Oh my Freaking God... THE HERO IS A VILLAIN! (May ruin your childhood.)

[Mister Coffee]

I realized this for the first time ever today about the pokemon Gen 1.
The Main character of all the Gen 1 story lines is often acting villainous!

Think about it... In Red and Blue version, you basically ruin your Rival's life.
At first you guys start out as regular slightly competitive friends.

Due to a battle with your opponent, his Raticate dies and needs to be buried in Lavender Town (which is why he's there), yet our character shows no sympathy. The Rival promises to become the best in the world at pokemon and beat you, but you just keep smashing his face into the ground in the various pokemon battles.

Then he finally feels accomplished when he beats the elite four and becomes the champion... only to lose to you moments later shortly after achieving victory.
Then... to add insult to injury, his grand father steps in and congratulates you for kicking his own grand son's ass so badly.

In the end, poor old Gary/Blue has 1 dead pokemon, lost every battle to you, lost his champion ranking after having it for maybe a good 5 minutes, is not respected in any way by his own grandfather, and to top it all off, he's always been an orphan.
We as player characters... destroyed his life.

So PokeCommunity, now that you know that you played through the entire first generation as an Antagonist, how do you guys feel?

 

[bobandbill]

The creepypasta story about you killing the raticate is not new... and tbh not something I think is the case either (why couldn't it be, say, Gary ditching what is a common Pokemon for another because it didn't perform in his team? And after all, gym leaders change their team around in rematches, N did it on a regular basis... that's my assumption anyway). But there's nothing that says he was definitely burying Raticate there.

The theory here is a bit off in other parts too imo... of course it's a matter of interpretation, but:

At first you guys start out as regular slightly competitive friends.

Idk - my memory of the rival is him pushing me aside to get the Eevee in Yellow and acting a bit worse than 'slightly competitive' in other games...

yet our character shows no sympathy.

Given the game is set up in that you can only say Yes or No in response to questions... yeah, I think that's more a game thing than it is a character thing.

and to top it all off, he's always been an orphan.

The fact you never see his parents doesn't mean he has no parents at all. After all, Pokemon games has the habit of never showing the protagonist's father save for RSE.

And... you being better at Pokemon battling than him has no relevance to that fact (assuming he is an orphan), nor does that make the protagonist a villain either. =/ It just meant you had better Pokemon/strategy on the day. If anything the whole 'you care more about your Pokemon than him' thing suggests to me you're a good guy, not a, well, douche.

 

[Sydian]

Oh. This is a new concept and very original. I've never heard it before. I don't feel bad because it's not my fault he's always painfully underlevel when I fight him. v_v

 

[Mister Coffee]

Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't see that creepypasta, but I actually didn't think about it until I played my old Blue Version a while ago. I then looked up some stuff about Lavender town, and stumbled across the creepypasta story.

A few days ago I decided to play through my ancient Blue version, and when I came through Lavender town, I did find some of the stuff kind of suspicious about the rival.
I mean some of the things he said were different, like for instance, the dialogue was not exactly "Do you know what it's like to have a pokemon die?" However, this dialogue came from a different NPC in town. This must have been mistaken for the rival dialogue.

Still as I played through the game, I still got this overall feeling that the main character seemed to be designed as a jerk. Taking credit where his rival gets none. The rival just seems to act differently in smugness when he gets to Lavender town.

 

[Blazing Flare]

Well personally, I tend to think nothing of rivals, at least nothing positive.
All they tend to make me feel is a sincere willingness to stomp onto them
masterly and leaving them floored and defeated.

Of particular annoyance is the rival in D/P/Pt as being carefree and obnoxious tends to irritate me,
especially when the traits are exagerated (as is often the case with pokemon characters and generic trainer archetypes).
Obviously I'm referring to the A.I trainers, fair rivalries with other human trainers is a different thing entirely.

 

[Mister Coffee]

Well personally, I tend to think nothing of rivals, at least nothing positive.
All they tend to make me feel is a sincere willingness to stomp onto them
masterly and leaving them floored and defeated.

