Team Rocket
- If you were looking for the TCG set, see Team Rocket (TCG).
- Rocket redirects here. For the Trainer class referred to as Rocket in Generation I, see Team Rocket Grunts.
- If you were looking for the group consisting of Jessie, James, and Meowth, see Team Rocket trio.
Team Rocket (Japanese: ロケット団 Rocket-dan, literally Rocket Gang) is a villainous team in pursuit of evil and the exploitation of Pokémon. The organization is based in the Kanto and Johto regions, with a small outpost in the Sevii Islands.
While its main focus is stealing or capturing rare and strong Pokémon, and subsequently selling them, it also funds and conducts cruel experimental research on Pokémon. At times, it has even killed Pokémon. Their oath, as posted on the wall of one of their many bases, is "Steal Pokémon for profit. Exploit Pokémon for profit. All Pokémon exist for the glory of Team Rocket." Their ultimate goal is to take over the world using Pokémon.
In the core series games
In Kanto
In the Generation I games and their remakes, Team Rocket's attention is focused in their home region of Kanto, distributing Pokémon as prizes through the Rocket Game Corner in Celadon City and the secret subterranean hideout underneath it. In Mt. Moon, one of the many grunts says that Team Rocket intends to sell the Pokémon Fossils they are mining in the cave, while another describes the group as Pokémon gangsters (Japanese: ポケモンマフィア Pokémon Mafia). Several members also broke into a house in Cerulean City to steal a TM from its owner, and a mission devoted to stealing Cubone skulls in Lavender Town resulted in a hostage situation involving Mr. Fuji and the death of a Marowak. Another hostage situation developed soon afterward when the organization overran Silph Co. in Saffron City with the intention of getting the plans for the Master Ball, a prototype of which had already been produced. A Team Rocket recruiter runs the Nugget Bridge challenge north of Cerulean, and asks the player to join the Team when the challenge is completed.
The player is tasked with ousting the organization from its strongholds, and doing so, will meet the Team Rocket Boss, Giovanni. He is adamant about the success of his plots, but is not heard from again after his appearance at Silph until the player returns to Viridian City for their final Badge—which Giovanni himself is in charge of giving out, being the region's eighth, Ground-specialist Gym Leader. After the player has defeated him this final time, Giovanni acknowledges the player as a better Trainer and disappears without a trace, vowing to disband Team Rocket (though it is later revealed in Generation IV that he only intended to become stronger, and he deliberately didn't completely disband Team Rocket).
Three years later, one Team Rocket operative returned to Kanto to steal a critical part from its Power Plant. Since only this member was involved in this plot, it is likely that he had no knowledge of Team Rocket's prior second disbandment and was working independently. Curiously enough, in HeartGold and SoulSilver, he mentions that he will return to his home country and rebuild Team Rocket anew, something that he did not say in the original games, though it is later revealed in Black and White that he gave up his plans when he returned home and subsequently married, instead finding happiness with his new family. Team Rocket has not been seen since.
In the Sevii Islands
In FireRed and LeafGreen, Team Rocket has a small branch in the Sevii Islands, searching for the Ruby and Sapphire gems. This branch is based out of the Rocket Warehouse on Five Island, situated in the middle of the Five Isle Meadow, where many Pokémon are held captive in cages.
Their search for the Ruby leads them to Mt. Ember, though they fail to find it. They then appear in Icefall Cave where, with the help of Lorelei, they are driven out. A scientist named Gideon then appears at the Dotted Hole to retrieve the Sapphire.
The player must then follow Gideon to their Rocket Warehouse where the Sapphire must be retrieved. After the player defeats the two Admins at the Rocket Warehouse, they realize that Giovanni has been defeated in Kanto, and without the lifeblood of the organization, all is lost for the Sevii Islands branch. Team Rocket subsequently pulled out of the Sevii Islands and has not been seen there since.
It is highly likely that this branch may be the precursor to the Johto branch that will appear three years later from this time, as one of the computer screens has plans for a device to force Pokémon to evolve. Such a device will cause a rampage of Gyarados at the Lake of Rage during the plot of HeartGold and SoulSilver. In addition, the Rocket members here vow to find Giovanni and rebuild Team Rocket, which will be the goal of Team Rocket during the Generation II games and their remakes. The Rocket Admins, considering their teams, may in fact be Ariana and Archer. However, the presence of an office used by Giovanni in the Mahogany Town base suggests that Team Rocket may have established the Johto branch before Giovanni initially disbanded the group.
In Johto
In the Generation II games and their remakes, three years after the defeat of Giovanni at the hands of Red, a few members of the old Team Rocket attempted to reestablish the organization and get it back in operation, while awaiting the return of their leader, who was apparently away on solo training. The Generation II iteration of the Team Rocket HQ also features a Team Rocket Oath (Japanese: ロケットだんこころえ Rocket Gang Motto), which states that Pokémon exist for the glory of Team Rocket and should be stolen and exploited for profit.
This new Team Rocket started off small, first kidnapping the Slowpoke from Azalea Town and holding them hostage to create rain, while selling their tails to the black market to help reform Team Rocket. They began their operation, led by Executive Proton, in the Slowpoke Well, where all of the local Slowpoke dwelled. However, with the help of Kurt, the player manages to scare them away, and return the Slowpoke back to the town. When the player enters Goldenrod City, a Rocket is seen outside the Radio Tower. In Generation IV in Ecruteak City, the player encounters a Rocket Grunt harassing a Kimono Girl, and the player must defeat him. Eventually, they are encountered in Mahogany Town, where they have set up a secret hideout in the basement of the town's shop, which stores a machine that emits high-frequency sound waves. These sound waves brainwash Pokémon and induce evolution in the Magikarp that live in the Lake of Rage north of the town, turning them into Gyarados, which are far more profitable than their pre-evolutionary form. With the help of the Indigo Plateau Champion, Lance, the player defeats the syndicate once again. In this mission, the player must defeat Executives Petrel and Ariana.
