What is your opinion on Pokemon Journeys Team Rocket?

[PkmnTrainerV]

As I said in controversial opinions thread, I don't have a problem with Pokémon Gacha. People say that they like TR's interactions with their pokémon, but Musashi barely interacted with Sonansu since its return in XY, what is her changes with a Galar pokémon?

I could argue that TR should get no new Pokémon in Alola by the same logic, but Mimikyu ended up being one of the most in depth character Pokemon for Jessie and the way she interacted with it. You kinda cherry picked examples, specially since Wobuffet is now a character in its own right and not a traditional TR Pokémon. Team Rocket's entire appeal was their bond with their Pokemon and the Alola Pokemon got plenty of focus,

Kojiro's relationship with his tentacled mons were cute in XY and SM, but they still didn't amounted to anything. I like "Team Rocket Pokémon" as a concept when they weren't dump them in the end. Honestly, the Gacha is better than that.

We could easily use that logic to give the Rocket Gatcha to Ash...

 

[Rocket Messiah]

I like how one of them used a Skuntank as their Pokémon.

Indeed they used Purugly,Skuntank and Toxicroak that are the main Pokémon of the Galactic Comanders (Gen 4 remakes confirmed btw) also Rypherior as tribute to his boss.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

I could argue that TR should get no new Pokémon in Alola by the same logic, but Mimikyu ended up being one of the most in depth character Pokemon for Jessie and the way she interacted with it.

Funny you said that, considering in my other post, I used handling of Mimikyu as the main reason that disillusioned me with "TR Pokémon" as a concept. I think Mimikyu is handled terribly, his character development with Jessie is simply forgotten, its rivalry with Pikachu is not resolved, and she didn't even care about leaving it behind.

We could easily use that logic to give the Rocket Gatcha to Ash...

His pokémon usually get more screentime and focus compared to TR's pokémon, so it's not a good comparison.

You kinda cherry picked examples

I'm sharing my opinion in a thread called "What is your opinion on Pokemon Journeys Team Rocket?"

specially since Wobuffet is now a character in its own right and not a traditional TR Pokémon

That's a terrible decision, if true. Considering he barely had a character.

 

[Rocket Messiah]

Funny you said that, considering in my other post, I used handling of Mimikyu as the main reason that disillusioned me with "TR Pokémon" as a concept. I think Mimikyu is handled terribly, his character development with Jessie is simply forgotten, its rivalry with Pikachu is not resolved, and she didn't even care about leaving it behind.

Watch Sun and Moon last episode and watch Meowth and Mimmikyu last scene please. I agree that his relation with Jessie was forgoten in the end but Mimikyu was a lonewolf who only wanted to make Pikachu suffer. Also his relationship with Meowth was awesome.

His pokémon usually get more screentime and focus compared to TR's pokémon, so it's not a good comparison.

You are comparing the Pokémon of the protagonist with the antagonists, also remainder that Team Rocket appeared in half of the Sun and Moon episodes. So it's not a good comparison.

And remember that Team Rocket had all his Hoenn Team minus Chimecho during Diamond and Pearl.

The fact that this was changed was due to Black and White games only having 5th Gen Pokemon during the main game.

That's a terrible decision, if true. Considering he barely had a character.

He is a gag Pokémon and has shown to be the funniest of the group. I agree that he could be handled better.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Watch Sun and Moon last episode and watch Meowth and Mimmikyu last scene please. I agree that his relation with Jessie was forgoten in the end but Mimikyu was a lonewolf who only wanted to make Pikachu suffer. Also his relationship with Meowth was awesome.

I, too, though same way in my original review, but after all, it's only feel "good" to me because it was "good enough" for a character that treated terribly.

You are comparing the Pokémon of the protagonist with the antagonists

Actually that's exacly my point. They're not comparable to each other, hence my comment why it makes more sense to give them the Gacha.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

His pokémon usually get more screentime and focus compared to TR's pokémon, so it's not a good comparison.

In your argument you simply say that you like the concept of TR Pokémon but they get released in the end anyways, from that point of view it’s a fully valid comparison since Ash does the same with his team. Screentime was not the part of the equation you presented there.

