Team Rocket (anime)

This article is about the version of Team Rocket seen in the Pokémon anime. For versions of Team Rocket appearing in other incarnations of the Pokémon franchise, see Team Rocket.

Team Rocket (ロケット団, Roketto Dan) is a fictional organization in the Pokémon universe.

Team Rocket is an evil organization bent on world domination in the fictional world of Pokémon, which steals and exploits Pokémon for profit and power. It is headed by Giovanni. The most frequently appearing members of the organization in the anime, which is based loosely on the video games, are a team, Jessie & James (a pun on Jesse James the famous outlaw), and Meowth. They are the main antagonists of the anime series, known for their lack of competence in their evil doings and their positions as the comic relief of the series.

In celebration of Pokémon’s tenth anniversary on the United States website, Team Rocket was named as the best-dressed human characters in the series.

Jessie, James and Meowth

Template:Pokémoncharacterinfobox In almost all their appearances, the trio attempts to steal Ash Ketchum’s Pikachu or a Pokémon introduced in the episode, intending to present it to their boss Giovanni. They employ various machines and contraptions, often including rubber or other shock-proof equipment to protect themselves from Pikachu’s electric attacks. They also have a hot air balloon that resembles a Meowth, and a submarine that resembles a Magikarp, or a Gyarados.

In the early episodes they were a serious menace to Ash. However, this role was soon transformed into their niche as comic relief. Each of their plans ends in failure either due to the actions of Ash and his friends, or the trio's own incompetence, often a mechanical failure in their devices. Most episodes end with them being flung into the air, usually with a cry of “Team Rocket’s blasting off again!”. As a result, the trio has fallen out of favor with Giovanni, and is usually strapped for cash, working other jobs to raise the money to buy such devices. They often find success with legitimate work, but lapse back to a life of crime once their funds are replenished. In their first episode appearance "Pokémon Emergency!" there is a wanted poster featuring Jessie and James, suggesting that before their encounter with Ash, they were formidable criminals.

Unlike most other Team Rocket members, who wear black uniforms, Jessie and James wear white uniforms. There are also a few episodes where the trio are the protagonists, while the usual main characters are relegated to secondary roles; in many such episodes, the trio are portrayed in a more serene light. They have several times shown themselves to have heroic potential and the desire to do good deeds, with their most notable moment being directly helping Ash save the world in the second film. Most of the time even their intented "evil deeds" result in someone learning a valuable lesson or fulfilling a dream, causing some to see them as the second protagonists of the show who unwittingly change the world for the better. With the introduction of more serious villains in the show, the trio have been further and further pushed towards the role of protagonists.

The trio is characterized by their dogged determination to succeed and incompetence at almost any task they attempt. They also have a penchant for using amusingly bad puns during conversations. Jessie and James are masters of disguise, they always fool the other characters; the only exceptional instance was when Jessie disguised herself as a Nurse Joy, and Brock, who is obsessed with the Joy family, suspects her.

The trio refers to Ash and company as “the twerps”. The pejorative “twerp” is an English translation of the Japanese word jari, which, roughly translated, means “ill-mannered,” “brat,” or “rude person”.

Jessie is the only one in the trio that has ultimately expressed pleasure in causing misery whereas Meowth and James appear to commit their deeds primarily in loyalty and commitment to their job as Team Rocket members. Meowth and James have on several occasions expressed some integrity and some type of respect to their adversaries, a characteristic that is a rarity from Jessie.

For a long time, Jessie and James were the largest divergence between the games and the television series. They join the video game series in the Game Boy game Pokémon Yellow, which incorporates several elements of the television series, but have not made any other appearance in the video game series to date (with the exception of the Tetris Attack remake Pokémon Puzzle League). In Pokémon Yellow, they appear as in-game bosses, using Meowth, Koffing and Ekans (which later evolve into Weezing and Arbok), although the game does not reveal their names. In Pokémon Yellow, they don't come up with their usual evil plans to steal the main character's Pikachu. Over the course of the series, the trio has grown close and are now good friends as opposed to mere teamates.

Jessie

Jessica "Jessie", (Voice by Michele Knotz in Season 9+ and Rachel Lillis in Seasons 1-8), known in the Japanese versions as Musashi (ムサシ) is the female member of the "Team Rocket" trio. Her Japanese name, Musashi, is taken from Miyamoto Musashi, a famous samurai. Jessie has occasionally shown herself to be intelligent and sociable. She also likes to dream of fashion and stardom. These fantasies are usually seen in Pokemon Contest related episodes. But often she is depicted as stubborn, selfish and very ill-tempered. She often bosses over James and Meowth, but cares deeply for them. She detests being criticized or called old or fat. Out of the three, she takes the most pleasure in indulging and causing misery to others. Even to Meowth and James at times. There were few occasions where Jessie has hinted that she is caring and does have integrity and morals but often she does everything she can to hide it or denounce that as her reason to do the right thing.

Jessie was poor as a child, living in near-poverty conditions. Her mother, named Miyamoto in the Japanese CD drama, was trapped in an avalanche when Jessie was very young while on a Team Rocket expedition to find the legendary Pokémon Mew. Not much more is known about Jessie’s earlier past, but, while on a boat nearing the Hoenn region, she made a sad comment about her past, hinting that she had grown up or traveled there when she was younger. When James and Meowth inquired further, she did not elaborate. Her assumed Hoenn past is never mentioned again. It's possible that her comment was just a figure of speech. Jessie later entered Team Rocket after failing to become a nurse, in part due to the fact that the Pokémon nursing school she attended was for Chansey intending to become nurses (and not for people specializing in Pokémon nursing). Her tutor, Drill-Sergeant Viper, noted her as showing a great deal of promise. As a trainee, she managed to lose every partner she was assigned with and showed a heavy independent streak, not thinking she could rely on anyone else, up until being placed with James and Meowth. It was also revealed in the Master Quest episode "Xatu the Future" that Jessie was previously a weather girl. Also, in the episode "From Cradle to Save!", Jessie claimed she had been a ninja when she was little.

