Team Rocket (anime)

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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

Universe	Pokémon series
Type	Crime syndicate
Founded	Unknown
Location	Kanto, Johto, Sevii Islands, Orange Islands, Hoenn and Sinnoh
Key people	Giovanni (Boss) Jessie, James, and Meowth (frequent archenemies of Ash Ketchum and Pikachu) Cassidy & Butch
Purpose	To steal and exploit Pokémon for profit and power.

Contents 1 Jessie, James, and Meowth 1.1 Jessie 1.1.1 Pokémon 1.2 James 1.2.1 Pokémon 1.3 Meowth 1.4 History 2 Team Rocket and the Fourth Wall 3 Mottos and Catchphrases 4 Running Gags 4.1 Team Rocket "blasting off" 4.2 Team Rocket can't steal Pikachu 4.3 Magikarp salesman 4.4 James's over-affectionate Pokémon 4.5 Cross-dressing 4.6 Butch's name 4.7 Expensives 4.8 Hot air balloon 5 Fate of Team Rocket 6 Other members and operations 6.1 Team Rocket Members in the Movies 6.2 Rivals 6.2.1 Cassidy 6.2.2 Butch 6.3 Boss 6.4 Project Mewtwo 7 In manga 8 Notes and references

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, 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.

[edit] Jessie, James, and Meowth

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 otherwise shock-proof equipment to protect themselves from Pikachu’s electric attacks. They also have a hot air balloon (their main transport vehicle) that resembles a Meowth, and a submarine that resembles a Magikarp, or a Gyarados in older episodes.

In the earliest episodes they were formidable villains, a serious menace to Ash, and themselves highly promising trainees as seen in their flashback episode Training Daze. However, this role was eventually transformed into their current niche as comic relief. Each of their plans ends in failure due to the actions of Ash and his friends, the Pokémon/trainer introduced in the episode, and/or the trio's own incompetence (often a mechanical failure in their devices or some other mistake). In their first episodic appearance "Pokémon Emergency!" there is a wanted poster featuring Jessie and James, suggesting that before their fateful encounter with Ash, which led them to follow him everywhere, they were formidable criminals in the area. They are often flung into the air, usually with a cry of “Team Rocket’s blasting off again!” (or something else when appropriate). 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. Amazingly, they often find a lot of success with legitimate work, but lapse back to a life of crime once their funds are replenished. In tasks othet than for Pokémon battling, Jessie and James seems to be more efficient than most other Rockets.

Unlike most other Team Rocket members, who wear black uniforms, Jessie and James designed their own white uniforms. Although this most likely attests to their being a lower rank than other members, it may also suggest that they are better people than some other members of Team Rocket. There are also a few episodes where the trio are the protagonists, while the usual main characters are relegated to secondary roles; in many of these episodes, especially later ones, the trio are portrayed in a more favorable light. They've several times shown themselves to have heroic potential and the desire to do good (especially James and Meowth), with their most notable moment being directly helping Ash save the world in the second film.

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 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 was when Jessie disguised herself as a Nurse Joy, and Brock, who is obsessed with the Joy family, was able to “sense” that she was not really a Joy.

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”.

In the Japanese version of the Pokémon anime, Kojirō and Musashi are voiced by Shinichirou Miki and Megumi Hayashibara, with Inuko Inuyama voicing Nyaasu. Akiko Hiramatsu replaced Hayashibara for an eight-episode arc in the Hoenn (Advanced Generation) series. In the English version, for the first eight seasons, Ted Lewis (in their first eleven episode appearances) and Eric Stuart did the voice of James, while Rachael Lillis voiced Jessie, and Nathan Price (for the first 27 appearances) and Maddie Blaustein portrayed Meowth. In "The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon", Jessie was voiced by Diane Stillwell, James was voiced by Bill Timoney, and Meowth was voiced by Jimmy Zoppi. As of the Battle Frontier season, Michelle Knotz provides Jessie's voice while Zoppi does both James and Meowth's voices.

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. Jessie, James, and Meowth also appear in the manga (Dengeki Pikachu/The Electric Tale of Pikachu) and the Ash & Pikachu manga.

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.

In the games, Jessie and James are supposed to be as old as Ash. However, according to a CD special available only in Japan, Jessie and James are around their mid-twenties in the episode "Pokémon Emergency" (their first appearance). The CD special takes place 18-20 years before Ash’s Pokémon journey.

