Team Rocket (anime)
Team Rocket (ロケット団 Roketto Dan in Japanese) is an evil organization bent on world domination in the fictional world of Pokémon, which steals and exploits Pokémon for profit. It is headed by a man named Giovanni.
In the animated series, the term Team Rocket is used to refer to the three most-frequently-appearing members: Jessie1 (Musashi), James (Kojirō), and Meowth (Nyaasu).
Kojirō and Musashi are voiced by Shinichirou Miki and Megumi Hayashibara in the Japanese version of the Pokémon anime with Inuko Inuyama voicing Nyaasu. While Hayashibara was pregnant with child and after her birth, needing time off to take care of her child, Akiro Hiramatsu replaced her for an eight episode arc in the Hoenn (Advanced Generation) series. In the English version, Ted Lewis (in their first eleven episode appearances) and Eric Stuart do the voice of James while Rachael Lillis voices Jessie and Adam Blaustein voices Meowth. Jessie, James, and Meowth also appear in the Pokémon manga series (Dengeki Pikachu/Electric Tale of Pikachu) and the Ash & Pikachu manga.
In almost all the episodes of the animated series in which they appear, the trio attempts to steal Ash Ketchum's Pikachu or a Pokémon introduced in the episode. To do so, they employ various machines and contraptions, often including rubber or otherwise shock-proof equipment to protect themselves from Pikachu's shocks. They also have a hot air balloon that resembles a Meowth and a submarine that resembles a Magikarp or a Gyarados in older episodes. Each attempt ends in failure, either through the actions of Ash and his friends (whom the trio refer to as "the twerps"), the Pokémon introduced in the episode, or their own incompetence (often manifesting in the form of mechanical failure of their devices), or a combination of the above. They are often flung into the air as well, 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. There are, however, a few episodes where Team Rocket is the protagonist, while the main characters are relegated to secondary roles. In many of these episodes, Team Rocket is portrayed in a more favorable light. The pejorative "twerp" is an English translation of the Japanese word jari, which, roughly translated, means "ill-mannered," "brat," or "rude person."
The trio is characterized by their dogged determination to succeed, and complete incompetence at any task they attempt. More opportunistic antagonists than real villains, even their attempts at legitimate work are usually disasters. The trio also have a penchant for using amusingly bad puns during conversations.
The nature of the villainous trio (a strong willed, confident woman, and two loyal though not generally bright henchmen who tend to strike overly dramatic poses) is a common staple in anime, although due to the popularity of Pokémon in the US, Team Rocket is sometimes applied as an affectionate nickname by fans to any such group in a series (E.g. Grandis, Sanson, Hanson in Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water; or Leblanc, Ormi, and Logos in Final Fantasy X-2).
In the Pokémon films, Team Rocket often acts as the comic relief, and on occasion, aids the main characters in times of need. In later movies, their roles were diminished bit by bit, often being characters that just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Although, they are almost always the characters with the film's last lines.
The trio
Jessie and James wear white uniforms, while most other Team Rocket members wear black uniforms, extending the fact that they become (semi)good characters in the later Pokémon seasons. While they are still of the grunt status (they were demoted to grunt status during a Johto episode), they designed their own uniforms. The white tone is perhaps alluding that they, unlike the rest of the Team Rocket organization, are not truly bad people. Their goal in the Pokémon series is to capture and present Ash's Pikachu to their boss. Jessie and James are presented as masters of disguise, and even when their costumes are very unconvincing to the viewers (which becomes increasingly common over the course of the series), they always fool the other characters. The only exception is when Jessie disguesed herself as Nurse Joy, and Brock, who is obsessed with the Joy family, was able to "sense" that she was not really a Joy.
Jessie and James were for a long time 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.
The duo is named after famous outlaw Jesse James. As a result, many fans mistakenly spell Jessie's name "Jesse." They also appear in Pokémon Yellow as in-game bosses, using Meowth, Koffing and Ekans (which later evolve into Weezing and Arbok), although the game does not reveal their names.
Fans who believe that Jessie and James are either currently in or will eventually be in a romantic relationship are referred to as "Rocketshippers" (the name derives from the "shipping" phenomenon in fandom).
