As Pokemon GO has evolved over the years since its initial release in 2016, more features and gameplay improvements have been added to help players stay engaged with the game. One of the biggest additions to the game was the introduction of PvP and PvE battles, with the former coming in 2018 and the latter in 2019 with the addition of Team GO Rocket. This villainous team is a variation of the classic Kanto and Johto-based organization design specifically for Pokemon GO, but four years after their introduction, it seems high time the game pulls from the franchise's rogues' gallery and adds more evil teams.

Similar to their main series counterparts, Team GO Rocket aims to exploit mons for their own personal gain by draining PokeStops of resources and battling trainers who try to stop them with their Shadow Pokemon. Pokemon GO players who defeat Team GO Rocket members in battle have a chance to capture and purify some of their Shadow Pokemon, rescuing them from the villainous organization. However, there are a lot of other evil teams throughout the franchise that could add some interesting mechanics to Pokemon GO.

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How Other Evil Teams Could Work in Pokemon GO

There are a variety of evil teams within the Pokemon franchise that each have their own unique methods and goals that could freshen up gameplay within Pokemon GO. One team that seems like a great candidate for Pokemon GO is Gen 5's Team Plasma, whose goal is to liberate the critters from their trainers believing it to be unethical to capture them. This could create an interesting gameplay mechanic in Pokemon GO where players may have the chance to have a Team Plasma grunt show up to try and stop them from capturing a mon, forcing them to battle before they can proceed with attempting the capture.

Another two-for-one option that could work quite well in Pokemon GO is Gen 3's Team Aqua and Team Magma, which have competing goals to expand the sea and expand the land respectively. These two teams could be location-based encounters with players near bodies of water encountering Team Aqua and Teams farther away from water encountering Team Magma. Designing these villainous teams in such a way would fit in Pokemon GO's core theme of getting players out and traveling by adding further incentives for exploring different parts of the world.

Gen 6's Team Flare could be an unexpected but unique addition to Pokemon GO with their goal of eliminating everything and everyone who does not meet their beauty standards. Given Pokemon GO's inclusion of a wide variety of cosmetics for players' avatars, Team Flare could be an interesting way to incorporate this optional mechanic into the game's core gameplay. Perhaps Team Flare could show up to challenge trainers who do not meet specific cosmetic requirements, like wearing the wrong seasonal clothing items or not having certain types of mons as their Pokemon GO buddies, though this mechanic could end up being unbalanced for free-to-play players.

With the Pokemon franchise now well within Gen 9, there are nearly as many evil teams that could play a role in Pokemon GO. Some like Gen 9's Team Star or Gen 8's Team Yell might not work as well for this mobile spin-off due to their specific in-universe goals and storylines, but others like Team Flare, Team Plasma, Team Aqua, and Team Magma could all fit into the existing framework of Pokemon GO's gameplay. There is a lot of new content on the horizon for Pokemon GO players with the upcoming Halloween Event and Party Play feature, and the game should keep the content rolling with the addition of more villainous teams.

Pokemon GO is available now for mobile devices.

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