Team Rocket trio

Official art of Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet from the Sun & Moon series

The Team Rocket trio, sometimes abbreviated as TRio or JJM, is a trio of members of Team Rocket, consisting of Jessie, James, and Meowth.

In the anime

Character

The Team Rocket trio blasting off again

Since making their debut in the second episode of the anime, they appeared in almost every single episode until the Best Wishes series, in which they appeared less frequently. As such, they are the most prominent representation of Team Rocket as a whole in the anime. Prior to Rematch at the Nacrene Gym!, the very first episode was the only single regular episode (excluding the clip show AG120) in which Team Rocket trio was completely absent.

In most of their appearances, they attempt to capture Ash's Pikachu, or any other Pokémon to give to Team Rocket's boss, Giovanni. However, they usually get defeated and are blasted off with their iconic catchphrase "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" (4Kids dub) or "We're blasting off again!" (TPCi dub). Typically, right after making a capture, they will recite their motto, although on some occasions they are unable to finish. This has been parodied by protagonists and even other Team Rocket members, such as Butch and Cassidy.

Since witnessing his power, the trio has been obsessed with capturing Ash's Pikachu, relentlessly pursuing Ash and his friends across the various regions of the Pokémon world to do so. Although they often succeed in capturing Pikachu, they never manage to hold on to him for long. They frequently develop or purchase various kinds of shockproof gadgets and machinery (mechas, rubber suits, etc.) to aid in his capture, but these gadgets are often circumvented by non-Electric attacks and abilities (which the trio constantly forget to account for) or simply backfire.

Team Rocket and Looker

Even though they usually only cause trouble for the main characters, they have sometimes helped them. When they have a common enemy they will often ally with Ash and his friends, as shown in The Power of One and later against Team Aqua and Team Magma. They also played a key part in the fight against Team Galactic, teaming up with Looker. They occasionally put their differences aside for personal reasons, only to later return to their thieving ways. One of the more common moments of truce is during Pokémon Contests, which Jessie had a fondness for participating in under aliases.

On several occasions, Jessie, James and Meowth have shown that they are not all evil and even have affection for Ash and his friends. The trio heroically sacrificed themselves to what they thought was certain death in The Power of One in order to allow Ash's escape on Lugia. They also saved him from a fall in the next movie, Spell of the Unown: Entei. Their justification was that in the case of the world being destroyed or Ash's death, they would be out of show business, but it is implied that this is just bluster to cover the fact that they are not bad people. In Charizard's Burning Ambition, Team Rocket kept Ash's Charizard awake as it lay in the lake, and then built a huge mecha and attacked the Charicific Valley for the sole purpose of allowing Charizard to defeat them and gain acceptance in the valley.

History

This section is incomplete.
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Reason: Role in Kanto through Sinnoh, Kalos, and Alola

Team Rocket with all of their Pokémon in the original series (minus Wobbuffet)

The Team Rocket trio first appeared in Pokémon Emergency, in which they took over the Viridian Pokémon Center. After their first defeat at the hands of Ash's Pikachu convinced them of its extraordinary power, the trio made their main goal to capture Pikachu.

The trio's general incompetence usually makes them incapable of helping Team Rocket with their significant plans. In Dues and Don'ts, they discovered that their membership in Team Rocket had lapsed, although they were able to rejoin due to labor shortages, provided that they pay their debts. In The Thief That Keeps on Thieving!, Giovanni did not even remember who they were.

In Frozen on Their Tracks!, the Team Rocket trio befriended Looker after sharing boxed lunches with him, calling him "Boxed-Lunch Guy" or "Mr. Lunchbox". Later in the Diamond & Pearl series, after discovering that Looker was an International Police Officer, they assisted him in taking down Team Galactic.

The trio in their black uniforms

At his secretary's recommendation, Giovanni promoted them as part of his plans in the Unova region. After their promotion, they changed from their original white uniforms to black uniforms. In the Best Wishes series, they acted in a more serious manner, focusing more on completing specific assignments, often using gadgets such as jetpacks to retreat instead of blasting off.

In Battling For The Love of Bug-Types!, after Giovanni's secretary informed them that they wouldn't be needed for any more missions, they worried Giovanni had lost faith in them and returned to their white uniforms. They returned to planning their own schemes, although often in a more competent manner and with the assistance of Dr. Zager. They participated in Operation Tempest, Team Rocket's mission to capture Meloetta and harness the power of the kami trio.

