Top 10 members of villainous Teams

Just so you know, avid readers, there will be spoilers in this article for pretty much everything Pokemon related. You have been warned.

Hello, all you little FIGHTAMANIACS! I’m back for another look at the wonderful world of Pokemon. Now, if you know me, you know I’m an avid supporter of Teams Rocket, Magma, Aqua, Snagem, Galactic and Plasma. I always feel bad when I mow down a grunt for a Team I love, so I thought I’d make up for it by counting down the top ten members of villainous teams. Keep it in mind when you read this that I’m not sticking to one canon. Characters from the anime, games, and manga are present on this list. I didn’t really have a specific criteria when I made this list. As such, the characters aren’t here because they all have varying levels of a certain quality, it’s mostly just based off of opinion.

#10: Giovanni

Giovanni is the leader of Team Rocket in every type of Pokemon media. He is a recurring boss who is the leader of the Viridian City Gym in Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow/FireRed/LeafGreen. In the anime, he’s referred to as “the boss” by Jessie, James and Meowth, who often fantasize about what he’ll do when they present him with something, usually a new Pokemon. In Pokemon Adventures, Giovanni plays a similar role to in the games, with the exception of the fact that Red meets him before it’s realized that he’s the leader of Team Rocket. Red is going through Diglett Cave when Giovanni tags along, and he even helps him find the old amber that Red would transform into Aero. Giovanni later battles Red in the Viridian City Gym, where it’s revealed he is the leader of Team Rocket and Red defeats him (because Red is Red and Red does NOT lose). Team Rocket’s leader then later returns in the Yellow arc to help Yellow and Blaine defeat Lance, thus saving the world.

Giovanni is a very efficient crime boss, being a great trainer, overseeing the creation of Mewtwo, and being behind many excellent schemes. He’s also Silver’s father, which is pretty cool. He was the original leader of a Team, preceding people like Maxie, Cyrus, and N, and while some people consider him the best, I believe those people are suffering from what I like to call “nostalgia glasses syndrome”. Trust me, that’s a real thing.

#9: Gonzap

As you can see in that picture, Gonzap is the leader of Team Snagem in the amazing spinoff game, Pokemon Colosseum. Now, I know everybody wanted to see Miror B the Cipher Admin on this list, but there’s a HUGE problem with this: Cipher isn’t a Team! So let’s talk about Gonzap. He’s a rough guy who was one of the final bosses in the game, he created many Shadow Pokemon, and he had a super tough Skarmory that made the last few battles way easier if you took the time to purify it. Now, on their own, those feats wouldn’t get him on this list. You know what gets him on here? Facial hair. Just look at that fantastic moustache and those awe-inspiring eyebrows! They make Miror B’s afro seem lame! Let all criminals who have facial hair bow down to the magnificence of Gonzap!

#8: Cassidy and Butch

Butch and Cassidy are Jessie and James’ rivals in Team Rocket. They are extremely proficient, as all of their schemes that we see usually succeed, unless Ash or their aforementioned rivals mess them up. Cassidy in particular is loathed by Jessie, as she constantly insults her looks, something Jessie’s very sensitive about. Butch has the most awful voice ever. Seriously, it sounds like someone’s blending gravel with pop rocks. This particular duo is also guilty of ripping off the classic Team Rocket motto, and it goes as such:

Cassidy: Prepare for trouble!
Butch: And make it double!
To infect the world with devastation!
To blight all peoples in every nation!
To denounce the goodness of truth and love!
To extend our wrath to the stars above!
Cassidy!
Butch!
We’re Team Rocket, circling the Earth all day and night!
Surrender to us now, or you will surely lose the fight!

You. Don’t. Mess. With. Classics!

#7: N

N isn’t just the leader of Team Plasma. No, he’s the damn KING of Team Plasma. You heard that right. King. If that’s not authority, I don’t know what is. N appears early in Pokemon Black/White, protesting along with Team Plasma about Pokemon being held captive in Pokeballs. Throughout the game, he pushes the idea that it’s wrong to keep Pokemon as our slaves. I think this was an amazing story told in the games, as Pokemon has faced many accusations of promoting animal cruelty, and it’s great to see the series actually confronting the issue. N also befriends either Reshiram or Zekrom, the legendary Pokemon of each game, based on which version you play. N reappears in Black 2/White 2, rescuing the main character from being killed by a Glaciate attack from Kyurem by attacking it with Zekrom or Reshiram. Overall, N is a cool rebel that breaks free from the steretypical “very bad bad guy” image most of the Team leaders conform to. He also has a Zoroark and has adopted its hairdo. Remember Gonzap? N is another case where hair gets you somewhere…

#6: Archie and Maxie

Archie and Maxie are very “mixed opinion” kinds of characters. I’ve heard of people who hate them and there are people like myself who love them. However, they’ll always be way better than the lame ripoff that is Cyrus. He’s just a copy-paste of these guys, with the exception of the fact that his goal is more selfish. Anyways, Archie and Maxie are the leaders of Teams Aqua and Magma, respectively. These two guys get on here for two reasons: they were the first Teams to have any really grand schemes, and they were the first Team leaders that I ever encountered, as Pokemon Emerald was my first Pokemon game. Now, don’t dismiss this as the above-mentioned nostalgia glasses syndrome. If it was, these two would be way higher. I really like their schemes to change the terrain of the world to fit their own image; it adds a great nefariousness to their characters that Giovanni never had. Giovanni was pretty much just a criminal because it worked for him, whereas these guys had clear goals and motives. That, and they’re way better than Cyrus. They came up with the idea of changing the world with a legendary Pokemon. Cyrus stole it from them…

#5: Dr. Namba

Dr. Namba is a member of Team Rocket. He’s a high ranking commander and focuses most of his time and energy into finding ways to make Pokemon more powerful. He first appeared in a trilogy of episodes in the Master Quest season. He successfully captured two, that’s right, TWO Lugia. One was a baby Lugia named Silver and the other was its mother. Around the same time, he developed Namba’s Nasty Pokemon Provoker, a device that gets strapped to a Pokemon and makes it angry, increasing its strength. Later, he commanded Butch and Cassidy to kidnap Professor Oak so that he could learn more about Pokerus.

