The definition of a rival is "a person or thing competing with another for the same objective or for superiority in the same field of activity", not "a person or thing competing with another for the same objective or superiority in the same field of activity who acts like a jerk and goes out of their way to insult others". Therefore, a rival does not have to be a bully to be a "real rival".
According to this definition, Blue, Silver, May/Brendan, Wally, Barry, Cheren and Calem/Serena are all rivals. All of them battle the player just to prove they are stronger and strive to become better than them. Some of them are obnoxious and some of them act friendlier, but all of them compete with you.
Bianca, Hugh, Shauna, Trevor and Tierno are all friends. They follow the player around and battle them not to compete but because they just want you. It's a friendly match with nothing at stake, and that's why I don't like any of them as much as I like the real rivals.
I'm not too big of a fan of the jerky rivals myself, but these friends are rather frustrating. Hugh especially, because you'll have the deal with him the entire game. There's no rivalry between you and Hugh, and you hardly battle him. I believe there are only four encounters with him that include you two battling! Weeeeeeak.
About the X and Y rivals... Eh, they're okay. I find it pretty obnoxious how they just tag along everywhere and randomly start battles with you. They're all cruddy at battling, including Calem/Serena who I despise the most. I'll talk about them later though. Shauna is actually the most useful. I'm surprised I'm saying this but... I kind of like her! I actually expected to hate her the most out of the four rivals, since she's just so girly and everything. I like her optimistic personality and how she's actually helpful. So what if she wears pink and bows? Girls wear pink and bows. Not all girls do, but some do. Trevor's... okay. He doesn't show up much. Neither does Tierno. They don't get enough screen time. I also hate how in the end they get credit when they literally did nothing.
Calem/Serena are my least favorite because they irritate me a lot. They're basically May/Brendan all over again. Except Calem/Serena are determined to beat you even if they suck at battling. They force you to battle them in front of almost every freakin' gym in the region, they always want you want, they think they're fantastic Trainers when they're not, they're terrible friends that don't stick to your side, they think they're the hero and the game won't let you forget that they exist. Most of the screen time they get should be for developing for Trevor and Tierno, but nope. And the toy piano theme that plays when they get all emotional is just NO. I don't CARE about them! I don't CARE AT ALL. I want more Tierno and Trevor and I want it now.
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Current Pokémon X Team:
Mortimer the Chesnaught: Lv. 65, Quirky, Knows Spiky Shell, Low Sweep, Strength and Seed Bomb, Holding a Miracle Seed.
Ace the Flametalon: Lv. 66, Gentle, Knows Flame Charge, Steel Wing, Brave Bird and Fly, Holding a Flame Plate.
Craig the Blastoise: Lv. 64, ---, Knows Bite, Skull Bash, Hydro Pump and Surf, Holding a Blastionite.
Sylvia the Meowstic: Lv. 65, Naughty, Knows Cut, Psychic, Signal Beam and Shadow Ball, Holding a Mind Plate.
Opal the Aegislash: Lv. 64, ---, Knows Shadow Sneak, Night Slash, Sacred Sword and Iron Head, Holding a Quick Claw.
Eric the Heloptile: Lv. 66, ---, Knows Parabolic Charge, Thunderbolt, Dig and Razor Wind, Holding a Soft Sand.
*At this point I've just finished defeating Team Flare once and for all and have caught Xerneas. Moving towards the eight gym now.*