>>34638312Unironically and 100% this, except Barry. Barry wasn't really an assfuck like Gary/Silver were; he was just a hyperactive child.
Gary and Silver were legitimate enemies that were completely out to get you. They wanted to actually stomp you, which made the player actually want to stomp them.
May/Brendan, Wally, Barry, Bianca, Cheren, Hugh, Kalos' quadruped of autism, and Hau, all just wanted to be friends and have friendly sparring matches with you. Nothing was at stake, so there was no good reason to care.
I guess Gladion was a good rival in this respect, I just honestly forgot that he was supposed to be considered a rival.
