Jessie's Wobbuffet
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Jessie's Wobbuffet (Japanese: ムサシのソーナンス Musashi's Sonans) was the only Pokémon obtained by Jessie during her travels through Johto, and her fourth overall.
History
Original series
With Benny
Wobbuffet originally belonged to a Trainer named Benny. In Tricks of the Trade, Benny was searching for someone to trade Wobbuffet with for a stronger Pokémon at the Pokémon Swap Meet in Palmpona. He was not successful at first, though a Trainer with a Stantler seemed to like his offer, but then bailed for a Hoothoot at the last minute. Jessie's Poké Ball containing her Lickitung then accidentally fell into the machine instead when she crashed into it. Unbeknownst to her, Lickitung got swapped for Wobbuffet.
With Jessie
Later, after the trade had commenced, Jessie wanted to send out her Lickitung to battle Ash and his friends. But, much to her surprise, Wobbuffet appeared instead. James then immediately looked up his moves for Jessie. Even though Wobbuffet had no offensive attacks, he managed to counter Chikorita's attacks back to her. Wobbuffet was still blasted off along with the Team Rocket trio by Pikachu's Thunderbolt.
Ever since Tunnel Vision, Wobbuffet had his place in the Team Rocket motto, first before Meowth (which usually left him very upset), and some episodes later, right after Meowth. He could often be heard crying out subsequent to the "Team Rocket is blasting off again!" line, even if he was not out of his Poké Ball when the team was sent blasting off. Wobbuffet was thus somewhat a fourth team member.
When Wobbuffet popped out of his Poké Ball in Power Play!, and redirected Meowth's attack back to himself, Jessie had the idea of building a Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet, which would counter any attack back to the user similar to Wobbuffet's Counter.
In Wobbu-Palooza!, Ash, his friends, and Team Rocket came across a festival honoring Wobbuffet. Jessie's Wobbuffet popped out of his Poké Ball much to the villagers's excitement. The Wobbuffet Festival crashers then showed up to attack the Wobbuffet and Jessie sent out her Wobbuffet to battle them. Jessie's single-handedly took out the Wobbuffet Festival crashers' Pokémon with the use of Counter and Mirror Coat.
In Imitation Confrontation, Wobbuffet battled Duplica's Ditto, Mini-Dit. Mini-Dit transformed into Wobbuffet and used the same moveset to battle Wobbuffet and Arbok. As a result, Wobbuffet ended up losing to his miniature counterpart.
In The Wayward Wobbuffet, Wobbuffet was tasked with guarding the Poké Pod containing Ash's Pikachu. During the chase to get the Pod, Wobbuffet, along with the Pod and the key to it, was separated from Jessie and went on an action-packed adventure. He bumped into a thief named Goneff who was not happy with Wobbuffet bumping into his vehicle. However, Goneff took Wobbuffet hostage. Team Rocket then dug a hole and headed to the warehouse Goneff was hiding from underground to rescue Wobbuffet. Ash and his Totodile went with them only for Totodile to get badly hurt by Golem. When Golem was about to finish off Totodile, Wobbuffet jumped in the way and sent Golem flying to its Trainer. Ash was then able to get the Poké Pod back but Wobbuffet still had the key as he flew away along with the Team Rocket trio on the Wobbuffet-shaped balloon. Ash sent out Noctowl to get the key from Wobbuffet, however. Noctowl was successful, and Pikachu was freed from the Poké Pod.
Advanced Generation series
Hoenn
In A Poached Ego!, Wobbuffet was sent out to battle Rico's Tyranitar. He was getting ready to counter Tyranitar's Hyper Beam but fainted as the Hyper Beam was too strong.
In Claydol Big and Tall, Wobbuffet put on the disguise of a maid which made a humongous Claydol fall in love with him. This was part of a plan to get this dangerous Claydol back inside its stone Poké Ball. When Wobbuffet's disguise was revealed, Claydol was angry, but Claydol was returned to its stone Poké Ball before Wobbuffet was hurt.
