Rival
- For the Elite Four Champion in Pokémon Stadium, see Blue (game).
- For the Japanese opening theme, see The Rivals.
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.
In the anime
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.
Trivia
- All of Ash's rivals are noticably 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 have the same characteristics as Misty, May, and Dawn. Misty and Gary often argue with Ash and have great confidence while battling; May and Tyson are known for their optimism and have a fondness of eating treats; and Dawn and Barry both have mannerisms on capturing Pokémon of their likeness and caring for them a lot.
- 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.
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