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[[center:[[WMG:''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Pokemon}} characters Index]]''' ''([[Characters/PokemonTypes Pokémon Types]], [[Characters/PokemonRecurringArchetypes Recurring Pokémon Archetypes]])''\\
[-'''Pokémon Family Species:''' [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIFamilies Gen I]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIBulbasaurToParasect Bulbasaur to Parasect]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVenonatToCloyster Venonat to Cloyster]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIGastlyToMiltank Gastly to Miltank]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIMagikarpToMew Magikarp to Mew]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIFamilies Gen II]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIChikoritaToGranbull Chikorita to Granbull]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIQwilfishToCelebi Qwilfish to Celebi]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIFamilies Gen III]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIITreeckoToSharpedo Treecko to Sharpedo]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIWailmerToDeoxys Wailmer to Deoxys]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVFamilies Gen IV]] | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVFamilies Gen V]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVVictiniToZoroark Victini to Zoroark]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVMinccinoToGenesect Minccino to Genesect]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIFamilies Gen VI]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIChespinToHawlucha Chespin to Hawlucha]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIDedenneToVolcanion Dedenne to Volcanion]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIFamilies Gen VII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIRowletToComfey Rowlet to Comfey]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIOranguruToMelmetal Oranguru to Melmetal]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraBeasts Ultra Beasts]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIFamilies Gen VIII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIGrookeyToHatterene Grookey to Hatterene]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIImpidimpToCalyrex Impidimp to Calyrex]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGlitches Glitches]]\\
'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' '''Protagonists And Rivals''' ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
'''[[Characters/PokemonVillainTeams Pokémon Villain Teams]]:''' [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamRocket Team Rocket]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamAquaMagma Team Aqua/Magma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamGalactic Team Galactic]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamPlasma Team Plasma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamFlare Team Flare]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamSkull Team Skull]] / [[Characters/PokemonTeamYell Team Yell]]\\
[[Characters/PokemonFrontierBrainsAndOtherFacilityHeads Frontier Brains And Other Facility Heads]] | [[Characters/PokemonTrainerClasses Trainer Classes]] | [[Characters/PokemonOtherNonPlayableCharacters Other NPCs]] ([[Characters/PokemonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraReconSquad Ultra Recon Squad]] / [[Characters/PokemonMacroCosmos Macro Cosmos]])\\
[[Characters/PokemonLegendsArceus Pokémon Legends: Arceus]]-]]]]]
The main characters of the series. The games revolve around their personal growth, their exploits and their (and by extension, ''your'') relationship with Pokémon in general.
The protagonists are the player's avatar in the world of ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}''. [[HeroicMime Generally they aren't the most verbose of people]]. But you can use this opportunity to play as them and gather together a team of Pokémon to conquer the game.
The rivals are kids just like you. The protagonists may have a history with them, or they may be some kid they just met, some {{friendly|Rival}}, especially in later generations, others [[{{Jerkass}} not]]. Their personalities are varied, but they're all willing to challenge you to see how strong you've become over your journey.
----
[[index]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHisui Hisui]]
[[/index]]
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[[foldercontrol]]
!!General Tropes
[[folder:General Player Tropes]]
* AdaptedOut:
** While all of them have been major characters in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' and other manga adaptations, many of them (especially the boys) have been passed over by the ''Pokemon'' anime, in no small part due to the refusal to retire Ash.
*** None of the Johto main cast took part in the events of ''Gold'' or ''Silver'' when the anime adapted them, but Ethan and Kris co-starred in ''Anime/TheLegendOfThunder'' under the names Jimmy and Marina, while Silver (under the name Kamon) got a cameo during the special's intro (Marina briefly showed up in an early ''Diamond and Pearl'' episode advertising the Pokétch). Jimmy and Marina are, to date, the only male and female protagonists who have met each other.
*** Brendan got to be TheCameo in the opening of ''Anime/PokemonJirachiWishmaker'', ''Anime/PokemonRangerAndTheTempleOfTheSea'', and ''Anime/PokemonGiratinaAndTheSkyWarrior'' (the last of which also has Lucas' one and only cameo). Ethan got another cameo in his HGSS design under the name Ethan in ''Anime/PokemonZoroarkMasterOfIllusions''. Wally's gotten nothing.
*** Rei cameos at the end of the Amazon exclusive ''Legends: Arceus'' special.
*** Leaf/Green, Calem, and all the protagonists from the fifth and seventh generations have so far failed to appear. Rival Hugh is also absent. (Lillie has been given the AdaptationalBadass treatment, being an official Pokémon Trainer, effectively replacing Selene).
** Several of the above have appeared in ''Pokémon Generations'', including Ethan, Silver, Brendan, Hilbert and Calem (that said, these roles are severely downplayed -- ''Generations'' replays game events with extra focus on the supporting cast, like Looker and Cynthia).
* AnimalMotifs: Many of them are strongly associated with a starter Pokémon or cover legendary, with design motifs from them are sometimes incorporated into their outfits. While the starter they choose is based on the player's choice, there are official artworks that take this concept and run with it. Most notably, Red and Blue are associated with Pikachu and Eevee, respectively.
* BadassAdorable: The majority of the protagonists, male and female, are no older than kids. [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Generation V's]] and [[VagueAge maybe]] ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY X and Y]]''[='=]s characters are in their teens. They defeat every single trainer in their region, including leaders of the evil teams, the Elite Four and the Champion, can capture Legendary Pokémon (many of which are basically gods), and become the best trainer in their region.
* ChildProdigy: The oldest the protagonists get in the series is 14 in ''Black and White''. They take to Pokémon training instantly and extremely well. Their skill with Pokémon is so great that they are able to defeat adults who have years of experience on them. Many [=NPCs=] point out their high affinity for bonding with Pokémon.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Each of them can capture the World of Pokémon's equivalent to {{Eldritch Abomination}}s (one Gen even allows you to capture the rough equivalent to {{God}}).
* DisappearedDad: The player character generally only has a mother as a regular figure at home; their dad (with the notable exception of ''Ruby'', ''Sapphire'', and their various remakes) is absent, usually without explanation. That said, the characters can be generally assumed to at least ''have'' dads, [[TheGhost even if they don't show up onscreen]], with only the protagonists of Gen II and ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite2'' not mentioning the presence of a father at all:
** In the Kanto games, examining a certain TV in Celadon Department store will cause the player character to indicate his dad likes sports games.
** In the Sinnoh games, the player character's father was old friends with Tower Tycoon Palmer.
** ''Black'' and ''White'' indicate that the television in the player character's room was bought by their dad.
** In ''X'' and ''Y'', Grace mentions running into the character's father with her Rhyhorn. He also gave the player a PC.
** In the Alola games, the player character's father is still working in Kanto.
** In ''Sword'' and ''Shield'', Victor's bag is a hand-me-down from his father.
* DragonTamer: If they train Dragon-types, they become one by default.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Zigzagged. Plot-critical [=NPCs=] seem aware of the fact that by the time you finish the game you've defeated the most powerful trainers in the region, saved the world from the local villainous team, and probably captured at least one Legendary Pokémon in the process. Normal [=NPCs=] on the other hand will continue to treat you like a random kid trainer.
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: This can frequently pop up when playing as a certain gender. Green gets a ton of flirtatious responses from female [=NPCs=] due to ''[=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]'' retaining plenty of dialogue from ''Red'' and ''Blue''.
* AFatherToHisMen: Throughout the games, one of the central themes is forming bonds with your Pokémon and taking good care of them. Generation II added the Friendship mechanic, as well as Pokémon that evolve through high friendship, and introduced the move Return, which gets stronger the more your Pokémon likes you. Generation VI expanded on it with the introduction of Pokémon-Amie, allowing you to increase the Affection of your Pokémon by playing with them, feeding them, and petting them. When a Pokémon's Affection is high enough, it may be able to do things like shake off a status ailment or survive an attack that would have knocked it out, out of love for you, its Trainer.
-->'''Recovering from a burn:''' [Pokémon] blew on its burn and healed it so that [Trainer's name] wouldn't worry!\\
'''Surviving an attack with 1 HP:''' [Pokémon] toughed it out to show its best side to [Trainer's name]!\\
'''Avoiding an attack:''' [Pokémon] read [Trainer's name]'s mind and avoided the move!
* FreeRangeChildren: No one seems to mind that you're just a child who goes through dangerous situations that involve crime organizations and/or Legendary Pokémon who are very dangerous to the health of your mother.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: They can befriend ''any'' Pokémon, from {{Eldritch Abomination}}s to even the human-hating Mewtwo.
* FriendToBugs: There is no shortage of insectoid Pokémon they can befriend. This trope can be taken to its logical conclusion with a [[SelfImposedChallenge Bug-type monotype team]].
* FromZeroToHero: Just a preteen/teenager from a small town, [[NewTransferStudent possibly having just moved there,]] who goes on to capture OlympusMons, [[OneManArmy singlehandedly tear down the local evil organization,]] and become the strongest Trainer in the region, all without breaking a sweat.
* HelloInsertNameHere: Although they have {{Canon Name}}s, as protagonists, they can be named whatever the player wants. This applies to a few of the rival characters as well.
* TheHero: As the player character, they're the ones who stop the evil teams from destroying/taking over the world.
* HeroicMime: As the player character they're usually completely silent besides answering yes or no questions with the occasional internal monologue when examining specific situations. Further Red doesn't speak a word when he appears as a BonusBoss in later games. However starting in Gen III, the gender not picked would have lines as an NPC. The first scripted lines as a player are in ''Black 2 and White 2''[='=]s PokéStar movies. Averted in ''X and Y'' going forward the dialogue trees are much more expressive than yes/no, and alter the NPC's immediate reactions ([[ButThouMust even if it doesn't have much of an impact on how the scene plays out]]) making it clear that the protagonist is talking, and specific about what they might say.
%%* HotBlooded: Some characters are implied to be this.
* IconicItem: Their hats. ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' even uses them as part of Pikachu's and Jigglypuff's {{Palette Swap}}s. Although all the protagonists aside from Red/Green, Hilda/Hilbert, and Kris are seen without it at some point where they temporarily change outfits in their respective games.
* KidHero: Until the fourth generation, they were all preteens no older than 12, and while older in later titles (save for ''Sun and Moon'' where they're officially 11 again and for ''Sword and Shield'' where they're around their tweens), they still never go past their teens.
* MinidressOfPower: Green, Dawn, Serena, and Gloria all wear minidresses as part of their default outfits, and they can become the most powerful Trainers in their respective regions. Selene can also wear them via customization options.