I like "Team Rocket Pokémon" as a concept when they weren't dump them in the end. Honestly, the Gacha is better than that.

 

[VetProf]

The one good thing I like about the Rocket Gachat is the variety that it adds to the Pokemon seen in the episodes that it appears in. Since most episodes only feature Pokemon that are native to the region that they're set in, the Rocket Gachat often adds a bit of variety by sprinkling in a non-native Pokemon or two (eg. Beartic in a Sinnoh episode, Dusclops in a Kanto episode). Region aside, the choices of Pokemon in the Rocket Gachat itself are quite varied as well. You've got powerful fully-evolved Pokemon, seemingly-weak unevolved-Pokemon that are actually powerhouses, joke options like Wailord and Magikarp, and everything in between. The Rocket Gachat is a good way to feature lesser-seen/unpopular Pokemon too (reminder that the last time we saw an Armaldo before the Sobble episode was in the Sinnoh league).

Unfortunately, that's the only praise I can give to the Rocket Gachat. As many have already mentioned in this thread, relying on random rental Pokemon instead of actually catching their own Pokemon is a huge blow to the Rocket trio's ability to show off their personalities in this series. Part of the enjoyment of watching the trio in the episodes they appear in was seeing them interact and bond with their Pokemon, which is something that's nigh impossible in this series due to the existence of the Gachat machine. And don't even get me started on how dumb the concept of the Rocket Gachat is from an in-universe perspective to begin with, because I've already wrote an entire rant about this a long time ago when the machine first appeared, and I don't want to do it again. Long story short, Giovanni giving the trio an entirely luck-based gachapon machine as their only method of battling makes him look like an absolute buffoon and somehow more incompetent than the trio themselves.

Also, as much as I want the trio to catch a permanent member for their team in this series, I highly doubt that's ever gonna happen due to the precedent set by the Chewtle "capture". The trio have already shown that any Pokemon they get can be immediately sent to Giovanni back at HQ since the trio's base is conveniently located in Kanto this season (as opposed to other seasons, where the trio and their Pokemon are basically stuck in whatever region that Ash is travelling in until the end of the season). So if the trio can't (and won't) keep Chewtle, what makes you think they're gonna keep any of their future captures? Our only hope right now is that the trio eventually bring back their reserves, but that's several times less likely than Ash bringing back his own reserves (which... actually has a decent chance of happening if you're optimistic, but yeah, cautious optimism).

 

[ii kanji]

Any series that allows us to watch Nyasu and Sonansu play together with toys has got the characterisation on point. I'd just like to see more of it...

The biggest problem is that they don't have enough screen time in which to make their presence felt. They've levelled off at a ~40% appearance rate which is kind of shit when they do diddly squat in a significant proportion of those appearances (even though even their shortest appearances usually elevate an otherwise boring episode to slightly less boring). They only really got decent screentime in the Hibanny evo episode (when their base was introduced), the Metamon and Matori episodes.

They also don't appear to have any kind of purpose. They are barely chasing after Pikachu, not enough at any rate for that to feel legitimate. They didn't really in Alola either, but Sakaki and Matori were around enough to remind us who their bosses are and they eventually got so sucked into their malasada van that that felt like their main job. I suppose there's time yet for a side hustle like that to take shape.

Nothing to add to what's already been said about the Gatchat: the sooner they have their own mons again, the better. That's all.

 

[Eclipsical]

I don’t really like the Gacha Machine that much (albeit not the level of hatred most people have for it) but even if Jessie and James get their own Pokémon, they’re probably not gonna get rid of the Gacha Machine since it’s their main “gimmick” now. Their actual Pokémon would probably have to split battling time with them.

I do want them to catch their own Pokémon, though. There are plenty of good Galar Pokémon that fit them, like Morpeko, Chewtle, Impidimp, Cramorant, and Silicobra.

 

[Hidden Mew]

After seeing more of the Gotcha Machine in action, I'm still not a huge fan of it, but I can understand a bit more of its appeal. It can be funny to see them reacting to what Pokemon they get and it does provide some variety. Although, I think that the latter would be solved by just giving them more Pokemon. I wouldn't expect them to get a full team or anything like that, but giving Jessie and James two or three Pokemon each would potentially give them enough variety without making them too powerful. They only caught one new Pokemon in both XY and SM, so no wonder there was a variety problem. Having two each might not make a huge difference, but it would still be something to mix things up enough.

