The Rival / Pokémon

Anime & Manga

Anime

• Gary Oak is Ash's original rival. He serves as the primary template for most rivals to come: an arrogant but talented Trainer who's always one step ahead of The Hero, antagonizing Ash while being his main motivation to get better. In the anime, he kept up the rivalry until the end of the original series, when he was defeated and pursued a different career, but he has since returned on a couple of occasions to help Ash and company, and is more of a friend than anything else.
• Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire was the only arc Ash himself went without a serious rival, although during the Hoenn League he went up against Morrison, who was much like Ash in his demeanor, and the two had a good battle.
• In Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, he has Paul (an expy of the rival Silver from Pokémon Gold and Silver), who happens to be at least a half-dozen shades darker than Gary ever was. The guy is not only efficient in subduing Ash, but also darwinistically cruel — any Pokemon he deems weak is dropped or handed off without a second thought. Incidentally, Paul's actions are frequently compared to the modus operandi of the Vocal Minority of people playing the game. As of the end of the Sinnoh arc, though, Paul seems to have gotten better. His defeat at the hands of ex-party member Infernape, who he abused physically and emotionally has forced him to acknowledge Ash's skill and Infernape's growth, and he learns at least a bit more compassion himself as well, actually thanking his Electivire for battling well despite its loss.
• Ash's secondary Sinnoh rival was Barry, who is extremely hyperactive (much like his game counterpart) to the point of being borderline ditzy. Nevertheless, he's still fairly competent in battle, and while he's quite arrogant, his rivalry with Ash is generally friendly while still being competitive.
• In Pokémon the Series: Black & White, Ash's main rival is a reserved amateur photographer and beginning trainer named Trip. Trip leans more on the pettier side of the Jerkass scale, with his reason for disliking Ash simply being that he's from Kanto. His first battle with Ash ended in his favor, because a previous encounter with Zekrom temporarily left Pikachu without his signature Electric attacks. This and Ash's future losses to him would only fuel Trip's ego and prejudice, only learning some respect after his idol, Unova Champion Alder, personally flattens him.
  • Bianca, Stephan, Cameron, and Virgil are also introduced in this saga as minor rivals for Ash, the former two gaining more story and focus as rivals later on. Stephan and his Sawk even get their own rivals during the Clubsplosion arc.
• During the first part of Pokémon the Series: XY, Ash's main rival was Tierno, a Dance Battler (and somewhat of an Ascended Extra from the games, as Tierno is the least notable rival from Pokémon X and Y) whose "rhythmic battle style" Ash tried (and failed) to replicate. During the second half of the series, however, Ash strikes up more serious rivalries with two other Trainers:
  • The first is a young trainer named Sawyer, who actually looks up to Ash and makes it his goal to surpass him, an inversion of how Ash's rivalries regularly play out. While he briefly succeeds, Ash is ultimately able to turn things around in their final Kalos League battle.
  • The second is Alain, the protagonist of a side-story of the anime, who is interested in battling Ash and his Greninja's unique Super Mode. Alain, who is normally The Stoic, enjoyed battling Ash so much that he bothered to collect the 8 Gym Badges to participate in the Kalos League just so he can fight Ash. Ash, in turn, considers Alain the absolute bar to pass.
• In Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, Ash has a friendly rivalry with his classmate Kiawe, a more serious one with Lillie's brother, Gladion, and even one with his Parental Substitute, Professor Kukui (while he's in his Royal Mask persona), the last one being his strongest opponent. Even one of the guardians of the islands, the legendary Pokemon Tapu Koko, see Ash (and, by extension, Pikachu, a fellow Electric-type) as a rival.
• Starting in Hoenn, with the introduction of Pokemon Contests, Ash's female companions were also given rivals of their own.
  • May had Drew, who was better than her and could be arrogant but was ultimately friendly and wanted her to improve, and Harley, an angry, bitter Coordinator who declared her his personal enemy because she said his cookies were "not bad" instead of the best thing she'd ever tasted. In a way they could be foils of each other, as they share a green/purple color theme, each primarily use a Grass-type Pokemon, and have some degree of feminine traits (in Harley's case, he's full on camp).
  • Dawn got Zoey, a seasoned Coordinator who was willing to calm her down and help her improve from the very start (and ultimately won the Grand Festival); her childhood friend Kenny, who started shortly before she did, chose the same starter (though he evolved his, while her Piplup chose not to evolve), and started showing romantic interest in her she didn't return; and Ursula, an egotistical Coordinator who tried to unsettle Dawn outside of competition to weaken her.
  • Unova notably gave rivals to both of Ash's companions. Cilan got Burgundy, an up-and-coming (in her mind, at least) Connoisseuse who insists he insulted her and wants to defeat him as not only a trainer but a Connoisseur. Iris got Georgia, a somewhat gruff and self-proclaimed "Dragon Buster" who always found a way to claim that her losses "didn't count." Cilan and Burgundy's rivalry remained one-sided in Cilan's favor (and one-sided in vitriol on Burgundy's part), while Iris and Georgia settled into something of a "frenemy" dynamic where they both want each other to get stronger and push each other to their limits.
  • Kalos introduced a Suspiciously Similar Substitute to Contests called Showcases, in which Serena competed against a few notable others. There's Miette, who actually became her rival before Showcases were introduced and also teased her about competing for Ash's affection (though it's implied she only does this to annoy Serena); Shauna, from the games, who is a step ahead of her but always helpful and encouraging; and Nini, who's also friendly. In fact, all three arrive at Master Class exactly when Serena does, helpfully (and playfully) announce that they've been her rivals, and as they're eliminated from the competition, ask Serena to carry on for them. Altogether, the rival scene from Kalos was a much friendlier afair, with Jessie being the closest to a malicious rival (ripping Serena's dress once just before she had to be onstage), but in that case, that was entirely one-sided, with Serena not even really being aware of her and their "rivalry," much less her feud.
• Certain Pokemon have also had specific rivalries in their own right, usually closely reflecting the relationship between their respective Trainers. Paul's Electivire was a rival to Infernape and to a lesser extent Pikachu, Ash's Greninja was one to both Sawyer's Sceptile and Alain's Charizard, Ash's Lycanroc was one to Gladion's, Ash's Incineroar was one to Professor Kukui's, and Pikachu was one to Tapu Koko.