Jessie
Jessie (diminutive of Jessica) is considered the leader of the Team Rocket trio by some fans. Known in the original Japanese version as Musashi, she is named after Miyamoto Musashi, a famous samurai. Jessie is intelligent and sociable, but very headstrong and dislikes being criticized or being called "old". 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 Pokemon 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 there. When James and Meowth inquired further, she did not elaborate. 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 Pokémon intending to become nurses (and not for people specializing in Pokémon nursing).
Some people consider Jessie to be the sex symbol in the Pokémon world (though ironically, she is one of the very few attractive women who Brock has never shown interest in). This is not the case to fans of the games, since Jessie and James are supposed to be as old as Ash. According to a CD special available only in Japan, Jessie and James are around their mid-twenties in the second episode. The CD special takes place 18-20 years before Ash's Pokémon journey. In the CD, Jessie's mother has a picture of her as a little kid.
In Hoenn, Jessie began competing as a Pokémon Coordinator, 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.
Jessie has one or two running gags, including she can sometimes forget her missions and is more interested in how she looks, she occasionally beats up James and Meowth and even her own Pokémon like Wobbuffet. Another gag is that once or twice is some episodes, Jessie's hair has been chopped in half. The first time was by Tracey's Scyther and the second time Jessie's hair was accidentally bitten off by Seviper. Jessie angrily and not to mention viciously attacked Seviper, literally beating it silly, and after Jessie captures Seviper her cut hair miraculously has grown back to full length.
Note: Jessie's hair has remained a bright reddish color up to and including Episode #262, "A Crowning Achievement". From that point of Master Quest and on, her hair was changed to a deep shade of purple with a tint of red, due to the switch from traditional hand-painted cel animation to computer animation.
James
James' is the handsome male half of the team, considered by many fans as a "bishōnen." Known in the original Japanese version as Kojirō, he is named after Sasaki Kojirō, a famous samurai known for his very long sword who challenged the Swordsmaster Musashi to a duel. James has a beloved bottlecap collection and had quite wealthy parents, who are portrayed in the English dub as Southern aristocrats. 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 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, which eventually led him to Team Rocket. Although the team often appears in disguise, a common source of fan humor is James' habit of crossdressing 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 even the most teasing barbs generally assume James is, at most extreme, merely heterosexual with a penchant for crossdressing. It was this that also lead to the initial banning (the episode has aired after being severely edited) of one episode that had James wearing fake breasts in order to win a bikini competition.
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, a transition that has been compared to Dan Castellaneta's portrayal of Homer Simpson.
The episode 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's 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.
Meowth
Meowth (Nyarth (ニャース Nyāsu) in the original Japanese) is a fast-talking catlike Pokémon who travels with Jessie and James, members of Team Rocket, in the Pokémon anime, the Pokémon manga series (Electric Tale of Pikachu), and the Ash & Pikachu manga. Meowth is unusual among Pokémon for his ability to speak normally, and it can be inferred that his intelligence is much higher than average for his species (either that or he has greater motivation; see below). Some other Pokèmon that can speak are Gastly, Slowking, Mewtwo, Lugia, and Entei. During the earlier episodes of the series, Meowth served as the de facto leader of the Team Rocket trio, and was responsible for many of the plans and objectives of the group. Over the years, Meowth's influence has ebbed, and the mantle of leadership is now generally associated with Jessie.
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" (a reference to the 1964 film That Darn Cat!) with "dreams of ice cream and fried chicken". 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 like himself. To impress her, Meowth learned to walk and talk so as to be as much like a human as possible. (Later, it is revealed that the energy he expended learning to speak prevents him from learning most of his species' special abilities, such as the Pay Day attack.) Afterward, however, she looked down on him even more than before, seeing him as a freak. Ultimately, she chose to take up with a handsome Persian, further contributing to Meowth's long-held resentment of the evolved form of his species. Meowth wandered aimlessly, shocked by the rejection, until he finally decided to join Team Rocket. ("Rocket" was the first word he understood from a children's book during his attempts to learn to read and speak.)
