Rival Discussion & Speculation

[AliceBlaze]

A video by GameXplain says he may be the Shauna of this game while the protagonist you don't pick will be the true rival just like Calem/Serena in X/Y. They also speculate that the male protagonist may have the default name Shohei which is the name of the boy in the Japanese trailer while the rival may be named Hoku which is the name of the boy that Shohei befriends in the trailer.

 

[illumine]

They seem more likely to be a bit of a generic nice-guy kind of faux-rival, as have been used commonly in recent games. They are likely to be one of multiple rivals, as you say, due to the choice. This might lead to something quite similar to recent games when it comes to the 'rivalry' section, which wouldn't really be worth noting.

if i wasn't 13/14 in-game, i would ask him on a date

When you're 13/14 and someone says they love you, they'll probably turn out to be a rival.

 

[Xertified]

Imma guess, it would be another rival. Fuck you Barry.

 

[blue]

If he's chose the starter that is weak to yours, I wonder who picked the remaining starter? Surely we'll also have a rival that has the advantage over us, either that or GF are just making the games even easier.

 

[Jeischita_Homaji]

I am skeptical of this. I honestly just don't think that he is your rival. Firstly, from what we have seen he picks the starter that is weakest against yours (Ex; You pick Litten, he picks Rowlet) which makes me think he is just a friend character and the battle against him in the trailer is just for fun.

Second, lets not forget that there are THREE starters. If he picks the starter that is weakest against yours, then perhaps someone else picks the starter that is strongest? I firmly believe that whoever claims the third starter, the one that is strongest against yours will be the true rival. Hoping to see some bad blood rivalry this generation like back in Red and Green.

P.S.--

What are the chances that the kid in OP's picture is Hoku? He looks somewhat like the Hawaiian boy from the Japanese trailer and they are dressed pretty much exactly the same.

 

[TI]

His design is cool.

I'm disappointed though because he seems too casual.
Like we need another rival that beats you to the champion spot.
Hardened. Tough opponent.

Like not sure about you guys but I'm not afraid of this guy at a glance.

 

[classiccartoonsftw]

This guy seems like a friendly person. But they could add a second rival, who's more like Gary, Silver, Barry, or Hugh. He could pick the starter that's strong against yours.

 

[Iceshadow3317]

As I said, I am really hoping that the opposite gender of what we choose is the 2nd rival. I would be disappointed not to see the female at all if I start as a guy, because she just has the better design in my opinion.

But how do we have proof that he choices the one weaker to your choice? Have I missed something in one of the trailers?

 

[LilBueno]

But how do we have proof that he choices the one weaker to your choice? Have I missed something in one of the trailers?

I'm not sure which trailer it is, but it's a bit higher in the thread.
Here it is again:

The player has Litten and the maybe-rival has Rowlet.

 

[Iceshadow3317]

Ah ok thanks. I saw the photo, but I didn't even pay attention to it. That gives me hope that there is indeed a 2nd rival. I don't see them giving him the weaker one if he is the main rival. That just isn't something they do I don't think.

 

[LilBueno]

Personally, I'd be fine if they did away with the 1 main rival and 1 weak rival dynamic and simply make them both strong and worth fighting.
There are plenty of plot points they could use for it: 1 rival who helps against the bad guys and the other is doing the Pokemon League challenge; 1 Pokemon League rival and a Pokedex rival; 1 rival who simply wants to get stronger for a personal reason and the other is more story involved; a traditional rival and the other with a team centered on a battle gimmick (Mega Evolution, for instance).

 

[Blastin'Tyruntz]

Seeing as Hoku (this is his name right?) is the "friend" rival, I'd like to see a really rival-rival, like the opposite gender you chose, it's seriously that easy. I mean you're both in the ceremonial stage, and your journy is together, you fight and evolve...basically somehwat like Serena's seriousness

 

[PageEmp]

If that guy is the rival then I hope we get a competitive kind of rival. We've had enough friendly ravals tbh, we need a change.

 

[lilyocean]

I think you should have one rival at the beginning then you meet another 2 rivals at the professor's lab. The characteristics I'm not so sure about.

 

[illumine]

which makes me think he is just a friend character and the battle against him in the trailer is just for fun.

Generally speaking, for its being weaker to have much impact in these games, it would usually require that they keep going until later on, or in brief be associated with the 'rival' role. Obviously, 'friend' and 'rival' are at this point near-interchangeable in the games, so that's not necessarily that straightforward a distinction.

 

[caminferno30]

I want only 1 rival. I like how in BW, they were more your friends but the posed no real challenge. In XY I like how you had to catch Pokémon to beat one of your rivals but there was no real challenge. It was just a nuisance. Even if you beat him or if you lost he was not a real challenge. In all the other games you had to actually beat the rival to advance in the game. It was annoying if your pokemon weren't ready but it still did not take very long to beat him. I do like how in ORAS you could go back to the routes to face other trainers which would train your pokemon. The only problem was that the only way to go back to the first routes without going through pokemon most likely weaker than you was fly (which was you got at the 6th gym) or use the eon flute (which you get right before you get access to the gym). If they had one rival I would be happy. One harder than May, but not one that got on your nerves like Barry. I want the rival to be hard like Hugh or Blue. I want you to actually have to grind in the different routes. That is what I would want in a rival

 

[Ho-Oh]

I think you should have one rival at the beginning then you meet another 2 rivals at the professor's lab. The characteristics I'm not so sure about.

From the looks of it, you're not too far from the professor's lab anyways. More rivals isn't always better though. The majority in XY had no substance. Sticking to two at most - the weaker/carefree one and the serious business one makes for better gameplay. Who wants to compete with a ton of rivals anyways when having only two to prepare for makes everything much easier. c:

 

[Jeischita_Homaji]

Friend/Rival Name Speculation

This may be reaching a bit, but I have strong evidence to suggest that the hawaiian (or Alolan) boy who is to be your friend and/or rival in Pokemon Sun and Moon is named "Hoku". This stems from the Japanese live action trailer in which the center character, Shohei, bore a striking resemblance to the new game's male protagonist.

"Hoku" In-Game (Enhanced)

He shares the same backpack

And the necklace he wears is the same shape as the decoration on the in-game character's shirt

I know this is nothing huge, but it is at least enough evidence to justify a discussion on the matter. I realise that certain things could change in the nearly 6 months to the release but I firmly believe that this is the case and that thw character's name in Pokemon Sun and Moon IS and WILL BE "Hoku".

 

[Iceshadow3317]

Hoku is probably the name to be honest. It also just seems to match him. I am not 100% sure what the females name would be or our name.

As for the Manga names, I am thinking Orange, Purple, and possibly Brown, looking at the covers which are both orange or purple. I same brown because I do not know of another name currently that would match a third person. And brown matches Orange and Purple better than other unused names.

Like I have said before, nothing in Live Action pokemon trailers is accidental. They plan well.


Edit: Hoku is actually on of the supposed gym leader names. However, it could be his father or something.

 

[Jeischita_Homaji]

Edit: Hoku is actually on of the supposed gym leader names. However, it could be his father or something.

Yeah, but wouldn't the names on that wall be the names of the students in that class? And the kid who says "My name is Hoku" is in that class. He is the one that starts the clapping when Shohei introduces himself.