Kanto Battle Frontier
Wobbuffet made his stage debut in the Battle Stage of the Saffron City Pokémon Contest in A Hurdle for Squirtle. Jessie planned for him to use the countering technique against Harley's Ariados. However, this backfired, as Ariados's String Shot manipulated him into a puppet. Since then, he was used in other Contests, but would usually cause the elimination of Jessie for one reason or another.
Wobbuffet ran away from the group in Fear Factor Phony after a fake ghost made by some Ghost Pokémon scared him off. While he was running away he saw a Kirlia dancing and fell in love with it. When Team Rocket caught Pikachu and Kirlia, Wobbuffet jumped into the mecha after it and broke the Kirlia and its Psychic Pokémon friends free from Team Rocket's capture. Entirely thanks to Wobbuffet, Team Rocket's plan was completely ruined.
Diamond & Pearl series
Wobbuffet went with Jessie, James, and Meowth to Sinnoh in Following A Maiden's Voyage! where he countered Meowth's Fury Swipes after an argument with Jessie. As a result, he sent Team Rocket blasting off and Pikachu falling in the forest. In One Big Happiny Family!, Wobbuffet participated in catching Brock's Happiny and accidentally tugged on Team Rocket's balloon after trying to pull her down. After the balloon fell to the ground, Wobbuffet, Meowth, and Mime Jr. made funny faces at Happiny but she was not happy about it. Later in the episode, Wobbuffet, Meowth, and Mime Jr. prevented Happiny from reuniting with Brock but she single-handedly defeated them by throwing them in the air.
In Staging a Heroes' Welcome!, Jessilina used Wobbuffet in the Performance Stage of the Wallace Cup. After being sent out with a Flora Seal, Wobbuffet ran straight towards Jessie and used Counter, which sent her flying sky high. The performance failed to impress the Contest Judges and, when the results were announced, Jessie was not among the Coordinators advancing to the Contest Battles.
In Arriving in Style!, Wobbuffet was used in the Hearthome Collection, a fashion show for Stylists and their Pokémon whose winner would get the chance to work on a photo shoot for the Poké Chic magazine. For the competition, Jessie asked James to come up with some stylish accessories for her Pokémon, which James did by designing a necklace that was suitable for Wobbuffet's body style. However, Jessie thought the necklace was too simplistic and decided to apply some make-up on Wobbuffet. When it came time for Jessie to show off her Pokémon, the judges Paris and Hermione did not appreciate Wobbuffet's look. As a result, Wobbuffet was not among the three finalists of the competition.
In Double-Time Battle Training!, Jessie sent out Wobbuffet and Yanmega to practice for Pokémon Contests which follow the Double Performance format. She commanded Wobbuffet to deflect Yanmega's Silver Wind with Mirror Coat. However, this failed and the Team Rocket trio was sent blasting off.
Best Wishes series
Following the Team Rocket trio's journey in Sinnoh, Jessie was forced to leave Wobbuffet at Team Rocket's headquarters as he is not a Pokémon native in the Unova region and would attract attention.
Since then, Wobbuffet made appearances along with Meowth in the Pikachu short, PK23, Meloetta's Moonlight Senerade and Eevee & Friends. Strangely, the three of these shorts take place during the Best Wishes series, which Wobbuffet is normally absent from for the aforementioned reasons. It should be noted, however, that these shorts call into question their canonicity with the main anime series altogether.
Wobbuffet's only appearance in a Best Wishes series episode was in The Dream Continues!. After returning to Kanto and giving away their Unova Pokémon to Giovanni at the headquarters, the Team Rocket trio walked through a corridor only for Wobbuffet to pop up, surprising them. Wobbuffet was later seen with Team Rocket as they eavesdropped on Ash from the roof of his house in Pallet Town, leaving for Kalos with them and marking his return to Jessie's team.
XY series
Wobbuffet reappeared as a member of Jessie's team in the XY series, where he was shown to be much more competent in battle. In Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!, Wobbuffet was used in a battle against Pikachu, where he almost defeated Pikachu by returning his Thunderbolt right back at him with Mirror Coat. However, a wild Froakie came in and defended Pikachu from a reflected Electro Ball. Froakie helped defeat Wobbuffet by using its Frubbles to knock Wobbuffet on his back due to his inability to reflect moves that aren't attacks. Wobbuffet was soon blasted off by Pikachu, Froakie, and Clemont's Bunnelby.
