Funny you should mention Wile E. Coyote, when you look at Chuck Jones's rules for the Coyote, they could nearly all fit Team Rocket (with some minor tweaking for genre in a couple of cases).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wile_E._Coyote_and_Road_Runner#Laws_and_rules

Especially 3, 9, and 10 (The Coyote[Team Rocket Must get That One Damn Pikachu] could stop anytime—IF he were not a fanatic, The Coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures[Team Rocket Blasting Off Again], The audience's sympathy must remain with the Coyote[Team Rocket Deserve Cookies and Hugs].