5th Gen Bianca vs Cheren vs Hugh

[Ho-Oh]

Which of your childhood friends in the Unova region was a better friend to your protagonist (disregarding the two years difference - this is in general)? Who really proved their worth to you? Which do you personally prefer?

And bonus question: if you could have sent one to another region instead (so that you'll never have met them) - Who would it be?

 

[Flower]

My favourite's Cheren, I loved his character and how he was kinda like that one cool guy that isn't bothered by much. His personality reminds me of Kyoya from OHSHC (looks like him, too) or Sasuke from Naruto, funnily enough. Just that cool guy that's kind of a meanie, but he has a good side to him.

I don't know who I'd send away, though. Personally I feel Bianca isn't really a Unova-like trainer, rather she's more fit for Johto or Sinnoh, but that's just me and I liked her a lot so I wouldn't really send her away. I liked Hugh too and his over-energetic personality, haha. x'D

 

[Lapis]

Probably Bianca. I just loved her personality and her trying different things throughout her journey. She is a very developer character and even though she realizes she isn't meant to be a battler, she tries to find something she is good at. It warms my heart that she eventually becomes Juniper's assistant.

 

[Aurora]

I found Bianca the best of the three. Hugh was a complete pain to deal with while I found Cheren a bit self-absorbed.

If I could pick one to send to another region, I'd pick Hugh. He's just a really bad version of Barry and his ridiculously overbearing personality reminds me too much of the annoying kid I used to sit next to in Year 7 Maths class.

 

[Desert Stream~]

Hugh is the best IMO. Cheren and Bianca (Not so much Cheren) are more of the "Friendly Rival" type which I tend not to like. Hugh kinda is too but I feel he is more actively trying to beat you. Also like how he has a backstory.

 

[Lunar]

Cheren's a cool guy but I'm afraid I'd have to send him away, he can get on my nerves sometimes. Bianca is my personal favourite, I love her character and her clumsy nature. I think she might actually be my favourite protagonist friend from the whole franchise, I felt Dawn and Lyra were a bit boring and the ones from X and Y, well let's not go there...

 

[Mis]

Bianca's the best one. I like her the most. :) (Do I have to answer every last question???)

 

[Itcheeee]

I got to like Bianca best, and Cheren second. Never a huge fan for Hugh though XD

 

[Gigadweeb]

Hugh and Bianca are a bit too passive for me, they're both kind of just there. Cheren offers you a great challenge and has a more memorable personality that isn't overbearing, eg. compared to Shauna, who's a pain in the ass.

 

[Ho-Oh]

It's true about Hugh. The reason the Purrloin story doesn't really work is because you feel no personal attachment to it. It's just a random Purrloin to you. That's what the game was lacking with Hugh, without seeing it happen you can't really believe that it's that significant. I think a way to make Hugh better would have been to introduce Purrloin at the start with Hugh and his sister. See them bonding etc, by the time you get to face Cheren you find out the Purrloin was stolen (it can still happen and evolve through the course of the game). You then feel personal motivation - you want Hugh to find the Purrloin. Then, if they forced Hugh to battle it during the game and he didn't know - now that would have made Hugh less irritating and more Pokehuman.

 

[Rivvon]

It's true about Hugh. The reason the Purrloin story doesn't really work is because you feel no personal attachment to it. It's just a random Purrloin to you. That's what the game was lacking with Hugh, without seeing it happen you can't really believe that it's that significant. I think a way to make Hugh better would have been to introduce Purrloin at the start with Hugh and his sister. See them bonding etc, by the time you get to face Cheren you find out the Purrloin was stolen (it can still happen and evolve through the course of the game). You then feel personal motivation - you want Hugh to find the Purrloin. Then, if they forced Hugh to battle it during the game and he didn't know - now that would have made Hugh less irritating and more Pokehuman.

But consider the following: what if the lack of attachment to Hugh's sister's Purrloin is intentional? Compared to BW, which involved two "chosen" characters brought together by "destiny" to battle with the legendary Dragons, B2W2 had more of a focus on neutrality.

As the protagonist (and in order to get the game going), you can't say "no" to Hugh's request. And if you did, wouldn't that feel kind of wrong? He's your friend and his poor sister's Purrloin has been stolen. It's nice to help out--that's the right thing to do... right?

As the game goes on you meet various Gym Leaders who are more than capable of dealing with Team Plasma--most of them have done this once before, after all. But you've already started your quest, so you may as well follow through with it.

