James

James is a member of Team Rocket, an evil team that tries to capture rare Pokémon. His trio's main goal is to steal Ash's Pikachu.
==Appearance==
James has shoulder-length periwinkle hair with a single fringe sprouting from the center and green eyes. He is usually seen in a Team Rocket uniform, which consists of a white long sleeve shirt with a large red R on it, a black short sleeve undershirt, white pants with a purple belt, black boots, and matching gloves.
In the episode, Holy Matrimony!, James is dressed in a dark blue formal suit jacket with a white long sleeve button shirt with a black tie at the center, dark blue formal pants and black shoes. He later wears a cowboy hat along with a brown long poncho cloak to conceal his outfit while trying to say goodbye to his beloved Growlithe.
As a child, he wears a blue suit like his adult self, black shorts instead of pants, has a light green tie with a red jewel in the center, white socks, and black shoes.
At the start of Johto Journeys opening until the XY series the color of his hair changed from periwinkle to lavender.
When he competes in a PokéRinger in That's Just Swellow, James wears a pale yellow air military jumpsuit with a brown sailor fuku and the black round shape with an "R" symbol on each side of his shoulders, underneath is an off-white long sleeve button shirt, brown gloves, and black military shoes.
When they briefly had a day off, James wears two swimsuits in every season.
In A Way Off Day Off and Lapras of Luxury, James is seen in blue swim shorts. But in two episodes in Sinnoh, James wears a dark blue swimming trunks with and a red "R" sign at the center of his trunks.
In their mission in Unova with Jessie and Meowth in Pokémon: Black & White, James' Team Rocket uniform is now charcoal gray signifying his promotion to an Advanced Agent until it reverted to their original white in Battling For The Love of Bug-Types! and onwards. Not to reveal themselves as Team Rocket, James wears a navy blue trenchcoat, a matching black glasses and a gray fedora hat with black linings to conceal himself.
In the XY series, James' initial disguise where he spies on Ash and the group consists of an olive green formal vest with a pale yellow long sleeve button shirt with the sleeves are folded into his cuffs and a red tie on the collar, beige pants, and brown shoes. He also wears a green fedora hat with red linings and his hair is tied in a small low ponytail and wears cosmetic blue sunglasses.
He also wears this in Mending on a Broken Spirit! where he briefly helps Serena takes her to Woodward under the alias Jeeves before he becomes reluctant to join with Jessie and Meowth.
In Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, the color of James' hair reverts into periwinkle and his shoulder-length hair gains a wavey quality. Sometimes, James would use his and Jessie's Z-Power Ring in order to perform a Z-Move.
When he first arrives in Alola, James wears a light teal short-sleeved button shirt with light blue hearts on each side, khaki shorts, and blue flats. He wears a cap similar to both Ash and Ritchie's but is blue and white and retains his cosmetic blue sunglasses in the XY series.
During the Alola league, James wears a yellow and pink short-sleeved loose v-neck shirt with a sea-green trim and a sea-green printed Chimecho design at the center which resembles his own Chimecho, pale blue denim capris with white designs at the knees, ripped design at the edge and his back pocket is black, and green loafers with white designs and black soles. James also wears a pale yellow abacus hat with white linings on his head and a blue cosmetic sports sunglasses to cover his eyes. While wearing the outfit, James' hair is tied in a low ponytail like his initial disguise in the XY series.
In the movie MS021: Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us which is set in a completely different universe than the other films, both Jessie and James' uniforms undergo minor cosmetic changes. In James’ case, his hair changes to a slightly shorter length hairdo. His uniform also undergoes slight cosmetic changes as well, with his top having shorter sleeves. His undershirt also has long sleeves.
In Pokémon the Series: Sword & Shield, he looks much like he does in the Sun & Moon series as his shoulder-length hair is now cut into a short bob and the two long fringes are also cut short to match up the length of his hair. 
As James from the Alternate World in the upcoming PJ089 to PJ090, he wears his charcoal gray Team Rocket uniform in Pokémon: Black & White but equipped with bluish gray Team Rocket armor, a silver robotic gauntlets, and a matching greaves, resembling large gun holsters. His black boots are replaced by a bluish gray thigh-high armor boots to match up the rest of his armor to complete the entire outfit. Overall, this uniform he wears when he works within the Alternate World Team Rocket.
==Personality==
In his debut anime appearance and onwards, James is initially seen as a calm and serious person who tends to recite the Team Rocket motto with more elegance and flair than his cohorts. As the series continued, however, much of the trio's original seriousness melted away.
In Holy Matrimony!, James shows his very sensitive side and intense fear when it comes to his wealthy family, particularly due to his heavily enforced, sheltered upbringing and the constant harassment he had endured from his childhood fiancée Jessebelle. His parents were negative influences, as shown when he finally grows up and displays a clear disdain and fear concerning their wishes to marry him off to Jessebelle. These parents have been unworthy and abusive to him: In the episode "Holly matrimony," James's mother called him a "worthless do-nothing." and in the episode: « Mending a Broken Spirit » she threw away his precious collection of bottle caps, which meant everything to him, and placed the empty cookie tin that held them back exactly where her son had hidden it. Both of them calmly closed their eyes and sipped their tea in the torture room, where Jessiebelle chased James with a whip to "educate" him. They are so twisted that, in an attempt to force their son to return home, they even staged their own fake funerals, placing their coffins in the entrance hall of their mansion. James's mother outright says, "We only want what's best for us," before quickly correcting herself, pretending to say, "for you."