[edit] Jessie

Jessica "Jessie", voice by Michele Kntoz in season 9 and Rachel Lills in season 1-8, known in the Japanese versions as Musashi (ムサシ, Musashi^?), is the female member of the "Team Rocket" trio. Her Japanese name, Musashi, is taken from Miyamoto Musashi, a famous samurai. Her English name, Jessie, is taken from the famous outlaw Jesse James. Jessie has occasionally shown herself to be intelligent and sociable, but very she has often been depicted as stubborn and selfish. She often treats James and Meowth as her lackeys and is also headstrong and detests being criticized or 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 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 travelled 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 & Meowth. It was also revealed in the Master Quest episode "Xatu the Future" that Jessie was previously a weather girl.

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. Her Seviper is terrible as it caused an explosion that blew Rocket through the ceiling. Cacnea is terrible as it causes itself to be stuck to Jess' hair, though James insists the "beauty of a Pokémon loving its Trainer) Wobbuffet is good except to Point Battling. Dustox is great...through cheats. Otherwise, Dustox is bad. The most excellent of all is Meowth, able to carve an ice sculpture in no time, but probably not "TV time." Meowth, of course, is a terrible battler. She also served as "Jessiebella", the co-host of the Grand Battle Festival in the Battle Frontier season. Jessie has not yet captured any Pokemon from the Sinnoh region.

"Jessie" is sometimes also misspelled as Jesse, probably due to her relation with Jesse James’ name. However, Pokémon.com insists on spelling it as Jessie. In the English dub, 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.

[edit] Pokémon

On Hand

• Wobbuffet

The Wobbuffet that Jessie obtained accidentally is mostly useless, serving only as comic relief through the process of escaping from its Poké Ball, and getting in the way. It usually intrudes at the end of the Team Rocket motto as they make themselves known, and you can often hear it yelling “Wobbuffet!” when Team Rocket “blast off” into the sky. 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 ended up using 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.

• 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, 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 Wurmple 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.

Released

• Ekans → Arbok

Jessie’s first Pokémon was an Ekans, who Jessie often ordered to use Poison Sting and Wrap. She received Ekans 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 "Dig Those Diglett!" (Season 1). Like Ekans, it most often used Poison Sting and Wrap. 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".

• Lickitung

Jessie captured Lickitung at the Princess Festival after it ate all of her food. It developed a strong bond with her, often giving her an affectionate lick. She accidentally traded it for a Wobbuffet as part of a scam in "Tricks Of The Trade".

[edit] James

James, voiced by Eric Stuart in season 1-8 and Billy Beach in season 9, known in the Japanese versions as Kojiro^[1] (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 shown to be quite kind to his Pokémon. James has also appeared to be more tactical in battles than his teammate Jessie.

James is considered by many fans as a "pretty boy", or a "bishōnen." 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 bottlecap 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 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’s 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 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"^[2] 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 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’s voice has become progressively high-pitched and clownish as time has gone on.

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, and is shown holding it when Team Rocket recites the motto, but only when they are introduced to somebody new.

[edit] Pokémon

On Hand

• Cacnea

While the trio was plotting to recover the Ekans and Koffing from a Pokémon hunter, James befriended a Cacnea, who defended the trio from a swarm of Beedrill pursuing them, and received cookies as 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. Cacnea's Sandstorm seemed to replace Weezing's Smokescreen. Like Victreebell, Cacnea has a tendency of tackling James prior to battle.

• 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, regularly inserting itself into the motto. James temporarily let Jessie use Mime Jr. in a contest. Because James adores the Pokémon so much, he never allows it to battle. Interestingly in the English version Chimecho would say "Chime" at the end of the motto while Mime Jr. says "Mime," one letter apart. However, their Japanese names do not rhyme, making it all pure coincidence.

• 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.

At Home

• Growlithe, “Growlie”

James's childhood friend and Pokémon. He left it at his childhood home to take care of his parents.

• Chimecho

Shortly after James released the Hoppip, a passing Chimecho approached him and agreed to become his Pokémon. If Wobbuffet is the “fourth member” of Team Rocket, then Chimecho was the “fifth”. 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

• Koffing → Weezing

James’s 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 James’s sadness on his failure to evolve. James chose to let Weezing go in order to protect a group of Koffing and Ekans from a Pokémon poacher that owned a Tyranitar.

