[Spoilers] Team Rocket in Sun/Moon

I'm really loving Team Rocket in S/M so far. They've been competent and more dynamic than previous, and their team is super interesting - Mimikyu in particular is a powerhouse and I love the Mimikyu/Pikachu rivalry/motive that's going on atm. I'm still enjoying the Bewear gag as well, and in most episodes they aren't just put in for the sake of it. And also



Anyone else feel the same about TR? Hoping they don't drop off in quality bc atm they're great to watch.

I'm on the fence about how I feel about them in this season. They've been written pretty well in the dub getting some funny dialogue and moments, but they haven't been that relevant overall other than a couple of episodes and there's been episodes where they got one scene literally just to shove them in somewhere. I like Mimikyu and Bewear but they don't necessarily need to be with Team Rocket, and both act on their own anyway. However, I have felt for a while they were getting old and could stand to be replaced, and they're not really needed as comic relief this season because of all the other slapstick.

While I do admit Team Rocket have become more competent (as shown with their clear victory over Ash's team in SM012) and improved in personality, it is unfortunately offset by that horrid art style that had mainly turned me off from SM itself.

Staying in one place seems to have helped Team Rocket, as they can do their own thing like back at the tail end of XYZ, while still having enough encounters with twerps to keep them as the de facto opponents of the largest incarnation of team twerp.

The Pok?base episode was a very good example on how to make TR VS TW episode, rockets are still scheming and worthy opponents, but they do it trough their own skills instead of letting Dirk Dastardly syndrome ruin everything, making Ash and his friends not able to show their own skills, making them look bland as well.

I am tired of team rocket. They should of left after Johto. But they are here to stay because of popularity. I don't pay them much attention in SM.

While Team Rocket have had more personality and probably their strongest team to date, they now seem to be suffering from having even more absences than they had in both Unova and Kalos. Such a shame because they are the comedy relief, and SM seems to instead want to focus on Ash being the slapstick victim instead of them.

Can't comment one way or another regarding them. So long as they don't make them more annoying than a genuine threat, I can tolerate them, even if it means less appearances. Since AG, they've been grossly mishandled, either making them so pathetic you're simply irritated at their presence than actually horrified that their plans, and even in Best Wishes which to their credit, they did try to make Team Rocket a threat, they made them a bit TOO threatening considering they completely beat up Pikachu (and I wasn't fond of how Best Wishes really warped Pikachu and Ash from what I heard). Say what you will about them in the original series, at least there, they actually HAVE been massive threats in various episodes even with their more comedic nature within reason, rather than pushovers despite their reputation in-universe or OP characters. Honestly, choosing them over Misty to remain on the show after Johto was a mistake.

weedle_mchairybug said:

Can't comment one way or another regarding them. So long as they don't make them more annoying than a genuine threat, I can tolerate them, even if it means less appearances. Since AG, they've been grossly mishandled, either making them so pathetic you're simply irritated at their presence than actually horrified that their plans, and even in Best Wishes which to their credit, they did try to make Team Rocket a threat, they made them a bit TOO threatening considering they completely beat up Pikachu (and I wasn't fond of how Best Wishes really warped Pikachu and Ash from what I heard). Say what you will about them in the original series, at least there, they actually HAVE been massive threats in various episodes even with their more comedic nature within reason, rather than pushovers despite their reputation in-universe or OP characters. Honestly, choosing them over Misty to remain on the show after Johto was a mistake.

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When they introduced Cassidy and Butch as antagonists(and far more competent ones at that), I thought that they might replace Jessie and James but that idea set sail the moment Cassidy and Butch got thrown in jail. I will disagree with you though that they chose Team Rocket over Misty. I consider them separate entities with completely separate roles. Its true that Misty is beloved by a lot of fans but clearly she wasn't as crucial to the show's success as May, Dawn and Serena turned out to be decent characters(Iris gets shafted but she wasn't that bad either. Annoying... certainly but not a complete and utter failure for a character. Certainly a failure for the writers due to the potential character she could have been).

Anyways, so far in Sun and Moon, Team Rocket has basically been a nuisance rather than an actual threat and its been that way ever since AG where other Antagonist groups have taken the role of being the main threat(which only exacerbates how bad Team Skull has been so far. Hurry up Aether... you're my only hope!). The only reason I can see Team Rocket still being around is for comedic purposes(Bewear being part of the gag) and as a bridge to previous series/generations.

