Pokémon crime syndicates

Each anime saga and set of video games in the Pokémon franchise has featured a crime syndicate seeking to take over the world. Unlike real-world crime syndicates, these organizations usually forgo the use of weapons in favor of battling with their Pokémon in order to subdue opposition. The syndicate is, as a rule, utterly defeated at the end of the game/saga, by the player character in the games, and Ash Ketchum and his friends in the anime.

Team Rocket

Team Rocket

Team Rocket logo

Universe	Pokémon series
Type	Crime syndicate
Founded	Unknown
Location	Kanto, Johto, Sevii Islands
Key people	All media: Giovanni (Leader) (Missing in the games) Pokémon Adventures: Sabrina, Lt. Surge, Koga (Executives) (All Defeated) The Mask of Ice (Leader of Neo Team Rocket) Pokémon anime: Jessie, James, Meowth, Butch, Cassidy
Purpose	To infect the world from devastation. To blight all peoples in every nation. To denounce the goodness of truth and love. To extend our wrath to the stars above (according to Cassidy and Butch) 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 (according to Jessie and James)
Met their demise in Pokémon Red and Blue but were "revived" in Pokémon Gold and Silver. After their second defeat, they permanently disband. In the Manga, Neo team Rocket is formed by Pryce.

Team Rocket (ロケット団, Roketto-dan?, literally "Rocket Gang" or "Rocket Brigade"), is the first syndicate to be revealed in the Pokémon metaseries. In each of its various incarnations, Team Rocket desires to steal Pokémon to further its goal of world domination. They are led by the criminal mastermind, Giovanni. After debuting in the original games, Red and Blue, the syndicate then appeared in the anime series and the Pokémon Trading Card Game. IGN listed Team Rocket in their list of the "Top Video Game Villains".

  Giovanni

Giovanni (サカキ, Sakaki?) is the leader of Team Rocket and the Viridian City Gym Leader. In the anime, Giovanni is shown to have inherited his Team Rocket position from his mother. Aside from the operations of Team Rocket, he also funded the creation of Mewtwo in Mewtwo Strikes Back. Mewtwo eventually escaped from him and he attempted to recapture the Pokémon in Mewtwo Returns, which to date is the only time Giovanni has personally confronted the series' protagonists. This conflict resulted in Mewtwo erasing all memories of himself from Giovanni's mind. After this, he is usually a background villain, leaving it to his underlings to do his work. He is constantly frustrated by the failures of his operatives Jessie, James and Meowth. As the Generation III and IV series of games featured different criminal syndicates from Team Rocket, Giovanni barely has a presence in the Advanced, Battle Frontier, and Diamond & Pearl anime series. This changes in Best Wishes, where he takes a larger antagonistic role and seeks to undermine the Unova region's Team Plasma, steal numerous mystical artifacts that the rival syndicate seeks, and takeoever the world. The plan backfires and Team Rocket is seemingly crushed by Team Plasma, resulting in Giovanni going into hiding, by far the most prominent defeat of his long-living criminal empire yet.

Giovanni also appears as a recurring villain in the Pokémon Adventures manga. Like in the anime, he organizes Mewtwo's creation. In the FireRed and LeafGreen chapters, he uses Red, Blue, and Green to capture Deoxys and use it to find his son Silver. In addition, Giovanni's favorite Pokémon in the games are generally ground-types. In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Giovanni appears in an event and can be battled, although executives replace him in normal gameplay.

IGN described Giovanni as "the Pokémon equivalent of a prominent politician that is secretly the leader of a drug cartel and dog fighting ring."

  In the games

In the video game series, the player attempts to foil Team Rocket's criminal activities. The games focus on particular attempts by the organization to monopolize gambling, perform mob take-overs of cities and generally terrorize the inhabitants of Kanto and Johto.

In Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen, the player must foil several schemes by Team Rocket, including those in Celadon City, Saffron City, and, in FireRed and LeafGreen, the Sevii Islands, specifically the fifth island. Giovanni is the final Pokémon Gym Leader, and the team is disbanded after his gym battle defeat. However, in FireRed and LeafGreen, a handful of Team Rocket operatives continue to operate in the Sevii Islands until they are defeated.

In Pokémon Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold and SoulSilver versions., a few executives named Archer, Ariana, Petrel, and Proton attempt to reestablish the organization and get it back in operation, while awaiting the return of Giovanni. To attempt to contact him, they take over the radio tower and broadcast a message calling out to him. In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver if the player obtains a Celebi from a special nintendo event, they activate a side quest where the player visits the shrine in Ilex Forest to meet Lyra/Ethan. Celebi takes both characters three years into the past where the Rival is arguing with Giovanni, who is seen to be his father. After they have finished arguing, Celebi takes the player to when Team Rocket was defeated in the Goldenrod Radio tower, though in a cave behind a waterfall in Tohjo Falls instead of at the Tower. Inside the cave, Giovanni gets the message sent to him by Team Rocket from the Radio Tower before he seeing and challenging the player to a battle. After his defeat, he goes away and Celebi takes the player back to the shrine in Ilex Forest with Ethan/Lyra.