Due to the failure of Operation Tempest, starting in New Places... Familiar Faces! they reverted to their traditional comedic personalities, using their original motto, and travelling in their Meowth balloon (with enhancements); however, their newfound competence was not completely lost, with the trio still occasionally retreating using jetpacks instead of blasting off.

After Meowth, Colress and Team Rivalry!, the trio decided to head for the White Ruins, where they would spy on Team Plasma's movements for a time while plotting to steal the Light Stone. However, when their friend Looker spotted them and asked for their help, the trio helped Ash and his friends defeat the rival organization. After helping defeat Team Plasma in Farewell, Unova! Setting Sail for New Adventures!, the trio returned completely to their previous role as comic relief, retaining only their upgraded technology and slight competence.

Artwork


Official artwork from the original series	Official artwork from the Advanced Generation series	Official artwork from the Diamond & Pearl series	Official artwork from the Best Wishes series	Official artwork from the XY series
For more artwork, please see Jessie, James, Meowth images on the Bulbagarden Archives.

In the games

In Pokémon Yellow, Jessie and James appear and are involved in Team Rocket's four major schemes (Mt. Moon, Rocket Hideout, Pokémon Tower, and Silph Co.), and typically appear before the player battles Giovanni. They also replace the three Team Rocket members in the Pokémon Tower that hold Mr. Fuji hostage as well as two other Team Rocket Grunts: one close to the exit of Mt. Moon and the other one near the entrance to the President's room at Silph Co. Curiously, they are never referred to by their individual names and share their Trainer class with all other Team Rocket Grunts.

They first attack the player in Mt. Moon, while trying to take one of the rare Fossils uncovered there.

Later, in Celadon City's Rocket Game Corner, Jessie and James guard Giovanni's room in the Team Rocket base. During that time, as the player runs into them, they are eager for revenge after the main character busted up their plans at Mt. Moon.

They hold Mr. Fuji hostage at Pokémon Tower, attacking the player on the seventh floor.

Finally, at Silph Co. in Saffron City, Jessie and James make their final appearance, once again trying to stall the main character from reaching their Boss.

Unlike in the anime, Jessie and James do not follow the main character around and come up with their usual evil plans to capture Pikachu. In addition, Meowth cannot talk, and he resides in a Poké Ball instead of traveling around with Jessie and James.

In addition, they also receive their own encounter music, a track not heard in Red and Blue.

Pokémon

First battle

Rocket

Mt. Moon

Yellow

Reward:

$420

Type:
Poison	Unknown

Ekans Lv.14


Jessie and James's sprite from Yellow	Jessie's overworld sprite from Yellow	James's overworld sprite from Yellow

Team Rocket's Pokémon
Travel with:	Meowth	Rotom Phone
	Jessie			James
On hand:	Wobbuffet	Seviper	Yanmega	Mime Jr.	Carnivine	Yamask
On hand:	Woobat	Frillish	Gourgeist	Amoonguss	Inkay	Morpeko

In training:				Cacnea
At home:				Growlie	Chimecho
Released:	Arbok	Dustox	Mimikyu	Weezing	Gyarados	Mareanie
Traded away:	Lickitung			Victreebel
Lived with (all three):	Bewear	Stufful
Worked with (all three):	Delibird	Pelipper
Temporarily owned:	Porygon Zero	Shellder	Magikarp	Second Victreebel	Hoppip
Temporarily owned:	Mawile
Befriended:	Blissey
Status unknown:	Starmie			Pidgey	Numel
For a list of other Pokémon Team Rocket has commanded, see here and here

Team Rocket
Rocket Game Corner • Team Rocket Hideout • Viridian Gym • Team Rocket HQ • Rocket Warehouse
Boss	Admins

Giovanni (Masters • Pocket Monsters)	Archer (Masters)	Ariana (Masters)	Petrel (Masters)	Proton (Masters)
Other members
Jessie (Masters) • James (Masters) • Meowth • Team Rocket Grunts (Rocket Siblings) • Scientists (Gideon) Grey (Golden Boys) • Kaede (How I Became a Pokémon Card)
See also: Pokémon the Series • Adventures • Team GO Rocket • Team Rainbow Rocket

Team Rocket trio

In the anime

Character

History

Artwork

In the games

Pokémon

First battle

Second battle

Third battle

Fourth battle

Quotes

Sprites

In the manga

In the Ash & Pikachu manga

In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga

In the TCG

See also

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