to Mega Evolve. That's a very nice touch and it makes the rivalry much more satisfying when they face you an extra time after you beat Steven. I really wish a lot more rivals do that, but most of them face you one last time before you face the Pokemon League as a test of strength, so that is good too.
17-16: Klara/Avery
David: Jumping back to Galar for a bit, we will be covering the DLC rivals, Klara and Avery. And boy howdy are these two packed with personality?
Cheetah: I don't understand why the DLC needed to add two more rivals to a generation that already has three, but I understand that DLC is meant to be separate from the main story, so we can let this one slide. Avery is a Psychic-type specialist that went to the Isle of Armor to train up his psychic powers after his habit of using telekinesis on people whenever he loses causes his Gym Trainer status to be revoked. He levitates the people he doesn't like! That should tell you something.
David: As for Klara, she's got some serious issues. She's a Poison-type specialist that is all about boosting her popularity with as little effort as possible. No joke, she tried out to be a Gym Leader but gave up on that goal after two days of training. Wimp… Still, it kind of surprised me that Galar had other Gyms besides the 8 that you have to go through in the Gym challenge.
Cheetah: Most people don't know this, but there is a minor division where there are Gyms for types that are not part of the Gym Challenge. That is where Klara and Avery stand as apprentices by the time of Isle of Armor.
David: Even with this, though, we already had a Psychic-type specialist in Bede up until the halfway point of the main story. Why did we need another one?
Jexi: Well we don't see many psychic type gyms in Galar. Or Poison ones. So they'd make good gym leaders since they learn from their mistakes. Although, would have been interesting if they used a different ace instead of both using a Galarian Slowbro.
David: Fair enough. Especially since they actually have the cojones to actually try to cheat in your last battle with them.
Cheetah: Avery is much more manageable since he simply uses Psychic Terrain to boost his Pokemon's moves. Klara went bolder by littering the field with Toxic Spikes.
David: And as any RPG player will tell you, Poison is a PAINFUL status effect to deal with! Unless you have a Poison, Steel or Flying type yourself to avoid them. But they both admitted that they were wrong for doing so, and like Jexi said, they become pretty solid Gym Leaders by the time we see them in the Galarian Star Tournament.
15: Trace
David: A lot of people are going to be surprised he's this high, but someone has to stand up for Trace, damn it! Guess it may as well be me. Story of my life…
Cheetah: A lot of people like to rag on him for essentially being Not-Blue, but Trace actually has a few charming qualities that a lot of people tend to overlook.
David: For one, having a friendly yet competitive rival is a far more refreshing take from the preppy dick that actually banks on people hating him to be notable. Oh yeah, I went there. And relatively speaking, compared to the other rivals, he's far from the worst. I mean… X and Y were still a thing.
Cheetah: Plus, the scene in the Pokemon Tower where he adopts the orphaned Cubone was so heartwarming. And speaking of his team, it's actually very solid with an Electric-type evolved starter, a Mega Pidgeot that he begins the champion battle with for some reason, as well as a Rapidash, Slowbro and Vileplume to make up the three starter type dynamic.
David: Damn. He sounds so perfect! Mad respect for the lad!
Cheetah: Um… Ishihara? A little addendum?
David: Oh wait, I put Trace in mid-tier, right. Well, it's mostly because he's in Blue's shadow more than anything else.
Cheetah: Because he basically plays the exact same role that Blue did in the original games, Trace had some big shoes to fill, and unfortunately, besides the Pokemon Tower scene I mentioned, Trace doesn't really do anything to set himself apart from the other friendly rivals or make the same kind of lasting impression that Blue did.
David: Also, in the Champion Battle, his Pokemon don't have 4 moves. Just…why? Your Pokemon have four move slots for a reason, my dude!
Jexi: Maybe he wants to challenge himself.
David: Very much true, he does want to bring out the player's competitive nature after all. And besides, even you guys have to admit that even with all of that going against him, he's still a much better Champion than Geeta.
14: Gladion
David: Oh boy… I thought Trace's entry packed some heat. But this next one is going to burn me alive, I just know it.
Jexi: Yeah. Gladion. Lillie's brother and the master trainer of the original Silvally. He's not a bad trainer and utilizes the man made Pokemon known as a beast killer.
Cheetah: But deep down, he was a good kid. He knew his mother was insane and left the Aether Foundation with Type: Null to keep him from being used as an experiment.
David: Yeah, but what keeps him so low on this list is that Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon kind of downgraded him a bit. Because Lusamine is not the main villain anymore, his reasons for leaving the Aether Foundation without a trace kind of weakened a bit. Props for the Kanto starter, though. Love it!
13: Kieran
David: Now, depending on how Indigo Disk goes, this next entry may be subject to change, but for now, I'm going to place Kieran here.
Jexi: Yeah. No comment. This kid has problems and not just an obsession with Ogerpon. He changes up his team a few times to keep you guessing. Even uses berries to protect against certain weaknesses. However, wish he could have gone and used some Terastalization.
David: Kieran started off as a shy and meek kid that really seemed interested in the player. And he's a bit of a realistic rival like Hop, seeing how he gets frustrated when he loses.
Cheetah: It doesn't really help that he felt like an outcast because the player and Carmine kept the truth about Ogerpon and the Toxic Three (name pending) from him, even though he was clearly seen eavesdropping on them.
David: Oh yeah, I know. Ugh… Really, the whole Ogerpon deal is the only gripe I have with this guy, but because it's such a huge gripe that dominates a large portion of his arc up to this point, I can't place him any higher, no matter how much I feel sorry for him.
12: Hugh
David: Next is Hugh. His team is really solid, for the most part, he has a lot of drive and passion and he fights for justice! Clearly one of my favorite rivals. But… There is no mistaking that this guy has a lot of missed potential.
Cheetah: I know what you mean. His main motivation for pursuing Team Plasma is because they stole his sister's Purrloin that their grandfather gave them before he passed away.
David: That's right. Only the issue is that we don't really…care about his sister. She doesn't seem all that bothered by it. She doesn't even have a name!
Cheetah: I think Hugh's motivations would have been a lot more sound if it was HIS Purrloin instead. You know, keep the grandfather angle, but have Team Plasma steal the Purrloin from Hugh himself.
David: That's kind of the only gripe people have with this guy, but because like Kieran, it's a huge gripe that dominates a large portion of his arc, I can't place him any higher no matter how much I like him.
11: Marnie
David: Next up, we have Marnie. Marnie is a unique kind of rival in that she is…also kind of a leader of a villain team, I guess?
Jexi: Please. Those guys are just her fans and you know it. She wants them out of her campaign. But she isn't a bad battler. Mainly dealing with dark types and using the mighty Grimmsnarl as her ace.
Cheetah: So much so that she ended up taking over the Gym for her brother by the end of the main story, and their relationship is also quite endearing.
David: Though, besides the Toxicroak for coverage against Fairy-types, I feel like she team could use a bit of work. Mainly an Umbreon, Shiftry, Crawdaunt or Mandibuzz if she wanted a bit more type diversity. But what she's got is good too. She really held her own.
10: Bianca
David: Next is… Oh man… Bianca. I'm gonna be real with you guys… I didn't really think much of her. But in the spirit of objectivity, I couldn't place her any lower than the Top 10.
Cheetah: Generation 5 was considered to the the peak of the franchise, and it shows with the effort put into the development of the rivals. Especially with how they tackled the dichotomy of the games' themes: Truth and Ideals, with the player representing balance. Bianca is the representative of Truth.
David: Plus, you have to give her credit for acknowledging something that media doesn't always tackle. Just because you like doing something, doesn't mean you can do it at the same level as others. The reality is, Bianca isn't really all that strong and her team kind of reflects this.
Jexi: Yeah. Just a goofy klutz.
Cheetah: And at least she finds something she is good at. I wouldn't really peg her as a Professor's assistant, but for it to make sense in the transition to Black and White 2, I can kind of see why they went with this.
9: Hau
David: Hau, however, is developed just fine in that he doesn't have any glaring plotholes. He's lackadaisical, lives in the shadow of his grandpa, but doesn't really care all that much.
Cheetah: There are a lot of positive vibes coming out of him and you can't help but love him. If it was just the original Sun and Moon we are covering, he would've simply been above Kieran.
David: But while Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon kind of downgraded Gladion and Lillie's developments, they gave Hau a huge glowup!
Jexi: Yep. An awesome adversary in both form and Pokemon.
David: To the point where in the Ultra games, he's the final boss, and his theme kicks ass! Proud of you, buddy.
8: Carmine
David: Our next entry is the queen of tsunderes herself: Carmine!
Jexi: Yeah. She is a bit nuts but fun to battle.
David: I know a lot people find her xenophobia a little annoying at times, but her dedication to her brother and people are undeniable.
Cheetah: Even though she insists on dealing the final blow to the Legendaries, she was still very supportive throughout the ordeal and was even willing to fight them if it meant keeping the village intact. Her time fighting alongside the player helped her get over some of her xenophobic issues and she saw them as a genuine friend by the end of Teal Mask.
David: While things with her brother ended on a bit of a dower note, Carmine's development is what really help Teal Mask together, and I'm actually looking forward to seeing her again in Indigo Disk.
Jexi: Yeah. Wonder what kind of tricks both of them will have on their home turf.
David: Speaking of their home turf, I kind of feel bad for this next entry, because I'm not gonna be nearly as gushy, but um…
7: Cheren
David: Ta da… Oh man, this is gonna suck, but I'll do my best. Cheren is the main rival in the original Black and White, trying to be the best like no one ever… Wait…
Cheetah: He's capable, smart, a bit impatient, and a tiny bit stubborn, but in a good way. Much like Ishihara, no offense.
David: None taken, I can't avoid the truth. He works so hard to accomplish his goals, which made him the representative of Ideals. Going back to the dichotomy that Cheetah mentioned with Bianca, Cheren works to become stronger. This is pretty much the standard reason your rival tags along with you. But if he is so basic, why is he this high? Simple. Because he is the first rival to have an existential crisis.
Cheetah: Cheren is a young Trainer that strives to become the Champion, but doesn't really think about why he wants it. When asked why by Alder, he…doesn't know. This makes him ask himself questions. "Why do I want this? Why have I sacrificed so much to get so far? Why am I putting myself through this, working myself to the ground and losing to the player?" It's a bit of a sharp departure from the rivals that came before, causing quite the drastic introspection.
Jexi: Least he becomes a gym leader.
David: And quite the challenging one too. I'm happy to see he's got himself figured out.
6: Hop
David: And rounding out below the Top 5, we have Hop. The main reason he's off the Top 5 is because his teams in the main game suck! No wonder he loses all the time. He bunches up his types and picks up Pokemon that are hard to work with at the points you fight him. And two Normal-types Dubwool and Snorlax in his final team? Baby unevolved Toxel? Heatmor? Pincurchin?! No wonder h Heatmor? Pincurchin?! No wonder he keeps losing! He doesn't account for weaknesses in his team and doesn't train them up enough! It would've been better if he kept the Boltund and Trevenant or Silicobra depending on the starter, but that's just me. Otherwise, he's a pretty dynamic and interesting character.
Jexi: Well he was dealing with emotional problems after losing to Bede. Constantly changing to catch up.
Cheetah: Jexi is correct. It shook him pretty hard, and that's what makes Hop's portrayal more realistic.
David: Yeah, we finally get a rival that gets depressed and demotivated when he loses. Like Cheetah said, a more realistic take. People like Barry, Cheren, Bianca, Hugh, Hau… They don't come off as genuine when they lose. They're like… "Oh wow! You're really good!" But Hop is honest.
Cheetah: Yes, he starts to lose hope and motivation and it feels like everyone is judging him for not living up to his brother's legacy.
Jexi: Which is hard when your brother is a region champion, heck, a WORLD champion.
David: But overall, he's a very dynamic and very lovable character and he makes me smile whenever I see him. He just has that energy around him, you know?
5: Silver
David: So… This is where things are gonna get a personal, because these guys are some of our all-time favorite rivals in Pokemon. And going back to HeartGold and SoulSilver, I got a new apphrecciation for this next entry, because it reminded me of Cheetah when I first met her. I wanted this one to be on the podium, but I have to be honest with myselff. But the Top 5 is nothing to sneeze at. It was soooo, so, so, so, SO close… But I'm sorry, Silver. You just didn't quite make it…
Cheetah: One look at Silver, and I can kind of see why you would make that similarity. It really did remind me of how I was back in the day. He was so different from Blue, or any other rival that came afterward. He was an actual wanted criminal, police involved and everything!
David: Yep, and everyting that came with the demeanor. Ruthless, cruel, and physically aggressive. He tears the player down verbally and even resorts to violence sometimes. But he also has a strong hate-boner for Team Rocket… The OTHER criminals in Johto. You'd think they'd get along, but nope.
Cheetah: In HeartGold and SoulSilver, if you brought Celebi to Ilex Forest, you'd see an event where he is revealed to be Giovanni's son, whom he abandoned seemingly after his loss to Red. Silver was out for revenge against the world, his anger knew no bounds… That was until Lance defeats him and tells him he has to treat his Pokemon right in order to get stronger.
Jexi: Hopefully one day he conquers the Elite 4 and then his dad.
David: Silver turns his world around so much that he gets a Crobat, something that can only happen with high enough friendship. He even has a Gengar and Alakazam, two Pokemon that can only be obtained by trading, which means he had to make a friend at some point. In the remakes he shapes up enough that his starter follows him, he offers to return the starter he stole but Professor Elm refused, and even helps out in a Double Battle against Clair and Lance. Silver has the most dramatic growth out of every other rival, and that is why he is a lot of people's favorites. But if that was the case, why is he only number 5? Because in the games… His endings are pretty unsatisfying…
Cheetah: I know what you mean. He becomes a better person by the end, but what about Giovanni? Where does Silver even go?
David: Brendan and May help out their dad Professor Birch, Hop and Bianca become Professor's assistants, and Cheren, Bede, Marnie, Klara and Avery all become Gym Leaders. But Silver? He's just gone… It's so disappointing. A lot of us would have loved to do a Double Battle alongside him versus Giovanni, to show that Silver is better than the dad that left him by showing him that he has learned kindness. Silver needed better closure, which pretty much all the other rivals give you.
4: Wally
Jexi: Ah. Wally. With him, he goes from a dainty princess to a dashing knight. And I only say that relating to his starter: Ralts. He's also got a good fighting theme.
David: Not gonna lie, in Generation 3, he was not anything too special. He did end up being a good end-of-Victory-Road surprise, but if you lost to him and you had to start again from the beginning… Eugh…
Jexi: Well yeah. And he's got a really powerful Gallade that can Megaevolve. A knight in both essences.
David: Yep. Wally is this high because the remakes fleshed him out HARD. You spend more time with him and his family, you see his desire to become stronger and train Pokemon from the studying in his room, and you can see his progress if you pay close attention to the Gym statues and Pokemon news.
Cheetah: From your first encounter with him, you can see that he is meek, but eager. He catches his Ralts and he is on his way. You meet him in Mauville, and it will seem like nothing has changed, but if you take a look around, you would notice certain things.
David: Yeah. His family can see how much he has grown. His dad and Norman both acknowledge that and his dad was the more overprotective one.
Cheetah: But once you get past Mt. Chimney, you can see that he beat the other five Gyms BEFORE you. And news of his quick rise is shown on the Pokenews Network.
David: And then there was that battle in Victory Road, all of his progress up to this point, you come to a realization that is only matched by facing Hau in the Alola Pokemon League instead of Kukui in the end of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. That Wally isn't YOUR rival… You're HIS.
3: Nemona
Jexi: Ah…Nemona. Of course she'd make it here. Our favorite battle hungry champion ranked student.
David: Not gonna lie, when I first played the Paldea games, I saw her as a bit of a glorified stalker, but after some assessment, she more than deserved the bronze medal here. Her motivation is to build the player up into someone she can go all out against.
Cheetah: And you have to admire how dedicated she is to that goal when she is willing to partake in the Gym Challenge a second time.
Jexi: Yeah. And her final battle in Mesagoza was amazing. A real conclusion to the gym route.
David: A shame we never get to see the team she originally beat the League with, but I look forward to our battles every time.
2: Barry
David: And taking the silver medal… Thud! It's Barry!
Cheetah: Hyperactivate and always going so fast even I'd get jealous at points, Barry is the first rival you felt you were actually friends with. Brendan, May and Wally, they were people you had only just met because you were new in town, but Barry was your confidant. He is such a departure from the antagonistic Blue and Silver and the near-strangers of Brendan, May and Wally.
Jexi: Hey! You better cut that out or I'm gonna fine ya.
David: Ha! Yeah, he had a lot of funny moments too. And his team was no slouch either. Depending on the starter, he has a mix of Roserade, Rapidash and Floatzel. Couple that with a Heracross that knows Rock Slide, a Snorlax that knows Eartquake, and a solidly built starter that's strong against yours, and Barry can be quite the challenging opponent if you don't train and prep up accordingy. I mean… Not as challenging as Cynthia and Satan's Garchomp! But challenging nonetheless.
1: Blue
David: And now, the gold medal. Going down the list, it's pretty obvious who would be on here. Kind of a downside to a list like this, but it's pretty obvious why in this case. So, without further ado, here is our gold medal recipient. The original 'stinker' himself: Blue.
Jexi: Yeah. He gave lots of trouble during the GBA era of the games where you battled his team as the newly minted champion.
Cheetah: In the original games, he was the introduction to the battle mechanic. And even in his first battle, he didn't make it easy, because he picked the Pokemon that was stronger than yours.
David: Except in Yellow, where he grabbed the Eevee you were supposed to get, but yeah. Three-quarters of the time, he was a dick. And then he just zooms on ahead. Thrashing Gym Leaders before you even got there, rubbing in your face how great his life is and how big his… Um… Pokedex was.
Cheetah: He even manages to beat the League before you, and it was encompassed by a very strong team. Depending on the starter, he had a mix of Exeggutor, Arcanine and Gyarados, a super-fast and strong Pidgeot, a buff as can be Rhydon, and an Alakazam that was so overpowered in Generation 1 that it was practically a bragging right if you managed to beat him.
David: When he said he was the best Trainer in the world… He clearly wasn't kidding.
Jexi: And those are our top Pokemon Rivals. Thanks for listening.
David: If you have any other requests, let us know in the comments, and I hope you enjoyed.