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File 134333641937.jpg - (305.21KB , 696x2084 , champion teams.jpg )
25449 No. 25449
Red's team doesn't quite compare with all the rest, does it?
Expand all images
>> No. 25450
Red's team is basically a tribute to the old fan faves of the very first generation. I mean come on, all three starters plus Pikachu the breakaway favorite, Snorlax the tanky meme and Lapras the....Lapras.

Besides, NOBODY compares with Cynthia's team.
>> No. 25451
>>25450
Also, it's based on Yellow version. Pikachu was his first and it's holding a Light Ball, the Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, and Lapras were gift Pokemon, and then there's Snorlax, the only one on that team that was actually captured.

I NEED MORE COMMAS

>NOBODY compares with Cynthia's team.

I dunno, Wallace's Milotic looks beastly.
>> No. 25454
>>25450
>>25451
Those are all pokemon he absolutely has to have by the time Yellow is completed, since you need to wake up at least one of the Snorlax and you get the Lapras from clearing out Silph Co.
>> No. 25456
File 134336093240.jpg - (27.12KB , 494x370 , 134293193925.jpg )
25456
>Cynthia
...Y'know, I was gonna say you spoiled Diamond/Pearl for me.
But then I said, "dude, you haven't fuckin played it since, like, two years after it came out. 'S your fuckin' fault."
So, yeah.
>> No. 25458
Cynthia's pretty god-tier, but Adler isn't too shabby either.
Gary's always going to be my favorite though. Hell when was the last time your Rival was ever anything more than a goes-nowhere annoyance? the answer is Silver
>> No. 25460
>>25458
Silver is the most hilarious rival ever.
>> No. 25464
Silver was the worst rival and I can write paragraphs of text detailing why
>> No. 25465
>>25464
Oh come on. Every time you beat him, he throws a childish little pout about how strong he is and then runs away like a sissy. It's hilarious.
>> No. 25467
>>25458

Barry, Cheren, and hell, even Bianca (bless her soul), managed to obtain all eight badges of their respective regions. Something that, canon-wise, it a pretty difficult feat.
>> No. 25470
File 134343607266.png - (593.03KB , 1691x557 , 1292468051733.png )
25470
>>25464
Inform us, please.
>> No. 25472
>>25470
Really, Wally is the worst rival.
>> No. 25473
>>25472

The worst part is that he takes over the position from a potentially more interesting character (Your opposite gendered counterpart) and forces us to deal with his assholery.

Gen III also had the worst Pokemon Professor in the form of Professor Fattycakes.

Prof Oak is the mainstay of the series and is simultaneously angry aand eccentric as fuck
Prof Elm is entertaining in that Prof Oak ends up not letting him do anything worthwhile and is constantly stealing his thunder
Prof Rowan is so ornery he shits cactuses
Prof Juniper is hilariously lazy but also a fucking boss in her ability to convince those around her to do things for her.

What does Prof Birch have going for him? He's a useless fatass with a wiener son and that's it
>> No. 25474
LET ME TELL YOU MY RIVAL OPINIONS

Gary/Blue/Green was a flawless rival. He did everything he needed to do, which was piss off the player and prove to be an ever-present obstacle, without interfering in the player's sense of accomplishment. He could've beaten Team Rocket himself, but he didn't. Instead he focused on becoming the Champion, becoming that obstacle he needed to be one more time.

Silver was an absolutely shitty rival, because he didn't serve a true purpose. He wasn't a childhood friend like the other rivals, and he really didn't care about the player at all beyond seeing you as a nuisance in his way. His ideology made no sense; he constantly blamed failure on his own Pokemon, but never changed his team out except in a few small occasions. And despite losing to you again and again, a trainer on the same level as him, it took an utter thrashing from Lance -- a trainer way above his level -- to start to think that his ideas might be the wrong ones. And even after that, nothing actually changed. He kept using the same Pokemon and the same techniques in battle. It got even worse in HG/SS when he also became a colossal moron, immediately ripping the Rocket uniform off of you after spotting you in it, not thinking for a second that you might be trying to go undercover, or that you might have even just joined Team Rocket. And then he just leaves, not helping you fight Team Rocket at all, despite hating them so much. And even after his change of heart, he doesn't return the Sneasel he stole from the trainer in Cianwood. He's whiny, stupid, and doesn't serve any role in the plot except to be the token rival.

