#maxie and archie are next. hell I might even do both of their designs

[catboy-cyrus]

great idea @merryloo

Catboy Giovanni REAL

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Maxie & Archie

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Generation VI of Pokemon had many flaws, and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are arguably inferior to Emerald in many regards, but one thing is for sure: the remakes took two of the worst, most idiotic villains in the entire franchise and made them into interesting, likable characters. The original Maxie and Archie had the most needlessly nonsensical plans imaginable, resorting to ludicrous acts of eco-terrorism for ridiculously stupid goals; in the remakes, their reasoning is expanded upon and instead of merely being the poor man’s Team Rocket, Archie and Maxie and their respective teams became respectable and engaging antagonists.

Motivation/Goals: In the original games, well, let’s just say that these two had some of the stupidest plans imaginable. Archie wanted to flood the world with water so that people and Pokemon could live together, and Maxie wanted to expand the landmasses for a similar reason. The thing is, there plans make absolutely zero sense, particularly the part with the meteor and the volcano. It makes even less sense for Archie, but with Maxie it’s just dumb as all hell. How do you expect to expand the landmass by erupting a volcano in the middle of the continent, ding-dong?! But again, Archie isn’t much better, because he’s clearly not thinking through the ramifications of flooding the planet and expanding the seas. These two are morons no matter what way you slice it.

Thankfully, the remakes polish their motivations and refine them, while still keeping them as eco-terrorists so you don’t feel too bad about thwarting them. Archie wants to return the world to nature, acting as a force of vengeance against the people who have encroached on Pokemon habitats and polluted the sea; meanwhile, Maxie wants to expand the landmasses to further humanity’s progress at the expense of Pokemon, with him viewing peaceful coexistence as foolish and something that holds humanity back. These are pretty complex and interesting arguments that they put forth, but again, this is a children’s RPG series, so they’re eco-terrorists you gotta defeat before they destroy the world. At the very least, the remakes do show that as misguided as the two are, they’re still pretty noble and more well-intentioned than other villains in the franchise.

Personality: It’s not even worth going over the originals, because they’re pretty flat, bland characters who are just there to be the boss you fight to progress the story. There are some elements that got recycled into the remakes, such as their remorse over their terrorist actions as well as their genuine love for their Pokemon (as evidenced by the fact that both use Crobat), but that’s about it.

In the remakes, both are very distinct and fun characters. Archie is now a friendly foe, a buff and handsome pirate who is quite chummy with the player despite their opposition to him. It’s absolutely clear that he loves Pokemon, and apparently as children he and Shelly were even pals with Jirachi! He’s also pretty damn smart, seeing as he easily outmaneuvers Maxie at every turn in Alpha Sapphire. Maxie, while still courteous, is rather aloof and stoic, rarely showing emotion until he’s beaten in battle.While he doesn’t have quite as much going on as Archie, he still marks a nice contrast to the boisterous pirate by being a calm, collected scientist.

Final Fate: In the originals, both regret their actions upon seeing the destruction that Kyogre and Groudon unleash upon the Hoenn region, and return the orbs to Mt. Pyre to make amends. In the remakes it’s about the same, though they hand the orb to the player and will even join your side in battles in the Battle Maison after the Delta Episode comes to a close.

Best Scene: Obviously any battle with them, particularly the climactic battles in Emerald and the remakes. The original designs in general had pretty awesome showdowns during Gen VII’s Rainbow Rocket plotline as well.

Best Quote: These quotes, which handily sum up what they’re about:

"The land... It is the stage upon which humanity stands. The land exists so we humans might continue onward and upward, stepping into the future... For us to continue growing and evolving, humans require a grand stage upon which to stand. A land upon which we can stride forward... A land we can explore...develop...exploit... This is the basis for the growth of all human endeavor. That is why we, Team Magma, must increase the landmass of the world! Believe that this will lead to a future of eternal happiness for humanity... And consequently for all life!"

"The sea is an irreplaceable treasure for every living thing on this planet. But with our selfish extravagance, humanity dirties the great ocean, destroying this source of all life... Day by day, we're all destroying our most precious resource! If we humans suffer from our actions, well, maybe we'll end up getting what we deserve. But what about the Pokémon in our world? The Pokémon that no longer have a place to live because we stole and soiled their seas? The Pokémon that won't have a place to raise their young and watch them grow? We are creating a world in which innocent Pokémon suffer as a result of our actions... And that is something that I can't forgive! That's why I came to a decision, see? The foolish actions of my fellow humans, the seas we have blighted, nature itself... I will return everything to its unspoiled beginnings!"

I’m sure you can guess who said what.

Final Thoughts & Score: Archie and Maxie are relatively simple antagonists, but I think they played their roles well enough. As bad as their original versions were, they served as a nice step up from the more lowkey plots of Team Rocket and helped raise the stakes for the series, introducing teams that wanted to harness the powers of legendary Pokemon to destroy or reshape the world to their liking. And hey, even if the originals are pretty lame, at the very least in one alternate timeline their visions come true and they get to join up with Team Rainbow Rocket right before their deaths.

The versions from the remakes are easily the superior ones though, because not only do they fix the numerous idiotic flaws that the originals had in their plans, but they expand and add more flavor to the original characters while still maintaining the elements that worked about them in the first place. Archie is definitely the more impressive one; I find him to be a much more interesting and intriguing personality, especially because of his relationship with his cohorts and his mysterious childhood friendship with Jirachi. Remake Archie earns a nice 8/10 because of this.

Maxie, while a character I definitely find less fun than Archie, is still an incredibly solid antagonist and leagues better than his original iteration, so I think a 7/10 is warranted in his case. At any rate, both are better than the original white bread morons who antagonized the players of the Gen III games, who pretty handily earn a 4/10 each. They’re by no means the bottom of the barrel, but they’re idiotic schemes are so poorly planned that they make Captain Planet’s villains look like Mensa in comparison. Frankly their showing in the Rainbow Rocket plot is the only thing that keeps them from a 3, and even that’s a bit suspect because it isn’t the exact same Archie and Maxie of the Gen III games, just versions of those villains who succeeded.

Regardless, it’s hard to deny these two managed to get one of the most impressive glow-ups of the franchise after years of being overshadowed by the next generation’s villain.