With Niantic's reliance on Team GO Rocket as its antagonists, Pokemon GO has inadvertently landed the ideal opportunity to introduce the Aether Foundation, not only as a tie-in with its integration of Gen 6 like its Zygarde event but also to offer players a different experience. After a recent spate of events and updates centered around Pokemon GO's faction of the villainous team, it's becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the fatigue among players annoyed at Team GO Rocket and their repetitive use. Even accepting that Pokemon GO's mobile format has limits, Niantic is missing the obvious answer to its team problem.

Pokemon GO has so far only included Team GO Rocket as far as the mainline series is concerned. Beyond rumors that Gen 3's villain teams are coming to Pokemon GO, Niantic should strive to make its gameplay more than one-dimensional with players versus grunts. In particular, it would be smart for Pokemon GO to introduce a positive counterpart to Team GO Rocket for a more authentic trainer experience. Without undoing the development into Team GO Rocket so far, Niantic could add the Aether Foundation to let players help Pokemon instead of just completing Research Tasks and busting GO Rocket leaders.

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Pokemon GO Needs More Than Just Team GO Rocket

During Pokemon GO's earliest days, any change or addition to the game was revolutionary as Niantic made tentative steps to translate the Pokemon experience into an app. From the natural starting point of Gen 1, it was arguably inevitable that Niantic would eventually introduce Pokemon's most infamous villain team under the Team GO Rocket banner. As Niantic developed Pokemon GO even further, Team GO Rocket kept pace with its own all-new leaders, the reprisal of XD: Gale of Darkness' Shadow Pokemon mechanics, and even encounters with the anime's own Jessie and James, as well as the head of Team Rocket, Giovanni.

However, between now and its launch back in 2016, Pokemon GO hasn't really offered any kind of alternative villains beyond Team GO Rocket. The lack of any other villain team in Pokemon GO is compounded by the fact that Niantic has stretched itself across multiple generations at this point, all while it continues to ignore the various teams it could and should have added. The consequence of this has stalled Pokemon GO's narrative growth. Team GO Rocket has become stale and unimaginative for players while Niantic bloats the game with related features, such as the new Rocket-centric Shadow Raids, Shadow Shards, and Purified Gems.

The Aether Foundation Would Be Perfect for Pokemon GO

At this point, it's clear that Pokemon GO needs to offer something significantly different to the formulaic rut it's lapsed into. But instead of replacing Team GO Rocket with other villain teams as rumored, Niantic should consider adding a group that goes in a brand-new direction. As a spin on the series' villain staple, the Aether Foundation debuted alongside Team Skull as an opposing force for good, with their aim being to help heal and protect Pokemon. Not only would this counter Team GO Rocket's evil-doing, but the Aether Foundation is already confirmed to exist thanks to Pokemon GO's Ultra Beasts, Ultra Space wormholes, and Rhi.

Bringing the Aether Foundation to Pokemon GO as a "team" players can encounter instead of just Team GO Rocket could be enough to diversify its gameplay loop. Foundation employees could still provide classic battles under the guise of testing player-Pokemon friendships or trainers' skill levels, but they could offer new tasks such as adapting Pokemon GO's Buddy mechanics to catch and heal injured Pokemon in the overworld or using the game's new routes to send players on local patrols. Ultimately though, if Niantic insists on expanding Pokemon GO's antagonists, then the Aether Foundation could help balance the game's formula.

Pokemon GO is available now for Android and iOS devices.

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