>Your rival being the champ was somewhat unexpected, although he had always been one step ahead before
>Lance showed up and was strong, in context of Gen 1 you'd have an idea of what his power level is but even without it he's probably up there
>Steven showed up a lot and seemed competent, but Wallace also had the guardian of that cave thing going on I guess
>Cynthia it was pretty obvious with the context of Gen 3, but even without it it was pretty clear
>Alder was dragged out of retirement by the Plasma plot
>Diantha showed up for only one cutscene, didn't she? If Team Flare wasn't so obviously colored after Lysander you could have conceivably thought she was an antagonist for the effect the two of them had in that one cutscene.
>I'll die on the hill that USUM Hau was a neat inversion of the Gen 1 situation
>lol Leon
That having been said, given the theoretical aspirations of your character, you should probably be aware of who the champion is unless you're really new in the region (so Gen 3 and I think 6 get a pass).
