Why is Team Rocket so fixated on capturing Pikachu?

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Italy-kun

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I mean, there are better Pokemon. Pikachu's solid, but it won't raise any eyebrows. Why go to all the trouble to steal Pikachu from Ash when they could just find a wild, I dunno, Larvitar, and train that up? Especially considering the plothole with Pikachu's power that occurs in EVERY SINGLE NEW REGION.
 
I guess they think that if they get Pika, the boss will give them a major salary increase and a promo
 
They aren't as fixated on capturing Pikachu nowadays, but I guess Pikachu caused Musashi, Kojirou, and Nyasu to fail their Tokiwa City mission (in my mind their very first Rocket-dan mission) spectacularly, making them stalk it forever as payback.
 
Pikachu blew up the Pokemon center in episode 2! Making team rocket believe it was a super pikachu. Also getting your asses kicked that hard makes you think highly of the kicker.
 
I was just thinking about this today.

I can't believe that Pikachu is worth chasing some kid across FIVE regions.
 
The same reason Wile E. Coyote is fixated with capturing Road Runner, I presume. They've been at it so long that they cannot fathom any other way of life (pre-Best Wishes Rockets, anyway).
 
garrison-san said:
The same reason Wile E. Coyote is fixated with capturing Road Runner, I presume. They've been at it so long that they cannot fathom any other way of life (pre-Best Wishes Rockets, anyway).
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To quote TGWTG "If you have money for all these gadgets and explosives. Order food! I think in one episode I saw a white castle in the background. Go to white castle order something good like uum there's... on second thought stick to the road runner" Similiarly training Pokemon takes time and they are encouraged to steal Pokemon. So it comes down to they are bad guys they have to due bad stuff and what badder than stealing pokemon.
 
Well, Pika is extraordinary among his kind, but there are more impressive pokemon. Even when they were still goofy, they would try to capture things other than Pika. Now that they've attempted to capture legends, Pika really does seem superfluous. I guess old habits really do die hard, but more or less, they have obtained better aspirations than Pika. I do think they will still attempt to do it again, but it will be hard to top the Nimbasa plot. What are they going to do? Use Pika as a method of super charging Zekrom into a nearly invincible weapon of mass destruction?
 
Alphaphlare said:
Pikachu blew up the Pokemon center in episode 2! Making team rocket believe it was a super pikachu. Also getting your asses kicked that hard makes you think highly of the kicker.
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Especially since Pikachu only managed to destroy that Pokemon Center because all of the other Pikachu in the Pokemon Center gave him their electricity. Basically, TRio had overestimated that individual Pikachu's strength at that time. In fact, TRio even questioned if it was worth stealing Pikachu after they saw the pokemon lose against Lt. Surge's Raichu twelve episodes later. Regardless, Pikachu has gotten somewhat stronger since then.
 
One reasons why it became nonsensical over time is because they just kept at it. In Johto what did TR ever do other than steal Pikachu in every episode? It was so boring.

They started expanding TR's roles with Jessie entering Contests, James entering Pokeringer and Orienteering, and all those Meowth-centric episodes...even if they did still try and get Pikachu in every episode. They just want it based on the first appearance.
 
Giovanni had no interest in Pikachu, only the uber-strong Pokemon like Mewtwo, yet Team Rocket is still convinced that Pikachu will benefit to their boss's plan due to his growth in terms of strength.
 
they want to capture it and kill it as revenge for every single blast-off!!
 
They're convinced that Pikachu has almost legendary Pokemon power, but as much as they respect his abilities, they think little of his trainer. No matter how many times Ash defeats them, they will always see him as a dumb twerp who they can easily outsmart. They're probably too frightened to try repeatedly steal a Pokemon from who they'd consider a more mature and intelligent trainer. Plus, they've gotten very close to capturing Pikachu on many occasions; they'll keep trying and trying until they finally get their lucky break.
 
Pikachu blew up the pokemon center in episode 2 and team rocket wanted revenge
 
Sometimes they do try and capture other stuff. There have been a few episodes iirc where they have decided not to go after Pikachu anymore but when Ash and Pika pops up the temptation is too great.

Also they didn't follow Ash to Unova, they were ready to start a completely brand new mission forgetting Pikachu and the twerps, but by fate they bumped into them again. Also for the first episodes when in Black Uniforms iirc they were focused on their other mission and never really tried for Pikachu, it was only after the boss said it was all over and they could do what they want, that they reverted to their white uniforms and decided to fall back on the old fail safe of capturing Pikachu.
 
I don't Know if it's Pikachu that they want but I think it's his Power Voltage. Most of you are correct and that Pikachu isn't rare but from time to time it has shown that it's strength is unimaginable to those in the show. Especially since it's such a small Pokemon.
 
I have a theory: Pikachu is the mascot of the series, and Ash is the star. If Team Rocket had the mascot, they'd be the stars of the show. If they were the stars, they would be able to catch more Pokemon, and would be allowed to succeed (for the most part.)
 
Karamazov said:
I have a theory: Pikachu is the mascot of the series, and Ash is the star. If Team Rocket had the mascot, they'd be the stars of the show. If they were the stars, they would be able to catch more Pokemon, and would be allowed to succeed (for the most part.)
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They explicitly state this in "The Song of Jigglypuff". So it's canon. Sort of. In the dub.
 
At this point, they've put SO much time, effort and money into the endeavor that it would be pathetic if they just stopped trying.
 
Please note: The thread is from 14 years ago.
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