Line #81 Main/TeamRocketWins


1	%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1561668465008173600
2	%% Previous thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1486147231088787700
3	%% Please start a new thread if you'd like to suggest an image.
4	%%
5	->''"Could this be... our first taste of victory?"''
6	-->-- '''Jessie''' (as Team Rocket finally defeats [[TheHero Ash]] in a fair battle after [[LongRunners 951]] episodes), ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon''
7
8	Some antagonists are expected to be only a minor threat to the story's main characters, [[GoldfishPoopGang something they can be expected to defeat time and again]]. Threats that the heroes have dealt with many times before, and are used to show how much they have grown, because those antagonists are annoyances at best.
9
10	Except something happened, and they're ''not'' minor threats anymore.
11
12	These minor antagonists have found some way to penetrate the main character's defenses, through some sort of {{Upgrade\|Artifact}} or {{Training\|FromHell}}. Or they're used to introduce new characters, [[EvilVersusEvil maybe even more dangerous members of the same team or other criminals]], by beating them so badly that the heroes [[SaveTheVillain must come to their aid.]] Heck, it can even be against a VillainProtagonist. The alignment of their foes doesn't matter, what matters is that the normally incompetent villains manage to score one odd moment of glory.
13
14	Regardless of how these antagonists win, it serves as a call to training/focus by the protagonists, after which, the antagonists are defeated as easily as they were before the Team Rocket Win.
15
16	Note that the antagonists ''must win, then later lose again'' in order to qualify. If it looks like they will win but are defeated at the last minute, then that's a NearVillainVictory. If the bad guys win and the work ends, then it's also TheBadGuyWins. If the hero sees the bad guys win in the future, then it's a BadFuture. If the bad guys winning just once irretrievably ruins the heroes' world for good, it's EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce. Contrast BigBadWannabe, which may at times overlap.
17
18	[[noreallife]]
19	!!As this is a [[VictoryAndDefeat Victory Trope]], [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked spoilers abound]]. [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned Beware]].
20	----
21	!!Example subpages:
22	[[index]]
23	* TeamRocketWins/WesternAnimation
24	[[/index]]
25
26	!!Other examples:
27
28	[[foldercontrol]]
29
30	[[folder:Trope Namers]]
31	* Team Rocket, the {{Trope Namer\|s}} from ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries''. It should be noted that in most instances where Team Rocket has been successful in battle or any other venture, it was because they were [[RedemptionPromotion trying to do something good for a change]] (indeed, it's all but stated that they'd [[CutLexLuthorACheck definitely have much more fulfilling lives]] if they just stopped being villains). Either way, their victories never lasted too long, and they were often sent flying at the end of the episode regardless.
32	** The trio manage to beat the crap out of Ash's Pokémon when they were allowed to run Viridian City's Gym using Giovanni's Pokémon, at least until Ash managed to regain momentum and beat them at their own game.
33	** Jessie (while under her Jessilina alias) has actually become competent enough to win Pokémon Contests all on her own without cheating (though she has considered it at times.) She lost out on winning her fifth ribbon needed to get into the Grand Festival, but Princess Salvia gave her the sixth ribbon she had just won. Jessie gratefully accepted it and made her way to the semi-finals against Dawn in the Grand Festival.
34	*** She had a similar run in the Kalos Showcases (under her Jessilee alias), winning three Princess Keys to get her into the Master Class tournament (which were implied to have all been won legitimately). Much like the Sinnoh Contests, Jessie lost to Serena, but was a popular opponent who made it to the Top 4 in the semi-finals.
35	** In "Off the Unbeaten Path", James won a contest that involved teamwork with one's own Pokémon. He used Mime Jr. and was steadfast in playing by the rules despite Jessie's repeated attempts to encourage him to cheat. So this goes with the "Team Rocket can win if they act like good guys" rule.
36	*** ''Nearly'' happened when James turned out to be an expert at a sport that used flying Pokémon. Once again, he refused to cheat, and he lost by only the tiniest margin.
37	** Meowth, who is usually a pitiful battler, once defeated a rival Persian in a one swipe knockout. He also managed to defeat Brock's Onix in a tournament for ownership of Togepi ([[CombatPragmatist albeit by throwing water on it first]]). He ''decimated'' a fair share of Team Plasma's Pokemon single handedly in an EnemyMine as well, while ThePowerOfLove once allowed him to take down several of both his foes and allies' Pokemon ''all at once'' with some Fury Swipes of Love.
38	*** Meowth also tends to participate with Jessie in contests and showcases, sometimes helping her with the entries she wins. His culinary skills in particular often help garner her popularity.
