>>46733806I think they didn't people to get discouraged at the end, but I still think they could've painted it as a better ongoing rivalry. Like if Hop had said "We'll both keep getting stronger and I'll challenge you for the championship title next year, so you better keep training and be ready." or something.
I think it's also the reason the rival gets the starter weak to yours, they don't want people getting discouraged right off the bat. But that being said, you build a team of six, so a singular starter isn't a big deal after the initial matches when your team building options are more limited.
As for particular rival's teams, Hop's final team kind of sucked. Pincurchin is probably the worst electric type ever. And its speed is pathetic. Dubwool was also deadweight alot of the time and Hop had a much better Normal type in the form of his Snorlax. And that annoys me especially since you had to team with Hop for battles at Rose Tower and the Eternatus boss fight. I kept hoping his Dubwool would get taken out so that he'd use something more useful.