Jessie, James, and Meowth also appeared in a tech demo at Nintendo's SpaceWorld in 2000 for the game Meowth's Party. Though the game was never completed for retail, the song/video shown at SpaceWorld was on the game Pokémon Channel.

  In the anime

 

  The Team Rocket trio

From left, James, Jessie and Meowth (Kojirō, Musashi and Nyarth) are the major antagonists for Team Rocket in the Pokémon anime series, as seen in their early Best Wishes! outfits.

In the anime and various manga adaptations, Jessie (ムサシ, Musashi?), James (コジロウ, Kojirō?), and Meowth (ニャース, Nyāsu?, Nyarth) are the main characters of Team Rocket. While they set out to steal Ash Ketchum's Pikachu and various other Pokémon in almost every episode, they always fail in the end. In more recent episodes, however, they still follow Ash, yet their focus has drifted towards other objectives such as Jessie's Pokémon Contest streak. They use various disguises, traps, and schemes to trick Ash's group into a false sense of security, and after being revealed, they give a poetic speech, known as their motto, that often changes slightly throughout each season. They debut in season one's second episode 'Pokemon Emergency' and appear in all the anime's episodes until the fifteenth episode of season fourteen (Black and White). From then on wards, three or more episodes at a time can pass without them appearing, and they generally only get one brief scene per episode furthering their own independent storyline. Throughout the Best Wishes! series, they pursue their own story arc, and are far more serious.

Jessie tends to don the more masculine clothing in terms of costumes or disguises, while James often cross-dresses in extremely feminine outfits. After failing, they are often sent "blasting off" by an explosion or a Pokémon's attack (usually one of Pikachu's, though sometimes by other attacks). They are constantly out to appease their boss, Giovanni, though he finds the group to be incompetent. The trio also breaks the fourth wall on a regular basis. In the Best Wishes series, Team Rocket are promoted by Giovanni after aiding in the collapse of Team Galactic, gaining new uniforms and a new balloon, also becoming more serious in tone and have since failed to be "blasted off", using improved technology to evade defeat. They have since returned to their original uniforms, but remain competent.

Jessie and James's English names are taken from Jesse James, an American outlaw. James's Japanese name, Kojiro, is taken from Sasaki Kojirō (佐々木小次郎?), a prominent Japanese swordsman most famous for being killed by his rival, Miyamoto Musashi (宮本武蔵?), the namesake of Jessie.

Jessie is the most impulsive and aggressive of the three. She grew up in a poor foster family in the snowy mountains (see Tohoku), while her mother focused on Team Rocket. Before she joined Team Rocket, she aspired to be a nurse; however, the school that she wanted to attend wouldn't accept her application. Undeterred, she attempted to attend a nursing school for Pokémon. There, she befriended a Chansey who seemed to be the only Pokémon in the school willing to be her friend. Jessie ended up failing to become a Pokémon nurse. From there, she moved on to Pokémon Tech, a private school. She flunked out of school before joining a biking gang, then Team Rocket. She is voiced by Megumi Hayashibara (replaced on an interim basis by Akiko Hiramatsu when Hayashibara was on maternity leave) in the Japanese version, Rachael Lillis during the first eight seasons of the English anime and Michele Knotz from the ninth season onwards. Jessie is also seen to have been a good singer in the past as well.

James is portrayed as whiny, submissive and effeminate. He finds it very difficult to leave a Pokémon behind or to trade one. He grew up on a vast estate, to an extremely weathly family, but ran away from home when his parents arranged for him to marry Jessiebelle, a girl that looks just like Jessie, but is considerably more aggressive and obsessed with etiquette. Despite his weak personality James is shown at being skilled at many things, having been taught by several tutors while he stayed at home. He is also shown as very intelligent usually functioning as the trios equivalent to a pokédex. He has a Growlithe nicknamed Growlie which Jessebelle hates. James is usually portrayed holding a rose, which he seems able to pull from anywhere. He owned a Victreebel which always bites his head when he sends it out, in an attempt to eat him, and on the occasions when Jessie uses it, her head normally gets bitten too. It is also shown in this episode that it prefers to try to eat him rather than eat Pokémon Food. However, in an episode of Pokémon: Master Quest, James trades the Victreebel for a Weepinbell by the same Magikarp scammer he encountered several times. Ironically, it evolves into a Victreebel, which attempts to eat Jessie. She kicks it away, where it bumps into James's old Victreebel and they run off together into the forest, deeply in love. James is voiced by Shin-ichiro Miki in the Japanese version, Ted Lewis for the first eight episodes of the English anime, Eric Stuart until the end of the eighth season, and Jimmy Zoppi (credited under the pseudonym "Billy Beach" and more recently "Carter Cathcart") from the ninth season onwards.

Meowth originally lived in the city, and tried to impress a female Meowth named Meowzie by learning to walk on two legs and speak human language. Instead of being impressed, she regarded him as a freak, so Meowth joined Team Rocket.Meowth usually concocts the overlarge machines and spends their non-existent money on these schemes, all to end up on the boss' lap. Meowth is voiced by Inuko Inuyama in the Japanese version, Nathan Price for the first thirty episodes of the English anime, Maddie Blaustein until the end of the eighth season, and Jimmy Zoppi from the ninth season onwards.

