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So the age-old formula is that your rival picks the starter with a type advantage against yours, although they started mixing it up from Black onwards where you also faced Bianca with the starter weak to yours. Despite this, I always associate certain starters with the characters, either because I always pick the same one or because across the various media in which they appear it seems like the one they *should* have. So I thought I'd share my opinion (up to B2W2 as that's as far as I got), and I'd love to hear what the rest of you think!
- Kanto - Blue: Although I'm a big PokéSpe fan and often use Bulbasaur, to me his starter is Squirtle. I usually use Charmander because I only play LeafGreen about every 5 years now, and Charizard is awesome. Also it makes the early game difficult, which is fun because once you get to Lavender Town and the map opens up its a cakewalk no matter who your starter is. Also given Charmander's tail fire is apparently its life force, picking a Water-type seems like a real dick move, which fits the rival's persona.
- Johto - Silver: Totodile. My favourite is Cyndaquil, so I face him with Totodile often. That's also his starter in PokéSpe. Plus as Silver is an actual villain for most of the plot, Chikorita both in its typing and stat distribution doesn't fit the theme, leaving us with Cyndaquil and Totodile...the latter's final evolution is terrifying, as is its real-life inspiration.
- Hoenn - May/Brendan: I actually have no association here. Partially because you don't even get to face a fully-evolved starter in Emerald (which sucks), but mostly because that was my first game and on endless childhood replays the toughest battle was always on Route 110. Grovyle and Marshtomp in particular would just waste my starter, and the anime character's Torchic helps balance the impression in my head of what she should have.
- Sinnoh - Barry (and also Dawn / Lucas): I was really into the anime here - and the manga - so Dawn is always supposed to have Piplup in my eyes. And yet because I usually use Piplup, she never does. Likewise Chimchar's line fits Barry's personality like a hyperactive flaming glove, yet I always face him wielding a Turtwig. I'm sometimes surprised to see it though, because I associate Chimchar that strongly with him.
- Unova - Cheren and Bianca: Bias, as I have mostly used Oshawott, but I truly think that Snivy and Tepig best fit Cheren and Bianca, respectively. Snivy is smug and smart, which fits well with Cheren's personality. Tepig is realy strong, but is usually wiped out by a Water-type attack before it can get a hit in, much like how Bianca doesn't really get credit for her true strength as she is always being compared to a legendary hero reincarnate and Cheren, who is nearly a match for said legendary hero (seriously, Bianca probably has all 8 badges and just stumbles at the Elite Four due to confidence).
- Unova - Hugh: I have no real opinion, I'm only now completing Black 2 for the second time. I guess Samurott, given its design matches with some hints of a Ronin idea in Hugh's feelings of failure in allowing his sister's Purrloin to be stolen. But no, he's a blank slate to me.