In a last-ditch attempt to get in contact with their former leader, Giovanni, the group hijacks the Radio Tower in Goldenrod City, flooding the airwaves with a message to Giovanni. Petrel, who disguised himself as the impostor station manager, met with the player, who challenged the Rocket Executive to a battle, and in the process, admitting the location of where they were holding the real station manager to the player, the Goldenrod Underground. Thus, with the real station manager free of Team Rocket's hold, the player rushes off to meet Archer, the interim head of Team Rocket, where they face off in a final match. Once again defeated by the main protagonist, the Executives in charge of the operation vow to disband Team Rocket for good. Every Rocket Executive is fought in this mission. Likewise, several miles away, in Tohjo Falls, Giovanni heard the message, intending to use it as his return, until he was defeated by the player and Ethan/Lyra, who had traveled back in time with Celebi.
The Team Rocket members involved in the Johto plot may be connected in some way to the Sevii Islands branch of Team Rocket, as the Executives have similar teams to the Executives there, while a computer in the Rocket Warehouse indicates the beginnings of the Lake of Rage plot.
In Unova
Although Team Rocket itself does not appear in Generation V, it was implied that the Team Rocket operative in Cerulean City planned to re-establish Team Rocket in Unova, but he gave up on those plans when he married. He resides in Icirrus City with his wife and son. Team Rocket is also mentioned by a Team Plasma Grunt in N's Castle in the first games, who claims that their plans were thwarted because "they drew too much attention to themselves".
In Alola
- Main article: Team Rainbow Rocket
In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, an alternate universe version of Team Rocket where they succeeded in their plan to take over the world, now called Team Rainbow Rocket, appears in Alola. It is formed by villainous team leaders from alternate universes where their plans succeeded.
In the spin-off games
Pokémon GO
- Main article: Team Rocket trio → Pokémon GO
The Team GO Rocket is a villainous team based on Team Rocket. Their outfits are similar to the Team Rocket outfit, and their leader is Giovanni as well. Jessie and James appeared in Pokémon GO, as members of Team GO Rocket for a couple of limited time events via the Meowth balloon.
Pokémon Masters EX
- Main article: Team Rocket trio → Pokémon Masters EX
Giovanni, the Team Rocket trio (Jessie, James, and Meowth), and the four Team Rocket Executives (Archer, Ariana, Petrel, and Proton) appear in Pokémon Masters EX.
Team Rocket serves as main antagonistic force during the Villain Arc, in which Giovanni attempts to utilize the power of sync stones to empower himself, as well as crash against Team Plasma who also wanted to take over Pasio and manipulate other villainous organizations to his benefit.
Pokémon Puzzle League
- Main article: Team Rocket trio → Pokémon Puzzle League
The Team Rocket trio (Jessie, James, and Meowth), Giovanni, Butch, and Cassidy, appear in Pokémon Puzzle League.
Pokémon Zany Cards
- Main article: Team Rocket trio → Pokémon Zany Cards
The Team Rocket trio (Jessie, James, and Meowth) appears in Pokémon Zany Cards.
Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: The Invasion of Team GR!
In Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: The Invasion of Team GR!, the villainous team, Team Great Rocket, shares a similar name and was based on Team Rocket.
There are two card sets named after Team Rocket: We Are Team Rocket and Team Rocket's Ambition. The former has the Team Rocket logo "R" as part of its game sprite, and the latter features three Team Rocket Grunts in its game sprite.
This game includes all the cards from the real-life Team Rocket set. Some cards feature Team Rocket members: Rocket's Sneak Attack includes the female Team Rocket Grunt from Generation II, whose design is similar to Cassidy; she is also seen in the The Rocket's Trap card, with two male Team Rocket Grunts. Here Comes Team Rocket! features the Team Rocket trio. The Boss's Way features Giovanni.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
A Team Rocket Outfit and Hat were included in the third wave of downloadable costumes for Mii Fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The outfit set is designed for use with Mii Brawler.
In animation
Pokémon the Series
In Pokémon the Series, Team Rocket is based in Kanto, much like the games, with many smaller branches across Kanto and Johto. Like in the games, Giovanni was the Gym Leader of Viridian City's Pokémon Gym during Ash's journey through the region; however, he was later revealed to have abandoned his duties.
An underground school for aspiring Team Rocket operatives is present somewhere in the region, while the organization's headquarters were formerly near Pallet Town. The headquarters was relocated sometime during Ash's journey in Johto or Hoenn to a large building in a canyon following damages it sustained due to Mewtwo's anger at being controlled.
For Pokémon the Series: The Beginning through Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, the Team Rocket insignia from the games was used. However, in Pokémon the Series: Black & White, a new, animated series-exclusive 3D logo was introduced, being retained for most Team Rocket material well into Pokémon the Series: XY and beyond. A variation of this logo with a circular symbol behind the insignia was introduced in An Explosive Operation!, subsequently being utilized in Giovanni's office. Since Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, the logo is flat. It has two variations, one with a circle behind it for Giovanni's office, and a red one that is used on the trio's balloon. The older logo is also used. This continues into Pokémon Journeys: The Series, where multiple variants of the logo are used at different times.
