Team Rocket

For the 2016 Lil Uzi Vert song "Team Rocket", seeLil Uzi Vert vs. the World.

Team Rocket
Logo
Universe	Pokémon
First appearance	Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow
Last appearance	Pokémon Go(2016) "The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!"(2023)
Created by	Ken Sugimori
Genre	JRPG
In-universe information
Type	Criminal syndicate
Location	Celadon City (Gen I/III/VII) Mahogany Town (Gen II/IV) Five Isle Meadow (Sevii Island Branch Gen III) Team Rocket HQ (anime)
Owner	Giovanni
Purpose	To steal and use Pokémon for profit

Team Rocket(Japanese:ロケット đoàn,Hepburn:Roketto-dan,Japanese:[ɾo̞ke̞t̚to̞dã̠ɴ])is a fictionalcrime syndicatein thePokémonfranchise. Team Rocket is a primaryantagonistin the originalPokémonvideo gamesRed,Green,andBlue,as well as in thelong-runningPokémonanime TV-series.In the latter, Team Rocket is primarily represented through the trio of charactersJessie, James, andMeowth,who are major secondary characters throughout thePokémonTV-series.

Team Rocket is portrayed as a serious crime syndicate in the video games series, stealing Pokémon. In the TV-series, Team Rocket has a largely comedic role, as the trio of grunts repeatedly fail to steal Pokémon while operating increasingly flashymecha.The Team Rocket trio in the anime is beloved byPokémonfans who relate to their roles asyoung adults.

In video games

Team Rocket first appeared in the video gamesPokémon Red,Green,andBlue,where they are portrayed as a serious and affluent crime syndicate aiming to capture and steal Pokémon for profit. The games present Team Rocketbreaking and entering,murdering a motherMarowak,and chopping off the tails ofSlowpoketo sell on the black market.InPokémon Gold,Silver,and Crystal,it is revealed that Team Rocket's leaderGiovannihad disappeared after being defeated in the original games, and the syndicate is disbanded. Giovanni himself reappears in the 2009 remakesPokémon HeartGoldandSoulSilver.

Each subsequent set ofPokémonvideo games has its own villainous teams, such as Team Aqua and Team Magma inPokémon RubyandSapphire,and Team Galactic inPokémon DiamondandPearl.Team Rocket and Giovanni returned as a major antagonist team in the 2017 video gamesPokémonUltra SunandUltra Moon,as "Team Rainbow Rocket."

Team Rocket was introduced toPokémon Gounder the name of "Team GO Rocket" in 2019, allowing players to encounter and battle Team Rocket grunts.Team Rocket grunts also appear inSuper Smash Bros. UltimateasDLCcostumes for Mii Fighters.

In the anime

Jessie, James, andMeowth
Pokémoncharacters
James, Meowth, and Jessie, as they appear in the early seasons of the Pokémon TV series
First appearance	"Pokémon Emergency!" (1997)
Last appearance	"The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!" (2023)
Designed by	Sayuri Ichishi
Portrayed by	Jessie Lauren Kling (Pokémon Live!) James Andrew Rannells(Pokémon Live!)
Voiced by	Japanese Jessie Megumi Hayashibara James Shin-ichiro Miki Meowth Inuko Inuyama English Jessie Rachael Lillis(Seasons 1 - 8) Michele Knotz(Seasons 9 - 25) James Ted Lewis(Season 1) Eric Stuart(Seasons 1 - 8) James Carter Cathcart(Seasons 9 - 25) Meowth Matthew Sussman(Season 1) Maddie Blaustein(Seasons 1 - 8) James Carter Cathcart (Seasons 9 - 25)

In the long-runningPokémonanimeseries, a trio of Team Rocket grunts Jessie(ムサシ,Musashi),James(コジロウ,Kojirō),and Meowth(ニャース,Nyarth)are major secondary characters. The three were the primary antagonists of early seasons of the series, where each episode they attempt to kidnapthe protagonist'sPikachu.In the earliest produced episodes of the anime, the trio was halfway intelligent and at times were very formidable foes; while they have assumed a more sinister role in various parts of the series, most notably in theBlack and Whiteanime, the three mainly act as comic relief. The characters are presented as simple-minded, bringingslapstickantics to the series.Team Rocket'sMeowth- a common species of Pokémon- is unusual within thePokémoncanon, as he is the only Pokémon creature able to speak the human language, whereas all other Pokémon in the series only utter syllables of their own names.

Jessie and James originally had anArbokand aWeezingas their signature Pokémon, respectively, and the trio were later joined by aWobbuffetas one of their only major recurring Pokémon as the series progressed.As thePokémonseries evolved, the Team Rocket trio uses an increasingly large number of vehicles andmecha.Most notably, they travel in a Meowth-shapedhot air balloonthroughout the show, and use aGyarados-shaped submarine in its early seasons. Later on, Team Rocket became known for their large number of mecha and gadgets.The Team Rocket characters have sympathetic backstories and share a strong camaraderie. They are not ideologically aligned with Giovanni and therefore frequently find themselves siding with the series' protagonists. Due to how frequently Jessie and James are shown tocrossdressacross the series, they are commonly read asqueercoded.