In Hoenn, Jessie began competing as a Pokémon Coordinator, first, under the name "Jesslana" and then later, under the name "Jessica". And while she has thus far had no success, she continues to participate in every Pokémon Contest she can. Initially, she cheated, using technological assistance and covert intervention by James and Meowth, but has since begun competing fairly. Though she has yet to win a Contest, Jessie regularly makes it through the appeal stage to the battle portion (where the eight highest-scoring Coordinators in the appeal stage compete), usually through novel usage of her chosen Pokémon’s techniques. She also frequently borrows Pokémon from James for contests, and in one case even used Meowth as her Pokémon (Meowth claimed to find the contests emphasis on physical appearance demeaning, but changed his tune after a passing Coordinator and her Persian mocked him).

In the contests: her Seviper was terrible as it caused an explosion that blew Rocket through the ceiling; Cacnea was also terrible as it caused itself to get stuck on Jessie's hair, though James insists that the "beauty" of a Pokémon is in loving its trainer; Wobbuffet is good except in Point Battling; Dustox was great though they cheated, otherwise, it would've been a bad performance; The best of them all is Meowth, who was able to carve an ice sculpture in no time and scored highest during the Appeals, though he is a terrible battler. She also served as the co-host "Jessedia" of the Grand Battle Festival in the Battle Frontier season.

In the Sinnoh region, Jessie has not yet captured any Pokémon.

Pokémon

On hand

• Wobbuffet

The Wobbuffet that Jessie obtained accidentally, seldom battles, serving only as comic relief through the process of coming out of its Poké Ball when not summoned. Wobbuffet is often viewed as a new member of Team Rocket, like Meowth. Jessie keeps it for the reason that its ability to Counter attacks proves useful at times. Jessie also used Wobbuffet in a contest against Harley, but lost.

• Seviper

She also acquired a Seviper, which was fighting Ash's Pokémon. When Jessie encountered it, it accidentally bit some of Jessie’s hair off, which caused Jessie to go berserk and attack it herself, with no Pokémon (she only had Wobbuffet at that time), and then capture it. Since its capture, Seviper seems to have replaced Arbok, as they are both poisonous snake-like Pokémon. She has been seen using it during a Pokemon contest.

• Wurmple → Cascoon → Dustox

Jessie had seen a Beautifly at a Pokémon Contest, which inspired Jessie to capture a Wurmple herself in order to obtain one. She attempted to capture one, but was unsuccessful (it was later caught by May). She eventually caught a Wurmple hanging from a branch. She refused to make it fight. Her Wurmple evolved into a Cascoon, at the same time that May’s Wurmple evolved into a Silcoon. She was convinced that her Wurmple had evolved into a Silcoon as well, and refused to believe that it was a Cascoon. Once May’s Silcoon evolved into a Beautifly, Jessie wished to have hers evolve into one as well. Cascoon evolved into a Dustox instead; she rejoiced in how it was so much better than Beautifly, and used it often in various Pokémon Contests.

Released

• Ekans → Arbok

Jessie’s first Pokémon was an Ekans. She received it as a birthday present. Both Ekans and Koffing, when stranded along with Meowth and Ash’s Pokémon, state that they do evil things, but that no Pokémon is truly evil. It evolved into Arbok because of the emotion shown over its failure to evolve in the episode "Dig Those Diglett!" (Season 1). Later in the series, Arbok was forced to leave, in order to raise a group of young Ekans though Arbok had not wanted to leave in "A Poached Ego!" (Season 5). At times it showed surprising strength, in "The Misty Mermaid" managing to hold its own against a small gang of Water Pokemon whilst underwater and defeating opponent after opponent (including knocking down a Primeape with one hit) in "Princess Vs. Princess".

• Staryu → Starmie

A pokemon she used when she was younger as a ninja trainer.

Lost

• Lickitung

Jessie captured a Lickitung at the Princess Festival after it ate all of her food and defeated her Arbok. It developed a strong bond with her, giving her an affectionate lick at times. Accidentally, it was traded away for a Wobbuffet in the episode "Tricks Of The Trade". Lickitung was an unusual catch for Jessie. Throughout the series, Jessie and James of Team Rocket have usually routinely failed at obtaining Pokemon. In this case, Jessie easily and legitimately captures a rare Pokemon. But did so under the superficial circumstances of Jessie simply doing so out of anger.

James

James (Voiced by Ted Lewis, Eric Stuart, and Jimmy Zoppi), known in the Japanese versions as Kojiro (コジロウ, Kojirō), is the male member of the team. Several times he's shown to have more of a conscience and the desire to be a good guy: in We're No Angels he seriously wanted the team to remain in a village where they were thought to be heroes. Contrary to Jessie, James is the one member of the trio to occasionally show morals, integrity and compassion and is shown to be quite kind to his Pokémon. James has also appeared to be more tactical in battles than his teammate Jessie. He also seems to have an affinity for grass Pokemon, especially Weepinbell

His Japanese name, Kojiro, is taken from Sasaki Kojirō, a famous samurai known for his very long sword who challenged the Swordsmaster Musashi to a duel. James has a beloved bottle cap collection and had extremely wealthy parents, who are portrayed in the English dub as Southern aristocrats (however, despite this, he has no Southern accent). He left home after their attempts to goad him into an engagement, ironically, to Jessiebelle (Rumika), a girl almost identical in appearance to Jessie, differing only in hairstyle, Southern accent, and love of whips. (Her English name appears to be a pun, combining Jessie’s name and the idea of a Southern belle to suggest the appellation Jezebel for an evil woman.)

Prior to leaving home, James knew very little about the world outside his home, where he was spoiled and sheltered. His dislike of the many upper-class rules led him to believe that living a life struggling on the streets was better than a life where everything was given to you, which eventually led him to joining Team Rocket out of some desperation. Although the team often appears in disguise, a common source of fan humor is James’s habit of cross dressing or wearing women’s clothes (to contrast with Jessie, even if she is also dressed in women’s clothes—suitable for her), makeup, and a history with violent, domineering women. This is rumored to have been played up slightly by the dub actors, although the extent of this in both versions appear to hint that James is gay. It was this that led to the initial banning (the episode has aired after being severely edited) of the episode "Beauty and the Beach", that had James wearing fake breasts in order to win a bikini competition. It is nevertheless salient to note that James does at one point remark "it's times like these that make me want to go straight" as Team Rocket is defeated. This could be considered a form of double entendre, meaning that either James is homosexual, or he wishes to lead a life free of crime. (at the time of this episode, James' campy nature had not been developed, thus leaning towards the latter). In another episode, James falls in love with a Gastly that shape shifted into a girl.

