How do you think Gary Oak was treated as Ash's rival?

[spring T]

me i think gary was a good rivaly dont forget gary & ash shard a sibling kind of rivaly while paul has more of a disagreement rivaly so of coures things are going to look more intens with pual


and dont forget gary was all ways ahead of ash so they didnt bump into one another much
also dont forget gary did not enter the orange leauge so they shouldent have bumpt into one another much
and with ash in the orange islands gary was probily in johto preparing or getting badges being ferther ahead of ash

pauls is not more ahead of ash as gary was

 

[mnaylor89]

I liked gary as i rival personally and i still class him as one in a way

 

[Cybersai]

Gary beat Ash 2 times, the Eevee Vs. Pikachu match and the Electrivire Vs. Pikachu match.

Ash beat Gary in the league, and Ash beat Gary in the Pokemon race of Bayleef against Arcanine.

So they're more or less tied. Its kinda odd that Ash/Gary only had a grand total of 3 battles in the entire series.

 

[Daren]

Gary beat Ash 2 times, the Eevee Vs. Pikachu match and the Electrivire Vs. Pikachu match.

Ash beat Gary in the league, and Ash beat Gary in the Pokemon race of Bayleef against Arcanine.

So they're more or less tied. Its kinda odd that Ash/Gary only had a grand total of 3 battles in the entire series.

I'd technically put Ash slightly ahead on points, since a six on six in the League is probably worth more then two one on ones (Protip: Stop using Pikachu for those until it gets a new trick; Gary's figured it out), but it is interesting they're tied up numbers-wise (something I didn't notice since I missed the race and keep forgetting Gary was in it).

I'm with those who think Gary was a good rival that simply didn't show up enough in Johto. I'm hoping he makes another appearance in Sinnoh before the end.

 

[Cybersai]

I do think Gary will get at least one more episode in Sinnoh, sometime after the 8th gym and before the league.

Its too bad the writers didn't want to make Gary a major character again, I would have loved to see him working with Prof. Rowan or Cynthia researching the DP legends in some form.

Gary always gets the short end of the stick, and now with Paul around it seems a lot of people lost interest in Gary entirely. I still like Gary, but he's definitely being upstaged by the new rival on the block.

 

[Mooites]

I picked he was handled poorly because he hardly got any screen time D:

Other than that, Gary was a very important character and a good rival for Ash. Actually, he's probably the most important character on the show since he's the one that made Ash, ya know, do something. Not to mention the gay subtexts.

 

[The Booty Warrior]

I picked he was handled poorly because he hardly got any screen time D:

Other than that, Gary was a very important character and a good rival for Ash. Actually, he's probably the most important character on the show since he's the one that made Ash, ya know, do something. Not to mention the gay subtexts.

Early on, he definitely made Ash do stuff, since Ash initially tried to simply be a better trainer than Gary, so he did kind of depend on him. Him and things like,"Gary was here. Ash is a loser," coupled with every other insult and mockery.

Once Ash decided to continue his journey to be the best trainer he could possibly become, the need for Gary to insult him really dwindled.

The gay subtexts are still a fair point, though.

 

[Pokémon_Freak]

I really liked Gary, and I loved the way he knew how to annoy Ash, and it made me sad that he didn't appear much..
But I kind of wish they'd make him randomly appear every once in a while, even though there's no need.

 

[Cybersai]

Gary definitely needs to meet Paul before Paul himself leaves the show. Heh.

 

[Blazaking]

Gary definitely needs to meet Paul before Paul himself leaves the show. Heh.

My point exactly. Someone needs to get it through Paul's thick head that he should stop being a jerk. And if anyone, Gary's the guy to do it.

 

[VeggiePopper]

Although I loved the first season, one of my few complaints was that the rivalry was never developed during the main saga like in the games. It would have been perfect if it had been like Paul: fighting in each encounter, with Ash losing most of the time and finally beating him on the League. I also missed the "Smell ya' later!" catchphrase.

For his recent appearances, since Gary now has been settled down his differences with Ash, he could have joined him during his travels, at least for one of the regions. Having a friend companion who happens to be also a semi-rival to the protagonist would have given us a bittersweet relationship (yay for character development and complex relationships!) and lots of comical moments ("I'm better than you!/NO, I'm better!"). It would have been a good option for replacing Brock or whatever.

Another option would be like already suggested, to make it more prominent as Oak's aide or whatever. And yes, he should meet Paul and teach the brat a few things.

