My list of favorite champions and rivals.

[Wolfox]

Hi, hello there. I thought it would be fun to share my opinions on all champions and rivals of the main games.

WARNING! I will most likely have some unpopular opinions on this list. If you think my list will trigger you, DO NOT PROCEED.

The higher the champion/rival is when reading it, the less I like them. I'm doing this because people don't read from the bottom up.

With that being said, please enjoy my opinions.

Oh, and one more thing! I am not counting N, Red, Wally, and Gladion. Because while I love N and Gladion, I don't really see them as rivals. I don't count Wally because you only battle him twice and you rarely even speak to him. And I don't count red because he is a HIDDEN BOSS. NOT A CHAMPION. Also, Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor don't count because if they did the list would be too long. (wow, not even into the lists and already a part that can trigger people. off to a great start.)

 

 

Champions:

Spoiler

Blue: Blue is often regarded as a good champion, but I really don't see it. He's just a cocky little bitch boy and even after you kicked his ass all throughout Kanto he's still surprised when you take his title. Blue is the worst champion IMO.

 

Iris: As someone who loves gen 5 it pains me to put Iris this low (or high, kinda?) on this list. We've had Dragon based champions a lot in Pokémon and Alder straying from that path was nice to me. His battle may not have been amazing, but his character was better IMO (He jumps off a cliff that could probably break his legs multiple times). Iris just didn't feel like that good of a Champion too me. It's nice that she got an upgrade from being a Gym Leader, but she should have stayed there for me.

 

Lance: Illegal Dragonites, claiming to be a "dragon master" while you wield flying types more than dragons... Those are just two things that bug me about Lance. Now I like Lance overall. Hell, outside of Blue there's not a champion that I actually don't like. But the points I raised earlier just rub me the wrong way.

 

Wallace: Considering my hatred and dislike for Water Types, it's to be commended that I don't hate Wallace. He has a pretty cool design and character overall. But him using my least favorite type drags him down a bit.

 

Diantha: Here is one that many people place low on their lists. But I personally really like Diantha. We had no reason to think she was the Champion in X and Y, which gives show shock factor. And she uses Mega Gardevoir. That's an instant 50 points for me (Yeah, I'm biased to the champion who uses my favorite mon).

 

Alder: Another Champion that many don't like as much. For the life of me, I can not understand why. Alder his battle in the post game may not have been too great, but character wise he is absolutely amazing. He's jumped off almost every cliff in Unova, he shares wisdom with both the player and Cheren more than Diantha appeared in the story and well, his design is just amazing.

 

 Steven: Steven is cool, well thought out character and all. But his battle compared to some other champions is just easy. Mostly steel and rock type fit his character extremely well, but it's not the hardest to battle.

 

Cynthia: Need I even explain why Cynthia is on top here? For one her Garchomp has haunted more nightmares than there all people who named Blue something like "Assface". Her team firs her character about as well as Steven's team fits him, if not better. Her team is extremely balanced to the point where there are few holes in it. She has the Ace of the previous champion (Wallace) on her team... Her Character is both well made as really fitting for the story and Sinnoh. And she's just a straight baddass. Like Agent Texas of RvB baddass.

 

 

Rivals:

Spoiler

Blue: I've done a whole rant about this earlier, I don't like Blue. And not in the "I don't like him and that makes me wanna kick his ass three-ways to Sunday" kind of way. But in the "This is a bad character" kind of way. He is often regarded as the best rival but... he just isn't if you ask me. Yes, he comes from a time where character development in games was still rare, but I won't let that change the fact that he falls flat on his face when compared to other rivals.

 

May/Brendan: Now, the gap between Blue and May is HUGE. Where I don't like Blue at all, I like May. Ans while May is not so much of a challenge to defeat, that was never how she was written. May is on an adventure to both have a fun adventure and help her father with the Pokédex.

 

Bianca: I kinda like Bianca because she's on the adventure to prove to her father and herself that she can be a trainer. And extra points for her becoming an Aid to Juniper in the sequels.

