The Pokémon franchise, which began in 1996, is a series of turn-based JRPG games. In each game, the player strives to become the Champion—the strongest trainer in a given region. Along the way, they often encounter various rival characters. These rivals, who can range from antagonistic to friendly, serve as significant challenges for the player, sometimes culminating in a final confrontation. The concept of rivals in the Pokémon series has garnered both praise and criticism for its different implementations throughout the franchise.
Role Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Pokémon franchise began in Japan in 1996 with the release of the video games Pokémon Red and Blue for the Game Boy. In these games, the player assumes the role of a Pokémon Trainer whose goal is to capture and train creatures called Pokémon. Players use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon, both in the wild as well as those used by other Trainers.
Notable Trainers in most installments are "rival" characters. Rivals are recurring characters in the games, often acting as roadblocks for the player due to their heightened difficulty compared to usual NPC Trainer battles. The first rival was introduced in Pokémon Red and Blue, with the character Blue. Blue is a standoffish character who antagonizes the player, and acts as the game's final boss.
Rival characters often differ in terms of their perception towards the player. Some rivals are similar to Blue in characterization, such as Silver, and Bede while other rivals are more friendly towards the player and engage in battles for fun, such as Brendan, May, and Hau. The latter are often more actively supportive of the player, whereas characters such as Blue often act in direct competition to the player. Some rivals, such as Cheren, Hop, and Kieran, end up going through character arcs during their rivalry with the player.
Rivals
Blue is the grandson of the esteemed Professor Samuel Oak. Hailing from Pallet Town, he grew up alongside the game's protagonist, and acts as their rival throughout the game. He is always a step ahead of the player, often completing major milestones before the player does. He is very smug, often gloating about his skill compared to the player, though after his defeat at the end of the game, he begins to mellow out. He reappears in Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, where he acts as a Gym Leader, and subsequently reappears in the games' remakes, Pokémon Black 2, White 2, Sun, Moon, Let's Go, Pikachu!, and Let's Go, Eevee!. He also appears in Pokémon Stadium and its sequel, acting as the final boss of the former. Blue also appears in Pokémon Masters EX.
A counterpart to Blue, named , appears in the Pokémon anime, where he serves as a rival to series's main protagonist Ash Ketchum. After being defeated during the original series, he begins to mellow out, and subsequently becomes a Pokémon Professor in Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl. He later reappears in Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series, acting as a recurring character who appears as part of "Project Mew." Gary later appears in the spin-off Pokémon Puzzle League. A counterpart to Blue also appears as a major character in the Pokémon Adventures manga series.
Silver is the son of Giovanni, the boss of the criminal organization Team Rocket, who first appeared in Pokémon Gold and Silver. Following Giovanni's defeat at the hands of the player character of the original games, Silver ran away from his father. He ended up stealing a Pokémon from Professor Elm, and seeks to become the strongest Trainer in the world. He prioritizes strength above anything else and is implied to be cruel to his Pokémon throughout various points in the game. After a defeat at the hands of Lance, the Johto League Champion, Silver begins to reconsider his style of battling, and matures as a character following this.
Silver appears in Pokémon Stadium 2 as a major boss opponent, while another incarnation of him appears in Pokémon Adventures. He later appeared in Pokémon Masters EX, where he was paired up alongside the Legendary Pokémon Ho-oh.
Brendan and May and are the children of Professor Birch, a Professor in the Hoenn region, who first appeared in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. The one that is the player's rival will be of the opposite gender to that of the player: if the player selects Brendan, their rival will be May, and vice versa. Brendan and May assist Professor Birch with his research, and fight the player at various points throughout the game.
The pair reappear in Pokémon Masters EX, though Brendan is Norman's child in that game, while May is Birch's. Counterparts to them appear in Pokémon Adventures, while another counterpart of May takes on a main character role in the Pokémon anime.
Wally is a young boy who appears in Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire. He is a sickly child who is moving away when the player first meets them. The player helps him catch a Ralts for companionship, and Wally later reappears at various points to challenge the player, culminating in a final battle just before the Hoenn League. He later reappears in Pokémon Sun and Moon as a secret opponent, and appears in both Pokémon Masters EX and the Pokémon Adventures manga.
Barry is an energetic and overexcited young boy who appears in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. He is the player's childhood best friend and the son of Frontier Brain Palmer. He often blitzes from place to place, and is highly impatient, crashing into people as he runs. He constantly attempts to "fine" others when he bumps into them.
He appears in the Pokémon anime and Pokémon Masters EX, while another version of him named Pearl appears in the Pokémon Adventures manga as a major protagonist.
Cheren and Bianca
and are a pair of characters who are the childhood friends of the player character of Pokémon Black and White. Cheren is a young man who seeks to grow strong and rise to the top, while Bianca is on her journey for similar reasons. Cheren, via Alder, realizes strength is not all there is, while Bianca decides to become a Pokémon researcher after becoming independent of her overprotective father. Both reappear in the games' sequels, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, where Cheren acts as a Gym Leader and Bianca as an aide to Professor Aurea Juniper.