The trio
- Main article: Team Rocket trio
A trio of Team Rocket field agents, Jessie, James, and a talking Meowth, were defeated on an assignment to steal Pokémon from Viridian City's Pokémon Center by rookie Trainer Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu, and since then have followed him everywhere on his journey in order to steal the Pikachu that humiliated them. After following him through Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto, coming in contact with many other Team Rocket members along the way and being shown as incompetent compared to said members, the trio followed Ash to the Hoenn region under directions from Giovanni to establish a branch of Team Rocket there (though this was really only a ploy to get them out of his hair). When Ash returned from Hoenn after competing in its regional League Conference, the trio returned to Kanto as well, empty-handed. After following him through Kanto once again, Giovanni assigned the trio to the Sinnoh region, again with the directive to establish a Team Rocket branch there.
Giovanni claimed before to not even recognize the three agents. Meowth often fantasizes about pleasing Giovanni with Pokémon captured using one of the trio's many harebrained schemes and mechas, at which point he would then replace Giovanni's Persian as "top cat", however this is hindered by both the fact that Ash and his friends defeat the trio each time, and formerly Giovanni's low opinion of the three as well, who have managed to eat up much of Team Rocket's funding with their failures.
While Giovanni viewed the trio as "bumbling idiots who can't do anything right", they have occasionally shown that they can do things right, if only by working on the side of Ash and his friends. It should be noted that when other Team Rocket members have come into contact with Ash or any of his friends they've been often just as easily foiled as these three.
The trio has often been shown as poor or having little money. This may be due to the amount of machinery and costumes they use in their attempts to capture Ash's Pikachu. They often take on side-jobs like selling food at stadiums or creating fake items and selling them to the public. Several episodes after the series began, they notably started speaking in rhymes from time to time.
In Pokémon the Series: Black & White, the trio stopped being the show's comic relief, accomplishing several missions assigned to them and also receiving new uniforms. They have also become more of a threat to Ash and his friends. Multiple agents were also situated in Unova, who passed on information and orders to Jessie, James, and Meowth. Giovanni himself has also been featured much more prominently, regularly assigning the trio missions and passing on information. Eventually returning to their old costumes, but retaining their serious tone and weaponry, they acted under Dr. Zager to accomplish further missions.
Giovanni later returned to lead the trio in one last mission, Operation Tempest, in Meloetta and the Undersea Temple! and Unova's Survival Crisis!. Following its failure, Giovanni retreated with the trio to Kanto, but the trio later returned in New Places, Familiar Faces!. At first returning to their original goal of capturing Pikachu, they later came into conflict with Team Plasma and eventually aided Ash and Looker in defeating Ghetsis.
The trio returned fully to their previous role as comic relief in the Decolora Adventure! arc, roles they continued to retain during Pokémon the Series: XY and Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, but they still had advanced technology until the end of XY. Jessie's Wobbuffet rejoined them in The Dream Continues!, at the end of the Decolora Adventure! arc, and accompanied them to Kalos in XY and Alola in Sun & Moon as an effective fourth member of the group to steal rare Pokémon from those regions. Despite once again being comic relief, Jessie and James seem to have become much better at battling, immediately posing a challenge to Ash and his friends several times. Giovanni also continued to support them; he no longer admonished them for their failures and relied on them to accomplish Team Rocket's work in Kalos and Alola. However, Team Rocket had no presence in Kalos and Alola other than Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet. Starting in First Catch in Alola, Ketchum-Style!, they have lived in a Bewear's den on Alola's Melemele Island. In A Seasoned Search!, they finished building a secret Team Rocket base inside the den.
In Pokémon Journeys: The Series, the trio operated out of a base hidden underground in Vermilion City and travelled to different parts of the world searching for new Pokémon to steal. During this series, they were equipped with new tools, most notably a Rotom Phone and the Rocket Prize Master, a capsule toy machine that provided them with Pokémon from Team Rocket's stock. As a result of this, they did not use their own Pokémon for the majority of the series, though Giovanni did eventually send them back the Pokémon they had stored at the Team Rocket HQ close to the end of the series in Rocket Revengers!.
Other members
Many other members of Team Rocket have appeared besides the aforementioned boss and the trio, most of them are field agents as well. In addition, at least in the dub, one of these members, Domino, implies that Team Rocket had agents in even the most innoculous places such as a university. A recurring duo who are rivals with Jessie and James, Cassidy and Butch, show up from time to time. This pair reports to Dr. Namba, rather than Giovanni directly. As revealed in The Good, The Bad, and The Lucky!, however, Cassidy and Butch have since left Team Rocket and gone their separate ways.
Attila and Hun, operatives from Team Rocket's Johto branch, were featured as antagonists in The Legend of Thunder!, where they played the same role as Jessie and James do to Jimmy, Marina, and Vincent. Other Johto operatives include Tyson, who was in charge of the Lake of Rage experimentation; Domino, an elite Team Rocket member that was part of a mission to recapture Mewtwo; the Iron-Masked Marauder, a Team Rocket Executive who managed to capture a Celebi with one of his Dark Balls; and Professor Sebastian, a high-ranking Team Rocket scientist involved in both Attila and Hun's and Tyson's plots.
Jessie's mother, Miyamoto, was at one time a Team Rocket member under Giovanni's mother. However, she disappeared without a trace on an expedition to find and capture Mew.
