The rival.
Especially the douchebag Machiavellian type rivals that the main character ends up friends or teaming up with after the main character 'proves their worth' to them by being stronger. No character growth outside of now they work with the protagonist.
I really want this trope to be subverted one day, like the douchey rival shows up and everyone is just like "Wow what a dickhead" and just relentlessly bullies him until he goes away.
yeah, pirates are fantastic. I really didn't expect to be able to reliable emulate all the way up to swsh tbh, and I can't wait to try scarlet/violet for the story and characters.
And on the topic of the fanbase I feel like this old meme would unironically be their ideal rival character
The funny thing is that Gladion was basically this
Nah, I don't think Gladion reaches that level of edge, and neither is he actually hostile. He's also got a very good reason for acting the way he does as well.