Nefarious individuals and organizations are no strangers to the Pokemon franchise. These teams are normally used to explore the plot taking place in the new region, and many of them have plans involving the new generation's legendary Pokemon. Each team consists of some low-level grunt trainers, and a leader whose goals they are hoping to further by battling the player.

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Though each evil team in the Pokemon series has a unique goal to conquer, all of them fail due to the player intervening and stopping their plan. However, it is worth wondering about what would happen if the player wasn't there to save the day. How many of these iconic evil teams would achieve their goals?

1 Giovanni In Generation One

The Team Rocket Leader Easily Takes Over Silph Co.

The first evil team that players will face in the Pokemon series is Team Rocket in Pokemon: Red, Blue, and Yellow. This team of criminals has the very evil goal of stealing other trainers' Pokemon, but their leader, Giovanni, is secretly working on another evil scheme. The Ground-type gym leader has cloned Mew and created the most powerful Pokemon in the world, Mewtwo. Giovanni originally intended to use Mewtwo to become the world's strongest trainer, but Mewtwo fled his captors before this could happen. That is why the player finds Giovanni in control of Silph Co, attempting to steal a master ball to reclaim his weapon.

In the games, Giovanni has already taken over the company necessary for his plan to succeed. Plus, no one else in the region seems to be aware of the existence of Mewtwo. Therefore, it can be assumed that he would get the master ball if the player was not there to defeat him. None of the other gym leaders or trainers in Kanto intervened during this takeover. Even the dragon trainer, Lance, intervenes in the second-generation games to thwart Team Rocket in Johto, but not here.

2 Cyrus In Generation Four

The World Would Be A Scary Place If The Player Didn't Show Up To Stop This Madman

The reason why the leader of Team Galactic, Cyrus, from the generation four Pokemon games is a nihilistic madman remains a mystery to many players. He does not have a backstory, yet his goals are quite clear. Cyrus plans to use his advanced resources to summon the legendary Pokemon, Dialga or Palkia, to destroy the world and remake it in his own image.

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To achieve this, Cyrus first needs to catch the mythical Pokemon, Uxie, Mesperit, and Azelf to obtain the red chain. This is something that Cyrus achieves in the game with little resistance. It is only until the player catches up to Cyrus atop Mount Coronet that his plan is thwarted. Even the immensely strong champion of the region, Cynthia, does not attempt to prevent Cyrus' plans. The three mythical Pokemon do appear again to assist the player in defeating Cyrus in the end. However, they are only able to do so once the player has freed them from Team Galactic's HQ.

3 Lysandre In Generation Six

Tries To Catch A Legendary To Wipe The World Clean

The goals of the evil Team Flare in Generation Six are some of the most clear and evil. Also, the events that lead up to their final boss, Lysandre, are integral to the story being told in Pokemon X and Y. In the past, a man named AZ used the ultimate weapon to stop the Pokemon war and return the world to a more peaceful state. In modern times, Lysandre is a tech genius who wants to use the weapon again and wipe out the current history of the Pokemon world. However, the evil team leader needs to catch one of the region's legendary Pokemon, Xerneas or Yveltal, to power the weapon.

Lysandre and his grunts get pretty far in their operation and even manage to stop AZ from preventing them from gaining access to the legendaries. Fortunately, the player character is there to stop them or Lysandre may actually succeed in his plans.

4 Guzma In Generation Seven

His Plans Are So Small They Would Likely Go Unnoticed

Many fans of the Generation Seven games, Pokemon Sun and Moon, view Guzma and Team Skull as nothing more than a minor inconvenience. However, that attitude is all part of their charm. These punks come out of the woodwork at the worst possible times with their brash personalities and try to battle the player. They also brag about the Pokemon they have stolen and the trouble they cause.

Of course, the main grunts in this team are easily defeated, and they appear as a very poor attempt at a new evil team for the region. However, that is the plan for Guzma and his cronies. In a twist during the story, the player eventually learns that Guzma was only hired to create a distraction for the player to allow Lusamine to carry out her evil plans. Without the player uncovering this information, it is highly likely that Guzma and co. would continue their hi-jinks and allow their true boss to fulfill her plans.

5 Chairman Rose And Eternatus In Generation Eight

He Struggles To Wield The Power He Brings Into The World

The main evil team in the Galar region, Team Yell, does not have any evil plans that would have drastic consequences for the Pokemon world. However, the chairman of the Galar Pokemon League does get involved in a plan that ends with the player character stepping in to save the day.

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On the surface, Chairman Rose's plan to summon the legendary Pokemon, Eternatus, to supply the world with a renewable energy source seems noble. Unfortunately, the legendary Pokemon refuses to be tamed and causes a problem for the Steel-type trainer, despite the warning he received from the region's champion, Leon. As a result, the Championship battle with Leon is interrupted, and the pair must rush to stop Eternatus before it is too late.

While Leon and his brother, Hop, are good trainers, it is the player who finally stops Eternatus. Therefore, it is unclear if Eternatus and Chairman Rose would end up destroying the world without the player characters' presence.

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