He sensitively questions whether he has a "duty to be manipulated", and he calls out his parents as being "lousy" due to their failure to realize the detrimental effects that Jessebelle's attitude had on his upbringing. He openly despises upper-class society, lamenting about how it seems to him that they have strict rules for just about everything; feelings which were most likely triggered by Jessebelle's constant criticism. In The Treasure is All Mine!, however, it is shown that before his rebellious attitude arose in him, James cared deeply for his parents. He also clearly cares for his grandparents, Nanny and Pop-Pop as seen in Sweet Baby James!.
Despite his reputation as a "bad guy", James temporarily sides with Ash and his friends on various occasions, and occasionally calls on their help as well. James usually honors such truces towards Ash and his friends as a method of shielding his criminal history from people such as his grandparents. This is shown on one occasion in Sweet Baby James! In this episode, James shows an obvious adoration towards his Nanny and Pop-Pop, even scolding Jessie and Meowth for carrying out their usual antics while in their care. At the end of the episode, James tells his grandparents the truth about his loyalties, and they remark that he still has the same sweet personality he had as a child.
He is shown to be the most emotional of the Team Rocket trio and apparently has the greatest moral conscience among the three. Despite this, he is not all pure but he is therefore not prone to backstabbing anyone who is kind to him. James lacks some of the constant optimism and motivation his teammates have and is shown to become depressed when he fails at something. Despite these brief depressive periods, James is actually arguably the most lighthearted and least serious of the trio. Part of James' eccentricity is shown through his affinity for collecting rare bottle caps, a hobby which he traces far back into his childhood. However, his childlike mindset often gets him into trouble, too, such as being repeatedly scammed by the same Magikarp salesman in various different episodes, much to the disapproval of Jessie and Meowth.
Although light-hearted, James is actually fairly intelligent , he is a gifted hacker and a great engineer, capable of creating sophisticated robots but he is very childish and he is too emotional.
James has a big heart when it comes to his Pokémon. This is demonstrated when he recounts his love for his first Pokémon, Growlithe, who is extremely loyal to him. James considers Growlie to be a friend rather than a Pokémon, and other Pokémon such as Chimecho, Mime Jr., and Inkay are shown to have similar loving and loyal relationships with James. whenever James is forced to release a Pokémon, he shows great emotion and sentiment for his parting friends, such as his tearful goodbye to his beloved Chimecho, who is currently in the care of his grandparents. He seems to be partial to dangerous Grass Pokémon such as Victreebel, Cacnea, and Carnivine, who have such profound affection for him that it often causes him to scold them in annoyance when it interferes with a battle. In the Sun & Moon series, he also cares for his Water Pokémon, Mareanie, despite how dangerous she is when she poisons him in affection.
In some episodes throughout the series, James has a tendency to cross-dress, which was shown frequently in the original anime. He only cross-dresses in 1 episode per series since DP (and doesn't do it at all in BW).
He is also a make-up expert as seen in some episodes where he made a simple make-up and accessories for Wobbuffet and Jessie as Jessilina for the contest but Jessie ruined it for her own desire to win much of his horrible shock and dismay leaving them both to lose the competition until they were blasted off by both Dawn's Buneary and Paris' Lopunny's Bounce after Jessie takes revenge by personally stole the accessories of the contest using their robot machine which James didn't participate in their antics due to his efforts in making a simple make-up and accessories for both Jessie and Wobbuffet are ruined by Jessie herself. In the XY series, he put Wobbuffet some make-up and fashionable attires to show it to Ash and the group.
Although he appears confident on the surface, deep down, he suffers from a significant lack of self-confidence. In the episode "A hole lotta trouble » Ash and Brock try to make him realize the importance of asserting himself without his teammates. On stage, he is an outstanding and highly skilled speaker; when he encourages someone else, he is passionate and loud. However, in a face-to-face confrontation or when he has to participate in a league himself, he becomes very timid. James is not the same person in the spotlight, for his job and in private. It is explained in the episode 'A Faux Oak Finish' that James loses his stage fright and shyness when he focuses on the idea that he is doing something evil for Team Rocket."
In the events of Pokémon: Black & White during their mission in Unova, James maintains his calm and serious personality we saw in his debut appearance, but due to his promotion as an Advanced Agent, he no longer cares for his beloved family or anyone else. He simply shows his antagonistic side, remaining stoic and sociopathic whenever he was engaged in a serious mission, especially those involving trying to capture Ash's Pikachu. However, after the failure of Operation Tempest, James' antagonistic behavior finally subsides and he returns to his usual personality from before.
An interesting note is that during his motto with Jessie and Meowth, James is usually seen handling a red rose to show his calm and elegant demeanor. However, in their missions in Unova whenever they capture any Pokémon, especially Ash's Pikachu, James is usually seen handling a black rose due to Jessie handling a red rose during their motto. This implies his personality change which becomes apparent when they improve their old motto.
In the XY series during the episode, Heroes, Friends and Faux Alike!, James, along with Jessie and Meowth, are able to disguise themselves as Ash, Serena and Bonnie in order to place blame on the real ones for their actions of hurting/stealing Pokémon.
