Blasting off
- Blast off redirects here. For the Flash-based computer game, see Pokémon Team Rocket Blast Off.
Blasting off is a running gag in Pokémon the Series. It usually refers to when Team Rocket is sent flying after being defeated, typically by a Pokémon's finishing attack, such as Pikachu's Thunderbolt, or from a malfunction in their machines.
In animation
Pokémon the Series
When blasting off, Jessie, James, and Meowth usually cry,「やな感じ！」"Yana kanji!" ("This feels bad!") in the original Japanese, which was dubbed "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!", "Team Rocket's blasting off again!"[a], or simply "We're blasting off again!"[b] before disappearing into the distance where a twinkle appears.
The first time they blasted off was in their debut episode, and the first time the twinkle was seen was during their following blast off, in Clefairy and the Moon Stone. Additionally, in some episodes, the characters may say their catchphrase by finishing each other's sentences or by one or two characters instead of all three.
Blasting off usually happens only once per episode, but there have been many occasions in which it has happened multiple times, especially in Malice In Wonderland!, in which Team Rocket is shown blasting off four times on screen, and heard to blast off many more times offscreen. In Naval Maneuvers, when the trio blasts off a second time, they shout "We're blasting off again... again!". Similarly, in Get Along, Little Pokémon, when they once again blast off a second time, the trio cries out out "We're blasting off twice, but it ain't so nice!" Another occurrence when they blasted off more than once was in Noodles! Roamin' Off!, but this may be due to the full episode being focused on Team Rocket. In A Faux Oak Finish!, James blasted off by himself. Butch and Cassidy have also "blasted off"; however, James noted once that he, Jessie, and Meowth had copyrighted it in Off The Unbeaten Path.
Sometimes, when Team Rocket blasts off, they shout something other than "We're blasting off again!", such as in Team Rocket's Shocking Recruit! when instead they shouted "We're blasting off family style!" after being defeated by Dragonite and Charizard, or A Battle by Any Other Name!, where they shouted "There's nothing sweet about blasting off! AND WE'RE DOING IT AGAIN!!!" after their Octillery mecha was destroyed. There are also occasions where they do not blast off, but they disappear with the trademark twinkle by other means such as running away. In some very rare instances, they blast off without a twinkle, as seen in their debut, The Island of Illusions! where they fell into the sea instead, Tracey Gets Bugged, where they get their hair and fur cut short by a Scyther, or To Find a Fairy Flower!, where they were relaxed by a Flabébé's Aromatherapy.
Pokémon the Series: Black & White
After Memories are Made of Bliss!, Team Rocket initially didn't blast off during Pokémon the Series: Black & White.
In Enter Iris and Axew! and A Sandile Gusher of Change!, they used smoke bombs and disappeared.
In The Battle Club and Tepig's Choice! they tried to escape using their capsule, but after it gets destroyed by Ash's Pikachu, they escaped using gliders.
From Scare at the Litwick Mansion! onwards, they usually used jet packs in order to escape. For this reason, those blastoffs weren't against their will nor involved pain, so they did not cry out their famous quote. Also, there was no twinkle visible when the jet packs were used, except for Scare at the Litwick Mansion! and Movie Time! Zorua in "The Legend of the Pokémon Knight"!.
Starting from New Places... Familiar Faces!, Team Rocket began blasting off like before, although they didn't say the catchphrase until Team Plasma's Pokémon Power Plot!. They also occasionally still use their jet packs in some episodes.
Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon
In Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, rather than blasting off, Bewear would unexpectedly appear and take the trio away; Jessie, James, and Meowth would cry,「何この感じ！？」"Nani kono kanji!?" ("What's with this feeling!?") in response, which was dubbed as "Off with a new blast!".
In To Top a Totem!, they were about to blast off, only for Bewear to jump into the air and catch them before the 'ping' sound.
They Might Not Be Giants! was the first episode where the trio successfully blasted off without interference, although Bewear was able to catch them before they hit the ground.
Later, they also successfully blasted off in A Team-on-Team Tussle! and Mimikyu Unmasked!.
In Alola, Alola!, the trio successfully blasted off without Bewear seizing them in midair or the location where they landed. They were successfully blasted off along with Matori in Spying for the Big Guy! when they were hit by Pikachu's Corkscrew Crash.
In Thank You, Alola! The Journey Continues!, after Bewear gives Team Rocket a farewell hug, Bewear spins around in a whirlwind-like effect and successfully sends Team Rocket blasting off into the air, followed by the blast off star and the ping sound.
Sometimes, like previous series, they say other things, like in Balloons, Brionne, and Belligerence!, where they say "We're off with a watery blast..." when Bewear takes Team Rocket and lifts it off from underwater, and in Alola, Kanto!, where they say "And it's lift off with a new blast!" with the same thing, but on land and to the air.
In the games
In the core series
During their appearances in Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, Jessie and James use their blast off phrase when defeated, with the exception of their post-game Route 17 battle in Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.
In the spin-off games
Pokémon Masters EX
In Pokémon Masters EX, Jessie, James, and Meowth use their blast off phrase after being defeated and sent blasting off by the player in the special event eponymously named Blasting Off Again.
Trivia
- In airings of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon on CITV in the United Kingdom, Team Rocket's blast off line is often misquoted in the closed captions as "Off with a new plan!"
- In the Polish dub, Team Rocket's catchphrase during blasting off is based on the twinkle that appears after they disappear in the sky.
- In Pokémon Trading Card Game Live, one of the intro Catchphrases references blasting off. It reads, "Are you ready to blast off?"
In other languages
| Language | Title | |
|---|---|---|
 Finnish
|
Rakettiryhmä taitaa ampaista taas matkoihinsa!* Me häippäistään taas! | |
 French
|
La Team Rocket s'envole vers d'autres cieux! | |
 German
|
Das war mal wieder ein Schuss in den Ofen! | |
 Hindi
|
Lagta hai Team Rocket phir se haar gayi!* Hum phir se haar gaye!* Team Rocket ek baar phir fail ho gayi! Ham phir se ho rahe hai udanchhoo! | |
 Italian
|
Anche stavolta il Team Rocket ha fallito la missione! Ripartiamo alla velocità della luce! Stiamo decollando di nuovo! Abbiamo fallito di nuovo! | |
 Polish
|
Zespół R znowu błysnął! Zespół R znowu górą! * | |
 Brazilian Portuguese
|
Equipe Rocket decolando de novo! | |
 Russian
|
Команда Р опять в пролете Komanda R opyat' v prolyetye* Мы опять в пролете Mi opyat' v prolyetye* Мы снова летим Mi snova lyetim* Мы опять летим My opyat' lyetim* | |
| Spanish |  Latin America
|
¡El Equipo Rocket ha sido vencido otra vez! ¡Nos mandaron a volar otra vez! ¡Volvimos a perder! |
 Spain
|
¡El Team Rocket despega de nuevo! | |
 Vietnamese
|
Lại bay lên nữa rồi! (ACE Media, VTV2) Một cảm giác thật đáng ghét! (HTV3) | |
Notes
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This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
