James

James コジロウ Kojirō
[[File:|{{{size}}}]] Art from the TCG
Age	25 (est. by Pokeani)
Gender	Male
Eye color	Green
Hair color	Blue
Hometown	Unknown
Region	Kanto
Relatives	His parents
Trainer class	Agent
Generation	I
Games	Yellow
Member of	Team Rocket
Rank	Agent
Partner	Jessie
Anime debut	Pokémon Emergency!
English voice actor	Ted Lewis (EP002-EP009) Eric Stuart (EP010-AG145; 4Kids) Jimmy Zoppi (a/k/a Billy Beach; AG146-current; TPCi/TPCi)
Japanese voice actor	Shin'ichirō Miki

James (Japanese: コジロウ Kojirō) is one part of of the Team Rocket trio that follows around Ash Ketchum and friends in the Pokémon anime, usually trying to steal Ash's Pikachu, but always failing.

James is mostly a comedic parody of bishounen characters; the 4Kids English dub in particular tends to give him a melodramatic and even campy tone. He is somewhat famous for carrying a rose, though in more recent episodes he does not display it as often. Mostly, his rose is displayed in the Team Rocket motto.

In the anime

Character

James

The only child of millionaires, James was forced to endure formal society. At a young age, he was forcefully engaged to a girl of whom he was terrified, Jessiebelle, all because his parents wanted to have a wealthy daughter-in-law. Thus, he ran away from home, leaving behind his beloved pet Growlie. He attempted to enroll in Pokémon Tech, a Trainer's school, but, along with his new friend Jessie, flunked out. Then, with Jessie, he joined the Sunny Town bicycle gang, where he was popular for being the only gang member to have to use training wheels (nicknamed "Trainer Jim"). Eventually James, Jessie, and the bike gang went their separate ways.

Due to conflicts in canon between Kanto and Johto episodes and the special episode Training Daze, what happened between James and Jessie after the bike gang is unknown. What is known, as shown in the special episode, is that they joined Team Rocket separately and were on initially unfriendly terms after being grouped with Meowth. However, they quickly made up and the rest is history.

Since he is proficient in several activities, including Pokémon haiku and PokéRinger, it is possible that he developed his skills during his temporary separation from Jessie, or even from the many lessons he was enrolled in as a child, but this is not known for sure.

Perhaps due to his heavily enforced, sheltered upbringing, as well as the constant harassment that he had to endure from Jessiebelle, James has an odd, somewhat submissive personality. He, along with Meowth, are frequently subjected to the consequences of Jessie's wrath, and James in particular often does nothing about it. He will regularly comply to whatever ideas the other two come up with, and when he doesn't, usually ends up doing so anyway, like when he was forced to trade his Victreebel away. He also seems to be the most emotional amongst the Team Rocket trio, and if the three should ever happen to get separated, he often seems very lost without his companions.

In the episode Holy Matrimony!, James returned to his home as a result of a trap by his parents, who pretended to be dead. He was reunited with his old pet Growlie and managed to avoid marrying Jessiebelle. Growlie stayed behind upon James' request when he returned to Jessie and Meowth.

James has a tendency to be swindled by a Magikarp Salesman, who, despite James's increasing wariness and personal vendetta against the shady character has on many occasions tricked him into buying a Magikarp or other useless Pokémon and items for large sums of money.

James also has a tendency to cross-dress, but has not done it since Pros and Con Artists, with the exception of the occasional impersonation of characters such as Nurse Joy's and Officer Jenny's. In fact, DP146 marks the first time he cross dresses in the Diamond and Pearl anime series, though it was him disguised as Jessie. He also often dresses up like famous celebrities as well, such as Professor Oak, Juan, and Norman, and impersonates other non-human objects, including Pokémon, animals, and even bushes and trees.

James loves rare bottle caps and has an impressive collection of them. In the episode All That Glitters! it is revealed that he has "drunk enough soda pop to float an aircraft carrier".