In the original Japanese, Kojiro’s effeminate tendencies are played up as a contrast to his smooth, baritone voice; while the English dub originally took this tack, James’ voice has become progressively high-pitched and clownish as time has gone on.

The episode "Holy Matrimony" in which James returns home has a scene in which he goes to a cellar, only to be met by Jessiebelle dressed as a dominatrix, much to James’ terror. The cellar is equipped as a full S&M dungeon which Meowth refers to as "weird gym equipment" in the dub.

James carries a rose wherever he goes, and is shown holding it when Team Rocket recites the motto, but only when they are introduced to somebody new.

James seems to be the major comic relief of Team Rocket, he contributes to any and every comical reaction, whether it be at the Team's expense (In one episode, Misty commented on how it would be simply pathetic if they were given badges for beating "pitiful losers" like Team Rocket every day. Jessie and James have no hesitation in agreeing.) or at the success of their daily missions with such comments as, "Oh, joy, we have enough food to feed a baby Weedle." (Having been tricked into buying fake Berries from a conman salesman) or, "I've always wanted a green Mawile with a pan on it's head." (After trying to capture a Mawile, they accidentally captured Brock's Lombre.)

Pokémon

On hand

• Cacnea

While plotting to recover all the wild Ekans and Koffing from a poacher, James befriended a Cacnea, who initially displayed tremendous strength, defending the trio from a swarm of wild Beedrill. In most of its anime appearances, Cacnea shows its affection to James by hugging him, unknowingly stinging him with its spines.

• Mime Jr.

When James left Chimecho behind, Mime Jr., which lived in his mansion as one of his grandparent's Pokémon, decided to go with him. Mime Jr. has essentially replaced Chimecho as the fifth member of Team Rocket's motto. James temporarily let Jessie use it in a contest. Because James adores the Pokémon so much, he never allows it to battle.

• Carnivine

A new grass-type Pokémon that James gets in Sinnoh. It was in its Poké Ball in a box full of bottle caps that James had left back at his family's old vacation home. When James opened the Poké Ball, Carnivine came out. Much like Victreebel before it, Carnivine's way of showing affection is by biting James in the head, something James enjoys.

At home

• Growlithe (nicknamed Growlie)

Growlithe was James's pet in his childhood. He left it at his childhood home to take care of his parents.

At Summer Cottage

• Chimecho

A passing Chimecho approached James at a fair and agreed to stay with him. Since its capture, it entered the motto right after Wobbuffet. James adored Chimecho, and did not allow it to battle because he did not want it to become injured. However, Chimecho had the ability to heal the rest of Team Rocket using its Heal Bell technique, proving to be valuable in episodes centered around Chimecho. Unfortunately, Chimecho later fell ill. James took it to his old summer mansion to be healed, but had to leave before Chimecho had recovered.

Released

• Magikarp → Gyarados

On a ship called the SS Anne, James was tricked into buying a Magikarp by a Magikarp salesman (James runs into him a few more times later in the series). Later, when James realizes his Magikarp is pathetic, he kicks it into the water and it evolves into a Gyarados.

• Koffing → Weezing

James received Koffing as a Christmas present. Along with Ekans, Koffing evolved into Weezing after seeing James’ sadness on its failure to evolve. James chose to let Weezing go in order to look after a group of wild Koffing and Ekans freed from the cages of a Pokémon poacher.

• Weepinbell → Victreebel x2

After James left his Weepinbell at the Breeding Centre, it evolved into a Victreebel. It became one of James' main Pokémon, being used in many battles. A running gag has Victreebel gobbling up James every time it is summoned. In a Johto episode, James was convinced that his zodiac Pokemon was Moltres, signifying ambition and leadership, and refused to let Victreebel disrespect him. This is the only time Victreebel has battled with immense success. Although, in contrast, Victreebel never obeyed James, much like Ash's Charizard. James reluctantly traded it for another Weepinbell in the episode Here's Lookin' at You, Elekid!. This Weepinbell evolved into Victreebel. It tries to gobble Jessie and was kicked away. It found James' first Victreebel and both disappeared into the forest to live happily.

Meowth

File:Pokémon Emergency screenshot.png

Meowth's first appearance in the Pokémon anime, in Episode 02, "Pokémon Emergency", in a Maneki Neko-style pose.

Meowth (voiced by Nathan Prince in Season 1-Episode 29, Addie Blaustein in Episode 30-Season 8, now Jimmy Zoppi in Season 9), known in Japanese versions as Nyarth (ニャース, Nyāsu), is a fast-talking cat-like Pokémon who travels with Jessie and James in the Pokémon anime, The Electric Tale of Pikachu, and the Ash & Pikachu manga.

Meowth is unusual among other Pokémon for its ability to speak like humans. During the earlier episodes of the series, Meowth liked to think he was somewhat in charge of the group, and was responsible for many of its plans and objectives.

Most of Meowth’s background story is explained in the anime episode "Go West, Young Meowth". Meowth came to Hollywood on the back of a truck after seeing a film called "That Darn Meowth" dreaming of good food as seen in the film. One day, he fell in love with a female Meowth who let him know that she preferred being with humans to being with a street Pokémon. To impress her, Meowth learned to walk and speak so as to be as much like a human as possible. Afterwards, however, the female Meowth looked down on him even more than before. Ultimately, she chose to take up with a stray Persian. Meowth wandered aimlessly, shocked by the rejection, until he finally decided to join Team Rocket.

