Pokemon Scarlet & Violet's DLC Finally Gives Us A Mean Rival, Fans Hate Her

thegamer.com:

For a while now, Pokemon fans have been begging Game Freak to go back to the good old days and give them a rival along the lines of Gary Oak or Silver that they can truly hate with a passion. Over the past few generations, Game Freak has opted to give us friendly rivals that are awestruck by your skill in battle rather than irritated at how much better you are than them. Bede is the only exception, though he feels like more like a villain than a proper rival.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet's Teal Mask DLC seems to have finally given fans what they wanted though, as players are introduced to new rival Carmine shortly upon arriving at Kitakami, an older trainer who is immediately suspicious of tourists due to her protective nature of her home and younger brother Kieran. Having come from Paldea, Carmine is naturally suspicious and hostile towards you, giving us the mean rival that we've wanted for so long. Surprisingly, some fans don't seem to like her very much.

Related: Don't Use Your Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Party In The DLC

Carmine is definitely a controversial figure in the Pokemon community at the moment, with some disliking her aggressive atittude and dislike of tourists, going so far as to label her xenophobic and racist at the very worst. Others don't like how she treats her younger brother, despite them having a fairly standard younger brother/older sister relationship. One person has gone so far as to write up a short piece of fan-fiction that has Carmine getting hit by a car and considering that a "good ending". Very normal stuff.

Thankfully, Carmine does have her defenders who can clearly see that she's just a flawed character who is worried about her hometown becoming a tourist hotspot. Most of the people