In the manga

In the Pokémon manga series, Pokémon Adventures, Red encounters and battles Team Rocket in many locations, including Mt. Moon, the Vermillion port, where they were kidnapping Pokémon for transport by sea, Lavender Tower and during their siege of Saffron City. "Rocket" is an acronym standing for “Raid On the City, Knock-out, Evil Tusks.”

A major difference between the manga and other versions of Team Rocket is that several Gym Leaders are antagonists in the manga. Blaine is a former Team Rocket Scientist who had combined the DNA of Mew with his own DNA, creating Mewtwo. However, he gained the DNA of Mewtwo as well, giving him the ability to track Mewtwo. The manga also shows Koga, Lt. Surge, and Sabrina as high-ranking operatives of Team Rocket.

After being defeated by the protagonists in the R/B/Y arc, Team Rocket was reformed under the Mask of Ice, who recruited the Rocket Grunts that were left behind, forcing those who are not interested by controlling them with masks. In the final chapters of G/S/C, he is defeated by Gold and his Pichu and sent into the voids of time.

  In the card game

Team Rocket received two expansion sets of cards in the Pokémon Trading Card Game: “Team Rocket” and “EX: Team Rocket Returns.” These expansions feature Dark Pokémon, which are Pokémon that have been turned evil by Team Rocket, similarly to Cipher's Shadow Pokémon. Dark Pokémon are actually dual types, combining their regular type and Dark-type in the second Team Rocket expansion. There are also “Rocket’s” Pokémon, most of which are EXs, apart from Wobbuffet and Meowth. All of them are Dark-type, though most require their normal elemental energies.

Hoenn crime syndicates

Team Aqua and Team Magma are rival organizations in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. They both originate from the Hoenn region. Both attempt to take over the world, and are close in resemblance to cults, unlike Team Rocket, which is closer in resemblance to gangs. Depending on the game played, the player character allies with one organization and helps them defeat the other, with the exception of Emerald where the player must defeat both. Both also try to capture the Legendary Pokémon that they worship, Groudon (Team Magma) and Kyogre (Team Aqua), to achieve their goals.

Team Aqua

Team Aqua

Team Aqua logo

Universe	Pokémon series
Type	Crime syndicate
Founded	Unknown
Location	Hoenn
Key people	Archie (Boss) Shelly, Matt (Admins)
Purpose	To capture Kyogre to increase the water mass and create more room for sea Pokémon, believing that by doing this they will be making the world a better place.

Team Aqua (アクア団, Akua-dan?) is a group of thieves/peacemakers in the Hoenn Region. They specialize in Water and Dark type Pokémon.

Team Aqua is based in a giant nuclear submarine out at sea, with a helicopter for land-to-sea travel. The team members all wear striped black and white shirts with jeans. Their do-rags bear a white skull-and-crossbone in the shape of the letter "A". Like Team Magma, Team Aqua is run by a ruthless commander. Shelly (イズミ, Izumi?) is referred to as "Team Aqua Leader", though the actual leader is Archie.

Team Aqua are likened to a band of pirates and are experts in the field of Oceanography as well as water Pokémon. They only exist in the Hoenn region and do not recognize Team Rocket, unlike Team Magma. Team Aqua are the bitter antagonists of Team Magma and are currently in a brief war with each other. Team Aqua's main goal is to [partially] flood the world as a giant ocean for their water Pokémon, believing that by doing this they will be making the world a better place. To that end, they will awaken Kyogre from its slumber.

Team Aqua is slightly less vicious than Team Magma (and vice versa in the manga), and has more females in its group, but they have a male leader. Their main thoughts about Ash Ketchum are not made clear, though Archie and Maxie (who seemed to have a relationship of sorts with him once) do see him as a pest. Team Aqua is well known in the Hoenn region, and they often blackmail local fishermen into telling lies.

  Archie

Archie (アオギリ, Aogiri^?) is the boss of Team Aqua. In the anime, he is a ruthless villain who was once a friend of Maxie. However, as he became more advanced in Pokémon, he became more greedy, and organized Team Aqua and battled Team Magma for world control. In episode 374 ("The Scuffle of Legends"), Archie absorbed the Red Orb into his body, gaining the power to control Kyogre, but the orb was expelled from his body because it could not take the power strain of the orb. Lance ordered his Dragonite to catch him. Archie was laid down by Shelly. Shelly desperately tries to wake him up. When Archie finally wakes up, he has no memory of the event. In the games, he is a misguided individual who believes he is doing the right thing.

