So the title says it all, I'll be ranking all of the games rivals from worst to best. If you've come here expected pokemon sword and shield hate then you've come to the wrong place my friend.
Note: this list does not include semirivals like shauna or tierno.
18) Trace (Pokémon let's go)
Trace is the rival from Pokémon let's go eevee and let's go pikachu and he is meant to fill the role of blue in the games retelling of the Kanto storyline. The problems with Trace are many but the most glaring ones are: 1) he's not very challenging as a rival (but it's let's go so I think he gets a pass), 2) he's for all intents and purposes a watered down version of blue, and 3) let's go isn't technically a retelling of the Kanto story so he kind of just feels like this guy who shows up and challenges you. The biggest problem is definitely the issue of him being Blue diet and that's just because Blue is like the blueprint for an antagonistic Pokémon rival.
17) Avery (Pokémon shield, isle of armor)
Avery is the isle of armor rival for players of Pokémon shield (like myself) and he's just not very interesting. I did isle of armor after beating the main game which is what I think most people did because the dlc came out so long after Pokémon sword and shield did and well the whole isle of armor story just isn't that challenging. Personally I don't feel like sword and shield are that challenging as a whole but they definitely have some battles which can put you on edge (Leon and post-story hop both come to mind) if you aren't prepared for them. I went into the final battle with Avery and wiped his whole team out with a level 65 cinderace that I had just fed max soup, in comparison post story hop wiped out my entire team with the exception of my greedent who has to finish off zacian with DIG. So Avery isn't challenging and his personality is pretty much just that of every psychic type gym leaders, he is arrogant and spouts out the names of psychic moves whenever something happens. Personally I think Pokémon sword and shield had some really good rivals, Avery just isn't one of them.
16) Serena/Calem (Pokémon X and Y)
Pokémon X and Y are just...... not very good, and that pains me to say because they're some of my favorite games but they don't have a good story, they're incredible easy, and they introduced some of the most broken Pokémon in existence. Serena and Calem unfortunately also fell victim to gamefreak's incompetence with this game. Serena is your rival if you play as a guy and Calem is your rival if you play as a girl, however the only real difference is whether you're crushing the dreams of a teenage girl or a twink. They both have the personality of soggy bread and their teams could be blown off by a stiff gust even during the endgame.
15) gladion (Pokémon sun and moon)
It pains me to put gladion this low but it must be done. Gladion is pretty much just pure edge and oddly enough I think it works remarkably well for the Alola games, mainly because both Hau and Lily are such fluffy characters but that doesn't change the fact that if you don't like edge then you're gonna hate gladion. His team is also remarkably weak and his contribution to the story is so confusing and barely there and I sometimes question why he was added in at all.
14) Hau (Pokémon sun and moon)
Hau is the main rival from Pokémon sun and moon and he is one of the most boring rivals like period. He only manages to place above gladion and Avery because the two of them have major flaws that hold them back, mainly their difficulty, but make no mistake, Hau is still a bad rival. Hau is just kind of the generic friendly rival and his only defining characteristic is that his dad is the first kahuna of the game. Hau does however pose a bit of a threat in some fights, mainly in ultra sun and ultra moon, which puts him above Gladion and Avery.
13) Brendan and may (Pokémon ruby and sapphire)
So we're now moving past the bad rivals and into the just ok rivals. Brendan and may, much like Serena and calem, change gender depending on the players gender but their teams do not. Brendan and May come out ahead of their competition because they have slightly less bland personalities and they managed to pose a threat (in their original games as well as emerald, ignore ORAS). They do get slightly more personality in ORAS but I don't think it really saves them as ORAS takes away their difficulty making it a bit of a lose-lose.