In the American version of the anime, despite his origins in a Los Angeles street gang, Meowth is given a distinctive, even camp, New York City accent voiced by Madeleine Blaustein. While this is possibly an American animation convention for a tough, streetwise character, it does seem at odds with his background; the English teacher whose classes we see him sitting in on, for example, bears no trace of such an accent.
Meowth spent a day serving the organization boss, Giovanni, until he was assigned to be partners with Jessie and James, who didn't notice Meowth's unusual abilities at first. The next day, Meowth, Jessie, and James had to steal a rare Pokémon from a tower across rivers, mountains, and forests as a test. True to his feline nature, Meowth consumed all the food provisions and avoided getting wet in the river. The tower, however, had many traps, one of which was a pit into which James would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed on to Meowth's tail.
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, as he has essentially nothing in common with the rest of Team Rocket. This distance leads him to often lie to the rest of the team, and he is increasingly portrayed as having his own hidden agenda, related to his growing ambivalence about their life of crime. Often he is shown to only commit to carrying out the team's missions after indulging in a fantasy of Giovanni's reaction to their success (which invariably never comes about).
He 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' addiction to foolish theatrics. This streak of common sense was often ironically contrasted with his catlike animal nature—a frequent running gag involved Meowth berating Jessie and James at length for a recent failure only to have them successfully shut him up by distracting him with a small ball or toy. Because of this, Meowth is usually the one who operates Team Rocket's complicated Pokémon-stealing machinery, working in the background while Jessie and James confront the heroes, and is often given credit for building or acquiring the team's unique technology.
In contrast to Jessie and James' more obvious disaffection with society and desire to be rebels, it is frequently implied that Meowth's primary reason for his criminal lifestyle is to regain Giovanni's approval and find a measure of acceptance. Because of this, Meowth is frequently distracted from Team Rocket's criminal agenda and tempted to go straight. Meowth has, for instance, had his nurturing side awakened by serving as foster parent to Togepi in egg form, and, unusually for him, risked life and limb in a Pokémon battle to try to retain guardianship of Togepi. Meowth is often seperated from Jessie and James, and is forced to work with one or more of Ash's Pokemon to find his way back. He shows care and concern for said Pokemon, but once the issue is resolved, and Meowth is back with Jessie and James, he reverts to his old ways. His desire to socialize with his peers was unveiled in the storyline surrounding the Meowth's Party song; "Meowth's Party" has appeared in various Pokémon media as a recurring situation, showing Meowth to be something like a Pokémon Trimalchio. Similarly, Meowth has appeared in various other non-canon cameos that capitalize on his nature as a Pokémon who can speak a human language, appearing as an announcer, MC or interviewer.
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 Jesse or James.
Meowth's design and attacks are based on the lucky Maneki Neko or 'beckoning cat', from Japan. The coin on his head is a gold ryō.
In the Japanese version of the TV series, Meowth is depicted as philosophical. The Japanese ending theme song for the first series, in fact, was a song sung by Meowth, himself, about how life might have been different if he didn't join Team Rocket. There was also a scene in the first movie that was almost cut out of the English version because it showed Meowth speaking philosophically about the nature of war. It was left in and translated slightly differently, but the core message is still there.
History of the trio
In addition to be being arguably the most developed characters in the series, Jessie, James, and Meowth have had their past histories altered several times over the course of the series. Despite their histories being modified so much, it is possible to link the inconsistencies into one coherent timeline. What follows is not an official timeline, but fan-interpreted using canon events.
The first history, which was outlined during the Kanto series, stated that Jessie and James had been friends since they were Ash's age. After leaving their respective homes, they tried to enroll in a Pokémon trainers' school, Pokémon Tech, but since they partied too hard the night before the entrance exam, they failed, with the worst grades in Pokemon Tech history. After this failure, they joined a bicycle gang (charinko bousouzoku) in Sunnytown. They were popular in this bike gang, earning the names of Chainer Jess (she swung a chain around while she rode her bike) and Trainer Jim (he was the only gang member to use training wheels).
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 Chanseys, not nurses for Pokémon, so she flunked out, but not before making a good friend out of one of the Chanseys. James was nowhere to be seen during this time. Fans assume that they had split up for a short time before again rejoining to enter either the bike gang or Team Rocket.
