Hmm...well, it's not
that much of an issue to me in retrospect, as I typically use "anime/official" names for the rivals anyway. I refer to the rival Blue/Green of RBY/FRLG as Gary Oak in
all media. I keep on trying to think of a name for Silver of GSC/HGSS, but Silver is just ingrained. No good default name was given, though we already have
another Silver of
Pokemon Chronicles who met Richie... Wally's name irked me simply because it resembled
Wallace too much (who is a prominent Gym Leader/Champion) as a dimunitive form.
As for BW, my main concern is with "Bianca", AKA Bel/Belle. Cheren bugged me in retrospect with the similarity to the feminine name
Sharon, but I'm getting accustomed to it. I mean, every other localization
except the English one uses "Belle", which, alongside
white, possesses the additional meaning of
light and
beautiful :3. Now we have
two Biancas in the English localization, yet no Belles. :( I don't see why we couldn't have Bianca of
Pokemon Heroes and Belle of
Black and White, to help in preserving uniqueness.
I typically support the ability of customization being granted to the player whenever possible, though I'm all for the pseudo-retention of "official" names. The 'intended, official' name(s) of the writers for the rivals could simply be listed on top in a list of suggested names as Generation 1 games did. Alternatively, the 'intended' name could appear as the default placeholder name if the player does not decide to enter a name for the rival. Best of both worlds, IMO - the player can customize the rivals' names if he or she wishes, and the writers can still convey their preferred name for the rivals in a non-intrusive manner. If the Generation 1 games could accomplish such a fitting compromise in rival naming, I don't see why BW weren't able to.
If the RS remakes change Brendan's name (as he is completely forgettable and most people play as him anyway) I WILL SHOOT THE TRANSLATORS' HEADS. jk
HIS NAME
IS SHOULD BE
Sean, yup yup. :P