* NeverBareheaded: Throughout the first six generations, the protagonists are almost never seen without some sort of headgear (usually a hat, though May wears a bandanna and Nate and Rosa wear visors). The only exceptions are the Pokémon Contests in ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonOmegaRubyAndAlphaSapphire'', where Lucas, Dawn, Brendan, and May temporarily go bareheaded. From ''Sun and Moon'' onwards, you can ditch the hat.
* NiceGuy: Or girl. All of the protagonists care deeply for their Pokémon and are on friendly terms with most of the supporting cast, often helping out people for little or no personal gain. That being said, Red apparently became fairly detached from his friends in between Gen 1/3 and 2/4 before eventually returning to public life, and the protagonists for ''Sun and Moon'' can optionally reply to several requests like a total arse.
* NiceHat: All main characters have a hat (Exceptions being May who wears a bandanna, and the visor-wearing Nate and Rosa, who don't wear hats ''per se'', but nonetheless still sport headgear). While ''X'' and ''Y'' allows customizing your clothing, it does not allow you to remove your hat even though Calem and Serena appear hatless if they are [=NPCs=]. However, starting in ''Sun'' and ''Moon'' the protagonist can go hatless if they so desire.
* PrimaryColorChampion: Lucas in Gen 4, and more specifically his ''Platinum'' self, launched the trend for all the boys to be dressed primarily in blue with red as a secondary color, most likely so that their costumes can be adapted easier for the primarily blue-and-red [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} Ash]] every time he travels to a new region[[note]]He retains his original outfit in Johto, while his ''Advanced Generation'' outfit look nothing like Brendan's[[/note]]. The girls generally have more variety in color schemes, like Dawn playing PinkGirlBlueBoy with Lucas. Before him the dominant colors in protag outfits were red, white, and black. Gen 2 and 3 also had a few splashes of yellow in everyone's outfits.
* PurelyAestheticGender: The gender of your character typically doesn't affect the story.
* RedIsHeroic: The signature color for the player characters, with almost every protagonist having worn red in their designs. Averted with Hilda and Rosa, whose outfits never feature the color. It's also [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with Brendan, who only wears red in his ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' outfit before switching to orange and green for later titles.
* RelatedInTheAdaptation: In games that feature both protagonists, their families will be different depending on who you play as. It's most noticeable in the Hoenn games, where Brendan or May's father can be either Norman or Professor Birch. Oddly, despite May being Norman's child in the anime, along with Brendan making a few cameos, Birch never even hints at being a father.
* RummageSaleReject: Some of their outfits can get ''weird''. For example, Brendan wears shorts over ''pants'' in ''Emerald''. It's also possible to create hilariously mismatched outfits if you do desire via CharacterCustomization from ''X'' and ''Y'' onwards.
* SavingTheWorld: From [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Generation III]] and onward, but replace "world" with "all of existence". May and Brendan are the first ones to do it.
* SchrodingersPlayerCharacter: In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Crystal]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue [=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]]]'', ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' (plus their [[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra versions]]), and ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', the character you don't choose never shows up.
* SpannerInTheWorks: The protagonist in every game is this to the villainous team in some form, eventually leading to defeating them. Hilbert/Hilda from the first Unova games takes the cake since their first interactions with N set off is the first of several things that dismantles Ghetsis' plans.
* StaticRoleExchangeableCharacter: Except the games with SchrodingersPlayerCharacter, the other player character appears as an NPC but there's no major change to the story.
* ThemeNaming: Most trainers have a "version" name taken directly from the title of the games, a pre-release/promotional name that relates to their version name, and a in-game NPC name. The version names are always used in the ''Adventures'' manga, and while most other cross-canon counterparts get the NPC name, generally accepted as the overall CanonName.
** The Promotional Names tend to follow a theme based on the game they appear in, with the exception of Gen I.
*** Satoshi (Ash) and Shigeru (Gary): Based on creative directors at Nintendo: series creator Satoshi Tajiri, and father of most other names in the Nintendo canon Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto. EarlyInstallmentWeirdness used these promo names across many spinoffs and canons, including the 20+ year running main anime making them the most recognizable names in the franchise.
*** In the ''Let's Go'' remake of Gen I, the new protagonists' names are Chase and Elaine, with the Rival as Trace. All related to hunting, following, or rather "going."
*** Orlando and Anna: Based on Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
*** Blair and Whitlea: Meaning roughly Black field and White field.
*** Xavier and Yvonne: Common French names that start with the letters X and Y. They also mean "the new house" and "yew" respectively, corresponding to the fact they just moved to Kalos and the fact that they face a Legendary duo that embodies life and death (which is what the yew is said to symbolize).
*** Elio and Selene: Based on Helios and Selene the Greek sun and moon gods. Updated to Ray and Ailey in the promos for ''Ultra.'' Their names relate to light, specifically "beam of light" and "light" in Irish respectively.
*** Victor and Gloria: More obviously glorious victory. A gallant sense of winning appropriate for a region based on the UK, for sword and shield evoking knightly medieval/fantasy weaponry. Alternatively, their names are quoted from the lyrics to the UK's national anthem.
** Starting from the fourth generation, the {{Canon Name}}s all follow a seemingly random theme, which is consistent across all languages:
*** Red and Blue (Green), another EarlyInstallmentWeirdness for Gen I. The Version names are used as the canon NPC names for the original Hero and Rival whenever they appear as a BonusBoss. The originally planned female trainer appears as an in-game NPC in ''Let's Go'' as Green (Blue) as a nod to how she would've appeared in Gen I proper all along.
*** Ethan and Lyra: Their names are based off of something relating to sound or music, especially string instruments in the case of Lyra.
*** Lucas and Dawn: Names related to [[LightEmUp light]].
*** Hilbert and Hilda: Both their names mean "fight" or "battle".
*** Rosa and Nate: Similarly to the heroes of HGSS, their names also relate to sound, their names sounding like "resonate" when said together.
*** Calem and Serena: "Calm" and "Serene".
*** Kai and Lana: Hawaiian for "Ocean" and "Afloat" respectively, fitting both the abundant water of Gen VII and the Hawaiian FantasyCounterPartCulture. However these names were only discovered in unused data, and have not seen official use yet. Interestingly enough the female trainer's promo name Mizuki (Selene) has seen official use.
* ToBeAMaster: Their main motive. Red is one in [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Generation II]], its remakes, and subsequent titles.
* UniqueProtagonistAsset:
** The player characters universally have a greater affinity for Pokémon than basically everyone else on the planet, and can train Pokémon to reach heights of power even beyond trainers who have been working with Pokémon for decades.
** They are also among the few people to ever be gifted the Pokédex. This gives some some amount of InUniverse StatOVision as they can analyze monsters they've never seen before, and get even more detailed readouts of monsters they own.
** Player Characters and Rivals also have access to Starter Pokémon, which come in elements that can have dramatic influence on your progress through the early Gyms (i.e. you can pick a starter that has a type advantage against the first gym leader in no less than ''five'' generations' worth of games), while locals are stuck running around with Normal, Flying, and Bug-type ComMons.
* VirtualPaperDoll: From Gen VI onwards the player character becomes customizable with a wide array of clothes and hair styles. Typically the female player character has a larger selection available, but each successive generation has shortened this gap by giving the male more options to choose from.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:General Rival Tropes]]
* TheAce: They stay competitive with the player character who always becomes the best trainer in the region. They're at least equal to Elite Four Members, if not the Champion, in power by the end of the game.
* AnimeHair: In contrast to the player character's hat, they tend to have instantly recognizable hairstyles.
* CharacterDevelopment: They get it more than any other NPC. Usually their repeated losses to the player character make them reevaluate their motives or methods by the end of the game.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: According to the developers, due to technical limitations of older games, early rivals were written as jerks because dialogue was really the only thing that they could give them to stand out and the rest the player would fill in with their imagination. As graphics and character acting have gotten more detailed and expressive, rivals have gotten friendlier since having a fully rendered jerk might be off putting. Seen most directly in the evolution from Blue in the Gen I games to Trace in the ''Let's Go'' remakes: Oak states that Blue lost to Red because he used his Pokémon as tools and had forgotten to treat them with trust and love, but Trace lost to Chase/Elaine because his kind heart causes him to hold back in battle instead of going all out.
* ChildProdigy: They seem to be the only [=NPCs=] to level grind to keep up with the player character.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: In most cases, their CharacterDevelopment parallels the player's own journey and how they've grown through battling and interacting with them.
* ElementalRockPaperScissors: The rival will typically pick whichever starter holds an elemental advantage to what you picked.
* FireForgedFriends: If they don't start off as TrueCompanions to the player, they will be by the end of the game.
* FreeRangeChildren: Like the protagonist, they're young children going on adventures without adult supervision.
* FriendlyRival: From Generations III through VI, all rivals are pleasant fellows who are good friends with you, even if they sometimes overlap with VitriolicBestBuds. Generations VII and VIII have a mix of friendly rivals (Hau, Hop, Marnie) and not-so-friendly (Gladion, Bede, Klara, Avery).
%%* GoldfishPoopGang
* GuestStarPartyMember: If you get dragged into a two-on-two Multi Battle, chances are high they're gonna be the ones who have your back.
* HelloInsertNameHere: Although they have {{Canon Name}}s, a few of them can be named by the player.
* {{Leitmotif}}: Most get their own theme, as well as their own battle theme if standalone, often reflecting their personality.
* PrivilegedRival: Several rivals' parents or other relatives are superstars in the Pokémon World, researchers, mob bosses, Gym Leaders, Frontier Brains, Champions etc.
* RecurringBoss: They must be fought several times throughout the games' main story. Most games also offer a way to fight them repeatedly after the story is over.
* TheRival: To the protagonist.
* SignatureMon: Generally, their preferred Pokémon is their starter, and it's usually the one that's strong against the one you chose at the start of the game. There are a few Rivals whose starter is weak against yours however, like Bianca and Hau. Aside from the starters, some Rivals will also use a Pokémon from an elemental group that will vary depending on your choice of starter. These Pokémon can sometimes cover their own starter's weaknesses, and some Rivals even have a third Pokémon in this grouping to cover their bases type wise, allowing them to use all three types that the starters share.
** In ''Red and Blue'' and ''Fire Red and Leaf Green'', Blue will have Exeggutor, Arcanine, and Gyarados, statistically the strongest Pokémon of their types in Gen I, but he will use the corresponding starter in place of any of them. In ''Yellow'', he has an Eevee instead, which will evolve [[DynamicDifficulty depending on how many times you've defeated him]] early in the game.
** Aside from Blue, Calem/Serena and Hau also use Eeveelutions. Calem and Serena's Eeveelution cover their starter's weakness (such as having Jolteon to fight Water types that threaten their Delphox), while Hau's Eeveelution has an advantage against your starter. To avoid type overlap with his Alolan Raichu, he can have Leafeon rather than Jolteon.
