Team Rocket Grunt (Trainer class)

Team Rocket Grunts (Japanese: ロケットだんのしたっぱ Team Rocket Underling) are members of Team Rocket. They act as fodder, enforcers, soldiers, workmen, crooks, and backup for various leaders in the criminal organization.
==In the core series games==
Being the underlings of Team Rocket, the grunts have appeared in all of the games the villainous team is featured in; namely, the Generation I and games and their respective remakes.
How grunts are referred to has varied slightly throughout the generations. A grunt is called Rocket (Japanese: ロケットだんいん Team Rocket Member; shortened to だんいん Member in end-battle dialogue) in Generation I, Rocket Grunt (Japanese: ロケットだんいんのしたっぱ Team Rocket Underling Member) in Generation II, and Team Rocket Grunt (Japanese: ロケットだんのしたっぱ Team Rocket Underling) in Generations , , and . 
Unlike other Trainer classes, Team Rocket Grunts are never given individual names, a tradition continued with the other villainous teams, whose members are also referred to as simply Grunt. Internally, the Trainer class is Rocket in Generations I and II, and Team Rocket since Generation III, with the name from Generation II onwards being Grunt. Despite them all having the same in-game name, there are four grunts that appear to be related to each other, the Rocket Brothers/Rocket Sisters, in Silph Co. In all generations, this Trainer class does not include a gender symbol (♂/♀).
In , the Team Rocket trio is also collectively referred to as Rocket, and Jessie and James are never named in game dialogue or in the manual. In , Jessie and James are no longer treated as generic Grunts, now being named characters with the Team Rocket Trainer class.
Team Rocket Grunts use Pokémon from a variety of types, but often employ Pokémon more than others. The majority of their Pokémon are from evolutionary lines introduced in Generation I.
===Appearance===
Male Team Rocket Grunts are depicted as men wearing black uniforms with a big red R on them, as well as gray gloves and boots (white in Generations I and II). They also wear a black cap, which in the first three Generations completely hides their short hair, though it is shown as pink in Generation IV. In Generation I, they each hold a whip, though, in a similar change to the , it is omitted in all further depictions. They also seem to be middle-aged adults in Generation I, though they appear younger in further games. Jessie was the first female Team Rocket Grunt to debut in . Alongside James, their appearances match their counterparts.
In Generation II, female Team Rocket Grunts were expanded upon. These female grunts are depicted as red haired women in white Team Rocket uniforms without caps, with their design being very similar to Cassidy and their outfit similar to Jessie's. However, their overworld sprites had caps and black uniforms like the males. In Generations III and IV, their design is drastically changed, and they are shown more similar to their male counterparts, wearing a black uniform with a red R, a black cap, and gray gloves and boots, though they wear black shorts or a skirt instead of pants. They are shown to have short, pink hair in the games, though their artwork from shows their hair as green.
====Artwork====
 	 	
Artwork from	Artwork from by	Artwork from
===Sprites and models===
====In the core series====
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
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Overworld sprites from	Former member's overworld sprite,in , from	 	 	 	 	 	
====In other games====
 	 	 	 	
Portrait from	Rocket Grunt♂ portraits from	Rocket Grunt♀ portraits from	Overworld models from	VS models from
===History===
In and , the grunts are found throughout Kanto creating general disruption. They first appear in Mt. Moon, going after Fossils. One grunt is found at the end of the recruiting for Team Rocket, and another had stolen a TM from an elderly couple in Cerulean City. In Celadon City, the grunts operate a base under the Game Corner trafficking all over the world, and they are also responsible for the murder of the mother in Pokémon Tower as part of a plan to steal and sell their skulls. They also appear when they take over the Silph Co. headquarters. After the player defeats them there, Giovanni disappears, later reappearing at his own Gym, and the grunts are not seen after this in the original games. However, in , two grunts remain in an old man's house next to the restaurant in Celadon City; they will never leave, nor will they the player. Additionally, in , both Jessie and James are from the Rocket Trainer class, and appear next to the regular grunts in Mt. Moon, the Game Corner and Silph Co.
In , grunts are also found on several of the Sevii Islands, even after Giovanni's defeat. On One Island, the player faces two in front of a cave which leads to the Ruby for the Pokémon Network Center. On Four Island, the player helps Lorelei, who nearly defeated a grunt with her 's while interrogating Team Rocket at Icefall Cave. On Six Island, there is a grunt in front of Altering Cave. On Five Island, the player finds a group of male and female grunts operating from a warehouse obtaining a large number of Pokémon, most of them rare, and trying to make a working prototype of the high-frequency sound wave machine which would influence evolution. After the player defeats the grunts and the two , they will pull out, but not before telling the player that they will find Giovanni and restore Team Rocket. They have not been seen in the Sevii Islands since.
