Seems you made it all the way here, koff~
Hey! I was looking forward to seeing you, <player>! My rival should be strong to keep me sharp! While working on my Pokédex, I looked all over for powerful Pokémon! Not only that, I assembled teams that would beat any Pokémon type! And now! I am the Pokémon League Champion! <Player>! Do you know what that means? I'll tell you! I am the most powerful trainer in the world!
I nearly broke my teeth trying to beat this bastard. To this day, I have not actually beaten Pokemon Blue Version (I did beat him in Red 4 years after the game came out and I beat him in Yellow). I probably won't try again out of respect for the magnificence and effort they put into making a character you just want to whoop on but couldn't, because he's just that good.
Now, years later, I'm pretty confident I'd be able to win, but that doesn't mean I don't feel intimidated by the aspect of it. He went through all the gyms, and all the elite four before you. That means he's better than you. Faster than you. And let's be honest, without the use of the bag, and without leveling up all your Pokemon an ungodly amount, he'd slice off a piece of your rump, char-broil it and hand feed it too you just because he can. Granted, I haven't played in years, but the theme music for the Champion, be it Gary, Blue, Green, Dork, Asshat or Paco, still gives me a little adrenaline rush. No other Champion has pushed me so far to the edge of never playing the game again. Not Lance, not Red, not anyone. Professor Oak's Grandson is the strongest trainer in all respects.
The Rival in the first games was just that, a rival. And his only motivation, his only goal is to be the best, the strongest, the brightest star. And he succeeds. No other rival has yet reached his caliber of sheer determination. He's also too busy succeeding that the battles with you seem like an after thought. I was always skating by the skin of my teeth after losing several times and losing most of my cash. Well done, Oak. Well done. But what I'm really trying to say here is Yo! Smell ya later!, koffi~