But then you meet with Marlon. Marlon, unlike the other Gym Leaders, wants nothing to do with Team Plasma. Maybe that seems really inconsiderate to you--and that's fine! But just take in what he says:

"Listen, 'K. Believe in somethin'! Searchin' for stolen Pokémon is fine! Keepin' Unova from bein' iced over's fine too! It's all good. But think 'bout why you're doin' that. The strength of your beliefs is what gives you and your Pokémon power!"

Marlon doesn't get involved with Team Plasma because "It's not [his] style to go around decidin' Team Plasma's bad without thinkin' 'bout it just 'cause everyone says so!" Team Plasma hasn't bothered him, so why should he get involved?

Isn't that the same scenario for you?

You don't even know Hugh's sister's name! And you're getting all wrapped up with this evil gang who wants to ice over the region for her and her Purrloin? Maybe you do it out of a sense of righteousness, that helping others is naturally the right thing to do--and that's fine! But think about why you're doing that!

Whereas BW made you question the morality of keeping Pokémon confined in Poké Balls for the sole purpose of having them do battle with each other, while also encouraging you to try and see eye-to-eye with people whose opinion differ from yours, B2W2 made you question the things you do. In B2W2, you're a neutral party. Team Plasma is on one side and the Gym Leaders (and Hugh, who wants to retrieve his sister's Purrloin) are on the other, fighting over the safety of Unova. But why are you there? Do you even really need to be involved?



So ultimately I can't bring myself to dislike Hugh. I didn't find him annoying, I thought he was energetic and fun (and, to be honest, I didn't find gen 4's Barry annoying, either), and it was nice to see him help the old Team Plasma at the end of the game take care of lost and abandoned Pokémon (since that's obviously a matter important to him after what happened with his sister). Hugh essentially act's as the story's catalyst, and it's a story I enjoy because I love the juxtaposition of B2W2 being more focused on neutrality whereas BW centered around a plot based on "destiny," with both featuring many binaries.

I'd say Cheren is my favorite, though, because I love his development throughout BW and I was so happy to see him return as a Gym Leader in B2W2! All the extra time you get to spend with him really adds to his character and it makes me very happy!

But I like Bianca, too. She may be my least favorite because she isn't as involved in B2W2, but she still had superb growth throughout BW and it was nice to see her again trying out being Juniper's assistant.

And Unova accepts all sorts of different people, so I'd never send any of them away!

 

[Ho-Oh]

But consider the following: what if the lack of attachment to Hugh's sister's Purrloin is intentional? Compared to BW, which involved two "chosen" characters brought together by "destiny" to battle with the legendary Dragons, B2W2 had more of a focus on neutrality.

As the protagonist (and in order to get the game going), you can't say "no" to Hugh's request. And if you did, wouldn't that feel kind of wrong? He's your friend and his poor sister's Purrloin has been stolen. It's nice to help out--that's the right thing to do... right?

As the game goes on you meet various Gym Leaders who are more than capable of dealing with Team Plasma--most of them have done this once before, after all. But you've already started your quest, so you may as well follow through with it.

But then you meet with Marlon. Marlon, unlike the other Gym Leaders, wants nothing to do with Team Plasma. Maybe that seems really inconsiderate to you--and that's fine! But just take in what he says:



Marlon doesn't get involved with Team Plasma because "It's not [his] style to go around decidin' Team Plasma's bad without thinkin' 'bout it just 'cause everyone says so!" Team Plasma hasn't bothered him, so why should he get involved?

Isn't that the same scenario for you?

You don't even know Hugh's sister's name! And you're getting all wrapped up with this evil gang who wants to ice over the region for her and her Purrloin? Maybe you do it out of a sense of righteousness, that helping others is naturally the right thing to do--and that's fine! But think about why you're doing that!

Whereas BW made you question the morality of keeping Pokémon confined in Poké Balls for the sole purpose of having them do battle with each other, while also encouraging you to try and see eye-to-eye with people whose opinion differ from yours, B2W2 made you question the things you do. In B2W2, you're a neutral party. Team Plasma is on one side and the Gym Leaders (and Hugh, who wants to retrieve his sister's Purrloin) are on the other, fighting over the safety of Unova. But why are you there? Do you even really need to be involved?



So ultimately I can't bring myself to dislike Hugh. I didn't find him annoying, I thought he was energetic and fun (and, to be honest, I didn't find gen 4's Barry annoying, either), and it was nice to see him help the old Team Plasma at the end of the game take care of lost and abandoned Pokémon (since that's obviously a matter important to him after what happened with his sister). Hugh essentially act's as the story's catalyst, and it's a story I enjoy because I love the juxtaposition of B2W2 being more focused on neutrality whereas BW centered around a plot based on "destiny," with both featuring many binaries.

