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Rival Characters

Hmm...would we even have a traditional Rival I wonder? I mean, we're just trying to complete the Dex this time, not win a League or anything so it might be awkward to put in a standard Rival who constantly battles you without it feeling somewhat arbitrary and roadblocky.

That said, I would definitely prefer them to try to figure out a way to implement the concept rather than not as since I have said a million times, variety of stuff to do outside of catching will keep this Open World game from being boring.

As for what this hypothetical Rival may be like, the obvious choice would be another person from your Hub town but I would prefer an Ainu-esque character that is native to Sinnoh and is antagonistic to you and your lot - a very easy justification for another jerk Rival. As for Starters, I could see the mysterious Professor try to extend an olive branch by giving them the Starter of the Trio that is strong against yours.
 
What if Barry (Jun?) and/or whoever you don't pick is on a mission researching evolution, breeding, or attacks. You're essentially working together but on diffrent tasks.
 
This is going to cause a lot of controversy if Game Freak did that.
And yet there's already people kicking up a fuss if they don't put them in claiming it's whitewashing of history and the like. GF isn't going to be able to avoid (internet) controversy about this so if I had my way they'd tackle it head on, warts and all in depicting the Sinnoh expedition.

I just don't want any friendly Rivals, anything but that. :(
 
Be just had 3 jerk rivals in a row with Bede, Avery, and Klara. We're kind of overdue for a friendly rival.

Better yet if they didn't turn out to be Barry they are Ainu.
 
I wonder if they even intend to fill that rival role. I always love seeing more characters in the game, but with the loss of trainers, it makes you wonder if they would want to have a rival character.

I do have one idea. It is actually a half mentor/half rival sort of deal. At this time, trainers have not quite been established, and perhaps people hardly even battle with Pokemon, other than as protection from larger Pokemon who could cause them hard. But, on your journey, you come across a person, whether native to Sinnoh, or who comes from a separate village that had also come to the land of Sinnoh, and they actually enjoy battling strong Pokemon for sport. Perhaps you take interest in that, and they teach you how to battle not just to weaken or fend off Pokemon, but to compete. Then, they become a rival of sorts, showing up occasionally to test how you have progressed in your journey.

There are some holes in this, as we really don't know if there are any other people here (but based on the ruins we see in one shot we know that there were people here once), but this is just one idea I have. This isn't even a prediction really; it's more like "If I were making the game, I would do something like this".
 
Hmm...would we even have a traditional Rival I wonder? I mean, we're just trying to complete the Dex this time, not win a League or anything so it might be awkward to put in a standard Rival who constantly battles you without it feeling somewhat arbitrary and roadblocky.
Anyone remember Trevor from XY? Probably not since the Rivals in those games weren’t that well developed. However, I remember that his rivalry with you was more based on Pokédex completion in lieu of battling. Maybe Game Freak could give that another try?

As for what this hypothetical Rival may be like, the obvious choice would be another person from your Hub town but I would prefer an Ainu-esque character that is native to Sinnoh and is antagonistic to you and your lot - a very easy justification for another jerk Rival. As for Starters, I could see the mysterious Professor try to extend an olive branch by giving them the Starter of the Trio that is strong against yours.
That’s another good idea that I really want to see implemented.

This is going to cause a lot of controversy if Game Freak did that.
Lysandre basically wanted to exterminate the entire planet with the exception of a select few using a device built by a grief stricken king to end a war and bring someone back from the dead. Colonization is nothing compared to that. Besides, it’ll probably end peacefully in this context since Pokémon’s target demographic is kids.
 
I do have one idea. It is actually a half mentor/half rival sort of deal. At this time, trainers have not quite been established, and perhaps people hardly even battle with Pokemon, other than as protection from larger Pokemon who could cause them hard. But, on your journey, you come across a person, whether native to Sinnoh, or who comes from a separate village that had also come to the land of Sinnoh, and they actually enjoy battling strong Pokemon for sport. Perhaps you take interest in that, and they teach you how to battle not just to weaken or fend off Pokemon, but to compete. Then, they become a rival of sorts, showing up occasionally to test how you have progressed in your journey.
Reminds me of Hugh, but without the Purrloin plot.

