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 recurring character that is well known to a main character and has similar skills and achievements. The rival repeatedly challenges him or her, and defeating a rival may be a primary or necessary goal of said character.
In the games
In the main series, a rival is a recurring opponent to the player throughout the game. This class of characters has appeared beginning in Generation I, and in every main series game since. Typically, rivals will be met by the player early in the game, usually around the time the player receives their 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 appear frequently throughout the player's journey, always being one step ahead of the player as the player moves through the region, meeting and battling the player at various points in the game with a progressively stronger and diversified party. Usually they must be 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 of their home region that weakens the one the player chose at the beginning of the game, though Wally, Bel and Blue in Pokémon Yellow are exceptions.
The following are the characters considered to be rivals in the games. It should be noted, though, that only Blue and Silver have ever received the Rival trainer class; all others have been referred to as Pokémon Trainers.
| Kanto | Johto | Hoenn | Sinnoh | Isshu | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | Silver | Brendan or May | Wally | Barry | Cheren | Bel |
| File:FL Blue.png | File:SilverHGSS.gif |  
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File:Wally game.PNG | File:RivalPlatinum.gif | 
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File:Spr BW Bel.png |
In the anime
Various rivals for the main characters have also appeared in the anime.
- Ash has had Gary Oak, Paul, and Barry as his major rivals. Minor rivals include Nando and Conway, who, while they battled Ash more than once across an entire saga, have a smaller role than the other three. Many other characters also collect badges and may be counted as rivals in the future.
- May has had both Drew and Harley.
- Dawn has Zoey, Kenny, Ursula, and Jessie.
- Johanna had a childhood rivalry with Lila.
- Brock had a friendly (and short-lived) rivalry with Suzy.
- Jessie and James have a rivalry with Cassidy and Butch, respectively.
In the manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
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In Pokémon Adventures, Red's first rivalry blossomed when, just as their game counterparts did, he and Blue were each given the first two Pokédex, as well as starter Pokémon to compliment their already growing parties (somewhat unlike in the games). Red received Bulbasaur, while Blue acquired the starter that weakens his, and both times his Charmander evolved before Red's. As would become a tradition in the manga, Green, hearing of these two fellow Pallet Town Trainers' big send offs on journeys, stole a Squirtle (weakened by Red's) and proved to be a somewhat irritating obstacle for Red at times, stealing two of his badges and shrewdly taking his Moon Stone for later use before using the boy as a pawn to gather the seven known badges at the time to create Zapmolcuno (not knowing at the time that it would create a three-headed bird monster, a kind which she fears above all else). She also competed in the Pokémon League after Red's excursions in the Viridian Gym against Giovanni, as well as his capture of Mewtwo. She finally faced the then-disguised Professor in the semi-finals, but after her phobia of bird Pokémon was exploited, she lost, and after Oak's forfeit, Red defeated his rival in the final match.
Yellow, who took over as the protagonist two years later, had no real rival, but as both she and Lance of the Elite Four had the psychic healing powers of Viridian Forest, he would most closely match this description.
One year later, the tradition of the rival character acquiring a starter that weakens the protagonist's would again be revisited when Silver steals his Totodile while Gold took a Cyndaquil. Once again, the rival would evolve his starter before the boy when his Totodile became a Croconaw before Gold's evolved to Quilava, but after they were horribly defeated and narrowly saved by Entei, they would fall into a coma lasting for several weeks, during which a third protagonist, Crystal, is given a Chikorita, the last remaining starter (along with the final Pokédex), and it too evolved to a Bayleef. The three then were reunited in the Whirl Islands, and evolved to the final stages simultaneously.
Years after the Masked Man's defeat, Ruby and Sapphire would be given opposite starters, but unlike before (possibly attributed to the fact that Sapphire is female), Ruby would now acquire a Mudkip and Sapphire would be given the disadvantaged Torchic. Both evolved to their final stage similarly, though again the rival of the main playable character, Ruby, would evolve hers first both times.
Ironically, the Grass-type starter would again meet the fate of being partnered after its chums when it at last becomes Grovyle with Wally, and is revealed to have been smuggled into the Battle Factory after evolving to its final stage in the wild. As originally intended, it ended up with Emerald.
The protagonists for the Diamond & Pearl arc received the same type starters as the RGB seniors years before, when Diamond (based on Lucas) ended up with a Turtwig, Pearl (based on the rival character) with a Chimchar, and Platinum (based on Dawn) was given a Piplup. However, unlike the first protagonists, their starters evolved almost exactly at the same time, with Diamond and Pearl's starters evolving simultaneously both times.
Trivia
- Ash has at least one species of Pokémon each of his major rivals own. Gary captured a Krabby, Paul uses a Torterra and Gliscor, and Barry uses a Staraptor and Heracross.
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