Meowth (Team Rocket)
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- This article is about the Meowth working for Team Rocket. For the TCG card from the Team Rocket set, see Meowth (Team Rocket 62).
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 Meowth of Team Rocket | ||||||||||||||
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Meowth (Japanese: ニャース Nyarth) is a member of Team Rocket in a trio with Jessie and James.
In the anime
When he was younger, Meowth lived on the streets in Hollywood after he came there in search of fame and fortune. He was a member of a gang of street Meowth that was led by a Persian; this gang annoyed the humans in town, stealing food and causing trouble in general. One day, Meowth came across a female Meowth named Meowzie. Since she rejected him and preferred the company of her rich human mistress, Meowth attempted to make himself stand out from other Meowth and become more human-like to make himself "worthy" of her. Thus, he painstakingly taught himself to speak human language in a New York accent and walk upright like a human. When he approached her after this transformation, she once again rejected him, calling him a freak. Heartbroken, Meowth remembered the first human word he learned to speak - "rocket" - and was inspired to join Team Rocket. In Japanese, he often puts the word "Nya" into his sentences, the equivalent of a meow in Japanese. This was abandoned in the English dub shortly into the beginning of the series. Because Meowth can speak human but is a Pokémon, he is useful as a Pokémon translator. Despite being a Pokémon though, he is in charge of building and repairing the machines used by his team.
In Go West, Young Meowth, Meowth, Jessie, and James returned to Hollywood while following Ash, and Meowth was reunited with Meowzie, who had since been abandoned by her mistress and was forced to join the gang of street Meowth. Meowth fought his former Persian leader to win Meowzie's love, and won, but Meowzie demonstrated that her loyalty was with Persian since he took care of her when she needed it, and Meowth was once again heartbroken.
Because of the effort Meowth exerted while learning to speak and walk like a human, he has not learned the signature move of his species, Pay Day. In Meowth Rules, Meowth was worshiped by an island of people who believed that he could bring them riches with Pay Day. When he was caught in a battle meant to induce Pay Day, Jessie and James had to secretly bail him out by throwing the last of their spare change and some of James' prized bottlecaps in order to appease the islanders. Upon learning of its species' love for gathering coins and shiny objects from Ash's Pokédex later in Do I Hear a Ralts?, Jessie criticized him for not doing so.
There has been some debate as to whether or not Meowth was ever Giovanni's "Top Cat" (personal pet). He has stated himself as such in front of Giovanni with no objection (only to say that Persian was now in that position). Yet in Training Daze, he was shown to have been present at Team Rocket Headquarters for a short time, during which we see that Persian is already there. During this time, Meowth became a servant to Giovanni, bringing him food and drinks; however, he was unsuccessful at this task because he tripped over a wire, spilled Giovanni's coffee and got himself electrocuted. Giovanni didn't appear to be angry, but he assigned Meowth to Jessie and James's team. In light of this, it should be noted that Training Daze potentially contradicted other stated facts from previous episodes regarding Team Rocket's back story.
Several times, Meowth and Pikachu have had to team up, such as in the episodes Bound for Trouble and Hoenn Alone when both were separated from their respective parties. His relationship with Jessie and James varies in quality; for example, in Go West, Young Meowth they stated that they regarded Meowth as a friend, but in Bound for Trouble, having discovered Meowth and Pikachu after the two had been stuck together, they both stated that they had really been looking for Pikachu and Meowth was just 'part of the package'. Meowth seems to have aspects of each of his teammates in him; in arguments, he can often be seen siding with either Jessie (usually denouncing James' incompetence) or James (usually complaining about Jessie's overdramatic and rash behavior). Despite these fights, the three remain very close and loyal friends, although at one point in Giovanni's Gym in Viridian City, they threatened to split up. However they realized they had over reacted, and became friends again, proving themselves very loyal to each other.
Meowth also has demonstrated aspirations of being a parent-like caretaker, coddling Togepi's egg before fighting for custody of it only to finally lose it to Misty. To regain custody of Togepi, he even defeated Brock's Onix by throwing a bucket of water in its face and finishing it with a Fury Swipes attack to the head.
