Pokemon Red & Blue are phenomenal video games. Sure, they're broken in several ways and often feel like they're held together with sellotape, but they're also legendary entries in the storied JRPG genre. We tend to forget that Pokemon is a turn-based JRPG because, well, it's Pokemon. It's a thing unto itself. Unfortunately, part of the reason Pokemon feels like a specific genre is because all of the main Pokemon games have been the same. Sword & Shield's Wild Area was the first major change the series has picked up beyond the aesthetics since the Physical/Special split, while Scarlet & Violet look set to embrace Legends: Arceus' open-world philosophy. Way back in Red & Blue though, Pokemon wasn't relying on this safe formula, it was inventing it. That's why the first battle with your rival is still the best one in Pokemon history.

We've previously highlighted a different rival battle in RBY, namely the scuffle at Silph Co. before Giovanni. Both battles speak to the same idea - the rival wanting to beat you just because he can. In modern iterations of Pokemon, they're more of a friendly pal who challenges you at convenient times in order to help you become your best self. In Sword & Shield Hop, Bede, and Marnie are all rivals of sorts, but only Bede actively sees you as a nemesis, and in doing so challenges the energy of Gary/Blue/Fartface/whatever you called your RBY rival. However, what makes the first battle so special is the element of surprise.

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To be clear, I'm not talking about the actual first time you fight Blue as soon as you get your Pokemon. That's really just a tutorial, and one that's difficult to lose even with the type disadvantage. What I mean is the encounter on the road to the left of Viridian City, where you can randomly wander at any time while you go about catching your first roster. Most rival battles in Pokemon happen exactly as you expect them. Even the one in Silph Co., while perhaps you're not bracing for Blue, you're expecting a major battle. You're healed up. Your big hitter is at the head of your party. You're ready.

Nidorino attacking Gengar in the title screen for Pokemon Red & Blue.

All other rival battles are the same. The end of caves, the end of long roads, at entryways to towns. Though the final battle after the Elite Four is a gotcha moment the first time you experience it, it's also highly predictable when you break it all down. How many other JRPGs have the final boss coming back to life, or a secret hidden stage, or a boss behind the boss? This could have gone even further if, as initially planned, Professor Oak could be battled upon full completion of the game. In Viridian City though, it comes out of nowhere.

Before you progress through into Viridian Forest, there are a few smatterings of grass where you can catch the trash fodder any good trainer needs to get through the initial stages of the game. To the left of the Mart, there is a tiny patch where the typical Pidgeys and Rattatas can be caught. If you go past this patch and along a raised walkway, you will eventually come to a second patch, also full of trash, as well as the entryway to Victory Road which you cannot enter yet. There's nothing here of note (Victory Road is just a closed building until you return later in the game), and yet here is where Blue challenges you. For no reason, with no preparation, completely out of rhythm with the rest of the game, Blue and his fully healed, decently levelled team challenge you to a smackdown. If you're not expecting it, you're probably wandering around with a Pidgey and Rattata on 2HP each from being freshly caught, and a Bulbasaur at half health. You've got no chance.

pokemon red

That's the genius of the battle. Most times you fight your rival, they're progress checkers to make sure you're ready to go on to the next phase. They're a specifically designed part of the video game with a real purpose. This battle is not for that. It's just there to drop you on your ass. It's just there to beat you because it can.

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