Goh's Rival

[kamineko23]

I don't know whether it was already discussed or not. But, if the writers are planning to write a character for Goh's rival, what kind of character do you think would be a good fit for Goh, in terms of goal and personality?

 

[Leonhart]

I don't think he needs a rival, but if he does get one I'd assume that they'd also be seeking to fill up their Zukan. I'd want a rude sort of rival for him just because we haven't had one like that in the series in quite a while.

 

[Applecorp]

Goh's rival should share the same goal of finding Mew but doing it his own way. Like instead of trying to catch all the Pokemon on his way to find Mew he could be after Psychic types only or something.

 

[Ubermuk]

Goh's rival should be Hop if he ever appears. They could just change Hop's goal so that he's trying to collect every single Pokemon.

 

[Red and Blue]

A fellow collector would be my guess. They could compete over certain Pokemon

 

[SerenaRulez]

I could see him having a rival who likes collecting Pokemon but with different methods like maybe battling his or her targets instead of only throwing Pokeballs at them like Goh usually does.

Maybe he will also meet a character who wants to catch Mew for themselves but for less selfish reasons.

 

[Spider-Phoenix]

Shiny hunter guy (Shane) would be a good rival for him. They could compete to see who gets a certain rare shiny first or something.

 

[Mew29240]

I'd also want Goh's rival to be someone that wants to capture all Pokemon. I think giving him a rival that only wants to catch Mew would be a bit too narrow since there's no real benchmarks in a quest to capture one Pokemon.

I'm not sure how to make the two differ though; maybe the rival is really good at searching for and luring Pokemon? They could also differ in having a set Pokemon in mind for capture. Goh usually just chucks balls at Pokemon he randomly comes across that he doesn't have yet.

 

[CMButch]

I can see Go getting rival and getting episodes where rival wants to catch certain Pokemon but so does Go.

 

[Zoruagible]

He doesn't really need one if they share the bland desire to catch every Pokemon in existence, it'd literally be the exact same thing every time they meet up and it really wouldn't feel like stakes were involved as if rival was to catch Salamence, Goh could literally just catch a different one~

The shiny hunter should get upgraded like Horacio was for Soph(Only he actually succeeds) or it should be somebody who also wants to find Mew

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

Just a guy who will catch Mew.

Bonus points if he's a jerk.

Massive bonus points if he's league trainer nice but DOES end up catching Mew to send Goh into despair.

 

[Ignition]

Funny that if Trevor from XY was introduced here, they’d be perfect rivals.

 

[Leonhart]

He doesn't really need one if they share the bland desire to catch every Pokemon in existence, it'd literally be the exact same thing every time they meet up and it really wouldn't feel like stakes were involved as if rival was to catch Salamence, Goh could literally just catch a different one~

The shiny hunter should get upgraded like Horacio was for Soph(Only he actually succeeds) or it should be somebody who also wants to find Mew

Thinking about it further, I do think that Gou getting a rival who simply shares his goal of wanting to capture every Pokemon sounds quite insipid. He'd be better off meeting another trainer who wants to meet Mew, especially since Mew is Gou's main driving force, so that would cause more friction between Gou and his hypothetical rival.

 

[Ace-Barn]

I'd also want Goh's rival to be someone that wants to capture all Pokemon. I think giving him a rival that only wants to catch Mew would be a bit too narrow since there's no real benchmarks in a quest to capture one Pokemon.

I'm not sure how to make the two differ though; maybe the rival is really good at searching for and luring Pokemon? They could also differ in having a set Pokemon in mind for capture. Goh usually just chucks balls at Pokemon he randomly comes across that he doesn't have yet.

They differ because his rival is abusive towards his captures, using pokemon like Salamence to defeat Caterpie's. This is another message from the producers that catching pokemon without battling is correct and more humane. /s

More seriously though, I don't think that a classic rival can work for Goh's goal like it does for Ash's. Ash needs to overcome his rivals to move forward (not necessarily the case in this series), and in this series a loss can mean regressing. Failure on Ash's part usually means resolving himself and working hard to overcome the obstacle.

