Executive (Trainer class)

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Executive
ロケットだんかんぶ Team Rocket Executive
RocketExecs.png
Art from HeartGold and SoulSilver
Other names Rocket Executive (ロケットだんいん のかんぶ Team Rocket Executive) (Generation II)
Team Rocket Admin (ロケットだんいんのかんぶ Team Rocket executive member) (Generation III)
Introduced in Generation II
Appears in Gold, Silver, and Crystal
FireRed and LeafGreen
HeartGold and SoulSilver
Stadium 2
Gender Both
Counterpart {{{counterpart}}}
Notable members Proton, Petrel, Ariana, and Archer
Sham, Carl (Adventures)
Grey (The Golden Boys)
Animated debut
TCG debut [[(TCG)|]]
TCG card {{{card}}}
Manga debut Piloswine Whine (Adventures)
Gold and Black vs. Team Rocket (The Golden Boys)

An Executive (Japanese: ロケットだんかんぶ Team Rocket Executive), known as a Team Rocket Admin (Japanese: ロケットだんかんぶ Team Rocket Executive) in Generation III, and as a Rocket Executive (Japanese: ロケットだんいんのかんぶ Team Rocket executive member) in Generation II, is a type of Pokémon Trainer that first debuted in the Generation II games. They are the highest ranked members of Team Rocket after Giovanni, and are the heads of Team Rocket after he abandons the organization. They tend to use a combination of Poison-type and Dark-type Pokémon.

There are four of them: three men and one woman. They were unnamed in Generation II, but they all got individual names and sprites in Generation IV. Archer disbands Team Rocket after he is defeated.

Differences between Generations

Generation I

There aren't any distinct Rocket Executives in Generation I; however, both Jessie and James appear in Pokémon Yellow ranked higher than grunts, guarding the room where Giovanni waits in the Rocket Hideout and Silph Co. However, they are unnamed in this game, being referred to simply as "ROCKET", since Trainers were not given names until Generation II.

Generation II

Generation II art by Ken Sugimori for the TCG

In Generation II, this class technically didn't exist as all the characters who would eventually carry the title retained the same class as other members of Team Rocket. Thus, their Trainer class was Rocket (Japanese: ロケットだんいん Team Rocket member) and each had the name Executive (Japanese: のかんぶ Executive), with the sprites only differing between genders. They battle the player at Team Rocket HQ and Goldenrod Radio Tower.

Generation III

In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, two higher-ranking members of Team Rocket appear in command of the Rocket Warehouse. They seem to be two of the same members who would head the Team in Johto three years later. Here, their Trainer class was changed to Team Rocket (Japanese: ロケットだん Team Rocket) in order to remain identical with the Grunts', whose sprites they also shared. However, they are both given the name Admin (Japanese: かんぶ Executive).

In the Rocket Warehouse, the female Team Rocket Admin is battled before going into the male administrator's room. She objects that Team Rocket is not disbanded, but after a battle, admits that it probably is and as a final act, turns off the floor so that the player can go back and heal. After defeating the male Team Rocket Admin, he sees the player's Earth Badge and realizes that the Viridian City-based Team Rocket has disbanded; he then tells the player that he will find Giovanni and revive Team Rocket.

The Team Rocket Admins are the same people as the Rocket executives in Generations II and IV, as hinted by the similarity in their teams and the male administrator's determination to revive Team Rocket after he is defeated, as well as the information given on the computer screen which the Rocket administrator was working on ("The influence of magnetic waves on Pokémon evolution"). This is linked to what happened in Generations II and IV, when Team Rocket used radio waves to evolve the Magikarp at Lake of Rage.

Generation IV

Petrel, Archer, Ariana and Proton in the opening of HeartGold and SoulSilver

Their Trainer classes are finally dissociated from those of the Grunts when they make a return in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, where they are each known as an Executive. However, the Japanese Trainer classes remain unchanged from Generation III, but they are still given names. They are all adapted from the Executives from Pokémon Gold and Silver but given individual names and identities. Their names, Proton, Petrel, Ariana, and Archer, refer to real-life rockets or missiles in all languages, much like Team Galactic's Commanders, who were named after celestial bodies. These characters were all adapted into characters in the Pokémon Adventures manga, retaining their unique identities.