In the Generation II games and their remakes, three years after the events of the original games, Team Rocket, under the administration of the Executives, create havoc throughout Johto gaining profit and trying to communicate with their old leader, Giovanni. The grunts are first seen operating in the Slowpoke Well, led by Proton, cutting off 's tails to sell. In , a Grunt is seen bothering a Kimono Girl at the Ecruteak City Dance Theater. In Mahogany Town, the player finds Team Rocket HQ underneath a souvenir shop, in which Team Rocket have been using a fully-working high-frequency sound wave machine that influences Pokémon evolution, transmitting it from an antenna in a tree. They also help their Executives take over the Goldenrod Radio Tower, as well as guard the Radio Director, who is hidden in the Goldenrod Tunnel. After defeating Archer, most grunts are gone for good. However, a lone grunt appears in Cerulean City later on, unaware of the disbanding of Team Rocket, who has stolen the Machine Part from the Kanto Power Plant. After he is defeated, he states that he will return to his home country and revive Team Rocket there. It is later revealed that when he returned home to Icirrus City, he fell in love and started a family, effectively abandoning the idea for a quiet and peaceful life with his wife and child. Team Rocket has not been seen since.
===Trainer list===
====Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow====
====Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal====
====Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen====
====Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver====
====Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!====
====Pokémon Stadium====
====Pokémon Stadium 2====
==In the spin-off games==
===Super Smash Bros. Ultimate===
A Team Rocket Outfit and Hat were included in the third wave of downloadable costumes for s in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The outift set is designed for use with . The Miis used to demonstrate the outfits are based on the male and female Grunts that appear in Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.
SSBU Team Rocket Outfit.png|Team Rocket Outfit icon
SSBU Team Rocket Hat.png|Team Rocket Hat icon
==In animation==
===Pokémon the Series===
====History====
=====Original series=====
The Grunts debuted in Battle Aboard the St. Anne, under the command of Jessie, James, and . Together, they trapped numerous Trainers aboard the St. Anne and attempted to steal all of their Pokémon. However, before Team Rocket could succeed in their plan, they were stopped by and .
Multiple Team Rocket Grunts briefly appeared in Mewtwo Strikes Back. They used 's abilities to capture a large herd of .
In Johto, operating from an undersea base, Grunts under the command of Dr. Namba, Butch, and Cassidy attempted to harness a and its child, but Ash, his friends, and Ritchie stopped them.
Later, they operated around the Lake of Rage under the command of Professor Sebastian and to assist with Project R; the project's goal was to force Pokémon to evolve artificially, thus giving the group powerful Pokémon to use. However, they were stopped yet again by Ash and his friends, with the help of Lance of the Pokémon G-Men.
They also appeared in copious amounts during Mewtwo Returns, led by and Domino, to recapture Mewtwo and build a new base for Team Rocket on Mount Quena. However, they were all mind-wiped and transported away from the mountain at the end of the movie.
=====Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire=====
Several Grunts were briefly seen helping Butch and Cassidy with their stadium scam in The Ole' Berate and Switch. There, they were disguised as several tournament officials.
=====Pokémon the Series: Black & White=====
In A Venipede Stampede!, a Grunt informed Giovanni that they would arrive shortly in Unova. They were also to appear in two unaired episodes to do battle with Team Plasma, which would have been the first time Team Rocket as a whole (not counting Jessie, James, and Meowth) was seen battling against another villainous team.
In Meloetta and the Undersea Temple!, more Grunts greeted Giovanni as he arrived to Unova to supervise Team Rocket's Operation Tempest. Two Grunts later appeared at Cynthia's villa, attempting to steal from Ash and his friends. The latter got assistance from Ridley, who used his to battle the Grunts' and while Ash and others ran away with Meloetta.
=====Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon=====
In Filling the Light with Darkness!, multiple Grunts formed part of a special unit under the command of Matori and Gozu. They were onboard a helicopter as it approached Alola and activated their helicopter's cloaking device.
In Full Moon and Many Arms!, they were afflicted with the same effect that all of the adults in Alola were suffering from. Despite this, they managed to catch , only for it to break free. After this, the helicopter activated its cloaking device.
