Another attempt by Team Rocket to try and catch Pikachu goes horribly wrong as usual, and the trio is tired of constantly running into bad luck. Suspecting foul play with the Rocket Prize Master, they decide to follow Pelipper and give whoever's in charge of filling the machine a piece of their mind. However, what started out as a simple mission winds up turning into a nightmare...and perhaps a chance at a life outside of Team Rocket, as bumping into old rivals reveals a path not yet taken.
The episode contains the following tropes:
- Accidental Misnaming: Played Straight, then Subverted. Jessie accidentally calls Butch by yet another wrong name, but she actually gets right the second time, much to his shock.
- The Bus Came Back: Butch and Cassidy make their grand return to the anime after having last been seen during the Sinnoh League arc.
- Foreshadowing: Jessie mentions how much she hates filling out Matori's "Loser Reports." When the TRio run into Butch and Cassidy, they find out both quit because they were tired of filling out those same reports.
- Heel–Face Turn: Butch and Cassidy both quit Team Rocket and settled down for a more honest life, with the former running a bakery, and the latter running a cafe.
- His Story Repeats Itself: Like in "Go West, Young Meowth!", Meowth falls in love with a female Meowth and is willing to settle down with her, but her heart belongs to a local Persian who runs a gang, crushing his spirits in the process.
- Kick the Dog: Morpeko completely ruins James' chance to settle down because its voracious appetite causes it to eat the entirety of Cassidy's food supply.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Butch and Cassidy quit Team Rocket because they were tired of having to fill out Matori's Loser Reports.
- Shadow Archetype: Butch and Cassidy represents a potential future for the Team Rocket trio if they quit the organization and actually work for a honest living. However, the catch is that the two have permanently separated into two different careers in locations far from each other. While Butch and Cassidy certainly have become nicer and more successful than they ever were in Team Rocket, they are no longer close friends anymore. This is contrast to the Jessie, James, and Meowth, who ultimately find true happiness being together no matter what, even if it means still being lowly flunkies trying and failing to catch Pikachu.
- Status Quo Is God: Team Rocket's split is yet again brief, as James and Meowth's attempts to settle down wind up being foiled by a hungry Morpeko and a broken heart respectively.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Butch and Cassidy were first introduced as superior Team Rocket agents that Jessie and James could only envy for, but suffered Villain Decay over the years after coming into conflict with Ash and friends several times. Despite their sudden decline, they still seem to have retained Giovanni's good grace to maintain their status as being better than the Team Rocket trio. Come this episode, it's revealed that their string of failures have finally caught up with them, as Matori forces the duo to fill out Loser Reports detailing their fall from grace. This proves to be the final straw for Butch and Cassidy to quit the organization.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Butch's female Meowth is one towards Meowsie, Meowth's crush from "Go West, Young Meowth!". Unfortunately for him, there's also a local Persian who runs a gang and steals his girl.
- The Unreveal: Team Rocket never does find out who's been filling the Rocket Prize Master, and they decide to give up chasing Pelipper by accepting they'll have good days and bad days of luck.
- Vocal Evolution: Butch's already deep voice sounds much deeper than before, due to it have been 14 or so years since he last showed up.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: James and Meowth seem like they'll be able to settle down and live a happy life. Unfortunately, Morpeko's endless hunger leads it to eating Cassidy's food supply and getting James kicked out, while Butch's female Meowth is revealed to be in a relationship with a Persian who runs a local gang, leading the broken-hearted Meowth to slink away.