Meowth is an integral part of the team, counting Jessie and James as his only real friends, but he is often excluded from the rapport between the two. When he lured Pikachu to their side in an episode, he seemed to have his own agenda as to what to do with it. Often, he explains why they should capture the main Pokémon of a particular episode, by indulging in a fantasy of Giovanni’s reaction to their success. It is possible this is an unhealthy coping mechanism, as James comments that these fantasies proved Meowth had "officially lost it"

Meowth is essentially the "brains of the outfit" and appears to come up with more than his fair share of the team’s plans; he seems to share his species’ thematic association with money, often being the one most concerned with practical issues such as the dismal state of the team’s finances and expressing frustration with Jessie and James’s addiction to foolish theatrics. Because of this, Meowth is usually the one who operates Team Rocket’s Pokémon-stealing machinery, working in the background while Jessie and James confront the protagonists. Starting in the Johto season, Meowth learned to pick locks to aid their criminal lifestyle. He is also skilled at piloting the Team Rocket hot-air balloon (and other getaway vehicles). He is also able to sing, dance, play musical instruments (mostly the guitar, but on occasion he plays drums and other percussion instruments), sculpt, read, and write-- skills that Pokémon rarely possess. Being able to understand what Pokémon as well as humans are saying, Meowth also often translates their speech for Jessie, James and other characters.

Meowth was shown to care greatly for Misty's Togepi when it was an egg. He willingly battles for the right to raise it, and wishes Togepi happiness with its new owner. Later on he was infatuated by May's Skitty, and helped her escape, contrary to Jessie's plans. He has also remarked that if he had met Pikachu under different circumstances, they might have been friends. On occasion, Meowth befriends other Pokémon (usually ones that are outcasts like him) but by the end of the episode he is separated from his new companions. He also seems to have a good relationship with Jessie and James' Pokémon.

He also gives some characters "nicknames" on which he sometimes calls them. Examples are for James, who he sometimes calls "Jim", "Jimmy", "Jimmy-boy" and "Jimbo".

In Pokémon Yellow, Meowth is one of the Pokémon that the player must defeat when fighting Jessie and James. This however runs contrary to the anime as he, unlike most Pokémon, is not trained or owned by either Jessie or James and rarely battles. In Super Smash Bros. Melee one of the trophies you can earn is Team Rocket's Meowth. When you view the trophy, it says that Meowth's dream is to become a rock star. This dream was also shown in one of the Japanese ending songs as well as a special CD released only in Japan. The plot of one Pokémon short revolved around him throwing a concert for his fellow Pokémon. In Pokémon Channel Team Rocket's Meowth acts like an emcee or newscaster. An armband he wears references a line from the Japanese motto.

History

Jessie, James, and Meowth have had their past histories altered several times over the course of the series.

The first history, outlined during the Kanto series, stated that they joined a bicycle gang (charinko bousouzoku) in Sunnytown. They were popular in this bike gang, earning the names of Chainer Jessie (she swung a chain around while she rode her bike) and Trainer James (he was the only gang member to use training wheels). Other nicknames they received in the bike gang were "Big Jess" and "Little Jim."

In Johto, it was revealed that while Jessie was a teenager, she enrolled in a school to become a Pokémon nurse. Unfortunately, this was literally a school for Pokémon who wanted to be nurses, namely Chansey, not nurses for Pokémon, so she stepped out, but not before making a good friend out of a Chansey. It was also at Johto where it was revealed that Jessie was a weather reporter.

Up until the Hoenn series, it was assumed that Jessie and James joined Team Rocket together. However, an episode of Pokémon Housōkyoku appeared to change preexisting canon by devoting an entire episode to "The Origin of Love and Youth", also known in the Pokémon Chronicles series as "Training Daze". In this episode, it was implied that Jessie and James joined Team Rocket separately and perhaps had never even met before being paired up. However, Jessie’s initial remark to James is ambiguous (“I know you...”), and their instant hostility towards each other could be interpreted as an implication that they had indeed been associates in the past, but had broken up on bad terms and joined Team Rocket separately. In addition, Meowth’s role appears to be changed, as his “top cat” role seems to be more akin to that of a subservient valet to Giovanni (although there are certainly precedents for a subordinate who appears as a favored companion in public who is forced to be a menial servant in private). In that episode, Giovanni is also shown owning a Persian before Meowth's first meeting with Team Rocket and during his service period with him. Meowth is only assigned to the team of Jessie and James after screwing up orders, which must be quite some time before Giovanni finally acquires his "Persian replacement" in the Kanto series. Also, in Kanto, it was established that while Jessie and Cassidy had previously known each other, James and Meowth had neither known her nor Butch (nor their Raticate). In this episode, the two teams competed against each other, meaning James and Meowth would have had to have known the other trio.

What remained intact, for the most part, were the childhood histories of Jessie and James. While Jessie’s poor background is rarely mentioned in the Hoenn series, James’s rich upbringing has been referenced several times. Also, within the first few episodes of the Hoenn series, Jessie made references to having a past in the Hoenn region.

In a Japanese Pokémon drama CD Birth of Mewtwo (Myuutsuu no Tanjo), Musashi (Jessie) grew up in relative poverty compared to James because her mother, Miyamoto (again named after renowned swordsman Miyamoto Mushashi; no English version name), fostered her out so she could focus on missions for Team Rocket given directly to her by its founder, Madame Boss (Giovanni/Sakaki’s mother). It was Miyamoto that discovered evidence that the Legendary Mew may still exist, and she was ordered to seek out the legendary Pokémon Mew and not to return until she succeeds in capturing it. Being Team Rocket’s most loyal top operative at the time, she followed those orders to the letter. However, she never stopped thinking about her beloved daughter. She managed to track Mew to the snowy Andes mountains but it gets away and she is buried in an avalanche. It is implied that the legendary Pokémon Articuno saved her life.

Breaking the fourth wall

In the English version, the members of Team Rocket are the only characters in the TV show and/or in movies that seem to be aware that they are in a TV show and/or movie, and occasionally make remarks that break the fourth wall. To date, only Slowking seems to have demonstrated an actual awareness of the fourth wall in the second Pokémon movie, making it the only character in the series to break the fourth wall.

Examples

• In the episodes "The Song of Jigglypuff" and "Same Old Song and Dance", Jessie, James, and Meowth decide to use an intro song in place of the motto. The last few lyrics of their song claim that if they steal Pikachu, they'll "be the new stars of this cartoon."

• At the end of the episode "Electric Shock Showdown", James remarks, "We wasted this entire episode cheering the good guys!"