Matori, Giovanni's secretary, first appeared in the final episode of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl. She appeared on occasion throughout Pokémon the Series: Black & White and Pokémon the Series: XY to debrief Jessie, James, and Meowth. Her role was expanded in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, becoming a sort of rival figure to Jessie, recruiting an Alolan Meowth to her cause, and leading a special unit of Team Rocket known as the Matori Matrix, which consists of other grunts such as Gozu. In Pokémon Journeys: The Series', the Matori Matrix has been shown operating and targeting areas in Sinnoh. In A Little Rocket R & R!, the Resort Area was targeted to steal Pokémon from trainers on vacation. Later on in Nightfall? Nightmares!, the Matori Matrix attacked Cresselia on Fullmoon Island.
Pierce and Dr. Zager are two high-ranking members of the organization introduced to assist Jessie and James with their missions in Unova. For much of Pokémon the Series: Black & White, Dr. Zager had a relationship to Jessie and James similar to that of Dr. Namba in relation to Butch and Cassidy, directly coordinating their missions and providing machinery. Among his creations were an energy cannon using the power of Roggenrola and the "Ghost Train".
Team Rocket has attempted to do many major and potentially globally-altering operations, including cloning DNA of Mew and altering it to create Mewtwo. This stemmed out of a desire of Giovanni to appease his mother's obsession with Mew, although he ultimately desired Mewtwo for use as a weapon. When Mewtwo finally finished developing, he deceived Mewtwo into working for him, using him in Gym Battles against such Trainers as Gary Oak (who suffered his first of only four losses in Pokémon the Series). Team Rocket also attempted to capture and control a Lugia and Celebi, and it also created a device that could force Pokémon to evolve. It also successfully managed to capture a Rayquaza, although it is never revealed whether they maintained control of it or if it managed to escape.
They have various means of transportation, such as boats, submarines, and helicopters.
Pokémon Origins
In Pokémon Origins, Team Rocket appeared in File 2: Cubone and File 3: Giovanni, serving the same purpose as their in-game version.
Pokémon Generations
In Pokémon Generations, Team Rocket first appeared in The Chase, in which several Team Rocket Grunts were arrested after a successful raid at the Celadon Game Corner by the International Police. All the Grunts however, were both incapable and unwilling to tell anything about their leader Giovanni's future plans. The Rocket Boss, later appeared at the end of the episode, watching over Viridian City before leaving.
Team Rocket reappeared in The Lake of Rage, in which their secret hideout was infiltrated by Ethan and Lance. Their plan to force Pokémon to evolve was stopped when Lance destroyed the radio wave generator after defeating multiple Grunts and Team Rocket Executive Petrel.
Team Rocket appeared in a flashback in The Legacy, when Looker described their takeover of the Goldenrod Radio Tower to Silver.
In the manga
Pokémon Adventures
In Pokémon Adventures, "Rocket" is an acronym standing for "Raid On the City, Knock Out, Evil Tusks."
Red, Green & Blue arc
Although grunts are first seen in A Glimpse of the Glow searching for Mew in Pallet Town, Team Rocket as an organization was not introduced until Gyarados Splashes In! in the Red, Green & Blue arc. Here, they are mentioned by Professor Oak as an evil syndicate that use Pokémon for sinister purposes, mostly experiments. They are then seen looking for a Moon Stone in Mt. Moon. After running into Red and Misty, they battled them with a Rhyhorn, and when it looked like Pika may defeat it, a mysterious injection caused it to evolve into Rhydon. It was still defeated and the admin shown to be controlling it was Koga.
Then they are seen with Red infiltrating their ranks trying to find Green, who stole some information on Mew that was important for them. It was also revealed that under the Rocket Game Corner was a research facility for Mewtwo. After Green was found they revealed another Pokémon with a special ability, a Tauros with the ability to control other Pokémon with a swish of its tail. However they were defeated when Green's Ditty transformed into that Tauros and make the other Pokémon defeat themselves. However, they believed they were alright since they retrieved the disc on Mew, which was, in fact, a fake. After realizing this, they go out to find a Mew they though they saw, which was Ditty again. Eventually, the grunts figure it out and run into Red and Green who found the real Mew. Later, as it was shown that the battle was going south, Mew stepped in and knocked out the Rocket that was leading this hunt and his Jynx, leaving after that and Red and Green get away as well.
They are then seen on the Seafoam Islands chasing after Articuno only to be once again stalled by Red to a point where Articuno (which froze itself) defrosted and their combined forces easily drove Team Rocket away once again. Then they appear on Cinnabar confronting Blaine who had betrayed them. After Red joins the fight, the Rocket grunts then reveal their Moltres and they disperse. Moltres is defeated by Red's Aerodactyl but is then revealed that the battle's outcomes don't matter since it is then revealed that Koga had captured Articuno and Lt. Surge had obtained Zapdos.
After Blue and Green fail to get into Saffron City, Blue takes a photo from the air showing some of Team Rocket's grunts there, making Blue figure out that it's their headquarters.
Once they get into Saffron City, Red, Blue, and Green enter Silph Co., albeit for their own reasons. In each room, one the three had to face one of Team Rocket's heads. Red defeated Lt. Surge on 1F, Blue beat Koga on 2F, and Green managed to subdue Sabrina on 3F. The three of them met on 4F where a merger of the legendary birds was created by the Badge Energy Amplifier known as Thu-Fi-Zer. Thu-Fi-Zer was defeated, freed, and split apart into the three birds. The Silph Co. building was destroyed with the three heads captured except Giovanni who was still at large.
