[Ahahaha] Yes, I suppose that may have been the case. Plus, there's no telling what kind of ramifications their actions may have had on both the past and present, had their plans succeeded on one of those occasions. When my friends and I met Tirtouga, Team Rocket also wanted to try using it in order to open a passage that led directly into the ancient past, so that they could capture all of the Pokemon that used to be there too.

[...Let's just say the Team Rocket of his world have some bizarre schemes sometimes, even when it doesn't involve a legendary Pokemon.]