• In the episode "Pokémon Scent-Sation", Meowth says his nose had been dissolved by a noxious gas, then says that the animators forgot to give him one in the first place. (Yet in later seasons he is shown like most Pokémon to have a superior sense of smell to humans)

• In the episode "Hypno's Naptime", after Jessie and James successfully tied up Hypno and Drowzee, James complained that that was what they should have done in the first place. Jessie's response: "We have to fill up half an hour!"

• In the episode "Sparks Fly for Magnemite", Jessie and James explain to the viewers about their magnetic plan to capture Pikachu, but Meowth doesn't know whom they're talking to.

• In the second Pokémon movie, Pokémon The Movie 2000, the opening lyrics to the motto are "Prepare for more trouble than you’ve ever seen!" "Make it double, we’re on the big screen!" Ash cuts them off and remarks, "Save it for the home video." Additionally, at the end of the movie, Jessie, James, and Meowth wash up on Slowking’s island and mope about how no one would know that they helped save the world. Slowking, however, points out that "a lot of people out there" saw them while pointing towards the audience, and they immediately cheer up, however, they wonder if the boss saw them.

• In the third Pokémon movie, Pokémon 3: The Movie, James asks why they were able to breathe underwater, and Jessie says, "Sometimes it's better not to ask questions." Then Meowth says, "Hey Jessie, I got a question I shouldn't ask. Do ya tink we'll get a bigger part in da next movie?" (It turns out they did get a somewhat larger role). Later on, when they save Ash from falling, Meowth remarks that they did it because if anything ever happened to him, they'd "be outta show business."

• In yet another episode, Meowth makes a reference to Team Rocket going to capture Pikachu right after the commercial break, prior to an actual break.

• In Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns, James remarks, "This is like a sequel to a movie I missed." This refers to Pokémon: Mewtwo Strikes Back, the movie before Mewtwo Returns, and the fact that everyone had their memories of Mewtwo erased at the end of the movie.

• In the episode "The Crystal Onix", the three fall into their own traps only to reappear a short time later. When asked how they escaped, they reply, "That is a secret you shall never know!", and "The writers couldn’t figure it out either!"

• In "Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden", rather than saying "Meowth, that's right!", Meowth concludes the motto with an angry outburst, telling the others to "get on with it". Jessie snaps, "We need the motto!", and James declares, "Our fans have come to expect it!"

• In "Pikachu's Goodbye", while Team Rocket is capturing a pack of Pikachu, James says, while looking at the audience, "We'd like to thank all of our fans for their loyalty and support. This victory is for them."

• In "May's Egg-Cellent Adventure", Meowth wants to tell Jessie where she's a real pain in, but can't because "kids watch this show".

• In "Ka-Boom with a View", Team Rocket planned to go flat-out and capture Sceptile and Shiftry, but Meowth denigrates Jessie's plan with "Hey wait! Have you flipped your script?!"

• In "Aipom and Circumstance", when Pikachu was about to use Thunderbolt, Meowth says, "Save it for another episode!" Also, while Jessie was complaining about the remote, Meowth shouted, "May I remind you, we're not watchin' reruns!"

• In the episode "Gathering the Gang of Four", Team Rocket disguises themselves as noodle cart vendors when they capture Pikachu from Ash, and Jessie says that "We've been here for nine seasons…", with Meowth later exclaiming, "And we'll be through season ten!" This served as foreshadowing for the next season, set in the Sinnoh Region. This was reinforced in "Home is where the Start Is", when James asks, "Do you think we'll ever learn?" Meowth responds "I'll tell you next season!"

• In "So Near,Yet So Farfetch'd", Meowth exclaims that the kid with the Farfetch'd (the kid who stole Team Rocket's and Misty's Pokémon) "tricked us two times in one episode!"

• In "Pasta La Vista!", Meowth says, "Team Rocket's Blaustein off again!", alluding to this being the final episode where Meowth is voiced by Maddie Blaustein.

• In "The Whistle Stop", when their plan fails before the title card is even put up, Meowth says, "We usually don't wash out this early in the episode!"

• In "Off the Unbeaten Path" Jessie and Meowth accidentally send themselves blasting off, with the cry "We're blasting off again!". But James hears the cry (he was doing something else at the time so did not blast off) and exclaimes "That's odd. I could have sworn I heard people screaming 'We're blasting off again!' But we copyrighted that. Oh, who cares."

• In the movie Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, the Rockets make two references towards the 4th generation Pokémon games. Meowth remarks that diamonds and pearls would be "a great name for a game", referencing the titles of the 4th generation handheld games. The second time, Jessie and James exclaim that diamonds and pearls will soon be theirs, but Meowth says that they need to get through this season first (due to the fact that this movie is set in the Battle Frontier season, before the Diamond and Pearl season).

• In "Two Degrees of Separation", when Team Rocket catches Dawn trying to catch Pikachu, they say, "We've been trying to catch Pikachu so long we're trademarked!"

• In "When Pokémon Worlds Collide", before blasting off, Jessie says, "What kind of encore was that?" James says "We were supposed to leave our audience cheering!" and Meowth says, "Tell that to the writers!"

• In "Gymbaliar", when Team Rocket loses their disguises and Ash recognizes them, they say they'll still steal the gang's Pokémon. Meowth adds "Yeah, we still have 5 minutes left!"

All the other characters are, for the most part, unaware of the fourth wall.

Mottos and catchphrases

The Team Rocket Motto is a staple of the trio's more or less formulaic appearances in each episode and might even be regarded as a very long catchphrase. It is usually recited by Team Rocket as they make their presence known to the good guys and accompanied by many flamboyant special effects and poses, as well a specific piece of theme music. (Later on they are sometimes accomponied by Jessie's Wobbuffet and/or James' Chimecho or Mime Jr.) The motto has gone through two changes, and although the first two mottos were very similar, the brand new one is very different.

Original Motto:

Jessie: Prepare for trouble...

James: and make it double!

Jessie: To protect the world from devastation!

James: To unite all peoples within our nation!

Jessie: To denounce the evils of truth and love!

James: To extend our reach to the stars above!

Jessie: Jessie!

James: James!

Jessie: Team Rocket, blasts off at the speed of light!

James: Surrender now, or prepare to fight!

