Why do you think the secondary rivals like Richie, Casey, etc. were abandoned?

[Cybersai]

For the first 5 seasons, we really only think of Gary as his main rival, even though he did sort of have secondary rivalries with Richie and Casey during that time. Casey could even be considered Ash's first female rival, its just that she wasn't handled well that people don't really count her.

Richie returned in Johto during the Baby Lugia arc and got some hoso specials, as did Casey.

Yet pretty much after that the characters faded away into obscurity. Why do you think they were dropped?

 

[Trainer Yusuf]

They were uninteresting, annoying and didn't have much connection with Ash. Writers abandoned them as they outlived their usefulness, just like Tracey, Max, Misty, May, Drew, Harley, Solidad, League rivals etc..

 

[Mijzelffan]

because else all episodes will look alike. Which they actually already do.

 

[pokemon fan 132]

Probably because they arent needed anymore.This show went through other direction with Ash getting new rivals to compete with like Paul.In reality there would be no point in reintroducing them especially now in Sinnoh(if they werent returned for Hoenn,why would they do it now?),seeing how writers have new characters to work with planning outcomes regarding their connection with Ash.

Of course it cant be known for sure,if we will ever see them again.Afterall if writers returned Gary after whole region of absence and some very old characters like Jessibelle in this saga,they have chance of having some role in this show again but as now as it stands not very likely.

Writers abandoned them as they outlived their usefulness, just like Tracey, Max, Misty, May, Drew, Harley, Solidad, League rivals etc..

I beg to differ.While it can be said for some like Drew or Solidad being left behind,considering how chances for seeing them again are very small in Mays or Mistys case for example this certainly isnt true.

As we get to see May appeared already for Wallace Cup not being ignored during sinnoh region,and for Misty last word hasnt been said yet.

Sinnoh isnt over yet,and even if she doesnt return in this region there is a chance for her showing up(aside from Pallet reunions) in Johto(for second Whirl Cup perhaps?) if group goes in it for next Battle Frontier.
Not to mention both of mentioned characters has still alot material to work with being of a use to this show,especially Misty since her story is left unfinished(like goal of becoming water master) being left lot of things to do with her(whether being appearance or return to cast) offering something new for this anime.

 

[Trainer Yusuf]

Probably because they arent needed anymore.This show went through other direction with Ash getting new rivals to compete with like Paul.In reality there would be no point in reintroducing them especially now in Sinnoh(if they werent returned for Hoenn,why would they do it now?),seeing how writers have new characters to work with planning outcomes regarding their connection with Ash.

Of course it cant be known for sure,if we will ever see them again.Afterall if writers returned Gary after whole region of absence and some very old characters like Jessibelle in this saga,they have chance of having some role in this show again but as now as it stands not very likely.



I beg to differ.While it can be said for some like Drew or Solidad being left behind,considering how chances for seeing them again are very small in Mays or Mistys case for example this certainly isnt true.

As we get to see May appeared already for Wallace Cup not being ignored during sinnoh region,and for Misty last word hasnt been said yet.

Sinnoh isnt over yet,and even if she doesnt return in this region there is a chance for her showing up(aside from Pallet reunions) in Johto(for second Whirl Cup perhaps?) if group goes in it for next Battle Frontier.
Not to mention both of mentioned characters has still alot material to work with being of a use to this show,especially Misty since her story is left unfinished(like goal of becoming water master) being left lot of things to do with her(whether being appearance or return to cast) offering something new for this anime.

Misty and May are not important anymore as they are not main characters anymore. And Max didn't and probably won't have a chance to even start his own training journey, nor will Brock manage to be a better breeder, as he's too much distracted with girls and doomed to be a part of main crew. Only Tracey was lucky enough to reach his goal.

For Gary and Jessibelle, Gary was Ash's first rival and his best friend, though I admit his appearance for a few episodes was random, as he wasn't needed much. For Jessibelle, well, writers tend to return some of the old characters as they have most likely ran out of ideas and need to refresh the anime.

