Without Team Rocket

[The Puppetmaster]

I think the show greatly benefits and slightly suffers from not having Team Rocket battle Ash and company every episode. Like others have said, cramming TR into each episode was jarring, to say the least.

In addition, it allows each episode to delve deeper into whatever storyline is taking place. An example is BW018 - while watching the episode, I felt many events took place (more than any usual episode, that is). This could be good or bad, though. Good because if the storyline is compelling, the episode can expand on it more without Team Rocket interfering. However, if the storyline sucks, the writers may run out of material.

In the end, I think the positives outweigh the negatives, and am glad Team Rocket no longer appears for the sake of appearing.

 

[Sweet Veil]

I think Dogasu said the writers are, "preparing us" for TR's eventual departure, with making them gradually absent in some episodes and only getting 2 minute scenes in others.

I mean for the most part, Best Wishes is already "TR free" if you ignore their little 2 minute scenes in the last couple of eps.

Dogasu may be intelligent but, by no means is what he says is the word of God. I agree with Serpherior so they stopped doing the same thing every episode so what? They gotta plot so, many people before kept complaining about them doing the same thing.

I agree with Musashi's second paragraph.

 

[PDL]

The only major difference I see in the show *now* is that the writers are having to make the pokemon-of-the-day more antagonistic to make up for the lack of any on-screen villains. Like that one thread we had on here a while back said, the pokemon in the Isshu region are kind of dicks.

That can be seen as more realistic and way more memorable then to have all wild Pokémon be super friendly and innocent most of the time. Nobody really cares about friendly people and Pokémon when there are people and Pokémon that are jerks.

Anyway, It's good that Team Rocket isn't being used as padding as much as they were previously because they were go-to solution to resolving the storyline in many episodes. Don't know what to do next? Throw in Team Rocket being jackasses. Want to give a sense of accomplishment without accomplishing anything? Throw in Team Rocket being jackasses and have the protagonist and friends blast them off.

 

[Yamato-san]

The only big BW changes is no more Brock and no Team Rocket.

Everything else is pretty much the same. Dento served Brock's role pretty much, there's just no TR attacking in every ep.

which, to some extent, I'd say is a good thing. Don't get me wrong, I love the Rockets' antics too (especially as I've been subbing the early episodes, which contain a few golden lines that never made the cut with 4kids), but it can be pretty annoying to have them show up solely to act as a plot device to solve the COTD's issues (especially the ones lacking confidence who require a punching bag of SOME sort), or get a Pokemon to trust Satoshi... hell, can you count how many evolutions on this show DIDN'T take place during a Rocket confrontation? At least they stopped butting into most of the Gym battles past the Orange Islands (they were the reason for at least two of Satoshi's pity badges, BTW).

That can be seen as more realistic and way more memorable then to have all wild Pokémon be super friendly and innocent most of the time. Nobody really cares about friendly people and Pokémon when there are people and Pokémon that are jerks.

indeed. I kinda hate how this show (and the franchise in general, for that matter) likes to portray all of these little guys as deserving of our love and attention just because, or that ANYBODY who cares for their Pokemon is a good person deep down inside (gee, I wonder what these same writers did with J's Ariados, Drapion, and Bohmander). I know they're the titular creatures and almost everybody on earth is an apparent environmentalist who just wuvs them, but there should be some limits. Thankfully, this also seemed to ease up a bit after Kanto (the same saga that had the infamous "Pokemon do bad things because the master is bad"), though it still seems have pervaded even to this day.

 

[The Puppetmaster]

but it can be pretty annoying to have them show up solely to act as a plot device to solve the COTD's issues (especially the ones lacking confidence who require a punching bag of SOME sort), or get a Pokemon to trust Satoshi... hell, can you count how many evolutions on this show DIDN'T take place during a Rocket confrontation?

Agreed 100%. I like Team Rocket, but not when they're the solution to every problem. Thankfully, their lack of interaction with the group in BW allows them/the COtD to resolve their own issues.

At least they stopped butting into most of the Gym battles past the Orange Islands (they were the reason for at least two of Satoshi's pity badges, BTW).

Three if you count the Viridian City gym battle.

 

[Fud]

Team Rocket or even Team Plasma are not going to be leaving like Team Aqua or Team Magma did,besides it is silly to compare Team Magma or Team Aqua,or even Team Galactic with Team Rocket and Team Plasma,because the villian teams Team Plasma are really different from the AG series and the DP series villian teams aswell,not forgetting that the BW series is a retool of the show.

Team Rocket is not leaving the show and the BW series is only a new start for Team Rocket not the end.This isn't the AG or DP series were the villain teams had to leave there arc at the end of those two series AG and DP,the BW series isn't the same it is entirely different from the AG and DP sagas,BW is a new retool of the Pokemon anime after all.

 

[Owain]

Team Rocket or even Team Plasma are not going to be leaving like Team Aqua or Team Magma did,besides it is silly to compare Team Magma or Team Aqua,or even Team Galactic with Team Rocket and Team Plasma,because the villian teams Team Plasma are really different from the AG series and the DP series villian teams aswell,not forgetting that the BW series is a retool of the show.

Team Rocket is not leaving the show and the BW series is only a new start for Team Rocket not the end.This isn't the AG or DP series were the villain teams had to leave there arc at the end of those two series AG and DP,the BW series isn't the same it is entirely different from the AG and DP sagas,BW is a new retool of the Pokemon anime after all.