James also retains in making truces to Ash and the group when facing off against powerful enemies such as the evil Malamar who initially brainwashed him and kidnapping his friends within their Psychic grasp to do their plot on destroying the world and the Pokémon Hunter and his Rhyperior who managed to capture both Inkay and Meowth.
Throughout the series despite their evil acts towards Ash and the group to capture Pikachu or other Pokémon, James, Jessie and Meowth are also dealing against criminal organizations from different regions such as Team Aqua and Team Magma in Hoenn, Team Galactic in Sinnoh, Team Plasma in Unova, Team Flare in Kalos and Team Skull in Alola.
Like Jessie and Meowth, James badly remarks about the criminal grunts' appearance and outfits in every different region and is particularly critical of Team Flare's uniforms.
As other grunts from other regions such as Saturn, Charon, and Mars from Team Galactic and later both Celosia, Mable, and Bryony from Team Flare remarking the three of them as a nuisance for interfering in their plans.
==Skills==
Due to growing up in a rich life, James has various skills as he uses them for his Team Rocket duties from time to time. James is good with disguise as he easily fools Ash and friends or others. Also, James is good at various jobs whenever he and his teammates need money for stealing Pokémon.
==Relationships==
===Family===
====Mom and Dad====
Although he cares for his parents, James doesn't have the best relationship with them as they wanted him to marry Jessebelle and be a proper gentlemen but also because they were abusive towards him. However, before leaving his parents again, James asked his trusted partner to look after them, which shows the care and love he has for them.
====Nanny and Pop-Pop====
James is more close to his grandparents then he is with his parents as they let him be who he is whenever he was with them. Due to the love he has for them, James couldn't bring himself to tell his grandparents of his involvement with Team Rocket but does tell them as they come to accept that and know he is still himself no matter what he does.
===Friends===
====Jessie====
Jessie is one of James' best friends as they're both teammates for Team Rocket. James would try his best to make Jessie happy as he even hides his true feelings about her opinion, although he also does that just to avoid her wrath. Despite many obstacles their relationship takes, James always has Jessie's back and knows she has his.
===Fiancee===
====Jessebelle====
Jessebelle is an abusive girl chosen by James's parents to become his wife after they noticed he had a crush on her as a child. Jessebelle pretends to be sweet and kind, but she is obsessive, sadistic, and domineering.
===Rival===
====Butch====
Unlike Jessie's violent rivary with Cassidy, James doesn't have anything personal against Butch, being a rival by association with Cassidy. For Butch's part, his relationshp with James is no different from his interactions with other characters as he often forgets Butch's name like everyone else, much to his annoyance. 
===Pokémon===
====Growlithe====
James has a strong bond with Growlie as he's known him since his youth and consider his only friend at his home. Also, James has great faith in Growlie just as much he does for him.
====Carnivine====
James has known Carnivine since he was little as he first meet in the Marsh Land in Sinnoh when he saw it in trouble and rescued it. At times, James would get bitten by Carnivine as it was its way of showing affection. Despite the many times it would do that, James cares a lot for Carnivine and it cares for him in return. After returning to Sinnoh, James left Carnivine at Team Rocket HQ. However, James was reunited with Carnivine when his boss brought it back to be in his party once again.
====Meowth====
Meowth is more than part of the Team Rocket team to James as he is one of his best friends and would do anything to make him happy. Despite their friendship, James and Meowth do clash but don't stay that way for long.
====Weezing====
James had Weezing since it was a Koffing and consider it a sibling because they been together for so long. Also, James not only uses Weezing in battles but also for getaway whenever they were escaping or stealing Pokémon. However, James released Weezing to be with its pre-evolved form. Despite being apart, James will never forget Weezing.
====Victreebel====
James has a fondness for Victreebel and has known it since it was a Weepinbell. Like Carnivine, Victreebel would give James affection by latching on to his head. However, James traded Victreebel for another Weepinbell but that one evolved as well. Although, little did James know, his two Victreebel's crossed path and fell in love with each other, after both of them were released. Despite being apart, James hopes for the best for Victreebel.
====Cacnea====
The day he said goodbye to Weezing, James ended up getting a new Pokémon in Cacnea as he quickly became close with it. However, James gets hurt by Cacnea needles whenever it would show him affection. However, after a -Type Gym Leader saw its potential, James has Cacnea stay with her and train. Despite being apart, James knows his relationship with Cacnea will remain.
====Chimecho====
James has always wanted a Chimecho since he was little and tried to get one during that time as well. During his time in Hoenn, James got his wish to have a Chimecho as he asked it if it wanted to go with him and happily accepted. However, James doesn't use Chimecho in battle as he babies it but does let it stay outside its PokéBall from time to time. After it fell ill, James brought Chimecho to Nanny and Pop-Pop to heal it. However, James was forced to leave Chimecho with them but knows his relationship with it will always be there till the end.
====Mime Jr.====
James and Mime Jr. quickly bonded after meeting each other as she decided to go with him when he was forced to leave Chimecho in his grandparents' care. Like he was with Chimecho, James babied Mime Jr. as he didn't use her for battle but lets her stay outside her PokéBall. However, James left Mime Jr. in Team Rocket HQ. Fortunately, James reunited with Mine Jr. and was happy to have her back in his party.
====Yamask====
James quickly hit it off with Yamask and used it for battles and operations in Unova. However, James was forced to give Yamask to the boss in order to cover up not achieving anything else in Unova. Although, James was able to Yamask back from his boss as he return it to him.
