Pokemon What if: Player turned Villain – Team Lineup

Have you ever asked yourself what if, in the Pokemon setting the player turned into the villain? For those who’ve played Pokemon games, you’ll be familiar by now with the tendency of a villain team attempting to take over or destroy the world.

Those teams never win, because of you, the protagonist. Then you wander off and become Pokemon Champion by crushing the elite four. But what if that very protagonist gave it a try instead? What would their Pokemon team look like?

Pokemon Player turned Villain: Context and Rules

Often with the series villains, they have henchman doing their tasks and the boss is fairly talented but not that incredible as a trainer. The elite four usually put up more of a fight individually than the team boss of any given Pokemon title.

But what could it look like if we put someone competent in that role – say, the protagonist of the game after becoming Pokemon Champion, turned into a villain character and decided to give Giovanni’s plans a try themselves?

For the purposes of this list, I am going to assume that the trainer is similar in nature to a main-game series protagonist with a few key points.

• Series “gimmicks” such as Mega evolution or Gigantamax won’t be used, as I’m assuming they are rare in the world for a reason.
• As the Champion, the protagonist is an extremely competent trainer who is capable of figuring out how to evolve the vast majority of their Pokemon – just like players completing the games.
• Legendary and Mythical Pokemon are off-limits, as the probability of encountering them would be fantastically low, and this list would be very boring if it was Dialga, Mewtwo, etc.
• Psuedo-Legends are acceptable due to the evolution rule mentioned above.

With our restrictions set, what would a team used by this theoretical Pokemon Champion turned-villain look like?

Pokemon Player turned Villain: The Team

1st Pokemon, Arcanine

Now you may be wondering if Arcanine is a direct response to Giovanni’s Persian. Yes, it is. With that said, Arcanine also just makes more sense as a choice for a team that will see frequent battles. The Champion doesn’t have henchmen to use after all.

So why Arcanine? Well, first of all, it’s fairly easy to obtain for a smart trainer – You only need Growlithe and a Fire-stone. And what does that fairly small investment get you?

For one, this loyal hound is “capable of running over 6200 miles in a day” – assuming it doesn’t stop at all, that puts its minimum running speed at just over 258 miles per hour. And it’s likely it needs a break during the day – in which case its top speed is likely higher to make that claim possible.

This fleet-footed Pokémon is said to run over 6,200 miles in a single day and night. The fire that blazes wildly within its body is its source of power.

Generation III, Emerald Pokedex, Arcanine.

For another thing, Arcanine is an incredibly well respected Pokemon in lore. Relevant Pokedex entries frequently mention it with relation to Myths and Folklore, and people are often described as captivated by it in those same entries.

The fire burning inside its body serves as the energy to fuel it as it runs great distances. It appears in many legends.

Generation VII, Moon Pokedex, Arcanine

This makes it an excellent choice for someone trying to rule, as the Pokemon you may keep around as a pet commands a huge amount of traditional respect – that’ll be useful in any legitimacy arguments, to say the least.

And that’s on top of bringing the team a strong fire-type opener while being a great overall companion. Still happy with your Persian there, Giovanni?

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2nd Pokemon, Metagross

I’m sure many of you saw this coming with the mention of Psuedo-legendaries earlier. But Metagross is a giant metal spider. I mean, do I really need to justify it more than that..? What do you mean, yes?

Fine. Metagross gives us a strong Steel/Psychic dual type that has the added bonus of being stated to have intelligence rivaling the calculational capacity of a supercomputer.

Metagross has four brains that are joined by a complex neural network. As a result of integration, this Pokémon is smarter than a supercomputer.

Generation III, Emerald Pokedex, Metagross

On top of that, it also has a combined resistance or immunity total of 10 different types, making it an excellent choice for a brawler Pokemon designed to crush fights quickly in a majority of circumstances – and while it does have 4 total weaknesses, comparatively that’s a great trade-off.

And you know it’s planning on using those combat advantages because Metagross in combat is… not nice.

Metagross is the result of two Metang achieving fusion. When hunting, this Pokémon pins the prey to the ground under its massive body. It then eats the helpless victim using the large mouth on its stomach.

Generation VI, Alpha Sapphire Pokedex, Metagross

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3rd Pokemon – Alakazam

A second psychic type, and a pure one at that, may seem like a curious choice. But Alakazam here is simultaneously a fairly strong fighter while providing the Champion a variety of non-combat benefits.

For a starter, Alakazam is said to be capable of remembering literally everything that it has ever experienced – which will make it excellent for keeping track of weaknesses to target those inevitable rivals we’ll encounter while taking over the world.

Alakazam’s brain continually grows, infinitely multiplying brain cells. This amazing brain gives this Pokémon an astoundingly high IQ of 5,000. It has a thorough memory of everything that has occurred in the world.

