>>52995328>BarryEveryone's favorite friendly rival. Barry proves that a rival doesn't need to berate or mock the trainer to fit the above criteria. Barry's interactions with the player come across as this race to the top where you are both neck-and-neck (in contrast to Blue, who is always ahead of you), and it works very well. You and Barry started your journey at the same time, he picked his starter not because it beats yours, but because you were both being attacked by the same pack of Starly and he needed to grab a mon. Barry has a lot of screentime in the story; you see his successes, and his failures, even seeing how his own team progresses between your tag-team double battles and the eventual bossfights. In this sense he's almost like something of a mirror to the player's own journey, and it works quite well. It's healthy competition between 2 friends who set off on their journeys at the same time, under the same circumstances, and never feels cheaper for it.
>NemonaNemona's "interaction" with the player is pretty unique; it's not a battle of philosophies or a race to the top - what Nemona presents is an ultimate goal for the player. She's a legitimate battling prodigy and unlike Blue, she's not one step ahead, but many. Nemona already a champion and she's so skilled that almost no one in the region is capable of giving her a battle she finds satisfying. The fights where she's holding back work fine in the context of the game as boss fights, but what really motivates the player is to reach the summit where she's at and get to experience the real thing. Even though it's a long journey, you as a player WANT to reach Nemona's level, and she even encourages you to get there herself. It's a unique take on the rival concept because they're usually in proximity to the player in terms of skill level at the different points you encounter them, but despite this it really does work; the meta-interaction to motivate the player to be better is still there.
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