Meowth's pre-Team Rocket history did not change, but his original role within the organization did. During the first several series, Meowth was described as being Giovanni's former "top cat", a role akin to that of a favored pet. During an early Kanto episode, he learnt his role had been usurped by a Persian. Giovanni was frequently shown holding Persian (and, in flashbacks, Meowth) on his lap in a manner deliberately reminiscent of Ernst Blofeld and his white Angora, or in the Austin Powers movies, Dr. Evil and his hairless cat, Mr. Bigglesworth.
After these events, things get fuzzy. Up until the Hoenn series, it was assumed that Jessie and James joined Team Rocket together after leaving the bike gang. However, an episode of Pokémon Housōkyoku appeared to change preexisting canon by devoting an entire episode to "The Origin of Love and Youth." 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). 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 not known her nor Butch (nor their Raticate). In "The Origin of Love and Youth," the two teams compete 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' 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. So far, this is being considered a dropped plot point, as it has not been explored further than those early references (and her sporadic contest participation).
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), essentially left her behind to follow top secret Team Rocket orders given to her directly by Team Rocket's founder, Madame Boss, (Giovanni/Sakaki's mother). Those orders were 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 (Freezers) saved her life. In the drama CD Miyamoto is voiced by Yumi Touma.
The Motto
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.
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: ...and extend our reach to the stars above.
Jessie: Jessie!
James: James!
Jessie: Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light.
James: Surrender now or prepare to fight!
Meowth: Meowth, that's right!
The Japanese version of the motto is:
Musashi: Nanda kanda to kikare tara... (If you ask us who we are...)
Kojiro: ...Kotaete ageru ga yo no nasake! (The answer we give will be the universe's sympathy!)
Musashi: Sekai no hakai o fusegu tame! (To prevent the universe's destruction!)
Kojiro: Sekai no heiwa o mamoru tame! (To protect the universe's peace!)
Musashi: Ai to shinjitu no aku o tsuranuku! (To bring love and honesty's evils to light!)
Kojiro: Raburii chaamii na kataki yaku! (The lovely, charming villians!)
Musashi: Musashi!
Kojiro: Kojiro!
Musashi: Ginga o kakeru Roketto dan no futari niwa! (The pair from Team Rocket soars through the galaxy!)
Kojiro: Howaito hooru, shiroi ashita ga matteruze! (A white hole waiting for a bright day!)
Nyaasu: Nya-nte na! (Right!)
The first two lines of the motto often vary, depending on the content of the episode. An example of this can be found in the episode "Zig Zag Zangoose!", in which Meowth stands in for Jessie, who is busy training her Seviper.
Meowth: Prepare for trouble, here in the wood...
James: ... and make it double, like you know that you should!
Since its capture, Jessie's Wobbuffet has also featured in Team Rocket's motto, upstaging Meowth by throwing in a loud "Wobbuffet" call. Other Pokemon, like James' Chimecho, also get into the act at times. Normaly after Wobbuffet joins it simply goes like this at the end.
James: Surrender now or prepare to fight!
Meowth: Meowth, that's right!
Wobbufet Wobbufet!
When James added a Chimecho, it makes an appearance, and says its name.
The motto is very important to Team Rocket. When they are interrupted during the motto, the team gets extremely aggravated, and usually makes some remark that the person who interrupted them is "very rude". The team also sometimes forgets that they have said the motto already to a certain group, but Meowth always stops them before they begin it again.
When in disguise, the motto is often the downfall of the team and leads their unmasking. Usually this is brought upon by another character on the show saying the word, "trouble". This causes an uncontrollable urge for the trio to recite the motto, and reveal who they really are.
Especially early in the series, the protagonists were seen yawning and waiting patiently for the motto to end, while Team Rocket was shown silently in the background doing their various poses they choreograph into the motto. Many times though, the protagonist group as a whole, responds with a shocked and outraged, "Team Rocket!" after the motto is finished.
In the past the team has thought about changing the words of the motto, but have always gone back to their tried and true lyrics. In the first season the motto was also turned into a song, "Double Trouble", and was featured track on the Pokémon Jukebox. However, during the Battle Frontier arc, the trio begins using a different motto, which involves greater participation by Meowth. There is not yet an official English version of the new motto.