39	** Interestingly, repeated encounters with Ash and friends has been like TrainingFromHell to the team, giving them [[MadeOfIron superhuman damage resistance]], among other things. Meowth himself commented that a powerful electric cage was nothing compared to Pikachu's electric attacks. They also learn from their mistakes, though in the process, usually make new ones. An example would be Charmander's debut episode all the way back at the very start of the original series; they use rubber coated equipment to nullify Pikachu's electric attacks, but didn't bring any ''fireproof'' equipment.
40	*** Heck, in some later episodes, Team Rocket actually does some heavy damage to other trainers. In general, Team Rocket manages to win when the plot requires it - Jessie fighting her way to the end of the Princess Festival tournament, Jessie and James defeating the Eevee Brothers, etc. In fact, during the Princess Festival example, Jessie used her newly-caught Lickitung to achieve a NearVillainVictory against Misty in the final round.
41	*** A recurring plot twist is Team Rocket actually having Ash and his friends on the ropes until the Pokemon of the Week [[DeusExMachina appears or evolves and pretty much does all the work for them]]. If Ash had to fight them standalone, he'd likely have lost in multiple instances.
42	** This occurs even in early episodes-- in "The Punchy Pokémon", various trainers are participating in a Fighting-type only tournament. Though Ash beats them in the end, the trio very successfully steals a Hitmonlee and thrashes their competition with it through a combination of regular battling and standard cheating. This is pretty notable, since they beat a Hitmonchan raised by a trainer who LEFT HIS FAMILY to train it.
43	** In "The Thief That Keeps on Thieving!" they actually managed to catch the wild Pokémon that the character of the day was after and send it to their boss. Of course, he sends it back to them and it promptly evolves, giving Jessie a new Yanmega. Said Yanmega then proceeds to get as close as any Team Rocket Pokémon has to blasting off Ash & co.
44	** They seem fairly competent whenever they are not dealing with Ash and co. - remember that they had wanted posters with their first appearance? - and many of their plans worked… until Ash got involved. According to ''Pokémon Chronicles'', Jessie and James weren't just competent, they were THE BEST operatives in Team Rocket history! In fact, in their first appearance they managed to not only steal ALL the Pokémon in the center (owned by full fledged trainers) and wreck the place, BUT would have gotten away scot-free if not for Ash using a team of Pikachu to supercharge his own! Then... they stopped doing real evil in favor of following Ash around and trying to steal his Pikachu.
45	** In the ''Best Wishes!'' series, they got new uniforms because of a PROMOTION.
46	*** Even wilder, they became competent for the entirety of that season. They almost capture Pikachu and Iris's Axew. Key and operative word: almost. During a good bunch of that season, they didn`t blast off as usual (the blasting off role was taken by a Sandile who appeared in a couple of episodes, along with a trio of Ducklett in a one-off episode). They generally stay away from Ash and company, however, because of their new mission.
47	*** During that season, Giovanni gave them one mission. The goal of said mission was to collect dream energy from an abandoned research facility in order to help with Team Rocket's plans to conquer the world. While they failed to capture the Pokémon of the day, the episode where they put this plan into action basically ended with Giovanni congratulating them on succeeding and telling them that he had people looking at the energy to see what they can do with it. That's right, Team Rocket just successfully completed the first step in a plan for world domination.
48	*** In a two-parter based in the Nimbasa City subway system, they pull out ''all'' the stops - not kicking off their plan until Ash and his friends arrive, with Meowth having [[FakeDefector faked joining them]] in order to lure them into a Pokemon center where he could steal Pikachu and all the other Pokemon and load them on the subway train. The heroes catch up to their train...which is revealed as a decoy. The Subway Bosses try to track the train...only for multiple signals to show up on the monitor, throwing them into confusion. When Pikachu and the other Pokemon try to break free on their own, Team Rocket's scientist commander flies a helicopter on over to the train to ''air-lift'' it and the Pokemon up so that they can't escape. The heroes just ''barely'' come out on top, and even Cilan admits that this was one of Team Rocket's finest plans.
49	*** A great example of this occurs in the Kami trio two parters. In the first, they set in motion the appearance of two of the legendary Pokemon, and then wait for Ash, since they know that he'll show up. Then they use him and his friends to summon Landorus. ''They use the fact that Ash attracts legendary Pokemon to their own advantage.'' In the second, they locate an undersea ruin and are able to help Giovanni capture Ash, the gang, and Meloetta, who is the key to summoning the Kami trio again. They came close to taking over the Unova region, but Giovanni got possessed by the reflecting mirror used to transform the Kamis into their Therian Formes, and Team Rocket had to actually help the twerps break the possession before Giovanni destroyed the world (rather than just taking it over).
50	*** In the N Saga, though, they fell back into their old comic routine because of negative fan reaction to their new serious attitude. By ''X & Y'', they reached a happy medium between their Best Wishes competence and their earlier complete incompetence.