I'd say Cheren is my favorite, though, because I love his development throughout BW and I was so happy to see him return as a Gym Leader in B2W2! All the extra time you get to spend with him really adds to his character and it makes me very happy!

But I like Bianca, too. She may be my least favorite because she isn't as involved in B2W2, but she still had superb growth throughout BW and it was nice to see her again trying out being Juniper's assistant.

And Unova accepts all sorts of different people, so I'd never send any of them away!

I get your points but you're not really a neutral party. Your in game character knew Hugh before, and definitely knew Purrloin. But you, the player? You knew nothing. Your real life self knows Team Plasma is bad - it's obvious from what they did in BW (for those of us that continued on). However. Those starting B2W2 were at a disadvantage. They knew nothing of Team Plasma, of Purrloin etc. At that point you were a neutral party. But then you sided with Hugh. You took a side and became involved in the fight for who knows why? It might be because society says pirates are bad (and they're on a ship) but you're never shown why. So from that I believe you're not actually neutral. You're siding with your friend but you have none of your own beliefs about it. You just want to explore Unova...

Whereas our in game self that knew Hugh and knew Purrloin can totally associate with this and would follow him without question. Those of us that played BW first know that Team Plasma is bad (and that Hugh has nothing on Cheren). B2W2 players know nothing and are forced to choose a side before the game even starts. Those players definitely aren't neutral in the sense of having no alliance but they have no reason to be involved in the plot. And that's the problem. There's no reason for people new to Unova to want to go along with Hugh's Purrloin request and that sort of destroys the plot. Yes it might represent a greater theme but that can't easily be realised. The majority of players just aren't going to care. When he meets Leipard it's just like 'OK? So this was all for nothing really?'

Personally as a plot device I think it's poor because you aren't shown his motivation, just told of it and that just isn't enough to most players. As a result Hugh appears annoying and makes you want to have your own reason to fight Team Plasma. Sure you could fight them in revenge for the Herdier being taken but even then we didn't learn much about Herdier to make it worth it. Other than that there's no reason, you don't find out about freezing Unova until much later and for something so essential to the games it's a real downfall. BW had you curious. Who was N? Who was Ghetsis? You wanted to know what they were doing. Hugh's Purrloin bring the primary plot supposedly giving you a purpose is just a let down in comparison to the original games.

With that said, it does annoy me a little that it wasn't the Pokémon stolen on Route 3. Remember early BW when a little girls Pokémon was stolen? Suppose that, throughout the games, you tried to find the Pokémon for her - knowing how sad she was. Turns out you couldn't find it as it was taken away by members that retreated. In B2W2 Hugh explains how it was stolen and suddenly it clicks (to you) that it was the one you were looking for in the previous games. You're even more motivated and suddenly the games get more interesting and have more purpose.

 

[Rivvon]

I get your points but you're not really a neutral party. Your in game character knew Hugh before, and definitely knew Purrloin. But you, the player? You knew nothing. Your real life self knows Team Plasma is bad - it's obvious from what they did in BW (for those of us that continued on). However. Those starting B2W2 were at a disadvantage. They knew nothing of Team Plasma, of Purrloin etc. At that point you were a neutral party. But then you sided with Hugh. You took a side and became involved in the fight for who knows why? It might be because society says pirates are bad (and they're on a ship) but you're never shown why. So from that I believe you're not actually neutral. You're siding with your friend but you have none of your own beliefs about it. You just want to explore Unova...

Whereas our in game self that knew Hugh and knew Purrloin can totally associate with this and would follow him without question. Those of us that played BW first know that Team Plasma is bad (and that Hugh has nothing on Cheren). B2W2 players know nothing and are forced to choose a side before the game even starts. Those players definitely aren't neutral in the sense of having no alliance but they have no reason to be involved in the plot. And that's the problem. There's no reason for people new to Unova to want to go along with Hugh's Purrloin request and that sort of destroys the plot. Yes it might represent a greater theme but that can't easily be realised. The majority of players just aren't going to care. When he meets Leipard it's just like 'OK? So this was all for nothing really?'

