Team Rocket's Rockin'

SEPT. EDIT: BLOODY DOCUMENT THAT GETS EDITED/ADDED TO ON THE DAILY @U@ @V@ --w/ some songs

Since I continue to constantly add to the currently 27-page/29k-word file, it gets hella outta date so fast. A WAY better method than screenshotting is just using screen-record, but of course the only video format Ice Cream gives you free is webm, the one that OneDrive doesn't fucking support. Guess downloading it might work. There only needs to be ONE video format that works everywhere. There only needs to be ONE perfect version of anything. I loathe this world; being forced into it is the worst thing that can happen to a human. // 11.23.23: Last bit's still extremely true but I finally realized that the paid lifetime version of I Skreem would be generally necessary so's I got it and, yay for that I guess.

PRESH! IOSITY! FORIZZLE!

[crazy comment record whilst watching thru whole series]

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SO. Jessie, James, and Meowth really are just going to basically follow the twerp and his Pikachu around forever. Thieving all the way, or trying to, with good ol' Chu-Chu remaining a top priority. Wow. Despite having been confronted with the possibilities of life beyond Team Rocket. The constant cycles of endless failures and blasting off--they're simply too addicted to break it, to leave it behind once and for all? On the one hand I suppose it feels inevitable, and on the other it's...sad. Or bittersweet. They were some of my earliest most-loved characters in that they introduced me to the concept of shipping when I mistook a Rocketshippy fanfic for a canonical description of an upcoming storyline. :'-} The author was flattered. From the start I loved Cassidy & Butch just as much. Bought the "Picture Perfect" VHS because it included "The Breeding Center Secret." Eventually when it seemed as if the anime weren't even continuing, I first realized I needed to catch up with all the Cass-&-Butch episodes from that meantime (which luckily happened to be on YT)--and much later the rest thanks to the Twitch marathons and movie showings (plus the Pokemon TV site, though those later seasons were shown in random order. Not that it makes much difference. And only a select few episodes are truly Important. Rocket-heavy ones tend to be among those.)

In a way I loved them even more than the original trio, as it was appreciable to get a special treat of them in smaller doses, rather than an eventually tiresome insistence upon sticking them into every episode--even if only for a few degrading, humiliating, pointless seconds. For the first several (aka best) seasons, Team Rocket was among if not the best part of most episodes, and always to be looked forward to. The emotional episodes that centered around them and their backstories are certainly some of the greatest, most memorable ones. I've always leaned toward liking villains and antagonists. Especially sympathetic, interesting, complex ones. While I'd like to know as much about C&B as about J&J, I now feel so vindicated after all this time because although there wasn’t necessarily a super-great reason for it, I had somehow intuitively sensed that they in particular were redeemable. You'd never have seen their ending coming. I still can hardly believe it played out this way; feels like another fanfic or fanart depicting a possible conclusion for the show. One I and my fellow Neoshippers could have created. Not because it isn't believable, but just because I'd never have thought we'd actually see it happen. That if either pair were to quit Team Rocket for a decent honest living, it'd obviously be Jessie & James, right? Cass & Butch could return to the screen, sure, but they'd be defeated in the end and it would look like a bleak future for them, and we'd just have to be grateful to have seen them one more time... But no

Well first, it's unreal that I'm only catching the "Ultimate Journeys" over a year after the debut because it's for some fucked reason separate from both "Journeys" and "Master Journeys"--like are you seriously kidding me with this shit? Bring back Kids WB, everything has been 1000% FUBAR’d and ruined. But THEN, as I'm logically assuming that "ULTIMATE" Journeys contains the much-heard-about-but-somehow-still-unwatchable-in-the-US ultimate ending to the series...I see that no, there are actually 11 more friggin "Aim to Be a Pokemon Master" episodes left to wrap it all up, everything since the beginning. ;-; And the only way to find out how it ends is to read the Bulbapedia plot synopses. Hokai. So now we know. OOH WAIT. Now I see this "Part 3 coming June 23" note...what could that be but the 11-episode finale? *looks up* Well fuck. Just another batch of episodes. Better be the last batch before that epilogue! Which the article said will come at a later date, but possibly after another few “batches?” If Ash defeats Leon on the 23^rd, what more filler could be between that and A2BAPM? Outrageous that it can be like this. Why not release episodes worldwide at once, or seasons a month or two after Japan? Wtagdmff…