BEST WISHES IS NOT A REBOOT!
[/rage mode]

 

[Sweet Veil]

Team Rocket or even Team Plasma are not going to be leaving like Team Aqua or Team Magma did,besides it is silly to compare Team Magma or Team Aqua,or even Team Galactic with Team Rocket and Team Plasma,because the villian teams Team Plasma are really different from the AG series and the DP series villian teams aswell,not forgetting that the BW series is a retool of the show.

Team Rocket is not leaving the show and the BW series is only a new start for Team Rocket not the end.This isn't the AG or DP series were the villain teams had to leave there arc at the end of those two series AG and DP,the BW series isn't the same it is entirely different from the AG and DP sagas,BW is a new retool of the Pokemon anime after all.

Best Wishes! is not a reboot.

 

[Emboar]

LOL guys I think he gets it. Jeez...

 

[Owain]

^^ he doesn't, he's posted that on three different threads today...

 

[Fud]

The Best Wishes series is a reboot,since it is a new series with only 5 generation Unova pokemon and not old ones.

 

[Renchime]

I'm being a Scott and say it shows that the Rockets are leaving in or at the end of Best Wishes. We've seen that the anime goes well on without the Rockets interrupting Satoshi-tachi in every single episode.

I do wonder how much they will appear after the first battle with Plasma-dan. My personal wish is that they will be like they were in BW002-006: with meeting Satoshi-tachi every now and then, but having their own plot still going on.

If that is true I don't think I'll bother watching BW at all, without Team Rocket there's no point for me to watch it. So I hope you're wrong!

Anyhow, I've been only watching a few episodes so I have one question. Do they really have less screentime and twerp-interations? Tell me now, before I watch more. Team Rocket has been there ever since episode 2 of the entire anime and onwards, them leaving would be a disaster.

Meron, you can't be a real rocket fan to not seem bothered telling that. I'm extremely bothered hearing you say it, because it makes me sad getting the impression they'll leave. Fuck it!!

 

[Hassel]

Meron, you can't be a real rocket fan to not seem bothered telling that. I'm extremely bothered hearing you say it, because it makes me sad getting the impression they'll leave. Fuck it!!

; Me wanting my favorite characters to have a decent ending before they just rot forever makes me "not a real fan"?

Of course I'll be sad when they leave.

 

[Renchime]

; Me wanting my favorite characters to have a decent ending before they just rot forever makes me "not a real fan"?

Of course I'll be sad when they leave.

Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just so sad if they'll 'just leave'. But still hope they wont leave, unless as you said, it is a decent ending. I want them at least to have a ending that makes up for it, hopefully. But I wish they'll be there until the shows end.

 

[Cybersai]

Oh, I'm sorry. I'm just so sad if they'll 'just leave'. But still hope they wont leave, unless as you said, it is a decent ending. I want them at least to have a ending that makes up for it, hopefully. But I wish they'll be there until the shows end.

Of course they'd get an ending if they leave, what character didn't?

As for if TR fans would stop watching if it happened....who cares? The writers do not give a shit about people who stop watching if their favorite character leaves.

Its so funny how every time a character has a chance of leaving people say, "I'm going to stop watching the anime!" as if its some kind of threat or as if the rest of us care.

Nobody cares if people stop watching the anime for whatever reason. If TR is the only reason you watch, you can gladly take your leave at the end of BW.

 

[garfield15]

Its so funny how every time a character has a chance of leaving people say, "I'm going to stop watching the anime!" as if its some kind of threat or as if the rest of us care.

Nobody cares if people stop watching the anime for whatever reason.

While I'm glad you're finally realizing this, do remember that you used to say, like, the exact same things before BW aired.

 

[Ashfangirl22]

I actually like Team Rocket not appearing in every episode, hopefully they keep it up in the league. You don't know how angry I was when they cut scenes of Ash V.S Nando for Team Rocket scenes, they didn't really do a thing either. I'm with Scott on this one though, thinking they'll be leaving at the end of this series, wouldn't want them to go back to being jokes after what they've been doing that'd be just sad.

 

[Zeta]

I think TR was the only thing that kept a lot of older fans watching, seeing as how they were 25-30 year olds who kept on making adult-oriented jokes that only older audience members would get. There's really been no attempt to recapture that in any new characters, sadly. Ironically, Toukou and Touya could have filled that role, seeing as how they're in their late teens and their art doesn't make them out to be the standard Pokemon protagonist. Sadly, this was passed on again in favor of Brock 2.0 and Misty 2.0. While the show's format hasn't changed, I think that the early episodes of Black and White go a long way to show what boring characters Ash and Pikachu have become in the past 5 years or so, and that by now the show is only running on inertia and tradition rather than actual entertaining content.

 

[Hassel]

While the show's format hasn't changed, I think that the early episodes of Black and White go a long way to show what boring characters Ash and Pikachu have become in the past 5 years or so, and that by now the show is only running on inertia and tradition rather than actual entertaining content.

... Do you even watch Best Wishes?

 

[ivantuga2]

I think TR was the only thing that kept a lot of older fans watching, seeing as how they were 25-30 year olds who kept on making adult-oriented jokes that only older audience members would get.

While I liked TR's comedic side and themselves as characters, you have to admit they hogged the plot very much in the first 4 generations. You would feel like the episode could have used those precious minutes developing the series' plot (however small it is) instead of seeing them doing their predictable antics from Kanto to Sinnoh. Granted they didn't always try to kidnap Pikachu, but they were also another reason why the leagues felt even more rushed. The only story that I could tolerate was Jessie's Contest run in Sinnoh, because she was actually winning them and finished semi-finalist in the GF.

What I can complain from this change is that it was a bit too sudden. But I can enjoy TR now much more, since they don't appear in every episode anymore (well, so far) and therefore feel more special that way.