• Weepinbell → Victreebel x2

After James left his Weepinbell at the Breeding Centre that was run by Cassidy and Butch in disguise, it evolved into a Victreebel. It became one of James' main Pokémon, being used in many battles. James reluctantly traded it for another Weepinbell in Here's Lookin' at You, Elekid!. This Weepinbell evolved into another Victreebel in the same episode. Jessie didn't like it and kicked it away. It found James' first Victreebel and the two fell in love. A running gag in the Orange Islands saga has Victreebel gobbling up James every time he's summoned, although in an episode, it gobbled Jessie up and, in another, it did the same to Arbok (following a remark from James, "This is a disaster!"). In yet another episode, James was convinced he had the soul of Moltres, and refused to let Victreebel disrespect him. This is the only time Victreebel has shown any amount of respect for James. Although, in contrast, Victreebel never disobeyed James like Ash's Charizard.

[edit] Meowth

Meowth, voiced by Addie Blaustein in seasons 1-8, now Billy Beach in season 9+, known in Japanese versions as Nyarth (ニャース, Nyāsu^?), is a fast-talking catlike 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 Pokémon for his ability to speak like a human, 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 Pokémon that can speak are Gastly (only in one early episode), Slowking, Mewtwo, Lugia and Lapras (only in a Christmas special), although most speak telepathically. 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 the plans and objectives of the group. Over the years, Meowth’s influence within the trio has ebbed, and the mantle of leadership is now generally associated with Jessie (even inflicting pain - in earlier episodes Meowth scratches Jessie and James’s faces, but in later episodes Jessie usually beats he and James up). Also, Meowth was prone to various specist remarks (which are understandable, as he is a Pokémon) in evaluating the performance of Jessie and James during missions; he has long since warmed to his comrades, signifying the growth between them.

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. Because he spent so much time on this endeavor he stayed mainly indoors and did not battle like most wild Pokémon do. With so little practical experience, it is small wonder Meowth has not learned his species' signature Pay Day attack. Afterwards, however, the female Meowth 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, desperately wanting to become a Rocket field agent. ("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 first voiced by Nathan Price, then by Madeleine Blaustein (in the 4Kids Entertainment dub, and currently by Jimmy Zoppi. 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 he is seen attending, 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 fake 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 be less than honest to his teammates on some occasions. It is not that clear whether he wants to give every Pokémon they capture to Giovanni. When he converted Pikachu to their side in one episode, he seemed to have his own agenda as to what to do, and wanted his team to keep Pikachu for themselves. Often, however, he explains why they should capture the "Pokémon of the day" by indulging in a fantasy of Giovanni’s reaction to their success. Usually the Pokémon comes in handy in a hilariously bizarre or ludicrous way. It is possible this is an unhealthy coping mechanism to deal with rejection, as James commented that these fantasies proved Meowth "had officially lost it" (see episode: Clamperls Of Wisdom).

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. 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. He is especially proud of the Team Rocket Balloon (which bears his likeness) and takes umbrage at the suggestion of altering it. Being able to understand what other Pokémon are saying, Meowth also often translates their speech for Jessie and James.

Throughout the series Meowth has developed some rivalries with other Pokémon, the most obvious of which is Persian. In some way or another they continually overshadow him and win the affections he most dearly craves. This extreme rivalry has caused him to vow that he will never evolve, and the first time he shows sympathy towards Ash's Pikachu is when it rejects evolving via the Thunderstone, and cheers for him to defeat Lt. Surge's Raichu on principle. Even his own teammates have used the Persian rivalry tactic to spur him to action by threatening to replace him. Meowth has stated a dislike of Pokémon contests and their emphasis on appearance, and would not help Jessie enter one, until a Coordinator and her Persian made jeering comments, and then he was only too eager to participate. At times Meowth has also developed lesser rivalries with Sneasel (suggested as the new mascot), Wobbuffet (for stealing the motto), and Meowth-In-Boots (for mocking him). He eventually warms up to Wobbuffet due to their many adventures together and roots for Meowth-In-Boots to win the Hoenn League after learning that he also hates Persians. The Sneasel mini-rivalry is unresolved. Although Team Rocket repeatedly states their mission of "capturing Pikachu" he admitted that had they met in different circumstances, they could have been good friends (see episode: Bound For Trouble). Meowth seems to have a good rapport with the other Rocket Pokémon, and was shown to care greatly for Misty's Togepi (he willingly battles for the right to raise him, and wishes Togepi happiness with his new owner). On the one occasion that Team Rocket does capture Togepi he fails to convince the Boss to keep Togepi, consequently Togepi remains with Meowth for much of the episode. He carries the baby in a snugli until Misty reclaims her Pokémon through battle. While in the company of Meowth, Togepi never once cried or seemed frightened. Later on he had a crush on May's Skitty, and helped her escape from Jessie because he realized the life of a Rocket would be too hard for her and couldn't bear the thought of her "blasting off".