CodeHelmet said:

When they introduced Cassidy and Butch as antagonists(and far more competent ones at that), I thought that they might replace Jessie and James but that idea set sail the moment Cassidy and Butch got thrown in jail. I will disagree with you though that they chose Team Rocket over Misty. I consider them separate entities with completely separate roles. Its true that Misty is beloved by a lot of fans but clearly she wasn't as crucial to the show's success as May, Dawn and Serena turned out to be decent characters(Iris gets shafted but she wasn't that bad either. Annoying... certainly but not a complete and utter failure for a character. Certainly a failure for the writers due to the potential character she could have been).

Anyways, so far in Sun and Moon, Team Rocket has basically been a nuisance rather than an actual threat and its been that way ever since AG where other Antagonist groups have taken the role of being the main threat(which only exacerbates how bad Team Skull has been so far. Hurry up Aether... you're my only hope!). The only reason I can see Team Rocket still being around is for comedic purposes(Bewear being part of the gag) and as a bridge to previous series/generations.

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Actually, a bit of a correction, but they had in fact replaced Misty in favor of Team Rocket. According to Takeshi Shudo's blogs, they had to choose between two characters to give the axe: Misty, or Team Rocket. Since Shudo's favorite characters were Team Rocket, they ended up giving Misty the boot instead. This is official word of god and fact, not even my own speculations.

And as far as Misty, quite frankly, she seemed far more vital to the success of the show than May, Dawn, and Serena (especially considering that with May, they gave her the axe despite Sinnoh having contests and then replaced her with Dawn just to do the exact same goal, and then when DP was up, she got axed as well, and with Serena, they had her axed for pretty much the same reason). Not to mention if it weren't for Misty, Ash would have died on his first day (or, heck, multiple times after that). Besides, speaking as someone who actually saw them in action, May and Dawn anyways, I can't even say they were decent, they were just badly done.

And honestly, they don't even do a good job being actual threats. There are ways to be comic relief yet still threatening. Just look at the Joker, or Kefka, or Bowser, or several of the more comical Disney villains (even Gaston, who I personally consider a very weak Disney villain).

To update since my previous post, the scene with Lillie in the episode where she gets Snowy was really good and I liked their interaction with Team Skull. I also loved when Meowth said it was better for Litten to be caught by Ash then Team Rocket try to catch him. They've had their moments, but they really just feel like they're being shoved in and not necessary otherwise.

Wait, Misty got kicked out solely because Takeshi Shudo liked Team Rocket? Talk about bias.

That's what happens in the industry. Shows and characters stay or leave/end based on favorites and dislike.

Hikamaru said:

Wait, Misty got kicked out solely because Takeshi Shudo liked Team Rocket? Talk about bias.

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I thought this was common knowledge by now, and to be fair, Takeshi did make the right choice here since Team Rocket does share an importance in the anime with each member becoming more fleshed out throughout.

Pinkie-Dawn said:

I thought this was common knowledge by now, and to be fair, Takeshi did make the right choice here since Team Rocket does share an importance in the anime with each member becoming more fleshed out throughout.

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I really wouldn't say he made the right choice, considering what little elements of Team Rocket that actually WERE fleshed out got squandered come AG onward where they were at best annoyances, and at worst were so bad at their villainy they didn't even qualify as genuine threats. I can name PLENTY of comical villains off the back of my hand who actually DID come across as far more genuinely and consistently threatening than AG and onward Team Rocket, like Gaston (or heck, any comical Disney Villain for that matter like Ratigan or Jafar or Hades or any of those guys), Bowser, Dr. Eggman, the Joker, Kefka Palazzo, heck, even the Pilaf gang, Ginyu Force, and General Blue. All those guys managed to be well-fleshed out and most certainly humorous and comical while still being genuinely threatening, the latter of which Team Rocket clearly is lacking right now (and quite frankly, their antics don't even come across right now as particularly funny). In fact, even Shudo ultimately regretted the decision afterward based on the later entries to his blog.

And besides, let's put it another way: If Misty was kept in AG, her goal would have been guaranteed to be expanded upon, especially considering how Hoenn was more water than land in terms of regions, and had a villainous group and a legendary that focused quite a bit on water types. Team Rocket, likewise, thanks to the additions of Team Magma, Team Aqua, and Team Galactic, not to mention overall being mishandled even without them, comes across as being terribly done characters as a result.