But anyway. The most heartwarming and nostalgia-inducing bit of all this near-the-end-ness is the Cassie & Butch, man. Although it does getcha *misty* thinking about it all circling back to the start--Pallet Town, the Ketchum home, Professor Oak and Gary, Brock, Tracy, the Orange Islands (such a strong arc), and so on. But my faves might be the biggest, most pleasant surprise. They were always portrayed as the superior agents with more promise for moving up, less bumbling, more competent and serious/dignified/professional. Yet still hilariously amusing and adorable. x~3 The only thing that's imperfect about the situation is that they're...not together. Yeah, it allows the episode to flow from one establishment to the other so Jessie can leave James with Cassidy (almost winkingly, if ya know what I mean o_o) and Meowth with Butch and the Meowsie lookalike. But, you have to wonder why they aren't running one place together, or combining them, especially given how similar they are. A cafe and a bakery. And those do seem like rather generic, typical things one might do after giving up a life of villainy, too. Woodcarving. But I can't complain. It's so damn comfy and cozy and rustic and charming. To begin with, you have Cassie rescuing, serving, dispensing a bit of wisdom unto, and then hosting her former rivals, including her worst enemy.

Hearing the dub nearly destroyed this loveliness, however. Omfg, wtfh. Her voice was NOT hers at all, and totally wrong. Sounded so awful. It was Snow Miser and Carla Benitez all over again. I mean, maybe not quite *that* bad. Or, perhaps even worse than Carla's treatment, since we hadn't actually HEARD her speak (doesn't matter though, you can just tell the voice is insanely wrong.) The translation of the dialog into English felt, fittingly, even more awkward than usual. But anyhow, trying to overlook that and mentally fill in Cassie's correct voice (like you have to project a vision of aging-Ash over the one onscreen that's stuck in the same year he set out on the journey.) It’s utterly unfathomable how you could get such a thing so wrong, though—no effort, don’t listen to the actual voices, don’t get the original actor or somebody who can approximate it, in fact go comically in a direction that jumps out like a sore thumb and doesn’t suit the character. The replacement for James could’ve been a helluva lot better too, but at least he was attempting to get within the ballpark. Facepalm. To say nothing of how much better everybody looked pre-Alola.

So, Cass is in this log-cabin lodge/cafe thing with some other cabins right next to it, in an area that's currently got quite a bit of snow, running this picturesquely quaint and cozy joint whilst whittling Pokemon sculptures, revealing artistic talent. In pride of place on the mantle are most of the Pokemon we saw her battle with for Team Rocket. Raticate is with her (being a cute lil' Ratatouille waiter, aww), but what of the others? Are the figures meant to imply that they're no longer hers--perhaps seized by the organization when she resigned? ;n; If that was some awful rule. They couldn't all be deceased (although how long do Pokemon live, anyway? Really long, evidently.) I'd love to have seen them in the flesh as well, and/or a menagerie of other new ones who've joined her in her new life.