51	** "Dressed For Jess Success" and "A Dancing Debut" stand as the only episodes with them officially the "winner" over a member of Ash's team however (in both cases, the female companion in a performance contest). While the heroine in both instances is a GracefulLoser, nothing about the trio's victory is tainted or negated and they end the episode feeling rather pleased with themselves, par a bit of light hearted squabbling over their glory.
52	** "Holy Matrimony" gets special mentioning, since Jessie and James actually make it out of the episode's dilemma rather gracefully (albeit with Meowth left chasing) while Ash's team are left behind to suffer the EndOfEpisodeSilliness instead.
53	** In the musical ''Theatre/PokemonLive'', Jessie and James actually brought Pikachu to Giovanni, and they suffer no consequences for it. Likewise, you also have Giovanni's [[MechanicalMonster MechaMew2]] defeating ''[[OneManArmy hundreds]]'' [[OneManArmy of trainers in a single day]] to capture the fighting skills and abilities of their Pokemon.
54	** The most literal example of this trope happens in episode 12 of the 20th season, when Team Rocket ''finally'' manages to defeat Ash in battle. Jessie's Mimikyu even tries to attack Ash's Pikachu while it's down, and the only thing stopping Team Rocket from making off with it is the wild Bewear that was following them around.
55	** Episode 25 of the above series had Team Rocket successfully obtain a Darkinium Z-crystal by defeating a Totem Raticate.
56	** Z-Crystals are useless on their own though, so how do they remedy this? Not only do they manage to obtain a Z-Ring from Nanu, but James's Mareanie learns a Dark move (Knock Off) and successfully perform Black Hole Eclipse. They also obtain a Mimikum-Z so Jessie's Mimikyu can perform its species exclusive Z-move Let's Snuggle Forever.
57	[[/folder]]
58
59	[[folder:Advertising]]
60	* A Advertising/{{Geico}} spot with the characters from ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983'' has Skeletor distracting He-Man, She-Ra and Man-At-Arms with the sales pitch "Switching to Geico could save you hundreds on car insurance" long enough for him to make a clean getaway.
61	-->'''Skeletor:''' Catch you on the flip, suckers!
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
65	* In ''Manga/SchoolRumble'', Tennouji beats Harima once when the latter was in despair after finding out Tenma liked Karasuma…[[VictoryIsBoring though he wasn't able to enjoy it because of how easy it was.]]
66	* A borderline example. In ''Anime/TimePatrolTaiOtasukeman'', one of the series from the ''Anime/TimeBokan'' meta-series, at the end of every episode the chief of the Time Patrol asked the two main groups of the Patrol to pick a choice between two special kinds of training. One group (who really were the heroes of the series, the titular Otasukeman, and always won the battles) always picked the pleasant, relaxing activity, when the other one (who really were the TerribleTrio, the "evil" Ojamaman, and always lost against the Otasukeman) always picked the nasty, gruesome TrainingFromHell. In one episode, however, the Terrible Trio chose wisely and won a nice boat trip over a calm river, while the heroes found themselves in a Japanese cemetery filled with angry ghosts.
67	** In ''Gyakyten Ippatsuman'', another sub-series from ''Time Bokan'', the incompetent TerribleTrio with no superpowers manage to seemingly beat the titular FlyingBrick Superhero. However this ends up {{subverted\|Trope}}; not only was it actually the threatening SuperVillain that was the one who actually killed Ippatsuman with the Trios attacks having no effect, but [[spoiler: it was [[ActuallyADoomBot a Robot Decoy of the SuperHero that was destroyed]]]].
68	* ''Anime/SonicX'' had this happen once, but not when facing Sonic. Usually Eggman's schemes fail miserably, and his machines and robots are useless, but then he goes up against some Metarex that are attempting to hurt Sonic. Without warning, Boko and Deko, his worst robots, become super strong and beat everyone down, and Bokkun delivers a powerful uppercut kick, clearing a pathway for them all. On several occasions, while never outright defeating Sonic, Eggman managed to distract or overpower him long enough to get away with a Chaos Emerald. He actually gets his hands on all seven at least twice over (though on both occasions uses them on a [[AIIsACrapshoot haphazardous death machine]]).
69	* At the end of the first arc of ''Anime/DigimonFusion'', [[spoiler:Bagramon easily takes all the Code Crowns and reconfigures the Digital World. Taiki, Akari, Zenjirou, and Shoutmon are blown back to Earth. While they're gone, Kiriha and Nene are forced into hiding, Xros Heart is captured, and the Digital World comes under worse oppression than before]].
70	* ''Manga/TentaiSenshiSunred'':
71	** Florsheim once brought a werewolf to do battle against Astro Fighter Sunred… On an overcast night. After spending several hours waiting for the beast to transform, [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere Sunred had had enough and went home]]. Vamp wonders if they can call this a 'win' until one of his combat goons tells him they probably can't.
