Sympathy for Villains

The Pokémon world is made up of not only the protagonists, the everyday Trainers that go about their business becoming the best they can be. A part of it is made up of the antagonists - villains and the villainous teams - making their plot to seize Pokémon power and have the world to themselves. In some sense, as dastardly as their plans are, they mean well as their intent is for a better Pokémon life, though ultimately there is an oversight that costs them their plans. It is this that leads to a feeling of sympathy for the villainous teams.

Granted, this sympathy does not have to be to the same degree for all the teams; it depends also on how they treat Pokémon. The effort conducted by Team Galactic, for example, which involves stripping the jewels off of Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, is definitely inhuman and should not be condoned. The effort of Team Flare in resurrecting an apocalyptic weapon is inherently risky and hard to justify. And then there are Team Magma and Team Aqua, whose goals conflict and overlap with each other. Fundamentally, it's hard to have a greater feeling of sympathy when these teams' efforts are just headed in the wrong way - at least as I discern it.

Even so, I do feel a sympathy for a particular villainous team. And my choice goes to Team Rocket, the original and most well-known team. They still have committed actions that are not exactly able to be condoned (petty thefts, Silph takeover), but I feel theirs are most benign than the others. And if the anime is any indication with their genetic engineering of Mewtwo, then this is at least a laudable effort, as what they undertake can certainly be devoted to better purposes. Considering these, my sympathy is sizable enough for them.

There are two sides to every story, and Pokémon is not excepted. For this, one of those sides is definitely the antagonistic villainous teams. Their purpose is to wreak havoc in this world, but considered further, that purpose is really to let them have a good place in the world in some way. Some sympathy for their efforts is therefore not unexpected and in fact may be acceptable. Just perhaps, in their vision, the world may really be a better place in some respects.