Besides, writers have shit loads of game characters that they have to give a proper debut and role and many plot-holes to be resolved before giving older main characters a chance to reach their goal even more. And even if May manages to be the champion of Johto Grand Festival, which is very unlikely with likes of Solidad and Marina, Misty would still need years of experience and training to be an Elite Trainer. Same goes for Brock, he needs to meet with other breeders, learn about their techniques and again, needs more experience about each species unique care. Max is doomed with anime's "You have to be 10" and "Ash has to be always 10 as this is a bishonen anime, so nobody shouldn't age and we can't simply remove Ash with these high amount of fangirls of him" rules.

Writers don't forget their own characters or important game characters. They just forget tiny details about them(such as Maylene's gambling father, or the fact that Clair is Lance's cousin) or just completely ignore them(which is the case of Lucas, Leaf, Wally, Brendan...).

 

[pokemon fan 132]

For Gary and Jessibelle, Gary was Ash's first rival and his best friend, though I admit his appearance for a few episodes was random, as he wasn't needed much. For Jessibelle, well, writers tend to return some of the old characters as they have most likely ran out of ideas and need to refresh the anime.

Exactly,as i said writers can be unpredictable with these things,so its too early to come up with some conclusions,how some of past characters are abandoned from their side.We have no idea what are their plains with mentioned characters in future.

 

[hhhhdmt]

i hope ritchie returns in the future

 

[V Faction]

Characters aren't dropped. They're put into extremely long cold storage. When needed, they just yank them out of the freezer, give 'em a good defrostin', and throw them up on to the plate that is the anime. As the cold and shivering Guest Character tries to speak his or her lines, a wave of sheer terror and forgetfulness overcomes every one of them and the end result is a character that is not quite 'all there'.

The name of the game is 'cycling' anyhow; Cycle through new characters because the old ones are done with. No one is safe, honestly. Except maybe Ash, Brock, Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet.

 

[Semidos]

Abandoned - yes. Forever - I don't think so. They simply forgot about these characters (not including previous main cast), being busy doing new characters. Sometimes they will remember about them (like Jessibell), when they haven't something interesting to show.

 

[Trainer'sInsomnia]

They were left behind because they were just that, secondary rivals. The only real one worth keeping at the time was Gary, due to the story that surrounded the two of them.

There was no real attachment to nor development given to those type of secondary rivals, thus making them easier to put aside. And realistically, a rival of a region does not mean a rival of a lifetime. For all we know, Richie's ripping trainers a new one over in Hoenn right now (since he's clearly visited Johto).

 

[Paperhorse]

I agree, I don't think they were necessarily abandoned, I think it's just because Ash is in a new region, and the anime likes to introduce new characters frequently. Hopefully, we will see a few characters again.

 

[Cybersai]

I agree, I don't think they were necessarily abandoned, I think it's just because Ash is in a new region, and the anime likes to introduce new characters frequently. Hopefully, we will see a few characters again.

I think its safe to say most of the old recurring cast is gone.

Back in the early seasons they had much fewer characters to work with, but now every gen introduces both new main characters, rivals, and secondary protagonists.

Even DP secondary characters like Conway, Holly, Nando, Angie, etc. have pretty much disappeared as the saga progressed. That tells me the writers can only handle so many characters at once.

 

[Trainer'sInsomnia]

That much should have been obvious.

Anyway, I'm sure it's a good thing that these secondary type rivals revolve the way they do, or people would just end up complaining that we're seeing too much of whomever. Still, I don't know if we can say they're forever abandoned. Johto stretched for quite a number of years, and specials were a type of bridge between that and Hoenn. Richie was way back in Indigo, but he even had a dedicated episode in the specials. I'm sure, by the end of the series, we'll have some kind of collective rival thing or something.

Is it safe to say that Barry breaks the mold of a secondary rival?