72	** In another story, new, more evil-oriented villains invade the neighborhood, only to discover that the Florsheim minions are {{Not So Harmless Villain}}s. Armor Tiger [[IAmNotLeftHanded wasn't even wearing his armor at the time!]]
73	* Happens at least once per season in the ''Anime/PrettyCure'' franchise, whenever TheDragon of the BigBad faces the heroines before TheDragon gets hit by TheWorfEffect or VillainDecay.
74	** In episode 10 of ''Anime/StarTwinklePrettyCure'', Kappard, Tenjo, and Aiwarn actually beat the Cures in a fight following a power up and take both the Aries Pen and the Taurus Pen. Of course, being the bad guys, they lose both later into the series- losing the Taurus Pen first following a FusionDance in Episode 11, then losing the Aries Pen in episode 24 after Aiwarn is defeated after going OneWingedAngel.
75	* Happens during [[WhamEpisode episode 26]] of the first season of ''Anime/TwinPrincessOfWonderPlanet''. [[spoiler:Prince Shade reveals a tremendous amount of badassery but is too late to stop the [[EvilChancellor Minister's]] goons from stealing the Prominence from Fine and Rein. [[SadisticChoice What's worse is that he had to save]] [[DistressedDude Prince Bright]] [[SadisticChoice from falling to his death and therefore let the goons get away with the Prominence.]]]]
76	* In ''Chihiro Kagachi And The Bogeymen'', [[RunningGag Doctor Zweiback actually got a one-dollar bill from Hinata]] because Hinata had slipped on a banana peel.
77	* In the ''Anime/SDGundamForce'' episode "Attack of the Big-Zam!", the Dark Axis Trio use the titular super-tank to attack the SDG Base, planning it to bring it down onto Neotopia. And though the SDG is able to move the base away from the city, the base ''still'' comes down...right onto the Big Zam itself, trapping the Trio and putting them out of commission for the rest of the arc. However, they still accomplished their mission, and with the SDG away to do repairs, the rest of the Dark Axis is able to invade Neotopia ''en masse''.
78	* [[SympatheticInspectorAntagonist Zenigata]] does actually catch ''Franchise/LupinIII'' from time to time, which usually leaves him realising that VictoryIsBoring. Of course, getting Lupin to ''stay'' in prison usually turns out to be just as hard as catching him.
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Comic Books]]
82	* ''ComicBook/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In the issue ''Harmonic Divergence'', part of Season Eight of the [[SequelInAnotherMedium sequel comic]], the vampire Harmony, probably the biggest joke villain in the original series, actually manages (somewhat accidentally) to kill a slayer, Soledad, who tries to assassinate her, and uses media coverage of the attack to become a celebrity vampire rights advocate.
83	* ''ComicBook/ThePowerpuffGirls'': In the story "Smart And Smarter" (''ComicBook/CartoonNetworkBlockParty'' #59), Mojo Jojo outwits Blossom, with her sisters' blessings! Blossom ([[InsufferableGenius who let her ego swell after being admitted to a special school]]) blows her ice breath which Mojo counters with a heat shield. The trail of melted ice reaches Blossom's foot (which she doesn't see) and she emits static electricity from her hands which in turn fries her to a frazzle. The ending panel has Buttercup shaking hands with Mojo.
84	* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'':
85	** Anytime The Shocker does anything right, it counts as this. But what stands out in particular was his appearance in the ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan book, where after countless, effortless losses to Spidey (who slammed the point home by cracking jokes), [[https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/5260066.html he managed to knock him unconscious. He then tied him up with chains, ranting and torturing him, and likely would have killed him if not for Kitty Pryde and the NYPD finding his location.]]
86	** Spider-Man has been beaten by [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain Stilt-Man]] ''twice''. (Spidey himself rates the two incidents as numbers 3 and 4 among his "10 Most Embarrassing Moments" in ''ComicBook/TheSpectacularSpiderMan Annual #12''.)
87	* ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'': Dick Dastardly wins in three stories of the comic adaption but there were catches to them:
88	** In "The Scavenger Scramble" (Gold Key #7), it is stated a big purse is at stake. Dastardly wins and receives the prize--a big, flowery ladies' purse.
89	** In "Trek to Tasmania" (Archie Comics #1), Penelope Pitstop deliberately helps Dastardly win as she was working for a secret agency investigating a despotic and corrupt king with whom Dastardly is in cahoots.
90	** "Hanna-Barbera Fun-In" (Gold Key #5) had a one-pager of Dastardly pushing the Mean Machine across the finish line after Muttley bails on him, and he uses the trophy, filled with hot water, to soak his feet.
91	[[/folder]]
92
93	[[folder:Fan Works]]
94	* ''Fanfic/MagicalTroubleshootingCrossoverFightingFederationUltra'', a tournament with a crossover cast of various anime series, actually has Team Rocket win at least once, much to their own shock.
