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>gives Ash genuine advice about choosing best pokemon the first time they meet
>decides to challenge ash to a fair fight
>doesn't insist on fight after realizing that Ash doesn't have all 3 of his Pokemon on him
>doesn't accept tie as a victory even if Pikachu fainted first
>never insults Ash for no reason. only gets annoyed by Ash's genuine retard moments
>never antagonizes Ash and genuinely respects his strength
>challenges fucking champion to test his strength despite being a rookie himself
>challenges frontier brain and respectfully accepts criticism towards him
>realizes his mistake after being proven that pokemon should receive decent treatment regardless of their baseline strength
Paul is the best rival. Gary was dickhead for no reason and never really got punished for his shitty personality, Ritchie is carbon copy of Ash, Alain is walking Charizard wank with no other purpose, Gladeon was goofy, and I don't even remember name of photographer guy from BW. He also avoided the treatment of being an invicible rival who always curbstomps early on Ash only to be beaten last second for the shock value and feels like a real trainer with his own struggles.