Meowth: Meowth, dat's right!

Battle Frontier Motto:

Jessie: Prepare for trouble from beyond the skies! ("From beyond the skies" changes depending on the situation)

James: From beyond the stars, a nasty surprise! (This line changes to rhyme with the first)

Jessie: An evil as old as the galaxy...

James: Sent here to fulfill our destiny!

Meowth: Meowth, dat's me!

Jessie: To denounce the evils of truth and love!

James: To extend our reach to the stars above!

Jessie: Jessie!

James: And James!

Meowth: And Meowth are the names! (sometimes spoken as "Meowth's my name!")

Jessie: Anywhere there’s peace in the universe...

James: Team Rocket...

Meowth: Will be there...

Jessie, James, and Meowth: To make everything worse!

Current Motto / Sinnoh Motto:

Jessie: Listen, is that a voice I hear?

James: It's speaking to me loud and clear!

Jessie: Floating on the wind...

James: Past the stars...

Meowth: In your ear!

Jessie: Bringing chaos at a great pace!

James: Dashing hope putting fear in its place!

Jessie: A rose by any other name is just as sweet!

James: When everything's worse our work is complete!

Jessie: Jessie!

James: James!

Meowth: Meowth, that's a name!

Jessie: Putting do-gooders in their place...

James: Team Rocket...

Meowth: We're in your face!

Jessie and James' rivals Butch and Cassidy also have their own version of the motto, which is one of the many sources of conflict between the two teams. Theirs' resembles the original motto more than the other two versions:

Butch and Cassidy's Motto:

Cassidy: Prepare for trouble...

Butch: and make it double!

Both: Here's our mission, so you'd better listen!

Cassidy: To infect the world with devastation!

Butch: To blight all peoples in every nation!

Cassidy: To denounce the goodness of truth and love!

Butch: To extend our wrath to the stars above!

Cassidy: Cassidy!

Butch: And Butch!

Cassidy: Team Rocket, circling the earth day and night!

Butch: Surrender to us now or you shall surely lose the fight!

Running gags

Team Rocket "blasting off"

Team Rocket is often sent flying off into the sky at the end of the episodes it appears in, usually from the attack of Ash's Pokémon (usually Pikachu) or another Pokémon. Team Rocket's robots, balloons, submarines, walking buildings, and other contraptions are also typically destroyed or disabled by attacks, causing them to be blown away as well. Most times Team Rocket are thrown into the sky, the team's members shout "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!", sometimes shorted to "We're Blasting off Again!", or parodied in some way appropriate in context. ("We're blasting off as friends!")(in later seasons, accompanied by Jessie's Wobbuffet usually releasing itself from its Poké Ball) . Accompanying this is a twinkly sound that can be heard as Team Rocket disappear completely, leaving a star in the sky.

This running gag has extended to other villain characters as well, such as fellow Rockets Cassidy and Butch.

Failure to abduct Pikachu

Team Rocket have appeared in all episodes except the pilot, their consistent goal being to capture Ash Ketchum's Pikachu, which they consistently don't achieve. While they often manage to pry Pikachu away from Ash, they have never actually delivered it to "The Boss", Giovanni, causing him to grow impatient with them. The closest they usually ever get is to bring Pikachu to their hideout, where one of Ash's Flying-types will then find them.

In one episode, Pikachu suffered amnesia, and Team Rocket fooled Pikachu into thinking that it was part of their team. However, they have never successfully stolen him from Ash longer than an episode, apart from the beginning of the Diamond and Pearl, when they managed to get Pikachu lost for almost three episodes.

Magikarp salesman

File:TRandGoldBall.jpg

Jesse and James with the golden Poké Ball that cost them their advanced salaries. Episode #15, Battle Aboard the S.S. Anne

In the episode, "Battle Aboard the S.S. Anne", James of Team Rocket gets conned into buying a Magikarp by a shady salesman. Throughout this episode, James claims that Magikarp, which rests in a gold-painted Poké Ball, was an excellent purchase. However, in the next episode, James uses Magikarp only to find that it's completely useless (and inedible). Frustrated, James kicks the worthless fish, only to have it evolve into Gyarados and blast them off.

Throughout the rest of the series, James continually crosses paths with the exact same salesman. This routine usually starts with:

Salesman: Psst. Hey, kid.
James: Uh, are you addressing me?

The salesman then goes into his pitch on how his "rare and unusual Pokémon" (usually another Magikarp) is "a Pokémon gold mine", among other claims. James, at first, is thrilled to buy, but stops short when he remembers the man's face. Upon recognizing him, James chases the man demanding a refund for the first Magikarp.

Eventually, James catches the salesman and demands a refund, but the salesman refuses to pay unless James brings back the original merchandise. Since James doesn't have the original Magikarp, the salesman instead offers to trade another Pokémon of equal value as compensation. James accepts and trades his Victreebel for a Weepinbell that knows a Pokémon-attracting move called Sweet Scent. However, it later evolves into another Victreebel and is released when it attempted to eat Jessie, which she then kicks away. Meanwhile, James's Victreebel keeps trying to eat the salesman and is also let go. The two Victreebel meet, fall in love, and are never seen again.

The salesman has also conned Jessie into trading a Spoink's pearl for Magikarp painted to look like a Feebas, and fooled James into buying a Hoppip painted to look like a Chimecho.

James's over-affectionate Pokémon

Another running gag is that whenever James calls out one of his Pokémon, the Pokémon initially jumps towards James and smothers him with affection. Unfortunately for James, its methods of affection aren't very pleasant.

The gag started with James's Victreebel, who had the habit of chomping on James whenever he called it out (though it did so to the trader as well). Later, in Hoenn, James gained another affectionate Pokémon in Cacnea, who hugs James upon being called out but always forgets about its spike-covered arms. Another of James's Pokémon, Chimecho, tended to wrap its tail around James' eyes at the worst possible moments. James's most recent acquisition, Carnivine, takes a cue from Victreebel and gives James a bite on the head whenever it's called out. Weezing, Growlithe, and Mime Jr. are the only three of James's Pokémon that haven't been over-affectionate towards him so far.