Meowth has also, since late Johto, had frequent fantasies about presenting Giovanni with various Pokémon. These fantasies often involve whatever creature it happens to be assisting Giovanni in his daily routine.
Much like Ash's Pikachu, Meowth does not stay inside a Poké Ball, but is technically a wild Pokémon unlike Pikachu. Strangely, though he first appeared in the second episode, in an era where Ash scanned nearly every Pokémon he came into contact with with his Pokédex, it took until Do I Hear a Ralts? for Ash to do this to Meowth. However, this was a mere accident: Meowth was dressed up like a Kirlia, and Ash had never seen one before. In Two Degrees of Separation, Dawn, unlike Ash, scanned him right away. She also made the same mistake as Ash when she scanned Meowth as a Shiftry in Leave it to Brocko!. Also in the episode The Lost Lapras the character Tracey started examining Meowth (despite not having a Pokédex), but only because he was interested in the fact that he could talk.
Meowth normally does not battle unless there are extreme circumstances; his explanation is that his ability to talk and walk upright came at the expense of battling ability. However, when forced to fight, Meowth is fairly resourceful, such as dumping a bucket of water on an Onix to weaken it. In Jumping Rocket Ship , however, Meowth fought extremely well, even knocking out Barry's Empoleon with Fury Swipes, which normally wouldn't do much damage. Yet just two episodes later, in Get Your Rotom Running!, Meowth was unable to break a display case using Scratch. Meowth's Fury Swipes attack was shown to slice dough in order to make ramen in the episode, Noodles! Roamin' Off!. Christopher, a former Team Rocket member and the owner of the ramen shop, saw Meowth do this and asked him to work in his restaurant as a noodle maker. After some thought, which included reflecting back on previous failures and the lack of appreciation and respect from Jessie and James, Meowth quit the Team Rocket Trio and accepted the offer. However, he eventually rejoined the group after hearing that James and Jessie were in danger.
Meowth has used his claws to pick locks on several occasions, such as when Jessie, James, and he wanted to get into the Old Chateau in Canalave City.
Jessie also used him during the Princess Festival in the episode Princess vs. Princess, Jessie's contest in Mean With Envy and the Pokémon Ping Pong Tournament in To Thine Own Pokémon Be True!.
In the Appeals Round in the contest, he created an ice sculpture of Giovanni, his Persian and himself.
In "the Jester"'s battle with Erica, he used "Transform". He did this by using the pouch attached to his belly. He transformed into a Sunflora first, using Razor Leaf against Jynx. Later, he transformed into a Kirlia and again into a Wailord. It popped the inflatable Wailord with its claws and "the Jester" was eventually disqualified.
In the Ping Pong tournament, Jessie and Meowth were disqualified since Meowth sliced the ball with his claws, instead of hitting it. In Dressed for Jess Success!, James disguised as Jessilina due to Jessie being sick. Meowth, following his promise in Old Rivals, New Tricks!, is used for the appeal, where it used its talent for slicing ramen. The two then gave the judges the ramen to taste. Upon seeing the appeal on TV, Christopher became very proud.
In the Best Wishes series, Jessie, James, and Meowth were sent to the Unova region under orders from Giovanni after they were promoted in Memories are Made of Bliss!. To prevent them from getting too much attention, Giovanni did not allow Jessie's and James's other Pokémon to be sent to them, only making them use Pokémon native to Unova. This, however, made Meowth think of what would happen to him. Throughout most of the series, Meowth and his two friends were presented as horribly failing and erroneous criminals, always failing in their missions to capture Ash's Pikachu or other Pokémon. Recently, however, he, along with the rest of his team, developed a more serious attitude in their work, as he had when first introduced, being quicker-witted and much more resourceful than before and using ingenious methods of escape and thus proving much more difficult for Ash to defeat. He has also demonstrated much more battling skill than before, being agile enough to land on his feet when blown back by Ash's Pidove's Gust, and unlike before, does not horribly injure himself in battle.