For unknown reasons, he, Jessie and Meowth mostly use hot air balloons instead of faster ways of transportation. However in newer episodes the balloon is shown with 'jets' attached to explain how they get from one place to another faster than walking

Pokémon

As the standards of the Team Rocket organization dictated, James was first shown with a poison type. However, James seems to have a fondness for carnivorous Template:Type2 Pokémon, owning both a Weepinbell and a Carnivine. It was shown during a flashback in Cream of the Croagunk Crop! how James, as a boy, found Carnivine in the Great Marsh. It was trapped in the mud and James rescued it, the two forming a bond of friendship. It is not shown how he captured Weepinbell, but he has owned them for a long period of time before their first appearances. He did, however, capture a Cacnea early in Hoenn, furthering his seeming preference for Grass-types. Often, when going into battle, his Grass Pokémon will show great affection towards James. It is also shown there is a strong bond between James and his other Pokémon; James almost treats them as his own children. This could stem from childhood memories he occasionally brings up. When it comes time to leave a Pokémon behind for one reason or another, James often has great difficulty in letting go of his beloved friends.

Jessie and James and the Pokémon they traveled with in Hoenn

Travels with

Meowth

On hand

Mime Jr.

Carnivine

In training

Cacnea

At home

Growlithe "Growlie"

With relatives

Chimecho

Numel (multiple)

• In Game Winning Assist, James mentions that his grandfather brought him some Numel to warm him in the winter.

Traded away

→ Weepinbell → Victreebel

Released

→ Koffing → Weezing

→ Weepinbell → Victreebel

→ Magikarp → Gyarados

Borrowed

File:Jessie's Dustox sprite.png Dustox

Yanmega

In That's Just Swellow, James borrowed Dustox from Jessie to use in a PokéRinger competition. He did this again in Pursuing a Lofty Goal! with her Yanmega.

Not properly caught

Hoppip

• Bought from the Magikarp Salesman while disguised as a Chimecho. Flew off after its true identity was revealed.

Temporary

File:RocketPorygon.png Porygon (prototype)

Pikachu

Ivysaur

Charizard

Venusaur

Pikachu

Aggron

Goldeen (many)

• Porygon (prototype): Temporarily controlled by Team Rocket in Electric Soldier Porygon.
• Pikachu, Ivysaur, and Charizard: James was given them to use in The Ultimate Test. He was disqualified for battling with both Ivysaur and Charizard at the same time, and attempted to steal all three, but failed.
• Venusaur: James used it in One Trick Phony!. It belonged to the Battle Park and the team had it taken away shortly before being blasted off.
• Pikachu James temporarily commanded Ash's Pikachu in A Scare to Remember! when it lost its memory and believed it was a member of Team Rocket.
• Aggron: TRDelibird ([[{{{2}}} (move)|{{{2}}}]]) delivered it to James by mistake in Grating Spaces. It was taken back at the end of the episode, as it was intended for Butch.
• Goldeen: James was placed in charge of a Goldeen catching stall at the Twinleaf Festival.

Achievements

As a member of Team Rocket, he hasn't accomplished too much. However, he has proven to be quite skilled at several pursuits and has even won some contests.

• PokéRinger (2nd place)
• Pokémon Orienteering (Winner)
• Suiren Contest (Winner; gave ribbon to Jessie)

Voice actors

Language Voice actor Japanese 三木眞一郎 Shin'ichirō Miki English Ted Lewis (4Kids dub; EP002-EP009) Eric Stuart (4Kids dub; EP010-AG145) Jimmy Zoppi (credited as Billy Beach, TPCi/TPCi dub) Arabic زياد الرفاعي Ziad Ar-Rifa'i Czech Michal Michálek Dutch Bram Bart (season 1-7, movies 1-3) Paul Disbergen (season 8-present, movie 8-present) French Canada Antoine Durand Europe David Manet German Matthias Klie Hebrew גיא נתיב Guy Nativ (seasons 1-6) לירון לב Liron Lev (seasons 7, 9-current) גיל צרנוביץ Gil Chernovich (season 8) Italian Simone D'Andrea Polish Jarosław Budnik (EP002-AG040, DP053-present, movies 1, 2, 3 and 11, Mewtwo Returns) Marcin Przybylski (DP001-DP052) Portuguese Brazil Márcio Araújo Portugal Peter Michael (EP001-EP093, movies 1, 2, 3, and 4) Rui Quintas (EP094-present) Spanish Latin America José Antonio Macías Spain Iván Jara Luis Manuel Martín Díaz (movie 3 and Mewtwo Returns)

In the manga

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.

