Hop (Pokémon)

Hop is a fictional character in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Introduced in the 2019 video games Pokémon Sword and Shield, he is the one of multiple rivals to the protagonist and the brother of the Pokémon League Champion, Leon, aspiring to become the Champion himself. He has a Wooloo as his first Pokémon, and later receives either Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble, picking whichever Pokémon is weak to whichever of the three the protagonist chose. He has received mixed reception, noted in both positive and negative commentary as a bad trainer. He has also been criticized for being annoying due to how often he appears in cutscenes and tutorials. This criticism caused people to defend him, with one sentiment being that having a nice rival to complement more competitive or mean rivals is a good quality of the games.

Concept and creation
Developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo, the Pokémon franchise began in Japan in 1996 with the release of the video games Pokémon Red and Blue for the Game Boy. In these games, the player assumes the role of a Pokémon Trainer whose goal is to capture and train creatures called Pokémon. Players use the creatures' special abilities to combat other Pokémon, both in the wild as well as those used by other Trainers. Created for the 2019 sequels Pokémon Sword and Shield, Hop acts as the player's "rival", a type of trainer that acts as a boss the player must defeat during the course of the game multiple times, growing more difficult with each encounter. As a rival, Hop is the first in the series to have two Pokémon to start. This was done with the intention of conveying that he has more skill than the player and can be a guide for the player. Hop has been voiced by Griffin Puatu, AJ Beckles, and Adriel Vardack in English, and by Takuto Yoshinaga Yūko Sanpei and Miyu Irino in Japanese.

Appearances
Hop first appears in Pokémon Sword and Shield, being the friend of the protagonist. He originally only has a Wooloo, but after his brother, Leon, visits, he also gets either the Grass-type Grookey, Fire-type Scorbunny, or Water-type Sobble. The Pokémon he receives is determined by the Pokémon the player picked of these three, choosing the Pokémon that is weak to it (with Grass beating Water, Water beating Fire, and Fire beating Grass). He aspires to become the new Champion in the place of his brother, the current Champion, and competes as a rival to the player. To do this, he has to collect eight badges and then win a tournament consisting of those gym leaders, other rivals, and the Champion. He often appears during the player's quest, offering tips and guidance, and sometimes team up with the protagonist. Throughout the gym challenge, Hop suffers from setbacks and low self-esteem due to losing battles against fellow rival Bede. Hop eventually competes in the Champion Tournament, where he battles the player and loses. The challenge is then interrupted by Chairman Rose, who intends to summon the Pokémon Eternatus, but is ultimately stopped by Hop and the player. After the story is completed, Hop aids the player with stopping Sordward and Shielbert, a pair of brothers who intend to use "Galar Particles" to drive the Legendary Pokémon Zacian and Zamazenta into a frenzy. Hop captures one of the pair, depending on the version, and after a battle with the player, decides to work to become Pokémon Professor.

In anime appearances, Hop is featured in several episodes of Pokémon: Twilight Wings alongside his Wooloo. Featured in the episode "Buddy", he appears alongside Wooloo as the former is watching his brother's Pokémon battle on television. While Hop gushes over his brother's dragon-like Charizard Pokémon, Wooloo gets jealous and tries to imitate its fire breath and flight and fails quickly at both. Dejected, Wooloo runs away, but starts to return home after reflecting on Hop's reflection for it. Meanwhile, Hop frantically searches for it. The two catch sight of each other and are reunited, returning home together. Hop additionally appears in the Pokémon anime series, where he briefly battles series protagonist Ash Ketchum. Following this, he watches the Masters Eight Tournament- in which Ash is competing- alongside Goh, Ash's travelling companion.

Critical reception
Hop has received mixed reception, with several finding him to be annoying. Destructoid writers CJ Andriessen and Dan Roemer were both critical of Hop, feeling that he was a very basic character and questioning why he has fans online. The Gamer writer Scott Baird expressed frustration with how annoying Hop was in the game, describing him as an unbearable person who somehow always shows up when unwanted. He particularly disliked Hop due to how much he attempts to guide the player, feeling that he disrupted gameplay too much, especially with how simple he found the game to be. He felt like he represented the problem with rivals in modern Pokémon video games, comparing him unfavorably to Blue from Pokémon Red and Blue and Silver from Pokémon Gold and Silver, who did not talk much and were not friendly to the player like Hop was. Fanbyte writer Kenneth Shepard felt that Hop was a bad trainer, but also that this helped enhance his character. He argued that this was, in part, due to Hop picking a Pokémon that is weak to the one picked by the player, questioning whether his level of competence was an intentional design decision or a symptom of bad AI. He noted that his poor performance has reached "meme status" while praising the direction his character went by the end of the story. Polygon writer Cass Marshall also noted his poor performance in battle, talking about how fighting him always made him feel guilty due to how easy it was to beat him.

Despite criticisms of his character, The Gamer writer Cian Maher defended him from said criticism. Having previously described Hop as "universally detested" and "irritating and boring," he now believed that Hop was a great character and one of his favorite Pokémon rivals. He understood how his "infectious enthusiasm" could be seen as overeager, believing that the hate was a byproduct of people's general dislike for Sword and Shield around its release. Kotaku writer Gita Jackson also defended Hop, discussing how while some may see certain traits, like complimenting the player when they get a critical hit, they do not. They argued that it reflected a sweet side of Hop, that he would praise you even when he's losing. They felt that people were angry because he was not a hateable rival like Blue was in Pokémon Red and Blue, arguing that they didn't like the idea of having a rival who is made to feel bad when they lose and that they want their win to be a celebration of their skills. GamesRadar+ writer Mahin Kesore felt that the trio of rivals in Sword and Shield was done well, appreciating that the game complemented Hop being a less aggressive rival was complemented by more competitive rivals in Marnie and Bede. Siliconera writer Jenni Lada also appreciated the rival trio, noting how each one was memorable and unique from each other. She felt that Hop in particular was memorable due to his growth and optimism, as well as how he struggled with self-esteem due to the player outpacing him and Bede beating him. Game Rant writer Liam Ferguson felt that the nature of Sword and Shield held him back, believing that him being so present in the game's cutscenes, tutorials, and so many battles made him more annoying.