In BW042, while in Nimbasa City, Team Rocket prepared to put their latest plan into action. Later, in BW043 Meowth was found injured by Ash, Iris and Cilan. While recovering, Meowth explained that while in Nimbasa he had botched up Team Rocket's scheme badly and was fired by Giovanni leading to Jessie and James turning their backs on him. Later, Iris's Axew was kidnapped by a Scrafty who wanted Axew's help to get its home back from a Mandibuzz. Using his ability to speak to both Pokémon and humans, Meowth not only helped get Axew back but also helped Scrafty gets its home back and helped Mandibuzz return to her original nest. Afterwards, Meowth decided to travel with Ash and his friends only for Iris to attempt to capture him in a Poké Ball. The capture nearly succeeded but Meowth broke out and told her he was going to help her regardless.
Personality and characteristics
Meowth has an ambitious, conniving, and idealistic personality. He has made it his life goal to please Giovanni (or "Boss," as he and his teammates call Giovanni), and will stop at nothing to capture or steal useful or rare Pokémon, especially Ash's Pikachu, which he has been pursuing since he encountered it in Pokémon Emergency.
Despite his seemingly outgoing nature, Meowth also has a contemplative inner side not seen as often. In one of his image songs, Meowth's Song, and in Mewtwo Strikes Back, he is shown to be a bit of a philosopher. In Mewtwo Strikes Back, he and his clone (in addition to Pikachu) were the only Pokémon not to participate in the giant battle, Meowth remarking (in the dub) that the originals and the clones shared the same air, moon, and planet, giving them common ground. Meowth comforted Ash's Chimchar in Tears For Fears! and actually expressed some admiration for Ash and his friends, commenting, "You [Chimchar] have buddies who'd give you the shirt off their backs if you needed one." On a few occasions, Meowth has become stranded with Pikachu, and during these times, the two work together fairly well. Pikachu distrusts Meowth for obvious reasons but Meowth is more willing to let go of the past and work together. Usually, by the end of these episodes, Meowth will betray Pikachu once they find Jessie and James.
Meowth is an amorous Pokémon, developing crushes on occasion (obviously not as much as Brock, but still a fair amount). The first of these was the aforementioned Meowzie. The next one seen is Cassandra, the (human) herbalist. Due to this infatuation, he decided to help her Paras evolve. However, he was replaced by a Persian so that he can continue traveling with Jessie and James, as Cassandra thought he was a hero and should continue doing his (not so) good work with Team Rocket. After this, three more cat-based Pokémon followed, beginning with May's Skitty. However, due to the fact that Jessie wanted to catch the Skitty, Meowth helped it escape in order to avoid Skitty getting hurt with the rest of the team. Later on, in Big Meowth, Little Dreams he falls in love with another Skitty. In For The Love Of Meowth, Meowth fell in love with a Glameow this time, one that belongs to Mamie. Similar to May's Skitty, Meowth tries to get away from Jessie and James so Glameow would not join them in blasting off. After Meowth was surrounded by Jessie, James, Ash, Dawn, Brock and Mamie, Meowth gained power from the love he felt, allowing him to defeat several Pokémon thrown at him, including Ash's Infernape and Staraptor, Jessie's Seviper and Yanmega and Dawn's Togekiss. However, after getting hit with James's Carnivine's Bullet Seed, Glameow evolves into Purugly and squishes Meowth, making Meowth lose its feelings for it. In BW038, Luke's Zorua used this trait to her advantage and turned into a female Meowth causing Meowth to become infatuated and unable to do her harm.
Moves used
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Moves Improvised
- In Who Gets to Keep Togepi?, Meowth used an improvised a Water Gun attack by throwing two buckets of water in a spiral motion to weaken Brock's Onix.
- In Bound For Trouble, Meowth jumped onto a Rhydon and used an improvised Tickle attack, however the move Tickle wasn't released until Generation III.
- Meowth claimed to be learning Night Slash in Jumping Rocket Ship!, but he has never been seen using the move.
- Meowth also improvised a move that he called "Fury Swipes of Love" in the episode For The Love Of Meowth to protect a Glameow he was in love with.
Voice actors
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In the games
Pokémon Yellow
Meowth appears as part of Jessie and James' team each time they appear, alongside Ekans/Koffing and their evolved forms.