In The Prism Between Light and Darkness!, their aircraft came under attack from and Faba as they were about to follow the Ultra Guardians through an Ultra Wormhole. Several of them, led by Gozu, left the helicopter and touched down on Ten Carat Hill. They got ready to battle, only for Gozu to stop them, having decided to handle Kukui and Faba himself with his .
Eventually, in Securing the Future!, Kukui sent out his and defeated Aggron. Gozu's team subsequently returned to the recently repaired helicopter and prepared to head through the Ultra Wormhole. However, attacked the helicopter, forcing the unit to retreat.
In Spying for the Big Guy!, three Team Rocket Grunts appeared onboard the aircraft Matori took from Alola after she apparently captured . then showed up and broke through the window to rescue Stufful, who was revealed to be Meowth in disguise.
Team Rocket Grunts appeared in Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution, which is a remake of Mewtwo Strikes Back.
=====Pokémon Journeys: The Series=====
In A Little Rocket R & R!, Matori led a group of Grunts to steal Pokémon in the Resort Area. They initially succeeded, but with Jessie and James's help, Ash and Goh managed to get the stolen Pokémon back and force Matori and her Grunts to retreat.
The Matori Matrix Grunts reappeared in Nightfall? Nightmares! and A Midsummer Night's Light!, where they were hunting in Sinnoh with Matori's lead, but ended up being thwarted in their efforts.
In The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!, many Grunts were seen in the cafeteria at .
====Pokémon====
Team Rocket Grunts have been known to use the following Pokémon:
=====Temporary=====
=====Mentioned=====
====Voice actors====
===Pokémon Origins===
In Pokémon Origins, several Team Rocket Grunts were seen. In File 2: Cubone, first encountered a Grunt in Cerulean City, who was retrieving the stolen from him. A group of Grunts were later seen taking over the Pokémon Tower and making its top floor their base. When Red and later infiltrated the Tower, their path was blocked by the . While Red tried to battle the spirit, Blue sneaked by it and made it to the upper floors, swiping the Silph Scope from one of the Grunts, which he then gave to Red, allowing him to identify the ghost. After 's spirit had been calmed, Red battled against one of the Team Rocket Grunts, and, thanks to the help of , was able to defeat the Grunt's with his , forcing the Grunts to retreat.
In File 3: Giovanni, a pair of Team Rocket Grunts were seen when Red raided the Rocket Hideout. Several more Grunts were seen patrolling around Saffron City after the organization had taken over the Silph Co. office building. Once Red has cleared through the building, he entered Silph Co.'s president's office, where he found Giovanni and a Grunt watching over the president. The Grunt was also seen being responsible of carrying around a suitcase containing Giovanni's Poké Balls. Several disguised Team Rocket Grunts were later seen serving Giovanni at the Viridian Gym.
====Pokémon====
===Pokémon Generations===
Team Rocket Grunts first appeared in The Chase. A male Grunt was seen being arrested in Celadon Game Corner during a raid and a female Grunt was seen being interrogated by the International Police for information about Giovanni.
Four Team Rocket Grunts appeared in The Lake of Rage at the Team Rocket HQ. One male Grunt was shown alerting the others to the presence of Lance and , before they worked to stop Lance. However, all of them were easily overpowered by Lance's Dragonite.
Team Rocket Grunts also appeared in The Legacy, infiltrating the Goldenrod Radio Tower and sending out a broadcast announcing their comeback, hoping that Giovanni would hear them and return to lead them. This didn't happen, however, and the takeover ended in a failure.
====Pokémon====
==In the manga==
===How I Became a Pokémon Card===
The Grunts have made recurring appearances in How I Became a Pokémon Card.
====Pokémon====
			
			♂
			
			
===Pokémon Adventures===
========
The debut of Team Rocket Grunts was in Glimpse of the Glow, where they try to find in Pallet Town forest to finish 's development.
In Raging Rhydon, they search for a Moon Stone in Mt. Moon. However, this mission also fails.
In Tauros the Tyrant, the Grunts go after , hoping they can get back a disc containing information on Mew.
In The Jynx Jinx, the Grunts try to capture Mew, but and interfere.
In You Know... Articuno!, the Grunts are sent to catch .
In Holy Moltres, an army of Grunts is sent to take out Blaine, who left Team Rocket due to the creation of Mewtwo. After Red helps Blaine escape, the Grunts use , that they captured on Indigo Plateau; Red defeats it with Aero, an that he brought back to life.