 

[V Faction]

Breaks the mold and probably some poor fellow's wristwatch...

What I dig about Barry is his nearly-identical personality to the rival in the games. His character, pound for pound, is meant to be a rival (you face him no matter if you choose Dawn or Lucas). Of course, if it were not for Paul, I could simply call Barry another rehash in the anime. That's why I feel they had to come up with a different character (in the way Paul operates) as a good contrast.

Does being second regulate him to "chopped liver", so to speak?

 

[Trainer'sInsomnia]

Does being second regulate him to "chopped liver", so to speak?

See, I'm hoping something like this is not the case, because I too like Barry. From his behavior to his Pokemon, both of which strongly reflect his game character, I find him to be a very enjoyable character. He might be a part-time rival, but I find him loads better than either of Dawn's (seriously, why is Zoey always around??). I'd really hate to see such a great character thrown away over the course of one region.

My only problem with him was that they made him a total Paul fanboy for a while, but that seems to have left as a real aspect of his character.

 

[Keel]

Because Richie is better then Ash.

 

[Cybersai]

The only reason Barry will likely stick around after Sinnoh is because Palmer is his father, but other than that I don't seem him remaining a big deal.

He's too tied to the DP generation, and once the 5th gen comes he and all the other DP characters will be wiped clean from the show.

Barry also is a major character, wheres the others only appeared 3 times per region.

 

[Luna Tiger]

I think its safe to say most of the old recurring cast is gone.

Back in the early seasons they had much fewer characters to work with, but now every gen introduces both new main characters, rivals, and secondary protagonists.

Even DP secondary characters like Conway, Holly, Nando, Angie, etc. have pretty much disappeared as the saga progressed. That tells me the writers can only handle so many characters at once.

You should be thinking about this from a worldly state of mind. There's a lot of people in the world. Running into ones he's met before is highly unlikely without specific guidance ("Hey, I'm going here!") and the fact he does run into Conway and Angie once is actually /against/ the norm, because Angie is a stationary character (meaning she isn't wandering like everyone else is) and Conway at the Academy was "coincidence, since it's not like it's held all the time, and it does fit his bill to jump at the opportunity to participate.

The same goes with the likes of Casey, which is all coincidental in the grand scheme. There are also natural examples, such as Todd's return.

On the other hand, it's completely unsurprising to run across or bump into people who are walking the same gauntlet you are (Paul, Barry, Gary) and should actually be expected, even if it never happens.

And in the case of contest rivals, considering the Contest path takes them pretty much in the same direction with set dates, and isn't a challenge you can take any time you want, that's inevitable meetings waiting to happen.

Of course the writers are in control of everything and if they want certain people to be met again, they will be, but without thinking about the writers in the equation, it makes perfect sense the ratio of meets versus never seen again. Because the only reason we call them "rivals" is /because/ they return more than once. If they didn't, they'd just be another CotD.

/Yes/, every single recurring character, even the actual rival characters could have played their introductory episode the same dang way and if they didn't return? Would be equally forgotten about. Duh, they fall off the face of the earth. Some of them even have better things to be doing.

 

[magicallypuzzled]

my oppinion is richie ran his course he was there for the end of kanto and parts of johto wasn't he? any ways i think all of fans saying he was a clone and not liking him because of that also contributed to him disappearing.

as for casey she never deserved being called a rival i am not one who thinks the rival always has to win. but she didn't even put up a decent effort charizard laughed of her whole team and and even he hadn't used charizard it still would of been a sweep. she got like three badges before the league and yeah the writers never show'd her having any talent at all.

 

[Kyuujutsuka]

I miss Ritchie....His smarts were so refreshing...like...when I was a kid, I would be like "ASH, WHY DON'T YOU JUST USE PIDGEOTTO TO HELP YOU FLOAT DOWN FROM YOUT FALL?" and Ritchie just went ahead and did the things I was thinking! I love that kid!