Of particular annoyance is the rival in D/P/Pt as being carefree and obnoxious tends to irritate me,
especially when the traits are exagerated (as is often the case with pokemon characters and generic trainer archetypes).
Obviously I'm referring to the A.I trainers, fair rivalries with other human trainers is a different thing entirely.

lol I feel terrible for saying this... but... I don't even remember who the rival was in DPPt. lol that shows how much of an impression that guy left on me. I've played all the pokemon games and the only rivals that have left an impression on me are Blue and Silver.
Well and "N", but that's only because they made him an actual pinnacle character in the storyline (Good job GF, for making a Rival that really matters.).
(Should I assume that the rivals in gen 3 and 4 were called Ruby and Perl? O.o)

 

[MisterBlue92]

Maybe Blue could have tried not being a douche.
If his Ratticate did die on the S.S. Anne (and I personally think he just boxed it) it was Blue's fault, Blue challenged you to battle, Blue sent Ratticate into battle, it's the trainer's responsibility to make sure their Pokemon are safe.

 

[bobandbill]

(Should I assume that the rivals in gen 3 and 4 were called Ruby and Perl? O.o)

To refresh your memory, the rival in RSE was Brendan/May (ie the protagonist you didn't pick), who were overly friendly and then gave up halfway through in their quest (their starter not even fully evolved!), only to turn up at the end to give you advice against the champion. =/ The 'other' rival of RSE was Wally, who you hlp catch a Pokemon... battle said Pokemon several towns later, and then next see at the end of victory road. =/ Wally wasn't bad per say - he just hardly showed up.

As for DPPt, you had Barry, ie the guy who lived on sugar/coffee or something as he ran around very quickly and so forth... more a comical sort of rival (with neat battle theme music reused from Pulseman). And your pseudo-rival (known as Lucas/Dawn iirc) as well who you never battle but are forced to battle with in a double battle in which they use a clefairy who dislikes attacking the opponents. Because they had lost their Pokedex. =|

N was more memorable because he stuck around and had a different sort of personality... although I wouldn't say that made him a likeable character. Darn messed up stalker. =( Which is why I prefer Gary and particularly Silver out of them all.

As for the topic though - I wouldn't say in any of those cases the protagonist was a douche either. After all: GSC has you against the guy who stole a Pokemon and struggle for a good while to learn how to care for them so you're certainly not the antagonist there (plus you beat up TR!). RSE... your rival has no issues with Pokemon possibly dying and has both parents and all - you're just the better battler and they decide to help their father's research. 5th gen - N's a misguided fellow thanks to the big bad in Ghetsis and he says himself that your Pokemon like you and all. And so forth, really - in each case with your rival I really just think it's you being the better battler. Also usually the one who does more about the criminal team of the game.

 

[Mister Coffee]

^ Yeah, I definitely get what you mean about all the other games, but I always felt that the direction of the main character in Red and Blue was a bit misguided.
Which is why I jumped on to the creepypasta bandwagon.

However, In GSC, Blue had the most gigantic change of Heart I have ever seen. He just seemed, mature, smart, and level headed.
Also how Blue was a punk in R/B, was okay with me... I was a punk/bully when I was 10. I get that whole, wanting to be better than everybody else while angering other kids. lol I was the same. (Maybe that's why I feel bad for him and respect him as a character/rival.)

 

[Dark Piplup]

Thank you sooo much for telling me that. My childhood with Pokemon is now re-evaluated. :) But in game you never kill his raticate!

 

[Xander Olivieri]

2 points.

The Raticate being dead...That is Fanon idea. There is no canon proof that the Rival's Pokemon died. I don't believe the writers have ever commented on it before either.


In B/W your rivals were Cheren and Bianca. N is that region's Giovanni/Team Rocket (Yellow/G/S)/Euscene (Crystal)/Archie/Maxie (R/S/E)/Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Cyrus (D/P/Pt). A reoccurring Antagonist that moves the story along.

 

[Beaute]

I never looked at it that way.....but, it's not our fault the rival has weaker pokemon x_x

 

[RivalGator]

I realized this for the first time ever today about the pokemon Gen 1.
The Main character of all the Gen 1 story lines is often acting villainous!

I wouldn't exactly say acting villainous. They are just two young kids fighting for the prize at the end of the tunnel.

