HS03

We're No Angels (Japanese: がんばれ！前向きロケット団 Persevere! Look Forward, Rocket-dan) is episode four of Pokémon Chronicles, and the third side story episode of Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station in Japan. It was first broadcast in Japan on December 17, 2002, in the UK on June 22, 2005, and in the USA on July 1, 2006.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Synopsis

The episode begins in a dark room, with a man with highly reflective glasses and a very large nose looking out the window at the setting sun. He says, "I have a present for the village," and presses a large red button. Cut to outside scene of a tall hill with a mansion on top. There is a large cylindrical mecha with axes for hands rolling away from the hill on tank treads.

In the nearby village, a lookout is watching from a tall tower. He sees the mecha and starts ringing a bell, shouting a warning. Below, the villagers gather, holding sharp farm implements, talking about how it's unforgivable how the man in the mansion keeps sending mecha at the village, especially at harvest time. Having built up the requisite rage, the mob charges out to take down the mecha. Behind them, a young woman looks on worriedly, wondering if maybe her letter didn't get delivered. As she folds her hands to pray for help, there is a flash of light high above in the sky. We see Team Rocket falling from the sky, screaming.

As the narrator explains, Team Rocket has once again been sent flying by an electric attack from Ash's Pikachu. They crash down, leaving craters a few feet deep, but they are otherwise unhurt. Jessie is complaining about traitorous Taillow. James and Meowth are complaining about hunger.

They hear noises, and look up to see a mob armed with farm implements charging over a hill, headed straight for them. James uses one of the lines usually directed at Team Rocket: "Who are you?"

The mob stops in confusion. "Could it be..." "Is it possible?"

"You really did come! Please help us!" exclaims the girl from before. Now it's Team Rocket's turn to be confused. This isn't the sort of welcome they're used to. Jessie asks the girl if she's sure she isn't confusing them with someone else.

"There's no mistaking that sign on your chests!" she exclaims, looking at their R's. "You're Team Righteous!"

Team Rocket is rendered speechless, and the girl goes on, inadvertently using words from their motto in her speech. They take this as their cue to recite the motto, and after they're done... she runs away. They think she finally gets it, but...

"Our worries are over! My letter made it. The Heroes of Justice who never take money, Charity's Angels, Team Righteous has come for us!" she exclaims.

In the background, Team Rocket collapses in shock. As the villagers cheer, Meowth concludes that they just don't get it. Jessie suggests doing something evil to show them the truth. Just then, they see a large cylindrical mecha armed much like the villagers rolling towards them from the other direction. Thinking that it's meant to defend the village, they decide to attack it. They send out Arbok and Weezing, and with SmokeScreen and Poison Sting attacks, the battle starts. The first disorients it for a moment; the second has no effect.

The mecha turns to them and advances. They run away, but Meowth trips, and is about to be run over when the mecha stops, and a hatch in the front opens. A watering can comes out on a long arm and waters a nearby flower. At Meowth's prompting, a team tackle knocks the mecha flat on its back while it is distracted with this task. Having disabled it, they look to see what the villagers think of them now. They are more than slightly surprised when the villagers thank them.

Nighttime. In the village meeting hall, a black-and-white film is being shown on the exploits of Team Righteous, which consists of a woman who looks much like Jessie, a man who looks much like James, and a Meowth (or as one shot shows, a small person in a Meowth suit). Their uniforms are also very similar, except for a slight difference at the top of the R. They are shown fighting off a gang of Evil Bad Guys. James recognizes it as an old serial drama, and Jessie thinks these villagers must have mistaken it for news or something.

When the film is over, the young woman from before introduces herself. Her name is Kate, and she has always liked watching them "on the news films"; she is very glad they have come to help against the yearly threat. Every year, right around harvest time, something comes down from the mansion on the hill to ruin their fields.

Jessie agrees to help, and explains to James and Meowth that they shouldn't waste a chance like this. If they can win the trust of the villagers, this could be a Team Rocket stronghold for years to come. They could establish a branch office here, and make the Boss very happy.

