Speaking of rivalries,its another thing where DP wins currently in my opinion.Paul was best rival Ash had and it was nice for a change to have someone who has different training style using his own methods and what i really liked about his character was that Paul wasnt your typical "goody too shoo"having unique personality.
Rivalry between him and Ash was well played out and substantial culminating with big confrontation in Sinnoh league being on of saga moments.
Dawn rivals were so so having good and bad sides.Ursula was unique rival and her enviousness added that twist in plot no one expected.On bad side she was introduced too late not being used to full potential,which was downright shame because she was on of most intriguing rivals pokemon ever had.
Some people may have found Zoey bland,but i beg to differ.Her tomboyish and arrogant persona in start gave life to rivalry she had with Dawn eventually becoming her mentor partially which guided her during whole quest giving tips and constructive criticism.This left good mark on Dawn character because thanks to Zoey arrogance and higher skill she had someone wanting to catch up with,serving as push and motivation to go forward paying o in nd winning second place in GF.
Kenny had something going on for him and shared past with Dawn already knowing her,and i liked chemistry they had.However his rare appearances and lack of development took its toll not influencing Dawn contest quest as much as he could have been.Nando was rather pointless barely appearing,having any meaningful interaction with Ash and group being fairly forgettable.
When it comes to BW and rivalries Bianca seemed promising liking her ditzy and eccentric personality having tendency to often rush in things without thinking and im grateful Ash finally received female rival.However her lack of development and constant loses are starting to be alarming and if this tempo continues she might end up as nothing more than joke rival which would be a real shame because she has potential to actually become competent and decent opponent to Ash.
I guess we will see Casey scenario again(why im not surprised?).
Langley is good rival liking her clashes with Iris and arguing,but as of lately there havent been much going on with their relationship and competition being left on standstill.Same for Cilan and Cabernet,they started out well with Cabernrt seeming insecure being in inferior position(doesnt happen very often with things usually being other way around when it comes to rivals)playing role of trying to catch up with Cilan skill when it comes to description of usage of attacks and determine of compatibility between trainers and their pokemon.However lack of substance and any real progression toward Cilan career reflected negatively on rivalry with there not being any build up ever since Don tournament.
Trip seems too one dimensional for my taste not having much of appeal being rather step down from Paul.His battling skills are rather sub par,he isnt fleshed out as character to justify his level of strength and his paranoid fear from anyone coming from kanto with no explanation or justification being present behind it isnt helping his case either making him xenophobe.
You have my condolences. Perhaps you should have stopped watching the anime when Misty left, and leave the enjoyment of the anime to people who prefer good writing.
Depends for who.Good writing is often subjective with people having different criteria through which they determine if something is well written or not.Original series were to me more interesting and fun than Hoenn was having better dynamic,comedy and more unique arcs.
Hoenn was good,not great just good imo fulfilling from technical point parameters which determine if episodes are well written or not,but it was full of flaws being by no means best saga pokemon had.Far from that.