First battle
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| Meowth Lv.14 | ||||||||||||||||
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Second battle
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| Meowth Lv.25 | |||||||||||||
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Third battle
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| Meowth Lv.27 | |||||||||||||
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Fourth battle
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| Meowth Lv.31 | |||||||||||||
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Pokémon Puzzle League
Meowth is a playable character, along with Jessie and James. Their theme is Double Trouble.
Pokémon Zany Cards
In Special Seven mode, Meowth appears as card #2. When the Meowth card is used, he will force the opponent to draw 2 cards. This can be countered if the player has another Meowth card, in which case the effect will pass on to the next player, unless they also have a Meowth card, and so on.
Meowth also makes a cameo in Four Kings mode. When the game is won, he tells the player to try the next level of difficulty. Meowth also appears on the box art.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
Meowth appears as a trophy. This trophy is unlocked after obtaining each All-Star trophy for all 25 playable characters.
Melee trophy information
This...is Meowth's dream. Meowth strides all over the globe scattering invitations to other Pokemon, insisting they come to "Meowth's Party". At this wonderful party, guests are packed in like sardines as Meowth climbs up the stage with its faithful guitar. It strikes a chord, pauses, and then rocks their world.
Pokémon Channel
Meowth appears on the PNF (Pokémon News Flash), along with Psyduck. He goes out and interviews random Pokémon in random locations.
Meowth also appears in Pichu Bros. in Party Panic, along with Jessie's Wobbuffet and the Squirtle Squad. He plans a party for himself and invites all the Pokémon from Big Town.
In the manga
In the Electric Tale of Pikachu
Meowth appears in the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga series along with his teammates Jessie and James.
His first appearance is in the chapter Pikachu's Excellent Adventure. He is searching for the Hidden Village with Jessie and James when he runs into Tommy, Pikachu and other Pokémon, who are also searching for the village. Meowth offers them free breakfast (made by Jessie and James) and the trio travel with them to the village. Later, he is expelled from the Hidden Village by Kangaskhan when Jessie and James try to steal the Pokémon.
Meowth makes his next appearance in You Gotta Have Friends, when he, Jessie and James attempt to steal a herd of wild Pikachu.
In the TCG
Meowth is featured in the TCG as one of Team Rocket's Pokémon and as a Pokémon 
. The following is a list of cards featuring Meowth.
| Name | Type | Level | Rarity | Set | Set no. |
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| Team Rocket's Meowth |  |
11 | - | Wizards Black Star Promos | 18 |
| Rocket's Meowth |  |
- |  |
EX Team Rocket Returns | 46/109 |
| Meowth |
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38 | - | Movie Commemoration Random Pack (no English release) | 017/022 |
Trivia
- There is some inconsistency as to whether or not Meowth hates water. In Snow Way Out, what he wanted was a hot spring, and in Who Gets to Keep Togepi?, he is seen taking a bath with the egg that will hatch into Togepi, and at least twice he suggests that all three of them go into the water (once in Pokémon Paparazzi and once in Fit to be Tide). However, in Pokémon Shipwreck and Friend and Foe Alike, he hates water, as he is a cat.
- Meowth will often replace the words "Me" or "Mouth" with "Meowth". Similar puns are also used in the Japanese version.
- The koban embedded in Meowth's forehead had apparently been lost in A Chansey Operation after an accident, forcing him to search it desperately. At the end of the episode, however, it was discovered that it had simply been jammed into his head by the impact.
- Additionally, Meowth had a fantasy about replacing the gold koban with a crystal one in The Crystal Onix.
- Meowth claims he is unable to learn Pay Day as a trade off for learning to speak. He claims to have 'used up all his move slots' doing so.
- Ironically, Meowth can use Pay Day in Yellow.
- In the Latin American Spanish dub, he is referred to as "Chimuelo" ("toothless") by James, a common form used in Mexico.
- In the Brazilian Portuguese, Hungarian and Finnish dubs, he is referred to as "Miau" (meow).
Related articles
For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Meowth.
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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. |
