Thread: Do you like the Rocket trio's role in BW?

I like their role they need more pokemon but they were pretty good in the train episodes if they continue to only appear in multiparters then I would continue to like their role more episode like the fishing and cottenee one and I wil dislike the role.

Not really. The only improvement is that they don't have to appear every episode. Other than that, they're at the lowest they've ever been in terms of personality. I miss the days when they could be relied upon to pull up drab episodes. The change in personality still hasn't really been explained either. I know that they're trying to be on good behavious for Sakaki but then they've never found being serious easy. Surely they should be accidently goofing up more often at least.

Team Rocket had honestly fallen in a rut before BW. Once Shudo left in mid-Johto you could tell they were kept in a rut because they didn't know what to do with them.

In AG the only thing really added was Jessie became a coordinator for the first time and TR got new pokes in Seviper/Cacnea/Dustox. But on an episode to episode basis they generally dide the same thing in every episode.

In DP there was a bit more variety, and Jessie winning ribbons was nice, but there were still a large chunk of DP eps that they were simply filler in.

BW refreshes them but also oddly gives them the least amount of screentime ever. They're not funny anymore but if they have a plot it would be nice to see their characters develop. As it is now it feels like their mission is the only thing that develops.

Originally Posted by Gliscor'd

But on an episode to episode basis they generally dide the same thing in every episode.

Every character in this franchise has this same problem. This isn't something unique to the Rocket trio.

And quite frankly, I feel like the Rocket trio got more development in DP than most of the other characters in that saga. Only Hikari, Shinji, and maybe Satoshi grew as much as the saga went on.

As it is now it feels like their mission is the only thing that develops.

Not even that. It's not like the Ginga-Dan, where there was a logical progression from one big scheme to the next (steal the orbs, scan Mt. Tengan, find the Spear Pillar, etc.) With the Rocket trio, they just seem to be doing whatever random scheme they can think of to do. What's the connection between the Battle Subway stuff and the Kami Trio? What is their ultimate goal, overall? How do any of the things they've been doing in the Isshu region help them get closer to said goal?

The only things I can think of that have any real connection to each other are the Site of Dreams episode and the Archen episode. Everything else is just random mischief.

It's extremely obvious that the writers don't know what the hell they're doing with the Rocket trio in Best Wishes.

Originally Posted by Dogasu

It's extremely obvious that the writers don't know what the hell they're doing with the Rocket trio in Best Wishes.

Well don't worry, Dogasu, we know what they eventually do with characters that they don't know what the hell to do with anymore. (See: Misty and Brock)

TRio's role in the anime is pretty much done at this point. I think they actually missed roughly half of BW's eps so far, and in the others they only appear for 1 minute scenes, so its like they're gone already pretty much.

They've missed 20 of the 46 episodes that will have aired at the end of this year. So yeah, that's roughly half.

Originally Posted by Dogasu

They've missed 20 of the 46 episodes that will have aired at the end of this year. So yeah, that's roughly half.

And considering in the eps they do appear in they get what...maybe 1-2 minutes at tops, its like they're not even there in those eps either.

Aside from the Meowth arc, they're really only getting screentime in the big 2-parters now.

I like the level of seriousness being afforded the Rocket Trio now. They've practically obtained a level on par with Butch and Cassidy, who rarely show up. It's a sort of regression in importance while actually increasing importance due to increasing competency in the eyes of the audience. Very good job by the writers, for once. It's like a good murder mystery/CSI/Law and Order/Criminal Minds/etc.: We see just snippets of the villains doing their thing until their plot comes to fruition or is exposed. With our oblivious main cast, the former resolution is the typical choice.

I'm mixed about it. In all the previous series', despite their status as villains in the show, I felt sorry for Jessie, James and Meowth. They were obviously good people deep down, and it's not really their fault they're Team Rocket members to begin with, so watching them get trodden on by everyone and everything was frustrating. I'm happy that they're far more competent in BW, but it has come at the cost of their souls, and now they're just bland and one-dimensional baddies. This change came about in the space of one episode. What. the. hell?

On the other hand, whilst I often miss their old personalities, their antics frequently got annoying. They posed such little threat to Ash & Co, any screen-time spend on their scheming felt like a waste, because it was bound to end in total disaster for them, as we had seen already literally hundreds of times. It got extremely repetitive, so I don't have a problem with them making far fewer appearances.

If they had been slowly developing into their BW personalities and competence for years, with a few moments of weakness here and there to prove they are still human, I would have been perfectly happy with their role in BW. Oh well.

Their role in Best Wishes seems to have diminished ever since the Plasma eps were skipped. For the first 24 or so eps I felt they were being handled decently well, now its just whatever short-lived 2 parter they're shoe-horned into with no real success at the end.

They were still handled horribly in the lead-up to the Plasma/Rocket two-parter. Their first few appearances were the same "try to steal the pokemon of the day" thing they had been criticized for so much. Then after the Site of Dreams stuff, they had one pointless appearance after another. "Let's meet this Rocket agent somewhere." "Let's order coffee." "Let's pick up this briefcase." "Let's pick up this other briefcase."

The only pre-two-parter episodes where they actually did anything worthwhile was the aforementioned Site of Dreams episode and the one where they broke into the museum and stole the meteorite. Everything else was filler.

I don't really mind that the Rocket-dan is acting different nowadays. I was kinda annoyed on how Satoshi showed no surprise or curiosity on how serious they were in the first few episodes of Best Wishes!, though.

Some good things about the Serious!Rocket-dan are their new motto (it's my favorite out of all of their mottoes so far), how they use jetpacks to fly away instead of being propelled into the distance by a Pokémon attack, and that the writers aren't shoehorning them into every episode anymore.

One of my wishes for the Rocket-dan for the rest of this anime series is that they never return to their previous personalities/mannerisms until this series is over. It was pretty jarring seeing the Rocket trio act in their PM/AG/DP personalities in the Arti battle/Hitomoshi episodes so having them revert back permanently would be even worse.

I love it!
When I first saw them in BW, I was surprised to see them with such a serious role! It's awesome!
They've also got cool gadgets now! They're not big goofs anymore! They're not blasting off anymore! And did I mention that they're not big goofs anymore?
In my opinion, Jessie, James, and Meowth have never looked cooler!

I think they should go back to goofily going after Pikachu, none of this 007 stuff. I like them as goofs better.

The seriousness is much better. DP had included too many jokes about them.