In early opening sequences for the Hoenn episodes, Jessie's Seviper was seen chomping on her, similar to James' Victreebel. Apart from the first episode where it appeared (and was subsequently caught) it has pretty much never shown affection towards Jessie by trying to eat her. Just before its capture, however, it bit off part of Jessie's hair, sending her into a rage and almost killing the Seviper.

Cross-dressing

An occasional incident features Jessie and James cross-dressing. One of the earliest examples is in the episode Battle Aboard the St. Anne where they disguised as teenage girls to sell tickets for the ship (which was a plot to lure trainers into a Team Rocket ambush). Another example is in Beauty and the Beach where James donned a bikini and inflatable breasts to enter a beauty pageant. This caused controversy, so the episode was banned.

Cross-dressing was used during May's second Pokémon Contest in Fallarbor Town when they were attempting to attract the other coordinators to buy gold and silver PokéBlock. In addition, Cacnea was dressed with bedazzling glitter and lipstick. They have also impersonated other people, such as Professor Oak, May and her family, and the Gym Leader Juan. The crossdressing gag is only rarely used now as over time, Jessie and James's outfits became more practical than outlandish.

Butch's name

Butch, a recurrently appearing Team Rocket agent, is often referred to as "Botch", "Buffy", "Hutch", "Biff", "Bill", "Greg", "Mustard", "Bob", "Clutch", "Ponch", or "Butcher" as Jessie, James, and Meowth are not familiar with him and often forget his name, leading to a joke in the Chronicles episode "Training Daze" that after Cassidy forgets his name, calling him "Hutch". Later that episode is the one occasion that someone actually gets his name right; Butch is so used to correcting people that he automatically starts to say "It's Butch!" before correcting himself and then replies, "Oh wait, that's my name!" . Butch gets even with James once by calling him "John" to which James responds "You got it wrong on purpose!"

Expenses

Usually Jessie and James are too poor to buy food, resorting to stealing it, yet they always seem to afford and assemble large robots (usually shaped like Pokémon) that can capture Pikachu (usually that prevents Pikachu's electrical attacks); oftentimes, it is destroyed by other Pokémon by the end of the episode. As a result of all their robot-spending, the trio has a less-than-glorious expense report in Team Rocket, which James mentions in Mewtwo Returns.

Jessie often yells at Meowth for not making their things Poképroof, but Meowth counters by saying that they can save up on the money. Every now and then, Jessie and James will shout at Meowth for spending all their money on supplies. Also, in an episode that starred Gardevoir and Ralts, it is revealed that Meowth kept all the team's money (using his special ability, Pickup) from Jessie and James. They yelled at him for keeping secret mechanical parts to himself. From then on, the food that Team Rocket had became more "reasonable", however, they still kept on stealing Brock's food because of its quality.

In episode 453 (season 9), Team Rocket dressed themselves up as "Gym Remodelers" and sent Brock's parents on a vacation. They bought Brock's parents airline tickets and when Brock's parents left, James said "That's weird. HQ let our purchase through". Later they also got a Charizard and an Aggron from the HQ Delibird. At the end of the episode, Team Rocket found out that HQ messed up (the Poké Balls were meant for Butch and Cassidy) and Delibird demanded the Poké Balls and all the money back. The Trio was left in a tree as Delibird flew away.

Hot air balloon

Usually Team Rocket ride a Hot Air Balloon in the shape of Meowth's face. Many episodes end with Pikachu or another Pokemon destroying it with Team Rocket flying into the sky. However despite the being damaged, the balloon is always repaired. The balloon has also appeared with different pokemon heads, such as Wobbuffet, Chimecho, a pokeball and Sneasel.

Fate of Team Rocket

While Jessie, James, and Meowth continue to chase Ash the Pokémon anime series, their manga counterparts saw a happy ending. At the end of The Electric Tale of Pikachu (Dengeki Pikachu) series, Jessie and James were married and soon to have a child. They (with Meowth) appeared in the epilogue to deliver a letter from Ash to his mother in Pallet Town.

Other members and operations

From time to time, other members of Team Rocket appear. These members are generally much more menacing and unfriendly compared to the trio, and usually wear black Team Rocket costumes (some Team Rocket members wear gray costumes), consistent with the video games while contrasting those of Jessie and James (hence, the Black Squad). In many of these episodes where other members appear, the trio, despite their reputation for failure, often finds a way to assist these villains, but somehow, through their general inadequacy, are the villains’ undoing.

The Raikou: The Legend of Thunder arc of Pokémon Chronicles introduced Team Rocket operatives Attila and Hun (a pun on Attila the Hun). The duo takes orders from Professor Sebastian. In the original version, both of these characters were male, named "Bashou" and "Buson". It is unknown why the American dub company 4Kids decided to change the gender of one, most likely to maintain consistency of other male-female teams in the series. They also appear in the beginning of the 9th movie, but have instead have captured Rayquayza instead of Raikou.

Throughout Pokemon Chronicles, as well as a three-parter during the Johto League saga, Cassidy and Butch are seen working for a scientist named Professor Namba. Through ordering a specific food at a designated place, they receive a small device containing his orders. They sit at a booth, look all around for people witnessing them, pour out the contents of the food the cashier gave them, and listen to the message, which then dissolves. A running gag is that Cassidy and Butch keep mispronouncing his name, which forces the professor to complain. Once, he had even called up Cassidy on her cell phone to correct her, despite not even being in the episode and only mentioned.

A two-parter during the Johto League saga introduced Tyson, who was in charge of trying to capture the Red Gyarados. Like Attila and Hun, he was working for Professor Sebastian.

In the episode "Training Daze", Drill-Sergeant Viper was introduced as the man responsible for training new recruits.

The episode "Battle Aboard the S.S. Anne" has the largest single gathering of Team Rocket members yet seen in the series. A large force of Team Rocket agents (later referred to as Grunts) attempted to ambush Pokemon trainers aboard the cruise ship to steal their pokemon, only to be defeated when Ash led a revolt against them.

In the movies

In the movie Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns, a special operative named Domino was seen, but she claimed her enemies referred to her as the Black Tulip. Indeed, Domino often flung black tulips at her enemies, that would then explode or release some sort of electrical shockwave.

