Players looking to step into the shoes of Pokémon's most notorious antagonists will soon have their chance. A new fan project, titled Team Rocket Evolved, is transforming the world of Pokémon Emerald by putting players in the role of a Team Rocket grunt.
This ROM hack flips the traditional Pokémon formula, allowing players to steal other trainers' Pokémon, a core tenet of Team Rocket's modus operandi. Success in these thefts can lead to opponents conceding the battle. The game's narrative follows the player's progression from a low-ranking grunt to a full-fledged Team Rocket admin within the Hoenn region.
Due to the villainous player character, certain amenities like Pokémon Centers will be unavailable until the player has conquered a local gym. Players will need to rely on alternative, potentially more expensive and scarce, methods for healing their Pokémon. The game also allows for calling in backup from the wider Team Rocket organization, ensuring battles are not always fair.
Developers Eric Turner3 and his wife have confirmed that no AI was used in the creation of Team Rocket Evolved. The fan game aims to include every generation of Pokémon, along with Mega Evolutions and Dynamax Evolutions. New trainer types will also be featured. In a nod to other titles in the series, Pokémon will be able to follow the player, similar to Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
The Team Rocket Evolved project is still under active development, with the creators soliciting ideas and requests from the community via their official subreddit.