Villain Groups

Villain Groups are led by the main antagonist of a following game other than the player's rival and going after a Legendary Pokémon. However since Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, these groups sometimes are minor or major roadblocks that might not be involved with criminal activities of Pokémon.

List of Villain Groups and their Leaders

Main Series

• Team Rocket (Leader: Giovanni) － Their goal is world domination with an army of Pokémon including Legendary Pokémon. they operate on the continent composed of Kanto and Johto, and they have a base in Sevii Islands. A legendary Pokémon, Mewtwo, is their creation.
• Team Aqua (Leader: Archie) － Their goal is to cover the earth with water to create more life. They operate in Hoenn. The legendary Pokémon they are after is Kyogre.
• Team Magma (Leader: Maxie) － Their goal is to expand the continents to create more land for life to dwell on. They operate in Hoenn. The legendary Pokémon they are after is Groudon.
• Team Galactic (Leader: Cyrus) － The goal of the leaders is to re-create the universe in Cyrus's image. They operate in Sinnoh. The legendary Pokémon they are after are Lake Guardians & Creation Trio.
• Team Plasma (Leader: Ghetsis) － Their goal is to stop people from "enslaving" Pokémon, and incorporate Pokémon justice in the world, though this is merely a cover so they can use the power of the Tao Trio to become the only owners of Pokémon in the world. They operate in the Unova region.
• Team Flare (Leader: Lysandre) － Their goal is to create a beautiful world, which involved making money, stealing Mega Stones, and using the Ultimate Weapon powered by the Aura Trio to eliminate anyone in their path. Their operation is in the Kalos region.
• Team Skull (Leader: Guzma) － As a stark contrast to their predecessors, they are just street thugs that just want to make enough money to survive. They have a history of disrupting the Island Challenge of Alola, as many of them, failed to pass said trials.
• Team Rainbow Rocket is led by Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket. With his new Team Rainbow Rocket Grunts, he traveled through different worlds gathering all of the leaders of evil organizations from worlds where they succeeded in their goals: Take control over Festival Plaza and Take over different worlds using an army of Ultra Beasts.
• Team Yell is led by Piers. Much like Team Skull, they are not truly evil, as it was formed as Marnie's fan club by Piers, but they may also act like Football hooligans in real life, much to Piers' displeasure. They operate in Galar.
• Team Star is led by Cassiopeia. They are not evil either, instead being students who were bullied or expelled. They end up having most of their captains and members returned to the academy, or help other students with training. They operate in Paldea.

Side Series

• Cipher: The main antagonist of the Pokémon Colosseum series. Their goal is to turn every Pokémon into Shadow Pokémon. In Colosseum, Evice is their leader, and was succeeded by Greevil in XD.
• Team Snagem: This group want to steal every Pokémon using their snag machine, and their leader is Gonzap. They are the secondary antagonists of the Colosseums series.

Spin-off Series

• Team Great Rocket: The antagonist of a Game Boy game focusing on the TCG, their goal is to steal the legendary cards (Legendary Birds and Dragonite).
• Go Rock Squad: The antagonist of The Ranger series. They intend to catch the legendary beasts (Raikou, Entei and Suicune).
• Team Meanies: The primary antagonist of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team and their remakes, led by Gengar.
• Team Skull: The primary antagonist of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, led by a Skuntank. They frequently harass the player's team.

See also

• Aether Foundation
• Macro Cosmos