AuraChannelerChris
Easygoing Luxray.
Don't forget Mina.A class with Gladion, Hau, Ilima and Ryuki would've been awesome. Maybe add a girl like Mina for balance and they could've been the opposite of Ash's class.
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How would you “fix” certain rivals
- Thread starter Sham
- Start date
Leonhart
Imagineer
Ubermuk said:A class with Gladion, Hau, Ilima and Ryuki would've been awesome. Maybe add a girl like Mina for balance and they could've been the opposite of Ash's class.
I'd personally prefer to have seen Mizuki in that hypothetical role instead of Matsurika. Not that I have a problem with the latter character overall, just that I always wanted Mizuki to have some kind of role in SM, either as a rival or classmate.
RafaSceptile
Well-Known Member
Considering Gladion's role during the Aether Foundation arc, it would be weird if he was in the Pokémon School all the time. However Hau, Ilima, Ryuki and Mina would work fine in the school environment.
LilligantLewis
Bonnie stan
Oh, I forgot one:Gary - should have battled Ash more
Ritchie - should have done Johto gym quest as well and Ash should have beaten him in league
Casey - should have shown up at Johto League
Sakura - should have shown up at Johto League
Vincent/Jackson - should have kept the same name in both his appearances
Ash - should have had a series-long rival in AG
Drew - I'm good with
Harley - I'm good with
Grace (AG050-51) should have become a series-long rival
Paul - I'm good with
Barry - I'm good with
Conway - should have appeared in single-episode appearances instead of just the 3 arcs he appeared in
Nando - I'm good with
Zoey - should have lost to Dawn
Kenny - should have participated in No Simp September, except made it last forever not just one month
Jessie - should have participated as herself instead of as that dumb disguise
Ursula - should have appeared earlier
Trip - shouldn't have beat a Pikachu who just beat Latios 2 episodes earlier
Bianca - should have been a more serious battler and beaten Ash multiple times, should have appeared in Episode N and/or Da!
Stephan - should have appeared in Episode N and/or Da!
Cameron - should have lost to Ash in the league, shouldn't have had his Riolu evolve as one of the only true DEMs I can ever remember in the anime, despite that expression getting tossed around too much in PAD, should have appeared in Episode N and/or Da!
Virgil - should have beaten Ash in the league by his Eevee evolving into Sylveon
Luke - should have been a battler and an actual rival, should have appeared in Episode N and/or Da!
Georgia - should have lost to Iris in a more legit way than Dragonite not listening, should have appeared in Episode N and/or Da!
Burgundy - should have beaten Cilan once, and improved to a B class connaisseuse by the end of BW, should have appeared in Episode N and/or Da!
Sawyer - I'm good with
Alain - should have lost to Ash
Tierno - should have used Hitmontop and Politoed in even one onscreen battle - he's the only rival ever who has a battling goal and has multiple Pokémon who never got an onscreen battle - https://forums.serebii.net/threads/...-giving-tierno-hitmontop-and-politoed.657669/
Trevor - should have beaten 2 of Alain's Pokémon with Mega Charizard Y before Alain had to bring out Mega Charizard X as his final Pokémon who then sweeps
Shauna - I'm good with
Miette - should have beaten Serena straight-up during a showcase
Nini - should have beaten Serena straight-up during a showcase
Amelia - should have appeared in more than 1 episode ever
Gladion - I'm good with
Hau - should have appeared sooner
Kiawe - should have had more completed battles with Ash throughout the series
the Masked Royal - I'm good with
Horacio - I'm good with
Goh - isn't a rival, and anything he does doesn't take anything away from Ash or meant an as insult to Ash, despite what many members of this forum who self-insert themselves into Ash, seem to think
Trip and Sawyer both DID go for the gym quest, so not sure what you mean
Cross - I'm good with
Blastmaster
Well-Known Member
My biggest gripe with Sawyer is similar to the snowball scene. The series justifies his idolization instead of breaking it down. Ash's major rivalries have always ended on equal terms, and Sawyer was a pretty solid concept of reversing the roles and allowing the rival to be the underdog. But instead of having him actually catch up to Ash, they end up doubling down on how much better Ash is. Sawyer should've been allowed to get over his need for Ash's approval, especially after beating him and seeing the pressure get to him, but what happens is just the opposite.
On a smaller note, his shtick as a battler just... doesn't feel that impressive? He gets talked up as this amazing analyst who's prepared all these special plans for Ash but for all the hype, his strategies are really standard. He's not bad, but the whole "book smart but struggles to adapt" thing doesn't put him much higher than Conway. Especially with Ash using the same team for the whole league, you'd think Sawyer's counterteam would be a lot more threatening.
For some others:
Gary needed way more screentime, don't have much to add there. I always remember how shocked I was as a kid watching OS and realizing how little buildup there was with him.
Trip needed... an actual dynamic with Ash lol. Hate to say it, but he really did need to be reworked from the ground up, there's just so little substance.
And the same is true for Ursula tbh. She has no chemistry with Dawn, it feels like she was just there to give Dawn an obligatory jerk rival.
