James's Weezing

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James's Weezing
コジロウのマタドガス Kojirō's Matadogas

James's Weezing


Debuts in	Pokémon Emergency!


Caught at	Unknown


Evolves in	Dig Those Diglett!


Gender	Unknown*


Ability	Unknown


Released in	A Poached Ego!

Current location	Hoenn


		→
This Pokémon spent 29 episodes as Koffing.

Voice actor	Japanese	English
As Koffing	Unshō Ishizuka	Michael Haigney
As Weezing	Unshō Ishizuka	Michael Haigney (EP031-AG006) Unknown (JN145, M22)

James's Weezing (Japanese: コジロウのマタドガス Kojirō's Matadogas) was the first Pokémon James was known to have, and his third overall. He received it as a year-end gift (a Christmas gift in the dub).

In the anime

History

Original series

Kanto

It was revealed in Island of the Giant Pokémon that James received Koffing as a gift last Christmas, oseibo (a customary gift given during the winter season) in the original Japanese version. In Pokémon Masters EX, it was revealed to have been given to him by Giovanni.

Weezing first appeared in Pokémon Emergency! as a Koffing. James used it alongside Jessie's Ekans to quickly overtake the defenseless Viridian Pokémon Center. Koffing's job was to create a Smokescreen while Ekans destroyed the computers. Chasing everyone into the back room, Koffing and Ekans accompanied their Trainers in intimidating Ash, Misty, and Nurse Joy, which caused Misty to decide to battle Team Rocket. However, this was a failed effort as both of them managed to catch up to Ash in no time. However, Nurse Joy's Pikachu came out and healed Ash's Pikachu with a Thunder Shock attack, while at the same time attacking the Team Rocket trio. Giving Ash's Pikachu enough power to stand up, Ash charged up Pikachu using Misty's charred bike, letting him use his own Thunder Shock. As the group was electrocuted, Koffing used Smog. The electricity climbed up the toxic gas, causing the entire Pokémon Center to explode and sending Team Rocket blasting off for the first time.

Koffing and Ekans ignoring Meowth's orders

Koffing was separated from James in Island of the Giant Pokémon along with Meowth and Ekans after a group of Gyarados sent them flying with Dragon Rage. When Team Rocket's Pokémon came across Ash's Pokémon, who were also separated from their Trainer, Meowth ordered Koffing and Ekans to attack them. However, they both refuse to listen, simply stating Meowth is not their Trainer. Meowth tried to convince the two Pokémon that, as bad guys, they didn't need the company of their Trainers to do anything bad, but Ekans told him that "there are no bad Pokémon; only their Trainers are bad." Because of the situation, the two groups of Pokémon joined forces to look for their Trainers. The next day, Koffing and the rest of the Pokémon were seen being chased by a group of giant mechanical Pokémon. It would not be until they jumped into a mine cart their Trainers were riding that Koffing would be reunited with James.

In Beauty and The Beach, Koffing and Ekans were entered into the Beach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contest. The two dressed up as an Omastar before being kicked off the stage by Gary Oak.

In Pokémon Scent-sation!, Team Rocket attempted to sneak into the Celadon Gym to steal a perfume formula. Inside, they encountered a Gloom, and James sent out Koffing to deal with it. It released a Poison Gas, but the Weed Pokémon enjoyed the stench and countered by releasing its own.

Weezing and Arbok battling in the Viridian Gym

It eventually evolved into a Weezing in Dig Those Diglett!, along with Ekans, after James and Jessie were desperate for them to evolve. Despite their new forms, however, they were easily overwhelmed by a horde of Diglett and Dugtrio.

In The Problem with Paras, Weezing, along with Arbok, faked losing a battle against Cassandra's Paras so it could gain the confidence to evolve.

In Princess vs. Princess, Jessie used Weezing during the Queen of the Princess Festival contest. Weezing helped Jessie make it to the finals but ultimately failed against Pikachu's Thunder Shock.

In The Battle Of The Badge, Weezing was used by Jessie when she acted as the temporary Viridian City Gym Leader. It was swiftly defeated by a Thunderbolt from Ash's Pikachu.

In The Evolution Solution, Weezing was used to battle a Shellder James dug up. Weezing easily defeated it after dodging its Ice Beam. Just as James was about to catch it, Jessie jumped in and caught it herself.

In Go West Young Meowth, Weezing and Arbok defended Meowth from his old gang. Their distraction allowed Meowth to take on the leader, a Persian. and defeat it.

Orange Islands

In Pikachu Re-Volts, Weezing was used to try to nab the Pokémon Butch and Cassidy stole. It, along with the rest of Team Rocket's Pokémon, was hypnotized by Butch and Cassidy's Drowzee and forced to attack its Trainer. They were later freed by Ash and his Pikachu and joined together to battle Drowzee.