** Cheren, Bianca, and Hugh all use the elemental monkeys. Cheren uses the one that matches your starter's type, covering his own starter's weakness, Bianca uses the one that is advantageous against your starter, while Hugh uses the one that's weak to your starter.
** The type of Gladion's signature Mon, Silvally, can be either Fire, Water or Grass and it will be in advantage over the protagonist's starter. In the ''Ultra'' games, his Champion Title Defense team will have a Kanto starter that matches the type of the starter you chose.
* StaticRoleExchangeableCharacter: Occasionally the Rival happens to be the character you don't choose as your player character.
* ToBeAMaster: Their main motive is to either become masters via the Pokémon League, complete the Pokédex, or just become stronger than the protagonist.
[[/folder]]
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[-'''Pokémon Family Species:''' [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIFamilies Gen I]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIBulbasaurToParasect Bulbasaur to Parasect]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVenonatToCloyster Venonat to Cloyster]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIGastlyToMiltank Gastly to Miltank]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIMagikarpToMew Magikarp to Mew]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIFamilies Gen II]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIChikoritaToGranbull Chikorita to Granbull]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIQwilfishToCelebi Qwilfish to Celebi]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIFamilies Gen III]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIITreeckoToSharpedo Treecko to Sharpedo]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIWailmerToDeoxys Wailmer to Deoxys]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVFamilies Gen IV]] | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVFamilies Gen V]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVVictiniToZoroark Victini to Zoroark]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVMinccinoToGenesect Minccino to Genesect]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIFamilies Gen VI]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIChespinToHawlucha Chespin to Hawlucha]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIDedenneToVolcanion Dedenne to Volcanion]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIFamilies Gen VII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIRowletToComfey Rowlet to Comfey]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIOranguruToMelmetal Oranguru to Melmetal]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraBeasts Ultra Beasts]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIFamilies Gen VIII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIGrookeyToHatterene Grookey to Hatterene]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIImpidimpToCalyrex Impidimp to Calyrex]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGlitches Glitches]]\\
'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' '''Protagonists And Rivals''' ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
'''[[Characters/PokemonVillainTeams Pokémon Villain Teams]]:''' [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamRocket Team Rocket]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamAquaMagma Team Aqua/Magma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamGalactic Team Galactic]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamPlasma Team Plasma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamFlare Team Flare]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamSkull Team Skull]] / [[Characters/PokemonTeamYell Team Yell]]\\
[[Characters/PokemonFrontierBrainsAndOtherFacilityHeads Frontier Brains And Other Facility Heads]] | [[Characters/PokemonTrainerClasses Trainer Classes]] | [[Characters/PokemonOtherNonPlayableCharacters Other NPCs]] ([[Characters/PokemonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraReconSquad Ultra Recon Squad]] / [[Characters/PokemonMacroCosmos Macro Cosmos]])\\
[[Characters/PokemonLegendsArceus Pokémon Legends: Arceus]]-]]]]]
The main characters of the series. The games revolve around their personal growth, their exploits and their (and by extension, ''your'') relationship with Pokémon in general.
The protagonists are the player's avatar in the world of ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}''. [[HeroicMime Generally they aren't the most verbose of people]]. But you can use this opportunity to play as them and gather together a team of Pokémon to conquer the game.
The rivals are kids just like you. The protagonists may have a history with them, or they may be some kid they just met, some {{friendly|Rival}}, especially in later generations, others [[{{Jerkass}} not]]. Their personalities are varied, but they're all willing to challenge you to see how strong you've become over your journey.
----
[[index]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHisui Hisui]]
[[/index]]
----
[[foldercontrol]]
!!General Tropes
[[folder:General Player Tropes]]
* AdaptedOut:
** While all of them have been major characters in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' and other manga adaptations, many of them (especially the boys) have been passed over by the ''Pokemon'' anime, in no small part due to the refusal to retire Ash.
*** None of the Johto main cast took part in the events of ''Gold'' or ''Silver'' when the anime adapted them, but Ethan and Kris co-starred in ''Anime/TheLegendOfThunder'' under the names Jimmy and Marina, while Silver (under the name Kamon) got a cameo during the special's intro (Marina briefly showed up in an early ''Diamond and Pearl'' episode advertising the Pokétch). Jimmy and Marina are, to date, the only male and female protagonists who have met each other.
*** Brendan got to be TheCameo in the opening of ''Anime/PokemonJirachiWishmaker'', ''Anime/PokemonRangerAndTheTempleOfTheSea'', and ''Anime/PokemonGiratinaAndTheSkyWarrior'' (the last of which also has Lucas' one and only cameo). Ethan got another cameo in his HGSS design under the name Ethan in ''Anime/PokemonZoroarkMasterOfIllusions''. Wally's gotten nothing.
*** Rei cameos at the end of the Amazon exclusive ''Legends: Arceus'' special.
*** Leaf/Green, Calem, and all the protagonists from the fifth and seventh generations have so far failed to appear. Rival Hugh is also absent. (Lillie has been given the AdaptationalBadass treatment, being an official Pokémon Trainer, effectively replacing Selene).
** Several of the above have appeared in ''Pokémon Generations'', including Ethan, Silver, Brendan, Hilbert and Calem (that said, these roles are severely downplayed -- ''Generations'' replays game events with extra focus on the supporting cast, like Looker and Cynthia).
* AnimalMotifs: Many of them are strongly associated with a starter Pokémon or cover legendary, with design motifs from them are sometimes incorporated into their outfits. While the starter they choose is based on the player's choice, there are official artworks that take this concept and run with it. Most notably, Red and Blue are associated with Pikachu and Eevee, respectively.
* BadassAdorable: The majority of the protagonists, male and female, are no older than kids. [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Generation V's]] and [[VagueAge maybe]] ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY X and Y]]''[='=]s characters are in their teens. They defeat every single trainer in their region, including leaders of the evil teams, the Elite Four and the Champion, can capture Legendary Pokémon (many of which are basically gods), and become the best trainer in their region.
* ChildProdigy: The oldest the protagonists get in the series is 14 in ''Black and White''. They take to Pokémon training instantly and extremely well. Their skill with Pokémon is so great that they are able to defeat adults who have years of experience on them. Many [=NPCs=] point out their high affinity for bonding with Pokémon.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Each of them can capture the World of Pokémon's equivalent to {{Eldritch Abomination}}s (one Gen even allows you to capture the rough equivalent to {{God}}).
* DisappearedDad: The player character generally only has a mother as a regular figure at home; their dad (with the notable exception of ''Ruby'', ''Sapphire'', and their various remakes) is absent, usually without explanation. That said, the characters can be generally assumed to at least ''have'' dads, [[TheGhost even if they don't show up onscreen]], with only the protagonists of Gen II and ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite2'' not mentioning the presence of a father at all:
** In the Kanto games, examining a certain TV in Celadon Department store will cause the player character to indicate his dad likes sports games.
** In the Sinnoh games, the player character's father was old friends with Tower Tycoon Palmer.
** ''Black'' and ''White'' indicate that the television in the player character's room was bought by their dad.
** In ''X'' and ''Y'', Grace mentions running into the character's father with her Rhyhorn. He also gave the player a PC.
** In the Alola games, the player character's father is still working in Kanto.
** In ''Sword'' and ''Shield'', Victor's bag is a hand-me-down from his father.
* DragonTamer: If they train Dragon-types, they become one by default.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Zigzagged. Plot-critical [=NPCs=] seem aware of the fact that by the time you finish the game you've defeated the most powerful trainers in the region, saved the world from the local villainous team, and probably captured at least one Legendary Pokémon in the process. Normal [=NPCs=] on the other hand will continue to treat you like a random kid trainer.
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: This can frequently pop up when playing as a certain gender. Green gets a ton of flirtatious responses from female [=NPCs=] due to ''[=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]'' retaining plenty of dialogue from ''Red'' and ''Blue''.
* AFatherToHisMen: Throughout the games, one of the central themes is forming bonds with your Pokémon and taking good care of them. Generation II added the Friendship mechanic, as well as Pokémon that evolve through high friendship, and introduced the move Return, which gets stronger the more your Pokémon likes you. Generation VI expanded on it with the introduction of Pokémon-Amie, allowing you to increase the Affection of your Pokémon by playing with them, feeding them, and petting them. When a Pokémon's Affection is high enough, it may be able to do things like shake off a status ailment or survive an attack that would have knocked it out, out of love for you, its Trainer.
-->'''Recovering from a burn:''' [Pokémon] blew on its burn and healed it so that [Trainer's name] wouldn't worry!\\
'''Surviving an attack with 1 HP:''' [Pokémon] toughed it out to show its best side to [Trainer's name]!\\
'''Avoiding an attack:''' [Pokémon] read [Trainer's name]'s mind and avoided the move!
* FreeRangeChildren: No one seems to mind that you're just a child who goes through dangerous situations that involve crime organizations and/or Legendary Pokémon who are very dangerous to the health of your mother.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: They can befriend ''any'' Pokémon, from {{Eldritch Abomination}}s to even the human-hating Mewtwo.
* FriendToBugs: There is no shortage of insectoid Pokémon they can befriend. This trope can be taken to its logical conclusion with a [[SelfImposedChallenge Bug-type monotype team]].
* FromZeroToHero: Just a preteen/teenager from a small town, [[NewTransferStudent possibly having just moved there,]] who goes on to capture OlympusMons, [[OneManArmy singlehandedly tear down the local evil organization,]] and become the strongest Trainer in the region, all without breaking a sweat.
* HelloInsertNameHere: Although they have {{Canon Name}}s, as protagonists, they can be named whatever the player wants. This applies to a few of the rival characters as well.
* TheHero: As the player character, they're the ones who stop the evil teams from destroying/taking over the world.
* HeroicMime: As the player character they're usually completely silent besides answering yes or no questions with the occasional internal monologue when examining specific situations. Further Red doesn't speak a word when he appears as a BonusBoss in later games. However starting in Gen III, the gender not picked would have lines as an NPC. The first scripted lines as a player are in ''Black 2 and White 2''[='=]s PokéStar movies. Averted in ''X and Y'' going forward the dialogue trees are much more expressive than yes/no, and alter the NPC's immediate reactions ([[ButThouMust even if it doesn't have much of an impact on how the scene plays out]]) making it clear that the protagonist is talking, and specific about what they might say.
%%* HotBlooded: Some characters are implied to be this.
* IconicItem: Their hats. ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' even uses them as part of Pikachu's and Jigglypuff's {{Palette Swap}}s. Although all the protagonists aside from Red/Green, Hilda/Hilbert, and Kris are seen without it at some point where they temporarily change outfits in their respective games.