95	* The second season's arc of ''Fanfic/LaSerieDeKen'' is kicked precisely because of this, Team Rocket manages to steal all but one of Ken's Pokémon and he has to start anew with a new set to try to recover them, it also marks the start of the villains as NotSoHarmlessVillain and the series' CerebusSyndrome.
96	* A ''Powerpuff Girls'' picture strip story, "Diet With Honor," had Mojo Jojo making good on a threat to give Blossom "the spanking you so richly deserve."
97	* Done with some of the early villains in both ''[[Fanfic/UltimateSleepwalker Ultimate Sleepwalker: The New Dreams]]'' and ''[[Fanfic/UltimateSpiderWoman Ultimate Spider-Woman: Change With The Light]]'' as a means of averting VillainDecay. Some of the earliest villains Sleepwalker and Spider-Woman have fought later defeat the heroes, or defeat other villains, to maintain the badass credentials of the entire RoguesGallery and make the very clear point that the SortingAlgorithmOfEvil does ''not'' apply in these two series.
98	* In ''Fanfic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', in episode 9 Cut Man, Guts Man, and other Robot Masters defeat Mega Man.
99	* In the Website/DeviantArt entry here, a Xena-like heroine surrenders to a kobold simply out of pity. (''NSFW''' so [[http://maplewarriorofxeen.deviantart.com/art/Conquered-PG1-637392667 view it here with caution]].)
100	* The Pokemon story ''Fanfic/CommonSense'' is all about giving Team Rocket a level in badass and becoming a more serious threat from its very first appearance in the canon series. While Jessie, James and Meowth don't win every single time they encounter Ash, they are so devastating in their wins that they have become Ash's personal KnightOfCerebus brigade.
101	[[/folder]]
102
103	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
104	* In ''WesternAnimation/Cars1'', when Lightning brakes hard at the finish line, reverses, and pushes "The King" across. This time, however, when Hicks wins, he's the only one celebrating and is shocked when everyone starts booing him. Since he cheated by intentionally wrecking "The King" in the first place, he had no business being shocked.
105	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Megamind}}'''s plot starts rolling when Megamind finally ([[spoiler:Or so Metro Man made him think]]) defeats his arch-nemesis Metro Man, which is lampshaded by both Megamind's sidekick and the entirety of Metro City early on and [[spoiler:Metro Man]] much later.
106	* Zig-zagged with ''WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph''. The title character, a figure in a 30-year-old video game is tired of being the "bad guy" and schemes to get a medal to prove he can be a good guy. After accidentally landing in another game, ''Sugar Rush'', he helps an outcast little girl, Vanellope Von Schweetz, win a race, but he has to deal with the game's evil boss and a swarm of cy-bugs which were brought in from another game to this one.
107	[[/folder]]
108
109	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
110	* In ''Film/TheGreatRace'', the main character Leslie stops just short of the finish line and lets the HarmlessVillain team win to show the girl that he loves her enough to give up the race. Professor Fate becomes ''livid'' about this, and challenges Leslie to another race, despite having spent the ''entire run of the film cheating as hard as he could physically manage,'' because he wanted to win on his own terms and not have it handed to him.
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Literature]]
114
115	* ''Literature/TheMadScientistsClub'': More than half of the stories involve the Mad Scientists' Club getting into some competition or BattleOfWits with Harmon Muldoon and completely outclassing him and his friends. However, in "[[spoiler:The Cool Caravan]]" he is two steps ahead of them the whole time, outsmarts them, and lets the whole town know how he tricked them. Charlie describes the conclusion of this experience as the first time club leader Henry ever lost his temper.
116	** Harmon also comes out of "The Big Chief Rainmaker" with his dignity intact, but only because his gang and the Mad Scientists' Club decide to cooperate over a money-making venture that time.
117	[[/folder]]
118
119	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
120	* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'':
121	** In ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'', Zedd and Rita would pull this off at least once a season. This usually involved the zords being destroyed and re-formed, and as such, usually happened when they had run out of Sentai footage and/or [[MerchandiseDriven just in time for an action-figure shopping season.]] Topped by the series finale of ''Mighty Morphin'', as the two actually do succeed in not only leaving the Rangers powerless, but also ''destroying'' the Command Center. Damn.
122	** In ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'', Divatox does the same thing.
123	** ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'' has an all out attack on the galaxy with the Space Rangers and their allies all losing. They only survive because of [[spoiler: Zordon's HeroicSacrifice]].
124	** And in ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'', Psycho Pink manages to actually kill a Power Ranger. She stabs a morpher with the Savage Sword, which created a massive vortex that threatened to destroy Terra Venture. The only way to stop it was [[spoiler: Kendrix]] crawling inside and hitting it with the Quasar Sabre which killed [[spoiler: her]]. Of course Psycho Pink is quickly defeated by the other rangers in their Megazord.