She also captured and enslaved Jessie and James to do some cleaning work for her and travel with her grunts to hunt wild Pokémon. But her attempt on a swarm of wild Bug-type Pokémon failed when a pack of angry Scyther managed to destroy all of her black bomb tulips using which she was trying to blow up the wild Beedrill and Ledian that were in her way. She then angrily tried to outsmart the bugs by flipping over them using her last black tulip and the only one that was cane-like, only to end up slipping and crashing head first on a wet floor which she had earlier forced Jessie and James to wipe clean.

In the fourth movie, Pokémon 4Ever, a Rocket member known as the Iron Masked Marauder was introduced. He used Dark Balls to capture Pokémon and make them evil. After capturing Celebi, he went on a rampage, destroying the forest, and talked about betraying Giovanni. He was eventually defeated by Ash and Sammy with help from Suicune. His fate was then left for the townsfolk and the wild Pokémon of the forest to decide. In the Japanese version, this character was known as "Bishasu-sama no Kamen," or the Masked Lord Bishasu.

In the fifth movie, Pokémon Heroes, the main villains were two spies named Annie and Oakley (A reference to American sharpshooter, Annie Oakley). Although the US version seems to hint that they are with Team Rocket, they seem to work independently from the organization in the Japanese version. They are trying to capture Latias and Latios for Giovanni, as well as steal the Soul Dew. They learn that the Soul Dew can be used to power a machine called the Defence Mechanism of Altomare (DMA). Oakley, using the DMA, becomes mad with power and almost destroys the entire city. At the very end of the movie, after being defeated by Ash and friends, the two girls go to prison.

Rivals

Butch and Cassidy (Kosaburō and Yamato in Japanese) are the rivals of Jessie, James, and Meowth; unlike the trio, however, Butch and Cassidy are successful Rockets and are looked upon favorably by Giovanni. Butch and Cassidy are also foils to the trio in that they are a more threatening and menacing team but, in reality, they are as incompetent as Jessie and James. Their plans are on a larger scale, with the goal to capture many Pokémon at once. Butch and Cassidy are also masters at scams. They first appeared in "The Breeding Center Secret" and appear throughout the series semi-regularly as guest stars and regularly as the villains of Pokémon Chronicles. Their names are a pun on Butch Cassidy, the Wild West outlaw. Unlike Jessie and James, this duo doesn't have a signature Pokémon team. At times they have used a Raticate, a Drowzee, a Houndour, a Hitmontop, as well as others listed below. Like Charizard and Aggron, it is likely that most of Butch and Cassidy's Pokémon were supplied by Team Rocket and aren't technically theirs and were probably returned to Team Rocket after.

Cassidy

Cassidy and Jessie are rivals: their banter back-and-forth, in which they are very candid about their dislike for the other, has revealed that they knew each other when they were young. Many fans have speculated that the two women were once friends. This theory would be logical, as since both women clearly knew each other and both women chose to join Team Rocket, it would make sense that Cassidy, as was the case with Jessie, had at least one parent who was a Rocket.

Butch and Cassidy are favored by the Boss, Giovanni. He once personally freed the pair from jail, much to the shock of Jessie and James, who have never received such treatment. However, it is worth noting that the trio is very rarely thrown in jail, and on the rare occasions that they are, they are able to escape by themselves almost immediately.

Also, in a Battle Frontier episode, Brock falls for Cassidy who is disguised as a Nurse Joy, but senses something wrong with her due to his innate knowledge of Nurse Joy.

In the Japanese version, Yamato is voiced by Masako Katsuki, while in the English version, Cassidy is voiced by Megan Hollingshead then Andi Whaley then Hilary Thomas. The appearance of Cassidy comes from the in game appearance of the Female Rocket Grunt

The Pokémon Cassidy has been seen using are:

• Raticate (both members share this Pokémon)
• Houndour
• Sableye
• Tentacruel
• Drowzee (both members share this Pokémon)

Butch

Very little is known about Butch's early life. At one point in time, he was training to become a Rocket member at the same time as Jessie, James, and Cassidy. Cassidy and Butch were assigned together and now work as a team, capturing Pokémon for Team Rocket.

Strangely, Butch was not seen with Pokémon in his possession until his third appearance; before that time, Cassidy had always been the one to battle with her Pokémon. Butch, however, has other skills typical of Rockets, including disguise and some physical prowess. He was able to pick up and throw Jessie into a wall.

The vast majority of characters get Butch's name wrong regularly, calling him such other names as Hutch, Biff, Chuck, Bart, and Batch. His name is only said correctly once, by Cassidy in Training Daze (interestingly, by this point Butch is so used to people getting his name wrong that he starts to correct her, only to realize she got it right). In one episode, after Cassidy got Butch's name wrong, he said he was going to change his name.

In the Japanese version, Kosaburo is voiced by Takehito Koyasu; Butch is voiced by Eric Stuart in seasons 1-8 and Chronicles, and by Jimmy Zoppi in season 9.

The Pokémon Butch has been seen using are:

• Raticate (both members share this Pokémon)
• Primeape
• Hitmontop
• Mightyena
• Cloyster
• Drowzee (both members share this Pokémon)

In the manga

This section is about Team Rocket in The Electric Tale of Pikachu and its sequels, which were an adaptation of the anime. For information on Team Rocket in manga which directly adapted the video games, including Pokémon Adventures, see Team Rocket.

The Trio appeared, inept as ever, in the manga based loosely on the anime. They tried their usual attempts at stealing Pokémon at first, and even joined up with Ash's Pikachu and several other wild Pokémon as they tried to search for the Pokémon Paradise. They were eventually defeated by Pikachu and a wild Kangaskhan, however. Later, they tricked a young girl into buying fake Leaf Stones, but Ash defeated them, getting their money back. The trio also climbed a large tree shaped like a Venusaur, due to a legend that said that the powerful Pokémon was actually in the tree. While in the Orange Islands, the trio came upon Ash, broke and desperate. Feeling sorry for them, the young trainer treated them to a meal. After that, they swore loyalty to Ash and have helped him ever since. At the end, James had married Jessie, Meowth had moved in with them, and the three had given up crime.

Notes and references

• The Pokémon Yellow video game and its instruction manual.

Notes