* KidHero: Until the fourth generation, they were all preteens no older than 12, and while older in later titles (save for ''Sun and Moon'' where they're officially 11 again and for ''Sword and Shield'' where they're around their tweens), they still never go past their teens.
* MinidressOfPower: Green, Dawn, Serena, and Gloria all wear minidresses as part of their default outfits, and they can become the most powerful Trainers in their respective regions. Selene can also wear them via customization options.
* NeverBareheaded: Throughout the first six generations, the protagonists are almost never seen without some sort of headgear (usually a hat, though May wears a bandanna and Nate and Rosa wear visors). The only exceptions are the Pokémon Contests in ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonOmegaRubyAndAlphaSapphire'', where Lucas, Dawn, Brendan, and May temporarily go bareheaded. From ''Sun and Moon'' onwards, you can ditch the hat.
* NiceGuy: Or girl. All of the protagonists care deeply for their Pokémon and are on friendly terms with most of the supporting cast, often helping out people for little or no personal gain. That being said, Red apparently became fairly detached from his friends in between Gen 1/3 and 2/4 before eventually returning to public life, and the protagonists for ''Sun and Moon'' can optionally reply to several requests like a total arse.
* NiceHat: All main characters have a hat (Exceptions being May who wears a bandanna, and the visor-wearing Nate and Rosa, who don't wear hats ''per se'', but nonetheless still sport headgear). While ''X'' and ''Y'' allows customizing your clothing, it does not allow you to remove your hat even though Calem and Serena appear hatless if they are [=NPCs=]. However, starting in ''Sun'' and ''Moon'' the protagonist can go hatless if they so desire.
* PrimaryColorChampion: Lucas in Gen 4, and more specifically his ''Platinum'' self, launched the trend for all the boys to be dressed primarily in blue with red as a secondary color, most likely so that their costumes can be adapted easier for the primarily blue-and-red [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} Ash]] every time he travels to a new region[[note]]He retains his original outfit in Johto, while his ''Advanced Generation'' outfit look nothing like Brendan's[[/note]]. The girls generally have more variety in color schemes, like Dawn playing PinkGirlBlueBoy with Lucas. Before him the dominant colors in protag outfits were red, white, and black. Gen 2 and 3 also had a few splashes of yellow in everyone's outfits.
* PurelyAestheticGender: The gender of your character typically doesn't affect the story.
* RedIsHeroic: The signature color for the player characters, with almost every protagonist having worn red in their designs. Averted with Hilda and Rosa, whose outfits never feature the color. It's also [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with Brendan, who only wears red in his ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' outfit before switching to orange and green for later titles.
* RelatedInTheAdaptation: In games that feature both protagonists, their families will be different depending on who you play as. It's most noticeable in the Hoenn games, where Brendan or May's father can be either Norman or Professor Birch. Oddly, despite May being Norman's child in the anime, along with Brendan making a few cameos, Birch never even hints at being a father.
* RummageSaleReject: Some of their outfits can get ''weird''. For example, Brendan wears shorts over ''pants'' in ''Emerald''. It's also possible to create hilariously mismatched outfits if you do desire via CharacterCustomization from ''X'' and ''Y'' onwards.
* SavingTheWorld: From [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Generation III]] and onward, but replace "world" with "all of existence". May and Brendan are the first ones to do it.
* SchrodingersPlayerCharacter: In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Crystal]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue [=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]]]'', ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' (plus their [[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra versions]]), and ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', the character you don't choose never shows up.
* SpannerInTheWorks: The protagonist in every game is this to the villainous team in some form, eventually leading to defeating them. Hilbert/Hilda from the first Unova games takes the cake since their first interactions with N set off is the first of several things that dismantles Ghetsis' plans.
* StaticRoleExchangeableCharacter: Except the games with SchrodingersPlayerCharacter, the other player character appears as an NPC but there's no major change to the story.
* ThemeNaming: Most trainers have a "version" name taken directly from the title of the games, a pre-release/promotional name that relates to their version name, and a in-game NPC name. The version names are always used in the ''Adventures'' manga, and while most other cross-canon counterparts get the NPC name, generally accepted as the overall CanonName.
** The Promotional Names tend to follow a theme based on the game they appear in, with the exception of Gen I.
*** Satoshi (Ash) and Shigeru (Gary): Based on creative directors at Nintendo: series creator Satoshi Tajiri, and father of most other names in the Nintendo canon Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto. EarlyInstallmentWeirdness used these promo names across many spinoffs and canons, including the 20+ year running main anime making them the most recognizable names in the franchise.
*** In the ''Let's Go'' remake of Gen I, the new protagonists' names are Chase and Elaine, with the Rival as Trace. All related to hunting, following, or rather "going."
*** Orlando and Anna: Based on Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
*** Blair and Whitlea: Meaning roughly Black field and White field.
*** Xavier and Yvonne: Common French names that start with the letters X and Y. They also mean "the new house" and "yew" respectively, corresponding to the fact they just moved to Kalos and the fact that they face a Legendary duo that embodies life and death (which is what the yew is said to symbolize).
*** Elio and Selene: Based on Helios and Selene the Greek sun and moon gods. Updated to Ray and Ailey in the promos for ''Ultra.'' Their names relate to light, specifically "beam of light" and "light" in Irish respectively.
*** Victor and Gloria: More obviously glorious victory. A gallant sense of winning appropriate for a region based on the UK, for sword and shield evoking knightly medieval/fantasy weaponry. Alternatively, their names are quoted from the lyrics to the UK's national anthem.
** Starting from the fourth generation, the {{Canon Name}}s all follow a seemingly random theme, which is consistent across all languages:
*** Red and Blue (Green), another EarlyInstallmentWeirdness for Gen I. The Version names are used as the canon NPC names for the original Hero and Rival whenever they appear as a BonusBoss. The originally planned female trainer appears as an in-game NPC in ''Let's Go'' as Green (Blue) as a nod to how she would've appeared in Gen I proper all along.
*** Ethan and Lyra: Their names are based off of something relating to sound or music, especially string instruments in the case of Lyra.
*** Lucas and Dawn: Names related to [[LightEmUp light]].
*** Hilbert and Hilda: Both their names mean "fight" or "battle".
*** Rosa and Nate: Similarly to the heroes of HGSS, their names also relate to sound, their names sounding like "resonate" when said together.
*** Calem and Serena: "Calm" and "Serene".
*** Kai and Lana: Hawaiian for "Ocean" and "Afloat" respectively, fitting both the abundant water of Gen VII and the Hawaiian FantasyCounterPartCulture. However these names were only discovered in unused data, and have not seen official use yet. Interestingly enough the female trainer's promo name Mizuki (Selene) has seen official use.
* ToBeAMaster: Their main motive. Red is one in [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Generation II]], its remakes, and subsequent titles.
* UniqueProtagonistAsset:
** The player characters universally have a greater affinity for Pokémon than basically everyone else on the planet, and can train Pokémon to reach heights of power even beyond trainers who have been working with Pokémon for decades.
** They are also among the few people to ever be gifted the Pokédex. This gives some some amount of InUniverse StatOVision as they can analyze monsters they've never seen before, and get even more detailed readouts of monsters they own.
** Player Characters and Rivals also have access to Starter Pokémon, which come in elements that can have dramatic influence on your progress through the early Gyms (i.e. you can pick a starter that has a type advantage against the first gym leader in no less than ''five'' generations' worth of games), while locals are stuck running around with Normal, Flying, and Bug-type ComMons.
* VirtualPaperDoll: From Gen VI onwards the player character becomes customizable with a wide array of clothes and hair styles. Typically the female player character has a larger selection available, but each successive generation has shortened this gap by giving the male more options to choose from.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:General Rival Tropes]]
* TheAce: They stay competitive with the player character who always becomes the best trainer in the region. They're at least equal to Elite Four Members, if not the Champion, in power by the end of the game.
* AnimeHair: In contrast to the player character's hat, they tend to have instantly recognizable hairstyles.
* CharacterDevelopment: They get it more than any other NPC. Usually their repeated losses to the player character make them reevaluate their motives or methods by the end of the game.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: According to the developers, due to technical limitations of older games, early rivals were written as jerks because dialogue was really the only thing that they could give them to stand out and the rest the player would fill in with their imagination. As graphics and character acting have gotten more detailed and expressive, rivals have gotten friendlier since having a fully rendered jerk might be off putting. Seen most directly in the evolution from Blue in the Gen I games to Trace in the ''Let's Go'' remakes: Oak states that Blue lost to Red because he used his Pokémon as tools and had forgotten to treat them with trust and love, but Trace lost to Chase/Elaine because his kind heart causes him to hold back in battle instead of going all out.
* ChildProdigy: They seem to be the only [=NPCs=] to level grind to keep up with the player character.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: In most cases, their CharacterDevelopment parallels the player's own journey and how they've grown through battling and interacting with them.
* ElementalRockPaperScissors: The rival will typically pick whichever starter holds an elemental advantage to what you picked.
* FireForgedFriends: If they don't start off as TrueCompanions to the player, they will be by the end of the game.
* FreeRangeChildren: Like the protagonist, they're young children going on adventures without adult supervision.
* FriendlyRival: From Generations III through VI, all rivals are pleasant fellows who are good friends with you, even if they sometimes overlap with VitriolicBestBuds. Generations VII and VIII have a mix of friendly rivals (Hau, Hop, Marnie) and not-so-friendly (Gladion, Bede, Klara, Avery).
%%* GoldfishPoopGang
* GuestStarPartyMember: If you get dragged into a two-on-two Multi Battle, chances are high they're gonna be the ones who have your back.
* HelloInsertNameHere: Although they have {{Canon Name}}s, a few of them can be named by the player.
* {{Leitmotif}}: Most get their own theme, as well as their own battle theme if standalone, often reflecting their personality.
* PrivilegedRival: Several rivals' parents or other relatives are superstars in the Pokémon World, researchers, mob bosses, Gym Leaders, Frontier Brains, Champions etc.
* RecurringBoss: They must be fought several times throughout the games' main story. Most games also offer a way to fight them repeatedly after the story is over.
* TheRival: To the protagonist.
* SignatureMon: Generally, their preferred Pokémon is their starter, and it's usually the one that's strong against the one you chose at the start of the game. There are a few Rivals whose starter is weak against yours however, like Bianca and Hau. Aside from the starters, some Rivals will also use a Pokémon from an elemental group that will vary depending on your choice of starter. These Pokémon can sometimes cover their own starter's weaknesses, and some Rivals even have a third Pokémon in this grouping to cover their bases type wise, allowing them to use all three types that the starters share.