In Peace of Mime, Saffron City is taken over by the Grunts.
In The Winged Legends, the Grunts try to get out of Saffron City because of the fight between Red, Green and Koga. The Gym Leaders not aligned with Team Rocket block all the exits, keeping the Grunts in.
In And Mewtwo Too!?, the Cinnabar Island base is destroyed by Mewtwo, killing the Grunts and s inside.
=====Pokémon=====
========
The Grunts and the Team Rocket Elite Trio were reorganized under the Masked Man.
In Ursaring Major, the Grunts are sent to cut the tails of Slowpoke living in the Slowpoke Well, but stops them.
In Ampharos Amore, the Grunts and the two sub-leaders, Sham and Carl, are sent to destroy the Tin Tower, and are successful. However, they then lose a battle with and .
In Oh, It's Ho-Oh!, Carl gives a speech telling the Grunts that it is time for the public to officially learn about the return of Team Rocket.
In Slick Slowking, the Elite Trio and the Grunts ride a train to the Indigo Plateau.
In Lugia and Ho-Oh on the Loose, Part 1, Grunts intrude upon the Gym Leaders' .
In The Last Battle II, Grunts are put under mind control by the Masked Man. Although the Elite Trio were saved from the mind control by Lt. Surge, they are told by him to help free the other Grunts from the Masked Man's mind control.
In The Last Battle VII, Grunts are sent to retrieve the Silver and Rainbow Wings.
In The Last Battle IX, the Grunts on the train to the Indigo Plateau are knocked out as Red and Green travel to fight the Masked Man. Chuck tells the pair that the Grunts will be taken care of.
=====Pokémon=====
========
In One Tough Togepi, a picture of two Grunts was shown to by , alerting to their upcoming return.
In Dealing With A Koffing Fit, arrives at Lance's hideout and finds pictures of Team Rocket's recent activities, all of them matching their past deeds, indicating their return. Later in the same chapter, many Grunts appear at Cliff Cave, watching Carr be deposed from his position of Boss by the four s.
In Weavile Wobbles But It Won't Fall Down and Pleased as Punch With Parasect, some Grunts appear again in Silver's and 's imagination, respectively.
In All About Arceus IX, some Grunts appear at Ilex Forest, attacking the Team Rocket Elite Trio under the Executives' orders. They are stopped by Gold's Pibu and Spiky-eared Pichu and end up following during his departure.
=====Pokémon=====
========
In High-tailing It from Haunter, the Grunts under the control of the Masked Man were briefly seen when the Advanced level Grunt was talking to about the past accomplishments of the Pokédex holders.
===Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys===
The Team Rocket Grunts serve instead of Giovanni since it is based on the events of .
====Pokémon====
===Pokémon Pocket Monsters===
The Team Rocket Grunts appear in Pokémon Pocket Monsters, where they serve .
====Pokémon====
===Pokémon Zensho===
Team Rocket Grunts first appear in PZ03, where they invade Miracle Cycle. Later, they show up in the Cerulean Gym. In both of 's encounters, he easily defeats them.
====Pokémon====
===Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure===
The Team Rocket Grunts first appear in a cameo in JBA1, where they are seen arguing with Kurt about their treatment of the . In JBA2, Jō comes to Kurt's rescue and the grunts battle Jō. They return in JBA4, where they battle Jō once more, but this time with . Jō's Totodile and Tsubaki's Meganium manages to take out all of their Pokémon. They have not been seen since.
====Pokémon====
==In the TCG==
===Artwork===
Artwork from the cards:
 	 	
Male Team Rocket Grunt	Female Team Rocket Grunt	Grunts in mission
===Cards===
This is a listing of cards mentioning or featuring Team Rocket Grunts or their Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
==Trivia==
*Internally, there are four separate "ROCKET" Trainer classes in Generation II, for the male and female variants of both Grunts and .
==In other languages==
==References==
==Related articles==
* 
Category:Game characters
Category:Animation characters
Category:Pokémon Origins characters
Category:Pokémon Generations characters
Category:Manga characters
Category:Members of Team Rocket
Category:Trainer classes
Category:Poison-type Trainers
Category:Pokémon Adventures characters
Category:Trainers with Legendary Pokémon
Category:Trainers with Ultra Beasts
Category:Pokémon Zensho characters 
Category:Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys characters
Category:How I Became a Pokémon Card characters
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