What was the TRio like BEFORE encountering Ash in Episode 2?

[Paulisthebest]

We know that Jessie, James and Meowth were not always the goofballs that we came to know over the years. It seemed before encountering Ash and setting their sights on Pikachu in “Pokemon Emergency” they were know around various parts of Kanto and not just because they were Team Rocket but remember there was even a wanted poster for their particular group.



This hints that the TRio was a serious threat to not be taken lightly.

Even in Bye Bye Butterfree, after catching the flock of Butterfree, Jessie comments that it feels good to be back in the sense of making a big haul on stolen Pokemon. I’d really like to get to know more about their missions and successful Pokemon capture prior to meeting Ash.
Meowth was also adamant in his title as “Top Cat” until Persian came along that is…

There was that Pokemon Chronicles Episode “Training Daze” when the TRio thinks back to how they met. Jessie was a very competent TR student/member in training but couldn’t work well with others, James came in and the two fit together like fingers in a glove with Meowth apparently coming off the streets and working well with them as well.

From there they probably made a name for themselves being successful at what they did. Even their boss trusted them in taking part of the ST. Anne heist handing out tickets to trainers and “leading” the attack on the ship stealing Pokemon.

Do you think they had successful missions before meeting Ash? And if so, would you like to see or know about some of them? I know I would!

 

[Hidden Mew]

The second episode, up until Pikachu attacked them at least, gave the impression that the Team Rocket trio were serious threats. Not only with the wanted poster, but just their expressions through most of the episode were more serious, rather than comical. They probably tried to pull off a lot of missions before meeting Ash, but I don't think that they were successful. The more they add in about their past, such as the Training Daze special, the more unlikely they would be able to do big missions.

 

[Paulisthebest]

I wouldn't put them past the "grunt" ranking. It is just their uniforms make them stand out especially in episodes where we see A LOT of TR Grunts like Battle Aboard the St. Anne or Grating Spaces when there is a fake tournament close to Pewter City as a ploy by Butch and Cassidy to steal everyone's Pokemon with half the crowd of spectators being TR Grunts.

Another thing about episode 2 which makes them stand out is simply their balloon being the only "mecha" they toss their Pokeballs through the Pokemon Center's glass ceiling to attack and take out the power which was quite impressive, inexpensive and sly. Too bad we don't see more of that later on. However, that could be an indication of their style not being over the top. Except for the motto because its kind of like how Nightwing is opposite of Batman being raised as a "performer" he doesn't want a quick win and leave he WANTS the opponent to know who is there/beat them. Another nod to why TR is as flamboyant as they are.

If they spent less time on the motto and background fireworks then that time could be used to swoop in take the Pokemon and leave.

I really would like to see some of the pre-Ash missions as you said they were probably not the best or successful but their track record was probably much better than it was before they decided to concentrate all of their efforts on Ash.

 

[dracoflare]

I am thinking that TRio were always the same. They believe themselves to be one of the most important members of Team Rocket and perceive themselves as "special" and "one of a kind". They are loyal to Sakaki/Giovanni and craved for his attention so that he could distinguish that they were indeed special and one of a kind. Hence the alternate colored uniforms and what not. The attack on Viridian Pokemon Center may as well be their first major mission.

They are like all those funny villains in comedic movies. They are shown to be dangerous and threatening, but they end up being comic relief. But JJM rose from that and became a defining part of the anime itself. So, the photos in the beginning was just for hyping them to us and not to be taken seriously.

 

[Akromatic]

I believe that they were just taking brain damage from Pikachu's shocks over the years, and got more idiotic. They haven't been shocked throughout most of the Unova season, but it seems that they have taken permanent damage, as they're idiotic enough to not be possessed (or whatever) by the Elgyem/Beheeyem.

 

[FANG-TAN]

They might have been successful with their heists, but keep in mind that they were written to be good people (they don't realize this) that just happen to be working for an evil organization.

 

[Darth Darkrai]

To be honest, I think there were actually pretty serious before they had met up with Ash and start to follow him to get Pikachu and they probably did not do good with their jobs and probably did not steal a single Pokemon for The Boss and lost total faith in them even more I think.

 

[Pokémon Master Ash]

Jessie: "Listen up James, because I'm NOT going to carry you."
James: "Mh-mm-mmm *wags finger*...no one's carried me since my momma!"

