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Which one of ash's rivals was the best and why?

Paul was like a boss. :cool:
 
Toss-up b/w Gary and Paul. Gary was cocky, but he had the skills to back up his bragging, and like many cocky characters, he started mellowing after getting the wind taken out of his sails. Paul had the best character development and the closest ties to Ash, and by that I mean Chimchar. In the end, both of them learned to respect Ash (if only grudgingly).
 
Whoever likes trip sorry, but i think he's overatated.
 
Uh, duh, Gary, not least because he eventually redeemed himself and became friends with Ash without loosing his badassness. Its safe to say that Ash probably wouldn't have gotten far without his first rival to push him into doing his best. And man, you really got to be impressed by a ten year old who rides around in convertibles with a pack of personal cheerleaders praising him all day. Gary. Such a player.
 
Paul, hands down. I loved Gary too, but Paul is unbelievable.
Everything about Paul's character development was absolutely phenomenal to me, the way his Brother lost to Brandon and he wanted to make up for it, the way deep down he knew that Ash would always be a tough opponent to beat for him. The way he never backed down from his stubborness, which was admirable as he knew how to go about training his Pokémon and what their strengths were.

What I also loved, and what made the Sinnoh Saga a very emotional point for Pokémon; was when Cynthia was explaining about Ash and Paul "When one Life meets another Life, something will be born" and then it cut to Ash and Paul's Pokémon going head to head. Those were the moments that I cherrish forever in the Pokémon Animé... and I could watch them so many times, not for fun and entertainment but because it also means something, and it's relevant!!

I don't think they can ever develop a character again that good in comparison to how Paul was, especially with this relationship to Ash.
 
Paul was literally the polar opposite of Ash. You can't get any better than that, seriously. With Trip, I'm sure they were trying to make him a lot like Gary with him being a new trainer and all but with the experience Ash has now, the whole rivalry just crashed and burned.
 
What about Kenyan! He was the first rival to appear regularly that was friendly. Plus his battle was Ash at the league turned out to be more important than Trip's... lol.
 
Except Gary isn't that badass his rotation stategy makes no sense I don't think he ever won on screen besides those times on Ash but those were one v one. He barely appeared and none of his pokemon appeared until the 60th freakin episode. Paul has huge set of curb stomped and he actually battled Ash throughout his run and deeper strategies.

Paul was Ash's only main rival who had decent handling as opposed to Trip and Gary that barely did anything if that doesn't make Paul the best I don't know what does
 
My usual favs are Gary and Paul (I STILL like Gary), but I'm adding Stephan to the fav list because he was probably the most decent rival who truly loved training, and battling. If Marshal appeared as an immature kid, I picture him to be like Stephan. He's also got a good personality, and I'd say among he's had the best battles with Ash, more so than Trip.

I wish I could say Bianca as well, but unfortunately, the League ruined it for her...
 
bianca was reckless towards ash lol. she beat trip in the battle club epi with her emboar like wth? paul would of took her out. :cool:
 
When it comes to being which trainer is Ash's best rival, i would say either Gary or Paul. Even though I think Paul is a slightly better overall rival for Ash than Gary, My favorite of those two would be Gary. Gary was the first rival Ash had and obviously they go way back to long before their days in Pokemon Training and while compared to Paul, screentime is miniscule, he was well developed in personality and even in strength. He went from a cocky and overconfident weakling belittling Ash to being more humble and modest while still being stronger every time he and Ash met, and if it weren't for the fact that Gary only competed in 2 leagues as opposed to Paul 3 at the time now 4, id say Gary would be a bit stronger than him but that isnt the case is it? Every when Gary went all friendly and humble, he still is good enough to take on Ash in his prime, even defeating Ash in a one on one battle with Electivire vs Pikachu right after Pikachu whooped Regice's bee-hind. With Paul you have an awesome backstory and a powerful motive driving him to pursue strength and power like madness, and with the most well executed development he received pertaining to the rivalry, I would consider Ash rivalry with Paul much better than his rivalry with Gary in that regard. There was even more tension to it and it all culmunated to its peak during and after the full battle they had at Lake Acuity, all coming to a head and climaxing at the Sinnoh League in their full battle rematch. While it is hard for me to say which rivalry between Paul, Gary, and Trip or moreso Paul and Gary since Trip and his rivalry with Ash was a total flop from the start all the way to the don battle and flopped even more from there but I digress. While it is hard for me to say who out of Paul and Gary had the best rivalry with Ash, I would only choose Paul by a hair, but the rivalry with Gary is my all time favorite.
 
Five-Gate Omega said:
When it comes to being which trainer is Ash's best rival, i would say either Gary or Paul. Even though I think Paul is a slightly better overall rival for Ash than Gary, My favorite of those two would be Gary. Gary was the first rival Ash had and obviously they go way back to long before their days in Pokemon Training and while compared to Paul, screentime is miniscule, he was well developed in personality and even in strength. He went from a cocky and overconfident weakling belittling Ash to being more humble and modest while still being stronger every time he and Ash met, and if it weren't for the fact that Gary only competed in 2 leagues as opposed to Paul 3 at the time now 4, id say Gary would be a bit stronger than him but that isnt the case is it? Every when Gary went all friendly and humble, he still is good enough to take on Ash in his prime, even defeating Ash in a one on one battle with Electivire vs Pikachu right after Pikachu whooped Regice's bee-hind. With Paul you have an awesome backstory and a powerful motive driving him to pursue strength and power like madness, and with the most well executed development he received pertaining to the rivalry, I would consider Ash rivalry with Paul much better than his rivalry with Gary in that regard. There was even more tension to it and it all culmunated to its peak during and after the full battle they had at Lake Acuity, all coming to a head and climaxing at the Sinnoh League in their full battle rematch. While it is hard for me to say which rivalry between Paul, Gary, and Trip or moreso Paul and Gary since Trip and his rivalry with Ash was a total flop from the start all the way to the don battle and flopped even more from there but I digress. While it is hard for me to say who out of Paul and Gary had the best rivalry with Ash, I would only choose Paul by a hair, but the rivalry with Gary is my all time favorite.
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Yeah man i agree. :cool:
 
Paul and its not even close. He was the complete rival, he was like a "false bad guy" (think False 9 in soccer), the man was badass but he wasn't no bad guy, he was just badass and unless I see the second coming of Gary Oak or XY-rival topping what Paul did, then Paul is still the best...
 
paul was a beast at battling. :cool:
 
I say it's a tie between Gary and Paul for me.

Gary was the first, and there was this sense of intimacy between him and Ash. He didn't appear as often, but he left an impression that never quite went away throughout the Kanto and Johto leagues. Not to mention he had a great arc. He started off as a jerk-ass, then gradually became a better person, until the two were friendly rivals. The thing is, though, that the change felt surprisingly natural, and it was clear that both Ash and Gary motivated each other to succeed. By the time they finally fought in the Johto League, it just felt natural and epic. He's the guy who comes to mind first when I think of Pokemon rivals.

Paul was just Ash's total opposite. He was a bad-ass, a jerk-ass, and all around kick-ass. He always left an impression, and--yeah, he and Ash had great chemistry. Not to mention that his fights were all awesome. He was clever. His final fight with Ash is one of the best fights in the series. All around, he's great.
 
Moving this thread. Tt's a better fit for the Grand Festival, as you're essentially choosing your favorite rival.
 
Paul needs to comeback lol.
 
It has to be Paul really. He is the only one of Ash's rivals who has displayed any kind of depth. Trip doesn't count because he is basically a re-hash of Paul.
 
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