There were two rivals in Generation 3, but they behaved so differently from their predecessors that it becomes easy to forget. Their objective wasn't to be a challenge, it was to teach you more about the world you're in. Birch's kid isn't actually all that crazy about battling, doing it mostly as a hobby while helping out their father. Wally is sickly and still learning what it means to be a trainer -- when you battle, it's because he thinks he's ready to face you. Wally recognized the entire time that you were stronger than him. That doesn't make him an inferior rival, it just makes him different. He looked up to you, and wanted to be as strong as you and Norman were.

In Diamond and Pearl we got Barry, who has the same friendly nature as the Gen 3 rivals, with the competitive edge that Gary had. He was a good rival, ultimately wanting to prove himself against you, but more than happy to help out when the situation was obviously bigger than your competitive rivalry.

Bianca and Cheren were SUPPOSED to be your rivals in Black and White, but I honestly consider N closer to the role of a true rival. He's an obstacle in your way, out to prove his ideals are right, but was willing to admit when he was wrong and lend a helping hand. He didn't want to defeat you, he wanted to show you the way he saw things. In a way, he had a mixture of all the other rivals inside him, and was hidden under the guise of an antagonist. He even beat the Champion before you could, in true rival style. Bianca and Cheren don't even compare.
>> No. 25475
The big problem with the rivals after gen 1 is how little they tied into the actual plot of the games (I know, I know, what plot?)

Gen 1 games were all about becoming the league champion. Even facing team Rocket tied into that with its leader being the final gym leader. Facing your rival as the final boss to become champion actually made him and his relationship to you seem important.

That's why rivals from later generations never had as much impact: They never tied into the plot in the same way Blue did.
>> No. 25476
File 134345765430.jpg - (392.04KB , 480x640 , 9aff1fe83664a7205e9cdd2e7148de69.jpg )
25476
Since Bones went on an N tangent (not to self: possible math pun?), I'll go talk about Cheren and Bianca.

I wasn't very fond of Cheren's character arc at first. His pursuit of "true strength" is, in general, a tired anime/JRPG trope that usually means more than just defeating all who oppose you or some tripe. His frequent appearances and consistent whining certainly didn't help. But when I thought about it, the theme of what makes a great Pokémon Trainer hadn't been touched the way it had until Black and White, in game canon at least. Barry, who had a similar background of being the player's childhood friend in friendly competition to become the Champion, was quick to brush off defeat with his carefree, hyperactive nature. But Cheren, having a cooler temperament, started thinking, perhaps too much, about why he kept getting his butt handed to him by you. He had to discover through hardship that there was more than one way to become a strong trainer, and by BW2, he has found his answer. I still don't like him very much, but I can appreciate what the arc was trying to do when exploring his motives.

Bianca, on the flipside, is a more non-traditional rival, akin to Wally and Birch's child. Bianca lived a life sheltered by her overprotective father, and was given a chance to step out on her own by becoming a trainer with her two childhood friends. But Bianca soon started feeling inferior to her friends, and starts pondering if being a Trainer is the right thing for her. While she succeeds in defeating Opelucid City's Gym Leader, she also starts to think about what else she could so with her Pokémon, whom she had grown to love, but not have to worry about competing or getting strong. She eventually becomes Professor Juniper's assistant, saying she wants to learn more about the world. In a canon where Pokémon battles are so natural people will demand to battle anyone they set their eyes on, Bianca's arc theme is that "Being a Pokémon Trainer isn't for everyone". Even after she officially become Juniper's aide, Bianca continues to battle with the player as a way of bonding with her friends, both old and new.