Musashi: Nandakanda to koe ga suru. (There is a voice saying something.)
Kojiro: Chiheisen no kanata kara... (From beyond the horizon...)
Musashi: Bigguban no kanata kara... (From beyond the Big Bang...)
Kojiro: Warera wo yonderu koe ga suru! (A voice is calling us!)
Nyaasu: Omatase nya! (Here goes!)
Musashi: Kenage ni saita aku no hana! (Evil flowers who have courageously bloomed!)
Kojiro: Haato de suiito na katakiyaku! (In the role of the villains who are sweet at heart!)
Musashi: Musashi!
Kojiro: Kojiro!
Nyaasu: Nyaasu de nyaisu! (And Nyaasu!)
Musashi: Roketto dan no aru tokoro- (The place where Team Rocket is-)
Kojiro: Sekai wa- (The world-)
Nyaasu: Uchuu wa- (The universe-)
All: Kimi wo matteiru! (Awaits you!)
Finally, the motto is also used as source of rivalry with the other Team Rocket duo, Cassidy and Butch. The two sides each insist their version of the motto is the right way to say it.
In one episode, Ash and his friends drink tea and don't even notice the motto.
They have another catchphrase, consisting of the line "Team Rocket's blasting off again!". It is similarly uttered by Team Rocket as they exit the episode in defeat after being launched into the distance, usually because of Pikachu's electric attacks. The graphic depicting them flying away over the horizon and having their disappearance marked by a twinkling star of light is a well-known element of the show. In later episodes, it has become increasingly common for Team Rocket to vanish by other means (such as sinking underwater or being chased out of town), with an appropriately altered phrase. The equivalent Japanese exclamation is Ya na kanji~! which means "This feels bad!" or "I've got a bad feeling about this!"
Team Rocket and the Fourth Wall
In the English version, the members of Team Rocket are the only characters in the TV show and/or in movie (if they are in one) that seem to be aware that they are in a TV show and/or movie, and occasionally make remarks that break the fourth wall.
Examples:
- James asks why they did not just use Plan B in the first place, since it was better than Plan A. Jessie then replies, "We had to fill a half hour!"
- Jessie, James, and Meowth crash a pop-singer's performance, attempting to steal the audience's affection by means of an intro song. The last few lyrics of their song detail that, once they capture Pikachu, they will be "the stars of this / CARTOON!"
- In the second Pokemon movie, the opening lyrics to the motto are "Prepare for more trouble then you've ever seen!" "Make it double, we're on the big screen!" Ash cuts them off and remarks "I'll catch it on video."
- In the third Pokémon movie, Pokémon 3: The Movie, Meowth makes a remark concerning whether or not Team Rocket is going to get a bigger role in the next movie.
- In an early episode, Meowth remarks he can't smell since the animators had forgotten to draw him a nose.
- In one episode, 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!" "The writers couldn't figure it out either!".
- In one episode during the Orange Islands, Team Rocket tells the kids, "This isn't a video game".
- When Ash is about to battle Drake, Jessie is seen saying "This couldn't have turned out better if I had written the script myself!"
All the other characters are, for the most part, unaware of the fourth wall.
The Fate of Team Rocket
While Jessie, James, and Meowth have not yet exited 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.
Team Rocket as an organization has not yet been abolished in the anime, but it met its demise in the video games. In Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Fire Red, and Leaf Green, the player ("Red") temporarily disbands the organization by defeating Giovanni in his Viridian Gym. Three years later, in Gold, Silver, and Crystal, Team Rocket continues to survive through their Executives, who control the organization but seek to bring back Giovanni. When the Executives are beaten by the player, however, they permanently disband.
In the Hoenn region, the antagonists are Team Aqua and Team Magma, who have no relation to Team Rocket, and are completely abolished by the protagonists; this is kept intact in the anime, as Jessie, James, and Meowth are the only Team Rocket members to be active in Hoenn. Although they claim to be in Hoenn so they can start a base there, it's most likely because Giovanni doesn't want to put up with them.