The ep (“The Good, the Bad, & the Lucky”) is not flawless. More of it should've focused on Butch & Cass. But anyhoo. So by working there for a while, the trio thanks her for saving them, which is sweet. We know that eventually James has to move on because his Morpeko eats all the cafe's inventory, but he does stay the longest as he seems to enjoy it the most. Jessie and Meowth walk on and happen upon Butch's bakery, which is located on a really pretty point of land that's currently resembling an ideal springy/summery day. So I hope it's not far from Cass' place; how far could it be? ;; I just want them to be seeing each other. Or reunite if they did decide to permanently split due to some "painful memory"-type reasons or something. It would've had to have been an emotional farewell in that case. (I suppose I could adjust to shipping them with other people, or even no one if that were the preference, but their being a m/f pair inherently just made shippin' 'em as easy and obvious as the other two. ^^ If not even more so...they're just too adorably right and perfect and made for each other!) I dreamed of them finding happiness outside Team Rocket. Discovering that that wasn’t truly what they wanted to do, who they wanted to be. To know that they have, and that there's no reason they *couldn't* get (back) together...well. It's a nice fuzzy feeling after all this time, to say the least. Of course our fanfic visions involved kids, and travels combined with cute domesticity. (And sometimes tragedy because we enjoy torturing ourselves.) The only direct reference one made to the other's current position was Butch asking "You (already) saw her?" Not a lot to go on, as far as why they're doing similar things in separate spots. There must be an explanation, and the best ones would involve them not being far apart or intending to be fully split...just one line, saying that that’s just how they wound up because they couldn’t decide which location to buy so they each took one or whatever…

Well curiously there's a female Meowth there, who clearly digs TR's but is already "with" the local alpha-male Persian. xD; Ugh, not again. Thus in the end, the trio reunites and Teal-Hair-Boy is left to Peeta Mellark it up, for he be needing to knead his dough. Despite the mysterious separation, it's a fortuitous and auspicious situation for both. Better than I’d have imagined getting, and better than the expected nothing. It's just so good to see them peaceful and happy...instead of the more intense, power-driven, all-evil-business types we'd seen before. Getting along so well with J&J at last. It's all so freakin' SOFT in the best way. *squee* I’d heard through the grapevine about Ash finally becoming the goat trainer (only of Gogoats ;b) and seeing Misty and Brock and all that, but nothing about even the J/J trio, never mind C/B. This episode is awesome, and the development for those two absolutely outstanding. #LOVEPOWER wins. Wish we’d gotten to see Ass Ketchup & Co. meet up with ‘em. Unfortunately none of this ultimately changes things for the main Rocket trio, eternal slaves to Giovanni and the wandering whims of the twerp now trying to befriend (one of?) every Pokemon in the world. It's just too much of who they are. Le, sigh.

“I wanna tell you what I’m feeling / but I don’t know how to start / I want to tell you but now I’m afraid / that you might break my heart / oh why should anything so easy / ever be so hard to do / I wanna tell you what I’m feeling / and to say that I love you”

(see also: To Know the Unknown, I Choose You, Flying Without Wings, Together Forever, With You, etc.)

Makes me consider other standout characters from the series and movies. Mainly gals I thought had cool looks and/or names and/or roles. ^w^ Most especially Domino (dubbed Dominique by moi) from Mewtwo Returns, plus Annie & Oakley from Pokemon Heroes: Latios & Latias. Annie was the coolest. Still dunno wtf kinda name Oakley is for a girl; even on a boy it’d sound like going by your surname. Nice that there was reference to the Latios/Latias movie in the epilogue. Also: Cissy, Tyra, Mateo, Lorelei, Stella, Violet/Lily/Daisy, Giselle, Aya, Katrina, Florinda, Janette, punky-lookin’ ones (e.g. Plumeria, Mela with reasonable boots, Piers, Roxie & co.), Karen, Clair, Glacia, the Lusamine/Lillie/Gladion/Mohn family, Sonia, Cynthia, Elesa, Risa, Prof. Ivy, etc. Them kinda peeps.

p.s. Idc, I'm still pronouncing Chatot like "chateau" rather than just straight-up "cha-tot."

p.p.s. The Beartic episode is Pokemon Frozen. Like "Secrets of the Jungle" is Pokemon Tarzan. With repetitive elements of all the interminable “protect-the-environment-especially-the-all-important-magical-tree-or-whatever-thing-it-is” type plots.