Personally as a plot device I think it's poor because you aren't shown his motivation, just told of it and that just isn't enough to most players. As a result Hugh appears annoying and makes you want to have your own reason to fight Team Plasma. Sure you could fight them in revenge for the Herdier being taken but even then we didn't learn much about Herdier to make it worth it. Other than that there's no reason, you don't find out about freezing Unova until much later and for something so essential to the games it's a real downfall. BW had you curious. Who was N? Who was Ghetsis? You wanted to know what they were doing. Hugh's Purrloin bring the primary plot supposedly giving you a purpose is just a let down in comparison to the original games.

With that said, it does annoy me a little that it wasn't the Pokémon stolen on Route 3. Remember early BW when a little girls Pokémon was stolen? Suppose that, throughout the games, you tried to find the Pokémon for her - knowing how sad she was. Turns out you couldn't find it as it was taken away by members that retreated. In B2W2 Hugh explains how it was stolen and suddenly it clicks (to you) that it was the one you were looking for in the previous games. You're even more motivated and suddenly the games get more interesting and have more purpose.

To an extent, I agree. The player character is a self-insert, yet there's a lot of dissociation that occurs when the player themselves has experienced BW prior to playing B2W2. I do think BW's plot points were stronger than B2W2's overall due to more clear and precise handling of said plot points. But I can't help but appreciate the messages B2W2 attempted to portray, especially when compared alongside BW's: the two sets of games ended up creating a binary of their own, which takes from one of the core themes of the first games. Because of that, I feel B2W2's use of the "Purrloin plot point" is actually quite appropriate.

People who didn't play BW but jumped in with B2W2 may find the use of it as a catalyst not very motivating, as you said, but I'd argue it's still more interesting than, say, gen 1's "All boys leave home someday. It said so on TV" "catalyst."

I know I'm definitely in the minority when it comes to liking characters such as Hugh and Barry, but aside from their associations with their games' plot, I just enjoy sillier characters every so often; they help break up the serious aspects of the game. And I especially like when they show they know when and where to be serious--something I think definitely applies to Hugh.

But this is still mostly me defending Hugh. As I said prior, Cheren is still my favorite of the three gen 5 rivals.

 

[Altairis]

I used to not really like them, but replaying the games I appreciate them both a lot more. Cheren seems to be the personification of what maybe some Pokemon players think--they just want to become the Champion, but they don't think about what to do after. Once you're the strongest, then what? Life is about the journey, not how fast it is to get to a certain "end point."

I used to not really like Bianca, but I appreciate her a little more now. She tried her best during the journey, but she really needs to be more confident in herself; I thought that aspect of her personality was kind of annoying. However, I realize that not everyone has to aim to be the Champion, so it was kind of refreshing to see a rival that only challenged you to better herself. I like how, in BW, there were hints of her preferring the Professor's line of work rather than challenging the gyms and battling.

 

[PercyX]

Bianca and Cheren only aspired to become a great trainer ( so did I !) but Hugh had a true motto behind his journey .
He wanted to grow stronger so that he can find the goon who took away his sister's pokemon .
He achieved it .
but so did Bianca and Cheren,
as later seen in B2W2 , Cheren becomes a Gym leader and Bianca assists professor .
So , I would like to conclude that each of them had a well defined role in the game .

 

[Imrul Quayes Adnan]

I think Cheren is my favourite. Oh man, I really like his attitude. He is really cool.

And for the bonus question: of course it is Hugh. He is really '????'.xD I think they should send him far away to Johto or somethink.xD

 

[Ho-Oh]

I think Cheren is my favourite. Oh man, I really like his attitude. He is really cool.

And for the bonus question: of course it is Hugh. He is really '????'.xD I think they should send him far away to Johto or somethink.xD

The only problem with Cheren's attitude is by B2W2 he gives off the vibe that he's too good for you :(

 

[blue]

Bianca was great, her quirky personality is what made her so likable and fun for me. I always enjoyed the battles with her and the relationship with her father was quite touching to see.

Hugh was another great rival because he was the right mix of friendly and feisty. He didn't have the best character development, but I did appreciate him showing up during the storyline and he's probably one of my favourite rivals to date.

Cheren I've never really liked purely because he just feels too bland. His attitude and personality gives off a meh vibe and he's actually quite forgettable imo.

 

[Altairis]

The only problem with Cheren's attitude is by B2W2 he gives off the vibe that he's too good for you :(

True, he's also the first gym leader and not really THAT much of a challenge so... he isn't really that deserving of that attitude yet haha.

 

[Hikamaru]

Bianca's my favorite of the three, for having the best character development. I liked how as you progressed through B/W she realizes that she can't seem to become as strong as Cheren or the protagonist, and eventually settles on doing a different type of job as Juniper's assistant.