====Amoonguss====
James doesn't have much of a relationship with Amoonguss, mainly on the account that he just caught it after returning to Unova (just like Jessie's Frillish) but does use in battle whenever he needed it. However, James was forced to leave Amoonguss with his boss to make up for not accomplishing a lot of things in Unova. Fortunately, James was given Amoonguss back from his boss.
====Inkay====
James and Inkay seem to have a strong bond with each other as he counts a lot on him. When his evolved form took control of him, James was able to reach out to Inkay and got him to break free from its control. After Kalos, James left Inkay at Team Rocket HQ. However, James reunited with Inkay and was delighted to have him back in his party once again.
====Bewear and Stufful====
James and his teammates kept getting taken away by Bewear during their time in Alola. However, James and his teammates like how Bewear treats them as she took them in and gave them a place to live in Alola. When her Stufful child came to the picture, James and his teammates were warmed by it of its parent was coming. Also, James and his teammates abandoned their plan to steal Pokémon to help them as they come to care for them, after they were attacked by an Ultra Beast. Before leaving for Kanto, James and his teammates thanked Bewear as they said their goodbyes but she helped get back their faster. During a vist to Alola, James and everyone decided to vist Bewear and Stufful alongside the Pokémon they left under their care. However, after falling to steal Pokémon again, James and everyone got their wish to see Bewear and Stufful again.
====Mareanie====
Similar to his other Pokémon before her, James is a victim of being shown affection by Mareanie but care a lot about her nevertheless. Also, James enjoys Mareanie's company and tries his best to make her happy. However, after being ordered back to Kanto, James left Mareanie with Bewear and Stufful as he felt she wouldn't be happy at Team Rocket HQ. Before leaving, James entrusted their Alola home/headquarters to Mareanie and promised to come back to the Region one day. James kept his word to Mareanie as he was happy to see her again during a vist to Alola.
====Morpeko====
James and his teammates first meet Morpeko during their second trip in Galar as it followed them back to Kanto. They all got annoyed when Morpeko ate their food but they made good use of it in an eating contest. After a while, they decided to have Morpeko leave by letting Goh take it. However, James had grown fond of Morpeko then was impressed when he saw its strength in a battle against Ash and Goh. After reuniting with it, James decided to have Morpeko be part of his team and it happily accepted him as its Trainer, which officially forged their bond and friendship.
==Biography==
===Anime===
In the anime, James is a common member of Team Rocket. During his adventures in trying to capture Pikachu, James is part of a unit made up of himself, Jessie, and Meowth. He is close friends with the two of them, and is known to make personal sacrifices in order to keep them safe, as seen when he sacrificed his bottle cap collection to help Meowth in the episode Meowth Rules!. Born into a rich family with overbearing and at worst, negligent parents, he runs away from home to avoid his forced fiancé, Jessebelle. With a very caring and thoughtful personality, James can sometimes have a hard time dealing with the "rotten things" he and his teammates have to do as members of Team Rocket. He also gives out information on Pokémon whenever Meowth cannot do it himself via Index cards.
Out of the Team Rocket Trio, James is the most emotional and most caring towards others and his Pokémon. In A Hole Lotta Trouble, he told Ash that he just wanted to have a fair battle with him rather than resort to their dirty tricks suggested by Jessie and Meowth. In Training Daze, he takes it upon himself to help Meowth whenever he gets stuck in the Obstacle Courses. In episodes like Sweet Baby James and Once There Were Greenfields, James clearly shows his affinity for his Pokémon. This is also seen in Off The Unbeaten Path and Holy Matrimony!, with his Growlithe and Mime Jr. He is especially careful and cautious with his Chimecho, treating it with additional care and not letting it suffer in battles, just like how Misty treats her Togepi. Due to his great care of his Pokémon, most of his Pokémon like to have physical contacts with him when they came out of their Poké Ball. He also tends to be good to people who treat him well, like his grandparents, as seen in the episode Sweet Baby James. He was also seen comforting May when her Munchlax got sick along with his Chimecho in the same episode.
In Sweet Baby James!, James takes his sick Chimecho to his grandparents, Nanny and Pop-Pop on one of his summer cottages who also tend to May's sick Munchlax. Confronting Ash's group, James asks them to keep his criminal work with Team Rocket a secret from his grandparents. James also reprimands Jessie and Meowth for trying to steal Pokémon while his grandparents are around. James and May are also guarding the sick Munchlax and Chimecho as he comforts May about their caring for their Pokémon. When everyone is asleep, Jessie and Meowth manage to steal his grandparents Pokémon including Mime Jr. as well as both his Chimecho and Munchlax. Angered with his teammates, James then releases Cacnea to stop both Jessie and Meowth from attacking Ash's group. Cacnea manages to knock-out Seviper with a single Needle Arm and eventually blasted both Jessie and Meowth by Ash's Phanpy's Hidden Power and James' Cacnea's Pin Missile combination.
As his Chimecho is not recovering, James is forced to leave it with his grandparents. Seeing him struggle with the departure, his grandparents' Mime Jr. decides to travel with James. After that, James leaves with Jessie and Meowth after he tells his grandparents privately that he was indeed working for Team Rocket and he waves goodbye in tears to them while flying in the Meowth Balloon.
