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Team Skull Speculation

I actually wouldn't object to giving Team Skull absolutely no relation to the mascot legendaries at all.

Nor would I (I would actually love another situation like what was in the Johto games), but it is an all-too-convenient narrative structure for them to allow the climaxes of both the villain plot and the mascot encounter to synchronize.

Their goals at the moment just seem too... Small minded to bring in such a huge power like that.

Well, their goals seem small-scale right now. But if you had asked me before the release of XY what I thought Team Flare's goal was going to be, I don't think I would have ever said, "Use the mascot's power to revive an ancient superweapon so as to wipe out all other humans and Pokémon on the planet."
 
It'd sure be cool though. Granted it might up set some fans off that the villains have a over the top scheme again, but it would make sense thematically.
 
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I think this video might explain what TS is up to.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX9Yuc1n9MQ

I've already found BS, and I'm only up to 4:20 in that video so far. The Gen VI legendaries AREN'T Norse Mythology, they just happen to be the same animals.
I just don't buy this whole theory in general. A lot of it just feels way to reachy. I also don't buy that there's going to be any sort of reboot to Pokemon.
 
The Gen VI legendaries AREN'T Norse Mythology, they just happen to be the same animals.
I just don't buy this whole theory in general. A lot of it just feels way to reachy. I also don't buy that there's going to be any sort of reboot to Pokemon.
Lockstin knows that about the legendaries as well. He says that they are based on Hindu mythology. It's all explained in part 1 of his theory. Did you watch part 1 and 2 at least?
 
Someone please update the title!!!

Aether Foundation
The Aether Foundation works in the Alola region. The foundation’s goal is to care for Pokémon that have been hurt.

The Aether Foundation has constructed an artificial island called Aether Paradise. There, they not only provide shelter for Pokémon, but also conduct various research projects. It seems that the main character will also be able to visit Aether Paradise during the adventure.

Lusamine
The lovely Lusamine functions as the Aether Foundation’s president

Faba
The Aether Foundation branch chief sports green sunglasses. They’re his signature accessory! He seems very proud of his position as branch chief.

Wicke
The assistant branch chief of Aether Paradise has a caring personality, so she’s loved by all the Aether Foundation employees.

Employees of the Aether Foundation
The employees of the Aether Foundation shelter and care for Pokémon. Their uniforms appear to depend on which division they belong to.

-------

I just knew there would be someone else beside Team Skull. At this point I'm willing to believe Skull will become the good guys by the end of the game and the Aether Foundation will become the principal antagonists.
 
I just knew there would be someone else beside Team Skull. At this point I'm willing to believe Skull will become the good guys by the end of the game and the Aether Foundation will become the principal antagonists.
It's gonna be funny when Game Freak tricks us savvy ones by doing the obvious.

Personally, though, I want to play it more like a Grey and Gray Morality type of deal, though it's probably gonna lean more towards Black and Gray Morality depending on whether or not Team Skull itself has a major reason to be pulling the tyranny that it's doing.
 
It's gonna be funny when Game Freak tricks us savvy ones by doing the obvious.
i can see it being possible, mostly because Skull and Aether seem to play off of classic chaos vs. order, black vs. white, slobs vs. refined (and so on), but as you said at this point it'd be so obvious to do a bait-and-switch plot with how they've been set up.
 
Someone please update the title!!!

Aether Foundation
The Aether Foundation works in the Alola region. The foundation’s goal is to care for Pokémon that have been hurt.

The Aether Foundation has constructed an artificial island called Aether Paradise. There, they not only provide shelter for Pokémon, but also conduct various research projects. It seems that the main character will also be able to visit Aether Paradise during the adventure.

Lusamine
The lovely Lusamine functions as the Aether Foundation’s president

Faba
The Aether Foundation branch chief sports green sunglasses. They’re his signature accessory! He seems very proud of his position as branch chief.

Wicke
The assistant branch chief of Aether Paradise has a caring personality, so she’s loved by all the Aether Foundation employees.

Employees of the Aether Foundation
The employees of the Aether Foundation shelter and care for Pokémon. Their uniforms appear to depend on which division they belong to.

-------

I just knew there would be someone else beside Team Skull. At this point I'm willing to believe Skull will become the good guys by the end of the game and the Aether Foundation will become the principal antagonists.

It hasn't been confirmed that the Aether Foundation is an evil team, for now they just seem to care for Pokémon. So I think they should get their own thread, which I shall make now.
 
i can see it being possible, mostly because Skull and Aether seem to play off of classic chaos vs. order, black vs. white, slobs vs. refined (and so on), but as you said at this point it'd be so obvious to do a bait-and-switch plot with how they've been set up.
That's why I find it hilarious. Personally, I still consider the good vs. evil/Black and White Morality plot to be the obvious, though the opposite may be true because it seems like everyone's calling the Aether Foundation out on the ulterior motive.

Also, we like Ike.
 
Gladiolus (from Latin, the diminutive of gladius, a sword) is a genus of perennial cormous flowering plants in the iris family (Iridaceae) It is sometimes called the ‘sword lily‘”

Gladion related to Lillie, confirmed?
 
Gladion, described as an enforcer who lends his power to Team Skull, as well as having Type:Null as his partner, I think he may play a pretty big role in the overall story.

My theory is that the Aether Foundation created Type:Null to fight the Ultra Beasts (or maybe for a more sinister objective). I also think that Gladion used to be a part of it, he looks like he could be Lusamine's little brother, given their identical hair colour and their contrasting colour schemes (her with white and green, him with black and red). Maybe he discovered the company's true intentions or got fed up of their high and mighty regime and left, now existing as hired muscle for anyone looking to cause trouble.
Or, if the Aether Foundation did create Type:Null, maybe they didn't care for it properly because it wasn't really a Pokemon so Gladion liberated it and loved it like it was real.

