Why were the TRio used so much in OS-DP

[Enzito]

One of the things that has always prevented me from fully enjoying the anime was how intrusive the Team Rocket trio were, especially during OS-DP where they showed up in practically every single episode. While they do have their funny moments, nine times out of ten it's just them interrupting what seems to be a solid episode with some dumb shenanigans. So I always wondered why did the writes shoehorn TR all the time.

 

[NeoMiniTails]

They were just as much main characters as Ash was back then.

 

[NeoMiniTails]

I can understand that though for me, the TRio had always been my favorites especially episodes just about them.

Even now, while everyone is waiting for a Satoshi cameo, I’m waiting for TRio to make a comeback.

I feel like Hoenn, DP, and XY and the series thereafter did good with starting to give them goals beyond Pikachu and also showing more about them. Journeys and Sun and Moon did a good job of showing them outside of Team Rocket and how they manage to get by… and that while they study on how to be evil, it also showed why the TRio will never truly be evil.

I think it was also the time period of when the show was written. Kids shows tended to be written that way back then. Times have changed. Of course, I have been watching Pokémon since it debuted so I wouldn’t change it even if I could.

 

[snowmint]

"Tradition."

 

[The Holy Cat]

Well, at least during league conferences from Johto onwards, several contest episodes, several villainous team episodes in RS and DP, gym battle episodes, and certain tournament episodes; they were just minor characters and did not came face to face with Ash & co.

 

[The Holy Cat]

Well, from the Nacrene City arc of Black & White all the way to Journeys, they have frequent absences giving Ash and friends time to develop.

 

[Nicolas721]

The main reason is that they provided an easy way to insert drama into the episode and give it a more memorable climax. Those battles helped showcase the main characters' Pokemon and helped the episodes to be more than just exposition dumps. With Pokemon producing around 50 episodes a year, an stable formula was needed to fulfill that quota and made the writers' job a bit easier. I have heard that Japan is more tolerant with those formulas and actually enjoy them.

The secondary reason is that the writers just liked them and were invested in them. The TRio were a group of young struggling adults so the wrtiers probably saw a part of themselves in them, making them easier to write for than a bunch of kids, and it's evident with how many scenes they got to themselves (specially on DP) as well as their authenthic personality.

 

[Greninjaman]

Speaking of the Trio, how many episodes have they been in?