Robots on the Brain

FriendProgram

I think Buneary is basically a perfect choice for FP, being a bunny Pokemon with a base friendship of zero. It evolves when it reaches a high friendship stat but FP just gets to have Buneary forever.

Zorua is a mischievous fox that shapeshifts into other Pokemon or people, though it often does this to protect itself. We've always thought the fox and mouse experiment encounter paralleled FP's dynamic with Tori in some way, so they get a fox. Zorua's deal also fits well with how FP's actions are often percieved as manipulative when their pretending often really comes down to their safety.

I've played with the thought of giving Waterbottle or Pixels a shark mon, but it didn't quite click and I ended up giving FP a Garchomp instead. I wanted their whole team to be animalistic but also to have something edgier to appeal to their sensibilities. It's a pseudo-legendary too so it works out.

Waterbottle

Gotta give 'em a small cat mon to reference Sodacan and I think Litten matches their energy the best.

Metagross is honestly mostly here because it visually reminded me of them, and its intelligence is often compared to that of a super computer. I wish I could've found Pokemon that better reference WB's choice to stop fighting for good but this being their only Pokemon next to the unevolved cat will have to suffice.

Fun + Games

I generally tried to go for a colorful toy aesthetic for their teams. They absolutely needed duo Pokemon so they get Plusle and Minun. Fun gets a Chatot because I always imagined its voice would sound like how a cartoon parrot character would sound. Games getting Psyduck is mostly vibes-based but it loops back to being matchsies with Fun because birds :)

Keys + Hammer + Wrench

Keys and Hammer are fairly straightforward. He's a techprogram and has a mon that helps with constructions. She's a blacksmith and gets Tinkaton. I honestly would've liked to give her something edgier but I think I can live with her having a cute but fierce mon that wields a hammer.

Wrench gets Mabosstiff cause it's vaguely Spike-shaped and it's usually a gentle and kind Pokemon that gets fierce about protecting its family and loved ones, which fits him very well.

Pixels

For Pixels I very much ended up going just for a cute but strong team, I feel like that speaks to their tastes. Vulpix is here for vibes and name games, Emolga is one of the signature Pokemon of a model in Gen 5 which I think would appeal to her, with how much she plays herself up, and Cinccino can let attacks slide off of its white fur which reflects how Pixels doesn't let a lot of things get to her.

Dreamer

Musharna eats others Dreams which appear in the mist from its forehead. It can also use that to create illusions, all of which fits Dreamer incredibly well.

Porygon is an artifically created Pokemon that can freely move around in cyberspace. I thought if reflected well how Dreamer is uncertain of their self image and hardly uses their physical form to move about, but I also wanted it to be a reference to the glitch encounter in the hospital emulation.

Latios mostly corresponds to Tori's Latias. I don't think this is canon, but the two of them are often interpreted as siblings. Latios only opens up to select people and according to early entries, it's also able to create illusions so there's that too.

Enemy

Cobalion is the intimidating leader of a trio of legendaries, The Swords of Justice, who stood up against humans who put Pokemon in danger. It only felt appropriate to give it to Enemy.

Klinklank is a gears powered mon that produces and stores a lot of energy.

Rotom is a Pokemon made up of eletricity that can possess any technological device. It's also a ghost type, fitting for Enemy's temporary death during which she was just a stream of energy traversing the labs before inhabiting a new body.

Carvanha is honestly in part just here because both it and her make me think of Undyne. Frankly, both Carvanha and Drapion kinda come down to "they look like her" and they do match her energy. Though Carvanha also usually work in groups and get shy when they're on their own, which could be reflective of Enemy's downspiral as her relationship with Knight and Knife is put on strain.

Torkoal is very self-indulgent. The door on Enemy's chest always made me think of something like fire boxes in steam engines so I always imagined her as a machine that runs on heat and steam. So, hot steam Pokemon. It worked out well because I also ended up giving Knife a fire turtle lol.

Knight + Knife

The two of them just kinda get the other Swords of Justice by proxy of Enemy, I just decided Virizions elegant energy fit Knight better.