** In ''Red and Blue'' and ''Fire Red and Leaf Green'', Blue will have Exeggutor, Arcanine, and Gyarados, statistically the strongest Pokémon of their types in Gen I, but he will use the corresponding starter in place of any of them. In ''Yellow'', he has an Eevee instead, which will evolve [[DynamicDifficulty depending on how many times you've defeated him]] early in the game.
** Aside from Blue, Calem/Serena and Hau also use Eeveelutions. Calem and Serena's Eeveelution cover their starter's weakness (such as having Jolteon to fight Water types that threaten their Delphox), while Hau's Eeveelution has an advantage against your starter. To avoid type overlap with his Alolan Raichu, he can have Leafeon rather than Jolteon.
** Cheren, Bianca, and Hugh all use the elemental monkeys. Cheren uses the one that matches your starter's type, covering his own starter's weakness, Bianca uses the one that is advantageous against your starter, while Hugh uses the one that's weak to your starter.
** The type of Gladion's signature Mon, Silvally, can be either Fire, Water or Grass and it will be in advantage over the protagonist's starter. In the ''Ultra'' games, his Champion Title Defense team will have a Kanto starter that matches the type of the starter you chose.
* StaticRoleExchangeableCharacter: Occasionally the Rival happens to be the character you don't choose as your player character.
* ToBeAMaster: Their main motive is to either become masters via the Pokémon League, complete the Pokédex, or just become stronger than the protagonist.
[[/folder]]
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to:
[-'''Pokémon Family Species:''' [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIFamilies Gen I]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIBulbasaurToParasect Bulbasaur to Parasect]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVenonatToCloyster Venonat to Cloyster]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIGastlyToMiltank Gastly to Miltank]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIMagikarpToMew Magikarp to Mew]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIFamilies Gen II]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIChikoritaToGranbull Chikorita to Granbull]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIQwilfishToCelebi Qwilfish to Celebi]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIFamilies Gen III]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIITreeckoToSharpedo Treecko to Sharpedo]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIWailmerToDeoxys Wailmer to Deoxys]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVFamilies Gen IV]] | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVFamilies Gen V]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVVictiniToZoroark Victini to Zoroark]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVMinccinoToGenesect Minccino to Genesect]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIFamilies Gen VI]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIChespinToHawlucha Chespin to Hawlucha]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIDedenneToVolcanion Dedenne to Volcanion]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIFamilies Gen VII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIRowletToComfey Rowlet to Comfey]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIOranguruToMelmetal Oranguru to Melmetal]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraBeasts Ultra Beasts]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIFamilies Gen VIII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIGrookeyToHatterene Grookey to Hatterene]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIImpidimpToCalyrex Impidimp to Calyrex]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGlitches Glitches]]\\
'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' '''Protagonists And Rivals''' ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
'''[[Characters/PokemonVillainTeams Pokémon Villain Teams]]:''' [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamRocket Team Rocket]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamAquaMagma Team Aqua/Magma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamGalactic Team Galactic]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamPlasma Team Plasma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamFlare Team Flare]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamSkull Team Skull]] / [[Characters/PokemonTeamYell Team Yell]]\\
[[Characters/PokemonFrontierBrainsAndOtherFacilityHeads Frontier Brains And Other Facility Heads]] | [[Characters/PokemonTrainerClasses Trainer Classes]] | [[Characters/PokemonOtherNonPlayableCharacters Other NPCs]] ([[Characters/PokemonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraReconSquad Ultra Recon Squad]] / [[Characters/PokemonMacroCosmos Macro Cosmos]])\\
[[Characters/PokemonLegendsArceus Pokémon Legends: Arceus]]-]]]]]
The main characters of the series. The games revolve around their personal growth, their exploits and their (and by extension, ''your'') relationship with Pokémon in general.
The protagonists are the player's avatar in the world of ''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}''. [[HeroicMime Generally they aren't the most verbose of people]]. But you can use this opportunity to play as them and gather together a team of Pokémon to conquer the game.
The rivals are kids just like you. The protagonists may have a history with them, or they may be some kid they just met, some {{friendly|Rival}}, especially in later generations, others [[{{Jerkass}} not]]. Their personalities are varied, but they're all willing to challenge you to see how strong you've become over your journey.
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[[index]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]
* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHisui Hisui]]
[[/index]]
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[[foldercontrol]]
!!General Tropes
[[folder:General Player Tropes]]
* AdaptedOut:
** While all of them have been major characters in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' and other manga adaptations, many of them (especially the boys) have been passed over by the ''Pokemon'' anime, in no small part due to the refusal to retire Ash.
*** None of the Johto main cast took part in the events of ''Gold'' or ''Silver'' when the anime adapted them, but Ethan and Kris co-starred in ''Anime/TheLegendOfThunder'' under the names Jimmy and Marina, while Silver (under the name Kamon) got a cameo during the special's intro (Marina briefly showed up in an early ''Diamond and Pearl'' episode advertising the Pokétch). Jimmy and Marina are, to date, the only male and female protagonists who have met each other.
*** Brendan got to be TheCameo in the opening of ''Anime/PokemonJirachiWishmaker'', ''Anime/PokemonRangerAndTheTempleOfTheSea'', and ''Anime/PokemonGiratinaAndTheSkyWarrior'' (the last of which also has Lucas' one and only cameo). Ethan got another cameo in his HGSS design under the name Ethan in ''Anime/PokemonZoroarkMasterOfIllusions''. Wally's gotten nothing.
*** Rei cameos at the end of the Amazon exclusive ''Legends: Arceus'' special.
*** Leaf/Green, Calem, and all the protagonists from the fifth and seventh generations have so far failed to appear. Rival Hugh is also absent. (Lillie has been given the AdaptationalBadass treatment, being an official Pokémon Trainer, effectively replacing Selene).
** Several of the above have appeared in ''Pokémon Generations'', including Ethan, Silver, Brendan, Hilbert and Calem (that said, these roles are severely downplayed -- ''Generations'' replays game events with extra focus on the supporting cast, like Looker and Cynthia).
* AnimalMotifs: Many of them are strongly associated with a starter Pokémon or cover legendary, with design motifs from them are sometimes incorporated into their outfits. While the starter they choose is based on the player's choice, there are official artworks that take this concept and run with it. Most notably, Red and Blue are associated with Pikachu and Eevee, respectively.
* BadassAdorable: The majority of the protagonists, male and female, are no older than kids. [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Generation V's]] and [[VagueAge maybe]] ''[[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY X and Y]]''[='=]s characters are in their teens. They defeat every single trainer in their region, including leaders of the evil teams, the Elite Four and the Champion, can capture Legendary Pokémon (many of which are basically gods), and become the best trainer in their region.
* ChildProdigy: The oldest the protagonists get in the series is 14 in ''Black and White''. They take to Pokémon training instantly and extremely well. Their skill with Pokémon is so great that they are able to defeat adults who have years of experience on them. Many [=NPCs=] point out their high affinity for bonding with Pokémon.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Each of them can capture the World of Pokémon's equivalent to {{Eldritch Abomination}}s (one Gen even allows you to capture the rough equivalent to {{God}}).
* DisappearedDad: The player character generally only has a mother as a regular figure at home; their dad (with the notable exception of ''Ruby'', ''Sapphire'', and their various remakes) is absent, usually without explanation. That said, the characters can be generally assumed to at least ''have'' dads, [[TheGhost even if they don't show up onscreen]], with only the protagonists of Gen II and ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite2'' not mentioning the presence of a father at all:
** In the Kanto games, examining a certain TV in Celadon Department store will cause the player character to indicate his dad likes sports games.
** In the Sinnoh games, the player character's father was old friends with Tower Tycoon Palmer.
** ''Black'' and ''White'' indicate that the television in the player character's room was bought by their dad.
** In ''X'' and ''Y'', Grace mentions running into the character's father with her Rhyhorn. He also gave the player a PC.
** In the Alola games, the player character's father is still working in Kanto.
** In ''Sword'' and ''Shield'', Victor's bag is a hand-me-down from his father.
* DragonTamer: If they train Dragon-types, they become one by default.
* DudeWheresMyRespect: Zigzagged. Plot-critical [=NPCs=] seem aware of the fact that by the time you finish the game you've defeated the most powerful trainers in the region, saved the world from the local villainous team, and probably captured at least one Legendary Pokémon in the process. Normal [=NPCs=] on the other hand will continue to treat you like a random kid trainer.
* EvenTheGuysWantHim: This can frequently pop up when playing as a certain gender. Green gets a ton of flirtatious responses from female [=NPCs=] due to ''[=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]'' retaining plenty of dialogue from ''Red'' and ''Blue''.
* AFatherToHisMen: Throughout the games, one of the central themes is forming bonds with your Pokémon and taking good care of them. Generation II added the Friendship mechanic, as well as Pokémon that evolve through high friendship, and introduced the move Return, which gets stronger the more your Pokémon likes you. Generation VI expanded on it with the introduction of Pokémon-Amie, allowing you to increase the Affection of your Pokémon by playing with them, feeding them, and petting them. When a Pokémon's Affection is high enough, it may be able to do things like shake off a status ailment or survive an attack that would have knocked it out, out of love for you, its Trainer.
-->'''Recovering from a burn:''' [Pokémon] blew on its burn and healed it so that [Trainer's name] wouldn't worry!\\
'''Surviving an attack with 1 HP:''' [Pokémon] toughed it out to show its best side to [Trainer's name]!\\
'''Avoiding an attack:''' [Pokémon] read [Trainer's name]'s mind and avoided the move!
* FreeRangeChildren: No one seems to mind that you're just a child who goes through dangerous situations that involve crime organizations and/or Legendary Pokémon who are very dangerous to the health of your mother.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: They can befriend ''any'' Pokémon, from {{Eldritch Abomination}}s to even the human-hating Mewtwo.
* FriendToBugs: There is no shortage of insectoid Pokémon they can befriend. This trope can be taken to its logical conclusion with a [[SelfImposedChallenge Bug-type monotype team]].
* FromZeroToHero: Just a preteen/teenager from a small town, [[NewTransferStudent possibly having just moved there,]] who goes on to capture OlympusMons, [[OneManArmy singlehandedly tear down the local evil organization,]] and become the strongest Trainer in the region, all without breaking a sweat.
* HelloInsertNameHere: Although they have {{Canon Name}}s, as protagonists, they can be named whatever the player wants. This applies to a few of the rival characters as well.
* TheHero: As the player character, they're the ones who stop the evil teams from destroying/taking over the world.
