Were Woobat, Yamask, Frillish and Amoonguss bland on purpose?

[PTOldMan]

Team Rocket's captures during Unova were powerful Pokémon that didn't seem to have any kind of bond with their trainers, Jessie and James, which everyone disliked, as Jessie and James have shown in the past that they care a lot about their Pokémon. Moreover, their personalities were also pretty much inexistent. The only Pokémon which seems to be partly an exception is James's Yamask, though it was only in the beginning of his journey with James.

Now, let's think about it: powerful Pokémon that had absolutely no bond with their trainers. Doesn't it remind you of standard villain Pokémon? Those kind of Pokémon that Cassidy and Butch carry with them, those Pokémon that seem to be rented.

So... Having in mind the events of last episode, with Jessie and James giving their four Unova Pokémon to Giovanni without any trace of sadness, doesn't it make you think that maybe those Pokémon were boring on purpose? So that one wouldn't feel sorry for their disappearance. I got surprised when I saw that they gave their Pokémon, but as soon as I remembered "wait, I don't have any kind of affection for those Pokémon" I thought that it was an original way to get rid of their Pokémon (maybe forever).

What do you think? Did their "release" affect you in any way? Was it good or lazy writing?

 

[Darth Darkrai]

I Don't know but they probably were a little Bland I Think but I LOVED Yamask THE MOST I THINK.

 

[Sakuraa]

I didn't find them bland or boring at all. I liked how they were very powerful and serious with the trio, actually able to do significant damage to Ash and the gang's Pokémon, rather than comic reliefs like Wobbuffet and Carnivine. And I did see some personality from all of them at times. I'm guessing that Jessie and James didn't seem sad about leaving them because of the situation they were in with Giovanni. I am a bit sad that Jessie and James's Unova Pokémon the won't be joining them in Kalos, as I really liked them. And it's even worse considering that they brought back Wobbuffet. Though, I'm hoping it'll allow them to catch more new Pokémon at a faster pace.

 

[kantoskies]

I don't think it was because of their disappearance at the end of the series, or else most of the main characters' Pokemon (including Team Rocket's Sinnoh Pokemon that were just randomly written out at the start of BW) would be treated this way. I do think that they might have been written this way to go with the whole serious Team Rocket attitude that the writers were going with (and then I guess by the time they got to Da! they just didn't bother trying to give them personalities).

Hopefully in XY they'll change this.

 

[Pikacuh]

I though that Team Rocket's Unova Pokemon were well handled and the only reason why they left their Pokemon behind was because of Giovanni.

 

[Charmander4]

I hope this is another situation where they give him a Pokémon and he gives them back. I think it's insanely messed up they were given to him. Makes you wonder what the fate of Seviper, Carnivine, and Mime Jr. is.

 

[Supreme Leader Palpitoad]

I like Amoonguss overall so I was a bit sad to see him go. And the others... I do not think it was good. The TRio should be allowed to keep their pokemon. It would have been better if they did like they did with the DP pokemons.
And yes, they were bland. They had almost no character at all. They were only there to battle. Sure they were powerful but not as good personalities or relations as the other TRio pokemon. Bland on purpose? No the writers were just lazy. Then I also think that the TRio not had the same bond to their Unova pokemons as they had with their other pokemons. They were not troubled at all to give them away. Look at when they had to part from other pokemon they have owned. James and Cacnea for example. The TRio and their pokemon were badly written in BW.

 

[Silktree]

Mime Jr., Carnivine, Seviper and Yanmega weren't given a farewell and haven't been seen since. How is that better treatment?

 

[L-05308]

This is just cheap, hardly any different to them dumping the DP pokemon, difference is, we know its not an 'Oaked' set up where we'll see them again. Seviper, Frillish and everyone are as dead as Butterfree, Pidgeot, Dustox, Arbok and Weezing. They were just to lazy to give us the emotional well executed episodes that TR's Pokémon normally leave in. They brought Wobbufett back because he is a star, but the other 8 may as well be listed under released on Bulbapedia because, like Arbok, Weezing, Dustox and even Chimecho and Cacnea that are both still under James's ownership, we'll never see them again

 

[GreenTank]

I'm upset with this course of events, because I liked their Unova Pokemon much more than any of the previous ones. And it's not like Jessie and James to just give their Pokemon away like that. Even though it was Meowth's idea to give them away, Jessie and James didn't have the slightest objections! That's crazy! And I don't think they were "bland", they just reflected the "improved and serious" Team Rocket. This was a cheap way of the writers to get rid of TR's Unova Pokemon. I mean they would have to get rid of them sooner or later eventually, because that's just how it is - just like Ash, TR also catch regional Pokemon and somehow get rid of their old ones. The way they did it this time, though, is just unacceptable. When it comes to their older Pokemon (Seviper, etc.), I think they are indeed stored somewhere at TR's HQ, and not given away. Wobbuffet appearing at the HQ is more than enough proof. Speaking of Wobbuffet, I'm not happy at all that he's back, there's absolutely no reason to bring him back to a new region. Oh, and on a final note this means that James will be without a Pokemon again. This is his third time already! It just became his thing to travel without any Pokemon for a while. I hope that he catches a Kalos Pokemon soon, and not after ~20 episodes like in Unova.

 

[Ampharos King]

We didn't get a lot of personality out of these pokemon, compared to most of TRio's other pokemon in the past.

Out of the four, Woobat's personality was shown the most. He liked to pick on things weaker than himself.