In A Fork in the Road! A Parting of the Ways!, Wobbuffet was separated from Team Rocket along with Jessie after being blasted off by Pikachu. After falling into the sea due to a Gloom, he was rescued by Dr. White. He subsequently got romantically involved with Dr. White's female Wobbuffet. After Jessie tried to leave him behind with the Wobbuffet and Dr. White's Wynaut to help Team Rocket to fight a Pokémon hunter, he appeared at the last second to deflect the Pokémon hunter's Rhyperior's attacks. Afterwards, Team Rocket's Pokémon, as well as Pikachu and Fennekin combined their attacks to defeat Rhyperior. The Pokémon hunter was arrested by Dr. White and Beatrice, and Wobbuffet and Team Rocket left to continue following Ash and his friends.
In Performing with Fiery Charm!, Wobbuffet was used in the Dendemille Town Rookie Class Pokémon Showcase. In the Theme Performance, he and Meowth helped Jessie to make PokéPuffs and managed to proceed to the next round. During the Freestyle Performance, Jessie had Meowth bounce on Wobbuffet, while he was using Counter. In the end, Meowth used Fury Swipes to slice a bunch of Tomato Berries, resulting in a heart-shaped pile of berries. Despite their performance was well received by the audience, Jessie ended up in fifth place.
In A Dancing Debut!, Wobbuffet aided Jessie in making Poké Puffs during the Theme Performances of the Couriway Town Rookie Class Pokémon Showcase and managed to help Jessie proceed to the next round. Later, he was used again during the Freestyle Performance along with Gourgeist. After using Counter to let Jessie bounce in the air, he reflected Gourgeist's Shadow Ball with Mirror Coat to create a collision with Seed Bomb, resulting in amazing fireworks. In the end, their performance received the most votes from the audience, making Jessie the winner and earning her first Princess Key.
In An Explosive Operation!, Wobbuffet battled against Team Flare, who tried capturing Z2, where he used Mirror Coat to deflect Aliana's Druddigon's Dragon Pulse back at them. After Z2 had been defeated by Team Flare, Wobbuffet, joined by Jessie, James and Meowth, tried to prevent Team Flare from capturing Z2, but were blasted off by their Pokémon. Wobbuffet faced Team Flare again in Rocking Kalos Defenses!, this time against Celosia's Drapion and Mable's Weavile in Lysandre Labs. He managed to deflect their attacks with Mirror Coat, allowing James to capture the two Scientists and their Pokémon in a net.
Sun & Moon series
Wobbuffet continued to travel with Team Rocket in the Alola region, being the only party Pokémon they retained from their journey through Kalos.
Personality and characteristics
Wobbuffet is used occasionally for battles. Wobbuffet's knowledge of moves like Counter and Mirror Coat comes in handy, since Team Rocket often find themselves on the receiving end of powerful attacks.
Wobbuffet usually serves as a comic relief character due to his goofy, energetic, and looney character. He emerges from his Poké Ball frequently as a running gag, and often at inappropriate times which frustrated Jessie at times. Team Rocket has also had various vehicles and robots based on him.
Even though Jessie often seems annoyed with Wobbuffet, she was shown to truly care for him. This is showcased in a handful of episodes, including Who, What, When, Where, Wynaut?, in which Wobbuffet temporarily went missing. Jessie was very worried and desperately went searching for him on the island. Another instance was in Dealing With a Fierce Double Ditto Drama! where Jessie was upset at James's idea to send Wobbuffet to Giovanni since they couldn't tell him apart from Narissa's Ditto. Even though Wobbuffet has been absent, he still been shown to be doing his comical pose every time Team Rocket do their motto.
Wobbuffet also seems to care for Jessie deeply and see her as a motherly figure. This can be seen in The Wayward Wobbuffet, when he was lost and imagined a cloud in the shape of Jessie, childishly clapping with joy after noticing it. Even so, his loyalty has sometimes been in question, such as in Fear Factor Phony, where he temporarily left the group to hang out with some Psychic-type Pokémon and even single-handedly stopped Team Rocket's plan to steal Pokémon. Since his return, Wobbuffet has taken back his role as the "fourth member" of the team. He also seems to get more battling time now, and his capability of reflecting attacks has proven useful many times. Before Jessie caught her Pumpkaboo, Wobbuffet was her major battler, and did rather well, despite his incapability of using offensive moves. By A Fork in the Road! A Parting of the Ways!, he was shown to have become very close to Jessie, as seen when he chose to stay with her over a female Wobbuffet.