In the manga, Archie returns as Team Aqua's leader and tries to conquer the sea by using Kyogre. He was later defeated in the Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald games. In the Emerald saga of the manga, Guile Hideout, goes to the Battle Frontier and battled Emerald and the Frontier Brains to capture Jirachi. Through the saga, he eventually captured Jirachi, despite full efforts of Emerald and the Brains. On the fifth day after the opening of the Frontier, July 5, Ruby and Sapphire showed up with their Pokemons to help Emerald. But it's too late. Guile, who was Archie himself, made a wish to Jirachi, with Jirachi forced to grant it, summoning a water-made Kyogre thing. That "Kyogre" floods the whole Frontier, except the Battle Tower. Johto Dex holders Gold and Crystal came to help. Kanto Dex holders Red, Blue, Green, Yellow and Johto Dex holder Silver are petrified and turned to stone. Guile was eventually defeated, thanks to Poliwrath and Politoed, breaking the armor down. Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn Dex holders, with their fully evolved starters, except Pika, Chuchu, and Pichu, defeated the massive Kyogre with the ultimate combination. Archie, now not having the armor, tried to find the real armor but suddenly vanished. His whereabouts are unknown.

  In the anime

Team Aqua appears in Pokémon Advanced Battle, where they try to take over the world. Shelly, disguised as a Magma, let Kyogre into the sea, which was then used to destroy the island the crew were on. Archie used the Red Orb to control Kyogre, and commanded it to destroy the island, but once again, the crew managed to save the world when Ash's Pikachu bonded with the blue orb, causing Groudon to attack Kyogre.

Team Magma

Team Magma

Team Magma logo

Universe	Pokémon series
Type	Crime syndicate
Founded	Unknown
Location	Hoenn
Key people	Maxie (Boss) Tabitha, Courtney (Admins)
Purpose	To capture Groudon to expand the land mass, believing that by creating more room for life on land that they will be making the world a better place.

Team Magma (マグマ団, Maguma-dan?) is another group of thieves/peacemakers in the Hoenn Region. They are a group of experts in the fields of geology and plate tectonics. Like Team Rocket, some rebels are Pokémon thieves, but Team Magma specializes in the field of Fire and Ground type Pokémon.

The group all wear dark-red uniforms with a black stylized "M" made of either mountains or volcanoes on their shirts. The head of Team Magma is Maxie, but his second in command is "The Commander", named Tabitha (ホムラ, Homura?), Another notable member of Team Magma is Brody (バンナイ, Bannai?), who owns a Ditto and is able to imitate the voice and appearance of anyone he wishes, earning him the name of 'The Man of a Thousand Faces.' Team Magma often use equipment that is normally used for experiments with high temperatures. No vehicles are shown in the anime except for the Commander's helicopter.

Team Magma are bitter rivals of Team Aqua. Though Team Magma does not exist outside the Hoenn region, they do know the work of Team Rocket, who have no Hoenn branch. Team Magma's main purpose is to expand the land mass, believing that by creating more room for life on land that they will be making the world a better place. To that end, they'll awaken Groudon from its slumber.

Team Magma frequently make appearances in Pokémon Advanced, and are seen merely as "big brothers" rather than a proper archrival. They eventually disappear after a battle between Groudon and Kyogre. It has been verified that neither Team Aqua nor Team Magma will be appearing in any future Pokémon episodes. However, Brody appears again in the episode The Ribbon Cup Caper after the disbandment of Team Magma.

  Maxie

Maxie (マツブサ, Matsubusa?) is the leader of Team Magma. In the anime and games, he wants to wipe out the sea for more land by using (in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald) a volcano and Groudon. He is more misguided than truly evil, as he believes that his actions will benefit others. Maxie meets Ash in the episode "Gaining Groudon," and tells him of his dreams. He also tells Ash about the Blue Orb, which could control Groudon, and with it in his hands, he could make life better for himself. Suddenly, Pikachu gets possessed by the Blue Orb. It controlled Groudon, and a cataclysmic battle began, resulting in Groudon's victory. Maxie is ever-battling with Archie, leader of Team Aqua, who fights for exactly the opposite cause. After the battle, Maxie thanks Ash, realizing that the land of Hoenn is perfect the way it is. He leads Team Magma away and has not been seen since.

In the games

In Ruby, Team Aqua befriends the protagonist and attempts to stop Team Magma from taking over the world. Magma has several plots, all of which involve expanding the land mass so that more Pokémon can live on the land. The leader, Maxie, takes the Blue Orb from Mt. Pyre in the belief that he can control the legendary Pokémon Groudon with it. Team Magma steals a submarine and enters the Seafloor Cavern, where Maxie successfully awakens Groudon. However, Groudon disobeys and flees. When Maxie surfaces, he is stunned to discover that Hoenn is baking under a withering sun. The player enters the Cave of Origin and either catches or subdues Groudon, reverting Hoenn back to normal.

In Sapphire, the situation is reversed. Team Magma befriends the protagonist and attempts to stop Team Aqua from expanding the sea so that more Pokémon can live in the sea. Team Aqua steals the Red Orb from Mt. Pyre to awaken the legendary Pokémon Kyogre. Like Groudon, Kyogre flees after being freed, and brings eternal rainstorms. The player enters the Cave of Origin to revert Hoenn back to normal.

