Jessie
Jessie (Japanese: ムサシ Musashi) is one half of of the Team Rocket duo that follows around Ash Ketchum and friends in the Pokémon anime. Her voice actresses are Rachael Lillis in English and 林原めぐみ Megumi Hayashibara in Japanese. From episodes AG085 to AG092, 平松晶子 Akiko Hiramatsu voiced Musashi while Megumi Hayashibara was on maternity leave. She and her mother are named for Miyamoto Musashi, Edo-period author and swordsman.
Jessie's mother, Miyamoto, was a high-ranking Team Rocket agent. When Jessie was around the age of three, Miyamoto left on a mission to the Andes Mountains to record the voice of the elusive Pokémon Mew. However, Miyamoto disappeared, and Jessie was put into a foster home which had very little money. There were times when she had no choice but to eat snow because of a lack of more nourishing food. When she was old enough, she left home to become a Pokémon nurse in Johto. However, the school she was enrolled in was literally for Pokémon nurses, so she failed to graduate and left, leaving behind a Chansey she had befriended there. It is assumed that she then travelled back to Kanto, where she enrolled in Pokémon Tech, a trainer's school, met James, and subsequently failed and dropped out. After this, Jessie and James joined a bicycle gang in Sunny Town, where Jessie was known for swinging a chain above her head as she rode her bike (nicknamed "Chainer Jess").
Due to conflicts in canon between Kanto and Johto episodes and the special episode The Origin of Love and Truth, what happened between Jessie and James 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.
Sometime before joining Team Rocket, and it is not known when, Jessie obtained a Contest Pass in the Hoenn region. Also during the years before Team Rocket, she had several boyfriends, all of whom left her and/or treated her badly.
She has a long-standing bitter rivalry with Cassidy, another member of Team Rocket. Another member, Wendy, held a grudge against Jessie for failing to pay for a drink (making Wendy pay), but got her revenge when she added the charge to Jessie's overall Team Rocket bill.
In the episode Ignorance is Blissey, Jessie was reunited with her friend Chansey from the Pokémon nurse school; Chansey had since evolved into a Blissey.
While Jessie's role in the Pokémon anime has not yet ended, in Toshihiro Ono's manga, The Electric Tale of Pikachu, she ended up married to James and with child.
The belief, hope, or theory that Jessie and James will become a romantic couple in the Pokémon anime is RocketShipping.
Name Origin
Jessie's English name is taken from Jesse James, an American outlaw. Her Japanese name, Musashi, is taken from 宮本武蔵 Miyamoto Musashi, a famous Japanese swordsman. In his most famous duel, he defeated his rival, 佐々木小次郎 Sasaki Kojirō, after whom James got his Japanese name.
Pokémon
On Hand
Released
Appearances
- Pokémon anime, EP002-Present
- Pokémon Yellow
- Pokémon Puzzle League
- It's a White Tomorrow, Team Rocket!
- The Electric Tale of Pikachu
Musical Appearances
- Team Rocket Forever (English)
- Team Rocket Forever (Japanese) (ロケット団よ永遠)
- Meowth's Party (English)
- Meowth's Party (Japanese) (ニャースのパーティ)
- Face Forward Team Rocket! (前向きロケット団！)
- Double Trouble
- Pokémon Christmas Bash
- The Christmas Song
In the Games
Both Jessie and James appear in Pokémon Yellow as antagonists. 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.
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.
First Battle
- Level 14 Ekans
- Level 14 Meowth
- Level 14 Koffing
Second Battle
- Level 25 Koffing
- Level 25 Meowth
- Level 25 Ekans
Third Battle
- Level 31 Weezing
- Level 31 Arbok
- Level 31 Meowth
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 Jessie.
