Taking your last point first because my perspective might help explain my thoughts:
Still, comparing real life with fiction is bad because real life is, well, real life. .
Sorry, but I do make this comparison. Been doing so for years. I'd rather any story err on the side of reality rather than introduce fantasy elements into the mix. Never cared for fantasy as a child, and I only watch it now when cute anime girls are involved. It's why the Team Rocket plot makes the most sense to me. And that's why I approach these games with the question, "Does this make sense in the real world?" in mind. Guess I'm hard-wired to think that way *shrugs* Heck, I've been arguing for Pokemon Centers to be replaced by national chain hotels for years.
I think I saw the same arguments you used being used by other people.
As far as I can see, I'm the only one who pointed out Mr. Immortal (or Arizona, whichever name sounds cooler.)
I think the goal of Team Flare makes sense, but you're making the mistake of analyzing the goal by what the grunts say and not Lysandre. The grunts don't have any idea of what Lysandre really wants (at least from what I remember).
No, I don't think their goal made sense because of ancient doomsday devices and creepy stones giving off the energy of the dead. Just like I didn't think N's castle in B/W made sense unless Team Plasma had a hell of a lot of huge, powerful hydraulic pistons to elevate the massive building above ground. And don't get me started on how the protagonist in R/S/E survived a ride in the back of a moving truck without being crushed or slammed against something en route to Littleroot - I could write an essay on that.
Team Rocket =/= Team Flare. Team Rocket's goal is actually as simple as it gets, so it's no wonder the grunts grasp it. But I'd say, from Team Galactic onwards, the grunts were just fools who had no idea what was going on.
From my perspective, an evil group seems much more organized, cohesive, and ultimately threatening when everyone's on the same page and knows the mission and goal. It's hard to take any of the later teams seriously because of the clueless underlings.
Immortality isn't such an outrageous concept. The game gives a nice explanation on how AZ became immortal. It's one of the cores of the story.
Again, I'm approaching this from a "that doesn't occur in real life" position, simply because that's my preference for entertainment. The idea of the Arizona dude works for most of the members here. It doesn't for me. Personally, I just couldn't immerse myself in the story after he was introduced.
I agree, but it's a game, a game doesn't need good story to succeed. Pokémon thrives in a story-driven genre with average stories at best, but they're there just to give you some goal. The joy of the game is in assembling a Pokémon team and kicking ass with it.
Exactly. Which is why Team Rocket worked so well (Keep It Simple). And why I don't see the point of these "morally questionable" teams - I just want to beat the crap out of wave after wave of enemy grunts, not hear the boss go on some extended rant about his grandiose plot and how it will actually help instead of hurt. If anything, the Pokemon games need more "For your insolence, you will feel a world of pain!" and less "You fought over the Mega Ring, just like in the future too many people will fight over limited resources and war will erupt and it will be ugly."
And yes, I'd much prefer a mindless action movie/show instead of something deep and philosophical. I like the line between good and evil clearly defined instead of being in a gray zone.
But what I really want is a Pokemon game with an evil team that lets me unleash my inner financial crime investigator.
Finally, it's the stupid "rivals" that REALLY killed the plot of X/Y for me. Compared with the terrible foursome's constant annoyance, Team Flare was just a group of insane nutjobs that I kinda enjoyed beating up.