In Emerald, both teams are now the enemy, although Archie and his grunts treat the player more lightly. In Ruby and Sapphire, both teams had their secret hideout over the water, but in Emerald, Team Magma has set up camp in a place called Jagged Pass, where Maxie awakens Groudon. When he uses the blue orb, at his hideout, he finds out that he took the wrong orb. Like in Sapphire, Archie steals the submarine and goes down to Seafloor Cavern to awaken Kyogre. When he also uses the red orb and also to find out that it does not control Kyogre. Groudon and Kyogre begin fighting at Sootopolis, resulting in alternating sunshine and rain. The player travels to Sky Pillar and awakens the legendary Pokémon Rayquaza, who calms the two legendaries. Afterwards, Maxie and Archie return the two Orbs to Mt. Pyre.

Team Galactic

Team Galactic

Team Galactic logo

Universe	Pokémon series
Type	Crime syndicate
Founded	Unknown
Location	Sinnoh
Key people	Cyrus (Boss) (disappeared into the Distortion World), Mars (quit), Jupiter (quit), Saturn (Commander) Charon (Chief Scientist; takes control after Cyrus disappeared) (arrested)
Purpose	To control Dialga and Palkia to create a new universe.

Team Galactic uniforms for Grunts.

Team Galactic (ギンガ団, Ginga-dan?, literally Galaxy Gang or Galaxy Brigade, and Team Galaxy in the original Japanese version) is the crime syndicate in the Sinnoh region, which is the setting of the video games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.The team’s commanders (Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) are named after the Solar System's planets.

In the games

In Diamond and Pearl, Team Galactic state their intention to create a new world order. However, only Cyrus (Akagi in the original Japanese version) and his commanders know the true details (and even then, Saturn is not entirely clear on this)--that this will first entail the total destruction of the current world to allow the presence of the new. They kidnap the legendary Lake Trio (Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf) and extract crystals from them to create an item known as the Red Chain, which shackles and controls a Pokémon, yet keeps their full power (according to Cyrus' files, they do not plan to keep their target in a Poké Ball, in which they claim that it will restrain its full power). The player infiltrates Galactic's headquarters and defeats Cyrus, so he allows the player to release the three after beating Saturn. At the Spear Pillar, Cyrus uses the Red Chain to bring the legendary Pokémon Dialga (in Diamond) or Palkia (in Pearl) out, planning to use their power to distort spacetime and so create the new universe, over which he will be the new deity (or so he thinks). However, the Lake Trio come back to nullify the legendary's power and break the Red Chain, interrupting the ritual. After this, and Cyrus's failure to defeat the player, most of Team Galactic disappears including Cyrus himself. Only a handful remain in Veilstone City, led by Saturn, who has renounced his earlier extremism and decided to found a new, more benevolent Team Galactic.

In Platinum, however, Team Galactic plans to captivate both deities of time and space, resulting in the interruption of an enraged Giratina, the third Sinnoh deity who represents dimensions, chaos, and death. The player will have to chase down Cyrus, now infatuated with the power of the before-unknown Giratina, to an eerie dimension known as the Distortion World (やぶれたせかい, Yabureta Sekai?), in which Giratina has resided for countless ages. Later in the game, it is revealed that Mars and Jupiter quit Team Galactic. It also features a new Team Galactic member named Charon, who is arrested shortly after Mars and Jupiter quit. In both versions, Cyrus tells the rest of Team Galactic that he will share his new world with them. But secretly he will not share the world with anybody and keep it for himself.

In the anime

Team Galactic has made several appearances in the anime. All commanders and Cyrus (as boss) have appeared. They first appeared in A Secret Sphere of Influence!, though it was only a brief cameo at the end. They assigned the Team Rocket trio of Jessie, James, and Meowth to steal the Adamant Orb for them. Both Brock and Officer Jenny believed that the trio had been assigned to this work by Butch and Cassidy or Pokémon Hunter J.

In their next appearance in Journey to the Unown!, Saturn brings the two grunts into the Solaceon Ruins. The Team Rocket trio observe them, following them inside. Using three plates, Saturn obtains a cube inside of the ruins, enraging the Unown and causing general chaos inside of the ruins. Before leaving, Saturn thanks the Team Rocket trio for their assistance in the earlier episode and his group escapes with his Bronzor.

Team Galactic appeared again in Enter Galactic!, where Saturn appears yet again. After exposing the cube obtained in Journey to the Unown! to the Veilstone City meteorites, it transforms into the Spear Key. This episode is also the time when Ash and his friends finally encounter them. Their mission this time is apparently to steal some of Veilstone City's meteors. Saturn also battles Brock with their Toxicroak and Croagunk, respectively. However, thanks to Ash, Dawn, Officer Jenny, Maylene, Reggie, and Paul's Electabuzz, the battle ends in a draw and Team Galactic are forced to retreat. It is, however, later implied that several meteorites were successfully stolen, as they were a required ingredient in the construction of the Red Chain.

Team Galactic then appeared in Losing its Lustrous and Double Team Turnover, when Cyrus was revealed for the first time (though Ash and his friends are unaware he is the boss of Team Galactic), along with the debuts of Mars and Jupiter. Here they successfully steal the Adamant Orb (which is being transported to Solaceon Town for study alongside its counterpart), and make an attempt on the Lustrous Orb as well. Despite the efforts of Ash and company (and the interference of Team Rocket), they ultimately escape with both Orbs. As the heroes ponder their next move, Cyrus prepares for the next stage of his plan - now also aware that Ash and Dawn have sighted Azelf and Mesprit respectively.

