Blue, the Rival from Pokémon Red & Blue stands proud as one of the strongest, most famous, and well-executed Rival characters in gaming.

Few other characters out there are capable of inspiring such strong levels of competitive spirit from players worldwide.

Eliciting such a reaction from players requires more than simply writing him as a jerk. Gameplay elements need to support the experience too. So, let's have a closer look at Blue, and examine just how the game designers created one of the most famous Rival experiences in gaming history.

Channel Discord:   / discord  
------------
Chapter Timestamps
0:00 - Opening Gag
0:13 - Introduction
1:23 - The Problems with Rivals as Recurring Bosses
5:11 - How Blue's Rivalry is Framed and Presented
7:42 - Narrative Elements and Blue's Personality
10:34 - How the Rival is set up to Win
17:24 - Comparisons to other Rivals
21:32 - Outro
------------
Music Timestamps
0:13 - Apollo Justice, I'm Fine! [Ace Attorney: Spirit of Justice]
5:16 - 4 Minutes Before Death [Ghost Trick, Phantom Detective]
10:34 - Fate Changed [Ghost Trick, Phantom Detective]
17:22 - AWAKENING [Ghost Trick, Phantom Detective]