Could The Rocket trio be considered Ashs friends

D

D558

New Member
Joined
Jun 13, 2009
Messages
172
Reaction score
0
On an overall term do you think they are friends? Of coarse they have the odd episode where they help ash and normally they have the vague goal of stealing his pokemon but it seems like they could be friends.

But as people they have gotten to know each other very well, I'm sure none of them would ever want any true harm to come to another (which has been shown several times). It's almost like a rivalry just maybe one step ahead.

from dictionary.com friend is defined as "a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard." They arn't really overtly affectionate towards each other but they certainly have personal regard but that may be stretching it...

On the other-hand team rocket does do some really rotten things from time to time and by looking at just one random episode it certainly dosn't seem like they're friends.

It is just a question that has been nagging me. Whats your opinion (Maybe just James and Meowth could be considered friends but Jessie isn't?)

I would have made this a poll but i'm sure its not going to be a fine line with most people
 
I don't think so as they ever so soundly claimed from Pokemon Emergency they had only one goal in mind and that was to steal Ash's Pikachu so for them being friends? I think you'll find it happening very rarely
 
Um, no. They may not be evil, but Ash wouldn't call them friends.
 
A lot has changed from the second episode, friendships don't just happen because you plan on them.

It just seems that with how long they have known each other they would certainly miss each other in a sentimental way if they ever just parted ways or team rocket would miss ash if they did successfully steal pikachu, give it to the boss and try to move on.

They make it clear all the time they want pikachu but even though they are total idiots there has to be something else keeping them around for so long (Pikachu isn't that much of a wonder)


Modification: I'm not saying they would ever admit it (that would be lame) but do YOU think they may be considered friends (even bad friends like the ones that mooch money off of you and you wonder why you keep them around or something)
 
Last edited:
eventually... as soon as they stop trying to capture Pikachu.
 
No, they try to steal Pikachu (and other pokemon) in almost every episode.
They're only Ash's "friends" if:
1): There is a villain/group opposing the main group that is much more evil than they are.
2): Team Rocket's pokemon were stolen in addition to Ash and co.'s
3): One of its members was in serious danger.
4): One of its members had to oppose the other members because of obligations (i.e. James battling Jessie and Meowth when they are attacking his Nani and Papop's summer home).
 
Nah, the Rocket trio seem more like those annoying cousins that just won't leave you alone and you'd hate to get visited by. From Ash's perspective anyway XD
So friends, no.
 
No. I don't think so.

All they do is cause trouble for Ash and co. by stealing Pikachu again and again. But then again, that might be a key point to the plot. There are times when TR and Ash + friends worked together, though.
 
I agree with the "they'd be more like annoying cousins" idea. Even if they're not quite enemies anymore, they're not friends either.
 
Like you said, they would never EVER admit it, but I can see what you're saying and I'd say they do have some kind of attachment to one another, though it'd be really hard to define exactly what that relationship is.

Yes, their main goal is catching Pikachu, blah blah. I'm pretty sure it stopped being sheer determination after the first couple of seasons though. Maybe now, they'd just miss it and wouldn't know what else to do. The TRio has started tackling more personal endeavors like pokemon contests in their following of Ash. Maybe the wanting to be evil (because we all know they are not truly evil) will just phase out entirely one day.

There are plenty of examples of friendship, even though it's circumstantial friendship, like Forest Grumps. I'm pretty sure James and Misty have some kind of friendship. We saw it again in the episode where Ash, Tracey, and Jessie were paralyzed from the Vileplume. Misty gave James and Meowth some salveo weed out of the goodness of their hearts. There are many more instances where Ash and co. have helped Team Rocket for no real reason besides 'they just can'.

Idk. Like you said, it's a fine line with most people, but I'm pretty sure something's there.
 
Their main goal is to steal away his best friend (and, if possible, grab several of his other friends at the same time) and force them into slavery working for an evil criminal organization or to sell to some stranger--even now when they're less serious and almost entirely comedic, this is their main reason for following him.