James was a character in Toshihiro Ono's manga, The Electric Tale of Pikachu, which was based loosely on the anime.

While James' role in the Pokémon anime has not yet ended, in the manga, he ended up married to Jessie, about to start a family.

Pokémon

On hand

→ Koffing → Weezing

In the games

Pokémon Yellow

Both Jessie and James appear in Pokémon Yellow as in-game bosses. They first attack the main character 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. They attack the main character 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.

First battle

File:Team Rocket.png [[Rocket (Trainer class)|Rocket]] Jessie and James [[Mt. Moon|Mt. Moon]] Yellow [[Rocket (Trainer class)|Rocket]] and Professor Jessie and James Oak [[Mt. Moon|Mt. Moon]] Yellow Reward: $420
Types: Poison Unknown Ekans Lv.14 Wrap Normal   --       Leer Normal   --       Poison Sting Poison   --       Unknown   --       Types: Normal Unknown Meowth Lv.14 Scratch Normal   --       Growl Normal   --       Bite Normal   --       Unknown   --       Types: Poison Unknown Koffing Lv.14 Tackle Normal   --       Smog Poison   --       Unknown   --       Unknown   --

Second battle

File:Team Rocket.png [[Rocket (Trainer class)|Rocket]] Jessie and James [[Rocket Hideout|Rocket Hideout]] Yellow [[Rocket (Trainer class)|Rocket]] and Professor Jessie and James Oak [[Rocket Hideout|Rocket Hideout]] Yellow Reward: $750
Types: Poison Unknown Ekans Lv.25 Bite Normal   --       Leer Normal   --       Poison Sting Poison   --       Glare Normal   --       Types: Normal Unknown Meowth Lv.25 Bite Normal   --       Growl Normal   --       Pay Day Normal   --       Screech Normal   --       Types: Poison Unknown Koffing Lv.25 Tackle Normal   --       Smog Poison   --       Unknown   --       Unknown   --

Third battle

File:Team Rocket.png [[Rocket (Trainer class)|Rocket]] Jessie and James [[Pokémon Tower|Pokémon Tower]] Yellow [[Rocket (Trainer class)|Rocket]] and Professor Jessie and James Oak [[Pokémon Tower|Pokémon Tower]] Yellow Reward: $810
Types: Poison Unknown Arbok Lv.27 Bite Normal   --       Leer Normal   --       Poison Sting Poison   --       Glare Normal   --       Types: Normal Unknown Meowth Lv.27 Bite Normal   --       Growl Normal   --       Screech Normal   --       Pay Day Normal   --       Types: Poison Unknown Weezing Lv.27 Tackle Normal   --       Smog Poison   --       Sludge Poison   --       Unknown   --

Fourth battle

File:Team Rocket.png [[Rocket (Trainer class)|Rocket]] Jessie and James [[Silph Co.|Silph Co.]] Yellow [[Rocket (Trainer class)|Rocket]] and Professor Jessie and James Oak [[Silph Co.|Silph Co.]] Yellow Reward: $930
Types: Poison Unknown Arbok Lv.31 Bite Normal   --       Leer Normal   --       Poison Sting Poison   --       Glare Normal   --       Types: Normal Unknown Meowth Lv.31 Bite Normal   --       Growl Normal   --       Screech Normal   --       Pay Day Normal   --       Types: Poison Unknown Weezing Lv.31 Tackle Normal   --       Smog Poison   --       Sludge Poison   --       Unknown   --

Pokémon Puzzle League

Along with many other anime characters, both Jessie and James appeared in Pokémon Puzzle League, where they appeared with a Weezing, an Arbok, and a Golbat.

In the TCG

Jessie and James appear on both versions of the card Here Comes Team Rocket!, which originally released in the Team Rocket set; it was re-released with different artwork in EX Team Rocket Returns. In that expansion, there was also a preconstructed Theme Deck based on James.

It is rumored that James may also be on the Gym Challenge set card Rocket's Secret Experiment, as there is a Rocket in the background, seen only from the back, who has his hairstyle, but what he may be doing in the lab is left to the imagination.