In The Treasure is All Mine!, we learn that James buried a treasure box with a letter of engagement between him and Jesebelle on his family's estate in Sinnoh. After being blasted off by Pikachu, James recalls the treasure box as he wants to reclaims it from Ash and the group. Despite their failed attempts, the group is blasted off for the second time and the treasure box is given to Sebastian which is James' butler from one of his summer estates. With their disguises blown off by his pet Growlithe, James uses Mime Jr. to keep others at bay while searching for the box.
James finally tells them about his first meeting with Jessebelle in his childhood during his parents' ballroom party and that Jessebelle was his first true love. He, in fact, wrote the letter of engagement and hid it in the treasure box that his father gave him. Upon meeting Jesebelle, though, he learns that his parents arranged their marriage, and that she wants him to relinquish his pet Growlthie and otherwise control his life. After telling them about the situation, James notices flying blimps are heading towards the estate and realizes that Sebastian had called Jessebelle in response to his presence. With this, James escapes with Ash, Dawn, Brock, Jessie, and Meowth through a secret passage. When Ash and Brock hold up the door, James eventually fights off the robotic treasure chest which he is unable to open. He manages to stop it as the treasure box turns into a rocket, which he uses to escape. He was later confronted by Jessebelle one last time as James convinces Ash to send him and his teammates flying with Pikachu's Thunderbolt attacks. Pikachu does thi, but accidentally sends Jessebelle flying away instead of Jessie. The episode ends with Jessie surrounded by Jessebelle's bodyguards, and Jessebelle yelling at James and Meowth on a beach.
As of his, Jessie's and Meowth's promotion and transfer to Unova, James has become a highly skilled stealth artist, an excellent hacker, and is often successful in missions with his teammates; to the point of the trio becoming a serious enemy for Ash and his companions. The trio was key in Team Rocket's Meteonite plan, taking orders directly from Giovanni himself as well as his secretary. James and his teammates worked together with Pierce and met Doctor Zager. Once the plan culminated, James and his teammates were allowed to do as they please in Unova, so they continued to contribute to the Team Rocket organization and now work closely with Zager. Ash has also become less important to them but they will still antagonize him if he interferes in their plans.
In The Scare of Litwick Mansion, he, Jessie, and Meowth had their life energy drained at the hands of four Litwick after they are informed by Doctor Zager of their origins. The trio is forced to aid Ash and his friends to battle against the four Litwick including its leader Lampent as they called a brief truce after being rescued by them. Lampent tries to hit them with Inferno only for the attack to be deflected by Ash's Oshawott's Water Gun allowing Jessie's Woobat to knock it away with Air Slash and finally the group of Pokémon is blasted away in the Ghost World by Pikachu's Electro Ball.
After the incident and, with their life energy finally restored, James informs Ash and the group that they will get Pikachu the next time they meet after Jessie tells them they will meet them as enemies before the trio flies away with their jetpacks.
Their word in the last episode proves to true when they manage to capture Iris' Axew, Emmy's Druddigon, and Ash's Pikachu in the episode, The Dragon Master's Path! after using his Yamask and Jessie's Woobat to ambush them. However, Druddigon manages to free Pikachu with its Dragon Claw before being caught by them. Their rocket soon crashes thanks to Axew's nearly mastered Dragon Rage which allows it and Druddigon to escape briefly in the mountains but they are soon attacked by both Yamask and Woobat. When Ash and the group arrive to retrieve both, James lets Yamask unleash its Shadow Ball but it fails when Pikachu hits it and Woobat with his Thunderbolt. Team Rocket's stealing attempts are soon futile when they are attacked by Druddigon's newly learned Draco Meteor and Axew's Dragon Rage, forcing Team Rocket to flee.
In the episode, Gotta Catch a Roggenrola!, Team Rocket uses a machine created by Doctor Zager to capture Roggenrola and uses them to fire off a deadly Flash Cannon attack. One of the Roggenrola manages to warn Ash and the group about the incident in the cave. Ash's Roggenrola risks its life to save its friends. Soon, James is forced to fight Ash and the group releasing his Yamask while teaming up with Jessie's Woobat. Despite their efforts, both of their Pokémon are defeated by Ash's Tepig. They are soon forced to flee using jetpacks. Ash's Pikachu along with all of the Roggenrola destroy the machine with an Electro Ball and Flash Cannon combination. James is disappointed with their failure while Jessie states that they will take over Unova for their boss, Giovanni, as they continue to fly away with their jetpacks.
In Meowth's Scrafty Tactics!, James and Jessie coldly abandoned Meowth because his mission backfired. However, this is actually a ruse so that Meowth can join Ash's group on their journey until in the episode Crisis from an Underground Up! where Meowth reveals his actions to Ash and his friends by tricking them and stealing an incredible number of Poké Balls. Team Rocket's nefarious act continues in Battle for the Underground where they are aided by Doctor Zager in their attempts to steal a subway train. After all of Ash and his friends' Pokémon broke free, James, Jessie, and Meowth rely on Doctor Zager's efforts until Ash's Snivy and Pikachu's Leaf Storm and Electro Ball combination destroys the capture device. After failing to capture all of their Pokémon, James presses the detonator to escape in Doctor Zager's helicopter.
The trio later participates in their boss Giovanni's Operation: Tempest in both Meloetta and the Undersea Temple! and Unova's Survival Crisis! James and Jessie fought both Cilan and Iris using Yamask and Woobat against Pansage and Axew. However, they are amused to see their boss, Giovanni, defeat Ash and his Pikachu using Persian, as well as to capture Meloetta in the aircraft.