He also has a Gallade, one of the first Pokemon that come to mind when it comes to noble knight/prince types. Ironically, it's also capable of reading thoughts which could be a nightmare for Knight's OCD, but who knows maybe their bond makes it loop back around to being reassuring.

Now, I wanted all of the TNT to get at least one edgier Pokemon which wasn't easy with Knight, but I ended up settling on an Absol for her. It's a dark type Pokemon which in the past has been thought to bring disaster with it, but in reality it appears to warn people of upcoming disasters. I think it plays interestingly on their anxieties around pretending to be a good program and really being awful, and still fits the overall noble theme of their team.

Then there's Escavalier. Obvious knight motif, but also matchsies with Knife's Accelgor, since their pre-evos evolve upon being traded with one another :)

Accelgor doesn't match Knife as well, but I think it being an agile ninja bug-type works well enough.

Xe also gets Pawniard, a Pokemon that fights with the blades on its body and tends to follow the command of a leading Pokemon.

And there's Turtonator, a Pokemon whose shell is explosive. At least one of TNT needed an explosive Pokemon and I think Knife matches its energy the best.

Clover

Mimikyu is a horrifying Pokemon that tries to make itself likeable and popular by disguising as Pikachu. Very fitting with Clover's own tendency to try hard to fit a standard of social acceptability and constantly putting on a front, though I think they would also just plain appreciate Mimikyu's cuteness.

Nick

A lot of scientist trainers use electric/steel types, which Magnezone is, and it looks like an UFO on top of that.

Beheeyem are alien-like Pokemon who can manipulate and erase people's memories.

Type: Null are artifical Pokemon created to be used as weapons against Pokemon from other dimensions. Considering it's resemblance to a dog, you could consider this one a counterpart to Devil.

Alolan Sandslash is a blue armadillo which makes for a morbid reference to Estranged Family and Star and Comet's history with Nick.

Cubone is a notoriously sad and grieving Pokemon wearing the skull of its dead mother. I thought it made for a perfect representation of his relationship to the old organisms and while it might be off putting to have this cute mon on his team, I think Nick's character thrives on unsettling dissonance, plus actual Pokemon villains sometimes have standout mons that speak on their character.

Void

Void's Zoroark corresponds to FP's Zorua, while their Silvally corresponds to Type: Null.

While the "manipulation" angle isn't pushed with Void in the same way it is for FP, there's still a element of percieved deception to their character. There's the act 5 betrayal, but also the way their lovelessness and their sincerety in their interactions are positioned as contradictory.

Additionally, Zoroark are very loyal to their kin, and while the importance FP holds for Void doesn't rely on their family relation, I still think the Pokemon can be a neat reference to that. They just get an evolved version of FP's mon since theirs likely got involved in more battles.

Silvally evolves from Type: Null once it reaches a high friendship level and trusts its trainer, shattering the mask that previously restrained it. Within the story this happens some time after its current trainer rescues it from the lab it was created in. I'm imagining that Void literally just took Nick's old Type: Null, so this is specifically a post-game additon to their team.

Cosmog is the obligatory space-themed Pokemon on their team, and I thought it was a better fit with Void to go with it than with any of the mons based on specific celestial bodies.

Additionally, the human characters who take care of a Cosmog and a Silvally within the story of Sun and Moon are a pair of siblings who escaped an abusive environment so like Idk vague reference to Void's own situation also.

Tori

Audino is a Pokemon that can hear and feel out people's health and emotional states.

Banette is the ghost of a thrown away puppet, now filled with vengance and trying to seek out the person who abandoned it. Supposedly, it can return to its former state if given enough love. I think it makes for a nice representation of both Tori's damaged relationship with Enemy, as well as her misjudgement of the mistakes she's made with FriendProgram.

Maushold correspond to FP's Zorua, calling back to the fox and mouse thing. I also briefly thought about having her wield Pokemon representing different types of love (this one being familial), but it felt a bit excessive, given Banette already made for a more specific representation of her ties with FP and Enemy.

Hatterene can sense emotions from a distance and lashes out violently when it senses hostility, referencing Tori's own desire to stamp out any negativity.

Togekiss is a Pokemon that only appears in times of peace and avoids conflicts.