* HeroicMime: As the player character they're usually completely silent besides answering yes or no questions with the occasional internal monologue when examining specific situations. Further Red doesn't speak a word when he appears as a BonusBoss in later games. However starting in Gen III, the gender not picked would have lines as an NPC. The first scripted lines as a player are in ''Black 2 and White 2''[='=]s PokéStar movies. Averted in ''X and Y'' going forward the dialogue trees are much more expressive than yes/no, and alter the NPC's immediate reactions ([[ButThouMust even if it doesn't have much of an impact on how the scene plays out]]) making it clear that the protagonist is talking, and specific about what they might say.
%%* HotBlooded: Some characters are implied to be this.
* IconicItem: Their hats. ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' even uses them as part of Pikachu's and Jigglypuff's {{Palette Swap}}s. Although all the protagonists aside from Red/Green, Hilda/Hilbert, and Kris are seen without it at some point where they temporarily change outfits in their respective games.
* KidHero: Until the fourth generation, they were all preteens no older than 12, and while older in later titles (save for ''Sun and Moon'' where they're officially 11 again and for ''Sword and Shield'' where they're around their tweens), they still never go past their teens.
* MinidressOfPower: Green, Dawn, Serena, and Gloria all wear minidresses as part of their default outfits, and they can become the most powerful Trainers in their respective regions. Selene can also wear them via customization options.
* NeverBareheaded: Throughout the first six generations, the protagonists are almost never seen without some sort of headgear (usually a hat, though May wears a bandanna and Nate and Rosa wear visors). The only exceptions are the Pokémon Contests in ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonOmegaRubyAndAlphaSapphire'', where Lucas, Dawn, Brendan, and May temporarily go bareheaded. From ''Sun and Moon'' onwards, you can ditch the hat.
* NiceGuy: Or girl. All of the protagonists care deeply for their Pokémon and are on friendly terms with most of the supporting cast, often helping out people for little or no personal gain. That being said, Red apparently became fairly detached from his friends in between Gen 1/3 and 2/4 before eventually returning to public life, and the protagonists for ''Sun and Moon'' can optionally reply to several requests like a total arse.
* NiceHat: All main characters have a hat (Exceptions being May who wears a bandanna, and the visor-wearing Nate and Rosa, who don't wear hats ''per se'', but nonetheless still sport headgear). While ''X'' and ''Y'' allows customizing your clothing, it does not allow you to remove your hat even though Calem and Serena appear hatless if they are [=NPCs=]. However, starting in ''Sun'' and ''Moon'' the protagonist can go hatless if they so desire.
* PrimaryColorChampion: Lucas in Gen 4, and more specifically his ''Platinum'' self, launched the trend for all the boys to be dressed primarily in blue with red as a secondary color, most likely so that their costumes can be adapted easier for the primarily blue-and-red [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} Ash]] every time he travels to a new region[[note]]He retains his original outfit in Johto, while his ''Advanced Generation'' outfit look nothing like Brendan's[[/note]]. The girls generally have more variety in color schemes, like Dawn playing PinkGirlBlueBoy with Lucas. Before him the dominant colors in protag outfits were red, white, and black. Gen 2 and 3 also had a few splashes of yellow in everyone's outfits.
* PurelyAestheticGender: The gender of your character typically doesn't affect the story.
* RedIsHeroic: The signature color for the player characters, with almost every protagonist having worn red in their designs. Averted with Hilda and Rosa, whose outfits never feature the color. It's also [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with Brendan, who only wears red in his ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'' outfit before switching to orange and green for later titles.
* RelatedInTheAdaptation: In games that feature both protagonists, their families will be different depending on who you play as. It's most noticeable in the Hoenn games, where Brendan or May's father can be either Norman or Professor Birch. Oddly, despite May being Norman's child in the anime, along with Brendan making a few cameos, Birch never even hints at being a father.
* RummageSaleReject: Some of their outfits can get ''weird''. For example, Brendan wears shorts over ''pants'' in ''Emerald''. It's also possible to create hilariously mismatched outfits if you do desire via CharacterCustomization from ''X'' and ''Y'' onwards.
* SavingTheWorld: From [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Generation III]] and onward, but replace "world" with "all of existence". May and Brendan are the first ones to do it.
* SchrodingersPlayerCharacter: In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Crystal]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue [=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]]]'', ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' (plus their [[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra versions]]), and ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', the character you don't choose never shows up.
* SpannerInTheWorks: The protagonist in every game is this to the villainous team in some form, eventually leading to defeating them. Hilbert/Hilda from the first Unova games takes the cake since their first interactions with N set off is the first of several things that dismantles Ghetsis' plans.
* StaticRoleExchangeableCharacter: Except the games with SchrodingersPlayerCharacter, the other player character appears as an NPC but there's no major change to the story.
* ThemeNaming: Most trainers have a "version" name taken directly from the title of the games, a pre-release/promotional name that relates to their version name, and a in-game NPC name. The version names are always used in the ''Adventures'' manga, and while most other cross-canon counterparts get the NPC name, generally accepted as the overall CanonName.
** The Promotional Names tend to follow a theme based on the game they appear in, with the exception of Gen I.
*** Satoshi (Ash) and Shigeru (Gary): Based on creative directors at Nintendo: series creator Satoshi Tajiri, and father of most other names in the Nintendo canon Creator/ShigeruMiyamoto. EarlyInstallmentWeirdness used these promo names across many spinoffs and canons, including the 20+ year running main anime making them the most recognizable names in the franchise.
*** In the ''Let's Go'' remake of Gen I, the new protagonists' names are Chase and Elaine, with the Rival as Trace. All related to hunting, following, or rather "going."
*** Orlando and Anna: Based on Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
*** Blair and Whitlea: Meaning roughly Black field and White field.
*** Xavier and Yvonne: Common French names that start with the letters X and Y. They also mean "the new house" and "yew" respectively, corresponding to the fact they just moved to Kalos and the fact that they face a Legendary duo that embodies life and death (which is what the yew is said to symbolize).
*** Elio and Selene: Based on Helios and Selene the Greek sun and moon gods. Updated to Ray and Ailey in the promos for ''Ultra.'' Their names relate to light, specifically "beam of light" and "light" in Irish respectively.
*** Victor and Gloria: More obviously glorious victory. A gallant sense of winning appropriate for a region based on the UK, for sword and shield evoking knightly medieval/fantasy weaponry. Alternatively, their names are quoted from the lyrics to the UK's national anthem.
** Starting from the fourth generation, the {{Canon Name}}s all follow a seemingly random theme, which is consistent across all languages:
*** Red and Blue (Green), another EarlyInstallmentWeirdness for Gen I. The Version names are used as the canon NPC names for the original Hero and Rival whenever they appear as a BonusBoss. The originally planned female trainer appears as an in-game NPC in ''Let's Go'' as Green (Blue) as a nod to how she would've appeared in Gen I proper all along.
*** Ethan and Lyra: Their names are based off of something relating to sound or music, especially string instruments in the case of Lyra.
*** Lucas and Dawn: Names related to [[LightEmUp light]].
*** Hilbert and Hilda: Both their names mean "fight" or "battle".
*** Rosa and Nate: Similarly to the heroes of HGSS, their names also relate to sound, their names sounding like "resonate" when said together.
*** Calem and Serena: "Calm" and "Serene".
*** Kai and Lana: Hawaiian for "Ocean" and "Afloat" respectively, fitting both the abundant water of Gen VII and the Hawaiian FantasyCounterPartCulture. However these names were only discovered in unused data, and have not seen official use yet. Interestingly enough the female trainer's promo name Mizuki (Selene) has seen official use.
* ToBeAMaster: Their main motive. Red is one in [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Generation II]], its remakes, and subsequent titles.
* UniqueProtagonistAsset:
** The player characters universally have a greater affinity for Pokémon than basically everyone else on the planet, and can train Pokémon to reach heights of power even beyond trainers who have been working with Pokémon for decades.
** They are also among the few people to ever be gifted the Pokédex. This gives some some amount of InUniverse StatOVision as they can analyze monsters they've never seen before, and get even more detailed readouts of monsters they own.
** Player Characters and Rivals also have access to Starter Pokémon, which come in elements that can have dramatic influence on your progress through the early Gyms (i.e. you can pick a starter that has a type advantage against the first gym leader in no less than ''five'' generations' worth of games), while locals are stuck running around with Normal, Flying, and Bug-type ComMons.
* VirtualPaperDoll: From Gen VI onwards the player character becomes customizable with a wide array of clothes and hair styles. Typically the female player character has a larger selection available, but each successive generation has shortened this gap by giving the male more options to choose from.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:General Rival Tropes]]
* TheAce: They stay competitive with the player character who always becomes the best trainer in the region. They're at least equal to Elite Four Members, if not the Champion, in power by the end of the game.
* AnimeHair: In contrast to the player character's hat, they tend to have instantly recognizable hairstyles.
* CharacterDevelopment: They get it more than any other NPC. Usually their repeated losses to the player character make them reevaluate their motives or methods by the end of the game.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: According to the developers, due to technical limitations of older games, early rivals were written as jerks because dialogue was really the only thing that they could give them to stand out and the rest the player would fill in with their imagination. As graphics and character acting have gotten more detailed and expressive, rivals have gotten friendlier since having a fully rendered jerk might be off putting. Seen most directly in the evolution from Blue in the Gen I games to Trace in the ''Let's Go'' remakes: Oak states that Blue lost to Red because he used his Pokémon as tools and had forgotten to treat them with trust and love, but Trace lost to Chase/Elaine because his kind heart causes him to hold back in battle instead of going all out.
* ChildProdigy: They seem to be the only [=NPCs=] to level grind to keep up with the player character.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: In most cases, their CharacterDevelopment parallels the player's own journey and how they've grown through battling and interacting with them.
* ElementalRockPaperScissors: The rival will typically pick whichever starter holds an elemental advantage to what you picked.
* FireForgedFriends: If they don't start off as TrueCompanions to the player, they will be by the end of the game.
* FreeRangeChildren: Like the protagonist, they're young children going on adventures without adult supervision.
* FriendlyRival: From Generations III through VI, all rivals are pleasant fellows who are good friends with you, even if they sometimes overlap with VitriolicBestBuds. Generations VII and VIII have a mix of friendly rivals (Hau, Hop, Marnie) and not-so-friendly (Gladion, Bede, Klara, Avery).
%%* GoldfishPoopGang
* GuestStarPartyMember: If you get dragged into a two-on-two Multi Battle, chances are high they're gonna be the ones who have your back.
* HelloInsertNameHere: Although they have {{Canon Name}}s, a few of them can be named by the player.
* {{Leitmotif}}: Most get their own theme, as well as their own battle theme if standalone, often reflecting their personality.
* PrivilegedRival: Several rivals' parents or other relatives are superstars in the Pokémon World, researchers, mob bosses, Gym Leaders, Frontier Brains, Champions etc.
* RecurringBoss: They must be fought several times throughout the games' main story. Most games also offer a way to fight them repeatedly after the story is over.
* TheRival: To the protagonist.
* SignatureMon: Generally, their preferred Pokémon is their starter, and it's usually the one that's strong against the one you chose at the start of the game. There are a few Rivals whose starter is weak against yours however, like Bianca and Hau. Aside from the starters, some Rivals will also use a Pokémon from an elemental group that will vary depending on your choice of starter. These Pokémon can sometimes cover their own starter's weaknesses, and some Rivals even have a third Pokémon in this grouping to cover their bases type wise, allowing them to use all three types that the starters share.
** In ''Red and Blue'' and ''Fire Red and Leaf Green'', Blue will have Exeggutor, Arcanine, and Gyarados, statistically the strongest Pokémon of their types in Gen I, but he will use the corresponding starter in place of any of them. In ''Yellow'', he has an Eevee instead, which will evolve [[DynamicDifficulty depending on how many times you've defeated him]] early in the game.
** Aside from Blue, Calem/Serena and Hau also use Eeveelutions. Calem and Serena's Eeveelution cover their starter's weakness (such as having Jolteon to fight Water types that threaten their Delphox), while Hau's Eeveelution has an advantage against your starter. To avoid type overlap with his Alolan Raichu, he can have Leafeon rather than Jolteon.
** Cheren, Bianca, and Hugh all use the elemental monkeys. Cheren uses the one that matches your starter's type, covering his own starter's weakness, Bianca uses the one that is advantageous against your starter, while Hugh uses the one that's weak to your starter.
** The type of Gladion's signature Mon, Silvally, can be either Fire, Water or Grass and it will be in advantage over the protagonist's starter. In the ''Ultra'' games, his Champion Title Defense team will have a Kanto starter that matches the type of the starter you chose.
* StaticRoleExchangeableCharacter: Occasionally the Rival happens to be the character you don't choose as your player character.
* ToBeAMaster: Their main motive is to either become masters via the Pokémon League, complete the Pokédex, or just become stronger than the protagonist.
[[/folder]]
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* ChildProdigy: The oldest the protagonists get in the series is around 15 in ''Legends: Arceus''. They take to Pokémon training instantly and extremely well. Their skill with Pokémon is so great that they are able to defeat adults who have years of experience on them. Many [=NPCs=] point out their high affinity for bonding with Pokémon.
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* ChildProdigy: The oldest the protagonists get in the series is around 15 14 in ''Legends: Arceus''.''Black and White''. They take to Pokémon training instantly and extremely well. Their skill with Pokémon is so great that they are able to defeat adults who have years of experience on them. Many [=NPCs=] point out their high affinity for bonding with Pokémon.
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*** Rei cameos at the end of the Amazon exclusive Legends: Arceus special.
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*** Rei cameos at the end of the Amazon exclusive Legends: Arceus ''Legends: Arceus'' special.
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***Rei cameos at the end of the Amazon exclusive Legends: Arceus special.
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Hilbert and Hilda are actually 14
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* ChildProdigy: The oldest the protagonists get in the series is around 16 in ''Black and White''. They take to Pokémon training instantly and extremely well. Their skill with Pokémon is so great that they are able to defeat adults who have years of experience on them. Many [=NPCs=] point out their high affinity for bonding with Pokémon.
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* ChildProdigy: The oldest the protagonists get in the series is around 16 15 in ''Black and White''.''Legends: Arceus''. They take to Pokémon training instantly and extremely well. Their skill with Pokémon is so great that they are able to defeat adults who have years of experience on them. Many [=NPCs=] point out their high affinity for bonding with Pokémon.
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'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' '''Protagonists And Rivals''' ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHisui Hisui]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
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'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' '''Protagonists And Rivals''' ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHisui Hisui]]) Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
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[[Characters/PokemonFrontierBrainsAndOtherFacilityHeads Frontier Brains And Other Facility Heads]] | [[Characters/PokemonTrainerClasses Trainer Classes]] | [[Characters/PokemonOtherNonPlayableCharacters Other NPCs]] ([[Characters/PokemonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraReconSquad Ultra Recon Squad]] / [[Characters/PokemonMacroCosmos Macro Cosmos]])-]]]]]
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[[Characters/PokemonFrontierBrainsAndOtherFacilityHeads Frontier Brains And Other Facility Heads]] | [[Characters/PokemonTrainerClasses Trainer Classes]] | [[Characters/PokemonOtherNonPlayableCharacters Other NPCs]] ([[Characters/PokemonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraReconSquad Ultra Recon Squad]] / [[Characters/PokemonMacroCosmos Macro Cosmos]])-]]]]]
Cosmos]])\\
[[Characters/PokemonLegendsArceus Pokémon Legends: Arceus]]-]]]]]
[[Characters/PokemonLegendsArceus Pokémon Legends: Arceus]]-]]]]]
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'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' '''Protagonists And Rivals''' ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
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'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' '''Protagonists And Rivals''' ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) Galar]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHisui Hisui]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
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* [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHisui Hisui]]
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* StaticRoleExchangeableCharacter: Occasionally the Rival happens to be the character you don't choose as your player character.
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* AdaptedOut: While all of them have been major characters in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' and other manga adaptations, a large swath of them haven't made it to the main anime, in no small part due to the refusal to retire Ash.
** None of the Gold and Silver cast were able to take part in the anime adaptation of their own games' events. Ethan and Kris starred in a side story special under the names Jimmy and Marina, while Silver (under the name Kamon) got a cameo during the special's intro (Marina briefly showed up in an early ''Diamond and Pearl'' episode advertising the Pokétch); after Heart Gold and Soul Silver came out, Ethan got another cameo under the name ''Ethan'' during the Zoroark movie[[note]]Jimmy and Marina are, to date, the only male and female protagonists who have met each other[[/note]].
** Brendan has only had a few cameos in the introductions of movies, the last of which he shared with Lucas. Wally's gotten nothing.
** Green, Calem, and all the protagonists from the fifth and seventh generations have so far failed to appear. Rival Hugh is also absent. (Lillie has been given the AdaptationalBadass treatment, being an official Pokémon Trainer, effectively replacing Selene).
** None of the Gold and Silver cast were able to take part in the anime adaptation of their own games' events. Ethan and Kris starred in a side story special under the names Jimmy and Marina, while Silver (under the name Kamon) got a cameo during the special's intro (Marina briefly showed up in an early ''Diamond and Pearl'' episode advertising the Pokétch); after Heart Gold and Soul Silver came out, Ethan got another cameo under the name ''Ethan'' during the Zoroark movie[[note]]Jimmy and Marina are, to date, the only male and female protagonists who have met each other[[/note]].
** Brendan has only had a few cameos in the introductions of movies, the last of which he shared with Lucas. Wally's gotten nothing.
** Green, Calem, and all the protagonists from the fifth and seventh generations have so far failed to appear. Rival Hugh is also absent. (Lillie has been given the AdaptationalBadass treatment, being an official Pokémon Trainer, effectively replacing Selene).
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* AdaptedOut: AdaptedOut:
** While all of them have been major characters in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' and other manga adaptations,a large swath many of them haven't made it to (especially the main boys) have been passed over by the ''Pokemon'' anime, in no small part due to the refusal to retire Ash.
** *** None of the Gold and Silver Johto main cast were able to take took part in the events of ''Gold'' or ''Silver'' when the anime adaptation of their own games' events. adapted them, but Ethan and Kris starred co-starred in a side story special ''Anime/TheLegendOfThunder'' under the names Jimmy and Marina, while Silver (under the name Kamon) got a cameo during the special's intro (Marina briefly showed up in an early ''Diamond and Pearl'' episode advertising the Pokétch); after Heart Gold and Soul Silver came out, Ethan got another cameo under the name ''Ethan'' during the Zoroark movie[[note]]Jimmy Pokétch). Jimmy and Marina are, to date, the only male and female protagonists who have met each other[[/note]].
**other.
*** Brendanhas only had a few cameos got to be TheCameo in the introductions opening of movies, the ''Anime/PokemonJirachiWishmaker'', ''Anime/PokemonRangerAndTheTempleOfTheSea'', and ''Anime/PokemonGiratinaAndTheSkyWarrior'' (the last of which he shared with Lucas.also has Lucas' one and only cameo). Ethan got another cameo in his HGSS design under the name Ethan in ''Anime/PokemonZoroarkMasterOfIllusions''. Wally's gotten nothing.
** Green, *** Leaf/Green, Calem, and all the protagonists from the fifth and seventh generations have so far failed to appear. Rival Hugh is also absent. (Lillie has been given the AdaptationalBadass treatment, being an official Pokémon Trainer, effectively replacing Selene).
** While all of them have been major characters in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'' and other manga adaptations,
**
*** Brendan
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* SchrodingersPlayerCharacter: In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Crystal]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue [=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]]]'', ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' (plus their [[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra versions), and ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', the character you don't choose never shows up.
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* SchrodingersPlayerCharacter: In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Crystal]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue [=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]]]'', ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' (plus their [[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra versions), versions]]), and ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', the character you don't choose never shows up.
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* FriendToBugs: There is no shortage of insectoid Pokémon they can befriend. This trope can be taken to its logical conclusion with a [[SelfImposedChallenge Bug-type monotype team]].
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* SignatureMon: With a few exceptions, their preferred Pokémon is the starter that is strong against the one the player character chose. Aside from the starters, some rivals will also use a Pokémon from an elemental group depending on your choice of starter.
** In ''Red and Blue'', Blue can have Exeggutor, Arcanine and Gyarados, (statistically the strongest Pokémon of their types in Generation 1) but he will use the corresponding starter in one of them in the Generation I games. In ''Yellow'', Blue's Eeveelution depends on the number of times Red has defeated him at the early part of the game.
** Cheren uses the elemental monkey that shares the same type as the protagonist's starter, Bianca uses the one that's strong against it, and Hugh uses the one that's weak to it.
** Calem/Serena uses the Eeveelution that is in disadvantage against the protagonist's starter (although Jolteon is neutral against Fennekin and its line), while Hau uses the Eeveelution that has the advantage over it (unlike Blue and Calem/Serena, he can have a Leafeon rather than a Jolteon).
** The type of Gladion's signature Mon, Silvally, can be either Fire, Water or Grass and it will be in advantage over the protagonist's starter.
** In ''Red and Blue'', Blue can have Exeggutor, Arcanine and Gyarados, (statistically the strongest Pokémon of their types in Generation 1) but he will use the corresponding starter in one of them in the Generation I games. In ''Yellow'', Blue's Eeveelution depends on the number of times Red has defeated him at the early part of the game.