Giovanni
Main article: Giovanni
Most worth mentioning is Team Rocket's leader, Giovanni (Sakaki). He was also the Viridian City Gym Leader at one time, but has not been seen often in person in the anime. A running gag in Advanced Generation is Meowth's fantasies of Giovanni receiving the day's featured Pokémon, finding said Pokémon extremely useful for an often far-fetched reason and being grateful to Meowth and his friends for giving it to him. His look and style is very similar to Ernst Stavro Blofeld from the James Bond movies.
Jessie and James' Pokémon
Over the course of the series, the trio has employed many Pokémon, none of which were obtained by illicit means.
Jessie
Jessie's first Pokémon was an Ekans, who Jessie often ordered to use Poison Sting and Wrap. She received Ekans as a birthday present. The second type of Pokémon she had obtained was an Arbok, which she obtained through the evolution of Ekans. Arbok evolved from Ekans because of the emotion shown over its failure to evolve. Like Ekans, it most often used Poison Sting and Wrap. Later in the series, Arbok was forced to leave, in order to ensure the safety of a group of Ekans. 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. The next Pokémon Jessie obtained, through a lucky catch, was Lickitung, who she threw a Pokéball at in order to stop him from eating Giovanni's gifts. She used this Lickitung in an attempt to defeat Pikachu (who was lent to Misty) in a sort of Beauty Contest using his paralyzing tongue, but ultimately failed. She later lost Lickitung for Wobbuffet by accident, when Lickitung's Pokéball fell into a Pokémon trading machine in exchange for Wobbuffet.
Jessie caught a Shellder in order to cause a Slowpoke to evolve into a Slowbro through the process of the Shellder biting Slowbro's tail, hoping that the Slowbro would be obedient to her. When she attempted this, the Slowpoke did evolve into a Slowbro. However, it did not obey Jessie's commands, and sent Jessie, James and Meowth flying. The Wobbuffet that Jessie obtained accidentally is mostly useless, serving only as comic relief through the process of escaping from its Pokéball, and getting in the way. It 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. She also acquired a Seviper, which was terrorizing many Pokémon before Jessie caught it, and when she encountered it, it accidentally bit some of Jessie's hair off, which causes Jessie to attack the Seviper herself, and then captures it.
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 refuses to make it fight, treating it more like her child. Her Wurmple would eventually evolve 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 her Pokémon has evolved into a Cascoon, on account of the fact that there was no explanation as to why their Wurmples would have evolved differently. Once May's Silcoon evolved into a Beautifly, Jessie wished to have hers evolve into one as well. When her Cascoon had evolved, instead of becoming a Beautifly, it evolved into a Dustox. When she finally realized that she had a Cascoon it didn't take her long to accept Dustox, as practically the moment it evolved she rejoiced in how it was so much better than Beautifly, and uses it often in various Pokémon Contests.
In Hoenn, James encountered the same Magikarp salesman from the S.S. Anne. James demanded that the salesman reimburse him for the Magikarp that he sold him, but the salesman instead told James that he was turning over a new leaf, and offered him a so-called Feebas (which is actually a Magikarp painted to resemble a Feebas). At first, Jessie and James were uninterested, but when they heard that it would later evolve into a Milotic, they quickly change their minds, and Jessie trades Spoink's pearl in exchange for it. They take the Magikarp to a nearby stream in order to observe it and think of how to evolve it, when they noticed that the Feebas was changing colors. They quickly assumed that the so-called Feebas was evolving into a Milotic, but they soon discovered that it was actually a Magikarp mocked up with paint to resemble a Feebas, causing Jessie to abandon the Magikarp.
James
James' first Pokémon (after Growlithe) was Koffing, a poisonous Pokémon that floats in the air indefinitely, often spewing gas as a primary form of attack. James received Koffing as a Christmas present. Along with Ekans, Koffing evolved into Weezing after seeing the sadness shown from James in response to his failure to evolve. In the change to Weezing, Koffing gains a second head, and changes to a different shade of purple. Weezing left James in order to provide safety to a group of Koffing. While Koffing was his first Pokémon that he used in battle, Growlithe (nicknamed "Growlie") was a pet Pokémon, who James owned when he was a child, living in a mansion with his parents and a girl named Jessibelle. He left Growlie with his parents when he joined Team Rocket.