Generation III, Sapphire Pokedex – Alakazam

On top of that, various Pokedex entries state without a speck of doubt that Alakazam packs an incredibly high 5000 IQ. With that kind of intelligence, he gives the team an extra level of insight that even Metagross’s supercomputer brains may have trouble processing.

Alakazam can also easily master the ability to use teleport, as its first unevolved form Abra knows it innately – allowing the Champion to make quick escapes if something does go wrong at any stage in their plans.

And if all that wasn’t enough, an Alakazam that trusts you can give you one of their spoons – anything that is eaten with the spoon becomes delicious. So not only can prison not hold you due to being able to teleport out, but even the prison food won’t be that bad anymore. Take that, justice system!

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4th Pokemon – Alolan Golem

Alolan Golem may seem like another curious choice, but in terms of sheer battle prowess, this magnificently bearded rock grants the Champion combat abilities that provide a super-effective damage advantage against flying-types, fire-types, and water-types.

If that doesn’t sell you on fitting Golem into the team, bear in mind Golems rock shell is capable of withstanding blasts from the likes of Dynamite with absolutely no damage – making any variant of golem an excellent bodyguard for threats both Pokemon and human based.

Its boulder-like body is extremely hard. It can easily withstand dynamite blasts without damage.

Generation I, Red/Blue Pokedex – Golem

On top of that, the Alolan variant is packing a magnetic-powered rock launcher that is equally capable of throwing unfortunate Geodude as it is a full-scale boulder.

And seriously, just look at that beard. You gotta respect that kind of dedication to facial hair – he’s a rock, so he shouldn’t have any, but he gathered iron sand and made it happen. That’s respectable.

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5th Pokemon – Crawdaunt

Crawdaunt is a very… special kind of Pokemon. What kind of special you might be wondering, well…

Crawdaunt has an extremely violent nature that compels it to challenge other living things to battle. Other life-forms refuse to live in ponds inhabited by this Pokémon, making them desolate places.

Generation III, Ruby Pokedex – Crawdaunt

Notice that it doesn’t say “other Pokemon” but specifically states “other life-forms” – now lets just assume that the Pokemon world doesn’t understand microscopic life and Crawdaunt isn’t THAT terrifying.

That still means that even plants are dying off simply because this big angry crustacean decided to move in and glare at them. Of course, this isn’t the only concerning part of Crawdaunt’s Pokedex entries

A rough customer that wildly flails its giant claws. It is said to be extremely hard to raise.

Generation III FireRed/LeafGreen, Crawdaunt

Though we can, fortunately, assume that as at least one person has survived encountering Crawdaunt enough to study it to produce Pokedex entries, our Pokemon Champion turned villain can hopefully manage one of them.

And if they can, this angry angry crustacean makes for another excellent brawler, providing both water-type and dark-type moves. In addition to that, Crawdaunt is willing to fight just about everything, so a loyal one could be a hugely useful asset to deal with any number of opponents.

And if even the Champion ends up scared of Crawdaunt, they can leave it guarding their base of operations, where it’ll happily set up home and murder literally any intruders.

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Final Pokemon – Kommo-o

Kommo-o is the result of the unusual fusion of the dragon and fighting-types – and this odd combination proves to be quite a potent one, with a weakness to only the fairy type.

If that wasn’t enough, Kommo-o has the abilities Bulletproof/Soundproof – which do what they say on the tin really, make Kommo-o immune to bullet based and sound based attacks. Making Kommo-o, just like Golem, an excellent bodyguard candidate.

It clatters its tail scales to unnerve opponents. This Pokémon will battle only those who stand steadfast in the face of this display.

Generation VIII, Sword Pokedex, Kommo-o

Though Kommo-o can be somewhat picky with who it is willing to fight, it’ll be a massively reliable fighter with those it decides are worthy of its time.

This naturally armoured fighting dragon makes for an excellent ace Pokemon for a Pokemon player/champion turned villain that will be getting into plenty of fights, given dragons are usually nothing if not reliable in the Pokemon universe for consistent damage, and this unusual dual-type will be certain to throw off plenty of trainers.

Of course, you’d have to manage to get past everything else first, which may be a bit difficult in this scenario.

Conclusion

Well, that’s that. This article has been my attempt at piecing together what a Pokemon team assembled by a Pokemon player turned villain could potentially look like.

Using the Pokemon Type (offense) calculator here, this team comes to having options for super effective damage against all types but electric, and 93% total weakness coverage, which I feel isn’t bad for a team that’s leading with a pet Pokemon to replace that Persian of Giovanni’s.

So Gio, still fancy your chances now that the player has become the villain in the Pokemon world, or will you be getting out of the way?