Summary
-
Team Rocket’s reboot in the Black and white Era marked them as more competent villains.
-
The planned showdown between Team Rocket and Team Plasma was replaced by Operation Tempest, a major clash between Ash and Team Rocket.
-
Fan outcry probably saved Team Rocket from being written out of the show in later series.
Besides Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, the most iconic characters of the Pokemon Anime are undoubtedly Jessie, James and Meowth from Team Rocket. While Ash’s companions came and went over the years, Team Rocket continued to bother Ash regardless of what else changed. That almost wasn’t the case, however, as one major story arc was originally advertised as the final showdown with Team Rocket.
in the Black and white During the anime, Team Rocket received something of a reboot, changing their uniforms from classic white to black, and becoming much more competent and villainous at the same time. Although it was originally planned to be a massive Team Rocket vs. Team Plasma showdown in the series, the storyline was never finalized due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, as the story featured some heavy devastation that was felt to be inappropriate in the Wake up from a real life disaster.
Team Rocket changed their big showdown instead, as part of something referred to in-universe as “Operation Tempest.”
Team Rocket’s greatest challenge was almost their last
Team Rocket’s evil scheme pits Ash against the entire organization
Operation Tempest is explained in late episodes of Black and white As a plan for Giovanni to use the mythical Pokemon, Meloetta, which has the capacity to unleash powerful Pokemon known as the forces of nature: Tornadus, Thundurus and Landorus. By manipulating Meloetta, who was traveling with Ash and his friends, Giovanni could control the powerful Pokemon to do his bidding, making him a huge threat, not only to the Unova region, but potentially to the entire world. Jessie, James, and Meowth were key parts of his plan, which had been observing Ash and Melotta for some time.
This story arc, which begins with “Melotta and the Undersea Temple,” was Originally advertised in Japan as a climactic confrontation between Ash and Team Rocket that was years in the making. Indeed, the story arc feels like a final battle, because it contains the first (and only) time that Ash and Giovanni meet face to face, and the threat of the legendary Pokemon under Giovanni’s control was very real. The idea was to test the waters about writing the Team Rocket Trio, which would thus never be a part of Pokemon XY, Sun & MoonOr Journeys.
However, there was a massive negative response online to the idea of getting rid of the classic characters that have been there since the second episode, as Team Rocket has always been oddly popular with the older fan base. Pokemon Anime. Looking at the stories that come after this confrontation, there is the “Episode N” story arc, which focuses on Team Plasma but not Team Rocket, and then the Decolores Islands “filler,” where Team Rocket appear sporadically in their typical formulaic roles. Reviewing it all now, it seems like the content written after Operation Tempest was designed without Jessie and Jacob in mind, with their appearances in Decolores rushed in to prove that they weren’t going anywhere.
This fan outcry may well have saved Team Rocket from being written out of the show with the start of Pokemon XY. It is especially difficult to imagine why Pokemon With Ash, but without Team Rocket, would be how integral the Team Rocket trio was to the series. Whether one likes Team Rocket or not, it’s hard to deny the important role they played in that Pokemon Anime, even after this point.