When Jessie and James boarded the S.S. Anne along with many Team Rocket grunts, James was offered a Magikarp for 300 dollars, from a vendor who boasted that it can lay 1,000 eggs at a time, and a Magikarp will come out of each one of those eggs, with each of those Magikarps laying 1,000 eggs each. He purchases the Magikarp, along with a golden Pokéball and instructions for the Magikarp. Once he meets up with Jessie and Meowth, Jessie calls him an idiot, and says that he got ripped off. He defends himself, calling the Magikarp a "gold mine", pointing out the gold Pokéball, which Meowth quickly points out it is not gold, but gold plated. Jessie inquires how he got the money for the Magikarp, and James admits that he used both of their advanced salaries. When the S.S. Anne begins to go down, James loses the Magikarp, and the three of them attempt to retrieve it. They eventually succeed, and when they need to get out of the sinking ship, they attempt to use him to swim out of there, but learn that all Magikarp can do is splash, and they sink with the ship. However, they float to the surface. They decide to use the Magikarp for food, but when they learn that he is just scales and bones, James becomes fed up and kicks Magikarp into the water. However, this causes it to evolve into a Gyarados, and while James attempts to control the Gyarados, it turns on the group and attacks them, causing them to wash up on an island. James' family also owned a herd of Numel when he was a boy that would keep him warm on cold nights.
A long-running gag in the series involves James constantly running into the exact same Magikarp salesman from the S.S.Anne. These meetings often feature the salesman trying to sell another get-rich-quick Pokemon scheme to James, although the man often winds up getting chased when James remembers the man's face.
- Weepinbell — James had possession of two Weepinbell (Utsudon) at different times. The first Weepinbell was never shown being caught (except in a vague flashback), and was sent to a Pokémon Breeding Center, that was actually a scheme of other two other Team Rocket members, Butch and Cassidy, where it evolved into Victreebel. The second Weepinbell was obtained by trading with the Magikarp salesman, as a resolution to the incident involving Magikarp.
- Victreebel — James had possession of two Victreebel (Utsubot) at different times. The first Victreebel, when summoned, often tried to eat James, despite James' care for it. He was forced to trade this Victreebel to the Magikarp salesman by Jessie and Meowth in order to obtain a Weepinbell, which soon evolved. This Victreebel, when summoned, tried to eat James in the same manner, but when it bit Jessie's head, Jessie forced James into disowning it. The two Victreebel soon met (the first being disowned by the Magikarp salesman after it had tried to eat him) and fell in love.
- Cacnea — While the trio was plotting to recover the Ekans and Koffing from the Pokémon hunter, James befriended a Cacnea (Sabonea), who defended the trio from a group of Beedrill pursuing them, and received cookies for a reward. Cacnea followed them to give back the cookies and, with Weezing's departure, now travels with James. Cacnea often shows its affection to James by hugging him, unknowingly stinging James with its sharp spines.
- Hoppip (painted like a Chimecho) — While attending a fair in Fortree City, James tells Jessie and Meowth that he has wanted a Chimecho (Chiriin) since he saw one in a fair when he was a boy. In the fair in Fortree City, James buys one from the same salesman that sold him Magikarp from the SS Anne. He later discovers it's a disguised Hoppip and releases it.
- Chimecho -- Shortly after James releases the Hoppip, a passing Chimecho approaches him and agrees to become his Pokémon. If Wobbuffett is the "fourth member" of Team Rocket, then Chimecho is the "fifth." Since its capture, it enters the motto right after Wobbuffet. James adores Chimecho, and does not allow it to battle because he does not want it to become injured. However, Chimecho has the ability to heal the rest of Team Rocket, 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 was healed.
- Manene -- While James leaves Chimecho behind, Manene, which lived in the mansion as one of the servant's Pokemon, decides to go with him. Manene has essentially replaced Chimecho as the "fifth member" of Team Rocket, regularly inserting itself into the motto.