Despite their success and their efforts for Giovanni paying off, he becomes consumed with his own ambitions and is possessed by the Reveal Glass to summon the three legendary Pokémon in the sky and turns them into their Therian forms so that Giovanni can control them. The trio guards Giovanni while confronting Ash, Pikachu, and his Unfezant while Giovanni orders the Kami trio to intensify their strength.
When Pikachu destroys the platform Giovanni was standing with his amplified Electro Ball, he is consumed by his own evil ambitions and wants to destroy the Unova region rather than conquer it. James, Jessie, and Meowth eventually tackle their boss to save his life and help him regain his senses. After Giovanni agreed to retreat immediately, James and Jessie help him to safety. Both James and Jessie admitted that Pikachu is special to them while they are escaping in the helicopter until Giovanni's orders a total retreat back in Kanto.
After the failure of Operation Tempest and N's introduction, James, Jessie, and Meowth return to their old ways of capturing Pikachu and other Pokémonand instead of being a serious enemy to Ash. However, they still retain their competent demeanor, and had access to Team Rocket's technology. They manage to capture Nanette's Tepig rather than Ash's Pikachu, but are soon thwarted by Pikachu.
As they continue to observe Ash and the group to capture Pikachu and please Giovanni, they also ran into Team Plasma and Colress in Team Plasma's Pokémon Manipulation!. The trio tried their best to hack their machines but failed when Team Plasma's forces overwhelmed them.
When N and his foster siblings escape from the fog, the trio eventually found three Team Plasma grunts searching for N. Inside the tower, James and Jessie manage to ambush Colress and other Team Plasma grunts in the episode, Meowth, Colress and Team Rivalry!. Both of them serve as a decoy so that Meowth can attack Colress. While Meowth makes a deal with Colress to act as a test subject for the machine, James and Jessie manage to trap all four of the Team Plasma grunts in an energy field. Returning to find Meowth, James and Jessie were impressed to see Colress controlling the machine, until it collapses. Colress soon reveals that he's controlling Meowth, much to Jessie and James' shock. They are forced to use both Frillish and Amoonguss to fight Meowth,but successfully detain Meowth. Both James and Jessie do their best to wake Meowth from his brainwashing, and eventually, succeed. Jessie has her Frillish use Mist to escape with James and Meowth.
When Reshiram is finally released by Ghetsis, the leader of Team Plasma, they are soon requested by Looker to help stop Team Plasma, They succeed as Ash's Pikachu manages to destroy the machine that controls Pokémon with Pikachu's Electro Ball.
After Team Plasma is defeated and disbanded, James, Jessie, and Meowth inform Giovanni about Team Plasma's defeat which he is very pleased with and he tells them to keep up the good work before hanging up. The trio continues their plot to capture Pikachu but fail in every attempt.
In The Dream Continues!, after they are blasted off by all of Ash's Pokémon whine in Pallet Town, they return to Team Rocket HQ to meet up with their boss, Giovanni. He was impressed to see the trio defeat Team Plasma and wants to know of the results. Since Giovanni is unaware of their brief alignment with the international detective Looker to stop Team Plasma, tell their boss about the unique Pokémon in the Unova region. With that, both James and Jessie give their Unova Pokémon, Yamask, Amoonguss, Woobat, and Frillish, to Giovanni for its safekeeping.
Jessie was saddened to lose their Unova Pokémon in Giovanni's hands as James continues to be ready to capture Pikachu but Jessie tells him that they are always creamed by Ash's Pokémon much to his dismay. Meowth tells them about their next plan to capture Ash's Pikachu, until Jessie's Wobbuffet comes out from behind them and decides to travel with them again. That night, after Ash reveals he's going to travel to the Kalos region, the trio decides to follow him there.
In the XY series, they return for their old antics as Jessie's Wobbuffet rejoins the team and finally demonstrates his defense abilities by countering Pikachu's Electro Ball with Mirror Coat. Their success is short-lived, however, when Froakie blasts them off with Water Pulse before fainting.
Throughout the series, they are always blasted off by Ash and his group. They try and fail to steal various Pokémon, including a Gardevoir that belongs to the Kalos champion and actress, Diantha. The trio also fight against the evil Malamar who brainwash them temporarily and leave them with a lasting fear of James' Inkay.
In Heroes, Friends, and Faux Alike!, after being blasted off by Ash and his group, the trio poses as Ash and his group to attack other trainers' Pokémon, with James and his Inkay pretending to be Ash and Pikachu. They also commit petty crimes while disguised, like dining and dashing. However the next day, they are confronted by Ash and the group while posing as them and they reveal themselves to be responsible. James reveals that they posed as them to separate Ash, Serena, and Bonnie while trying to trick Clemont into making the Helioptile robot. They are blasted off soon by the robot, which exploded.
In some episodes, they continue their plans of capturing Pikachu, procuring valuable items, and stealing Trainer-owned Pokémon who can Mega Evolve, but their plans always backfire.
In A Stealthy Challenge!, they manage to interrupt the battle between Ash's Froakie and Pikachu, Sanpei's Greninja and Saizo's Barbaracle. However, because of their interference, the masked Saizo and his Barbaracle attack both Meowth and Wobbuffet with his Barbaracle's Razor Shell, allowing both Ash's Froakie and Sanpei's Greninja to blast them off with a Water Pulse and Water Shuriken combination.