 

Cheren: Cheren reaches this place for his character development throughout the journey. At first, he wanted to be the strongest trainer without knowing what would be next. Later he wanted to find out what he would do if he was the strongest. And props to him becoming a Gym Leader, of course.

 

Serena/Calem: Again, judging the rivals because of their personal goals over difficulty because I like that more and it's my list. Serena wants to prove that she's a strong trainer that stands apart from the others, even without help from her parents. which is relatable.

 

Hau: Hau is one of my favorites mainly because of his personal goal and his character. He wants to be able to beat Old Hala in an all-out battle, someone who he has idolized for his entire life. Also, his character is a huge contrast to my own, making our rivalry feel natural to me. He's a really peppy and pretty hyper kid (kinda like Judai from season one, but less annoying) where I myself am more quiet and serious, a bit more like Gladion. And that friendship/rivalry just feels natural. Opposites attract as they say.

 

Hugh: Now we throw that out of the window for one of the most serious rivals we have had. People sometimes complain that Hugh's goal of recovering Purloin "claims the story of the sequels", but consider that the main character of Black and White 2 sent out on the journey mainly to help Hugh get purloin back. But now into why I love Hugh. Hugh is trying to recover the Purloin his late grandpa caught for his sister. In this quest, he will not give up until he finds it. He even says "I need somebody I can trust to help me". He cares greatly about the people around him and will go to the end of the world in order to help them. Also, 25 points for amazing music.

 

Silver: Silver may only be the second rival, he is one of the best. Being a dick for no reason is thrown out the window for being a dick because I hate weakness. Silver has a grudge against his father that he blames on his father's weakness (among other things). So he wants to become the strongest trainer in order to find and defeat his father. In his journey, he learns that trust and friendship ring you further than hate would ever be able to do.

 

Barry: I like Barry mainly because he feels genuine. He's not just that asshole kid who you have to compete with. but he's your friend who drags you into your adventure. He pushes your limits when you battle him and always beats you to the gyms you battle, but he's never too big to admit defeat or ask for help when he's backed into a corner. It doesn't feel like a forced rivalry or as someone who you just wanna beat because he's a dick, Barry feels like a true friendly rivalry. Your rivalry with him doesn't feel like he just wants to beat you just to beat you, it feels as if he's genuinely having a fun race with his rival, which fits greatly with his hasty character. And then I haven't even spoken about his personal goal and team yet.

 

 

So, there you have it. My lists of favorite rivals and champions. feel free to say how much of a dumbass I am for putting blue for below Hau and how Blue should have been higher on all these lists, but know that that will have 0 affect. or if you like my reasons for why I like certain rivals and champions, let me know

[Alistair]

Interesting list.

Not going to make a serious list nor explain my choices because I don't feel like writing a novel atm (and most of the things I'd want to say are about Blue anyway, and I feel like I've already covered that topic elsewhere).

But here goes.

 

Champions:

Spoiler

Bad tier: Wallace

Meh tier: Iris, Alder, Lance

Good tier: Cynthia, Blue, Steven

 

Rivals:

Spoiler

Bad tier: May/Brendan, Bianca, Cheren

Meh tier: Hugh, Barry

Good tier: Silver, Blue

 

Also don't worry so much about triggering people Wolfox. You're voicing opinions about pokémon characters. If people get triggered over that, the problem lies with them, not you

[Lucky98]

Here’s mine:

 

Champions:

Spoiler

Iris (Least Favorite)

Wallace

Diantha

Blue

Steven

Lance

Alder

Cynthia (Favorite)

 

Rivals:

Spoiler

Tierno, Trevor, and Shauna

May/Brenden

Serena/Calem

Bianca

Cheren

Hau 

Hugh

Blue

Barry

Silver

Gladion

 

 

 

[Ojama Yellow]

I could give insight on why I picked whoever but I cant be bothered rn. anyway, my list is from most liked to least liked.

 

cynthia

steven

lance

blue

wallace

alder

iris

 

silver

barry

cheren

hau

blue

hugh

bianca

may/brendan

 

havent played xy so cant judge those characters.