Trivia

• Both Jessie and James have used a Charizard at separate times (Jessie having used two). None of the three remained in their care, however.
• James at times uses the name Jameson.
• James hasn't evolved any of his Pokémon since Here's Lookin' at You, Elekid!.
• He is one of the only main characters to, after being given his first Pokémon, at one point not have any Pokémon on hand. This was in A Poached Ego! during the brief moment after he released Weezing and before he caught Cacnea. The other character was Ash briefly when he was traveling to Hoenn.
• James is the only main character to have one Pokémon and release/give it away, then get another Pokémon of the same species.
• James and Meowth are the only main characters to have their voice actors replaced during the 4Kids run of the show, then again when Pokémon USA took over.
• James is, as of the most recent Japanese episode, the only Trainer on the main cast who has not yet owned a Generation II Pokémon during the Diamond & Pearl series.
  • In fact, the only Generation II Pokémon James ever had was a Hoppip, though it flew away before he could put it in a Poké Ball.
• In the dub, both of James's Generation III Pokémon were given away in the second episode of a season which was recorded at a new studio from the prior. Chimecho was left in the care of Nanny and Pop-Pop in the second episode of Battle Frontier (dubbed at TAJ), while Cacnea was given to Gardenia in the the second episode of Battle Dimension (dubbed at DuArt). This is merely coincidence, however.
• James was the first main character to release a Pokémon.
• James was the first main character to be shown with both of their parents (although this would be equaled by Brock, May and Max as the series went on).
• In Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden, James states he has "allergies" when talking about the pollen from the flowers. It is a possibility he suffers from hay fever, or something similar.
  • Ironically, a running gag in the anime involves his Template:Type2 Pokémon hurting him in a show of affection.
• In the main series games, Jessie and James are the only characters from Generation I to appear only in that generation, as they do not reappear in Generation II when Kanto is revisited, and (being exclusive to Yellow) were not adapted into their remakes.
• In the Latin American Spanish dub, James usually says funny things, like referring to himself as "Johnny" or "Jamememes" in Team Rocket's motto, and most of his dialogues are filled with local jokes. He also seems to naturally speak with a Mexican accent (much like Meowth does sometimes).
• James is the only current main character who has not entered a Pokémon Contest for himself yet, though he has let Jessie borrow his Pokémon many times.
  • He does, however, enter one disguised as Jessilina in DP146 in place of Jessie, due to her being incapacitated at the time. Ironically, he wins this contest.
    • This also makes him the first major character in the anime to win an official contest on his first try.

Name origin

James's English name is taken from Jesse James, an American outlaw. His Japanese name, Kojiro, is taken from 佐々木小次郎 Sasaki Kojirō, a prominent Japanese swordsman most famous for being killed by his rival, 宮本武蔵 Miyamoto Musashi, the namesake of Jessie. Also, 二郎 Jirō is a name meaning "second son," while 三郎 Saburō means "third son." Kojiro takes advantage of Jirō, while the Japanese name of Butch, Kosaburo, takes advantage of Saburō.

Related articles

• Episodes focusing on Team Rocket
  • Episodes focusing on James

External links

• Roketto, the fanlisting for James
• Kojirō's Profile on Pokeani (Japanese)
• Kojirō's Pokémon on Pokeani (Japanese)

Team Rocket's Pokémon
Travel with:	Meowth	Rotom Phone
	Jessie			James
On hand:	Wobbuffet	Seviper	Yanmega	Mime Jr.	Carnivine	Yamask
	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
	Mawile
Befriended:	Blissey
Status unknown:	Starmie			Pidgey	Numel
For a list of other Pokémon Team Rocket has commanded, see here and here