In Facing The Grand Design!, James notices his Inkay loves croissants much like his Mime Jr. who loves chocolates and they are seen observing Ash and the group where they attempt to steal Pikachu. Inkay angrily senses a truck is driven by an evil Malamar who speeds straight ahead and angrily follows it causing James to chase it while Jessie, Meowth, and Wobbuffet follow. They discover that three trucks are parked at the foot of Grace Tower and the drivers of the truck are none other than three evil Malamar, much to their horror.
After hearing from Officer Jenny about the weapons seen in the radio observatory and three evil Malamar's grand plan, an explosion can be heard due to a ball of light. They are confronted by two evil Malamar as Inkay becomes enraged by their actions. Ash, Pikachu, Serena, Bonnie, Jessie, Officer Jenny, and Wobbuffet are soon captured by the two evil Malamar's Psychic as Jame's Inkay manages to blind one of them with its ink while attempting to free James, Clemont, and Meowth. This allows Clemont to release Bunnelby to use Dig making their escape as James carries an enraged Inkay away from the Malamar.
After James' Inkay convinces good Inkay and Malamar to help them, they return to the tower and attack the evil Malamar. James became mortified when his Inkay was caught by one of the evil Malamar and brainwashed. James does its best to convince Inkay to return to normal and manages to break the brainwashing. With Inkay free, Ash has Pikachu use Thunder to destroy the evil Malamar's schemes.
After the evil three Malamar escape, James allows his Inkay to live with the wild Inkay and Malamar in the forest near Grace Tower. But Inkay decides to come with him despite his doubts. James emotionally cries of joy and finally hugs Inkay and became sorry for doubting him. James promises Inkay that they will capture Pikachu the next time they encounter Ash and his group, and that he was excited to have Inkay as a partner.
In A Fork in the Road! A Parting of the Ways!, James and Meowth are searching for Jessie and Wobbuffet who are later saved from drowning by Dr. White. They later overhear Jessie, who's posing as Jessilia, that she decided to quit Team Rocket for the love of Dr. White making them run away as James emotionally cries stating that he will let Jessie go for the sake of her happiness. However, she ends up returning to the trio and helps them defeat a Pokémon hunter.
In some episodes involving a Pokémon Showcase, James and Meowth are cheering for Jessie while she's disguised as Jessilie.
In Mending a Broken Spirit!, James briefly assists Serena to find Woodward after her Braixen breaks her twig when Pancham accidentally hit her with a Dark Pulse attack from behind during battle practice. He uses the alias Jeeves and helps her find a replacement stick. When his disguise fails, Team Rocket is blasted off by Braixen's newly learned Fire Blast while connecting her broken branch.
During the Lumiose Conference, he along with Jessie, Meowth and Wobbuffet serve as cameramen for one of the members of Elite Four and news reporter, Malva. But they are unaware of Malva's position in Team Flare. But as Lysandre causes chaos through Lumiose City to create giant vines to control Z-2 as Zygarde in its 50% form, James, Jessie, and Meowth had no choice but to help Professor Sycamore, Mairin, and Serena to get Chespie via helicopter. With the assistance of the Hoenn Champion, Steven Stone, the trio finally remove their disguises and tells them to move on to get Chespie while facing off against Team Flare grunts including Celosia and Mabel.
They soon evacuated the labs when Chespie was absorbed by the Giant Rock; forming a resemblance to a Megalith Zygarde in its 50% form. The trio records Diantha, Steven Stone, The Kalos Gym Leaders, Alain, and Ash acting as the last line of defense for the city. The Megalith Zygarde is soon destroyed including Lysandre by both Squishy and Z-2 as Zygarde's complete form using Core Enforcer, killing him in the process and ending Team Flare's villainous plot, and freeing Chespie.
After the incident James, Jessie, Meowth, and Wobbuffet manage to edit their video to make it seem like they defeated Team Flare. Giovanni was impressed by the doctored video and orders them back to their headquarters in Kanto. Before returning to Kanto, they attempt to capture Pikachu one last time in Professor Sycamore's laboratory but failed due to Ash's Greninja uses Cut to release Pikachu from their captivity allowing him and Alain's Charizard to blasts them off for the last time with a Thunderbolt and Flamethrower combination.
In the final episode, Till we Compete Again! in the XY series, they were informed again by Giovanni about their success in defeating Team Flare led by Lysandre and just like the previous episode, he tells them to return to Team Rocket HQ in Kanto to give them a reward. James, Jessie, Meowth, and Wobbuffet are last seen in the airport running in a hurry for their flight leads to the Kanto region.
James and the Team made a few more attemps to catch Pikachu, but to no avail. During one of their hunger walks, the Delibird from Team Rocket HQ brings them food and all the Pokemon that they have caught over the years (except for the ones they have released), with Giovanni ordering them to put the pokemon to good use. They follow this order by making a full on, last ditch attempt to catch Pikachu, but inevitably fail due to the unown Latias appearing. They get sent blasting off, and when crash landing, realize that the Team won't work after all. In the end, James splits up with Jessie and Meowth, and goes to Giovanni to request his permission for him to be working independently. Instead, he works at the HQ cafeteria, cooking food to the various Team Rocket Grunts. The new job is horrible, with even the breaks being short, but no matter what, he still holds anger to Jessie and Meowth. Off camera, he gives up on his chef job, and gets back with Jessie and Meowth, respectively. They finally corner Ash and Pikachu, reciting their motto for the last time, and almost catch the electric mouse Pokemon, if not for Pidgeot cutting out Pikachu at the 11th hour, and in the end get sent blasting off for the last time in the Anime. Before they do though, all three swear to be together forever, and to never give up on catching Pikachu. This is confirmed, when they are seen spying on the duo in their Hot Air Balloon.