Appearance

050Diglett.png This section is incomplete.
Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.
Reason: Generations II and IV overworld sprites
Spr GS Rocket Executive M.png Spr GS Rocket Executive F.png File:S2 Rocket ExecutiveM.png File:S2 Rocket ExecutiveF.png Spr FRLG Team Rocket Grunt M.png Spr FRLG Team Rocket Grunt F.png Spr HGSS Proton.png Spr HGSS Petrel.png Spr HGSS Ariana.png Spr HGSS Archer.png
Proton, Petrel, and
Archer's sprite from
Gold, Silver, and Crystal
Ariana's sprite from
Gold, Silver, and Crystal
Archer's sprite from
Stadium 2
Ariana's sprite from
Stadium 2
Archer's sprite from
FireRed and LeafGreen
Ariana's sprite from
FireRed and LeafGreen
Proton's sprite from
HeartGold and SoulSilver
Petrel's sprite from
HeartGold and SoulSilver
Ariana's sprite from
HeartGold and SoulSilver
Archer's sprite from
HeartGold and SoulSilver
Team Rocket Grunt M III OD.png Team Rocket Grunt F III OD.png
Archer's overworld sprite from
FireRed and LeafGreen
Ariana's overworld sprite from
FireRed and LeafGreen

Trainer list

Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal


Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen


Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver


In the anime

It is unknown whether or not there are executives as present in the games and manga, as Giovanni is still in control of the organization. Instead, the anime tends to focus much more on higher-ranking Team Rocket members such as Domino and the Iron-Masked Marauder, who are field agents rather than administrators. Annie and Oakley were also inclusive to the ranks of Team Rocket, working as hired spies hunting Latios and Latias, but this was only in the English dub.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Team Rocket Generals

In the Red, Green, & Blue arc, Lt. Surge, Koga, and Sabrina are Team Rocket executives. Blaine, previously an executive, left the organization because of problems with Mewtwo. In the Yellow arc, the executives were recalled by Giovanni after he saw a battle between Lance and Yellow and realized he still had much to learn.

In the Gold, Silver, & Crystal arc, executives are replaced by two sub-leaders, Sham and Carl, while the real Leader is the Masked Man. The characters of male and female Executive from Generation II were adapted as Carl and Sham, respectively.

Years later, in the HeartGold & SoulSilver arc, Archer, Ariana, Petrel and Proton, dubbed the Four Generals (Japanese: 4将軍ぶ Four Generals), appear in Johto searching for Arceus to accomplish their plan of making Giovanni return to Team Rocket's leadership.

In the Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga

Grey from the Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga is based on the male Executive design. His role within the team is based on Archer's.

In the TCG

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Team Rocket Executives in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Related cards
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 #
Team Rocket's Evil Deeds T Neo Destiny Uncommon 103/105 Darkness, and to Light... Uncommon  
Team Rocket's Trickery Su Undaunted Uncommon 78/90 Reviving Legends Uncommon 076/080
      Tyranitar Constructed Standard Deck   018/019
 


Trivia

In other languages

Language Title
France Flag.png French Commandant
Germany Flag.png German Vorstand
Italy Flag.png Italian Generale Rocket
Spain Flag.png Spanish Ejecutivo



Trainer classes in the Pokémon core series
Sevii Islands Aroma LadyBikerBird KeeperBlack BeltBug CatcherCamperCool CoupleCooltrainerCrush Girl
Crush KinCue BallFishermanGentlemanHikerJugglerLadyLassPainterPicnickerPokéManiac
PKMN BreederPKMN RangerPsychicRuin ManiacScientistSis and BroSwimmerTamer
Team Rocket AdminTeam Rocket GruntTwinsTuberYoung CoupleYoungster
Trainer Tower only:
BeautyBurglarEngineerRockerSailorSuper Nerd
Johto Ace Trainer*BeautyBikerBird KeeperBlack Belt*BoarderBug CatcherBurglarCamper
ChampionExecutive*FirebreatherFisherman*GentlemanGuitaristHikerJugglerKimono GirlLass
LeaderMediumPicnickerPokéfanPoké Maniac*PKMN TrainerPoliceman*PsychicRivalHGSSSage
SailorSchool Kid*ScientistSkierSuper NerdSwimmerTeacherTeam Rocket Grunt*TwinsYoungster
Mystery Man*CHGSSDouble TeamHGSSElderHGSSPasserbyHGSSYoung CoupleHGSS
Battle Frontier only:HGSS

Aroma LadyArtistBattle GirlCameramanClownCollectorCowgirlCyclistDragon TamerIdol
JoggerLadyNinja BoyParasol LadyPIPoké KidPKMN BreederPKMN RangerRancherReporter
Rich BoyRoughneckRuin ManiacSocialiteTuberVeteranWaiterWaitressWorker
Arcade StarCastle ValetFactory HeadHall MatronTower Tycoon

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