Dr. Namba is possibly the most insane member of any Team out there. He’s ruthless, angry and he freely experiments on Pokemon without any regards to their well being. He’s pretty psycho, and he does his job well. All I know is that he’s one doctor I wouldn’t want to have in an emergency…

#4: Sabrina

Sabrina is only a member of Team Rocket in the Pokemon Adventures manga. In the games she’s an extremely boring Gym leader, and in the anime she almost kills the twerps, which is pretty cool, I guess. Anyways, Sabrina is one of the Team Rocket Triad, along with Lt. Surge and Koga. She catches a Moltres that she and the rest of the Triad then fuse with the other two legendary birds… wow, that’s intense. After being defeated by Green, Sabrina disappears along with the other members of Team Rocket and isn’t seen again until the Yellow chapter, where she helps Green defeat Lorelei, thus helping save the world.

Sabrina is a ruthless, cruel and violent person who doesn’t care how much pain she puts people or Pokemon through. She (and other members of Team Rocket) painfully experimented on Vee, Red’s Eevee, so that it could transform into the different evolutions of Eevee. While she is cruel, she can do what’s for the greater good, as is demonstrated by her battles against the Elite 4.

#3: Mars

Mars is an admin of Team Galactic, my least favorite Team for quite a few reasons. Cyrus has a serious ego problem, and his battle in the Distortion World for myself was one of the most tedious battles ever in the Pokemon series. Their Pokemon distribution makes no sense; Team Rocket uses poison types, which are very menacing and Teams Magma and Aqua use fire and water types, respectively, which fit their themes. Galactic? They have absolutely no theme. You sure see a lot of Glameow, but, seriously, what do Glameow have to do with space? Nothing, that’s what.

However, just because they are the weakest Team for myself doesn’t mean that they don’t have an awesome commander. Mars battles you throughout Diamond/Pearl/Platinum and is one difficult trainer to beat. She uses very well levelled Pokemon, and her poison type Zubat and super tough Purugly are a problem for anyone who chose Turtwig. I also like her personality quite a bit, as she is rude in a comical way. It’s not even limited to foes of Team Galactic, as she’s been seen exchanging less than friendly words with grunts before. Unfortunately, in the anime, she’s a lot less like she is in the games and a lot more “boring villain who is bad because she is bad”. But whatever, she’s still an excellent character and by far the best member of Team Galactic.

#2: Koga

Koga is my favorite member of the Team Rocket Triad in Adventures, and he gets that position with his badassery. Koga uses poison type Pokemon, which are really hardcore. He has an amazing Arbok that has been cut in half multiple times and has recovered easily. He caught Articuno, which is an amazing feat by itself, but then factor in all of his other accomplishments, you really get an awesome villain. When he was fighting Agatha with Blue, he had his Golbat SUCK HIS BLOOD AND SPIT IT AT AGATHA’S ARBOK!! That’s not even mentioning that he’s a ninja, which is the most excellent profession available. He also  invented the ninja star Pokeball, which is a lot cooler than a mere “Heavy Ball” or “Quick Ball”. Koga is, simply put, hardcore.

#1: Jessie, James, and Meowth

Everybody saw this one coming. Jessie, James, and Meowth are the three members of Team Rocket that constantly follow Ash and company and try to steal Pikachu and many other Pokemon. Many people make the mistake of thinking these three people are stereotypical anime villains. Well, they’re not. As you can see here, I already wrote an article about why this squad aren’t nearly as bad as they are made out to be, and I stick by those arguments. These three are so amazing. They have great comedic value, they make good villains, and every episode that stars them is incredibly well written, and I MAY (and when I say may, I mean did) have cried during the episodes “Meowth Rules” and “Ignorance is Blissey”. Their motto that they use to introduce themselves in every episode is classic, and while they have changed it a few times, the original is and always will be the best.

Prepare for trouble!
Make it double!
To protect the world from devastation!
To unite all peoples within our nation!
To denounce the evils of truth and love!
To extend our reach to the stars above!
Jessie!
James!
Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!
Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!
[Meowth, dat’s right!]

Ah, Team Rocket, the best Team, the best three members, and my favorite characters in all of Pokemon. Let’s just hope they’re around forever…

Well, that’s my list of the top ten members of villainous Teams. I hope you enjoyed it, just as I enjoyed making it. If you’re as big of a fan of Teams as I am, then I’m glad you read this. I’m sure there are characters that didn’t make it on that you wanted, such as Folly and Trudly from Team Snagem and Lt. Surge from Team Rocket, but there are only ten spots, and it’s only my own opinion. Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comments!

 

Written by Richard Fightmaster
Edited by An-chan, bobandbill and Slayr231