#what's more intimidating Kukui and Leon having the stronger starter or the weaker one?

[yusuke-of-valla]

The thing about mean rivals is that like there's kinda a reason we stop having them the second the plots started getting world-ending in scope and that's because you do not have time to deal with some whiny asshole who you've beaten over and over again's shit when a space chinchilla is about to suffocate everyone in the region

Like if they're a dick to you the entire way through they quickly become all bark and no bite because narratively they're going to keep losing to you, and again progressively destroying the ego of a small child is second to whatever this year's eldritch abomination is (and if they went so far as to help the eldritch abomination it raises questions about why they're friendly enough to battle you in the post game).

So like. It's simpler if they're just nice? And have arcs where the fact that they keep losing to you is the point? Your rival isn't the final boss anymore you don't have to build up to finally being able to defeat them for good (except not really) (I guess Hau in USUM arguably but LBR the final boss is Ultra Necrozma)

Like I guess I get annoyed when people don't acknowledge there's a point to how the rivals have been handled since gen 3. You don't have to like it per se but there's a reason the rivals are like this and it's not just the devs don't want to upset little kids.

The fact that the adults care about your safety on the other hand...

#I'd have to go play through it properly but like. the plot of Gen I is really weak and for narrative sake I think we should not be holding #ourselves to its tropes #(i don't say this to be disparaging to Gen I I respect those games so much #I mostly say it to like make a point) #also like the rivals didn't start exclusively choosing the Pokémon weaker than you until the one stronger than you showed up elsewhere #what's more intimidating Kukui and Leon having the stronger starter or the weaker one? #meanwhile Hop and Nemona are like. explicitly going easy on you. Nemona was about to waste you with her champion level team like a Pokémon #player stumbling across a bug catcher they missed while having god in their party #yeah of course when clavell points that out she chooses the weaker starter #Hop also has two Pokémon on you and is not ready for you to be as good as you are that's why he takes losing so hard later #he's being cocky #ANYWAY THIS HAS BEEN YOUR SEMI MONTHLY ALTO RANT ABOUT CERTAIN POKÉMON FANS #Pokemon