In contrast to Jessie and James’s 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, in fact, briefly led his teammates on other ventures besides their primary mission of capturing Pokémon. Examples of this include the time Meowth and his teammates stopped a renegade Taillow from destroying a village in Hoenn, or when the trio foiled the plans of a poacher who wanted to capture some wild Ekans and Koffing. Meowth is often separated from Jessie and James, and is forced to work with one or more of Ash’s Pokémon to find his way back. He shows care and concern for said Pokémon, 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 Jessie or James. In Yellow, he appears by sliding into the screen like Pikachu, instead of coming out of a Poké Ball.

In the Japanese version of the anime, 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.

[edit] History

In addition to 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 Pokémon 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 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 flunked out, but not before making a good friend out of one of the Chansey. 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. It was also at Johto where it was revealed that Jessie was a weather girl.

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 learned 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 (also referenced in the Austin Powers movies, with 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", 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. 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), fostered her out^[3] 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 (Freezers) saved her life.

[edit] 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 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. Although others, such as Ash, have interacted with them in the breaking of 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 share their ability to communicate with the audience.

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.

• 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, "I’ll have to catch this on 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 the audience watching the movie saw them, and they immediately cheer up.

• 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). Also in this movie, Team Rocket remarks that they saved Ash 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 Circumstances", when Pikachu was about to use Thunderbolt, Meowth says, "Save it for another episode!" Also, while Jessie was complaining about the remote, Meowth shouted, "Hey! We're not the ones flipping the remote!"

• 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 reenforced 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, and did not blast off) and exclaimes "I swear I heard some shouting 'We're blasting off again!'! But I thought we copyrighted that!? Oh well."

• 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 this movie is set in the Battle Frontier season, before the Diamond and Pearl season).

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

[edit] Mottos and Catchphrases

Main article: Team Rocket 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.

[edit] Running Gags

[edit] 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^[4] 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!" (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.

[edit] Team Rocket can't steal Pikachu

Team Rocket have appeared in all episodes except the pilot, their consistent goal being to capture Ash'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.

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.

[edit] Magikarp salesman

In the episode, "Battle Aboard the St. 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.

[edit] 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 starts with James's Victreebel, who has the habit of chomping on James whenever he calls it out (though it does so to the trader as well). Later, in Hoenn, James gains 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, tends 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. Just before its capture, however, it bit off part of Jessie's hair, sending her into a rage and almost killing the Seviper.

[edit] Cross-dressing

An occasionally-used gag is Jessie and James cross-dressing. One of the earliest examples is in Battle Aboard the St. Anne where they disguised as teenage girls to sell tickets for the S.S. Anne (which was a ploy 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 heavily reduced in play time.

The cross-dressing gag became less and less used as the show went on, until it finally ended around the Johto Saga. Nowadays, Team Rocket's disguises are not so much flamboyant as they are functional, as proven when Ash and his friends can't recognize them when they're in even the most obvious of disguises. However, it was used during May's second Pokémon Contest in Fallarbor Town when they were attempting to swindle the other coordinators with gold and silver PokéBlock. In addition, Cacnea was dressed with bedazzling glitter and lipstick. They have also impersonated other, more famous, people, such as Professor Oak, May and her family, and Gym Leader Juan.

[edit] Butch's name

Butch, a recurrently appearing Team Rocket operative, is often referred to as "Botch" ("Kosanji"), "Buffy", "Hutch", "Biff", "Bill", "Bob", or "Butcher" in recent appearances, as Jessie, James, and Meowth (and others in the Chronicles series) 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", Butch replies "That does it, I am changing my name." Butch gets even with James (the character who most often mispronounces his name) once by calling him "John" (James insists "You said it wrong on purpose!"). In addition, Butch usually mispronounces his own name after someone else pronounces it correctly. In one book of the Great Brain series, there is a criminal named Butch Cassidy, and a man named Hutch impersonated him. Butch and Cassidy (with Butch called Hutch) may be derived from this.