Yamask was very kind and gentle. He thanked James for giving it food by allowing him to catch him. Yamask also protected Woobat from Pansage's Bullet Seed in BW037.

Frillish grinned a lot and was just very menacing looking, and Amoonguss just didn't have a personality at all.

Keep in mind that Woobat and Yamask were with TRio when the writers decided that they wanted J/J/M to be serious (until BW123, I believe). Showing any hint of a pokemon's personality would have compromised that serious tone. Even Frillish and Amoonguss were caught before then. For some reason, the writers kept the pokemon's personalities nonexistent even though TRio went back to their almost usual comedic selves.

To directly answer that question, yes, I think all of those pokemon were purposefully made "bland" because TRio's entire atmosphere had changed. They were no longer the comic relief, they only attacked Ash and co. when they were in the way instead of seeking out conflict, and they focused on their own personal goals instead of merely trying to catch Pikachu. Of course, this changed once the Decolore Island arc started, and TRio was left with no competition or no external assistance. Still, the writers were rather consistent with TRio in that they only used their pokemon in battle, and it is during battle that pokemon usually display little or no personality.

And after the events in BW142, it is unlikely we will ever hear of any of them again.

 

[ii kanji]

I'm surprised that there are people who didn't find them bland, but I suppose I'm also constantly surprised when people express their preference for BW TRio At any rate I am quite relieved that these 4 totally undeveloped pokemon did not have an emotional goodbye as it would have felt totally forced (and I'd have been so angry on behalf of Habunake & co for not having any sort of farewell at all!!)

I guess the sad fact is that many of the pokemon on the cast over the years have received this sort of treatment i.e. being non-characters. But pretty much all the Rocket Dan pokemon have been spoiled with personalities and stories and teary departures! Oh well, good riddance to best wishes' treatment of Musashi and Kojiro's pokemon and I sincerely hope that XY can do a better job!

 

[Life]

I agree with several statements from the above posts. Their Pokemon weren't boring, they just had a more serious personality to match Team Rocket's new style. They didn't have as outgoing personalities like Team Rocket's previous Pokemon, and I think that was intentional. I also believe it's the reason most people think that they were bland. I personally did not like any of them, but that's besides the point.

Also unlike the rest of their Pokemon, they really never had much of a connection with Jessie and James. They were basically there to help battle, and that was all. Especially with Jessie, I mean, she used to do contests, and you could easily see the bond she had with her Pokemon. There was no bond between trainer and Pokemon here, so I can understand why there was no emotion in letting them go.

 

[Master Cyrus]

Any pokemon TRio touches becomes worthless anyways. I'm betting all those koffing and ekans are rotting inside cages or made into belts already. It was probably for the better their unovamons didn't have much contact with them.

 

[Zexy]

I think that Yamask/Woobat were not as bland, and I was sad to see them go. Jessie did care a little for Woobat, and Yamask was always there to protect his partners just because it was fed once! Amoonguss and Frillish were just bland, they could have made the first slam James like his older Grass-types for example. Those two will be better off in other hands.

 

[PiccoloX]

There needs to be bland Pokemon and your list is rather short compared to how many there are. Without the bland Pokemon there'd be no medium between the nauseatingly cute and the angry.

 

[Caseydia]

No pokemon is ever really bland. It's the user that makes them that way. As a TR pokemon, there wasn't really a whole lot for them to have been interesting anyway. But why would they even have them catch those pokemon if they barely used them or gave them a reason to exist. I rather they bring Seviper and the cactus plant back.

 

[Muur]

Didn't know their Unova guys were leaving.

Yamask seemed to have a personality.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I think that they didn't give them much personalities because Team Rocket themselves didn't have much personality for them to bounce off with. For most of BW, the Team Rocket trio were more serious, instead of being the comedy relief, and having Pokemon that were simply used to achieve their goal, instead of focusing on their connection with Jessie or James, ties into that. We saw a bit of personality in Yamask when James caught it and a little bit from Woobat at best, but given their different role, it makes sense that they wouldn't give their Pokemon personalities. I'm perfectly fine with leaving them at Team Rocket headquarters since there wasn't anything to get attached to in my opinion. Hopefully, they'll be able to give their Pokemon more personalities in the next series.

 

[fruitsmoothierevenge]

I hadn't thought about it as an on-purpose move, but I do think that the Pokemon for TR in this series were a little boring. Perhaps they really weren't interested in giving their Pokemon the thought of prior seasons.

I feel like that they could have chosen stronger Pokemon to solidify their move towards becoming a stronger villainous force. I liked Woobat and Yamask a lot, but I felt like Frillish and Amoongus were sort of just tagged on as a second pair of Pokemon. Yamask was the kindness-capture and Woobat could hold its own, which showed a bit of character. Frillish didn't show any sort of anything, and felt weird because of its Water/Ghost typing that Jessie hasn't really leaned towards before. James' Grass-types are always so full of character that Amoongus felt like an old sock. I think that Jessie would have rocked with a Scolipede (maybe a Gothorita?) and James could've done well with a fierce but happy Maractus.

I'm hoping in X/Y, with the return of Wobbuffet, we'll also see them get some Pokemon that are not only strong but full of life. We know from the We Are Team Rocket toy line release announcement that they're getting an Inkay (Dark/Psychic).

Oh, oh! I just realized, looking at the Bulbapedia page, that we'll have to prepare for a lot of call-and-response in Japanese between Wobbuffet (Sounansu) and Inkay (Maika).
Sounansu (from そう　なんす sou nansu): So that's so!
Maika: (from まあ、いいか maa, ii ka) That's OK!