Yellow arc
Team Rocket is disbanded except there are many rumors of Team Rocket slowly rebuilding. These rumors are proven true when the Team Rocket Elite Trio attacks the S.S. Anne. After that the three admins that were thought to be incarcerated or even dead were proven to be out and waiting for Blaine, Blue, and Yellow. They revealed that the S.S. Anne attack was just a ploy to get the Elite Four's attention, but since Yellow ruined it, their plan backfired. Sabrina then had her Alakazam make the Spoons of Destiny, pairing each of the Pokédex holders with a rocket Admin. Blue went with Koga, Sabrina with Green, Yellow with Blaine, and Lt. Surge was paired with Red but went with Bill instead since Red had been kidnapped and Bill's spoon had not bent since he didn't want to fight.
Each of these pairings was able to defeat a member of the Elite Four. Koga and Blue beat Agatha, Red, Bill, and Lt. Surge beat Bruno, Green and Sabrina beat Lorelei, and Yellow and Blaine defeated Lance.
Gold, Silver & Crystal arc
The Neo Team Rocket was a revived branch of Team Rocket in Johto. They were first seen trying to take the bag full of Pokémon that Joey had been entrusted to deliver to Professor Elm, but they ended up taking Gold's backpack instead, greatly angering Gold since it had all of his family Pokémon in it. After they realized they made the mistake, Team Rocket dumped the bag and went to Elm's lab, ending Gold and Silver's (who Gold thought was the culprit) battle by knocking out Gold with an Elekid. Silver then took them on and defeated all of the Rocket Grunts and they all disappeared by the time Gold regained consciousness.
They appeared once again at the Ruins of Alph, searching for the Unown when they encountered Bugsy and Gold. Gold had his Sunbo use flash to blind them which in turn, had the Unown which they all thought were simply symbols on the wall come out and attack them. Team Rocket then had their Spinarak use Spider Web to trap Gold and Bugsy in a room, but Gold had Exbo use SmokeScreen so some Unown would get caught in the web and take out their anger on Team Rocket. Their new leader then appeared in the shadows and mumbled about their incompetence.
They then appeared inside the Slowpoke Well trying to get Slowpoke Tails but Silver appeared and defeated all of them single-handedly.
They next appeared in Ecruteak City where it was revealed that an earthquake that hit the city was really caused by them and an admin's Piloswine. They then battle against Gold and Silver, mainly Silver so they could get revenge for him ruining their Slowpoke Well Operation but Gold joined in to get back at them for interrupting his first battle with Silver. They defeated them and they retreated since, according to the female admin, they had gotten the information they needed on Ho-Oh's behavioral patterns.
They then had their leader revealed to be the Masked Man, and he sent the Team Rocket Elite Trio to catch the Legendary beast, Suicune. They failed due to Crystal and Eusine's interference.
FireRed & LeafGreen arc
- For the trio of Legendary Pokémon, see Legendary beasts.
The Three Beasts (Japanese: 三獣士 Three Beast Warriors) are powerful Team Rocket members who appear in this chapter. They are Giovanni's new lieutenants and are quite powerful and ruthless. They are individually known as Carr, Orm, and Sird.
Under Giovanni's command, they raid the Sevii Islands looking for Red, Green and Blue. It seems this was done to obtain data on Deoxys. After Giovanni captured Deoxys, they headed back to Kanto. Both Carr and Orm have used a black Pokédex, which are used to determine their opponents' Attack stat and level.
At the end of the chapter, Carr was led to believe that Giovanni was going to pass on the leadership of Team Rocket to Silver. He attempted to overthrow the other Three Beasts members, as well as Giovanni. Orm was thrown off the Team Rocket airship, with his whereabouts currently unknown, and Carr attempted to kill Sird, Red, Giovanni, and the others aboard the airship.
Sird, however, survived, and attempted to recapture Deoxys. She failed, but managed to petrify Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, and Silver in the process.
HeartGold & SoulSilver arc
Three years later, Carr attempts to revive Team Rocket with himself as the new boss. However, he is quickly stopped by the Rocket Executives, being led by Archer and his comrades, Ariana, Proton, and Petrel. The four executives reveal their goal which is to find Giovanni and have him be the rightful ruler of Team Rocket once again.
The goal of the executives was to collect all the Plates in order to summon Arceus and bring back Giovanni with its power. Each of the executives had their own role in the mission: Petrel to find all the Plates, Proton to locate the Sinjoh Ruins, Ariana to ward off all intruders, and Archer to find Arceus. Petrel initially had three of the sixteen Plates but they were stolen by Silver. Ariana battled Crystal and nearly won but the battle was interrupted by Arceus.
Eventually, Silver collected all sixteen Plates and the three Dexholders are warped to the Sinjoh Ruins along with Arceus and the executives. There, Archer has control of Arceus due to him being in possession of the Plates and he cries out to Giovanni. Archer forces Arceus to create the Pokémon of Myth. Silver is shocked by the mention of Giovanni's name and Petrel reveals to Silver that he knows that Silver is the son of their boss. He attacks Silver and reveals that he intends to betray his teammates so he can be second-in-command of Team Rocket. Silver attempts to distract the Executives by sacrificing himself and Gold and Crystal uses that opportunity to use the Ultimate Moves to destroy the Pokémon of Myth. Arceus regains control of itself and uses its powers to send the Executives flying.
However, the creation process cannot be stopped and so Arceus succeeds in creating the Pokémon of Myth. Archer starts to lose his sanity and claims that all Arceus creates belongs to Team Rocket. Archer's behavior starts to scare his teammates and Petrel attempts to escape by disguising as Giovanni. However, he is stopped by the real Giovanni himself.
At first, Archer is delighted to see that the real Giovanni has returned. However, Giovanni, knowing that Archer's plans may potentially destroy the world, tries to stop the Pokémon of Myth with the returned Lance and Pryce. Archer is horrified by this and deems Giovanni as no longer the man and leader he thought he was. Archer, having lost his mind, runs at Arceus but is simply knocked back and lands on top of Petrel. The other executives remain hiding behind rocks, watching the battle.
After Gold manages to calm Arceus down by successfully connecting with his Pokémon, Petrel attempts to escape by disguising as Bugsy. He is spotted by Gold and is stopped by Lance. When Gold asks Lance how he was defeated by a coward by Petrel, Lance explains that Petrel managed to stun him by disguising as a Trainer with the same powers and birthplace as him.
After having stopped the Pokémon of Myth, Giovanni is visibly exhausted due to his disease. However, the Team Rocket Elite Trio managed to obtain the herbs needed to cure Giovanni's disease with the help of Gold's Pichu, the Spiky-eared Pichu, and Celebi. After being cured, Giovanni decides to lead Team Rocket once again. He offers Silver a position in the team but Silver declines, stating that he shall stop Giovanni one day. Giovanni accepts his son's decision and walks away with the other Rocket members. Archer is carried off by a female grunt from the crowd and Giovanni states that he shall meet his punishment soon.
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Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys
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This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. |
Team Rocket appears in this manga.
Pokémon Zensho
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Team Rocket appears in this manga.
Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure
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This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. |
Team Rocket appears in this manga.
Pokémon Pocket Monsters
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This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. |
Giovanni is the leader of Team Rocket.
In other media
Pack Your Pocket With Adventure
In PPA08, a company called Cosmetics Rocket was introduced, as was one of their marketing team members called Saburō Sakaki, who is heavily inspired in Giovanni. It was mentioned that this brand is mainly known for its cheap beauty products and a recent product launched by the company is a shampoo called Rich Head Cleanse, which is very similar to a similar product developed by another company called Silph Care that works with ADventure.
During the episode it is revealed that the company was stealing marketing campaign work from several people around Tokyo. With the help of Madoka Akagi, Yōko Meguro was able to expose the crimes of plagiarism that Sakaki Saburo committed.
In the TCG
Team Rocket has been featured in several expansions of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, most notably in the self-named Team Rocket expansion, where Dark Pokémon were introduced, and the EX Team Rocket Returns expansion. In addition, there are several Pokémon belonging to Team Rocket in the Gym Heroes, Gym Challenge, and Pokémon VS expansions. Several cards also portray characters and Pokémon from Team Rocket that originate from Pokémon the Series.
| Rocket's Pokémon 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. | |||||||
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| Card | Type | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # |
| Team Rocket's Meowth | 
|
Wizards Black Star Promos | 18 | Unnumbered Promotional cards | |||
| Pokémon Web | 
|
039/048 | |||||
| Rocket's Hitmonchan | 
|
Gym Heroes | 
|
11/132 | Leaders' Stadium |
|
|
| Best of Game | 9 | ||||||
| Rocket's Moltres | 
|
Gym Heroes |
|
12/132 | Leaders' Stadium |
|
|
| Rocket's Scyther | 
|
Gym Heroes |
|
13/132 | Leaders' Stadium |
|
|
| Rocket's Snorlax |
|
Gym Heroes |
|
33/132 | Challenge from the Darkness |
|
|
| Rocket's Mewtwo | 
|
Gym Challenge |
|
14/132 | Challenge from the Darkness |
|
|
| Best of Game | 8 | ||||||
| Rocket's Zapdos | 
|
Gym Challenge |
|
15/132 | Challenge from the Darkness |
|
|
| Rocket's Wobbuffet |
|
Pokémon VS |
|
093/141 | |||
| Rocket's Raikou |
|
Pokémon VS |
|
094/141 | |||
| Rocket's Entei |
|
Pokémon VS |
|
095/141 | |||
| Rocket's Suicune | 
|
Pokémon VS |
|
096/141 | |||
| Rocket's Tyranitar | 
|
Pokémon VS |
|
142/141 | |||
| Rocket's Scizor | 
|
Best of Game | 4 | P Promotional cards | 002/P | ||
| Rocket's Sneasel |
|
Best of Game | 5 | P Promotional cards | 003/P | ||
| Rocket's Celebi |
|
Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
071/084 | |||
| Rocket's Meowth |
|
EX Team Rocket Returns | 
|
46/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
059/084 |
| Rocket's Wobbuffet |
|
EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
47/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
065/084 |
| Rocket's Articuno ex |
|
EX Team Rocket Returns | 
|
96/109 | Silver Deck Kit | 010/020 | |
| Rocket's Entei ex |
|
EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
97/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
068/084 |
| Rocket's Hitmonchan ex |
|
EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
98/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
060/084 |
| Rocket's Mewtwo ex |
|
EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
99/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
064/084 |
| Rocket's Moltres ex |
|
EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
100/109 | Black Deck Kit | 014/020 | |
| Rocket's Scizor ex |
|
EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