Pokémon the Series characters
Protagonists Ash Ketchum (Pikachu) • Misty (Togetic) • Brock • Tracey Sketchit • May • Max • Dawn (Piplup) • Iris (Haxorus) • Cilan • Serena • Clemont • Bonnie (Dedenne) • Lana • Kiawe • Lillie • Sophocles • Mallow • Rotom Pokédex • Goh (Grookey) Rivals Gary • Ritchie • Harrison • Drew • Harley • Morrison • Tyson • Solidad • Paul • Nando • Zoey • Kenny • Conway • Barry • Ursula • Trip • Bianca • Burgundy • Stephan • Georgia • Cameron • Aria • Alain • Miette • Tierno • Shauna • Trevor • Nini • Sawyer • Gladion • Horacio • Hau • Leon • Raihan • Horace • Bea • League Conference participants • Coordinators • Performers • World Coronation Series participants Antagonists Jessie (Wobbuffet) • James • Meowth • Giovanni • Butch • Cassidy • Dr. Namba • Matori • Pierce • Dr. Zager • Gozu • Tabitha • Maxie • Shelly • Archie • Hunter J • Saturn • Cyrus • Mars • Jupiter • Charon • Colress • Aldith • Ghetsis • Barret • Malamar • Lysandre • Mable • Celosia • Aliana • Xerosic • Bryony • Tupp • Zipp • Rapp • Plumeria • Guzma • Viren • Rose • Oleana Professors Professor Oak • Professor Ivy • Professor Elm • Professor Birch • Professor Rowan • Professor Carolina • Professor Juniper • Dr. Fennel • Cedric Juniper • Professor Sycamore • Professor Kukui • Professor Burnet • Professor Cerise • Professor Magnolia • Sonia • Professor Amaranth Relatives Delia Ketchum • Daisy • Violet • Lily • James's parents • Flint • Lola • Forrest • Brock's siblings • Norman • Caroline • Johanna • Chili • Cress • Grace • Meyer • Lana's father • Lana's mother • Harper and Sarah • Rango • Sima • Mimo • Kiawe's grandfather • Mohn • Lusamine • Gladion • Sophocles's parents • Molayne • Abe • Mallow's mother • Ulu • Walker • Camille • Halta Supporting Officer Jenny • Nurse Joy • Magikarp salesman • Todd Snap • Charles Goodshow • Casey • Liza • Sakura • Lance • Clair • Raoul Contesta • Mr. Sukizo • Steven Stone • Vivian Meridian • Robert • Scott • Lilian Meridian • Solana • Brandon • Marian • Yuzo • Rhonda • Cynthia • Reggie • Angie • Looker • Izzy and Cara • Lyra • Khoury • Tobias • Don George • Elder • Alder • Luke • Freddy O'Martian • Ingo • Emmet • Jervis • Virgil • N • Anthea and Concordia • Porter • Alexa • Sophie • Cosette • Clembot • Sanpei • Mairin • Astrid • Diantha • Korrina • Gurkinn • Monsieur Pierre • Palermo • Keanan • Malva • Samson Oak • Anela • Hobbes • Nina • Anna • Laki • Dana • Yansu • Wicke • Faba • Ilima • Acerola • Dia • Chloe • Chrysa • Ren • Parker • Talia • Lei • Danika • Quillon • Hop • Gym Leaders • Elite Four • Frontier Brains • Island kahunas • Many temporary characters Supporting Pokémon Fearow • Ho-Oh • Squirtle Squad • Pink Butterfree • Haunter • Jigglypuff • Mewtwo • Mimey • Lapras herd • Granbull • Pichu Brothers • Lugia • Silver • Delibird • Wynaut • Larvitar • Kyogre and Groudon • Articuno • Deoxys • Lake guardians • Forces of nature • Meloetta • Reshiram • Super-ancient Pokémon • Wooper • Florges • Squishy • Z2 • Guardian deities • Bewear • Toucannon's flock • Stoutland • Oranguru • Nebby • Stufful • Ultra Beasts • Grandpa Forest • Necrozma • Lunala • Shaymin • Mew • Rotom Phones • Pelipper • Thievul trio • Eternatus • Drone Rotom • Legendary heroes • Latias • Recurring wild Pokémon
See also: Pokémon Horizons characters

The Electric Tale of Pikachu characters Main characters Ash Ketchum • Pikachu • Gary Oak • Ritchie • May Oak • Professor Oak • Delia Ketchum • Jessie • James • Meowth Gym Leaders Brock • Misty • Koga • Sabrina • Giovanni • Rudy • Drake Other A.J. • Aya • Bill • Damian • Dario • Duplica • Eevee brothers • Giselle • Jeanette Fisher • Officer Jenny • Joe • Nurse Joy Lara Laramie • Mahri • Melanie • Mikey • Mimi • Professor Orville • Potter • Florinda Showers • Ruby • Samurai • Tommy

This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.