>>53212128An idea and a suggestion of a concept is better than nothing at all.
Team Galactic felt so empty in DP. At that point in the franchise, it felt like they were there being an evil team and doing evil deeds for its own sake. Because a Pokémon game needs an evil team. That's the formula. In Platinum they tried to flesh out Cyrus and Galactic a little more, but I don't understand most of what the rank and file grunts were doing or what they personally gained from it.
Team Rocket didn't need lofty goals or justification because they were a criminal gang. That was it. The crime and personal gain was the point.
RSE tried to give Aqua/Magma something slightly more nuanced, being some breed of environmental activists turned extremists. It was dumb, excessive and nonsensical, but I at least understand the core idea. I think this was also the point where "evil team wants world domination" was truly cemented in the franchise.
Team Plasma were such a breath of fresh air. Their objective as it is presented at first has moral ambiguity and the morality of the franchise's core mechanic has been questioned for years outside the game. The fact that GF would even dare to entertain the idea was bold for a franchise founded on YOU GOOD, ENEMY TEAM BAD ironically black and white morality.
Of course, it was secretly that very morality at the core of Plasma in the end. N as the puppet leader was true to his convictions, but even he is forced to go through the whole I WRONG, PROTAGONIST RIGHT revelation.
So it was a step in the right direction. A step is better than standing still. And BW2 did explore the other side of these ideas much better.
Such a shame that the very next game reverted to French Ganondorf's nonsensical plan to destroy the world. There were brief shades of a deeper idea with his hatred of people taking advantage of good intentions, but again the grunts don't reflect this idea.
"Oh, you are not as fashionable as me? Guess you deserve to die!"
