James's Victreebel
- This article is about the Victreebel that James owned for most of the original series. For his second Victreebel, see James's second Victreebel.
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James's Victreebel (Japanese: コジロウのウツボット Kojirō's Utsubot) was the third Pokémon acquired by James of Team Rocket during his journey through Kanto, and his fifth overall.
History
Original series
Kanto
James caught Victreebel as a Weepinbell sometime between So Near, Yet So Farfetch'd and The Breeding Center Secret. Prior to the latter episode, he left Weepinbell at a breeding center, unaware that it was actually a scheme by Butch and Cassidy. After searching, James located his Pokémon and discovered that it had evolved into a Victreebel.
Victreebel was only used once by James during his time in Kanto. In All Fired Up!, it was called out to help extinguish Meowth, who was on fire. However, instead of extinguishing the flames, Victreebel itself caught fire, and Ash needed to intervene with Squirtle to put it out.
Orange Islands
In the Orange Islands, James started to use Victreebel in battle in place of Weezing, alongside Jessie's Arbok or Lickitung. In addition to battling, Victreebel started to play a larger role in the team's plans.
In Pikachu Re-Volts, Victreebel was used to try to nab the Pokémon Butch and Cassidy stole. It, along with the rest of Team Rocket's Pokémon, were 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.
Victreebel had its first battle against Ash and his friends in The Crystal Onix. Both Pikachu and Misty's Staryu joined forces to stop Victreebel and Arbok from capturing the Crystal Onix, after which they are blasted off by the Rock Snake Pokémon.
In A Way Off Day Off, James used Victreebel's Sleep Powder to put Ash, his friends, and all of their Pokémon to sleep in order to steal their Pokémon and get away unopposed. This failed, however, due to Snorlax being too heavy for them to steal.
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 Victreebel was sent out to battle Misty's Goldeen over who would obtain it. Unfortunately, Victreebel was easily handled by Goldeen, who used Fury Attack to juggle it in the air.
James called on Victreebel to take on Ash and the others in A Tent Situation. It was able to immobilize Ash's Muk with Sleep Powder, but ended up losing to Gary and his Nidoqueen.
Johto
During Johto, Victreebel became James's primary combatant. In The Fortune Hunters, Victreebel battled against Butch and Cassidy in an attempt to steal the Pokémon they themselves were stealing. While Victreebel made quick work of Cassidy's Raticate, James lost his energy and Jessie was forced to step in and use Wobbuffet, who ended up losing.
In Beauty and the Breeder, Victreebel, alongside the rest of Team Rocket's Pokémon, was entered in the Pokémon Beauty Contest. They were able to impress the crowd with their stylish looks before getting thrown out by Officer Jenny for breaking the rules.
In Wobbu-Palooza!, Victreebel was used alongside Arbok to try to stop the Wobbuffet Festival crashers, since everyone else refused to fight due to the festival rules. Victreebel tried its best, but was easily defeated when overwhelmed by the thugs' Machoke and Primeape. Wobbuffet was sent out afterwards and managed to defeat them with his Counter attack.
In The Grass Route, James entered Victreebel in the Grass Tournament, hoping to win the collection of Leaf Stones. Victreebel went up against Ephraim and his Skiploom, nicknamed Skippy, in the first round. Despite hitting with its Vine Whip and Take Down, it was easily struck out of the tournament by Skippy's Leech Seed and was confused by a follow-up Double Team.
In A Promise is a Promise, James used Victreebel against Butch and Cassidy to try and see which of them would steal a Lugia. The attacks from both sides of Team Rocket's Pokémon end up breaking the energy barrier holding Lugia captive and it blasts them all away.
In Just Add Water, Victreebel battled Ash and his friends for the final time, fighting Misty's Psyduck alongside Arbok. Victreebel used Razor Leaf as Arbok clamped onto its head with Bite. This gave Psyduck a huge headache, which allowed it to access its Psychic and send them blasting off.
In Here's Lookin' at You, Elekid, the Magikarp salesman encountered Team Rocket yet again, and upon an irate James demanding a refund for a prior purchase, offered to instead trade to them a Weepinbell for one of their Pokémon. He stated that Weepinbell's Sweet Scent move would help them to catch Pokémon, which convinced them it was a good deal, and got them thinking about which Pokémon to trade. Meowth refused to be traded, and Jessie and James each made it very clear they were unwilling to part with Arbok, Weezing, or even Wobbuffet, which led to Jessie and Meowth volunteering Victreebel. James adamantly refused as he recalled all of their time spent together. Despite this, Jessie and Meowth forced him to make the trade, anyway, though he was very unhappy about doing so.
Later, James's new Weepinbell unexpectedly evolved into another Victreebel while battling Ash and Casey. Immediately after evolving, the new Victreebel chomped down on Jessie, which caused her to order Arbok to send it flying, to James's dismay. At the same time, the Magikarp salesman kicked James's first Victreebel away, coming to the realization that it wouldn't obey him. The two Victreebel collided in midair, falling in love with each other at first sight. They were last seen skipping off together into the forest.
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
Victreebel reappeared in a flashback in The Grass-Type is Always Greener, with James being reminded of it after Gardenia offered to trade her own Victreebel to him in exchange for his Carnivine.
Pokémon Journeys: The Series
Victreebel appeared in a fantasy in Rocket Revengers! when Team Rocket reminisced about their old Pokémon.
Personality and characteristics
Victreebel was affectionate towards James, and it regularly chomped down on his head whenever it was called out of its Poké Ball. Occasionally, it would also latch onto Meowth, Jessie, or even Jessie's Arbok. This antic was an unwelcome one for the rest of the trio, leaving Jessie and her Pokémon to often make the first move against Ash and his friends. James, however, appreciated the show of affection, as its loyalty was never in question.
Appearance
| As a Weepinbell |
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Moves used
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| An × shows that the move cannot be legitimately known by this Pokémon in the games. | |||||||
| A † shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves. | |||||||
- In the English dub of A Tent Situation, Victreebel was commanded to use Poison Powder. No move was commanded in the Japanese version.
Trivia
- Victreebel is the first Pokémon owned by a main character to evolve off-screen after their capture.
- In the English dub of Two Degrees of Separation!, James mentioned Victreebel while Carnivine was biting on his head, saying it wasn't the only Pokémon that showed affection towards him in such a manner. This mention doesn't exist in the original Japanese version.
- Victreebel's means of showing affection marked the beginning of the running gag of James's Pokémon attacking him whenever sent out.
- Although Victreebel debuted in Kanto, it did not use any actual moves until the anime was focused on the Orange Islands. This was also the case with Jessie's Lickitung.
- Victreebel is well known for emitting a high-pitched shriek as its cry, making it one of the few Pokémon that does not utter its own name in the anime.
- However, in its debut episode, Victreebel instead would say "Bel" and "Victreebel" as its cry; this was the only time it was voiced by Eric Stuart.
- Victreebel is James's only Pokémon that he has battled before catching it.
- Victreebel has used the most moves out of all of James's Pokémon, with nine.
Related articles
For more information on this Pokémon's species, see Weepinbell and Victreebel.
| Team Rocket's Pokémon | |||||||
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| Jessie | James | ||||||
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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. |
