A Better Rival
I think it’s fair to say that the Pokemon series hasn’t had a really good rival since Blue from the original games. This gulf between Blue and the subsequent rivals has only been made even more apparent with Sun and Moon, and Sword and Shield, where the ‘rivals’ are annoyingly sportsmanlike and nice.
Temtem doesn’t mess around. Right from the start, immediately after you’ve gotten your starter, you’re thrown into a battle with your rival Max. Even before the battle, he’s already showing off about the fact that he’s got a super rare Digital-type Tem. He’s basically a spoiled rich kid, which already sets a precedent for you to hate his guts.
The kicker, though, comes when he completely beats your ass down in the first match. Max doesn’t even hesitate, and he cuts down your starter with just one move. The initial impression from Max is enough to make you really want to train up and be better than him so you can get your revenge on him in future battles.
That element of rivalry has been absent from Pokemon forever, and we’d like to see it come back.