Goh doesn't have a regression condition, unless his pokemon are stolen or leave then he only moves closer to his goal. He hasn't shown the desire to replace his evolved pokemon, and failing to capture a pokemon isn't like a tournament opponent that stops Goh moving forward, as he can always catch other pokemon.

Anyway, the show seems to be moving away from random encounters to Goh actively seeking out specific pokemon: Pikachu, mystery pokemon (flygon), A-Eggecutor, a fossil. Just have him fail some of these quests for whatever reason (pokemon training, etc..), and have him work on it.

 

[Lacuna]

It's hard to think of Gou even having a rival, as his goals are very linear and can't be impeded by too much, but it is an interesting concept. I agree that if he gets one at all, it would most likely be someone else who wants to get Mew for themselves - but in my opinion I think the "wants to fill the Pokedex too, but has a different method of doing it" route would be a bit more interesting in the long run.
Maybe a friendly rivalry with Tokio in that case? It almost seems like they set him up for that role since he was looking for Celebi instead of Mew (and he was even established to have a starter Pokemon!), but we haven't seen him since...

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

I doubt Goh will get a rival. It would most likely be a pretty boring rivalry anyways if he ever did get a rival imo.

 

[Mew29240]

They differ because his rival is abusive towards his captures, using pokemon like Salamence to defeat Caterpie's. This is another message from the producers that catching pokemon without battling is correct and more humane.

More seriously though, I don't think that a classic rival can work for Goh's goal like it does for Ash's. Ash needs to overcome his rivals to move forward (not necessarily the case in this series), and in this series a loss can mean regressing. Failure on Ash's part usually means resolving himself and working hard to overcome the obstacle.

Goh doesn't have a regression condition, unless his pokemon are stolen or leave then he only moves closer to his goal. He hasn't shown the desire to replace his evolved pokemon, and failing to capture a pokemon isn't like an tournament opponent that stops Goh moving forward, as he can always catch other pokemon.

Anyway, the show seems to be moving away from random encounters to Goh actively seeking out specific pokemon: Pikachu, mystery pokemon (flygon), A-Eggecutor, a fossil. Just have him fail some of these quests for whatever reason (pokemon training, etc..), and have him work on it.

Fair point on the "classic rival" bit. I guess the only real way for a rival to "challenge" Goh like an Ash-rival would is catching a one-of-a-kind Pokemon (and stopping Goh from getting it). Maybe a unique variant of one or one that's almost impossible to find?

Not sure I'd want Goh's rival to be that antagonistic though (or do you mean they use overkill methods to catch Pokemon?); they'd be more of a villain than a rival at that point.

 

[Ace-Barn]

Not sure I'd want Goh's rival to be that antagonistic though (or do you mean they use overkill methods to catch Pokemon?); they'd be more of a villain than a rival at that point.

My bad, was being sarcastic there.

But this thread does present an interesting problem that I have been contemplating myself, how do you generate recurring conflict for Goh to overcome? Because that I think is the main issue that most Goh objectors have with him.

There isn't a clear 1-1 source of conflict for Ash and Goh.

One fix that I have previously suggested is to have more episodes centered around dealing with the multitude of pokemon he has caught and the problems that arise (though I see no issue with captured pokemon becoming friendly), but this was shot down because people don't want more time going to the pokemon Goh doesn't spend time with because he doesn't spend time with them.

He has already mixed up his catching style, fighting most strong pokemon, and only insta-chatching weaker pokemon like Pyukumuku. I think the most pokemon he has caught in a single episode since episode 25 is 3 in the Flygon episode, though in most episodes he either catches a single pokemon and sometimes doesn't catch any.

Though people are still acting like, and claiming that he is catching multiple pokemon every episode without battling. I guess you can't stop people from seeing what they want to see.

 

[kamineko23]

My idea is maybe introduce the Diploma/Certificate element that is usually awarded for completing the Pokedex in the core series games, and introduce some characters who are aiming to get that as well.

 

[Leonhart]

Not sure I'd want Goh's rival to be that antagonistic though (or do you mean they use overkill methods to catch Pokemon?); they'd be more of a villain than a rival at that point.

There's a fine line between an antagonistic rival and a villain, and I think a rival for Gou who acts similar to Shinji would be the perfect balance.