I know this was dub-only, but it had me cracking up for days. If it was up to the dub, I get the feeling they would always have been goofs from the start.

But in all seriousness, I think they were probably more competent before the events of EP002. They were actually quite intimidating in their first few episodes, which seems to suggest they were pretty badass as a team prior to following the twerp Ash and his Pikachu.

 

[Winterdaze]

I think their "intimidation factor" in early episodes had little to do with their actual competence and more to do with Satoshi having no experience (and in their debut episode, no Pokemon).

I'm pretty sure they were goofs from the beginning, with whatever skill they might have had dwarfed by their egos and penchant for dramatic flair...

 

[Jez]

Personally, I'm sure they were competent before meeting Ash. "Training Daze" is a perfect example, they have been very successful in their admission test to the Team Rocket.

Jessie: "Listen up James, because I'm NOT going to carry you."
James: "Mh-mm-mmm *wags finger*...no one's carried me since my momma!"
I know this was dub-only, but it had me cracking up for days. If it was up to the dub, I get the feeling they would always have been goofs from the start.

(EmotionnalTensionPkmn, the James phrase in the English dub is ridiculous because his mother never had any care to him it was a lot of tutors and governesses who took care of him but not its momma XD. The frend dub is no better, the answer of James is macho XD:
Jessie: "Ecoute moi bien James, je n'ai pas l'intention de te ménager"
James: "Je ne laisserais pas une femme me dicter ma conduite"
Jessie: "Listen to me James, I do not intend to spare you"
James: "I would not let a woman tell me what i do"
While he was submissive to his fiancee before he met Jessie it makes no sense... XD However, for the french dub it can be interpreted as an implied joke.)

 

[Paulisthebest]

I know this might not sound like a legit answer or the comparison I'm making will not make sense either but hear me out. I know in the world of Pokemon most of the people you are likely to encounter are adults working "real jobs" for the most part having outgrown Pokemon and have decided to work with most of them sometimes keeping their Pokemon around almost like house pets if you will. For example, from Battle Frontier the coordinator May fought with the Butterfree/Venasaur named Jeremy. An adult who used to be in a band before having an office job and family and before that he was known for being a powerful trainer.

Other than "normal adults" I know there are a lot of them who still raise Pokemon but most of them are in high ranking positions like Gym Leader, E4 or work "normal" jobs like medicine, doctors, construction but they all in some aspects involve Pokemon; Pokemon medicine, using Machop to lift heavy items in construction, etc. The other group which seems to be the largest is of course; young Pokemon trainers!

Now, with TR's mission being to steal powerful Pokemon which group of people typically has Pokemon "easier" to catch? To me the answer would be "children" by that I mean new trainers who happen to be 10-years-old.

Remember the movie Home Alone? I'm talking about the original one. We have two "bumbling" crooks (sound familiar doesn't it) robbing house after house on Christmas Eve when the families go out of town and with Harry being the competent one it seems their plan was actually a good one; he dressed as a police officer (costume, sounds like TR doesn't it?) going inside every house wanting information on how long the folks would be out of town, when they left, if anyone else would be home, what time the Christmas lights would come on, etc. This literally gave him a free pass inside of EVERY house to see everything to see which ones in the neighborhood have items in it worth stealing.

Everything is going well...except...when they get to the house with Kevin (he's 8 not 10 but hey close enough right?) and here they find their greatest competition and ultimately fail twice if you count their second encounter. Irony of it is that unlike TR who usually fall into their own traps mainly pitfall ones, the crooks in this movie fall for the child's.

Something tells me that TRio PROBABLY didn't have many missions/jobs working for TR that involved children. Don't get me wrong they were probably sent out to be steal items. In all honesty, BEFORE like Hoenn and DP when they were truly changed in personality in some aspects such as Jessie's desire to be an actress and whatnot screwing up their operations such as one where she poses in front of a camera when they were escaping out of some warehouse after stealing items to build a machine. I think it was the episode where Dawn catches Buneary.

