A brand new take on the world of Pokémon

Every Pokémon game has a big thing in common. I'm not talking about the gym leaders, the Elite Four or the Pokédex. I'm talking about the huge, evil organizations the player always fights against. But what if everything was backwards? What if the player instead fought from the syndicate's point of view? I've been dreaming this up for years on end, and it gets bigger and better each time I think of it. Here is the fruit of my many hours of thought.

The player is a new recruit in a new Pokémon crime syndicate. Like Team Rocket, Magma, Aqua and Galactic before them, this new organization is once again out to use innocent Pokémon for evil. The player takes the role of an entry-level grunt, who will eventually rise to become the boss' right hand man, or even overthrow him altogether.

The player works their way up the ranks by capturing Pokémon, scamming trainers and fulfilling general evil organization duties. New promotions bring more missions, better Pokémon for use on duty and better pay (For buying items and such).

Of course, with each completed mission, more and more backstory and many secrets will become known to the player. Perhaps the founder is a disgraced member of another syndicate, out to get revenge? Maybe the organization's grand goal isn't as it seems? Or perhaps the player will begin to see the error of their ways?

When it comes to the gameplay itself, I'm seeing it as an alternative RPG to the current line of games. The set-up would be similar to that of any other standard Pokémon RPG, with Pokémon Centers, Marts, towns and whatnot. Players could get mission details on a portable device such as a cell phone or PDA, and then run off to complete their objective. Skills necessary for missions could be stealth, strength and intelligence. Some missions wouldn't be available until your team reaches a certain level, so training evenly would be a necessity.

As for the setting, it could take place in a brand new country, or in a familiar location in a different time. Imagine what must be going on in Kanto and Johto as of now, seeing as Team Rocket has been disbanded... Perhaps this new organization formed from the remnants of Rocket?

Or for a totally different approach, what if the game took place parallel to the main series, but behind the scenes? What if you played as one of the grunts who hassled the hero in an already-released adventure? There have been some situations where a grunt will recall having met the hero at an earlier part of the game, so why can't players be him/her? And maybe this would also give some insight on where the hero's rivals are all the time. What the heck was the renegade kid in Gold/Silver/Crystal up to anyways? Stealing Pokémon, breaking the law... Was he secretly a member of Team Rocket? Man, he could take the lead role in a game like this!

Was this kid more than an average crook?

He treated his Pokémon like tools, and cared little about anything but himself. Or did he? Perhaps he truly cared about the cause he was helping out with? He has some character development, too, what with his perceived softer treatment of Pokémon at the ending of Gold/Silver/Crystal. This new game could go beyond that point, showing us how the character actually continued to see more and more he was doing wrong, up to the point of even leaving the organization. Perhaps he'd even start fighting against the syndicate he was once a valued member of!

There's just too much potential in playing the bad guy... I'm not too sure how well this idea would go down with the target audience. Seems a little dark. But hey, this is just me daydreaming, so it doesn't have to make sense!

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