In Steeling Peace of Mind and Saving the World from Ruins, Ash and friends stumble upon Mars at Iron Island, who is using a key to scan Mt. Coronet for the location of Sky Pillar (in the process disrupting the local Pokemon). Though the mission is halted and Iron Island saved from destruction, Mars still succeeds in ruling out 60% of the mountain, forwarding the mission. Frozen on Their Tracks introduces Looker, who is investigating Team Galactic and discovers evidence of their activity not too far from Lake Acuity. In Gateway to Ruin, he and Ash's group confront Saturn and Charon, who have disrupted the habitats of local Pokemon by digging into Mt. Coronet in search of Sky Pillar. Again, their evade capture despite the interruption and continue on in their mission.

In Unlocking the Red Chain of Events, Ash's group teams up with Meowth to rescue Jessie, James and Looker, who were captured by Jupiter at the Fuego Ironworks. In the ensuing conflict, Jupiter expresses her anger that the three children have each met a member of the Lake Trio and that the Galactic Commanders were meant to be "the Chosen Ones". She and Charon escape, leaving behind a trap which sets back the investigation on Team Galactic. In the following episode The Needs of the Three, they team up with Hunter J and successfully capture the Lake Trio despite efforts of Gary, Professor Rowan, and others in stopping them. The Lake Trio teleport Ash and friends into the Galactic base, where they confront Cyrus but are again defeated by his subordinants and captured, recognising their probably importance in the plan

In the episode The Battle Finale of Legend, Team Galactic awaken Dialga and Palkia. Just as the new universe (world) is being created, Ash and Co. halt its creation, but an insane Cyrus allows himself to be absorbed into the disappearing Universe, leaving his fate unknown. After Ash, Dawn and Brock connect their hearts to Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie, they are able to calm down the rampaging Legendaries and save their universe from destruction. Saturn, Mars, and Jupiter are all arrested by Looker, and although Charon somehow escapes, Team Galactic is finally finished.

  Cyrus

Cyrus (アカギ, Akagi^?) is the 27-year-old boss of Team Galactic. He serves as the main villain in Pokémon: Galactic Battles.

He grew up in Sunyshore City. Although he was a brilliant student, he scorned the company of both humans and Pokémon, favoring the company of machines. He despises the "weak and incomplete" human heart, creating as it did both the strife and conflict that disturbed original tranquility (as he puts it, the situation where "only time flowed and space expanded"), and emotions such as pity and compassion that are "naught but weak illusions that cannot stand against death". Cyrus himself is utterly emotionless. However, he is also extremely charismatic, able to attract all of the grunts, and even Saturn with just his promises of a new world. His emotionlessness and antisocial nature probably stem from his upbringing, since despite his aptitude at school, his parents never regarded him as living up to their standards. It is also known that Cyrus sometimes made visits to Canalave Library. Also, a relative of Cyrus lives alone on the road from Fight Area and Survival Area. He is saddened that he didn't help Cyrus when he was younger. It is shown that Cyrus lived in Sunyshore when he was younger, when the player speaks to two of the inhabitants living there, who speaks of Cyrus. Also, in the games, he uses Dark type Pokémon like Honchcrow and Weavile.

Other members

Saturn (サターン, Satān^?)

Voiced by: Akemi Okamura (Japanese), Marc Thompson (English) He is one of Team Galactic's four Commanders, recognizable with his U-shaped blue hair. He has appeared many times, the most notable of which is when he and a few Galactic Grunts goes steal meteorites, but ends up meeting Ash and his friends for the first time. He battles Brock and his Croagunk with his own Toxicroak, but it ends in a draw, as Team Galactic retreats their mission. He appears to be the primary commander and appears most frequently, his Toxicroak and Brock's Croagunk constantly at odds each time this happens until Croagunk finally defeats Toxicroak at Spear Pillar. When he witnesses Cyrus admitting the truth about his plans, he prevents Mars from following him in destruction and appears to surrender peacefully.

Mars (マーズ, Māzu^?)

Voiced by: Rie Tanaka (Japanese), Lisa Ortiz (English) She is one of Team Galactic's four Commanders, identified by her short red hair with three spikes: one at her top and the other two at the side. She makes her first appearance when she, along with Saturn, attempts to steal the Lustrous Orb from the Celestic Town museum. Since then she has had a few cameo appearances. Her scan of Mt Coronet was interrupted by Ash and Brock destroying the machine, and her attempt to blow up Iron Island on Cyrus's orders failed due to Riley and his Lucario. After Team Galactic's plans are foiled, Mars is the one most shaken by Cyrus' disappearance at the end, falling into a depressed silence at her arrest.

Jupiter (ジュピター, Jupitā^?)

