Some months ago I've watched an interesting documentary about how Mao Zedong reformed China: the general impression was that Mao was the spokesman and the one good at "destroying" the old system, but once the new society was eastablished his second in command (I forgot the name sorry) was the only one with the necessary know-how to get things running. That is to say I believe Vanilla is a lot like Mao: she's an idealist, mesmerized by the encounter with the old Defiance leader (forgot the name), aspiring to be a heroine not because of the people suffering but because she wants to prove she can do it. As a matter of fact, her fight against Team Meteor has always been a method to train her team and never a fight for justice or for the people of Reborn. Besides, early Vanilla has often showed enjoyment in humiliating her opponent, both physically and in pokemon battles.
Vanilla doesn't know and isn't interested in what will come after her revolution. She just chose the side that would have given her the best opportunity to shine. Or at least that was her initial motivation, things may have changed in the last part of the season.
As for Jasmine, she chose the opposite side but I don't think her motive is that different from Vanilla's. To be fair, her father mentioning the chance to become a hero like whatever-the-first may have had on Jasmine the same effect meeting the old Defiance leader had on Vanilla.
That brings me to the first message I quoted: I don't believe there is any morality involved in this. They are fighting for their own egoistical needs (to be a force to be reckoned with for Vanilla, to be a hero / to preserve her privileges / to impress her father for Jasmine). In fact, I don't think I'm wrong when I remember both of them using cheap tactics against their opponents. And while Jasmine has the blood of the rebels on her hands, Vanilla would have probably accepted the blood of the rich overworld-ers (?) killed by the group she was supporting.
It's quite a long text and it's probably full of typos or badly expressed concepts but I'm not going to edit lol. Btw bla bla this is my opinion bla bla.
And if Jasmine doesn't use Sylveon I'll make my own Defiance against Candy. I wonder if there are other pokemon with weird limbs and tentacles, maybe Tangrowth? Tentacruel?
I-it's not like I like your work and your character development or anything, b-baka!
