Pokémon Sun & Moon: 10 Things It Must Lose From X & Y

7. Go Back To Just One Rival Trainer

Consistently beating rival Blue (or whatever horrible thing you decided to call him) in Pokémon Red & Blue was one of the greatest feelings in 90s gaming for so many players. The smugness with which he constantly berates the player is infuriating, so beating him so soundly at his own game is an absolute joy.

This is something that later generations of the games have struggled to recreate, opting to have a longer-running conflict with whatever evil team is trying to take over the Pokémon world over a simple rivalry. This is an ill-advised move, though, and the fierce rivalry between two trainers each vowing to become a true Pokémon Master is one of the strongest threads in the series' makeup.

In Pokémon X & Y, the player has regular encounters with a number of other trainer friends, though only one of these is anywhere near as useful a challenge as Blue was in the first generation. These friends are mostly weak trainers, none of whom really battle with the verve or tenacity of rivals in the earlier generations of the games.

Pokémon X & Y's approach to trainer rivalries simply has to be done away with; the challenge to be the very best had never been easier!