Pokémon Hop - Good rival or the worst?

[idiotdoomspiral]

hes not great but hes better than the ones in gen 6 or hau from gen 7. i wish they expanded on his character a bit because he seemed insecure from losing all the time but the game was rushed and no one gets a personality

 

[Breath Mint]

He seems like a Hau clone to me, they literally have the same exact personality. I like Sonia and Marnie more. I wish Sonia was the rival instead.

 

[Tao]

He's kind of just there. He can't be the worst, that's just impossible since that irritating guy from Sun/Moon exists.

The rival trainers haven't been particularly stand out to me in a while. They've just gotten more and more happy, inoffensive and generally just boring. At this point, I wouldn't mind if they just broke tradition and scrapped having a rival, or at least a rival this way. They do feel like they're there because they have to be there, they have to be your 'rival' but they're not allowed to actually do anything a rival would do...Yano, like be competitive and maybe upset that you beat them. "Yay, you beat me! Yaaaaayyyy!"

Maybe something as minor as having the professor be your """rival""" instead, travelling for their own reasons and acting more as a mentor.

Maybe something more drastic. I dunno, like have the "evil team" have some Pokemon based on your starter instead? Have the first gym based on your starter instead and have them also be in the elite 4? Just something fresh.



I don't think I'm going to like a rival again until they stop being so family friendly, innocent and repetitive. I usually don't point towards gen 1 and 2 as good examples since I feel the series has only gotten better in near every aspect since those games, but """Gary""" was an arrogant arsehole who constantly mocked me and """Silver""" was a literal criminal who stole his starter. I've not played those games in over a decade but I remember them both, yet I don't remember any other rival since, I dunno, probably since Platinum.

 

[Corrie]

He's kind of just there. He can't be the worst, that's just impossible since that irritating guy from Sun/Moon exists.

The rival trainers haven't been particularly stand out to me in a while. They've just gotten more and more happy, inoffensive and generally just boring. At this point, I wouldn't mind if they just broke tradition and scrapped having a rival, or at least a rival this way. They do feel like they're there because they have to be there, they have to be your 'rival' but they're not allowed to actually do anything a rival would do...Yano, like be competitive and maybe upset that you beat them. "Yay, you beat me! Yaaaaayyyy!"

Maybe something as minor as having the professor be your """rival""" instead, travelling for their own reasons and acting more as a mentor.

Maybe something more drastic. I dunno, like have the "evil team" have some Pokemon based on your starter instead? Have the first gym based on your starter instead and have them also be in the elite 4? Just something fresh.



I don't think I'm going to like a rival again until they stop being so family friendly, innocent and repetitive. I usually don't point towards gen 1 and 2 as good examples since I feel the series has only gotten better in near every aspect since those games, but """Gary""" was an arrogant arsehole who constantly mocked me and """Silver""" was a literal criminal who stole his starter. I've not played those games in over a decade but I remember them both, yet I don't remember any other rival since, I dunno, probably since Platinum.

I agree with you! The rivals don't even feel like rivals anymore. They're too easy and just happy. Nothing else. Not that we need a Gary clone but my god, could we have SOME sort of actual rivalry? Not to mention, they're boring because they're nothing but "I'm happy because you're such a great trainer for beating me! Yay you!" They don't have any other character trait besides being your personal cheerleader. It just gets weird and creepy to me. Give them some substance!

 

[Midoriya]

Some of what you guys have said in the last two or so pages is exactly why I really enjoyed having Barry as a rival when I started playing Pokemon with Pokemon Diamond so many years ago. He says goofy things sometimes that you can laugh at, but he’s also serious about beating you and also becoming an even better trainer than his father. It doesn’t feel like he’s handing you out freebies all the time and being your cheerleader (like Hau), or that he’s insecure but it isn’t fleshed out enough (like Hop). Heck, he’s not even consumed by his rage and trying to be a tryhard like Hugh from Pokemon B2/W2. No. He actually genuinely wants to test out how strong he’s gotten against you and try and beat you, and when he doesn’t win he doesn’t take it super personally. He’s also actually invested in fighting the villainous group moreso than some of the other rivals in the series.

I just thought his personality and himself as a rival is a happy balance between being overly rude and annoying and overly nice and a pushover. If nothing else, him and some of the rivals before him are good models to go off of for future rivals in the series.

