Pokémon Sun & Moon: 10 Forgotten Features That Must Return

One of the best things a player could experience in the first two generations of the Pokémon series was beating a rival that, one sensed, was genuinely distraught about each loss and setback. As time has worn on, however, regular rival battles have lost their intensity and been replaced by casual battles against recurring friends.

The idea of adding more regular battles from generation five was a good way to help players measure their progress against recurring foes, but they're lacking a lot of what made the earlier rivalries so special.

Whether it be the smarmy self-confidence of Blue or the downright deviousness of Silver, each of the rivals in generations one and two had something that made you want to beat them like no other trainer in the game.

Beating the Elite Four and becoming Champion was always a great achievement, but nothing could top boasting absolute superiority over a genuine rival throughout the entirety of the game.