Or maybe I'm just biased towards blondes and/or girls.
>> No. 25479
>>25470
Just send Barry up to my room then.
>> No. 25484
>>25476
>>25474
Personally, I found Bianca/Cheren too preachy, in a metatextual sense, to really be "my rival" at all. They were too busy being mouthpieces for that incredibly Japanese "discovering what to do with your life" diatribe the game was going on about.

Then again, I found White very preachy in general compared to previous games.
>> No. 25485
>>25470
>Wally
My OWN FUCKING FATHER treats this kid better than me. Wally? Here's a pokeball, here's a fucking field full of fucking Ralts, here's some TMs and potions and shit... What do I get? "Come back when you've got more badges, pussy."

I can't hate Wally. I resent him for being spoiled.
>> No. 25486
The reason I liked Barry, Bianca, and Cheren is because they're friendly rivals. Gary always pissed me off because I knew people in real life like him, who picked one random person out and devoted their lives to showing them up. He's amusing in the anime, but he always seemed to be taking everything way too seriously.
>> No. 25487
>>25475
Gary didn't have any real relevance to the plot either. Or is it more excusable since in Gen 1 there isn't really an arc to be irrelevant to?
>> No. 25488
>>25487
Like he said, the entire plot of gen 1 is POKEMON MASTER LEAGUE CHAMPION FUCK YEAH. The fact that Gary is a direct obstacle there makes him a good rival.
Also the fact that he's such a smug asshole you just wanna make him eat dirt gives you a sense of satisfaction when it comes to beating him, as opposed to Bianca and Cheren, where it's more like "well, that sure was a battle I just won." There's no distinction between them and a regular NPC trainer except that they grow and adapt and you're told you're supposed to care about them.
>> No. 25494
One thing that always pissed me off about Gary was how he'd still gloat like a jackass after constantly losing to you. In non-hacked games you never really see exactly the power him and his team are capable of so when you finally do fight and beat him as champ it doesn't really make you feel all that accomplished because you just did the same damn thing you just did 5 times or so earlier in the game.
It was cool that he turned out to be the champion, but again you never got to see the scope of his power through another NPC's eyes or anything like that so the victory just feels kind of hollow and causes Gary to feel like less of a threat and more of just a constant arrogant annoyance.
>> No. 25519
>>25476
Y'know, I know this is totally unrelated,...
But it's obvious Bianca has some chub in the game/battle sprites.
Why is she so skinny everywhere else?
>> No. 25522
>>25519
I don't know. I like her chubbiness, though. We've gotten to the point where several games have heavy-set male characters, but I'd love to see more body diversity in girls, too.
>> No. 25524
>>25494
Gary don't give a fuck dude. When he loses to you he cares even less than Bianaca does. He doesn't compliment how awesome you are player you're so cool thanks for buying Pokemon! He doesn't mope and vow to be the strongest because he's a bland character with one dimension. He goes to the Pokecenter and gets back out there ahead of you, catching lots of Pokemon, driving his Ferari and flirting with the dames.

As much as Red worked and slaved and overcame, Blue didn't give half as much a shit and still beat you to everything.
>> No. 25528
>>25524
This.

Gary Oak is the number one supreme master of Not Giving A Fuck.
>> No. 25548
>>25485
I remember him being a sick child who didn't have a single pokemon to his name.
>> No. 25550
>>25548

It was probably just a cold...Fucking molly coddled little pansy...
>> No. 25593
I like Silver precisely because he's an asshole. He might not have been too bright with his team, but to me he actually fitted the role of rival like Gary did. I don't want to be buddy buddy with my rival, fuck off with the lessons about what it means to be a trainer and shit, I just want someone that I'm willing to beat. I like Barry and the others, but I want somone who is a both a humongous faggot and strong enough to give me trouble. IMO that's what makes someone a good rival.
>> No. 25594
>>25593
I respect Gary. He's an absolute jerk, but not in a malicious way. He is the master of not giving a fuck.

I actually -sympathize- with Silver. He's all attitude...but only because he's a young man with a terrible family who doesn't know how the hell to not be a jackass. And he's honestly pretty damn good, too.
>> No. 25634
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25634
Gary has an Arcanine, of course he wins before the fight begins.
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