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The Rocket trio's lack of screentime in Sun & Moon is honestly kind of appalling

Dogasu

Dogasu

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So far, 30 episodes of Sun & Moon have aired in Japan. And so far, the Rocket trio's been missing from a whopping thirteen of them. They'll be absent from next week's episode as well.

So, like, what the hell? It doesn't make sense for Sun & Moon to be this jokey gag show and yet not use its most well-known comic relief characters for nearly half the series. It doesn't make sense for the trio's target to be living in the same neighborhood for months, without showing any signs of going anywhere, and yet not be hanging around 24/7 ready to pounce at a moment's notice. It doesn't make sense for the trio to be given all these Alolan pokemon, and a Z-Crystal, and then not actually show up to promote any of them.

At first I thought maybe there was some issue with paying the voice actors (Megumi Hayashibara can't be cheap these days!), especially with how large the regular cast is, but then I noticed that she still shows up as Mokuroh and other bit parts even in the episodes where the Rockets are MIA. Same with Shinichirou Miki. The voice actors are in the studio anyway and yet their characters are still being left out.

Does anyone else feel as frustrated about this as I am?
 
Nope, I personally don't understand the problem with them not appearing, honestly if they appear too much it could end out like DP, XY, or SM episode 27 where they become less entertaining characters and more plot devices used by the writers to take the easy way out of a situation, so frankly as long as we get episode like SM 12 and SM 25 I'm happy if they appear infrequently.
 
I'm not all that bothered, to be frank.

Quality over quantity, and I personally think they work at their best when they are used in little doses.

Otherwise, we may risk to get a DP scenario again with them appearing every time just to give one quick conflict to the main gang, and that would become quite… annoying, after a while.

Not saying that they can't appear more often, but it would be ideal to not have them appear too often.
 
Isn't it a common complaint that Team Rocket show up in episodes they're unrelated to, anyway?

I can understand the frustration, to the extent that if there's going to be hijinks they should use the characters known for hijinks. But what I think is happening is the larger main cast requires more division of screen time and the minutes that might have gone to Team Rocket are now going to other characters instead. Like, today's episode for example was split amongst five different people. Maybe there simply wasn't enough time to give TR an appearance of any substance.

I don't think it's that big an issue if they're making a good impact in the appearances they do get, which I think they have for the most part.
 
At least things aren't as bad as in BW where the worst parts of the saga happened when they weren't around.

Though one has to wonder if OLM is as tired of them as longtime fans are. Especially since the Show is embracing its kids' show roots as never before, and Japanese kids still love them, right?

...RIGHT? o_O

Heck, we haven't even heard about them in Movie 20 outside of that bit in a trailer confirming they'd be there, and you'd think a movie set in Kanto would make good use of them...:cautious:
(Then again, Movie 20 is looking more and more like it's out to alienate and/or insult to longtime fans...:()
 
At least in Best Wishes! they had their own radio show broadcasted on Sunday evenings however it can be argued that this was only for five months, and probably did not entirely compensate in fans' minds for their overall loss of screentime during this season. However it does suggest that the staff have been at least once aware of the fact that Team Rocket has a dedicated fanbase in Japan at the time, though I suppose its conception was realised thanks to the fact that Masafumi Mima, the sound director, is such a big fan of Team Rocket too.

Personally, I don't mind. This is my speculation of what the writers may think, not my actual opinions on the matter but considering you mentioned how it is a comedic series, so why not have the traditional comic relief characters more present in more episodes? Perhaps the writers feel that since there is already so much humour injected from other areas (maybe you do not feel the same way, understandable), that they don't have to necessarily rely on team rocket as much anymore to deliver the comedic relief. That's not to say humour is the only reason why they should appear (plot-wise, I hope to see more progression in terms of z-crystals, where that storyline will go with them), or that they're not funny I think when they do appear in Sun and Moon they're a real high point in terms of character and humour. I think it's good that they're not relying on them so heavily, as to echo what others have said, when they appear unnecessarily or feel shoehorned into an episode, it can be grating. Maybe they could appear more often in Sun and Moon, I am not discontented with it so far, I have really enjoyed their appearances but I don't miss them. I understand that it is a real bother for those who do watch the show predominantly to see team rocket, however - I'm not one of these people.
 
I don't know how these things work, would Megumi Hayashibara still be as expensive for voicing a Pokemon as a main character?

But it has been sad seeing them less and less, but I also think each of their appearances have been better/more creative. I was never one to complain when they showed up all the time in earlier series but they did seem to just go through the motions sometimes. In this series I can really only think of one episode where *all* they did was their typical shtick. This is also the first series where every main cast member doesn't appear in every episode either, and while Team Rocket may appear the least out of the main cast I don't think it's something exclusive to them.

Not having them in the 20th anniversary opening OR episode was ridiculous though, especially because they're 3 of the 4 main characters who have actually been around for all 20 years.
 
Dogasu said:
So far, 30 episodes of Sun & Moon have aired in Japan. And so far, the Rocket trio's been missing from a whopping thirteen of them.
Click to expand...
In BW they were missing from seven of the first 30 episodes.
In XY they were missing from eight of the first 30 episodes.
So, it could change.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just to be clear, I don't have a problem with them not being in every single episode (I wouldn't mind it if they were, but I understand that not every story needs them either). But missing very close to 50% of the series is just going too far in the other direction. More frequent appearances is all I'm asking for.
 
They kinda feel like a golden calf tbh. I mean I have plenty of Brock nostalgia but it's not like he was necessary for the show to function. It's not like they can develop them to meaningful degree without booting them at this point but reset or whatever.
 
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