===Other appearances===
==Pokémon==
===On hand===
===Traveling with===
===In rotation===
===In training===
===At home===
===Traded away===
===With family===
===Released===
===Traveled with===
===Borrowed===
===Escaped===
===Temporary===
===Status unknown===
==Achievements==
===Z-Crystals===
*Darkinium Z.
===Other===
*Beach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contest: Unknown (with Jessie)
*P1 Grand Prix: Runner-up (with Jessie)
*Grass Tournament: Unknown (as "Semaj")
*Hoenn PokéRinger: Runner-up
*Pokémon Orienteering: Winner
*Pastoria Croagunk Festival: Unknown (with Jessie)
*Sinnoh PokéRinger: Round 1 (as "Jamus")
*Lilypad Town Pokémon Contest: Winner; gave Ribbon to Jessie
*Scalchop King Competition: Disqualified (with Jessie as "Jacen" and "Jesty")
*Poké Puff Contest: Preliminary round (with Jessie)
*Pokémon Sky Relay: Disqualified (with Jessie as "Team R")
*Pokémon Pancake Race: Disqualified (with Jessie)
*Charjabug Race - Disqualified
*Alola Bread Festival: Unknown (with Jessie)
*Vikavolt Race - Did not finish
==Voice actors==
*English: Ed Paul (Season 1; TB002-TB008). Interestingly, the voice actor change happened part-way through the episode.
**Eric Stuart (Seasons 1 - 8, Movies 1 - 8, Pokémon Chronicles, Mewtwo Returns) (4Kids)
**Jimmy Zoppi (Season 9 - present, Movie 9 - present, The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon) (PUSA/DuArt)
*Japanese: Shin-ichiro Miki
*Italian: Simone D'Andrea
*Greek: Fotis Petridis
*Dutch: Bram Bart (ep1-ep368), Paul Disbergen (ep368-present)
*Latin American Spanish: José Antonio Macías (a.k.a. Pepe Toño Macías)
**Gerardo García ("Once in a Mawile" - "The Great Eight Fate!")
**Adrián Wowczuk ("Jirachi: Wish Maker" and "Destiny Deoxys")
*Hindi:
** Kishore Bhatt (Cartoon Network dub)
** Rajesh Shukla (hungama dub)
* Swedish: Andreas Nilsson
==Trivia==
*James' most recurring Pokémon are -Type. It is also interesting to point out that said Pokémon are the ones who show the most affection towards him via physical contact, even if James is annoyed with it. His friendly relationship with Gardenia also seems to emphasize that, as she claims that "those who own Grass Pokémon cannot be so evil", which is also true to some point if one considers he is the "least" evil member of the trio.
*A running gag of the series is that James is almost always the female when he and Jessie disguise themselves as a couple.
*James has stated that his hair color is lavender, not blue, in Numero Uno Articuno. But in his debut appearance until the events of the Silver Conference of the Johto league, his hair is periwinkle before it was changed to lavender.
*Jessie's and James' English names are derived from the notable outlaw Jesse James.
*In Pokémon XD: Gale Of Darkness, there is a trainer in Mt. Battle in zone 35 that has a Cacnea and Chimecho, who asks if you've seen anyone with the same Pokémon. This is an obvious nod to James, when he had those Pokémon in the Hoenn region.
*Sometimes, Meowth calls him "Jimmy", a nickname for people named James.
*James has twice been the reason that a Magikarp has evolved into a Gyarados, once aboard the S.S. Anne, and another time during the Orange Islands series.
**Both times, the Magikarp has evolved out of rage.
*While they are villains, he and Jessie care for their Pokémon deeply and are not tolerant of people who abuse their Pokémon.
*James' Japanese name (Kojiro) comes from the name of a famous Japanese samurai, Kojiro Sasaki.
**This is a part of a series of puns with Team Rocket members' names, such as Jessie's Japanese name (Musashi) being the name of the famous Samurai Musashi Miyamoto, one of Kojiro Sasaki's rivals.
*In the Spanish dub, James's voice actor occasionally makes Mexican jokes or word games.
*James' past is the opposite of Jessie's since he grew up rich while Jessie grew up poor.
* At the ending of the manga series The Electric Tale of Pikachu, James is shown to have married Jessie and had a kid together sometime later.
* Page 322 of "John Willis' Screen World" published in 2003 by Applause Books, says "Eric Stuart (Brock Harrison/James Morgan of Team Rocket)". This suggests that James' surname may be Morgan.
*James is the second main character to have a nicknamed Pokémon after Misty, Lana and Lillie. He is also the only male main character to have a nicknamed Pokémon. In this case, his Growlithe being nicknamed "Growlie".
==Gallery==
pl:James
Category:Main characters
Category:Pokémon movie characters
Category:Antagonists