Okay how does Team Rocket even work

[voidcritter]

I'm writing a fic that centers around the lowest-ranking grunts in Team Rocket, and I can't develop some decent headcanon for a few things that are very very important.

(Note: This refers to the game canon, so anything in the anime or one of the manga might not apply)

Firstly, the disbanding at the end of RBY: I sort of take it that the Executives and Admins were kept, while everyone else was disbanded--so it wasn't really disbanding per se, but more of downsizing so that their presence would at least appear to have disappeared.

My question is what would happen to the Grunts? Were they simply released or were they expected to be "on call" three years later? If it was the former TR likely didn't care what happened to them afterward, so what options would they have for trying to resume something of a normal life?

Also, where are the Grunts when they're not doing missions?

 

[The Anonymour]

It'd assume it'd be the latter, that Giovanni or the Admins still had a way of contacting them, but they were, officialy, fired, untill needed again.

As for, what we'll cann, "leasure time", I'd assume some of the higher-ranking grunts had their own lives, and maybe even famalies, but the lower-ranking ones would possibly have to stay on site for training of some sort.

 

[voidcritter]

Okay, that first one works more or less perfectly with what I'm trying to go for.

the second one also sort of works--I don't think Grunts had much in the way of actual free time, but even then at least some of the day is needed for sleep.

 

[Kayi Rowling]

I always assumed the disbanding of Team Rocket was complete, and that all the Grunts fled for their lives and continued freedom, not looking back at their previous bosses (after all, they're criminals, so we can't expect much loyalty, especially from lower ranks), or perhaps just going into hiding and being on watch (for those who believed in Giovanni and Team Rocket). Either is OK and logical.

Meanwhile, higher ranks (the Executives) fled into hiding, got together when they thought it was safe again, and struck at Johto three years later in search for Giovanni (dead), only to be defeated again, this time without their true leader to make them stronger in order to last the onslaught of a ten-year-old kid and his Pokemon friends.

...then again, these are my assumptions for the game verse.

 

[Gama]

I pretty much agree with Kayi.

I don't imagine the Grunts from GSC necessarily being the exact same Grunts as in RBY. I always imagined that when Giovanni disbanded TR everyone, including the Execs fled. Some time later (although still far before GSC) the Execs got together and decided that it was time TR was revived. The Grunts they got together were probably a combination of Grunts from the former TR and just new recruits.

I wonder how they got the message out to the former Grunts while keeping it out of public eye though... do they have Dark Marks?

 

[Legacy]

I agree. I always imagined that Team Rocket totally dissolved. I always thought of it like the Italian mafia a little bit.

Once the whole operation went down, most of the grunt level people just went back to their normal lives.

Then, when a few of the higher-ups met years later and started planning for a revival, perhaps they started reaching out to the old crew to re-join them, while recruiting new people as well.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

They probably contacted them from their records. Wouldn't doubt it if they kept track of addresses.

(also, dead? The kingpin of the series? Not hardly. Yes I played the Celebi event and I *still* don't know where people get that from)

 

[Kayi Rowling]

I wonder how they got the message out to the former Grunts while keeping it out of public eye though... do they have Dark Marks?

Perhaps not. The actual grunts, at least, seem unlikely to be marked. However, notice the Pokemon theme Team Rocket has, how everyone seems to have Koffing and Zubat around, and then you realize that, if they keep those Pokemon around after disbanding, if those Pokemon were "marked" (GPS modules on their Pokeball or inserted under their skin), they could be contacted by being tracked.

...but tracking is a resource-consuming task, so I don't think that's the case either :dead: *doesn't know*

They probably contacted them from their records. Wouldn't doubt it if they kept track of addresses.

I don't know about you, Blackjack, but if I had been in a criminal group before, and it was then disbanded and everyone was on their own, I'd change my name, address, appearance so nobody could find me.

But, perhaps, if they had some sort of secret code, or a secret way to communicate, it could work for all. Have no idea, though...

(also, dead? The kingpin of the series? Not hardly. Yes I played the Celebi event and I *still* don't know where people get that from)

People heard a splash, and they think he jumped to his death in the water (let's remember that graphics are reduced, so I think that's quite a fall if taken to real-world scale). Also, he's quite prone to overreacting and such (and I had a piece of fanart to point it out, but I can't find it), so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for him to kill himself next after failing to defeat another ten-year-old.

...however, notice that I'm also doubt Giovanni died. I can't decide whether or not he did, and I take a stance depending on the situation.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

I don't know about you, Blackjack, but if I had been in a criminal group before, and it was then disbanded and everyone was on their own, I'd change my name, address, appearance so nobody could find me.

We're also talking about a world where there's a slightly...different standard for evil teams. Also the grunts in pretty much every team don't seem to be as smart as you or I.

People heard a splash, and they think he jumped to his death in the water (let's remember that graphics are reduced, so I think that's quite a fall if taken to real-world scale). Also, he's quite prone to overreacting and such (and I had a piece of fanart to point it out, but I can't find it), so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for him to kill himself next after failing to defeat another ten-year-old.

...however, notice that I'm also doubt Giovanni died. I can't decide whether or not he did, and I take a stance depending on the situation.

Eh, your character has to jump an unknown height of at least a full screen onto hard cement as part of the PLOT to get up the lighthouse.

 

[Kayi Rowling]

Eh, your character has to jump an unknown height of at least a full screen onto hard cement as part of the PLOT to get up the lighthouse.

There was actually some study or such that showed that you had better chances to live if you hit concrete after a fall than water, but you do have a point and I had forgotten about the lighthouse completely.