Executive (Trainer class)

From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
Revision as of 06:18, 29 January 2018 by IIMarckus (talk | contribs) (→‎Differences between Generations: Comment on the HGSS changes to the Executive lineup (merging multiple Grunts/Executives together))
Jump to navigationJump to search
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)
Anime 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 most Trainers were not given names until Generation II.

Generation II

Generation II art by Ken Sugimori for the TCG

In Generation II, Executives were a special class that retained the same as other members of Team Rocket, Rocket (Japanese: ロケットだんいん Team Rocket member), but each had the name Executive (Japanese: のかんぶ Executive), and a sprite distinct from Rocket Grunts of the same gender.

In Gold, Silver, and Crystal, Team Rocket has four male executives and one female executive (who is battled twice). They battle the player at Team Rocket HQ and Goldenrod Radio Tower.

Two Executives, one male and one female, also appear in Pokémon Stadium 2, along with a pair of Rocket Grunts, interrupting the player's progress through the Johto Gym Leader Castle after the player has defeated Jasmine. Because their teams contain the distinctive Pokémon Vileplume and Houndoom, they appear to be inspired by two of the admins from Gold, Silver, and Crystal.

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).

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

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 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

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.

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver changed the number of Executives slightly: a Grunt in Slowpoke Well was amalgamated with an Executive in the Radio Tower to become Proton, and the Executive in Giovanni’s office in the Team Rocket HQ was merged with the Executive disguised as the Radio Director.

Appearance

Spr GS Rocket Grunt M.png Spr GS Rocket Executive M.png Spr GS Rocket Executive F.png Spr FRLG Team Rocket Grunt M.png Spr FRLG Team Rocket Grunt F.png
Proton's Grunt sprite from
Generation II
Proton, Petrel, and
Archer's sprite from
Generation II
Ariana's sprite from
Generation II
Archer's sprite from
FireRed and LeafGreen
Ariana's sprite from
FireRed and LeafGreen
Rocket Grunt M II OD.png Rocket Grunt F II OD.png Team Rocket Grunt M III OD.png Team Rocket Grunt F III OD.png
Proton, Petrel, and
Archer's overworld sprite from
Generation II
Ariana's overworld sprite from
Generation II
Archer's overworld sprite from
FireRed and LeafGreen
Ariana's overworld sprite from
FireRed and LeafGreen
Spr HGSS Proton.png Spr HGSS Petrel.png Spr HGSS Ariana.png Spr HGSS Archer.png File:S2 Rocket ExecutiveM.png
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
Rocket Executive♂ portrait from
Stadium 2
Proton OD.png Petrel OD.png Ariana OD.png Archer OD.png File:S2 Rocket ExecutiveF.pngFile:S2 Rocket ExecutiveF alt.png
Proton's overworld sprite from
HeartGold and SoulSilver
Petrel's overworld sprite from
HeartGold and SoulSilver
Ariana's overworld sprite from
HeartGold and SoulSilver
Archer's overworld sprite from
HeartGold and SoulSilver
Rocket Executive♀ portraits from
Stadium 2

Trainer list

Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal


Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen


Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver


Pokémon Stadium 2


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 high-ranking Team Rocket field agents such as Domino and the Iron-Masked Marauder. 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

Team Rocket Executives in Pokémon Adventures

In the Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure manga

The four Generation IV Executives appear in the Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure manga, fulfilling similar roles as in the games.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

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, who collectively call themselves the Four Generals, appear in Johto searching for Arceus and its Plates 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 CommandantHGSS
Admin Team RocketFRLG
Caïd RocketGSC
Germany Flag.png German VorstandFRLGHGSS
Rocket VorstandGSC
Italy Flag.png Italian Generale RocketHGSS
Tenente, Team RocketFRLG
Generale,RocketGSC
South Korea Flag.png Korean 로켓단 간부 Rocket Dan Executive
Spain Flag.png Spanish EjecutivoHGSS
Admin Team RocketFRLG
Ejecutivo RocketGSC
Vietnam Flag.png Vietnamese Chỉ huy của nhóm Rocket



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


Project CharacterDex logo.png This Trainer Class article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.