** Cheren uses the elemental monkey that shares the same type as the protagonist's starter, Bianca uses the one that's strong against it, and Hugh uses the one that's weak to it.
** Calem/Serena uses the Eeveelution that is in disadvantage against the protagonist's starter (although Jolteon is neutral against Fennekin and its line), while Hau uses the Eeveelution that has the advantage over it (unlike Blue and Calem/Serena, he can have a Leafeon rather than a Jolteon).
** The type of Gladion's signature Mon, Silvally, can be either Fire, Water or Grass and it will be in advantage over the protagonist's starter.
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* SignatureMon: With a few exceptions, Generally, their preferred Pokémon is their starter, and it's usually the starter that is one that's strong against the one you chose at the player character chose. start of the game. There are a few Rivals whose starter is weak against yours however, like Bianca and Hau. Aside from the starters, some rivals Rivals will also use a Pokémon from an elemental group that will vary depending on your choice of starter.
starter. These Pokémon can sometimes cover their own starter's weaknesses, and some Rivals even have a third Pokémon in this grouping to cover their bases type wise, allowing them to use all three types that the starters share.
** In ''Red andBlue'', Blue'' and ''Fire Red and Leaf Green'', Blue can will have Exeggutor, Arcanine Arcanine, and Gyarados, (statistically statistically the strongest Pokémon of their types in Generation 1) Gen I, but he will use the corresponding starter in one place of them in the Generation I games. any of them. In ''Yellow'', Blue's he has an Eevee instead, which will evolve [[DynamicDifficulty depending on how many times you've defeated him]] early in the game.
** Aside from Blue, Calem/Serena and Hau also use Eeveelutions. Calem and Serena's Eeveelutiondepends on cover their starter's weakness (such as having Jolteon to fight Water types that threaten their Delphox), while Hau's Eeveelution has an advantage against your starter. To avoid type overlap with his Alolan Raichu, he can have Leafeon rather than Jolteon.
** Cheren, Bianca, and Hugh all use thenumber of times Red has defeated him at the early part of the game.
**elemental monkeys. Cheren uses the elemental monkey one that shares the same type as the protagonist's starter, matches your starter's type, covering his own starter's weakness, Bianca uses the one that's strong that is advantageous against it, and your starter, while Hugh uses the one that's weak to it.
** Calem/Serena uses the Eeveelution that is in disadvantage against the protagonist's starter (although Jolteon is neutral against Fennekin and its line), while Hau uses the Eeveelution that has the advantage over it (unlike Blue and Calem/Serena, he can have a Leafeon rather than a Jolteon).
your starter.
** The type of Gladion's signature Mon, Silvally, can be either Fire, Water or Grass and it will be in advantage over the protagonist's starter. In the ''Ultra'' games, his Champion Title Defense team will have a Kanto starter that matches the type of the starter you chose.
** In ''Red and
** Aside from Blue, Calem/Serena and Hau also use Eeveelutions. Calem and Serena's Eeveelution
** Cheren, Bianca, and Hugh all use the
**
** Calem/Serena uses the Eeveelution that is in disadvantage against the protagonist's starter (although Jolteon is neutral against Fennekin and its line), while Hau uses the Eeveelution that has the advantage over it (unlike Blue and Calem/Serena, he can have a Leafeon rather than a Jolteon).
** The type of Gladion's signature Mon, Silvally, can be either Fire, Water or Grass and it will be in advantage over the protagonist's starter. In the ''Ultra'' games, his Champion Title Defense team will have a Kanto starter that matches the type of the starter you chose.
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* FriendToAllLivingThings: They can befriend ''any'' Pokémon, from [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] to even the human-hating Mewtwo.
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* FriendToAllLivingThings: They can befriend ''any'' Pokémon, from [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] {{Eldritch Abomination}}s to even the human-hating Mewtwo.
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* FriendToAllLivingThings: They can befriend ''any'' Pokémon, from [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] to even the human-hating Mewtwo.
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* DisappearedDad: The player character generally only has a mother as a regular figure at home; their dad (with the notable exception of ''Ruby'', ''Sapphire'', and their various remakes) is absent, usually without explanation. That said, the characters can be generally assumed to at least ''have'' dads.
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* DisappearedDad: The player character generally only has a mother as a regular figure at home; their dad (with the notable exception of ''Ruby'', ''Sapphire'', and their various remakes) is absent, usually without explanation. That said, the characters can be generally assumed to at least ''have'' dads. dads, [[TheGhost even if they don't show up onscreen]], with only the protagonists of Gen II and ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite2'' not mentioning the presence of a father at all:
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* MinidressOfPower: Green, Dawn, Serena, and Gloria all wear minidresses as part of their default outfits. Selene can also wear them via customization options.
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* MinidressOfPower: Green, Dawn, Serena, and Gloria all wear minidresses as part of their default outfits.outfits, and they can become the most powerful Trainers in their respective regions. Selene can also wear them via customization options.
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* SchrodingersPlayerCharacter: In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Crystal]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue [=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]]]'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' the character you don't choose never shows up.
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* SchrodingersPlayerCharacter: In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Crystal]]'', ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue [=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]]]'' and [=LeafGreen=]]]'', ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' (plus their [[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra versions), and ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', the character you don't choose never shows up.
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* CharacterizationMarchesOn: WordOfGod is that due to technical limitations of older games, early rivals were written as jerks because dialogue was really the only thing that they could give them to stand out and the rest the player would fill in with their imagination. As graphics and character acting have gotten more detailed and expressive, rivals have gotten friendlier since having a fully rendered jerk might be off putting. Seen most directly in the evolution from Blue to Trace in the ''Let's Go'' remakes: Oak states that Blue lost to Red because he used his Pokémon as tools and had forgotten to treat them with trust and love, but Trace lost to Chase/Elaine because his kind heart causes him to hold back in battle instead of going all out.
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* CharacterizationMarchesOn: WordOfGod is that According to the developers, due to technical limitations of older games, early rivals were written as jerks because dialogue was really the only thing that they could give them to stand out and the rest the player would fill in with their imagination. As graphics and character acting have gotten more detailed and expressive, rivals have gotten friendlier since having a fully rendered jerk might be off putting. Seen most directly in the evolution from Blue in the Gen I games to Trace in the ''Let's Go'' remakes: Oak states that Blue lost to Red because he used his Pokémon as tools and had forgotten to treat them with trust and love, but Trace lost to Chase/Elaine because his kind heart causes him to hold back in battle instead of going all out.
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* FreeRangeChildren: The same as the protagonist.
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* FreeRangeChildren: The same as Like the protagonist.protagonist, they're young children going on adventures without adult supervision.
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* PrivilegedRival: Several rivals' parents are superstars in the Pokémon World, researchers, mob bosses, Gym Leaders, Frontier Brains, etc.
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* PrivilegedRival: Several rivals' parents or other relatives are superstars in the Pokémon World, researchers, mob bosses, Gym Leaders, Frontier Brains, Champions etc.
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* ToBeAMaster: Their main motive is to either become masters via the Pokémon League, complete the Pokédex or just become stronger than the protagonist.
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* ToBeAMaster: Their main motive is to either become masters via the Pokémon League, complete the Pokédex Pokédex, or just become stronger than the protagonist.
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* DragonTamer: If they train Dragon-types, they become one by default.
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Updated navigational template.
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[-'''Pokémon Family Species:''' [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIFamilies Gen I]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIBulbasaurToParasect Bulbasaur to Parasect]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVenonatToCloyster Venonat to Cloyster]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIGastlyToMiltank Gastly to Miltank]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIMagikarpToMew Magikarp to Mew]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIFamilies Gen II]] | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIFamilies Gen III]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIITreeckoToSharpedo Treecko to Sharpedo]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIWailmerToDeoxys Wailmer to Deoxys]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVFamilies Gen IV]] | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVFamilies Gen V]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVVictiniToZoroark Victini to Zoroark]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVMinccinoToGenesect Minccino to Genesect]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIFamilies Gen VI]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIChespinToHawlucha Chespin to Hawlucha]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIDedenneToVolcanion Dedenne to Volcanion]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIFamilies Gen VII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIRowletToComfey Rowlet to Comfey]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIOranguruToMelmetal Oranguru to Melmetal]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraBeasts Ultra Beasts]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIFamilies Gen VIII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIGrookeyToHatterene Grookey to Hatterene]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIImpidimpToCalyrex Impidimp to Calyrex]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGlitches Glitches]]\\
'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' '''Protagonists and Rivals''' ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' '''Protagonists and Rivals''' ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
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[-'''Pokémon Family Species:''' [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIFamilies Gen I]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIBulbasaurToParasect Bulbasaur to Parasect]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVenonatToCloyster Venonat to Cloyster]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIGastlyToMiltank Gastly to Miltank]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIMagikarpToMew Magikarp to Mew]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIFamilies Gen II]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIChikoritaToGranbull Chikorita to Granbull]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIQwilfishToCelebi Qwilfish to Celebi]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIFamilies Gen III]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIITreeckoToSharpedo Treecko to Sharpedo]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIWailmerToDeoxys Wailmer to Deoxys]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVFamilies Gen IV]] | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVFamilies Gen V]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVVictiniToZoroark Victini to Zoroark]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVMinccinoToGenesect Minccino to Genesect]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIFamilies Gen VI]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIChespinToHawlucha Chespin to Hawlucha]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIDedenneToVolcanion Dedenne to Volcanion]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIFamilies Gen VII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIRowletToComfey Rowlet to Comfey]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIOranguruToMelmetal Oranguru to Melmetal]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraBeasts Ultra Beasts]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIFamilies Gen VIII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIGrookeyToHatterene Grookey to Hatterene]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIImpidimpToCalyrex Impidimp to Calyrex]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGlitches Glitches]]\\
'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' '''Protagonistsand And Rivals''' ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' '''Protagonists
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Deleted line(s) 106 (click to see context) :
** Well, in the cases of Blue, Silver, Brendan/May, Barry, Cheren, Hugh, and Calem/Serena at least. Averted with Bianca, Shauna, Hau, and Hop as they all have the starter weak to yours and also with Wally, Trevor, Tierno, Gladion, Bede, and Marnie as they do not have traditional starter Pokémon.
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**Well, in the cases of Blue, Silver, Brendan/May, Barry, Cheren, Hugh, and Calem/Serena at least. Averted with Bianca, Shauna, Hau, and Hop as they all have the starter weak to yours and also with Wally, Trevor, Tierno, Gladion, Bede, and Marnie as they do not have traditional starter Pokémon.
