Ariana

Ariana (Japanese: アテナ Athena) is one of the Team Rocket s introduced in . She was not given an official name until .
==In the core series games==
An unnamed female who may be Ariana appears in in the Rocket Warehouse on Five Island. After the player defeats her, she seems to understand their motivations for opposing Team Rocket and flips a switch to redirect the spin tiles nearby to give the player easier access back from the warehouse entrance.
Three years later, Ariana is the only female in the reborn Team Rocket in Johto. She appears to be Archer's second-in-command, although upon first challenging the player, she calls herself the interim boss of Team Rocket in place of Giovanni. The player battles her twice, first in the Team Rocket HQ, in a Double Battle with a on her side and Lance on the player's side (in Generation II, the player battles her alone), and again in the Goldenrod Radio Tower, where she is the last challenge before Archer. When defeated in the Team Rocket HQ, she notes that the player is strong enough to become an Executive if they joined Team Rocket, and after being beaten in the Radio Tower admits that she admires the player's power.
===Pokémon===
========
=====First battle=====
|
|
|
=====Second battle=====
|
|
|
========
|
|
|
========
=====First battle=====
|
|
|
|style="margin:auto"|
|style="margin:auto"|
=====Second battle=====
|
|
|
==In the side series games==
Ariana also appears in Pokémon Stadium 2. She is the second-to-last member of a group of Team Rocket members who bar the player's progress to the Mahogany Gym after they've defeated Jasmine. Her Pokémon mainly specialize in using and . She also appears in the Challenge Cup during Round 2, participating in the Poké Ball and Ultra Ball divisions of the tournament.
===Pokémon===
====Pokémon Stadium 2====
=====Gym Leader Castle=====
======Round 1======
|
|
|
|
|
|
======Round 2======
|
|
|
|
|
|
=====Challenge Cup=====
======Poke Ball Class======
======Ultra Ball Class======
==In the spin-off games==
===Pokémon Masters EX===
Ariana forms a sync pair with in Pokémon Masters EX. Ariana became a playable sync pair on September 6, 2023.
Ariana first appeared as an NPC during the Johto chapter of the Villain Arc. She also made notable appearances later in the Villain Arc.
|}
==Gallery==
===Sprites and models===
====In the core series====
 	 	 	
Sprite from 	Sprite from 	Sprite from 	VS sprite from
 	 	 	
Overworld sprite from	Overworld sprite from	Overworld sprite from	
====In other games====
Portraits from
==Quotes==
==In the manga==
===Pokémon Adventures===
Ariana's first counterpart was based on her Generation II design and named Sham. She appeared in the .
After the creation of , a second counterpart with Ariana's new official name and design appears alongside the other three Executives. Ariana and her teammates take control of Team Rocket from Carr, saying that they will stay true to 's intentions.
Ariana later ambushes and to prevent them from intruding and interrupting their plans. Using her Pokémon, she manages to pin Silver to a tree while she faces Crystal alone. Despite the type advantage Crystal's Pokémon have, she is easily defeated by Ariana's powerful team. However, using his and the Earth Plate he obtained from Petrel, Silver manages to save Crystal and send Ariana and her Pokémon flying.
Now facing Crystal alone, Ariana finishes off her Pokémon and explains her and her teammate's roles in capturing the legendary Pokémon . Suddenly, Arceus appears in front of them and Crystal attempts to capture it, shocking the Executives in the process. Despite her tenacity, Crystal ultimately fails in capturing the Pokémon and is sent flying into a tree.
The Executives chase Arceus down and find it battling at the Ruins of Alph. Once Arceus takes them to the Sinjoh Ruins, the four Executives restrain Arceus and force it onto the Mystri Stage. Using its great powers, they force Arceus to create the legendary Pokémon , , and .
Believing they have pleased their boss, Giovanni, Ariana, Proton, and Archer begin tearing up. However, Silver distracts them by flying towards the Pokémon so Gold and Crystal can finish off the other legendary Pokémon. Once they do so, Arceus, now freed from its restraints, uses its powers to send Ariana and the other Executives flying. During the final battle with Arceus, Ariana stayed away from the fight by hiding behind a rock with her teammates. After the battle had ended, Ariana left with the other Team Rocket members and .
====Pokémon====
===Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure===
Ariana appears in Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure, where she oversees the creation of the Red Gyarados. She has a Tag Battle against Jō and Lance.
====Pokémon====
==Trivia==
* As she is the only female Executive in the Johto's Team Rocket, she could be easily adapted from her Generation II design in Generation IV. In this respect, she is the female counterpart of Archer, who was based on the original male Executive design. However, Proton and Petrel were designed from scratch.
==Names==
Language 	Name 	Origin
Japanese 	アテナ Athena 	From , a Lockheed Martin expendable launch system.
English 	Ariana 	From , a series of European civilian expendable launch vehicles for space launch use
German, Vietnamese	Athena 	From her Japanese name
Spanish 	Atenea 	From her Japanese name
French 	Ariane 	From her English name
Italian 	Atena 	From her Japanese name
Korean 	아테나 Athena 	From her Japanese name
Chinese () 	雅典娜 Yǎdiǎnnà 	From her Japanese name
Chinese () 	雅典娜 Ngáhdínnàh 	From her Japanese name
==References==
==Related articles==
* Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
Category:Members of Team Rocket
Category:Gold, Silver and Crystal characters
Category:HeartGold and SoulSilver characters
Category:Stadium 2 characters
Category:Pokémon Adventures characters
de:Athena
es:Atenea
fr:Ariane
it:Atena
ja:アテナ
zh:雅典娜