 

[Corrie]

Some of what you guys have said in the last two or so pages is exactly why I really enjoyed having Barry as a rival when I started playing Pokemon with Pokemon Diamond so many years ago. He says goofy things sometimes that you can laugh at, but he’s also serious about beating you and also becoming an even better trainer than his father. It doesn’t feel like he’s handing you out freebies all the time and being your cheerleader (like Hau), or that he’s insecure but it isn’t fleshed out enough (like Hop). Heck, he’s not even consumed by his rage and trying to be a tryhard like Hugh from Pokemon B2/W2. No. He actually genuinely wants to test out how strong he’s gotten against you and try and beat you, and when he doesn’t win he doesn’t take it super personally. He’s also actually invested in fighting the villainous group moreso than some of the other rivals in the series.

I just thought his personality and himself as a rival is a happy balance between being overly rude and annoying and overly nice and a pushover. If nothing else, him and some of the rivals before him are good models to go off of for future rivals in the series.

AMEN. I really liked Barry as well because of the reasons you listed. THUMP.

 

[pumpkinpuppy]

I think Cheren and Bianca fall firmly into the place of worst rivals, but I absolutely cannot stand Hop. Maybe it's because his plotline was so predictable but every time he showed up I just wanted him to shut up and let me get on with the game. I thought Bedecwas better in terms of being a rival, and even Marnie. The right balance of being there and not, whereas Hop just wouldn't go away.

 

[Zane]

finished the game, final evaluation: hop is ok I guess, I kinda like him. nothing special about him but he’s not detestably bland or anything, imo. I liked marnie and bede more though, especially bede.

- - - Post Merge - - -

finished the game, final evaluation: hop is ok I guess, I kinda like him. nothing special about him but he?s not detestably bland or anything, imo. I liked marnie and bede more though, especially bede.

- - - Post Merge - - -

i’m not fixing it go to heck TBT

 

[Shadow Star]

Found him a bit annoying in the beginning. Felt like I couldn't really walk 2 steps without bumping into him and getting another cutscene.
But as the game progressed, I slowed myself down and spent a majority of time in the wild area. So then encounters with Hop didn't feel so... quick? Like, they didn't feel like they occurred as often. Wish they could have expanded a bit more on his arc with his insecurities. Maybe have the player or someone else give him a pep talk... Looking at you, Leon.
He's not really bad. I found him quite sweet by the end of it and I couldn't resist taking pics of us on the train towards Route 10. I have annoyances with the game, but Hop certainly isn't one of them anymore. Much prefer him over Bede any day of the week.
Still, he's no Barry. Barry will forever be my favourite. But I might just be a tiny bit biased.... just a smidge.

 

[mirrormirror]

I think Hop is great! He's not annoyingly mean for no reason and he clearly has a reason for his feelings and actions. I like the way he seems to lose his way after a firm defeat, but manages to find himself again. The way he looks up to his brother Leon is cute and I like how he learned not to keep comparing himself to the former champ.

All in all, I love Hop and he is definitely top 5 in my fave rivals list!

 

[grooviestbaby]

Hop is precious!! I think he's a very good addition to the Pokemon universe. I really enjoy him as a rival because he's adorable and encouraging in a positive way, which is appreciated, y'know? Idk, I'm fond of him :')

 

[dizzy bone]

Well, I honestly thought all the characters were quite one-dimensional in terms of story, Hop's character included. I initially thought Hop was kind of annoying, mainly because he wouldn't stop talking about surpassing his brother and I found that boring. He was also overly enthusiastic which made me feel really bad for kicking his butt all the time in battles, although I thought it was cute that he stuck with wooloo/dubwool the whole ride. But nearer to the end I began to really like Hop. I still felt bad for him but like others said, he wasn't unnecessarily mean and I did think he was a real sweetie. I had a lot of "aww" moments. The thing is, his realisation at the end that he wanted to go into pokemon research or whatever, made me think that his new goal was more like my own goal in the game (like catching all the pokemon and learning about them.. if I was actually a part of the pokemon world hah). I just wanted to beat the championship because we had to for completing the story, but I didn't feel as strongly about it as Hop did. I thought that Marnie or Bede were a better "rivals" actually. Anyways, I always tried to pick the most encouraging text response to make Hop feel better hehe.

I don't have many other rivals to compare him to though, since I only played Pokemon games from the first until Pearl and that was ages ago so I don't remember much.