From a logical perspective, I don't think they qualify even remotely as his friend. They're branching out to things like contests, and I've long suspected they'll stop being villains eventually and could maybe get along with him then, but as of now I don't think they consider themselves more than archenemies that've gotten used to each other--Ash seems to think of them as more of pests than major threats, atleast, and they're perhaps slightly grateful for him saving their lives afew times.
Meowth sometimes seems to wish he could be friends with Pikachu, but when it comes down to it, he's perfectly willing to just steal him and make give him to Giovanni to use as a weapon/tool instead.

On the other hand...Ash, himself, is much more forgiving of them then any normal person would be. There's been plenty of time where he's just fine with their presence if they're not bothering anyone, he was willing to help them train Cacnea...seriously, that's practically Saintly forgiveness.

So you have a point...if TR gave up, I think they'd eventually miss each other and maybe play cards every third Sunday.

D558 said:
They make it clear all the time they want pikachu but even though they are total idiots there has to be something else keeping them around for so long (Pikachu isn't that much of a wonder)
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it's the sunk costs fallacy--they feel they've spent too much time and effort on stealing Pikachu to give up on it.
And although they're inconsistent on Pikachu evolving (tried to force him to once, cheered him on for not doing it other times...), they probably feel that since he's so strong as a Pikachu, a Raichu would be terrifyingly powerful (which is, itself, a stupid plan since he'd use his new power to teach them an entirely new definition of "blasting off", but I digress...)
 
Last edited:
I'd go out on a limb and say the Rockets only consider one another friends. The 'friendship' they share with the twerps is a fair-weather relationship. It's one of convenience.

As for Ash and Co., hell if I know. They need to make up their minds.
 
I wouldn't call them "friends". I mean, there's definitely something beyond the animosity generated because of the TRio's ultimate goal of capturing other people's Pokemon (and Pikachu in particular), but first and foremost, they're enemies.

Still, they've been through so much together that they have a hard time even disliking each other properly. Remember the TRio's first collab with Ash and co. in Pokemon Shipwreck? Each group would've been quite alright with leaving the other for dead and they didn't even hide it. Nowadays they barely even protest when they have to team up (unless someone is being a 'tard about it). When someone out of the TRio is in a pinch and Ash and co. come to know about it, they'll help... and sometimes it goes both ways, when the TRio are feeling generous. The TRio also cheer Ash from the sidelines sometimes when he's fighting some big battles. When it comes to his rivalry with Shinji, for example, they're probably his biggest supporters, mostly because they identify with Monfy so much. Hell, you know, Ash and co.'s attitude towards the Rockets has become so... "sigh, they're so persistent" in recent years. They've just been through too much together and Ash and co. know the TRio are perfectly capable of doing good things... and it's like, "when will they learn?".

One day, after the TRio will quit being morons, realize they're much better at doing legit stuff and stop trying to steal other people's Pokemon, maybe they'll be friends with Ash and co.. Not super close friends or anything, but friends. Like, meeting up every once in a while and reminiscing over the better times and stuff. "'No hard feelings about the Pikachu theft attempts, right? =D' 'Well, as long as you don't bring it up...'"
 
I think the twerps and TRio do like each other in a certain weird way
The TRio were kind of together with Ash during his whole journey! on specials cases they did help each other and they know each other for so long that both sides would probably feel strange not to see the other for a long time
I already said before that I'd like the TRio to change and become good guys (maybe after TR is disbanded, if that ever happens) and become recurring characters as friends/rivals (it's totally in character for the twerps to forgive them if they'd truly change)

Daren said:
So you have a point...if TR gave up, I think they'd eventually miss each other and maybe play cards every third Sunday.
Click to expand...

XD
True

they're inconsistent on Pikachu evolving
Click to expand...

It seems to me that usually they'd like the idea of Pika being even stronger, but in the cases where Pika have to decide whether to evolve or not and showcase how it'd like to stay as it is, they understand it and hope it won't evolve... only to then forget it until next time Pika face a similar problem XD
 
They're not friends yet, but once the TRio stop trying to steal Pika, I think they probably will be ;-)
 
ii kanji said:
They're not friends yet, but once the TRio stop trying to steal Pika, I think they probably will be ;-)
Click to expand...

This... and when/if Ash's journey finally ends, I see this as a plausible outcome.
 
The trio may not be all that evil but as long as they keeping trying to steal Ash and his friends pokemon, Ash won't bother being friends w/ them.
 
Please note: The thread is from 16 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom