As for Rivals, there are a few that I would edit, but not much.
Original Series- Gary's team was perfectly fine, so he gets no changes. There is one specific Johto League Rival whose team receive a minor alteration, though: there was this girl named Macy who was a Fire-type specialist who Ash fought at the preliminary rounds and had a Quilava as her ace Pokemon. Well, in my version of the anime, that Quilava of hers would be a Typhlosion since Ash's Cyndaquil would have already evolved into Quilava during this era. Would also help give that big ol' splody badger some actual spotlight during the era that it should have gotten it the most.
Advanced Series- Ash's Rivals also get no changes, but one of May's rivals would due to me giving two of his Pokemon to Ash: Drew. I gave Ash an Absol and a Flygon in my rewrite of his Hoenn team, so that means that Drew would have to get something different. I'm thinking Manectric in place of Absol and Breloom in place of Flygon (I originally considered Salamence, but that might be a bit overkill lol)
DPP Series- Since I gave Ash a Froslass in my rewrite of his Sinnoh team that means Paul wouldn't use one in the League match. For this I would either have Paul use Gliscor in Froslass's place or just have him use the exact same team he used in the Lake Acuity battle against Ash so the latter's team can get proper payback. Also worth mentioning is Tobias, who would have at least one or two Gen 5 Pokemon in his team in place of freaking Legendaries, making his defeating Ash more akin to Harrison's Blaziken in Johto. As for Dawn's Rivals, only Nando would get any changes in that he wouldn't have a Lopunny due to me evolving Dawn's Buneary in my version. Maybe I'd just give him a Clefable that knows Sing in my version. Everyone else's teams stay the same.
BW Series- Okay, FINALLY we get some actual major changes since this is a saga where I would alter just about every Rival's team. Let's jump right into it:
- Trip- For this kid, we'd just get to see his whole team fully evolved. Ash would probably fight and beat him at the Top 8 at the League in my version anyway.
- Bianca- I would evolve Mincinno and give her a Musharna, a Lilligant, and a Swanna so she'd have an actual full team. Emboar and Excavalier stay.
- Stephan- In addition to Zebstrika, Liepard, and Sawk, I'd give him a Seismitoad, a Gigalith, and a Darmanitan (this fits him more than it does Burgundy anyway).
- Georgia- She'd have a Cryogonal in place of Vanillite since that line is already in Trip's roster. Additionally, I'd give her a Mienshao and a Sigilyph. Mienshao because it has access to Dual Chop, and I think Georgia would enjoy having a Pokemon that can essentially turn Dragon-types' own powers against them without belonging to that type itself, and it's also just a Pokemon that I feel fits Georgia pretty well. Sigilyph is mainly there to cover the massive Fighting-type weakness in Georgia's team, and since it can also learn Ice Beam it would still be an effective dragon slayer. Beartic and Bisharp were fine, so they get to stay.
- Burgundy- Her first Pokemon would be a Scraggy (eventually Scrafty) in place of Dewott. She'd also have a Heatmor instead of Darmanitan, since the latter Pokemon imo doesn't fit her and I gave it to Stephan anyway. Stoutland and Sawsbuck get to stay.
- Cameron doesn't exist.
- Virgil keeps his Eeveelution team, but his Eevee would evolve into Sylveon.
- I know he's a villain and not a rival, but I'll never get over the huge missed opportunity that was not having Ghetsis be the one to showcase Hydreigon, especially considering how infamously brutal the one he uses in the games is. I'd even add a subplot revealing that he was the dragon-type trainer who traumatized Georgia, and she and Iris would get to face Hydreigon together while Ash and N deal with Kyurem (Ghetsis would weaponize this instead of one of the YinYang dragons), who would have absorbed Reshiram and Zekrom for the final Plasma showdown.
Alola Series- Again there's no major changes, but I want to make a note regarding Ilima: in canon his main Pokemon was an Eevee, but whether that stays here would depend entirely on whether Lana still catches Sandy or not. If she doesn't, then Ilima keeps Eevee as his ace and just like in canon it'd be the one to showcase Extreme Evoboost. But if Lana does catch Sandy he'd have to get something else as his main. This is because I feel that two major characters having non-evolving Eevees in the same saga is a bit too much, so I feel one of them has to be nixed, and if Lana is the one who gets to keep hers, then I'd make Ilima's ace Pokemon a Snorlax that uses Pulverizing Pancake. Another option could be to give him a Drampa, and instead of showcasing a species-exclusive Z-Move, Ilima could instead showcase the use of Z-crystals on status moves. The latter especially could be a neat way to emphasize Ilima's strategic skills and his status as a "senior/graduate" student compared to the Alola gang's "freshman" status. This way Lana's Eevee could be the one to showcase Extreme Evoboost. And the Partner Moves as well.