101/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
066/084 |
| Rocket's Scyther ex |
|
EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
102/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
061/084 |
| Rocket's Sneasel ex |
|
EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
101/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
067/084 |
| Rocket's Snorlax ex |
|
EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
104/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
062/084 |
| Rocket's Suicune ex |
|
EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
105/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
069/084 |
| Rocket's Zapdos ex |
|
EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
106/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
063/084 |
| Rocket's Raikou ex |
|
EX Deoxys |
|
108/107 | PCG-P Promotional cards | 026/PCG-P | |
| PCG-P Promotional cards | 035/PCG-P | ||||||
| Rocket's Persian ex |
|
EX Unseen Forces |
|
116/115 | PCG-P Promotional cards | 036/PCG-P | |
| PCG-P Promotional cards | 053/PCG-P | ||||||
Meowth 
|
|
Movie Commemoration Random Pack | 017/022 | ||||
| Pretend Grunt Pikachu |
|
SM-P Promotional cards | 014/SM-P | ||||
| Pretend Boss Pikachu Team Rocket |
|
SM-P Promotional cards | 191/SM-P | ||||
Rocket's Pokémon-
| |||||||
| Card | Type | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # |
| Team Rocket's Mimikyu
|
|
Ash vs Team Rocket Deck Kit | 010/026 | ||||
| Card | Type | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # |
| Here Comes Team Rocket! | Su | Team Rocket |
|
15/82 | Rocket Gang | 
|
048/054 |
| Team Rocket |
|
71/82 | |||||
| EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
111/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
085/085 | ||
| Evolutions | 
|
113/108 | Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary | 
|
103/087 | ||
| XY-P Promotional cards | 278/XY-P | ||||||
| Rocket's Sneak Attack | T [Su] | Team Rocket |
|
Rocket Gang |
|
16/82 | |
| Team Rocket |
|
72/82 | |||||
| Pokémon Web |
|
040/048 | |||||
| Digger | T [R] | Team Rocket |
|
Rocket Gang |
|
75/82 | |
| Nightly Garbage Run | T [R] | Team Rocket |
|
Rocket Gang |
|
77/82 | |
| Sleep! | T [R] | Team Rocket | 
|
Rocket Gang |
|
79/82 | |
| Computer Error | T [R] | Wizards Black Star Promos | Unnumbered Promotional cards | 16 | |||
| The Rocket's Trap | T | Gym Heroes |
|
19/132 | Leaders' Stadium |
|
|
| The Rocket's Training Gym | T [St] | Gym Heroes |
|
104/132 | Leaders' Stadium |
|
|
| Minion of Team Rocket | T | Gym Heroes |
|
113/132 | Challenge from the Darkness |
|
|
| Tickling Machine | T [R] | Gym Heroes |
|
Challenge from the Darkness |
|
119/132 | |
| Rocket's Minefield Gym | T [St] | Gym Challenge |
|
119/132 | Challenge from the Darkness |
|
|
| Rocket's Secret Experiment | T | Gym Challenge |
|
120/132 | Challenge from the Darkness |
|
|
| Rocket's Hideout | T [St] | Neo Revelation |
|
63/64 | Awakening Legends |
|
|
| EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
87/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
081/085 | ||
| Thought Wave Machine | T [R] | Neo Destiny |
|
Darkness, and to Light... |
|
96/105 | |
| Team Rocket's Evil Deeds | T | Neo Destiny |
|
103/105 | Darkness, and to Light... |
|
|
| Rocket's TM 01 | T [TM] | Pokémon VS |
|
127/141 | |||
| Pokémon Retriever | T [R] | EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
84/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
077/085 |
| Pow! Hand Extension | T [R] | EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
85/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
073/085 |
| Rocket's Admin. | T [Su] | EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
86/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
079/085 |
| Black Deck Kit | 017/020 | ||||||
| Silver Deck Kit | 017/020 | ||||||
| Celebrations | 
|
86/109 | Promo Card Pack 25th Anniversary Edition | 013/025 | |||
| Blastoise & Suicune ex Deck | 031/032 | ||||||
| Rocket's Mission | T [Su] | EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
88/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
080/085 |
| Black Deck Kit | 019/020 | ||||||
| Silver Deck Kit | 019/020 | ||||||
| Rocket's Poké Ball | T | EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
89/109 | Black Deck Kit | 017/020 | |
| Silver Deck Kit | 017/020 | ||||||
| Rocket's Tricky Gym | T [St] | EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
90/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
082/085 |
| Surprise! Time Machine | T [R] | EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
91/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
075/085 |
| Swoop! Teleporter | T [R] | EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
92/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
074/085 |
| Venture Bomb | T [R] | EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
93/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
076/085 |
| R Energy |  E
|
EX Team Rocket Returns |
|
95/109 | Rocket Gang Strikes Back |
|
083/085 |
| Black Deck Kit | 020/020 | ||||||
| Silver Deck Kit | 020/020 | ||||||
| Giovanni's Scheme | Su | BREAKthrough |
|
138/162 | Red Flash |
|
058/059 |
| BREAKthrough | 
|
162/162 | Red Flash | 
|
064/059 | ||
| Premium Champion Pack | 121/131 | ||||||
| XY-P Promotional cards | 277/XY-P | ||||||
| Team Rocket's Handiwork | Su | Fates Collide |
|
112/124 | Awakening Psychic King |
|
077/078 |
| Fates Collide |
|
124/124 | Awakening Psychic King |
|
087/078 | ||
| Team Rocket's Harassment | Su | Team Rocket Half Deck | 026/026 | ||||
| Giovanni's Exile | Su | Unbroken Bonds |
|
174/214 | Double Blaze |
|
085/095 |
| Hidden Fates |
|
67/68 | Double Blaze |
|
105/095 | ||
| Hidden Fates | 57/68 | ||||||
| Tag All Stars | 151/173 | ||||||
| Jessie & James | Su | Hidden Fates |
|
058/068 | Sky Legend | 
|
048/054 |
| Hidden Fates |
|
68/68 | Sky Legend |
|
062/054 | ||
Trivia
- Team Rocket is the villainous team to have the most regions in its scope, as it had operatives in Kanto, the Sevii Islands, and Johto.
