They didn't really "blast off" any more than they did in earlier BW episodes, and the catching-Pikachu plan was no different from what they did in BW1-4.
That was because they found Pikachu knocked unconscious their real plan was to steal the Pokémon food. Pikachu was just a bonus.
But I can see 1, 2, and 3, it's just the main bulk of BW has them shifted to something other than catching Pikachu.
It was rare to see them do anything else pre-BW, unless it was something they came across, without having run into Pikachu.
It was like a reverse of what happened pre-BW. Focus on other things and maybe catch Pikachu if it suits them. But it kind of seems their flipping the switch again to focus solely on Pikachu, little anything else, but retaining their BW personalities.
There's quite a difference between the blasting off in those episodes and that in the pre-BW episodes. They didn't do their usual comedy bit during the blast off. (Not directed at you) I hate when people just come to conclusions and bash everything. The amount of complaint posts keep on multiply, why can't people look for the positives ( no matter how scarce they are) isntead of complaining about the same thing 10 times a day in 10 different posts.....
Just so we're clear, I DO NOT CARE about Team Rocket. I liked the episodes NONE OF THEM were in. Because it showed they don't need to resort to Team Rocket to carry the plot.
What I hate, is using Team Rocket as a plot crutch because:
Writer (Panicking): Oh god, oh god, what I'm going do. Oh god what am I going to do? This is supposed to be a 22 minute episode *LIGHTBULB, snaps fingers* Team Rocket.
is very annoying and tired.