Future Villains: Organization or Individual?

[SinnohEevee]

Technically N?

I thought of that, but N isn't actually evil.

Or you can have an evil Legendary, but it won't be one you can catch in your version.

 

[Isaac the Investigator]

The closest thing to a singular villain in the games that I can think of would be Darkrai from PMD2. (Sure, he fights with six lackeys at the end, but he orchestrates most of his evil plans all by himself). Although, in his case he worked because he was responsible for a lot of other Pokémon turning evil (like Primal Dialga). Ultimately, the difficulty in making a singular villain is that you'd want to have villains to fight for the entirety of the game, and if the same villain loses to you multiple times they won't seem very threatening.

One way that can work is by having a singular villain and the team villain together. One example along the lines of this would be Purple Eyes from Pokémon Ranger Guardian Signs, as he is not the leader of the villainous team in that game but he is the most villainous character in the game. A similar villain to him in the main games could keep things fresh while not losing the advantages of the team villain.

 

[Almonds]

If we ever get another organization, I hope its the monopoly corporation we see in the games rhat's actually the villains. It would be a plot twist that's predictable and surprising at the same time.

 

[prog rocker]

If we ever get another organization, I hope its the monopoly corporation we see in the games rhat's actually the villains. It would be a plot twist that's predictable and surprising at the same time.

Could work as long as they don't make artwork of the grunts.

 

[Ereshkigal]

Could work as long as they don't make artwork of the grunts.

Just use existing trainer classes that would be employed by the corporation. Have the only clue be the fact the only other place you see that exact combination of classes is inside the corporation itself.

 

[Leaf_Ranger]

Both. We can have a good individual character (with or without henchmen), namely Hunter J, while having an organization like Team Rocket that seems the most well organized due to its long run and reach.
We also had the Malamar anatagonist which was a great change of pace since all villains don't need to be human and not all Pkmn need to be wither good or just angry.

 

[Poke Dragon]

I would like to see an actual evil female main villain for once, one who does get rightfully punished at the end of the story for causing destruction and despair on the region. The grunts could be people who think that she is right in everything and will do anything she says.

 

[Johnny Boy]

I would like to see an actual evil female main villain for once, one who does get rightfully punished at the end of the story for causing destruction and despair on the region. The grunts could be people who think that she is right in everything and will do anything she says.

For the punishment angle, I want to see a villain who gets unambiguously killed off at the end. Bonus points if it’s the legendary that finishes him/her off.

 

[Silktree]

Lysandre's death was pretty unambiguous in my book. Even in X, being "eternal" under the ruins of an entire building is the equivalent of being buried alive, and no one seemed to care.

I'd like to see a Pokemon villain (probably a legendary) command an army of Pokemon bosses. They'd be very mysterious due to no one having a clue as to what they want. There need to be "grunts" for gameplay purposes, but I've had enough of Team Rocket clones.

 

[Morningstar]

I think both have their merits, could actually work hand in hand if done well. Like an evil org and an independent antagonistic third party for a Villainous ensemble.

For what its worth I had an idea for a pair of evil teams themed around showcasing "the virtues of vice" and "the vice of virtue". speficilaly how bad can arise from concepts usually held as "good" and how good could happen as a result of things usually considered "bad".

 

[Eitarou]

I would like to see an actual evil female main villain for once, one who does get rightfully punished at the end of the story for causing destruction and despair on the region. The grunts could be people who think that she is right in everything and will do anything she says.

Lusamine would be a close example. Too bad USUM ruined her.

 

[nickdt]

The next villain should be the Champion or the professor, just to mix it up.

 

[Esserise]

What sort of "punishment" are people looking for, exactly? After all, this is a light-hearted and fundamentally optimistic series for children, so at most, villains will only turn themselves in or swear off any further malfeasance after expressing regret, or be assigned some form of atonement work. Even SM Lusamine is suggested to be coming around and understanding what she did wrong, with Lillie's help. The only real exceptions to this ethos have been Cyrus (who is left free to his own devices although it's implied his efforts to make a new world will be futile), Lysandre (who is given an olive branch but refuses it and decides he'd rather go down in a self-destructive grand gesture), and Ghetsis (who basically just gives up, having committed too much of his life to elaborate schemes that just end up getting thwarted by kids). I'm not sure what else they could really do outside of these definitions.

Lysandre's death was pretty unambiguous in my book. Even in X, being "eternal" under the ruins of an entire building is the equivalent of being buried alive, and no one seemed to care.

Honestly, I imagine all that rubble would have effectively crushed him into paste, at which point consciousness may not even be possible anymore. Obviously Pokémon is never going to be so explicitly graphic, but we can do the math.

 

[SammyW27]

Either and individual or a smallish organization. Like, oh the hunters/poachers who sometimes cause trouble in the TV Show and Movies (mainly the gift from Arceus known as Hunter J )

People wearing ridiculous themed outfits screwing with all creation using Legendary Pokemon and magic artifacts SERIOUSLY got old (and hella predictable)

One of the things I liked about Gen 7 is that they scaled things back a little and have Lusamine & Guzma more grounded, personal motivations. (Even Team Yell has some charm since they were fanboys taking things too far)

 

[Sheep40]

My prediction splits between two groups of obsessed fan groups (basically darker versions of team yell based off of the Studs and Gravediggers) and a more loose cabal of more conventional trainers with dark supernatural abilities and a bone to pick with the pokemon league.

The former are more conventional villainous teams. The latter exists largely as a collection of individuals.

 

[Puddle]

The villainous team thing is getting really tired and desperately needs a shake-up. Game Freak did start to think outside the box with Team Skull and Team Yell, which was nice to see, but I think it's time they moved away from official "Teams" with Grunts and Admins altogether. I would love to see an antagonist who operates alone, perhaps one who also acts as a rival to the player. A bit like N but without the underlings.

 

[Emelie]

I think we need less abusive dad (or in SM's case abusive mom) plots. There are just too many at this point!

I think it could be interesting to have a protagonist with an internal conflict who isn't a blank slate. Maybe something like Bianca but you are actually playing as her (or him). I think the biggest issue with Gen 7-8 is that the story focuses too much on other people while the protagonist is forgotten (or just stands there smiling creepily while all the drama that has nothing to do with them happens).

 

[TechSkylander1518]

I think we need less abusive dad (or in SM's case abusive mom) plots. There are just too many at this point!

There's only three, though, aren't there? (Or two, depending on whether you consider Giovanni's abandonment to be in a separate category) It's a fair amount when there's only eight main conflicts in the core series, but that still doesn't seem like that many to me.

 

[Puddle]

I think we need less abusive dad (or in SM's case abusive mom) plots. There are just too many at this point!

There's only three, though, aren't there? (Or two, depending on whether you consider Giovanni's abandonment to be in a separate category) It's a fair amount when there's only eight main conflicts in the core series, but that still doesn't seem like that many to me.

It's heavily implied that Guzma had an abusive father as well, when you visit his home. So the abusive parent plot actually occurs twice in the same game.

 

[TechSkylander1518]

It's heavily implied that Guzma had an abusive father as well, when you visit his home. So the abusive parent plot actually occurs twice in the same game.

Well, true, but I don't know that I'd agree that implied events that are found in an optional location are really on par with the central plot of the game in terms of how often the trope appears.