Pokémon Adventures: 10 Times Blue Was A Better Rival Than Red

Blue was constantly evolving as a character and rival to Red, while the same wasn’t necessarily true of the prototypical hero.

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The manga series Pokémon Adventurers helped shine a different light on the series, making the world of Pokémon feel more adult than any of the shows managed to do. There were lots of character development, and most characters were distinctly different from one another.

This was no more noticeable than in Blue, who was constantly evolving as a character and rival to Red, while the same wasn’t necessarily true of the prototypical hero. Red mostly stayed the same throughout the series and often spent chunks of it off-screen, never having the impact he could have on Blue, beyond the first few volumes.

10 Knowing When To Back Down

It happens early in the series, Blue dueling a Mew with his Charmander and quickly recalling the starter Pokémon to keep it from harm, knowing all too well that he was overmatched. It was a bit of wisdom that he tried to pass onto Red when the latter tried to battle Mew himself, losing miserably.

It fell on deaf ears given Red’s more heroic tendencies of never backing down, but Blue can’t be blamed for that. He’s always been the more pragmatic thinker of the two.

9 Saving His Grandpa

For much of the Red, Green, and Blue chapters, Blue is an antagonist, one who’s so full of himself that you’d think he was a villain. Learning his grandfather was kidnapped helped him gain more likable tendencies, showing that he cared for more than himself.

It’s a bit like Kaiba from Yu-Gi-Oh’s relationship with his younger brother. His willingness to do anything for his grandpa showed he can be just as heroic as his counterpart Red could be.

8 Defeating Koga With Quick Thinking

The way Blue dealt with Koga was unlike what you normally see in Pokémon as there was more of a focus on him rather than just his Pokémon. Koga’s hatred was completely directed at Blue for what he did to Koga’s Arbok, forcing Blue to take a Razor Wind directly to the chest.

Thanks to a reflective pendant, Gary can keep his senses about him, thinking two steps ahead of his foe. When Koga tried to get his Articuno to freeze both Blue and Red, he found out Blue’s Charizard had already been heating the room, making the attack moot.

7 Training Yellow

For as big a hero as Red is, Blue’s often the one who’s more than willing to hand out his wisdom to those that are willing to listen. That’s no more noticeable than how he takes Yellow under his wing, even after realizing that she didn’t even grasp the basics of catching a Pokémon.

He helped calm her down when she panicked over her Ratty evolving and stepped in during a battle with Mankey’s when he realized she couldn’t defeat the Primeape leader by herself.

6 Letting Bygones Be Bygones

The biggest example of this is him growing to accept Red as a more friendly rival than one that required more cutthroat tactics to deal with.

Red’s far from the only one he’s been able to move past his prior issues with, Koga went from a man who’d tried to kill him to one that he worked with to bring down Agatha of the Elite Four. It took the pair working in perfect congruence as well. One slip up could have easily led to Agatha’s victory.

5 Becoming A Gym Leader

Admittedly, he got the title due to Red turning it down, but it showed that Blue could take on a level of responsibility that Red was incapable of. For all his heroics, Red was a traveler, one who could never hope to settle down somewhere, always needing to rush off to stop the plights of the world.

Blue never had that issue, slotting perfectly into the role of a person who could be a rival to not only Red but any of the younger generation of trainers.

4 Lending Out His Pokémon

Blue was intricate in healing Red during the story of Gold, Silver & Crystal. Having suffered from frostbite due to Lorelai’s cuffs, Blue told Red where he needed to go and even lent him his Charizard, a Pokémon that was one of Blue’s favored.

It shows how willing he is to help, even if it put him at a disadvantage, as it did here. He was forced to battle his mentor Chuck during the tournament without one of his strongest Pokémon.

3 Willing To Accept Defeat

Considering he’s the secondary protagonist of the series next to Red, he’s had to learn from defeat. As with Vegeta in Dragon Ball, Blue’s suffered his fair share of defeats, a few having come at the hands of Red. He uses them as building blocks for his growth while Red wallowed away in depression the first time he wasn’t able to save the day as he always does.

He manages to snap out of it to bring down Giovanni and his scheme by the end of FireRed & LeafGreen, but it did make Red seem more childish of the rivals.

2 Moving Past His Hate Of His Parentage

There was a time that Blue despised his grandpa, of being known only as Professor Oak’s grandson rather than his own man. It’s a trait that allowed him to connect with Silver, who equally hated his father, Giovanni.

Blue managed to soothe the boy’s anger, showing him that hatred only ends up breeding more hate. That he now is proud to be Oak’s grandson, something that Silver may one day have for his father. It’s a good moment in a series that is far more adult than you’d expect.

1 Saving Others, Even Foes

For as heroic as Red is, his main purpose is usually to defeat whoever the big bad at the time is, much like most protagonists. There are times his battles spiral out of control and leave others at risk.

That’s where Blue has stepped in many times, namely in FireRed & LeafGreen. Not only does he save Silver and Giovanni from burning wreckage, but he also works with Green to stop the flaming airship from crashing into Vermillion City.

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