Team GO Rocket has been a part of Pokemon GO for a long time with many events focused on them. Even outside of events, the team members have been taking over Pokestops, the leaders have been providing players with tough battles, and Giovanni has been a way for players to get powerful legendary Shadow Pokemon.
Pokemon GO players aren't usually inconvenienced by Team GO Rocket's antics, even when Pokestops are taken over. With how long the team has been present however, it may be time for a new villainous team to join the fray and cause a different kind of mayhem for players to deal with.
There are plenty of players that enjoy fighting Team GO Rocket grunts and leaders, but a new challenge might spice things up. The Pokemon series as a whole has seen multiple evil teams that could make an appearance in Pokemon GO in some way. It could even be possible for Niantic to develop a completely original team for players to deal with alongside the struggles provided by Team GO Rocket.
Main Series Evil Teams
There have been many different evil teams that have appeared in the mainline Pokemon games that hold a lot of potential for implementation in the game. They don't have to replace Team Rocket, but they could hold other possible roles that could result in players challenging them.
Team Magma and Team Aqua from the Hoenn region are the villains that appeared after Team Rocket's reign in generations one and two. With how Pokemon GO relies on player locations for Pokemon spawns and other large mechanics, the implementation of Team GO Magma and Team GO Aqua could build off of this. For example, a boat with a Team GO Aqua grunt could spawn on water and lock down capturing Pokemon in the area until they are defeated. Team GO Magma, meanwhile, could do the same on land, requiring players to hunt them down. Their defeat could lead to rescuing a shadow Pokemon like with Team GO Rocket, but it could also cause a temporary lure-like effect in the area they were defeated for the players that overcame the challenge.
Like with Team GO Rocket, more leaders that are exclusive to Pokemon GO can also be implemented instead of the main games' Shelly, Matt, Tabitha, and Courtney for Team Aqua and Team Magma. Of course, Archie and Maxie would have to still appear as the founders of their teams.
Other evil teams such as Team Galactic, Team Plasma, Team Flare, Team Skull, and the Aether Foundation also have the potential to be implemented in various ways for more NPC trainers for players to defeat. They, however, don't have as much potential as Hoenn's Team Magma and Team Aqua. It still could be also possible for unique encounter and roles for these teams to be carefully designed in a way that makes each team not feel like the same problem with different Pokemon teams.
Side-Game and Spin-Off Evil Teams
With how long the Pokemon series has been running, there have been plenty of new villainous teams created for side-games and spin-off titles. While there are plenty of games and teams that have been forgotten, there are plenty that are still fondly remembered in players' hearts.
Two teams that many older Pokemon fans remember are Team Snagem and Cipher from Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness. Fitting with the former's name, Team Snagem was an evil team that used a device known as the Snag Machine to steal Pokemon from trainers. Cipher, meanwhile, is the origin of Shadow Pokemon themselves in lore, which was once again used for Pokemon GO. If these two teams become active once more, it would greatly pay further tribute to the rescuing of shadow Pokemon mechanic from their original games.
While it is incredibly unlikely that Team Snagem would steal players' Pokemon if implemented into Pokemon GO, it could be possible that players would need to go on special research tasks focused on rescuing Pokemon belonging to NPCs. These tasks would require players to catch Pokemon at the end of Team Snagem battles that they wouldn't be able to keep, but would instead get a valuable reward. This could even be made into a new system known as a Bounties, where players can see a list of stolen Pokemon that refreshes every day with them needing to hunt down members of Team Snagem to save them.
For Cipher, players could have to track down Cipher bases with other players by getting information through defeating Cipher members. Tracking down these bases would lead to a new place available on the overworld that can be converted into a new PokeStop or Gym after its completion. What makes this PokeStop or Gym special, however, is that they will be inaccessible to players that haven't cleared out the bases and be straight up invisible if nobody has figured the location.
A stranger idea for an evil team could be the villainous teams from the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon titles, being Team Meanies and the original Team Skull. They could appear to players as a group of Pokemon in the overworld that pretend to be normal encounters before surprising players with an actual battle against the wild Pokemon. This also holds the possibility for new teams of Pokemon like this to form and surprise players.
A New Original Team
Plenty of original characters and concepts have been created for players to enjoy in Pokemon GO. While Team GO Rocket is Team Rocket with a new coat of paint, it is still possible for a new team completely filled with existing characters could be created for new ways to face villains in Pokemon GO.
The possibilities for new content in-game are endless, especially with what new challenges could arise for players to face. After all, the game didn't even originally have raids, trading, or even Team GO Rocket themselves when it first released. A brand new team that is developed around new systems for the game is completely possible and could introduce even more original characters to the title. Pokemon GO is still releasing plenty of new content, events, and ways to enjoy the game. While it would be great for there to be even more villains to face in players' neighborhoods, there are also many other things that may happen in the title's future.
Pokemon GO is available on Android and iOS.