"Team Rocket?" "They're really bad guys who steal other people's Pokémon."

[technickal]

Is anyone else getting tired of this exchange from the XY series? It seems like every time a character of the day shows up, we get this.

Also, I watch the English dub. Is it better/worse in other language dubs (specifically the Japanese version)?

 

[MRStealth64]

I'm pretty sure the same thing is more or less said in the Japanese version, so I don't think the dubbers can really be blamed for that. It is kind of tiring though, so I see where you're coming from.

 

[Sakuraa]

Eh...it's redundant but it's literally only said if there's a CoTD present and it only one line. And there's not really anything different they can say anyway so it doesn't bother me that much.

 

[Moe]

I'm more bothered by the fact they need to introduce themselves and their Pokemon every episode "My name's Ash and this is my partner Pikachu", "Pikachu" etc.

The COTDs can dex their partner Pokemon if they don't recognise them.

The Team Rocket explanation I'd think more comes from the fact that to an outsider, them recognising Team Rocket would imply a connection, quickly calling them evil helps make it obvious that Ash and the others aren't associated with them.

 

[SammyW27]

It's just exposition handled in 2 sentences.

The COTDs don't know who these people are, and Ash-tachii tells them.

If two people in weird outfits showed up out of nowhere to cause trouble, wouldn't you be cuious?

 

[technickal]

But the CoTDs before XY learned who Team Rocket were by watching them, not by asking who they were. I'm starting to sound a little nitpicky, though.

Eh...it's redundant but it's literally only said if there's a CoTD present and it only one line. And there's not really anything different they can say anyway so it doesn't bother me that much.

The problem is, in the XY series there's a CoTD in almost any non-Gym Battle episode.

 

[Beth Pavell]

It's particularly stupid when the CoTD needs to be told this while Team Rocket are in the process of stealing their pokémon

 

[MizuTaipu]

I don't mind it when the Japanese version does this. I think it's just the blatant and expository delivery of the actors that makes it annoying in the English dub.

 

[CrashBash]

It's particularly stupid when the CoTD needs to be told this while Team Rocket are in the process of stealing their pokémon

I'm still patiently waiting for the day when Ash will have Pikachu use Thunderbolt on them whilst they're still in the middle of doing their motto!

 

[Sakuraa]

The problem is, in the XY series there's a CoTD in almost any non-Gym Battle episode.

I think that's a bit of a stretch. There have been a number of CoTD's and the line has been said a lot, but there are instances of going a few episode in a row where it isn't said at all.

I can totally see how you could find it annoying though. I just personally don't have that much of an issue with it.

 

[JacobYBM]

Those lines are included because the series is mostly episodic and relies on it being watchable from just about any episode. It's a long-running weekly series that has to be family-friendly, after all. There's going to be a lot of repetitive exposition.

You can also blame this mandate on the creative leads of the series, Chief [Series] Director Yuyama Kunihiko and [Series] Director Yajima Tetsuo. They're the ones who approve the overarching style and nature of the series.

 

[Dogasu]

The point of the whole exchange is that the Rocket-Dan isn't known in the Kalos region so locals of the area have no reason to know who they are.

But the CoTDs before XY learned who Team Rocket were by watching them, not by asking who they were.

No, this has been going on since Advanced Generation.

I'm still patiently waiting for the day when Ash will have Pikachu use Thunderbolt on them whilst they're still in the middle of doing their motto!

I'm pretty sure that's happened before.

At the very least, I know for a fact that they've snuck off to the side and rescued whatever pokemon they were stealing while the motto was going on.

 

[Beth Pavell]

It's a lazy way of doing it, and not always necessary. If someone has just thrown a net on your pokémon and is dragging it way, they're obviously stealing it. And therefore obviously bad guys. I'm pretty sure even Gym Leaders have done this before ("What is the meaning of this?!" and similar). Yeah, it's been doing on for years, it's just in XY the exchange is more obvious

 

[Alola]

The fact that they still use the term bad guys rather than something gender inclusive such as bad people, is what gets me. Last time I checked, Jessie is a female and times have changed.

 

[Gabo2oo]

The fact that they still use the term bad guys rather than something gender inclusive such as bad people, is what gets me. Last time I checked, Jessie is a female and times have changed.

I think they do that because they're usually trying to have a hip and cool vocabulary for Ash's dialogue. Not that they nail at it, though.

 

[Beth Pavell]

The fact that they still use the term bad guys rather than something gender inclusive such as bad people, is what gets me. Last time I checked, Jessie is a female and times have changed.

I think they do that because they're usually trying to have a hip and cool vocabulary for Ash's dialogue. Not that they nail at it, though.

Wow, you mean it? That's pretty cool. Oh man, I am so psyched to see what people have to say! C'mon, let's go!

 

[Dogasu]

The fact that they still use the term bad guys rather than something gender inclusive such as bad people, is what gets me. Last time I checked, Jessie is a female and times have changed.

Last time I checked, people have been using the word "guys" to address groups of people - both men and women - for decades.

 

[Galactic_V]

My first language isn't English so correct me if I'm wrong but isn't guys and people the same thing? The only difference being "guys" is informal and "people" formal?

So isn't it the same damn thing basically?

 

[Osprey]

Use of the word "guys" really just depends from person to person. I personally see "guys" as a slang term for "people," especially if you put "bad" in front of it. "Bad guys" = villains.

I'd like to see an episode where the CotD has initiative to clobber the TRio before they're told by Ash & co. that Team Rocket is the "bad guys." Y'know, they see the TRio stealing Pokemon or riding a mecha or whatever and immediately slams them with a Pokemon attack.

 

[Gabo2oo]

My first language isn't English so correct me if I'm wrong but isn't guys and people the same thing? The only difference being "guys" is informal and "people" formal?

So isn't it the same damn thing basically?

"Guys" is actually used as an informal way to say "people". The thing is that "guys" is the plural form of "guy", and the word "guy" refers to a male individual. Male plural nouns also serving as gender-ambiguous plural nouns is a common practice in a lot of languages, so I don't understand what is the problem here. If someone thinks it counts as gender discrimination, then it should be at the bottom of the list anyway.