The next day, the mecha Team Rocket defeated, equipped with Meowth head and arms, rolls up the hill towards the mansion, with Jessie, James, and Meowth inside. They are followed by the mob from the village. James seems to be quite affected by the encouragement Kate is giving him over a video link.

Their instruments indicate that a mecha is about to come from the mansion, so they stop, and the villagers hide behind trees near the path. The mansion's very tall front doors open, and an equally tall anthropomorphic mecha walks out. It looks strong, and Meowth isn't sure if the mecha they are using, which is not a usual Team Rocket mecha, will be able to beat it.

The human mecha towers over Team Rocket's Meowth mecha, and stops. Just inside the mansion's door, the man from the opening scene stands mostly shadowed, his glasses shining brightly. He presses a button on a controller he is holding. A hatch on the mecha's chest opens, and a ramp extends down to the ground. A stream of tiny wheeled mechas with arms roll down the ramp, each holding a bouquet, and chanting "Welcome... Welcome... Welcome... Welcome... Welcome... Welcome..." They encircle the Meowth mecha, still chanting, and end with "Welcooome... cha-cha-cha!"

James is confused by the apparent welcoming committee, but is informed by Jessie that it's a trick to make them let their guard down. Team Rocket makes a preemptive strike, using their mecha's paws to smash the welcomebots. These are destroyed far too quickly, and Team Rocket moves on to the main mecha. The Meowth mecha jumps at it, knocking it over in a single blow, then jumps up and down on it for a while. It manages to get up, and runs for the mansion. Team Rocket pursues, making it inside just before the door closes. They find themselves in a large, dark room, facing the mecha, and are about to attack it when they notice a figure in a normal-sized door at the bottom of the room. It is a man with glasses, a very large nose, and a lab coat, who runs out in front of them.

"Please, don't pick on my mechas!" he shouts.

In the next scene, Team Rocket is outside the mecha, in the same room as before (though it's better lit now), surrounded by various mechas. The man is apologizing profusely, but they stop him and ask who he is. He introduces himself as Professor Brown, a mecha scientist. He builds mechas to do all sorts of useful jobs. James asks why he's been using the mechas to terrorize the village, and Brown hastens to explain that it's all a big misunderstanding. He just wanted to make friends with the villagers, but he's really shy, so instead of going out to meet them, he sent a useful mecha he had made as a present. It could do the harvesting work of a hundred men, but the villagers thought it was attacking.

At this point, Jessie gets an idea. They should get Brown to build a mecha army for them, and if they can convince the villagers to go along with it, this will be Team Rocket's Hoenn mecha base.

The villagers are gathered outside the mansion, worried about the fate of their saviors. Kate is particularly worried about James. Just then, the mansion door opens, revealing Team Rocket in the open head of their Meowth mecha. James announces that they have apprehended the culprit. A hatch in the front of the mecha opens, revealing Brown, who apologizes. The villagers are not inclined to accept the apology, but when Jessie, James, and Meowth say that he has decided to change his ways and wants to be friends, they reluctantly agree to give him a chance. (Villager: "If Team Righteous asks it...") (Kate: "James... you're wonderful...")

Just then, there are bird cries from the sky. It's a swarm of Taillow. Worse, Team Rocket recognizes them as the same very strong ones they encountered the previous day. The villagers fear that the birds will destroy their crops. Kate calls out to James, asking if he can do anything to help. Team Rocket has a brief conference, not at all sure they'll be able to do anything, but in the end, after James looks down at Kate, they decide to try. As the villagers cheer, they roll off in pursuit of the Taillow. The Meowth mecha's clasped hands fire off, soon revealing their true nature as a standard Team Rocket net missile. The Taillow swarm is trapped. But this is only for a few seconds, as the birds break free and chase the Meowth mecha away. Then the birds turn and head for the village again. The villagers look on, stunned by the defeat.

Back at the mecha, Brown calls up to Team Rocket, suggesting that his Planting Wing might be able to help. He pulls out a radio control. "If it works, it works; if it doesn't, it doesn't. Either way..." he says, and presses one of the two buttons. Hidden doors on the mansion's roof open, and a launching ramp rises, with a winged mecha on it. Brown presses the other button, and the mecha's rocket engines fire. It flies up and around, coming down right behind the Meowth mecha. It extends a belt around the Meowth mecha, and the combination takes to the air. The flying Meowth heads for the village, and the Taillow turn to face this new threat. Team Rocket soon realize that their mecha has no usable attacks left. Brown, however, does. The Planting Wing's seed-scattering device can be run in reverse, with an effect much like a vacuum cleaner. Doctor Brown presses the button, and the Taillow are soon all contained in a bag on the Planting Wing.

That evening, Brown tells the villagers about how, once he had fed all the Taillow, they flew away peacefully. The villagers thank him, and ask him to make more useful mechas for them. This looks like the start of a long and mutually beneficial partnership.

Meanwhile, inside the mecha, Jessie expounds her plans. First, convince the villagers that they're Team Rocket, not Team Righteous, then establish this as Team Rocket's first Hoenn stronghold. Then, if they can just manage to do something similar for two or three more villages....

"But what should we do about this?" Meowth is looking at the viewscreen, which shows James outside having what looks to be a serious discussion with Kate.

"James, I suppose you'll have to go somewhere else now." "I... well... that is..." "If you can, won't you please stay in this village, and live here with us?" "But..." "I-I'm sorry" Kate blushes and runs away, leaving James looking after her, looking depressed.

Up in the control room of the mecha, James, very nervous, talks to Jessie and Meowth, unconsciously running his finger in geometric patterns on the control panel. He asks if he could stay here. Jessie asks if he's forgetting the great plans for Team Rocket. James replies that no, he's not forgetting, but he'd been thinking that he'd like it if he could live here with Kate, and protect Team Rocket's stronghold.... At this point, he accidentally presses a bit too hard, and a button goes down. He has just activated the Planting Wing's rocket engines. None of them want to leave just yet.

Jessie: Quick, Meowth, take us back down! We need to make this a Team Rocket stronghold! James: And it's going to be my stronghold of happiness with Kate!

The control lever isn't responding well, and in trying to bring them back down, Jessie accidentally breaks it. They fly off into the distance. The villagers watch them leave, not wanting it, but understanding that Team Righteous had to move on to help someone else. Brown comments on how they were so much like angels. Kate says that no, maybe they were real angels...

Out of sight of the village, the flying Meowth explodes, sending Team Rocket falling, as usual. They land in a forest, getting caught hanging from a branch, as usual. James immediately moans about the loss of his happiness with Kate, and Jessie advises him to give it up. Meowth sees something. As usual, they have landed near Ash's party. Looking on the bright side of things, they see this as their chance to catch Pikachu. Jessie's Wobbuffet comes out of its ball to agree, as usual, standing on the branch they're hanging on, as usual, and causing it to break, sending them crashing to the ground. As usual.

Major events

Debuts

Characters

Humans

• Jessie
• James
• Kate
• Professor Brown
• Villagers
• Team Righteous (filmstrip)
• Ash
• May
• Brock
• Max

Pokémon

• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Arbok (Jessie's)
• Weezing (James's)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Taillow (flock)
• Machoke

Trivia

• Meowth reads the title card.
• Kate's Japanese name is ローズ Rose. The English name may acknowledge this, making both names a reference to the popular movie Titanic. In the movie, the main character's name is Rose, and the actress who played her is named Kate Winslet.
• The title of this episode is the same as We're No Angels, a Humphrey Bogart film.
• In Japan, this episode aired between You Never Can Taillow and In the Knicker of Time. Evidence of this within the episode includes James's mention of Taillow and the presence of Arbok and Weezing.

Errors

Dub edits

In other languages

• Italian: Noi non siamo angeli!
• Brazilian Portuguese: Não Somos Anjos!

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime.