Rival

For the Elite Four Champion in Pokémon Stadium, see Blue (game).

For the Japanese opening theme, see The Rivals.

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Brendan faces off against May.

A Rival (Japanese: ライバル Rival) is a type of Pokémon Trainer that first debuted in the Generation I games, and is basically a recurring opponent to the player throughout the game. It specifically refers to Blue and Silver. However, there are Pokémon Trainers who may not be formally described as rivals, but have characteristics reminiscent of those of Blue and Silver. These Trainers are the following: Brendan or May, depending on the player's gender, as well as Wally, in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald; and Pearl in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Lucas and Dawn (whichever the player is not) are sometimes said to be rivals; however, they never actually battle against the player.

Typically, rivals will be met by the player early in the game, usually around the time the player receives his starter Pokémon. In most games, the rival will also obtain a starter Pokémon, and will usually participate in the player's first Pokémon battle against a trainer. From then on, rivals will always be one step ahead of the player as the player moves through the story, meeting and battling the player at various points in the game with a progressively stronger and diversified party. They usually must defeated in order to continue the game; the most important of these battles happening either right before or during the player's challenge to the Elite Four. After the defeat of the Elite Four and the Pokémon Champion, the rival can usually be battled at the player's leisure, but only at certain times with increasingly powerful Pokémon.

More often than not, they will have the starter Pokémon that weakens the one the player chose at the beginning of the game. The exceptions are Wally, who instead uses Ralts as his starter, and either Lucas or Dawn, of whom one uses the starter Pokémon that is actually weak to the player's choice. Since they are not rivals in the traditional sense, they are referred to as pseudo-rivals. They use a variety of Pokémon for the the remainder of their teams.

Main Rival Sprites
File:RBBlue.png	File:Y Blue.png	File:Silver Sprite GS.gif	File:Silver Sprite C.gif	File:Wally game.PNG	File:FL Blue.png	File:Jun.png	File:RivalPlatinum.gif
Blue in Pokémon Red and Blue	Blue in Pokémon Yellow	Silver in Pokémon Gold and Silver	Silver in Pokémon Crystal	Wally in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald	Blue (Green) in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen	Pearl in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl	Pearl in Pokémon Platinum

Pseudo-Rival Sprites
		File:Brendan.png		File:Koki.png	File:Lucasplatinum.png		File:Dawnplatinum.png
May in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire	May in Pokémon Emerald	Brendan in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire	Brendan in Pokémon Emerald	Lucas in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl	Lucas in Pokémon Platinum	Dawn in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl	Dawn in Pokémon Platinum

In the anime

File:PokémonContestGrandFestival.jpg

May and her rivals

Various rivals for the main characters have also appeared in the anime. Rivals in this sense refers to major recurring characters, as all of the main characters have had a "rival" who only appears in a single or few episodes that they eventually make up with. Examples include Morrison or Harrison, while the major rivals are listed below.

• Ash Ketchum has had Gary Oak while Paul and Barry are currently his rivals. Many other characters also collect badges and may be counted as rivals in the future.

• May has had both Drew and Harley. Solidad may also qualify, as the two battled in Kanto Grand Festival and Solidad was seen with Drew and Harley watching May in the Wallace Cup on television.

• Dawn has Zoey, Kenny and Jessie. Nando may also qualify, though he and Dawn have yet to battle officially.

• Johanna had a childhood rival in Lila.

• Brock had a friendly, and shortlived, rivalry with Susie.

• TRMeowth ([[{{{2}}} (move)|{{{2}}}]]) has a rivalry with Giovanni's Persian.

Trivia

• All of Ash's rivals are noticeably taller than him, especially Barry.
• Ash has captured a Pokémon belonging to each of his rivals. Both Gary and Ash captured Krabby, and Paul and Barry use a Gliscor and Staraptor respectively, matching up with Ash's current team.
• Harley is the oldest rival in the anime, being at least as old as Brock.
• Three of Ash's rivals each seem to be a parallel to each of Ash's female companions. Misty and Gary both have a bickering relationship with Ash; May and Tyson are both known for their optimism and fondness for eating treats; Dawn and Barry both have mannerisms on capturing Pokémon of their likeness.
• May and Max have never met any of Ash's rivals.
• Of all the main characters, only James has never had a rival.
• Wally is the only rival to not have a sprite change.

Rival and friend characters Core series Blue • Silver • Brendan/May • Wally • Barry • Lucas/Dawn • Ethan/Lyra • Cheren • Bianca N • Hugh • Calem/Serena • Shauna • Tierno • Trevor • Lillie • Hau • Gladion • Trace Hop • Marnie • Bede • Klara • Avery • Nemona • Arven • Penny • Carmine • Kieran Spin-off games Ronald • Keith • Luca • Sharon • Paulo • Lear • Tina

Template:Gen I trainers

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