Manga

• Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure! has Jun, a counterpart to the rival of the source games Barry, as Hareta's rival.
• Pokémon Adventures has Red and Green/Blue, mirroring the video games as well as Ash and Gary. They aren't ever explicitly hostile to one another, but are disdainful of their respective training techniques: Green thinks Red is airheaded and impulsive, relying on luck to win, while Red thinks Green is overly harsh and uncaring towards Pokemon, seeing them as simple tools. In the end, they wind up learning from each other (Red becomes calmer and more strategic, Green becomes more openly friendly with his Pokemon), and the two are Fire-Forged Friends as of the Pokemon League battles.
  Red: Someone once told me that you have to know your limits! *recalls his exhausted Pokemon*
  Green: Heh. And someone once told me that there is no victory in defeating a weakened opponent. Choose your next Pokemon, Red!

Video Games

Main Series

• This has been a tradition since the beginning of the series. The hero character always has a rival whom they meet at various points of the game. The hero's relation with the rival is almost either someone from their childhood or a new neighbor; the one exception is in the second generation, where it's a stranger with a dark past. Depending on the situation, the rival jumps between being an adversary and an ally during your journey. From the third generation onward, most rivals are of the friendly type, with the same generation also introducing the concept of having at least two rivals. Pokémon X and Y even gives you four.
  • The rival in the first generation (called "Blue", officially) was the prototype for Gary Oak, Ash's rival in the anime. He's a smug, condescending Jerkass who always seems to be one step ahead of you, making it all the way up to the end of the Pokemon League and briefly becoming Champion.
  • In the second generation, the rival is Silver, an even nastier rival who sees Pokémon as nothing more than tools for battle. Eventually, he gets better.
  • The third generation has an interesting twist: one of your two rivals is the playable character who the player did not choose. The other is Wally, a sickly boy who looks up to the player and is eventually inspired by them to grow strong and become a Worthy Opponent to them.
  • The fourth generation introduces Barry, another childhood friend best known for his hyperactivity.
  • Pokémon Black and White has three rivals that tie into the game's themes. There's Cheren, an intelligent, aloof boy who chases the ideal of strength; Bianca, a flighty girl who uses her journey as a chance to discover herself; and N, the Well-Intentioned Extremist king of Team Plasma who believes all Pokémon must be separated from humans.
  • Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 has Hugh, who seeks to get strong to get revenge against Team Plasma, who had kidnapped his sister's Purrloin two years prior. He's somewhat of a unique take in that while he respects the player, he has little patience for anyone else.
  • Pokémon X and Y includes an entire group of four friendly rivals: the main battler Calem/Serena (whichever one wasn't chosen by the player), the dancer Tierno, the Pokedex completionist Trevor, and the Genki Girl Shauna.
  • Pokémon Sun and Moon has Hau, a happy-go-lucky boy who craves malasadas, and Gladion, a stoic loner affiliated with Team Skull.
  • Pokémon Sword and Shield has three rivals: Hop, another childhood friend and the younger brother of the Champion, Leon; Bede, an arrogant boy who hunts for Wishing Stars; and Marnie, a punk girl with a rabid fanbase.
  • Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have Nemona, an older student at Naranja/Uva Academy who thinks you have what it takes to become Champion and battles you repeatedly in order to help you climb to the top. The DLC chapters add two more, who develop in opposite directions: Carmine starts off hostile towards you but warms up to you as the storyline progresses, whereas her younger brother Kieran starts off eager to befriend you but proves unable to cope with being Always Second Best to you and grows increasingly hostile.
• For the first six generations, the rival's starter Pokemon is the starter that has type advantage over your starter. The exceptions are Yellow (where your only choice is a Pikachu, and the rival uses an Eevee) and games where you have more than one rival (in which case, one rival gets the starter that's weak to yours). Your first trainer battle will usually be with the rival that has the advantage. From Sun and Moon onwards, the trend is reversed, with the main rival (Hau, Hop, Nemona) taking the starter weak to yours and the strong starter going to a major endgame boss (Kukui, Leon, Clavell).
• Some species of Pokémon have rivalries, which are much less friendly than any the player has. Seviper and Zangoose hate each other, as do Durant and Heatmor. This is emphasized in X and Y, where if the two rival species appear in a Horde Battle, they'll fight each other instead of your Pokémon. (This is a mixed blessing, because a mixed Horde always means one Mon that's very rare for that game and four common ones, meaning that if this phenomenon occurs, you've got four Mons that are going to mercilessly gang up on the one you likely want to catch, and you can only catch the last remaining one. You have to somehow help the odd Mon out in this case if you want to catch it.)
• Archie and Maxie, Hoenn's villain leaders, are rivals. Team Aqua and Team Magma as a whole are rival factions.

Spin-Offs

• The early parts of Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon had this with the partner and Pancham at first. This is shown in many ways, such as when you go with Espurr and Deerling, while your partner makes Pancham's team fail, and the partner and Pancham argue.