In 2011, thePokémonseries was building up to an arc in which Giovanni faces off against rival organization Team Plasma, but the episodes were cancelled following theGreat East Japan Earthquake.Team Rocket departed the series at the end of thePokémon Journeysanime.The team also appears inPokémon OriginsandPokemon Generations,in portrayals more closely aligned with their in-game counterparts.

Development

The names Jessie and James reference famous American outlawJesse James;their Japanese names Musashi and Kojirō refer to the samuraiMiyamoto MusashiandSasaki Kojiro.

In the English dubbed anime, Jessie was initially voiced byRachael Lillis,until the dub switched production from4Kids EntertainmenttoThe Pokémon Company Internationalin 2006, when she was replaced byMichele Knotz.During her audition, Lillis was instructed to make Jessie "sultry" while also keeping her "tough." Lillis did not expect Jessie to be a recurring character in the series. James was originally voiced byEric Stuart.The two actors quickly started to play around with their voices, giving the characters a "prissy" attitude that contrasted with their inability to succeed.

Meowth was voiced byMaddie Blausteinfor seasons one to eight of the series until her death in 2008.James Carter Cathcarttook over the roles of James and Meowth in 2006, and continued to voice the characters until 2023, when he retired fromPokémondue tooral cancer.

Other media

Team Rocket appear as the main antagonists in several arcs of thePokémon Adventuresmanga, including theRed, Green,andBlue, Yellow,andGold and Silverarcs.The Team Rocket trio from the anime appear in theElectric Tale of Pikachumanga adaptation, where Jessie and James are shown at the end to be married and expecting a child.

Team Rocket is the central antagonist in the 2000 stageplayPokémon Live!,in which Jessie, James, and Meowth successfully steal Ash Ketchum's Pikachu and use it to train Giovanni'sMewtwo.Team Rocket characters additionally frequently appear on cards in thePokémon Trading Card Game,most notably in theTeam Rocketexpansion released in 2000.

Reception and legacy

James' tendency to crossdress in earlier episodes of the anime has led to the duo being read asqueercoded.The scene depicted where he utilizes inflatable breasts resulted in the episode beingremoved from circulationfor western audiences.

Ascomic reliefcharacters, Jessie, James, and Meowth are very popular amongPokémonviewers.Yahoo!-writer Jay Castello notes that asPokémonfans grew up, the struggle of "twenty-somethings who couldn't quite find their place in the world or succeed at their ambitions" became increasingly relatable, and a sub-fandom dedicated to the trio sprang up. TheLGBTcommunity largely embraced Team Rocket's queercoding, interpreting them asbisexualdrag artists.Blaustein was inspired by Meowth-focused episode "Go West, Young Meowth" tocome outand transition as atransgender woman,a friend of her later metaphorically describing the character as "a human trapped in a Pokémon's body."

In both their games and anime portrayals, Team Rocket have been cited as some of the best villains in thePokémonfranchise.Chris Carter ofDestructoidcalled the English voice team for Jessie, James, and Meowth (Lillis, Stuart, and Blaustein) "some of the show's finest work."The relationship between Team Rocket and show's central cast has been noted as a core part of the show by children, as was their moral ambiguity, due to their positive actions contrasting with their antagonistic role. Their complex relationship with the main cast was highlighted as an element that was a core part of the television series, acting as a contrast to Ash while viewers are also made to sympathize with them.Their role in Pokémon The Series: Black and White was cited byPolygonto be one of the biggest missed opportunities with their characters, due to the sudden cancellation of several episodes leading to Team Rocket's character changes in the series being for "nothing."American rapperLil Uzi Vertnamed the eighth song on their mixtape,Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World,"Team Rocket", along with other Pokémon references on earlier songs.

The bookAnime Classics Zettai!: 100 Must-See Japanese Animation Masterpiecesreviews Team Rocket as the antagonists in the anime who actually provide comedic relief through the characters Jessie and James, with Meowth portrayed as a "clever cat" who stands out among other Meowth. The book also mentions Jessie, who possesses a charming allure, as the leader above James. Although the Team Rocket trio is positioned as antagonists, they are not hesitant to help Ash Ketchum and his friends on several occasions, especially when they find themselves in difficult and dangerous situations, as often depicted in the movies.The bookJapanese Influence on American's Children's Television: Transforming Saturday Morningdescribes them similarly, citing them as comic relief or as a tension breaker despite being the series' core antagonists. It describes Jessie as being a strong female character, acting as James's superior, as well as how she did not fall into a stereotypical female role.Meowth's role on the team has been met with a positive response,being considered an integral and iconic part of the team.He has been highlighted as a key part of why his species was so well-known.The Fandom Post said Jessie and James were the "Best Villain Couple" due to their continuous hard work as well as interactions over several episodes.