125	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
126	** The episode "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks Victory of the Daleks]]", which is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin; that is to say, that the Daleks manage to accomplish their main goal and escape to tell the tale.
127	** Technically, "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks Asylum of the Daleks]]" pretty much counts as a win: the Daleks get the Asylum destroyed and all get to live at the end, retaining their (implied) massive space empire, too. They ''do'' lose all their memories of the Doctor, but then [[StatusQuoIsGod get those back]] [[Recap/DoctorWho2013CSTheTimeOfTheDoctor in short order]].
128	* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' has the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E11DatasDay Data's Day]]", in which the Romulans manage to win one of the series' tense Neutral Zone stand-offs, recovering their spy and forcing the ''Enterprise'' to retreat. This is lampshaded by Commander Riker who notes "Some days, you get the bear; some days the bear gets you."
129	* The ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS04E10OurManBashir Our Man Bashir]]" combines TeleporterAccident and HolodeckMalfunction to recast several of Bashir's crewmates as characters in his Franchise/JamesBond-esque spy holonovel. The holonovel's script is intended to play out with either the sexy scientist or FemmeFataleSpy being killed, and Bashir killing the BigBad in retaliation, but as doing so could kill his crewmates, Bashir decides that the only way to win (i.e., rescue them) is to allow the BigBad to win.
130	* The Series/{{Charmed\|1998}} ones don't always get away without a scratch. The list is actually quite long:
131	** Inspector Rodriguez comes very close in the season 1 finale which has a time loop. Phoebe is killed in the first loop and Piper as well in the second. The only thing that helps the sisters is that Phoebe gets strong deja vu vibes whenever time resets.
132	** Ginny in "I Dream of Phoebe" wishes the sisters dead. Of course they're still around as ghosts to ensure they don't stay that way. One of them possesses Ginny and tricks her into wishing them alive again (''Aladdin'' rules don't apply here).
133	** When Prue is turned into a teenager without her powers, she falls victim to a Dragon Demon and again has to be wished alive by a genie.
134	** Phoebe and Paige are killed during a fight with Billie and Christy when the powers being used causes the manor to explode. Time Travel and Billie's projection power come in handy to ensure that it doesn't stay that way.
135	** Phoebe and Paige are killed again in "A Witch In Time" when a warlock is able to strip them of their powers and incinerates them. Piper only narrowly escapes when Leo intervenes.
136	** Quite possibly the most successful of all. The upper level demon Shax managed to kill [[spoiler: Prue]] at the end of season 3. [[KilledOffForReal For good]]. In the same episode, [[spoiler: Piper]] was also shot dead by a simple human; the second was undone thanks to a deal with the demon Tempus to turn time back by a day, but this resulted in [[spoiler:Prue's permanent death]].
137	* The ''Series/LazyTown'' episode "Robbie's Dream Team" has Robbie successfully capture and incapacitate Sportacus when he managed either but not both in previous episodes. His plan only fails because his henchmen fall asleep on guard duty and the kids manage to get Sportacus an apple to regain his strength.
138	* ''Series/TheNanny'': During the later seasons, [[RichBitch C.C.]] [[ButtMonkey Babcock]] would occassionally score some victories against Niles in their games of wit. Interestingly, this coincided with C.C. becoming a DefrostingIceQueen, too.
139	* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'': After years of being pranked by Jim, Dwight manages to trounce him in a snowball fight. For the rest of the day, Jim is at Dwight's mercy and so shaken from his unexpected defeat that he can't come up with any effective retaliation.
140	[[/folder]]
141
142	[[folder:Music]]
143	* Lampshaded in Billy Preston's "Will It Go 'Round In Circles":
144	-->I got a story, ain't got no moral,\
145	Let the bad guy win every once in awhile.
146	[[/folder]]
147
148	[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
149	* In Puerto Rican pro wrestling, it was a tradition to put men such as Stephano and Tom Danniels in a women's division for a time [[TheWorfEffect solely to show off how strong the women were]] (Danniels was a ''World Champion!''). However, exoticos Barbie Boy and Queen Adonis actually won women's gold in the International Wrestling Association and New Revolutions Wrestling Lucha Libre.
150	* After Wrestling/SethRollins betrayed SHIELD-mates Wrestling/RomanReigns and Wrestling/DeanAmbrose to join Wrestling/TheAuthority, and then went on to win the Money In The Bank briefcase, he declared would face a special opponent, worthy of his greatness, in an exhibition match. In true dickhead heel fashion, the "mighty" opponent he picked was notorious jobber, Wrestling/HeathSlater. But Dean Ambrose was still ''incredibly'' bent out of shape over Rollins stabbing him in the back, and shortly after the match started, came down to the ring to heckle Rollins and mess with the Money In The Bank briefcase. These distractions kept letting Slater get the upper hand temporarily, and ultimately lead to Slater pinning Rollins in the middle of the ring, to the ''extreme'' delight of the crowd, and Ambrose absconding with the briefcase in order to further screw with Rollins.
