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Less, the same, or more rivals?

SuperSkitty

to the rescue !
I'd personally only like to see around 4-5 rivals. I think DP had the right idea but just too many. For example, Paul and Barry were good, and I don't think Nando and Conway were really rivals, but even they were better than Kenny for Dawn.
Maybe just 2-3 serious rivals for Ash, and 2 for the girl character would be good :)
 

BlueMage

Well-Known Member
I think Kenny was just a scrapped idea. They probably were going to use him as a more forward rival but ended up introducing better ones, so they just kind of shoved him aside. That probably explains his utter failure at the festival.
 

thunderblade12

Well-Known Member
I'd need to know what each character does before making that judgment. If it's Ash as the trainer, Dento as the coordinator/musician, and Iris as a like a crime fighter or whatever, then I think this is what we should get:

Ash:
1. Guy with glasses from the game
2. Female protagonist from Black/White

Iris:
1. Anime-only character

Dento:
1. Blond girl from Black/White
2. Anime-only character
 

Silver_Seoul

Well-Known Member
Why do you guys count conway and nando as a rival?

Because they're participants in a League that were lucky enough to show up before a League. Otherwise they'd still be rivals, Just league-only rivals.
 

gliscor&yanmega

Well-Known Member
I would like to see Ash with three rivals. Belle and Cheren from the games, and an anime character rival.
 

Manene!

Well-Known Member
I think they should have a few main rivals, but also have other recurring characters; that way all of the final competitions (Pokemon League, Grand Festival, etc.) aren't full of CoTDs. Nando, Conway, and Kenny weren't treated like actual rivals, but when the time came, they were there. We knew them and loved or hated them. Even if they appear in six episodes total, it'd be nice to have a few established characters there. Ash meets so many people who are also collecting badges and yet they don't make it to the League. You'd think a few of them would be there.

I just hope they do a little planning to accommodate the rivals. We can all agree this League is a rushed mess. Hopefully in Isshu, they go at their own pace, even if it means not ending right after the League. There's no reason to have it be Pokemon League -> Filler -> Pallet Town -> New Region. Even if it's not a mini-arc, they could still take 6 to 10 episodes to wrap things up and do some fan-service.
 

luckyumbreon

DragonExtraordinaire
I really liked the number of rivals but they needed more development and screentime as mentioned before. Barry, battled Ash like ten times (something i like to see) except he only used Empoleon minus the 3-on-3 battle. They just need to fulfill their purpose more. Rivals 1. Challenge the Protagonist. 2. Help the Protagonist Grow. Only about 3 of them from DP actually did that. Paul, Ursula, Zoey.
 

yeminied

Well-Known Member
I'd like a situation similar to DP for Ash in Best Wishes.

That is one main rival (Paul), one lesser rival (Barry) and a league-only rival who pops up every so often but only battles Ash once throughout the whole series minus the League battle (Conway)

I really liked Conway, he was really funny even when watching in Japanese.

Two and a half rivals is a good number for Ash, the main protagonist.

The same could be applied to Dento/Iris. Two rivals which serve the same purpose throughout the series and a third rival for the final event.

The third character, Dento/Iris the one not in the equation above, can have one, maybe two friend rivals.

That would make about seven rivals for the whole series, the same as Diamond and Pearl but shared equally between the three characters, not leaving one out.
 

pokemonloverXD

Ash's fangirl
Don't care how many, as long as the rivals have good developments and no more Kennyish type of rival then I'm fine with it
 

Combusken-94

Well-Known Member
Even though I really like the rivals, the problem with having too many is that there is not enough time to develop them all. I agree that four is a good number of rivals to have on the show.
 

Ash-kid

Ash-kid
Since we've seen what happened in the end with Zoey, Nando and Barry, I hope it will be like this:

-Ash: two main rivals, vs both of them he will fight in the league, and one minor rival
-Iris: 1 main rival, like Zoey, that she will BEAT in the end of Best Wishes, 2 minor rivals that will appear in the beginning of Best Wishes unlike Ursula.
 

Eternal Darkness

Eternal Evil
Ash:
Anime-only rival
Bella or Cheron

Iris:
Black and White Guy
Anime only rival

Dento:
Black and White Girl
Bella or Cheron(Whichever one isn't taken by Ash)
Anime only rival
 

Silver_Seoul

Well-Known Member
I'd actually prefer...

Ash -

BW Girl
Cheren
N

Iris -

Anime-only
Belle

Dante -

BW Boy
And maybe an anime-only, if he's lucky.
 
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