Last blog contained my top favorite Gym Leaders. This blog will contain my top 10 NPCs that weren't Gym Leaders. 1 exception is in this list, and Red is not on this list for the simple fact he the PC of Pokemon Red/Blue, so your experience in those games dictate how you react to seeing him in Gold/Silver. Now, let's begin!

10. Saturn

Saturn is one of the 3 commanders of Team Galactic, the villainous team of Pokemon Diamond/Pearl. He is actually a higher rank than the other 2, and by the end of the events of Pokemon Platinum, becomes the new leader of Team Galactic, which works towards a kinder, more realistic goal. Under the Team Galactic wreaking havoc in Diamond/Pearl, Saturn confronts the player during two climactic parts of the story, and he is arguably the most sane member of the entire administration (which might not be saying much, he was part of a group bent on taking over the world, though he himself didn't truly realize Cyrus' true intentions which were to RESTART THE UNIVERSE). He's my favorite member of all of Team Galactic, as I found Cyrus to be too over-the-top.

9.Colress

Temporary figurehead leader of Team Plasma, and scientist striving to bring out the ultimate power of Pokemon. Likes to repeat himself, but I find him a cool guy. He is diligent, curious, and oftentimes very helpful. He pulls a "come at me, bro" near the end of the game when he is working with Team Plasma, and challenges the player to what I felt was a very climactic battle. He doesn't care about what's "right or wrong" and merely aims to take a scientific approach to his goal. His roster of Pokemon compliments his ideas, consisting mostly of Steel-type Pokemon, with several Electric-types and then an alien-like Psychic-type in Beheeyem. He learns his lesson in the aftergame and challenges the player to daily rematches, and on the first one, even gives you a Master Ball.

8. Archer

Though only fought once per game, ever since Giovanni's departure, Archer is the man behind all of Team Rocket's meddling between the aftergame of FireRed/LeafGreen and in HeartGold/SoulSilver (as well as Gold/Silver in which he doesn't have his own persona). He is calm, calculated. Ironically, to be honest, I found the Gold/Silver Team Rocket more fun to take down. I found the Goldenrod Tower takeover much more fitting of Team Rocket than the Silph Co. takeover in the prequels. Archer introduces himself in quite the badass manner, then proceeds to face you with some of the highest-leveled Pokemon you'll face at that point. He also challenges the player in FireRed/LeafGreen as an admin working in the Sevii Islands, funnily enough working on technology he would then use in Gold/Silver and the remakes to force the evolution of Magikarp in the Lake of Rage. So yeah, this guy's got quite a bit going for him as a Poke-villain.

7. Bianca

Bianca is one of the rivals of Pokemon Black/White, which I must say, did a REALLY good job on the rivals. Bianca is a girl who isn't sure what she wants to do with herself when the adventure begins, but wants to travel the Unova region to figure that out. By the end of the game, she realizes what she wants to do, which is be a professor's assistant, and she works with Professor Juniper and in the sequels, she is actually working closely with Juniper, and even is the one to give the player their Pokedex and their first Pokemon, which is different than the various Pokemon games before it where the professor themselves did it, either immediately or eventually after the player was already using one of the Pokemon they offer. She's shown herself to be a very capable battler, and helps the player in quite a few places.

6. Cheren

Cheren is the other rival from Pokemon Black/White. Ironically, he is, thematically, the polar opposite of Bianca. He knows what he wants to do in the beginning, which is aim to become the Champion. However, he grows as a character and through his journey through Unova, as well as having to deal with Team Plasma alongside the player, he slowly begins to wonder if becoming the Champion will really satisfy his urge to become a stronger trainer. In the sequel, he finally realizes what will help him achieve what he's looking for, and takes Lenora's place as Normal-type Gym Leader. He is the first Gym Leader to challenge the player, and he helps the player along the way at a couple of times. Overall, he's certainly a great rival, and a good character for the series.