151	* While he was working for Wrestling/FightingOperaHUSTLE, Wrestling/YoshihiroTajiri decided to invade Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling, by himself, and managed to force his way into the 2009 G1 Climax. Despite failing to advance after finishing last in his block, he did manage to defeat the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion Wrestling/HiroshiTanahashi!
152	* When Wrestling/{{WSU}} was acquired by Beyond Wrestling, they proceeded to run over the Beyond Roster, including sweeping the guys in a face off. When Wrestling/{{CZW}} acquired WSU, the Juicy Product actually won the {{tag team}} title belts though.
153	[[/folder]]
154
155	[[folder:Video Games]]
156	* ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'':
157	** Losing to the MiniBoss in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea\|HourOfDarkness}}'' gives you a [[NonStandardGameOver "secret ending"]].
158	** Losing to Axel in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2\|CursedMemories}}'' at any point nets you [[NonStandardGameOver an ending as well]].
159	** Losing to Raspberyl in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3\|AbsenceOfJustice}}'' also gives you [[RuleOfThree an ending]].
160	** Happens yet again with Axel in ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 4\|APromiseUnforgotten}}''. [[spoiler: And when he wins this time, he ''[[TakeOverTheWorld really]]'' wins.]]
161	* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', Kefka's triumph [[spoiler:in Thamasa]] is a complete surprise to the player. After all, almost every other encounter has consisted of Kefka casting a weak spell and then running away, and when Kefka seems to finally be serious in Narshe, he is still quite beatable. So when he appears in [[spoiler:Thamasa, destroying Espers left and right]], there is really no precedent. And right after that, [[spoiler:[[ApocalypseHow Kefka destroys the world]]]].
162	* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'' has this in the handful of games that you can actually play as Cirno. Or, you know, if you lose to Cirno in the regular games. Cirno's plotlines generally have nothing to do with anything actually going on, and involve her just trying to prove she's "the strongest".
163	** Meiling is usually the ButtMonkey of the Scarlet Devil CastHerd, but playing as her in ''VideoGame/TouhouHisoutensokuChoudokyuuGinyoruNoNazoOOe'' and actually winning makes her declare to her friends that [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass she was holding herself back and playing the fool all along, waiting for a truly dire situation to reveal herself]]... [[UnreliableNarrator not that you can necessarily trust that statement]].
164	** In ''VideoGame/YouseiDaisensouTouhouSangetsusei'', Cirno is the main character. While she mostly spends the game fighting her fellow fairies (hence the name), the EX stage boss is [[PersonOfMassDestruction Marisa]]. Since canonically the main character(s) always win...
165	* In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'', once you can play as M. Bison, this trope can apply. If you win as Bison, his armies take over the world. The arcade release of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha3'' takes it even further: Bison's ending is everyone else's NonStandardGameOver should they lose to him (while Bison's version of the same is Ryu's ending).
166	* In the Dreamcast and [=PS2=] ''WesternAnimation/WackyRaces'' LicensedGame, the final unlock is the ability to play as Dick Dastardly and Muttley. It's worth going through all the trouble to do so just to win a race as them and hear the announcer's bewildered or disgusted reaction.
167	* Team Skull from ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers of Time/Darkness/Sky'' was introduced as an [[WarmUpBoss easy first boss]]. In a later mission where your team is sent out to get Perfect Apples however, Team Skull brings their leader along to defeat your team, take the apples you were supposed to find, and [[DeniedFoodAsPunishment set you up to be punished by Chatot]].
168	* In ''VideoGame/{{Paper Mario\|64}}'', Bowser once again starts the game's story by invading Princess Peach's castle. Peach sends Mario on him, [[TheGoodGuysAlwaysWin predicting the usual result]]. Then Bowser pulls out the newly stolen Star Rod, boosting his strength. Cue a HopelessBossFight where your only choice is to let Bowser chalk up his first canonical victory against the plumber. Peach and even Bowser himself are completely astonished.
169	* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
170	** Eggman has typically never bested Sonic in the long run, but there has been a handful of times where he managed to get the upper hand:
171	*** In ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', this happens a couple of times -- the destruction of Prison Island, the firing of the Eclipse Cannon, and the scene where [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8t0WJTx5XM Sonic nearly dies]] (and is conveniently saved because Sonic [[ChekhovsSkill somehow knew how to use Chaos Control]] [[AwesomenessByAnalysis after watching Shadow use the ability]]).
