One of my favorite tropes is “Villain Decay”. It’s not a redemption or reformation – the character themself doesn’t necessarily change morally or behaviorally, but the as the stakes become higher and more serious antagonists are introduced, the original villain seems harmless and friendly in comparison.
When they’re not trying to steal other people’s pets for the Yakuza, the worst villains of Pokemon use their engineering genius to construct bipedal robots with real world application (on the cheap!), and run a successful food business on the side. The horror!
Not really the worst but eccentric and pretty bad on luck – when it comes to villainy.
ifesbob 