5. Lance

Dragon Master Lance, the current Champion of the Kanto and Johto regions, and an overall badass. He starts as what seems to be a somewhat smug character in Red/Blue and leads the Elite Four as the final member. Up to that point the Elite Four had no Champion, but were merely a group of elite trainers. After defeating him in those games and their remakes it is revealed your rival just defeated him as well, and the player must face their rival one last time. Lance reappears in Gold/Silver and their remakes as the Champion, after Blue lost to Red, who turn down the title of Champion in order to further his training. In these games, his character is fleshed out, and he is actually a very brave, heroic trainer who is trying to take down Team Rocket. He works with the player when the player shows his ability by defeating/capturing the Red Gyarados in the Lake of Rage, and helps the player take care of Team Rocket's secret base in Mahogany, and later challenges the player as the Champion. I must say, he leads like a champ.

4. Blue

So here's that exception I was telling ya about. Sure, he is a Gym Leader, but most of the entire story around him occurs while he is still the rival of Red. Blue is a former Champion of Kanto, and is the eternal rival of Red, whom defeats him at the end of the story of Red/Blue and their remakes. Blue is snarky, sarcastic, and a general wisecrack. He's not a bad guy, but he can be described as a jerkass sometimes. Which is perfect! It makes him an excellent rival! He challenges the player many many times over the course of the game, and is the rival to this day to challenge the player the most times during the main story (counting the optional fight near Viridian). His team of Pokemon is highly varied, as he aims to be able to cover every type he can. For this reason, he manages to defeat the Elite Four and become the first Champion of the region.

3. Silver

Silver is definitely my favorite rival, although he has stiff competition from Blue. Anyway, Silver starts off as the most outright cruel of the rivals, STEALING his first Pokemon, insulting the player and physically abusing them (pushing them aside, and even ruining their disguise in the remakes). Over the course of the story, his repeated losses to Gold/Ethan make him rethink his situation, and he gradually matures and stops his cruel attitude towards others, and becomes a respectful, even caring individual. It takes all of the Johto adventure for him to finally grow up, and just a tiny bit of the Kanto adventure, but you get to witness him evolve into Bad-Guy-Gone-Good. Which makes him not only a good rival gameplay-wise, but also gives him an interesting story. It's even revealed that his cruel attitude and general jerkass nature he initially has is all because of his uncaring father, who turns out to be Giovanni himself. Talk about a pretty well-developed character, especially by Pokemon standards.

2. Cynthia

WHAT IS THIS? Cynthia isn't #1?? Well, no, she is not. However, she is far out in front as #2. Easily IMO the most badass of all the Champions the series has had, and easily one with the most awesome team of Pokemon. She is a mature woman who introduces herself to the player early on in Diamond/Pearl. She has appeared in every main series game since, from explaining some fairly deep in-universe stories in the Generation IV games which surround the mascots, to being able to battle the player in Pokemon Black/White and the sequels and revealing she is friends with the female Elite Four members of the region. She shows love and care to Pokemon, and is probably the biggest example of a trainer who shows such compassion for them. It might be that reason she is the Champion of Sinnoh, as normally this whole concept is what drives Pokemon to be stronger in-universe. She's also a damn challenging boss trainer in every game she appears in, with epic boss music to boot.

1. N

A downright amazing character if their ever was one. A former Champion of Unova, former leader of Team Plasma, and a highly-ambitious character. He at first is misguided and raised to believe that Pokemon and their trainers are not meant to be together, as trainers only abuse their Pokemon and treat them like tools. N is like Cynthia a very passionate character who loves Pokemon, however this is taken to an extreme that no character has gone to before. He starts the story pretending to be a normal guy, before revealing himself to be the leader of the team you're facing against. During the course of Pokemon Black/White, he fights using Pokemon only found in the surrounding area, and swiftly releases them back into the wild when he finishes battling you. In the end, he learns that while abusive trainers do exist, Pokemon and trainers should be allowed to continue growing together. After having such a life-changing experience, he flies off on his legendary Pokemon. He returns in the sequels being reformed, and will even battle the player seasonally with teams depending on the season.

Well, that's all for now. Next blog is gonna be my favorite video game publishers, and if there's any blog ideas you guys would like me to do, please share! See ya next time~