Both characters appear in the Pokémon anime, Pokémon Adventures, and Pokémon Masters EX.
N , full name , is a rival character introduced in Pokémon Black and White. He was adopted by Ghetsis at a young age due to his ability to speak to and understand Pokémon, and was raised to believe humans and Pokémon should be separated. He acts as the "King" and Boss of Team Plasma, and reawakens the Legendary Pokémon Reshiram or Zekrom, depending on the player's version, to assist with his goals. After the player convinces him to abandon his goals, and Ghetsis is defeated, N flies away on his Pokémon. He later reappears in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, saving the player character of that game from being killed by Ghetsis. After Ghetsis's defeat, he can be found in the ruins of his castle, where he will challenge the player to a final battle with his Legendary Pokémon.
N appears in various spin-off material, namely Pokémon Adventures, the Pokémon anime, and Pokémon Masters EX.
Hugh is the childhood friend of the player character of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. Prior to the events of the game, his sister's Purrloin was stolen by Team Plasma, and so seeks to get it back from them. He holds a strong prejudice against them as a result, which slowly lessens as he discovers not every member of Team Plasma was truly villainous. He aids the player in defeating Ghetsis, and ends up returning his sister's Purrloin—now Liepard—to her.
Hugh reappears in Pokémon Adventures and Pokémon Masters EX.
Calem, Serena, Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor
, , , , and are a group of friends who appear in Pokémon X and Y. Only one of Calem and Serena act as a rival; the one whose gender is opposite to the player acts as the rival. Shauna is an energetic young girl who does not have a clear goal for her journey in mind, Trevor is a studious boy who seeks to complete the Pokedex, and Tierno is a young man who aspires to become a dancer and is the one who gifts the player their first Pokémon.
All five appear in Pokémon Masters EX and Pokémon Adventures, where counterparts to Calem and Serena affectionately nicknamed X and Y appear. Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor appear in the Pokémon anime, while Serena acts as a main character in Pokémon the Series: XY.
Hau is a young man who appears in Pokémon Sun and Moon. He is the grandson of the Melemele Island Kahua, Hala, and seeks to live up to Hala's potential. He is incredibly kind, making sure the player enjoys their stay in Alola, and loves to eat malasadas. In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, he acts as the final boss opponent of the main game.
He later reappears in the Pokémon anime, Pokémon Adventures, and Pokémon Masters EX.
Gladion is a member of Team Skull who appears in Pokémon Sun and Moon. He acts as their "enforcer," and he ran away from home due to Lusamine's neglectful parenting. He stole the Legendary Pokémon Type: Null from them, and seeks to protect his sister, Lillie, and the Legendary Pokémon Cosmog. He assists the player in stopping Lusamine, and later takes over control of the Aether Foundation after the game is completed. In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, however, he instead leaves for Kanto to train to get stronger.
He appears in the Pokémon anime as a rival to Ash, and appears in Pokémon Adventures and Pokémon Masters EX.
Hop
is the younger brother of Galar League Champion Leon, who appears in Pokémon Sword and Shield. He at first aspires to be as strong as Leon, seeking to become Galar League Champion, but after consistent defeats from both the player and Bede, he chooses to become a Pokémon Professor. He later captures and befriends the Legendary Pokémon Zacian or Zamazenta, depending on the version.
He later appears in the Pokémon anime, Pokémon: Twilight Wings, Pokémon Adventures, and Pokémon Masters EX.
Bede is a young boy who was taken in by Chairman Rose in his youth. As such, he looks up to Rose and seeks to please him. However, after destroying a mural, Rose removes the sponsorship he had given Bede, and Bede is removed from the Gym Challenge. Bede is later found by Opal, and she recruits him to succeed her as a Gym Leader. Bede confronts the player for one last battle, after which he takes over from Opal full time.
He later appears in Pokémon: Twilight Wings, Pokémon Adventures, and Pokémon Masters EX.
Marnie is a young girl who appears in Pokémon Sword and Shield. She is the younger sister of Gym Leader Piers, who has enlisted Team Yell to cheer on Marnie in her goal to become Galar League Champion. Marnie acts as a rival to the player throughout the game, eventually settling it in a final battle, after which she takes over from Piers as the Gym Leader of Spikemuth.
She later appears in the Pokémon anime, Pokémon: Twilight Wings, Pokémon Adventures, and Pokémon Masters EX.
Klara and Avery and are a pair of rivals who appear in the Pokémon Sword and Shield DLC The Isle of Armor. Klara appears in Sword while Avery appears in Shield. Klara is a member of a punk band who seeks to become a Gym Leader, while Avery is a member of a long lineage of psychics who is weaker than others of his family, and he aims to become a Gym Leader to prove himself. Both act with rudeness towards the player and attempt to cheat to defeat them, but both eventually become Gym Leaders, as is revealed in The Crown Tundra.
Nemona