Wobbuffet appears to be good friends with Meowth as demonstrated when it was the only one to notice that an Alolan Meowth that Jessie and James thought to be their Meowth covered in mud. Later, following an encounter between Meowth and Mimikyu's true form, Wobbuffet was the only member to snap Meowth out of it.
Moves used
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| A † shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves. | ||||||||||||||||
In I Choose You!
Wobbuffet appeared in I Choose You!, which is set in a different continuity from the main series. During the ending credits, he pops out of his Poké Ball while Jessie, James, and Meowth are in their Meowth balloon, emerging from below Meowth and causing him to nearly fall off the balloon.
In the games
A Wobbuffet based on Jessie's Wobbuffet was distributed for Pokémon X and Y from June 21 to 22, 2014 via local wireless in Italy as part of the Pokémon Day event. For details, see here.
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| Moves in bold can be taught again at the Move Reminder as a special move if forgotten. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date received is the receiving system's date when the Wonder Card is received. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This Pokémon is set to the same language as the game that received it. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the manga
In the Ash & Pikachu manga
Jessie's Wobbuffet first appears in After the Missing Rucksack!! of the Ash & Pikachu manga.
In the movie adaptations
Jessie's Wobbuffet briefly appeared in Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction when Team Rocket saw the diamonds Diancie created were disappearing.
He also appeared in Hoopa and the Clash of Ages.
Moves used
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| A † shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves. | ||||||||||
In the TCG
Jessie's Wobbuffet is featured in the TCG as of one Team Rocket's Pokémon. The following is a list of cards featuring Wobbuffet.
| Wobbuffet Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats. | |||||||
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| Card | Type | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # |
| Rocket's Wobbuffet | 
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Pokémon VS | 093/141 | ||||
| Rocket's Wobbuffet | 
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EX Team Rocket Returns | 47/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back | 065/084 | ||
| Wobbuffet |
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Ash vs Team Rocket Deck Kit | 008/026 | ||||
- Wobbuffet also appears in the card Meowth M (Movie Random Pack Promo 17) and Bewear (Ash vs Team Rocket Deck 18).
Trivia
- Wobbuffet was the first traded Pokémon to become an important part of the main cast.
- For DP024, Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Encyclopedia is about Jessie's Wobbuffet. He writes this senryū about it: 「きがつけば なのりもやってる ソーナンス」 "He's introducing himself before you realize, Sonans."
- Until Duplica pointed out the existence and effect of Mirror Coat to Jessie, she always told Wobbuffet to use Counter to deflect attacks. Depending on the move, Wobbuffet would "do what he had to do to defend himself". After this, due to Jessie having trouble distinguishing the two moves, she would instead commonly tell Wobbuffet to counter that attack, seemingly letting him decide what to do himself.
- Wobbuffet spent 511 consecutive episodes as a part of Jessie's party, making him the Pokémon to have spent the most time on a main character's party before leaving, more than two complete series together, and spending the third-most time as a main cast member, after Pikachu and Meowth.
- Wobbuffet is the only one of Team Rocket's Pokémon to return to its Trainer's party after previously leaving their Trainer's party.
- Wobbuffet has appeared at least once in every series so far.
- Wobbuffet is the only Pokémon Team Rocket obtained in the original series to still be owned.
- In A Fork in the Road! A Parting of the Ways!, it was confirmed that Wobbuffet is male. His physical appearance could not be used as proof, as gender differences were not introduced until Generation IV.
Related articles
- For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Wobbuffet.
- Episodes focusing on Team Rocket
References
- ↑ Confirmed in A Fork in the Road! A Parting of the Ways!
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| Jessie | James | ||||||
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| For a list of other Pokémon Team Rocket has commanded, see here and here | |||||||
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
