What's your opinion on Alain?
So, my friend and I were discussing Pokemon, and when I asked them what they thought of anime exclusive rivals, they said they only remembered Alain, I realized he is probably the most memorable anime exclusive rival, besides Gary Oak. Personally, I'm not fond of anime exclusive rivals, especially when game rivals receive little screen time compared to them, like how much screentime Paul received versus Barry, but some of them are good, like Trip or Drew. Alain however, despite how I think he's overrated, his story arc and backstory are really well written, like his relationship with Mairin and association with Team Flare, he should have been the rival for XY instead of Trevor and Tierno, who are sort of forgettable. But, I do not think he should have appeared in the World Coronation Series, a character with a game counterpart should have appeared, like Elite Four Members, since so few appeared in the anime.