Not a fully worked out theory, just something that popped into my head when rewatching the trailer :p
 
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So Gladion may be one of my favorite Pokémon character designs. I mean, yes, he looks like a complete edgelord, but he does it so well.
I totally agree with this. He really pulls off the edgy feel. The way he moves in game. His movements are rough. I'm really hoping that he becomes a rival of sorts. He could be my new Silver XD.
 
Team Skull is basically shaping up to be the early 2000s edgy teenager team. As it stands, they are just delinquents without a cause for their actions, which is honestly more realistic. If we assume that the Aether Foundation actually is a bait and switch for Team Skull, then where does that leave our misguided teen villains?

I think that... for the first time in the series since maybe BW Plasma, Team Skull might become an entirely redeemable group. Guzma's backstory of being a trial captain reject is probably where he started the slippery slope, and eventually turned to crime in order to survive or just act out against the system that (he perceives) rejected him. Perhaps as the game goes on, you are suppose to influence Team Skull to change and set them on the right path, which is why GameFreak chose "edgy misguided delinquents" to begin with. Team Skull are not established and entrenched REAL gangsters like Team Rocket, they are disenfranchised anti-establishment teens, and only in the beginning stages of becoming them.

The Aether Foundation however, could be like what Mr.Fuji used to be in regards to their goals. They seem to care for Pokemon just like Fuji does, but behind the scenes they could be cooking up projects like Type:Null. It wouldn't be a stretch if AF created the Ultra Beast in the hopes of displacing the island guardians. The Aether Foundation is ironically actually closer to what many thought the Team of the region would actually be, and my personal prediction was a villain team attempting to displace the Island Guardians due to a perceived notion that: While Alola is paradise, it has come at the cost of innovation/progress, possibly due to adherence to old customs and fickle Island Guardians. The AF creates paradise for themselves and Pokemon, rather than excepting a preconceived view of one.

Or, they could actually just be a bunch of big good scientist. But seriously... when has that ever happened in this series? Am I seriously supposed to believe that Team Edgelords are the ones cooking up strange s*it in Alola? Conducting research on Ultra Beast, who just so happen to be a threat to the region? Thematically with all the Generation 1 Pokemon focus:

Team Skull = Team Rocket in the early stages. That Slowpoke in the trailer was also a TR reference, but unlike the Rockets, they haven't truly become morally bankrupt yet.
Aether Foundation = Group of Dr.Fuji like minded individuals.

Would overall be a nice throwback while still being pretty fresh for the series. These are just my musings since the trailer, and honestly anything can happen.
 
First off, I want to say that I really like Team Skull's overall design and feel. The gangster challenging you to a rap battle vibe is so strong and so hilarious that it's just fantastic. Ridiculously awesome stuff seem to be appealing to me more often lately for some reason. I also kind of like the hint of closeness among the team with Plumeria being the big sister of Team Skull and calling the grunts her stupid brothers and sisters. That would be kind of refreshing for an evil team to have a more family connection among their ranks, especially when the higher ups tended to look down on the grunts and other fellow members.

Guzma is also different from a typical evil team leader from what we know so far, so that's neat. I would like it if their goal had to do with getting revenge for not becoming Captains. That could tie in with the storyline quite nicely and it could make the players question what could happen if they find the trials too difficult or what happens after they complete the trials. It would be a refreshing way to handle the evil teams.

Gladion is also an interesting new addition to the team. He definitely gives off a rival kind of vibe, even though that might be because he looks around the same age as the player character. I kind of love that he looks like the biggest edgelord that shops at Hot Topic. It's so silly, yet I love it and it kind of fits with the design scheme for Team Skull in general too. I'm pretty sure that he's related to Lillie at this point at least, so that could provide some interesting dynamics if that is the case.
 
Fun fact about Gladion: if he's named after a flower like the other Skull bigwigs, he's probably named after the gladiolus. It's named after the Latin word for sword, and is often called the 'sword lily.'

The connection to Lillie was obvious from appearance alone, but this is a nice touch. I hope he also uses Bisharp or Aegislash to reference the sword part.

But I'm sure everyone already figured it out and I just wasted my time researching.
 
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Fun fact about Gladiun: if he's named after a flower like the other Skull bigwigs, he's probably named after the gladiolus. It's named after the Latin word for sword, and is often called the 'sword lily.'

The connection to Lillie was obvious from appearance alone, but this is a nice touch. I hope he also uses Bisharp or Aegislash to reference the sword part.

But I'm sure everyone already figured it out and I just wasted my time researching.
I already posted it, but nobody noticed/cared, so thanks for bringing it up again. :)

Gladion looks like a genderbent version of Lillie, tbh.
 
First off, I want to say that I really like Team Skull's overall design and feel. The gangster challenging you to a rap battle vibe is so strong and so hilarious that it's just fantastic. Ridiculously awesome stuff seem to be appealing to me more often lately for some reason. I also kind of like the hint of closeness among the team with Plumeria being the big sister of Team Skull and calling the grunts her stupid brothers and sisters. That would be kind of refreshing for an evil team to have a more family connection among their ranks, especially when the higher ups tended to look down on the grunts and other fellow members.

They are seriously far too likable. XD The theme is badass too.

Lately, GameFreak has been on a theme of the villainous group being outwardly silly with hidden extremely dangerous goals. Team Galactic started this trend I feel, but I don't get that vibe with this group. Guzma is just far too.. in yo face! from the get go, and his backstory is pretty human so far. They are likely genuinely silly while trying their damndest to be tough. I just can't put Guzma/Plumeria in the same group as Cyrus, Ghetsis, or Lysander, it would come off as being too forced.
 
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