Pokémon fans are feeling spoiled this month as even more information and news on the new games Scarlet and Violet come in, hyping up the upcoming November release date. With the latest news from The Pokémon Company giving out the identity of the new villainous team, however, fans are questioning if this isn't a piece of misdirection.
This speculation comes from the underwhelming presentation of the new team, Team Star. They're presented as bullies and delinquents from the school the player is supposed to be attending, with squads that build up bases to be obstacles to the player's progress. This is a little underwhelming when compared to previous teams like Plasma or Magma... unless this is intentional.
Using one team as a potential blind for another secretive team isn't new for Pokémon. Probably the strongest example of this is Team Skull from Generation 7, led by Guzma and based in Po Town. Team Skull definitely had the delinquent energy that Team Star toys with, and they caused plenty of trouble across Alola. Their shenanigans also meant that the activities of the Aether Foundation went under the radar. Since Team Skull was so much more overt, it was easy to focus on them as the antagonists until the Aether Foundation started causing major issues -- even though the Aether Foundation's villainous antics were sprinkled throughout the games from the very beginning.
Another example, albeit one not as strong as Team Skull, is Team Yell of Generation 8. Team Yell acted as an obstacle for the players, but they weren't necessarily villainous, instead bordering on annoying. As such, they didn't provide as much distraction from the main antagonists of Sword and Shield. However, the team still jives close to the energy Team Star is giving: delinquents who make it a point to block the player's progress.
And seeing as how Team Star's identity seems to be delinquent bullies who are too cool for school, the comparison to the other two teams seems valid -- which means it's highly possible that they perform the same role in the games as well. They do seem like they'll pose a challenge, especially with the new battle mechanic that's involved in fighting them -- where the player fights against wave after wave of opponents until the boss of the base comes in on the Starmobile to challenge them. But with their motivation seeming so weak compared to the likes of previous teams, fans suspect that there's an alternate villain operating as well.
Among the revealed characters thus far are some prime suspects. With Chairman Rose as the head of the Galar Pokémon League in addition to being the primary antagonist in Sword and Shield, someone like Geeta -- who fills a similar position in Paldea -- could be a prime contender for the secret villain. Clavell, the director of the academy that the player attends, is also a strong contender, as he's in a respected position of power like Lusamine was in Generation 7. However, among the fandom, the main suspects are the ones who were revealed first: Professors Sada and Turo, the Pokémon professors of the region.
Fans have been suspicious of these two since they were first revealed, with the primary factor being that they break the pattern of Pokémon professors. Every professor before has had plant-based names, but these two have names based on the Spanish words for past and future. There's just something about them that makes fans suspicious, and with how Team Star is presented, it's even easier to believe that there's a secret cabal of villains lurking beneath the surface.