In The Stun Spore Detour, Jessie was paralyzed by a Vileplume, which could be cured with Salveyo weed. James and Meowth found the herb on a Poliwag, and Weezing was sent out to battle Misty's Staryu over who would obtain it. Staryu easily cut through Weezing's Smog with Double-Edge, defeating it. It later tried attacking the Poliwag directly, but was smacked away by Double Slap. Ultimately, Misty left them some of the Salveyo weed to help Jessie.

Johto

Throughout the Johto region, James tended to use Victreebel for combat over Weezing. Weezing was mainly used during this time to create smoke to cover the trio's escapes and entrances.

Weezing fighting alongside Arbok

In Beauty and the Breeder, Weezing, alongside the rest of Team Rocket's Pokémon, was entered in the Pokémon Beauty Contest. They impressed the crowd with their stylish looks before getting thrown out by Officer Jenny for breaking the rules.

In Imitation Confrontation, Weezing battled Duplica's Ditto, Mini-Dit. Mini-Dit transformed into Wobbuffet and used his moveset to battle Weezing and Arbok before transforming into Pikachu and blasting Team Rocket off.

In A Ghost of a Chance, Weezing and Arbok battled against Morty's Gengar. Due to its ability to turn invisible and hide in the shadows, Gengar was able to disorient the two before defeating them with Shadow Ball.

In The Big Balloon Blow-Up, James used Weezing's Smog to choke up the competition during the Pokémon Balloon Race. This caused several competitors to drop out, though Team Rocket ended up not finishing due to Pikachu destroying their balloon.

Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire

In A Ruin with a View, James sent out Weezing alongside Arbok to battle the Team Magma Grunts who approached them. Not long after being sent out, Team Magma's Houndoom used Roar to send Weezing and Arbok back into their Poké Balls.

In We're No Angels!, Weezing and Arbok accidentally made Team Rocket the town heroes by destroying a mecha heading towards them.

In In the Knicker of Time!, Weezing and Arbok battled Ash and his friends for the final time, where they were blasted off by Pikachu's Thunder.

In A Poached Ego!, Team Rocket took on Rico, a Pokémon poacher who had captured a herd of Ekans and Koffing in Petalburg Woods. Eventually, James and Jessie reluctantly ordered Weezing and Arbok to stay in the wild and guard the young Ekans and Koffing. The pair tearfully escaped into the wilderness as Jessie, James, and Meowth fought Rico and his Tyranitar by themselves.

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

Weezing appeared in a fantasy in Rocket Revengers! when Team Rocket reminisced about their old Pokémon.

Personality and characteristics

Weezing and Arbok depressed

Weezing and James

Weezing was extremely loyal to James, caring about him a great deal and only taking orders from him. In Island of the Giant Pokémon, as a Koffing, it refused to attack Ash's Pokémon on Meowth's orders, simply because he was not James. In addition, Koffing and Ekans were very sad about being separated from their Trainers, and they cried happily upon reuniting with them.

Despite its loyalty to James, Weezing showed a moral conscience of its own, revealing in Island of the Giant Pokémon when it was a Koffing that there is no such thing as an evil Pokémon; rather, that moral responsibility lies with the Trainer. There have also been rare occasions where Weezing and Arbok refused to obey their Trainers, such as in A Chansey Operation, where they refused to attack a Chansey because it had treated the injuries they suffered from Team Rocket's schemes; and Got Miltank?, where Weezing, along with the rest of Team Rocket's Pokémon, agreed to not attack the Miltank or any of the Pokémon at a Pokémon-exclusive oasis out of respect.

Weezing and Arbok, even before their evolutions, were a deadly duo. In The Flame Pokémon-athon!, Weezing defended Arbok after it was injured by a Ponyta's flames and retaliating with Smog, even though its Smog ignited the flames. Weezing often provided the Smokescreen for Team Rocket's grand entrances and escapes. Its Sludge was also commonly used to blind Pokémon like in Ash Catches a Pokémon.

Appearance

As a Koffing

Moves used

Using Poison Gas

Move	First Used In
Smog	Pokémon Emergency!

Smokescreen †	Pokémon Emergency!

Sludge †	Ash Catches a Pokémon

Tackle	Clefairy and the Moon Stone

Poison Gas	The Ghost of Maiden's Peak*

A † shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves.

In the dubbed version of The Evolution Solution, James told Weezing to use Haze. In the original Japanese version, he simply told Weezing to counterattack.

In the games

In the core series

Weezing appears in Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! as part of Jessie and James's team each time they appear, alongside Meowth/Arbok and its pre-evolved form.

Pokémon Yellow

First and second battle
(Mt. Moon/Rocket Hideout)

Third and fourth battle
(Pokémon Tower/Silph Co.)

Type:
Poison	Unknown

Koffing Lv.14/25

	--
	--

	--
	--

Type:
Poison	Unknown

Weezing Lv.27/31

	--
	--

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!