My point? Believe or not I think TRio is actually a competent group of crooks BUT only when they steal items. To me it is when they decide to add Pokemon to that list of "items" they somehow screw it up almost EVERY TIME; usually through Jessie's greediness or Meowth's overconfidence especially in terms of the tech that he supplies for the group like an attack-resistant net or usually the electric-proof equipment they use. James is to me the "neutral" one being that I think he is the least "evil" or as evil as you would consider them to be (I don't think James is greedy put it that way Jessie and Meowth are which makes sense the both of them didn't come from a rich background like James did) with him simply going along with the plans and whenever he is the one to put a plan together (which is a rare occurrence) ever notice how the team ALMOST gets away with their plans?

Anyway, something tells me that their early missions that were successful ones involved stealing a person's possessions rather than Pokemon. It was only when they were sent on specific jobs to get Pokemon (A.K.A.; their first encounter with Ash which happened by chance) that is when things went downhill.

Think about this; where is TR Headquarters (well I seriously don't know because in the games and anime that term "Headquarters" is used lightly since it changes after each defeat of the leaders of TR as the journey goes on) let's just say Viridian City!

The Pokemon Center is like right there near the gym (were Giovanni is "headquartered" with TR) and why not rob it until now? Seems to me that Pokemon Center was probably not for any ordinary TR Grunt it is probably for more "experienced" agents in the organization and before they broke in; we've already agreed that the TRio had made a name for themselves in Kanto mainly due to the wanted posters being evidence of that so I'm sure the "boss" assigned that job to them I don't think it was a stunt they pulled just to pull.

Think about it; if they f'ed up (which they did but seriously they were up against a "army" of electric rodents that ended up blowing the center to pieces thanks in part of Koffing's gas) wouldn't there be some sort of investigation city wide possible leading the cops...I mean "Jenny's" to the gym uncovering TR? POSSIBLY but I'm sure the TRio thought ahead (surprisingly) if this was the case. I mean again my strongest piece of evidence to support that theory is that why wait that long before robbing a center full of Pokemon that has been there a long time right across from the gym (at least I think its that close?)

Going even further the Pokemon Center might have been the first operation (or one of the first) where the TRio pursued Pokemon as the target. Think about their entrance exam; it was to steal a statue I think???

They were probably sent out after other items of value and as they climbed the ladder of their mission they eventually got to the point where they were assigned missions to steal Pokemon. Kind of explains why the only Pokemon they have is Meowth (in the test). In one episode, they mentioned getting their Pokemon as a birthday present/Christmas gift (Island of the Giant Pokemon) possibly hinting that for awhile after passing their exam the only Pokemon in their group was Meowth.

What do you think?

I know, I know I seem to ramble on most of the time but I think this "theory" of mine actually has some value to it...you know if you read the whole thing to consider it xD

 

[Pokémon Master Ash]

Personally, I'm sure they were competent before meeting Ash. "Training Daze" is a perfect example, they have been very successful in their admission test to the Team Rocket.

Jessie: "Listen up James, because I'm NOT going to carry you."
James: "Mh-mm-mmm *wags finger*...no one's carried me since my momma!"
I know this was dub-only, but it had me cracking up for days. If it was up to the dub, I get the feeling they would always have been goofs from the start.

(EmotionnalTensionPkmn, the James phrase in the English dub is ridiculous because his mother never had any care to him it was a lot of tutors and governesses who took care of him but not its momma XD. The frend dub is no better, the answer of James is macho XD:
Jessie: "Ecoute moi bien James, je n'ai pas l'intention de te ménager"
James: "Je ne laisserais pas une femme me dicter ma conduite"
Jessie: "Listen to me James, I do not intend to spare you"
James: "I would not let a woman tell me what i do"
While he was submissive to his fiancee before he met Jessie it makes no sense... XD However, for the french dub it can be interpreted as an implied joke.)

Oh, I know. I liked what the dub did more in that instance just because it made me laugh. I knew that wasn't what Kojiro or Musashi said.

 

[Darth Darkrai]

They were definitely Serious before meeting Ash because I feel like they were and they did have some patience in few starting Episodes with them I think.

 

[Steffie]

I was under the impression that the TRio were feared before meeting Ash because they were members of Team Rocket, not because of their personalities (like the Wanted poster).

 

[Trainer Gabriel]

I would say that were competent before they met Ash, considering they have shown that they can pull off heists whenever Ash and co. don't get in there way. XD

 

[Darth Darkrai]

They probably thought they were aggressive and were good at their jobs and wanted to impress THE Boss and be better than Cassidy AND Biff ( I like that name better than Butch to me at least).