Team Rocket Ruins Gen 2 Pokemon
Everyone remembers their first time playing Pokemon. A ten-year-old protagonist setting off from home, starter Pokemon in tow, ready to take on the world. Except before you can complete the gym challenge and take on the Pokemon League, you’ve got to defeat a sinister organisation full of criminals who steal other people’s Pokemon. That’s the plot of most Pokemon games, but Gen 2 really takes the piss. Not only is the structure the same as its predecessor, but so is the evil force you’re fighting against. Yep, turns out Red besting Giovanni a few years ago didn’t actually have any impact. Might as well not have bothered.
Team Rocket is back and they’re on the hunt for their old boss, a man who went into exile because he couldn’t face the shame of being bested by a child who’d only started their journey a few hours ago. I don’t blame him, I don’t really see how you come back from that either. Why does Team Rocket even want him back? It’s not like they’re doing anything different in Johto. Taking over buildings, skulking about in secret lairs, and nicking Pokemon. Same shit, different region, and all without the top dog.
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The only interesting thing about Team Rocket in Johto is Silver, your rival and Giovanni’s son. You’d be forgiven for not knowing that, because it’s only revealed in a time travel sequence you can only unlock if you get the event Celebi in Ilex Forest. It turns out that the main reason for your rival’s angst, edginess, and lust for power is daddy issues. Relatable. Silver’s rival arc is arguably the best in Pokemon history, but that’s only because the others are so terrible. He could have been great if Game Freak had left Team Rocket in Kanto –
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