Go Team Rocket!

As a little girl growing up, I remember spending my weekends glued to the TV. One of my favourite things to watch was…….. you guessed it, Pokémon.

Gotta catch em’ all

 

I looooooooved Pokémon! I memorised the lyrics to the theme song by heart. I know all the (original 150) Pokemons by name. I completed most versions of the game on my Game Boy Colour (yay 90s babies).  I had the trading card game. Yes, I was obsessed.

When Rachel mentioned the word ‘collaboration’ during our lectorial this week, out of nowhere, the image of Team Rocket appeared in my head.

 

just like this

I find it very odd, because I recall myself booing at the TV whenever the Team Rocket Trio would appear. I mean, firstly, they are the villains of the show, no one should be rooting for the troublemakers. Secondly, I didn”t think they are that great of a team, given that they never succeed in their plans of capturing Pikachu throughout the series. hmm

However after several hours of pondering, I beg to differ.. Hear me out.

During our lectorial this week,  Rachel showed us seven characteristics of positive collaborations. Here they are word for word from Rachel’s slides.

According to the list above, I would now gladly contend that Jesse, James, and Meowth are awesome collaborators. Here’s why:

Firstly they have clear objectives. It even comes in the form of a motto!

 Prepare for trouble!
Make it double!
To protect the world with devastation!
To unite all people within our nation!
To denounce the evil of truth and love!
To extend our reach to the stars above!
Jessie! James!
Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!
Surrender now or prepare to fight!
Meowth. That’s right!

 

They are also clear about their assignment given by their boss Giovanni- to capture Pikachu and every existing Pokemon they come across.

Secondly, they do have good communication. In the series, they are shown to have a really close relationship with each other. It sometimes would even come off as offensive, but that’s the beauty about having a close relationship with your partner.

This then leads me to point three- because of that interpersonal relationship, they can rely and trust each other. They always appear to be there for each other i.e. consistency, and they usually.. rudely.. respect each other..

They support each other through ups and downs, they are clear with their own responsibilities within the trio, and they are equitable because they share their workload fairly equally within the trio.

Even though they almost always get defeated, they never got ahold of Pikachu and they blast off in almost every episode (764 times according to the video below), I believe that they are still awesome  collaborators, since they comply with all seven characteristics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGfsSQFemkc

Their iconic catchphrase : “looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again”

The only thing I reckon that they need to work on is to actually succeed in their task… but they are the villains of the show and the writers aren’t going to let them win. This isn’t Game of Thrones, people.

To be honest, I’m not surprised that ‘working in a team’ was ranked as one of the top five things that employers are looking for in potential employees. I believe that the ability to work in a team is not only an essential skill within the media industry, or even any work environment really, it is also a generally important social skill to have in life. You see, accomplishing tasks by yourself is not only boring, it could wear you out, and it can sometimes be impossible. Having a team of people such as friends and family in your daily life helping you out with little tasks like…. cleaning your room, for example, is waaaaaay more productive than having to clean your room yourself.

Actually, come to think of it, the entire Pokémon series revolves around the ability of working in a team.

Because Ash without Pikachu would be useless;

Ash without the support of his friends Misty, Brock and Tracy would not be able to defeat gym leaders and eventually fulfil his dreams of becoming a Pokémon master.

 

So, dear mum and dad,

Here’s proof that I did not waste my childhood away watching Pokemon, because as you can see from above, I may or may not have subconsciously learnt about the importance of teamwork, and the ways to collaborate efficiently from watching what I think is the best anime ever.

 

In other words, Pokemon is deeeeeeeeeeep.