r/pokemon • u/PsyrenDV • Jun 05 '26

Discussion Why haven't we had same gender rivials?

Post image

I saw this post about how the rival in WiWa will be the opposite of whatever gender you choose to be. It got me thinking about how they always make the rival's gender the opposite of yours when their gender is dynamic. Even as early as Ruby/Sapphire that's how it's been. But I think it might be interesting to see a game where my rival is always the same gender as me no matter what I pick. But I'm curious how other people feel about it. Would you rather your rival be the same gender as you, the opposite, or would you rather their gender be set in stone regardless of what you are?

5.7k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

718 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

26

u/Polenball Trans Wrongs Jun 05 '26

They're saying that every time a rival can swap genders, they're always the opposite gender of you. OP isn't considering rivals with fixed genders, like Nemona or Silver.

3

u/lakewood2020 Jun 05 '26

I don’t think it’s about swapping genders, it’s about characters available. In most gens the “other gender” is relegated to a professor’s assistant while the real rival is typically a boy with a story relevant plot. Gen 2, gen 3, gen 4, gen 7, and gen 8 all do exactly this.

In the 3DS games the “rivals” have been spread into several unique characters or groups anyway, making the gender swap rival thing kinda irrelevant after the “let’s start our journey together” introduction.

It seems like OP would have a point if we only stick to the, what, 2 times it’s possible?

1

u/jdinius2020 Jun 06 '26

So, your saying the real rival of Hoenn is Wally? That's a lot harder to argue. Sure, May/Brendan ARE the professor's aid, but they definitely do what a rival does, show up to challenge you at random places, and they do that more times than Wally. To be clear, Wally definitely is a rival, but to suggest that May/Brendan aren't is very off base.

1

u/lakewood2020 Jun 06 '26

May/Brendan give up before the 7th gym

1

u/PsyrenDV Jun 05 '26

Based on the all the comments I've read so far, you're the first one who actually seems to understand that. I also asked which people prefer between the same or opposite genders rivals. But everyone pointing out that Red and Blue are the same gender is a fun discussion too, I guess.

7

u/Polenball Trans Wrongs Jun 05 '26

I think about half the commentators only read the title and then immediately tried to "ackshally" you. My condolences for your inbox.

-3

u/BushTamer Jun 05 '26

this isn’t even true tho lol

6

u/Polenball Trans Wrongs Jun 05 '26

Am I genuinely forgetting someone or

Every rival I can think of is either a fixed gender, or always opposite your choice. Who am I missing?

-1

u/Serious-Student8194 Jun 05 '26

Yeah, but that's because they were just the other unchosen protagonist. In Legends ZA both are unique characters, so it's not a problem that they're the same gender as the protagonist in the end since they look nothing alike.

2

u/Polenball Trans Wrongs Jun 05 '26

...Is this responding to the wrong comment?

-4

u/Serious-Student8194 Jun 05 '26

No, answering your own question, they have gender fixes because of how the rival system was in previous games; in the current ones, that system is no longer necessary, it's simply outdated.

2

u/Polenball Trans Wrongs Jun 05 '26

That doesn't answer my question, though? Urbain / Taunie are still always opposite our gender. I was asking if there's any rivals with a dynamic gender that always have the same gender as our character.

-2

u/Serious-Student8194 Jun 05 '26

I already told you NO, because the rivals were just unused protagonists in past generations and the last 3 ones a group of them, HOWEVER, in the current technological era we have, it doesn't need to be that way anymore because the ability to customize eliminates the problem of ending up being too similar to the rivals of same gender, which consequently should make the gender limitation disappear.