Voiced by: Chinami Nishimura (Japanese), Eileen Stevens (English) She is one of Team Galactic's four Commanders. Her hair is purple, and is worn in 2 curled ponytails similar to Fantina's. Jupiter first appears when she is trying to get the Lustrous Orb back from Team Rocket after they stole it from the Celestic Town Historical Research Center, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, are seen together after they retrieved the orb from Jessie and James. She makes several appearances afterwards, her most noteworthy being was at Fuego Ironworks, where she supervised the creation of the Red Chain, and revealed the Commanders' intended connection to the Lake Trio. She is defeated by Cynthia and promptly arrested by Looker.

Charon (Pluto (プルート, Purūto^?))

Voiced by: Ken'ichi Ogata (Japanese), Mike Pollock (English) He is one of Team Galactic's four Commanders, and is balding with grey hair spiked upwards. In the anime, he appears briefly in Team Galactic's base, then later reappears with Saturn in Mt. Coronet. He also is responsible for working with Jupiter on the Red Chain, and monitors the process of Cyrus' creating his new Universe. He discreetly escapes by the conflict's end, evading capture unlike his fellow Commanders. In the Pokémon Platinum version of the game, he is most known for discovering Rotom. In the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventures storyline, Charon takes over the position of Team Galactic's leader after Cyrus's defeat and attempts to use Giratina's ablilties to destroy the real world and take over the Distortion World, but is defeated by Hareta and his friends.

Team Plasma

Team Plasma

Team Plasma logo
Universe	Pokémon series
Type	Crime syndicate
Founded	Unknown
Location	Unova
Key people	N (Temporary Boss) Ghetsis (one of Seven Sages, and the true boss)
Purpose	To free Pokémon species and separate them from the human world.

Team Plasma uniform for Grunts. (Strongly resembling the Knights Templar)

Team Plasma (プラズマ団, Purazuma-dan?, lit. Plasma Gang) are the main antagonist in Pokémon Black and White series. They plan to free Pokémon from humans by separating them from the human world as they see Pokemon and human as equals, and therefore, to capture them in a Pokeball is the same thing as enslavement to them. Team Plasma is headed by N, who captures Zekrom or Reshiram (depending on the version) and Ghetsis, N's father and one of the seven Sages of Team Plasma. It is revealed that Ghetsis has been using Team Plasma to remove Pokemon from every trainer, so he can be the only one in Unova who owns Pokemon.

N

N (エヌ, Enu^?) is the leader and King of Team Plasma. N battles the player throughout the game and after each battle he releases his team of Pokémon. N was purposefully raised alongside abused Pokémon by his father Ghetsis in order to develop a hatred of humans. Throughout the game, he is chiefly concerned with his quest to become the hero Team Plasma wants him to be, by befriending one of the legendary dragons, Zekrom (Black) and Reshiram (White). He develops a bond of sorts with the player, recognizing their love for Pokémon and utilizing it as a motivation to continuing their operations. Much of the story revolves around N realizing his mistakes, and dealing with his father.

Junichi Masuda has revealed N's real name to be Natural Harmonia Gropius (ナチュラル・ハルモニア・グロピウス, Nachuraru Harumonia Guropiusu^?), with "N" and "Natural" referring to the mathematical concept of natural numbers.

  Ghetsis

Ghetsis (ゲーチス, Gēchisu^?) is one of the seven Sages of Team Plasma and was also known as the man who raised N. When N was only a child, he kept him away from humans and closer to abused Pokémon so that he would later develop resentment against humans who live side-by-side with their Pokémon. Because of this he was able to easily manipulate N into believing that he would be the 'hero' that would help free all the Pokémon world from their owners. Afterwards it is implied that he planned to get rid of him once he had accomplished what he had wanted in order to keep his power for himself. Although, he was the one who raised N he has never referred to him as his son and neither did N refer to him as his father even though they both share the same surname, Harmonia (ハルモニア, Harumonia^?). One of the Seven Sages states that not even they know if Ghetsis is N's biological father as they have never seen them develop this kind of relationship for each other.

Seven Sages

The Seven Sages (七賢人, Shichi Kenjin^?) are the high-ranking members of Team Plasma. Throughout the course of the gameplay, the player encounters each of the sages but will not be able to battle them. After the defeat of N and before becoming the Pokémon Champion, the player must locate all of the Sages scattered throughout the Unova region. Ghetsis is the leader of the Seven Sages. The other Sages consist of:

• Zinzolin (Vio (ヴィオ^?): Associated with the color purple.
• Ryoku (Ryokushi (リョクシ^?)): Associated with the color green.
• Giallo (ジャロ, Jaro^?): Associated with the color yellow.
• Rood (Rot (ロット, Rotto^?)): Associated with the color red.
• Bronius (Sumura (スムラ^?)): Assoiated with the color brown.
• Gorm (Asura (アスラ^?)): Associated with the color blue.

Shadow Triad

The Shadow Triad ("Dark Trinity" (ダークトリニティ, Dāku Toriniti?)) are three young men who are N's faithful servants. They have the ability to teleport, and are usually showing up to escort the player to N or Ghetsis. After Ghetsis's defeat and arrest (and later breaks out somehow), the Shadow Triad appears one last time on the Marvelous Bridge, where they explain that Ghetsis ordered them to bring the player the 3 orbs of Dialga, Palkia and Giratina (Adamant, Lustrous and Griseous, respectively) and that despite their loyalty to him, he has ordered them to not look for him.