[edit] Expensives

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); however, it is usually destroyed by other Pokémon by the end of the episode.

[edit] Hot air balloon

Usually riding a Hot Air Balloon in the shape of Meowth (Or other Pokémon they own such as Chimecho or Wobbuffet) Usually the Episode ends with Pikachu or another Pokemon popping or destroying the balloon with Team Rocket 'blasting off again'. However despite the balloon being damaged and at times beyond repair it is always at good condition by next episode.

[edit] 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.

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. They claim to be in Hoenn so they can start a base there, but, in truth, Giovanni only sent them there so he could get rid of them and also so he could get in on the plans of the other two teams. In the initial episodes of the anime season Diamond and Pearl they're trying to steal Pikachu as always, while the role of the new villains Team Galactic remains unknown.

[edit] 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.

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.

[edit] Team Rocket Members 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Cassidy

Cassidy, also called Yamato (after a World War II Japanese battleship that was sunk by the American forces), 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.

As for fact, there is very little to no information on Cassidy's life before joining Team Rocket. She trained to become a Rocket at the same time as did Jessie and James (who knew one another) and Butch, whom she did not know at the time. Upon being a certified Rocket, she was assigned to be on a team with Butch, and since then, the two have traveled the world stealing Pokémon.

Butch and Cassidy are favored by the Boss, Giovanni. He once personally sprang 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. Occasionally, an Officer Jenny meets them, but isn't able to arrest them due to Pikachu blowing them into the sky.

Cassidy seems to be the brains behind the operation; between she and Butch, she also seems to be the leader and the more capable battler.

Also, in a Battle Frontier episode, Brock falls for Cassidy who is disgused as a Nurse Joy (which is unusual, for, in other episodes, Brock had always been able to spot out imposters disguised as Joy).

In the Japanese version, Yamato is voiced by Masako Katsuki, while in the English version, Cassidy is voiced by Megan Hollingshead in the regular series, Andi Whaley does the voice of Cassidy in Pokémon Chronicles, and Hilary Thomas voices Cassidy in the Pokémon USA/TAJ dub.

The Pokémon Cassidy has been seen using are:

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

[edit] 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 the Japanese version, Kosaburo is voiced by Takehito Koyasu; Butch is voiced by Jimmy Zoppi.

The Pokémon Butch has been seen using are:

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

[edit] Boss

Main article: Giovanni (Pokémon)

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 the Pokémon extremely useful for an often far-fetched and otherwise mundane reason and being grateful to "Meowth and his friends" for giving it to him. It has been rumored that he keeps Jessie and James around either because he forgets they're Rocket members or to prevent them from interfering with the true evil actions of his organization.

[edit] Project Mewtwo

Giovanni approved a project in which Team Rocket scientists tried to clone a Mew, so he could have the most powerful Pokémon in the world. The process started within the Brazilian jungle to find a DNA sample of Mew. This sample was brought to an isolated island owned by Team Rocket. The head researcher was Fuji-Hakase who lost his daughter and was to create a clone of her (Amber) and her starter Pokémon (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle) along with the main project: Mewtwo. In the early stages of stabilizing the clone Mewtwo, it interacted with Amber and her Pokémon through telepathy. After learning about Amber's past she dissipated along with her Pokémon and was lost. Only Mewtwo survived the cloning procedure and in the later stages of development, Mewtwo had rebelled against the human researchers who had created him. After encountering Ash and Pikachu, Mewtwo had learned that humans and clones can live in peace and harmony, thus Mewtwo exiled itself to Mt. Quena where it could not be located by Team Rocket and erased the memories of it existing to every person who was present at the given situation. Although later in Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns, Mewtwo had been discovered via Team Rocket's satellite over an opening of cloud cover above Mt. Quena. Even with the holding of Mewtwo's clones, it did not submit to Giovanni's demands completely. After Mewtwo's second encounter with Ash, Mewtwo had erased the memory of it existing from the mind Team Rocket operative present on Mt. Quena.

[edit] In 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. During 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, and the three had given up crime.

[edit] Notes and references