Think about it... In Red and Blue version, you basically ruin your Rival's life.
At first you guys start out as regular slightly competitive friends.

Not really. Red and Blue were never friends. Even in the beginning, Professor Oak states that they have been rivals since they were babies. Blue wasn't even willing to help Red even get a town map... That isn't exactly friendly competition, I think it's all-out rivalry.

Due to a battle with your opponent, his Raticate dies and needs to be buried in Lavender Town (which is why he's there), yet our character shows no sympathy. The Rival promises to become the best in the world at pokemon and beat you, but you just keep smashing his face into the ground in the various pokemon battles.

Although I find it really awesome that his Raticate dies, I am not sure if I believe that YOU, as the character, did it. I mean, that Raticate could have been killed by Team Rocket for all we know... They did kill a Marowak in those days, so. And there is no reason to show sympathy. The death of his Raticate is none of the main characters business, and Blue challenged you to a fight. He would probably not show you any sympathy if you lost one of your own Pokemon, and it would be more disrespectful to to allow him to win out of sympathy than to just continue to kick his ass as you have done so many times before.

And really... If the rival was going to be the best in the world, then he would be. You can't give him sympathy wins, it's just as good as giving out pity dates. Nothing gets done and time and money is wasted. If he wants to fight, then he doesn't need sympathy.

Then he finally feels accomplished when he beats the elite four and becomes the champion... only to lose to you moments later shortly after achieving victory.

Yes, but that just can't be helped. At least he COULD become Champion, that is something. But if he is Champion, then even moreso, it is your destiny to clash. You can't just say, "Aww, Blue, you lost your Raticate and you keep losing to me, even though you have hopes and dreams for the future, I'll just throw mine away and let you enjoy being Champion and wander around for a few more years and then come and kick your ass when I feel you have been Champion long enough." The world of Pokemon is a competitive world.

Then... to add insult to injury, his grand father steps in and congratulates you for kicking his own grand son's ass so badly.

I have to admit, that did kind of suck for Blue. But still, being congratulated by the very man who sent you off on the journey doesn't mean that you are acting villainous, or even that you are rubbing it in. It's just misfortune.

In the end, poor old Gary/Blue has 1 dead pokemon, lost every battle to you, lost his champion ranking after having it for maybe a good 5 minutes, is not respected in any way by his own grandfather, and to top it all off, he's always been an orphan.
We as player characters... destroyed his life.

We did not destroy his life. We just saw the fall of his. He can pull through it and make things happen. If he wants to be Champion, he can work his way back through to the top. He did it before.

...And being an orphan is definitely not always a downfall.

 

[sherreamethyst]

I didn't know we killed his Raticate. 0_o Raticates are ugly though anyways;

Shoot, now I feel bad though. Never really of thought about that. I mean I always kinda feel bad after I beat my rivial in any Pokemon game, but I never think about their background and how it affects them. (I mean they are just pixels...)

 

[bwburke94]

The Raticate death thing was implied, but not that you were the one who killed it... who cares, it's just a creepypasta.

 

[Lord Varion]

That Raticate's story, hasn't and cannot be proven true, many trainers switch their teams round from time to time, In R/B/Y from S.S.Anne to Pokémon Tower I had different pokémon as well... and just because Blue's parents do not appear doesn't make him a orphan, even if he was, doesn't change anything, he challenged you he didn't train properlly you had stratergy you win. If his parents were in the game ... would it change that? I doubt it.
And Oak never hated him Oak just stated 'you didn't raise your pokemon correctly' I see no hate... ._.

 

[shengar]

Well if its true, then Red is really a badass afterall!
Seriously this kind of stuffs should happen later in future. No, not you who will kill your rival pokemon, but its the villain who will do it. I getting tired of this family/children friendly stuffs.

 

[Junko]

But Blue still had a good life because he got a career as a gym leader!

 

[~*!*~Tatsujin Gosuto~*!*~]

After reading this story, I didn't even realize his Raticate died, but as for him losing, is it my fault that he truly sucks at battling?


:t354:TG

 

[MuffinPaula]

I never thought about that until I read this XDD. I never knew his ratticate died.. Well I don't feel bad since it's not my fault hes no weak. Besides he has his gym leader career..