Concordia and Anthea

Concordia (the Goddess of Peace (平和の女神, Heiwa no Megami?)) and Anthea (the Goddess of Love (愛の女神, Ai no Megami?)) are two characters who appear towards the end of the main story of Black and White who serve N. Concordia tells the player the story of N and how Ghetsis raised him, while Anthea heals the player's Pokémon in preparation for the final battle against N. They can also be seen in the game's first opening sequence where they watch as N is crowned as the king of Team Plasma by Ghetsis.

  Hunter J

Hunter J is a Pokémon Hunter exclusive to the Diamond and Pearl anime era. She leads a team that specialized in hunting rare Pokémon and selling them to clients at high prices. She uses a special wrist device that turns Pokémon into gold-like statues, making them easy to capture. She also has a Drapion, Ariados, and Salamence as her own Pokémon. Her men call her 'sir', despite being female. She appears in only a few episodes, but has a major impact on the story, where she steals rare Pokémon and usually overpowers Ash and his allies. She attempted to steal four Shieldon, but was unsuccessful due to the efforts of Ash and Gary Oak. She's last seen in the episode The Needs of the Three, where she captures Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf and delivers them to Team Galactic on Lake Valor. However, as they attempt to flee, the ship is hit by Uxie and Mesprit's Future Sight attack. This causes the ship to plunge into the lake where the immense pressure causes the glass to break and fill the ship with water. It is unknown if she and her team escaped, however, her head-mounted display is seen floating to the surface, really saying she may have survived the impact, but until then she is presumably deceased.

Cipher

Cipher

Universe	Pokémon
Type	Crime syndicate
Founded	Greevil,Evice
Location	Orre
Key people	Leaders and Admins Chief executive: Nascour Leaders - Greevil, Evice, Admins - Miror B. Dakim, Venus, Ein (Closseum only), Ardos, Eldes, Gorigan, Lovrina, Snattle (XD only) Grunts- Exol, Zook
Purpose	To control the world using shadow Pokémon
Technologies	Snag Machines, Shadow Pokémon
Powers***	Controls Most of Orre
Subsidiaries	Team Snagem

Cipher, as known in Japan as Shadow (シャドー, Shadō?), is an evil syndicate that planned to take over the world and appeared only in Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness. They operate only in the Orre region, Cipher's goal was closer as their Shadow Pokémon scheme neared fruition until a traitor from "ally" organization Team Snagem, Wes a former 17-year-old member of team Snagem, and his companion Rui the granddaughter of the Legendary trainer Eagun, ended the so-called Shadow Pokémon Incident, and then again by a young boy named Michael five years later. Apparently founded by Evice, also known as Mayor Es Cade, Cipher had most of Orre under its control proving its size compared to other Pokémon crime syndicates in the Pokémon world, with enough resources to build several laboratories, factories and even private islands, funded by Greevil himself, under his civilian guise of the wealthy Mr. Verich.

Like Team Rocket, Team Aqua and Magma, Team Galactic and Team Plasma, Cipher has its own army of members, but, instead of being referred to as Grunts, like other syndicates, normal Cipher members are called Peons and aren't usually uniformed. Unlike the other groups, Cipher's influence is great enough to have the support of nearly the entire criminal underworld of Orre.

  Admins

Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD' features nine admins working for Cipher throughout the two games.

• Admins in Pokémon Colosseum:
  • Miror B. (Mirror Bo (ミラーボ, Mirābo^?)), a dancing criminal with a large afro resembling a Pokéball. He returns in XD, no longer affiliated with Cipher.
  • Dakim (ダキム, Dakimu^?), a muscular and violent man with very strong Pokémon.
  • Venus (ヴィーナス, Vīnasu^?), a beautiful and popular woman who has control over The Under town in Orre and has her own TV show.
  • Ein (Borg (ボルグ, Borugu^?)), chief scientist of Cipher in Colosseum who is responsible for creating the Shadow Pokémon.

• Admins in Pokémon XD:
  • Ardos (アルドス, Arudosu^?), one of Grandmaster Greevil's two sons, most supportive of Cipher's goals, after Cipher is officially disbanded he seeks to revive himself.
  • Eldes (エルデス, Erudesu^?), Greevil's other son, convinces his father to disband Cipher.
  • Gorigan (ゴリガン^?), an engineer who walks like a monkey.
  • Lovrina (ラブリナ, Raburina^?), chief scientist of the second form of Cipher, very girly in personality.
  • Snattle (Wazzle (ワズル, Wazuru^?)), chief executive of Cipher in its second form.

Leaders

• Evice (Wardack (ワルダック, Warudakku^?)), the second ruler of Cipher following Greevil's orders and first one who led the attack and the Realgam Tower building five years before the events of Pokémon XD
• Greevil (Deathgold (デスゴルド, Desugorudo^?)), The true leader and financial benefactor of the revived Cipher