First battle
(Mt. Moon)

Second battle
(Team Rocket Hideout)

Third battle
(Pokémon Tower)

Fourth and fifth battle
(Silph Co./Route 17)

Type:
Poison	Unknown

Koffing♂ Lv.12

Poison Gas
Poison	Status

Tackle
Normal	Physical

	--
	--

	--
	--

Type:
Poison	Unknown

Weezing♂ Lv.32

Toxic
Poison	Status

Sludge
Poison	Special

	--
	--

	--
	--

Type:
Poison	Unknown

Weezing♂ Lv.34

Dark Pulse
Dark	Special

Sludge Bomb
Poison	Special

	--
	--

	--
	--

Type:
Poison	Unknown

Weezing♂ Lv.36/52

Sludge Bomb
Poison	Special

Dark Pulse
Dark	Special

Flamethrower
Fire	Special

Thunderbolt
Electric	Special

In the spin-off games

Pokémon Zany Cards back boxart

Pokémon: Catch the Numbers!

Weezing appears in Pokémon: Catch the Numbers!.

Pokémon GO

James used to lead with a Shadow Koffing, impiled to have been borrowed from Giovanni. The player has a chance to catch it after defeating him. Unlike most Shadow Pokémon, the Shadow Koffing has a chance to be Shiny.

Pokémon Masters EX

Main article: James (Masters) → Weezing

Weezing appears alongside James as a sync pair during the special events Double Trouble and Blasting Off Again. In the game, Weezing uses the moves Sludge and Poison Gas, with his sync move being Make It Double Sludge.

Dex	Trainer		NDex	Pokémon		Type	Weakness	Role	EX role	Base potential	Availability
#104		James	#1101		Weezing♂	Poison	Psychic			★★★	Event Blasting Off Again

Pokémon Puzzle League

Weezing was one of Jessie and James's three Pokémon in Pokémon Puzzle League.

Pokémon Zany Cards

Weezing is depicted on a photograph on the box art for Pokémon Zany Cards, along with Arbok and Wobbuffet. However, it does not make an appearance in the game.

In the manga

The Electric Tale of Pikachu

Weezing in The Electric Tale of Pikachu

As a Koffing

James's Weezing first appears as a Koffing in Pikachu's Excellent Adventure. All of its subsequent appearances, beginning in You Gotta Have Friends, are as a Weezing. Like in the anime, Weezing is James's primary battling Pokémon.

Moves used

Using Smog

Move	First Used In
Smog	You Gotta Have Friends

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

James's Weezing is featured in the TCG as of one James's Pokémon. The following is a list of cards featuring Weezing.

Weezing 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.
Card	Type	English Expansion	Rarity	#	Japanese Expansion	Rarity	#
Weezing		Hidden Fates		29/68	Sky Legend		028/054

Trivia

Weezing in Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution

Weezing spent 279 episodes in James's party, longer than any of his other Pokémon.
- It also holds the record for the most appearances out of James's Pokémon at 115 main series episodes.
In The Misty Mermaid, Weezing is shown to be less dense than water, causing it to float.
Though Team Rocket began chasing Pikachu mainly because it was powerful enough to blow up the Pokémon Center, it should be noted that Koffing was part of the cause as its gas reacted with the electricity to create the explosion.
Not including temporary Pokémon, Weezing, as a Koffing, was the first Pokémon belonging to a main character in the anime to use a move it cannot legally learn in the games.
- Both as a Koffing and a Weezing, it used Poison Gas in Pokémon: Indigo League, even though it couldn't learn the move in the games until Generation II.
Weezing is the first main character-owned Pokémon to consist of multiple bodies.
Michael Haigney's voice for Koffing was inspired by a man named Paul, who Haigney saw regularly while they worked at CBS Broadcasting. Paul wheeled a coffee wagon around the CBS office buildings and would announce his presence with a booming voice, asking "Coffee? Coffee?" as he passed by.^[1]

References

↑ Haigney, Michael. "Ep. 2 Pokémon Emergency." Original Pokéman, Buzzsprout, 23 Mar 2022. https://originalpokeman.buzzsprout.com/1663597/10305025-ep-2-pokemon-emergency, 27:25–28:12.

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

Giovanni's Pokémon
On hand:	Persian

Status unknown:	Golem	Kingler	Kingler	Machamp	Rhydon	Cloyster
Escaped:	Mewtwo
Given away:	Koffing	Woobat	Yamask	Frillish	Amoonguss
Controlled:	Meloetta	Landorus	Tornadus	Thundurus
Origins only:	Charmander
Pocket Monsters only:	Hitmonlee	Hitmonchan
For Pokémon owned by the version of Giovanni that appears in Pokémon Adventures, see here; for a full list of Pokémon owned by the version of Giovanni that appears in the Pokémon Pocket Monsters series, see here