Scott Baird

  ❘   Published: 2023-12-04T14:29:18  ❘   Updated: 2023-12-04T14:29:29

Pokemon fans are revealing the funny names they gave their rivals back when the games let players rename them.

One of the recurring elements of the Pokemon series is the rival Pokemon trainer who competes with you throughout the game. These can be friendly characters, like Nemona in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, or total jerks, like Blue from Pokemon Red & Blue.

In many cases, the rival is the most memorable character in the game, as they face the player in battle throughout the story and sometimes fight alongside them against a shared enemy. By the end of the game, the rival is usually one of their toughest opponents.

In the early Pokemon games, players could rename their rivals, though this has become much less common over time, even though Pokemon has yet to embrace voice acting.

The Pokemon Company

Pokemon players reveal the hilarious names they gave their rivals in older games

A user on the Pokemon Reddit created a thread asking players what they named their rivals in the older games. This led to several hilarious results, as many players renamed their rival in a way to make fun of them throughout the story.

“NEWMAN,” one Seinfeld fan wrote, while another said, “I distinctly remember taking the rival at face value during Gen 2, and naming him “???”. When I learned that it was supposed to be whatever you like, I went on to name him “Scumbag” in later playthroughs.”

“I remember I didn’t know many bad words as a kid so I named my rival ‘Hot Mama,’” another user wrote, “For some reason I saw that as an insult.”

Many people also used inappropriate or swear words as the name for their rivals, but these wouldn’t fly in the later games, as the developers introduced a word filter that prevented certain terms from being used as names.

Much like naming Pokemon in a Nuzlocke run, naming your rival something funny is a way to ensure that you’ll never forget them. Sure, many of these names are immature, but they’re funny and help liven up characters that can otherwise be boring.