 

[Pokémon_Freak]

Someone needs to get it through Paul's thick head that he should stop being a jerk. And if anyone, Gary's the guy to do it.

Ohhh yes!
I couldn't agree more!

 

[Our Wasted Years]

Comparing Gary and Paul, their not bad for the "rival" type but to me Gary had a lot less screen time then Paul if you compare the first season and the D/P seasons. Paul and Ash met like 100 times already and battled like 3 times? while Gary barely had any screen time. Still I think Gary would mop the floor with Paul. Anyways Gary was a better rival, but could of used more screen time imo.

 

[Slipstream]

As a Rival originally, Gary was decent in the fact that he always was able to outdo Ash in almost everything. However, one thing that sets Gary apart from the best Rival Ash has ever had, Paul, is that Gary treated his Pokemon right. Gary never mistreated his Blastoise, and you know in the episode where he faced the then unknown MewTwo, he was worried about his pokemon whom were injured. Obviously, he shows a lot more care for his own pokemon than Paul does.

Gary was simply a better and luckier pokemon trainer than Ash was. Paul, however, is almost the complete opposite of Ash, and thus, I feel he makes a better, more meaningful rival than Gary ever was.

 

[Aladar]

Gary actually has a good chance to appear during the League Conference... and maybe finally meet Paul.

 

[danh19]

It really was a case of the writers messing it up in kanto but they did a least improve upon it in johto sharing some nice scenes together

 

[Almonds]

I never knew these threads existed

I liked Gary as a character, but he needed more screentime and should have been plot relevant at some point rather than being more or less a recurring CotD.

 

[danh19]

truthfully I didn't really like Gary at the time but his somewhat grown on me and I think he had some potential if the writers had a better idea of what to do with him at that time and gave him and his rivalry with ash more focus

 

[Gligarman]

There should be an option for "Fine once he got rid of that stupid cloak."

 

[Likeitornot.]

Considering this thread is eight years old (2009 was eight years ago, I...) it's a little unfair of me to nitpick like this, and someone probably said this earlier in the thread but - the poll is really unfair if you liked how their rivalry was developed or his personality.

Fortunately, I didn't think they had a good rivalry, especially not during Kanto. I'm not sure of the original dialogue that passes between them (I have only watched a couple of indigo league episodes in Japanese), however in the dub - especially when I was re-watching it on Netflix last year - you feel a strong sense of frustration due these procrastinating promises to battle (paraphrasing but essentially: "battle me gary!" "next time lol"), especially since there is a promise between them to battle in the Indigo League in Showdown at Poke-Corral. Of course, this doesn't happen - Gary and Ash don't battle each other until... A Rivalry Rival. This is probably the longest stretch in the pokemon anime between a rival meeting Ash on-screen and them actually battling one another. I also was left with the impression that neither in the Indigo League considered their rivalry as that significant - this isn't to say that they didn't have a special relationship with another in Kanto - I think they still did.

In fairness to Johto, from that point onwards, it really tries to make amends for this shortage it suffered in Kanto, and adds new members to Gary's team such as Umbreon to make things more interesting. I think it also tries to make his character more two-dimensional than it had been before (it wasn't totally one-dimensional in Kanto, actually, his knowledge in Dig Those Diglett! about Diglett was a nice touch to being the Professor's grandson) and in turn, his rivalry with Ash. It gives more insight into their shared past (what gives Gary an unique edge as a rival) and it ends with a relatively satisfying battle at the Silver Conference, starting a tradition of Ash defeating his main rival at the league. However - was this all enough to cover from the sins of the Indigo League's handling of their relationship? For me, no - I don't think it was developed as much as it should have been in Johto. Of course, it's hard to write this without thinking Ash's future rivalries and the formula that is developed post-OS, that colours my vision.

My favourite version of Gary Oak - as person and a rival - is actually the Gary that appears in Ash's mind as he reads his postcard in the Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing!. Ash pictures him as a more mature person, but still with that signature touch of arrogance and confidence, not beating Ash down over his temporary funk but reminding him of the honour it is to defeat him - and to use it to inspire him. It's just so touching that Ash has the maturity to use the trait that used to rile him up the most - Gary's bravado - as a form of inspiration for him, and it is touching that Gary motivates Ash like this. For me, this is Gary's best feature as a rival - someone who sparks that incentive, that drive to become a better trainer within Ash - so I feel AG brought that up magnificently. I wish it was capitalised on more during OS, but maybe Gary's role fits better post rivalry anyways?