Honestly, I always thought it was strange for Team Rocket to start off fresh in each series. It's more of a necessity for Ash, but not so much with them since they don't have a lot of Pokemon on hand. I kind of understood the need for it in BW, even if it was a bit forced, and leaving their SM Pokemon in Alola was understandable, but I think that they could have just kept some of their older Pokemon when they don't get a lot of new ones per series anyway.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

In your argument you simply say that you like the concept of TR Pokémon but they get released in the end anyways, from that point of view it’s a fully valid comparison since Ash does the same with his team. Screentime was not the part of the equation you presented there.

No, I said I like it as a concept when they weren't dumping them, like good old times when they keep their current roster with them in other regions, so their pokémon actually had enough screentime and development. When you "lockrr" their pokémon into a single region like Satoshi, but without Satoshi's primary focus as the protagonist, there is not much you can do with them. I also said that even Sonansu is not getting that much screentime despite of its regular role as a TR pokémon.

 

[Rocket Messiah]

Looks like somebody havre the same ideas I have and decided to make a video.

I agree with this 100%


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxi27tO4AJg&feature=youtu.be

 

[nickdt]

Looks like somebody havre the same ideas I have and decided to make a video.

I agree with this 100%


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxi27tO4AJg&feature=youtu.be

I agree as well. Biggest problem for James is that he seems kinda shallow without bonding with his own Pokemon.

 

[KenzeyEevee]

Not bad. Only James can shine a bit more

 

[SonansuMan]

It’s been nearly 2 years and my feelings on Team Rocket barely feel any different from when they first appeared. It’s almost insane to think that we were in sitting on a goldmine with SM

As of right now, they sit at a staggering 44% appearance rate, and that 44% is almost entirely comprised of just inconsequential fillers. I don’t think they’ve ever felt like this big of an afterthought in the series before, even in the other sagas where their appearances were sparse. What happened?

I was hopeful Morpeko would at least spark at least a few more appearances but so far it’s been the exact opposite. Not even the poor rat has shown up in almost 15 episodes so I literally can’t like it more even if I wanted to.

I genuinely think SM would’ve been the best sendoff for the quarTRet at this point because the show has clearly shown that they don’t have to rely on them for episodes anymore

 

[ii kanji]

I’m shocked at the almost optimistic tone of my last post… Past me, your naivety is staggering…

In all seriousness, when are they actually going to DO something again? I literally cannot recall the last occasion.

 

[JinksChow]

I’m shocked at the almost optimistic tone of my last post… Past me, your naivety is staggering…

In all seriousness, when are they actually going to DO something again? I literally cannot recall the last occasion.

Judging from Jessie and James' Bulbapedia pages, neither does anyone from Bulbagardens

 

[Alola]

I need more of them interacting with their Pokémon - those bonding moments and interactions were some of my favorite things about the TRio prior.

Has James even interacted with Morpeko after catching it?

 

[Jez]

My only consolation with the Team Rocket in this series is … that at least their real personalities of lovely charming villains with good hearts are kept intact.

Judging from their 2 first appearances (JN 3 and 8) I think it was in first expected that they would have a much more aggressive role but fortunately their seiyus probably opposed it (reason of the episode 19 for the Megumi's birthday?)

It's just a guess, but personally I really hated their 2 first appearances in "Journeys"… especially in the episode with piplup and the swimming race in Sinnoh and I’m so glad they are not acting like this anymore …

Really, when I look at their bland personality and their coldness (in BW style) in their 2 first appearances of "Journeys" I really tell myself that it could have been much worse…TT_TT

I think, at first, the goal was only to make Jessie and James looking like some Team Go Rocket grunts with the gacha and that there may have been some edits afterwards to make Meowth happy that they were using his koban to activate the machine, as well as Megumi improvised Musashi not remembering the attacks to make it more in-character…

 

[Soniman]

Has James even interacted with Morpeko after catching it?

Nope but that lines up well with how JN handles Pokémon focus (very badly). Funny how that thing had more presence before it was owned by a trainer and then immediately went to off screen land, a JN classic