Jessie and James occasionally give orders to each other's Pokémon or use them in contests or battles. During Hoenn, James used Dustox in a Pokéringer competition, and Jessie used Chimecho in a Pokémon Contest. Once they returned to Kanto, James loaned his Cacnea to Jessie for her first contest there, and then Manane to Jessie for her second (May's fourth). They lost both times.
Other members
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.
In the manga, Blaine is a former Team Rocket Scientist who had combined the DNA of Mew with his own DNA, creating Mewtwo. However, he gained the DNA of Mewtwo as well, giving him the ability to track Mewtwo. The manga also shows Koga, Lt. Surge, and Sabrina as high-ranking members of Team Rocket, directly below Giovanni in the chain of command.
Two of the most notable members are Butch (Kosaburō) and Cassidy (Yamato), named after fellow outlaw Butch Cassidy, and who share an unfriendly rivalry with Jessie and James. One running gag in the animated series is how Butch is often referred to as "Botch" ("Kosanji"). Meowth's counterpart in that trio differs each time they appear. Butch and Cassidy's second appearnace, during the Orange Islands arc, marks one of the earliest instances of Jessie, James, and Meowth intentionally assisting the protagonists. During the Advanced Generation series of episodes, Kosaburo and Yamato serve as the main antagonists in Shūkan Pokémon Hōsōkyoku (called Pokémon Chronicles in English), often being defeated by Tracey, Misty, Richie, or Ash's Pokémon. The Pokemon that Cassidy has been seen with are Raticate, Houndour and later in Pokémon Chronicles a Sableye and Cloyster. Butch has been seen with a Primeape, Hitmontop and later in Pokémon Chronicles a Mightyena and Tentacruel. In the Hōsōkyoku episodes, Butch and Cassidy are often sent "blasting off again!" in the same manner as Jessie, James, and Meowth. The rivalry between the two teams includes a dispute over the correct version of the Team Rocket motto. Both claim theirs is the right one, although since the version that Cassidy and Butch chant is more 'evil-sounding', it is likely the right version.
Cassidy: Prepare for trouble!
Butch: Make it double!
Cassidy: To inflict 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: Butch!
Cassidy: Team Rocket, circling the earth all day and night!
Butch: Surrender now or you'll surely lose the fight!
As with Meowth, the last verse of the motto is a cry from whatever Pokémon Cassidy and Butch have when they are seen.
In the movie Mewtwo Returns, a special operative named Domino was seen, but she claimed her enemies refered to her as the Black Tulip. Indeed, Domino often flund black tulips at her enemies, that would then explode or release soem sort of electrical shockwave.
With the current series now taking place in Hoenn, the area of focus in the Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire games, the new criminal groups Team Magma and Team Aqua also made appearances for large-scale plans, but their appearances are far fewer than those of Team Rocket, who have become main characters. Team Aqua and Team Magma, like the black-clad Team Rocket members, are portrayed as true villains rather than mere antagonists.
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.
Neo Team Rocket
Neo Team Rocket is an organization that comes into creation after Team Rocket is disbanded, and only appears in the Pokemon Adventures manga. Its leader is the Mask of Ice, a stranger being able to shoot ice at his enemies.
The Mask of Ice kidnapped Green, Silver, Shum, Cart, Will and Karen as children, and raised them as his servents. Green and Silver escaped soon after, but the rest of them remained as his servents. After Giovanni disbanded Team Rocket, the Mask of Ice recruited the Rocket Grunts that were left behind, forcing those who are not interested by controlling them with masks. However, former Team Rocket Executives Lt. Surge, Sabrina, and Koga were not recruited by Mask of Ice.
The Mask of Ice's true identity is that of Pryce, the Gym Leader of Mahogany Town.
See also
- List of Pokémon characters#Team Rocket has a list of notable members of Team Rocket.
External links
Footnotes
1Jessie is sometimes also misspelled as Jesse, probably due to her relation with Jesse James's name. However, Pokémon.com insists on spelling it as Jessie. In the English anime, Jessie is a nickname for Jessica, which James addresses her as in one episode. Also, in early episodes of the English version, closed captioning would credit her as Jessy; by about 2001, she is referred in the CC as Jessie.