172	*** In ''VideoGame/SonicRiders'', Eggman ''actually'' defeats Sonic for real, and is rewarded with the Treasure of Babylon for his efforts. Unfortunately, said treasure is a MagicCarpet, which he has no use for, making his victory [[PyrrhicVictory hollow]].
173	*** In ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'', he actually manages to defeat ''Super Sonic'', steal the Chaos Emeralds from him, and tear apart the planet, then sends Sonic flying helplessly out into space.
174	*** And ''VideoGame/SonicForces'', well... Where to '''begin?!?''' The game marks the closest Eggman has come to world domination to date, with [[TheHeavy Infinite]] defeating and [[BadassInDistress capturing]] Sonic early on, [[NearVillainVictory allowing Eggman to take over 99.9% of the planet]] in a matter of ''months''. The only thing preventing this from being [[TheBadGuyWins a total victory]] on Eggman's part is [[LaResistance the Resistance]] and the unexpected arrival of [[VideoGame/SonicMania a second Sonic]].
175	*** Though [[LooseCanon of a nebulous canonicity]] if not outright [[CanonDiscontinuity non-canon]], ''VideoGame/SonicChronicles'' goes a step further and sees [[spoiler:Eggman ''actually'' succeed in taking over the world, [[FakeDefector convincingly pretending to have turned over a new leaf]] so that Sonic and the gang can entrust him with protecting the planet as they go into the [[PhantomZone Twilight Cage]] to defeat [[BigBad Imperator Ix]]. In doing so, Eggman is able to abuse the Twilight Cage's YearOutsideHourInside properties, leaving our heroes with a nasty surprise when they return from dealing with Ix]]. For a while, a common fan theory was that this SequelHook set up the opening sequence of ''Unleashed''.
176	** Playing E-102 Gamma's story in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' allows you to battle and win against Sonic in a brief mini-boss battle. Amy stops him just short of finishing the job, however.
177	* In the ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' PartyGame ''VideoGame/CrashBash'' it is possible to win Adventure Mode as Dr. Cortex or one of his cronies, giving a bad ending where Uka Uka gains ownership of all of the crystals [[EvilIsHammy "and all of the POWER!!!"]] This is done in a more direct sense if you play the Adventure Mode in two player co-op with a good and evil player, allowing access to a hidden deathmatch where the two of you fight to determine the ending, thus get the extra reward of kicking Crash or Coco's ass as one of the RoguesGallery before taking over the world.
178	* Since they're playable characters, it's possible in the ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' video games for even complete scrubs like the Card King to kick everyone's ass and, at least in theory, get what they've been after all this time. Since the source material is a SadistShow, of course, [[StatusQuoIsGod it never really works out]] -- with the exception of [[DefeatMeansPlayable Herb]], who [[spoiler:successfully conquers the world]].
179	* ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' introduces Pete, who spends the first half of the game as a HarmlessVillain who Sora and his friends encounter several times and easily defeat, and he even gets ADayInTheLimelight in Timeless River. However, during the events of [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Port Royal]], Pete finally scores a victory against Sora through an alliance with Captain Barbossa, [[NotHisSled capturing Will and denying his demands]], and leaves the Keybearer tied up and left to die on a ship rigged with gunpowder.
180	[[/folder]]
181
182	[[folder:Webcomics]]
183	* At one point in ''Plague's Misadventures'', one of the hosted comics in ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'', Sigma, who in this series is pretty much a nuisance HarmlessVillain, actually succeeds in bringing down the space colony and bringing about the end of the world when the heroes shoot it down with the giant canon.
184	* The Dimension of Pain demons from ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'', from their [[http://www.sluggy.com/comics/archives/daily/980428 inception]], had been largely {{Harmless Villain}}s. When Torg wound up in their dimension, he easily withstood their attempts at torture, outwitted them, and escaped. After that they repeatedly tried to recapture him every year, but they could only send one demon at a time, only on Halloween night, and it could only stay until sunrise, and they inevitably failed in humiliating ways, to the point where Torg threw Halloween parties with the demons advertised as the main attraction. Throw in their wacky antics during the "[[BSideComics Meanwhile In The Dimension of Pain ...]]" strips, and no one really took them seriously. Then "[[CerebusSyndrome That Which Redeems]]" came along, and with the demons finding a way to bypass their previous limitations, suddenly they're conquering entire countries, butchering helpless bystanders, and outnumbering Torg 1000 to 1. Not to mention [[spoiler:[[KilledOffForReal killing off]] Alt-Zoe]].
185	[[/folder]]
186
187	[[folder:Web Original]]
188	* The two muggers from ''WebVideo/EpicNPCMan'' are constantly trying to mug someone and keep getting their asses handed to them. They finally get a successful robbery when they decide to mug a wagon. (It should be noted that they were not mugging a driver, but the wagon itself)
189	[[/folder]]

Context Main / TeamRocketWins