Serena's rivals all sucked. Miette was a literal joke character who only existed to tease AmourShipping, Nini was a COTD that should've stayed a COTD, and Shauna was the only one with any potential. She seemed like she was supposed to be Serena's Zoey but never really earns it or feels like a source of motivation. Even during Showcases, Ash is somehow still on her mind far more than any of her rivals. The lack of a physical conflict in Showcases doesn't help either.
On a smaller note, his shtick as a battler just... doesn't feel that impressive? He gets talked up as this amazing analyst who's prepared all these special plans for Ash but for all the hype, his strategies are really standard. He's not bad, but the whole "book smart but struggles to adapt" thing doesn't put him much higher than Conway. Especially with Ash using the same team for the whole league, you'd think Sawyer's counterteam would be a lot more threatening.
For some others:
Gary needed way more screentime, don't have much to add there. I always remember how shocked I was as a kid watching OS and realizing how little buildup there was with him.
Trip needed... an actual dynamic with Ash lol. Hate to say it, but he really did need to be reworked from the ground up, there's just so little substance.
And the same is true for Ursula tbh. She has no chemistry with Dawn, it feels like she was just there to give Dawn an obligatory jerk rival.
Serena's rivals all sucked. Miette was a literal joke character who only existed to tease AmourShipping, Nini was a COTD that should've stayed a COTD, and Shauna was the only one with any potential. She seemed like she was supposed to be Serena's Zoey but never really earns it or feels like a source of motivation. Even during Showcases, Ash is somehow still on her mind far more than any of her rivals. The lack of a physical conflict in Showcases doesn't help either.
AuraChannelerChris
Easygoing Luxray.
XY basically overhyped Ash so much everyone was into him more than previous occasions. His worship was so high that Alain and Sawyer looked like they wanted him to kiss them to live. And he even got a super exclusive Pokemon of LEGEND(?) that surpassed his special Sunny D-roc.
(Though, as we saw, all the hype did not equal victory in the league.)
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RafaSceptile
Well-Known Member
Can we have a Journeys Episode about Ash's fanclub in Lumiose City and Goh fighting for the club president with Alain, Sawyer and Miette?
Leonhart
Imagineer
Blastmaster said:
I think that Shooti should've had a solid reason for disliking Satoshi, or at least a justification for him being a rival. I sort of wish that the writers had had the foresight to introduce Adeku much earlier in the Isshu series: I can envision a scenario where Adeku would've appeared in BW001 and perhaps praised Satoshi, which could've led Shooti to hold a grudge against Satoshi since he idolized Adeku.
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AuraChannelerChris
Easygoing Luxray.
Trip's character was being racist to Ash and a jerk to everyone else but Alder, the Champion Hobo.
Sham
The Guardian of War
I don't think he was being racist but more so classist. Trip assumed Ash basically came from the country and was a hillbilly.
LilligantLewis
Bonnie stan
What about Amelia?
Leonhart
Imagineer
Sham said:
I also got the impression that he thought Satoshi was a rookie, something that might've been reinforced in his mind after Pikachu lost to Tsutarja. To Shooti, Satoshi probably came across as a talkative newbie, which probably made Shooti feel better about his own inexperience with Pokemon especially after he won.
Blastmaster
Well-Known Member
My memory of her's kind of foggy, but I think she was also held back by the kind of competition Showcases were. Idk how much they could do with her without any direct conflict and an arbitrary vote-based system. The writers always left it so vague what Serena "needed" for her performances that it feels like they didn't really know themselves.
AuraChannelerChris
Easygoing Luxray.
If you asked me, the only conflict Serena had besides her Pokemon tripping and giving her an automatic defeat was what dress to take to the prom, er, showcase.
RafaSceptile
Well-Known Member
It is something by the "Things you are mad at that the anime didn’t do/take advantage of" because Amelia had more potential than Nini
LilligantLewis
Bonnie stan
That's fine, these were modified beauty pageants competed in by Instagram (Pokévision) models winning by a reality TV voting system. These are all things from real life. People just wanted them to be something they weren't.
SerenaRulez
Well-Known Member
I think a lot of people liked Amelia more because she looked pretty unlike Nini. She also had a shiny Dragonair and a Espeon and those seem like fan favorite Pokemon.
J.Agera
[Top-notch Сasual Dating Authentic Ladies]
Only speaking on the main rivals.
Despite how good Paul is, he is WAYYY too edgy, Tone that down.
Alain literally faced way worse and he is not nearly as edgy, which is why I think Alain is better written.
Need some info on Sawyer's origin, otherwise, he is fine.
Gladion's Rivalry's conclusion was the epitome of mediocrity. Fix that.
Gary needs to act more like a rival and he needs more screentime.
Despite how good Paul is, he is WAYYY too edgy, Tone that down.
Alain literally faced way worse and he is not nearly as edgy, which is why I think Alain is better written.
Need some info on Sawyer's origin, otherwise, he is fine.
Gladion's Rivalry's conclusion was the epitome of mediocrity. Fix that.
Gary needs to act more like a rival and he needs more screentime.