- In Pokémon the Series, it also has operatives in the Orange Islands and Unova. It is also implied that they had operatives in Hoenn and Sinnoh after their respective villainous teams were disbanded.
- Team Rocket is the only core series villainous team to not have anything to do with their respective games' version mascots. In the same way, they are the only villainous team that has yet to try and use a Legendary Pokémon to achieve their goals in the games.
- In Pokémon the Series, however, Team Rocket has tried to obtain the most Legendary Pokémon for their own uses (by Jessie and James) out of any other villainous team.
- In Pokémon Adventures manga, they did have in their plans (and eventually succeeded) catching Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, but were then released; Mew to create Mewtwo; in the Gold, Silver & Crystal arc, their missions included catching Ho-Oh, Lugia, and Celebi; in the FireRed & LeafGreen arc, their mission was to capture Deoxys; in the HeartGold & SoulSilver arc, their mission was to capture Arceus and create Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina.
- Both Jessie and James have befriended or owned a Pokémon whose species are known to frequently work for the good of common people, a Chansey and a Growlithe respectively, with Chansey being known to work as nurses and Growlithe (along with Arcanine) being commonly used as police dogs. This is unusual, considering Team Rocket's association with crime and illegal activities.
- Team Rocket is one of only two villainous teams to have explicitly caused a death, that of the Marowak in Pokémon Tower. The other is Team Galactic, whom a Trainer, Roughneck Kirby, blamed for the deaths of most of his Pokémon.
- Team Rocket's uniforms vaguely resemble bōsōzoku uniforms.
Names
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ロケット団 Rocket-dan | From rocket |
| English, Danish, Dutch French, German, Italian European Spanish, Swedish |
Team Rocket | Same as Japanese name |
| Korean | 로켓단 Rocket-dan | Same as Japanese name |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 火箭隊 / 火箭队 Huǒjiàn Duì * | From 火箭 huǒjiàn, rocket |
| 火箭團 / 火箭团 Huǒjiàn Tuán * | ||
| Chinese (Cantonese) | 火箭隊 Fójin Déui * | From 火箭 fójin, rocket |
| 火箭兵團 Fójin Bīngtyùhn * | ||
| Arabic | عصابة الرداء الأبيض isabat Ar-Redda Al-Abiadh | Literally "The white robe gang" |
| Bulgarian | Тим Ракета Tim Raketa* Екип Ракета Ekip Raketa* Отряда Рокет Otryada Roket* |
From English name |
| Croatian | Tim Raketa | From English name |
| Czech | Rakeťáci Tým Raket |
From English name |
| Finnish | Rakettiryhmä | From English name |
| Greek | Ομάδα Πύραυλος Omáda Píravlos | From English name |
| Hebrew | צוות רוקט Tsevet Rocket | From English name |
| Hungarian | Rakéta Csapat | From English name |
| Icelandic | Eldflaugarliðið | Literally "The fire flying forces" |
| Indonesian | Tim Roket | From English name |
| Norwegian | Team Rocket Team Rockets* |
Same as English name Similar to English name |
| Polish | Zespół R Drużyna R* Brygada R* Grupa Rakietowców* |
Literally "Team R" Literally "Group Rocket" |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Equipe Rocket | From English name |
| European Portuguese | Equipa Rocket* Team Rocket* |
From English name Same as English name |
| Romanian | Echipa Rachetă | From English name |
| Russian | Команда Ракета Komanda Raketa* Команда Р Komanda R* Команда Рокета Komanda Roketa* |
From English name From Polish name From English name (misspelled) |
| Serbian | Tim Raketa | From English name |
| Latin American Spanish | Equipo Rocket | From English name |
| Thai | แก๊งค์ร็อกเก็ต Gang Rocket | Same as Japanese name |
| Turkish | Roket Takımı | From English name |
| Ukrainian | Команда Р Komanda R | Same as Russian name |
| Vietnamese | Nhóm Rocket* Băng Hỏa Tiễn* |
Same as Japanese name Transliteration of Japanese name |
The Three Beasts
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References
Related articles
- Episodes focusing on Team Rocket
- Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
- Team Rocket mottos
- Team Rainbow Rocket
- Team GO Rocket
 Team Rocket
| |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocket Game Corner • Team Rocket Hideout • Viridian Gym • Team Rocket HQ • Rocket Warehouse | |||||
| Boss | Admins | ||||
|
|
|
| ||
| Giovanni (Masters • Pocket Monsters) |
Archer (Masters) |
Ariana (Masters) |
Petrel (Masters) |
Proton (Masters) | |
| Other members | |||||
| Jessie (Masters) • James (Masters) • Meowth • Team Rocket Grunts (Rocket Siblings) • Scientists (Gideon) Grey (Golden Boys) • Kaede (How I Became a Pokémon Card) | |||||
See also: Pokémon the Series • Adventures • Team GO Rocket • Team Rainbow Rocket
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This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games. |
