The Real OG

So, I know that in the past, I've valued the privacy of other people's blogs (I did that one time). But, for this particular one I feel I'm going to have to mention Eric's blog (Retro bloggin in an 8 bit world). If you read it, you'd know that he compared the brother from Gooseberries to the popular Gary Oak from the Pokemon franchise. If you read the comments, you'd know I had a slight issue with that. First off, Pokemon is kind of MY thing. Second of all, I felt there could be a better comparison.

Know that Eric probably hasn't played as much Pokemon as I have, so he probably does not have the same experience I do. So if he probably thought he was right on. Even though he was wrong on. I not sure if I can even blog about this, but I will now proceed to do so.

I can blog about this right? Right? Rig-

Too late I'm doing it.

Let's start off with Gary freaking Oak, one of the most notoriously hated characters in all of video game history. First off, he's not Gary freaking Oak, He's Blue and he is dubbed your rival. He is the trainer you will fight the most in the first generation (called by many to be "the best"). He(as well as Red, the charter the player plays as) also appears in every generation of the franchise, except for the newest one cause' it hasn't come out yet. (I.Red/Blue/Yellow II. Gold/Silver/Crystal, III. Fire Red/Leaf Green IV. Heart Gold/Soul Silver V. Black 2/White 2).

Why do people hate Blue? Could it be because he was one of the most well-developed rivals of his time? Was it because of his teasing of the player, or the fact he was always seemingly two steps ahead of you?

Well, if it were me I'd say that's why you hated him. But according to Eric, it was because he was arrogant and willing to do anything (mostly hurting his Pokemon), he's a jerk to everyone, and he always chooses the Pokemon that would matches up well with yours.

I will now proceed to argue all those points that he made.

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The arrogance and hurting his Pokemon-I'll agree he did come off as arrogant. That, however, is a quality that many enemies in all games have and is not enough to merit a global hate for him. Hurting his Pokemon, though...when did he ever do that? There isn't a single moment in the game where it is mentioned he hurts his Pokemon as far as I'm concerned. Sure after the first battle, he exclaims that "he picked the wrong Pokemon." But this was most likely a disappointing outburst, rather than an insult to his Pokemon, because right after he declares he will toughen it up and he does. He becomes champion with that Pokemon. He can't have hurt it if he became champion, that's one of the rules in the Pokemon universe.

He is a jerk to you at points of the game. But he was never a jerk to anyone else. As quoted by Oak "he's been your rival ever sine you were babies." So obviously, he felt comfortable teasing you, since you had been acquaintances for so long. In the anime their counterparts, Ash and Gary, are even called friends. It can be safe to assume that a similar situation is in play here. Sure, once or twice he says that cringe worthy quote that seems totally insensitive. But who doesn't say stuff they regret once in a while? Speaking of being a jerk to everyone how about you look in the mirror? Your're Red and you're the one trampling everyone to become the Pokemon champion. You never say anything either. You just beat up everyone, take their money, and leave. Red is a bigger jerk than Blue.

As for choosing the Pokemon that works well against you, well sorry, but I'd do the same thing. If you send out a grass type Pokemon, I'm not going to pick the water type. I'm not going to go "Oh, I'm going to lose, but gee, I don't want to inconvenience my opponent :D" NO. I am burning you with fire and laughing as you lose. He's your RIVAL. He's trying to beat you.

Now, it's time for me to tell you who the real example is. I think we've established that the brother in the story, Gooseberries is a man who did whatever he wanted to get what he wanted, and the result was unsatisfactory but he deluded himself to think it was. So, who in Pokemon is like the brother?

If you read my comment on Eric's blog, I already gave you my answers.

Silver. Giovanni. Colress.

Giovanni was kind of a joke because it was so obvious. He wants the rarest and strongest Pokemon so he starts a criminal organization. criminal organizations don't tend to care who or what they hurt, but Giovanni convinced himself it was all okay because he was getting powerful. In fact, he even ditched his own son (who we'll get to in a moment) for his own selfish reasons. He created Mewtwo and even though Mewtwo refused to be part of Team Rocket, Giovanni was happily deluding himself he had possessed the most powerful and rarest Pokemon. That is, until he lost to Red. (As a footnote, pretty much all the criminal organizations in Pokemon could be in this spot as well)

Giovanni's leaving his son, Silver

Giovanni's son was Silver, who stole a Pokemon and called them tools to get back at his dad, and become more powerful. He truly didn't care about anything except his own motives. Unfortunately, he failed because he lacked the power of friendship (true story). His attitude was the most like the brother's in the story, but since he ultimately failed to achieve anything, he's not the number one comparison.After he battles the champion Lance, who chides him on his attitude to Pokemon and admonishes him for his callous ways, he has an attitude change that leads him on the path to being a better trainer. He's even allowed to keep the Pokemon he stole, the starter and a Sneasel that he steals later in the game. His Golbat evolves into a Crobat, which is only done if Golbat likes its trainer. It should be noted that he does get one of his goals down, be a strong trainer. But that was after he decided to be nice so it shouldn't count.

The number one is Colress, a commander of Team Plasma in Black and White 2. His motive was to find the best way to get the most out of Pokemon. What makes him like Silver and the brother is that he didn't care how he did it. He ran harmful test, joined a criminal organization, captured Pokemon, provoked them, and was even willing to destroy cities for the answer he desired. But the difference between him and Silver is that he gets his answer. In the final moments when you the player stops Team Plasma, Colress challenges you for the third time and loses. After the battle he declares that you have the best way of getting the most out of Pokemon and calls himself satisfied. That's it? That's all it took? Colress didn't even know your whole story! He doesn't know what you and your Pokemon went through, or basically anything about you. It even shows that he has no idea what he's talking about. If  you rematch him after you beat the game and win, he'll say if he believed more he would have won. He doesn't specify what he's supposed to believe, how he's going to do it or anything, but instead continues to just stand there and chide happily that he knows how to get Pokemon stronger. He believes he has found his goal, but he hasn't gotten even half of it. He's utterly clueless.

Colress found his Gooseberries. The problem was that they were only half-there. He deludes himself into thinking that they are fully there and delicious. In reality, they are shriveled and taste wrong. Much like the brother, he believes he has something he wants, that he has worked for who knows how long for, that he has done unspeakable things to get. Much like the brother, the product is unsatisfying. But if he were to admit that, all his actions would, his despicable actions would come to haunt him; they were all for nothing. So they delude themselves into believing that this is what they wanted, to avoid the blatant truth

The face of one who has done evil things