Talk:Poor Rival/@comment-26297971-20150806141034/@comment-25219182-20160428071017

Yeah, maybe he just felt even more guilty about not training it enough prior to that battle. That might've helped it survive. In his heart of hearts, he's always been a caring trainer sensitive to his team's needs, hence Gary's acquisition of an Umbreon later on. Maybe he had to learn the hard way, like any young hardhead, and he's gonna carry that guilt with him for the rest of his life. Honestly, his animosity (Pokemosity? Does that work?) towards Ash doesn't have to relate directly to him trying to externalize or displace his guilt, or blame him for the death of this Raticate he didn't even love until it was gone. I think he was just trying to deal with that on his own, take responsibility for his part in it, and move on as normally as possible, which of course meant antagonizing Ash at every turn. But really, it's the nature of things in anime. Me and everyone I know usually sided with the obvious choice in any given storyline. You've got your Gary's, Sasukes, Matts, Kojis, Sesshomarus, Kaiba's, Vegetas, etc., and you can't really fault them for berating the Ash or Goku or Naruto for being a total asshat ninety percent of the time. The only time we admire a Red is when it's time to save the world, not because we suddenly need him, but because it's one of the very few times he's got his head on straight. Yes, Naruto isn't afraid to work hard and keep the faith when surrounded by a village full of emos, and Inuyasha's generally a sensible cynic, but heaven forbid either of them gets bored or ramen gets involved. The Blues of the world just don't want to put up with a Red's relentlessly perky attitude or things mysteriously working out in their favor when they don't seem to do anything right, there's no logical explanation for a Red's success when it rightfully belongs to a hardworking Blue. A small, buried part of most Blues admire their respective Red's, though it takes a lot for a blue to admit it. A proud creature like that, of course he would never admit that the consequences of a Red's actions would scar him so deeply. Blue also knows that to blame Red is to admit his own guilt, and he'd rather just mourn in private without being bothered or judged. Of course he never told you you killed his Raticate. He doesn't want you to know.

Of course, Satoshi Tajiri never intended any Pokemon to die within the game, since that might make children equate dying with losing a game. Really makes me wonder about the connotations of that whole debacle and what it was meant to accomplish