>>54394026because blue and silver are main chars while bede gets sidelined in favor of Hop so they can do the same friendly rival with inferiority complex plot again, but this time with more belts and whistles by gifting him a legendary just for breathing
Also, a lot of the fanbase of those two are genwunners or johtoddlers, so they either won't even bother to try out a new game, or will never give it a fair chance(though desu SWSH IS poorly made in a lot of areas) just cause it's new, hence Bede losing a chunk of his potential audience.
And as well, we made fun of Masuda for saying edgy rivals are so last season, but unfortunately, he's right in a sense. Zoomers literally can't stomach characters who are genuinely mean spirited and hostile. The most they'll accept is someone who looks edgy but in truth is only kinda grumpy at worst, like Gladion.
