Here's every villainous team's grunt battle theme from the core series Pokémon games!
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Timestamps:
Team Rocket
00:00: Gold/Silver/Crystal Version
02:04: HeartGold/SoulSilver Version
04:08: Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon Version (Team Rainbow Rocket)
Team Magma/Aqua
06:35: Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald Version
09:55: Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire Version
Team Galactic
13:15: Diamond/Pearl/Platinum Version
15:44: Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl Version
Team Plasma
18:12: Black/White Version
21:21: Black 2 / White 2 Version
Team Flare
24:39: X/Y
Team Skull
27:03: Sun / Moon / Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon
Aether Foundation
29:56: Sun / Moon / Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon
Team Yell
32:18: Sword/Shield
Macro Cosmos
35:01: Sword/Shield Storming Rose Tower
Team Star
37:27: Scarlet/Violet
41:24: Scarlet/Violet Base Raid
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Silvuddy's Notes:
- Team Rocket: In Gold and Silver we got unique battle music for the villainous team, setting the standard for this new archetype of battle themes. In my opinion, the tried and true original will always reign supreme; the Team Rocket theme just carries so much intimidation befitting the most criminal antagonists in the series to date. Fun note: the Rainbow Rocket theme from USUM opens with original 8-bit sounds as well as a brief reference to the Rocket encounter theme!
- Team Magma/Aqua: This one might be on the lower end of recognizability among the grunt themes, but the brass in the ORAS version sold it to me as a great battle theme. There were some weird harmonic and melodic decisions in the original that the ORAS version fixed too. Listen close and you'll hear some foreshadowing of Maxie/Archie's theme in the middle of the loop!
- Team Galactic: While the BDSP version certainly brought this track's sounds to a higher quality, the original organ and synths are just too perfect for these goofy looking dudes. DPPt soundfont at its finest!
- Team Plasma: The original version of this went in a really unique direction with its jumping triplet feel. The BW soundfont really lets this piece shine, and the B2W2 remix capitalizes on the sound library even more so, with some incredible drum fills emphasizing the switch to straight 8ths.
- Team Flare: These guys definitely have a certain... flair, if you will (pun very much intended). They get a bespoke, grating synth instrument for their themes, which is pretty cool, but other than that I don't have much to say about this theme other than it's solid.
- Team Skull: Guitar and groovy synth sounds give Team Skull a super specific vibe that perfectly fits their punk aesthetic. All of Team Skull's music kinda veers into the territory of hip-hop, or at least as close as we'll get to it with Pokémon music, and I'm all for it.
- Aether Foundation: The first twist antagonists of the franchise, with a theme for their employees (as opposed to simple grunts) that definitely calls attention their true, villainous goals. The theme remixes the regular Foundation island theme with many dark, even somewhat creepy elements.
- Team Yell: What is there to say about Team Yell that hasn't already been said... Their theme is actually not terrible, even if the Team itself is pretty lackluster. It actually grew on me after listening to it a bit more while making these; the punk-metal style hits pretty hard, and isn't often heard in Pokémon soundtracks.
- Macro Cosmos: Unfortunately these twist villains didn't get a true grunt theme. The best we got was the special music that plays while storming Rose Tower with Hop, which plays through the overworld and into battle seamlessly. It's also not nearly as menacing as the other villain's themes, instead going for a happy, heroic tone to accompany the fight alongside your friend.
- Team Star: Wow, Teruo Taniguchi went all in for the Team Star music. These bangers sound like they came straight out of Xenoblade at some points. EDM and metal combined is perfect for my personal tastes, but I don't think I'm alone in claiming the regular Team Star battle theme to be in the Top 3 of all Grunt themes, minimum. If it weren't for Rocket's being so perfectly classic, this would be number 1 for me.
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(All music obtained from https://downloads.khinsider.com/, Mixeli, Bliitzit, and NintendoMelody. Please check them all out!)
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