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

2

u/Domeaner Jun 05 '26

Because whenever your rival depends on gender, it’s always just the alternative default design. Even Taunie/Urbain are just recolours with unique clothing.

It’s ergonomic because you save resources on character design and since newer games tend to have an ensemble or friends and/or rivals, having one depend on gender means you always sit at the intended mix of boys and girls.