Team Rocket Grunt (Trainer class)

Team Rocket grunts act as fodder, enforcers, workmen, crooks and backup for various leaders in the group armed with different kinds Pokémon they try to get the job done.

In the games

In Kanto

In Pokémon Red and Blue and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, the grunts are found in Mount Moon going after Fossils, and in Cerulean City, where one grunt at the end of the Nugget Bridge recruiting for Team Rocket, and another had stolen a TM.

In Celadon City, they operated a base under the Game Corner sending out Pokémon all over the world.

They made their final appearance when they take over the Silph Co. headquarters. After the player defeated them there, Giovanni disappeared without a trace, and the grunts have not been seen since in Kanto.

In the Sevii Islands

In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, they are found on several of the Sevii Islands. On island one, the player faces two in front of a cave which leads to the Ruby for the Net Center. On island four, the player helps Lorelei, who nearly put a grunt on ice with her Lapras's Ice Beam. On island six, there is a Grunt in front of Altering Cave. In the Ruin Valley, a Rocket scientist steals the Sapphire from the player. On island five, the player will find a group of male and female grunts operating from a warehouse getting a large group of Pokémon, most of them rare, and trying to make a working prototype of the high-frequency sound wave machine which would influence evolution; but after defeating the grunts and the two Team Rocket admins, they will pull out, but not before telling the player that they will find Giovanni and restore Team Rocket. They have not been seen in the islands since.

In Johto

In the Generation II games three years after the events in Red/Blue and Fire Red/ Leaf Green a group of Rocket grunts were taking Slowpokes and cutting their tails off to sell operating from the Slowpoke Well. At Mahogany Town the hero/heroine will find under a shop the base in which the Rockets have been using a fully working high-frequency sound wave machine which would influence Pokémon Evolution the hero/heroine must work with Lance to stop them. After wining the Glacier Badge Prof Elm will ring the hero/heroine and tell him/her that in a final attempt to contact their former leader they take over the radio tower in Goldenrod the grunts were in the tower but after the Radio Director was revealed to be a Rocket Executive the hero/heroine must go to the Goldenrod City Tunnel where the grunts were safekeeping the real Radio Director who will give you a card key then the hero/heroine must go back to the 3rd floor and finally bring down the group. Because the final Rocket Executive disbands the group and apart from a grunt stealing a part of a power plant in Kanto and being beaten by the hero/heroine the grunts have not been seen in the Games since.

In the Anime

In the Anime the grunts have had few appearances they first made appearance in the Kanto Saga episode Battle aboard the St. Anne grunts under the command of Jessie, James and Meowth trapped Trainers and tried to steal their Pokémon. In the Johto Saga they operated around the Lake of Rage under the command of Professor Sebastian and Tyson to help in Project R which is to force Pokémon to evolve thus giving the group powerful Pokémon to use Then operating from a under sea base in which they under command of Dr.Nanba, Butch and Cassidy captured two Lugia a mother and child but the two birds set themselves free with the help of Ash and his friends Oddly unlike their Game and Manga Counterparts the grunts did not use Pokémon

In the manga

In Pokémon Special

In the Kanto saga

In the Manga Chapter 1 the grunts are trying to find Mew so they can finish Mewtwo latter in Chapter 7 Searching Mount Moon a group of grunts were trying to find the Moon Stone for the use of Team Rocket. Then in Chapter 16 they went after Blue hoping they can get back a disk with information on Mew on it in Chapter 17after Red and Blue after they tried to get Mew but the two trainers managed to help Mew. In Chapter 25 the minions were sent catch the Ice Bird Articuno and then In Chapter 26 a Army of Grunts were sent to take out Blaine who left the group due to Mew Twos creation after Red help him to escape they used Moltres that they captured on the Indigo Plateau it was beaten after Red restored a Aerodactyl to life. In Chapter 28 as part of the Saffron City Invasion the grunts used a Mr. Mime to put a Light Screen over the city under the orders of the leaders by working with each other Red and Green managed to get in. In Chapter 33 the grunts tried to get out of the city because of the fight between Red, Green and Koga they were all trapped by the forces of the Good Gym Leaders by blocking all four exits. In Chapter 34 the Cinnabar Island Base was destroyed by Mewtwo taking out Grunts and the Scientists that worked there. With Giovanni being beaten in Chapter 38 and him telling the first TR Executives Lt Surge, Koga and Sabrina that in order to beat Red he must goon training trip so he calls off the Group because of this the grunts have not been seen in Kanto since

In the Johto Saga

In the third part of the manga the grunts as well as the TR Elite Trio were recognized under the Mask of Ice and given the name Team Rocket Neo. In Chapter 102 the grunts are sent to cut the tails of Slowpoke from the Slowpoke well but Silver stopped them. In Chapters 109 and 108 they and the two Sub Leaders Shum and Cart were sent to destroy the Tin Tower which they did buy they lost the battle with Gold and Silver. In Chapter 153 the Cart gives a speech telling them it is time for the public to officially learn about the return of Team Rocket. In Chapter 164 the Trio and the Grunts ride the train to the Indigo Plateau because in Chapter 165 they crash the gym leader’s exhibition match In Chapters 168 the Rocket Grunts are being mind controlled and although the Trio is freed from the mind control masks by Lt Surge the grunts are still coming in lesser numbers in Chapter 169. In Chapter 173 the grunts are sent to retrieve the Rainbow Wing and the Sliver Wing hidden in her hat then in Chapter 175 the Grunts on the train are still coming but most have been knock out as Red and Green go off to fight the Mask of Ice Chuck will tell them that he and the other Gym Leaders will make shore that the Rocket Grunts are taken care of. After the defeat of the Mask of Ice and the Sub Leaders and Will and Karen Quitting the group the grunts have not been seen in Johto since

Pokémon

On hand

Note this list is of Pokémon that have been used by the Grunts in Red/Blue/Yellow and the first half of Fire Red/Leaf Green

• Sandshrew
• Rattata
• Zubat
• Ekans
• Drowzee
• Raticate
• Koffing
• Grimer
• Machop
• Sandslash
• Arbok
• Hypno
• Golbat
• Weezing
• Cubone
• Machoke
• Marowak

This List is for the Pokémon that the Grunts in the Island 5 Warehouse have they have the same Pokémon but with a few new ones

• Cubone
• Marowak
• Sandshrew
• Sandslash
• Rattata
• Raticate
• Zubat
• Golbat
• Grimer
• Muk
• Ekans
• Gloom
• Koffing
• Weezing
• Houndour
• Machop
• Machoke
• Hypno
• Arbok
• Vileplume
• Houndoom

This List is for the Gold/ Sliver Group of Rockets

• Rattata
• Zubat
• Ekans
• Koffing
• Drowzee
• Venonat
• Golbat
• Gloom
• Raticate
• Murkrow
• Arbok
• Muk
• Vileplume
• Houndour
• Houndoom

This list is for the Kanto Rocket Grunts in the Manga

• Rhyhorn
• Hitmonlee
• Machamp
• Geodude
• Graveler
• Jynx
• Muk
• Mr. Mime
• Moltres

This list is for the Johto Neo Team Rocket Grunts in the Manga

• Cubone
• Drowzee
• Ledian
• Ninetails
• Piloswine
• Ditto
• Houndour
• Houndoom
• Persian