Also, your post reminds me of Pokemon Rangers. Maybe there could be a character that has a job similar to a Ranger and has a lot of experience working with wild pokemon.
 
Reminds me of Hugh, but without the Purrloin plot.

Also, your post reminds me of Pokemon Rangers. Maybe there could be a character that has a job similar to a Ranger and has a lot of experience working with wild pokemon.
Oh jeez I hadn't even realized that. I've never finished BW2 and I haven't really played it in 5 years. I've also never played a ranger game, but I do know a bit about the rangers themselves.

That would be cool if they introduced a ranger-like character. I think it would be really neat if this game is the one that introduced the concept of trainers in the Pokemon world, and some of the different kinds of trainers (like Rangers as you mentioned).
 
Oh jeez I hadn't even realized that. I've never finished BW2 and I haven't really played it in 5 years. I've also never played a ranger game, but I do know a bit about the rangers themselves.

That would be cool if they introduced a ranger-like character. I think it would be really neat if this game is the one that introduced the concept of trainers in the Pokemon world, and some of the different kinds of trainers (like Rangers as you mentioned).
There are also actual trainer classes called rangers in the main games. They are not the same as the Rangers from the Pokemon Rangers series, but their roles overlap somewhat. Rescuing/working with wild pokemon, conserving pokemon habitats, etc.
 
Be just had 3 jerk rivals in a row with Bede, Avery, and Klara. We're kind of overdue for a friendly rival.

Better yet if they didn't turn out to be Barry they are Ainu.

I mean, you can make the same argument for friendly rivals, we had three in a row (Most likely get a fourth with the Sinnoh remakes) with Hau, Trace and Hop and thats not even counting Tierno, Trevor, Serena/Calem and Shauna.
 
And yet there's already people kicking up a fuss if they don't put them in claiming it's whitewashing of history and the like. GF isn't going to be able to avoid (internet) controversy about this so if I had my way they'd tackle it head on, warts and all in depicting the Sinnoh expedition.

I just don't want any friendly Rivals, anything but that. :(

The issue wouldn't be with GameFreak including Ainu-inspired characters. It would be with making one that acts antagonistic towards the player character or anyone not native to Sinnoh. It would imply a negative connotation about the Ainu to people unfamiliar to them or their history.
Now that would a worse kind of whitewashing.
I'm not saying that any Ainu-inspired character has to be super wholesome and welcoming either, because that also poses a big problem; think of how America has tried to make Thanksgiving a holiday wherein "the natives and the colonizers got together and have a nice feast" ignoring all of the shit that was done to Native Americans.
If GameFreak does include any Ainu-inspired characters, then they'd have to be neutral or neutral to friendly. They can't just make them buddy-buddy with everyone, and they can't make them hostile either.

We can have a "jerk" rival, but it would probably have to be someone who isn't Ainu. Maybe a research assistant that has traveled with the professor we'll meet.
 
@Despada I don't think the rival has to be outright antagonistic, but depicting them as cautious/suspicious of us because of our affiliation with the colonizers might be okay. Maybe the Poké-Ainu people could be more wary because there's some sort of taboo that the colonizers don't know about and are afraid that accidently breaking said taboo will cause some sort of judgement upon the land. In that case, maybe the rival could tell us what's going on after they're convinced that we really mean no harm, ending in a sort of agreement between the Poké-Ainu and the Poké-Japanese colonizers that passes down native traditions that blends the cultures together throughout the generations, creating the Sinnoh we know and love.

I feel that would be a bit better than depicting them as outright antagonists, as well as making a more interesting narrative.
 
I'm still expecting a rival character regardless of how battle-intensive this game is going to be. I know from a lore perspective it points out that the formal concept of a trainer hasn't been developed yet, but it's clear from the footage we've seen that the MC is still partnered with Pokemon and battling wild 'mons to some extent.

I wonder if there will be rival clans or teams competing over common interests or goals :unsure: That could make for an interesting concept that would open up the door of possibilities for the plot/storyline.
 
Please note: The thread is from 3 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
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