Archer

Archer (Japanese: アポロ Apollo) is one of the Team Rocket s introduced in . He was not given an official name or design to distingush him from the other male Executives until .
==In the core series games==
An unnamed male that may be Archer appeared in in the Rocket Warehouse on Five Island. He is the leader of the Sevii Islands branch of Team Rocket, and accuses the player of spreading rumors that Team Rocket has disbanded, something he does not believe. When the player defeats him, he recognizes the and accepts that Giovanni has been defeated, finally disbanding Team Rocket, but he vows to find him and resurrect Team Rocket someday. The computer he was working on mentions the effect of radio waves on Pokémon evolution, foreshadowing Team Rocket's later actions.
Three years later, Archer is the interim head of Team Rocket during the absence of Giovanni. He leads the team in its takeover of the Goldenrod Radio Tower, aiming to locate his missing leader and bring him back to the team. After being defeated, he disbands the organization again and disappears.
Archer appears in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! as Giovanni's trusted confidant and deputy. He is first seen in the Team Rocket Hideout, meeting with Giovanni regarding his studying of the Silph Scope. Though Giovanni dismisses the Silph Scope itself as a toy, he agrees with Archer's assessment that it proves Silph Co. can provide technology useful to Team Rocket and gives Archer the assignment to plan Team Rocket's attack on the company. As he leaves Giovanni's office, he comes across the player, and battles them to keep them from reaching Giovanni. After his defeat, he allows the player to pass. He later appears during Team Rocket's invasion of Silph, where he battles the player and with the assistance of a . Despite his initial failure to stop the player and Trace, he returns soon after with the intent of wasting as much of their time as he can. Trace decides to battle Archer so that the player may reach Giovanni.
Later, following the disbandment of Team Rocket, Archer can be found in Giovanni's office in the Team Rocket Hideout. He challenges the player to one last battle out of anger for their defeat of Giovanni. Following his defeat, he reveals that he expected the player to show up eventually and drafted a letter to them, in which he congratulates the player for becoming and declares his intent to leave Kanto to found a stronger incarnation of Team Rocket somewhere else before announcing the organization's return. Archer questions himself regarding what he wanted the player to think of him, then tears up the letter and leaves, bidding the player farewell.
===Pokémon===
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====Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!====
=====First battle=====
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=====Second battle=====
Archer battles the player and alongside a during the attack on Silph Co.
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=====Third battle=====
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==In the side series games==
Archer also appears in Pokémon Stadium 2. He is the final member of a group of Team Rocket members who bar the player's progress to the Mahogany Gym after they've defeated Jasmine. In Round 1, his team has no clear theme, but in Round 2, most of his Pokémon know . He also appears in the Challenge Cup during Round 2, taking part in the Poké Ball and Ultra Ball divisions of the tournament.
===Pokémon===
====Pokémon Stadium 2====
=====Gym Leader Castle=====
======Round 1======
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======Round 2======
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=====Challenge Cup=====
======Poké Ball Class======
======Ultra Ball Class======
==In the spin-off games==
===Pokémon Masters EX===
Archer forms a sync pair with in Pokémon Masters EX. Archer became a playable sync pair on September 6, 2023.
Archer first appeared as an NPC during the Johto chapter of the Villain Arc. He also made notable appearances later in the Villain Arc.
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==Gallery==
===Sprites and models===
====In the core series====
 	 	 	 	
Sprite from 	Sprite from 	Sprite from 	VS sprite from 	VS model from
 	 	 	 	
Overworld sprite from	Overworld sprite from	Overworld sprite from	Overworld sprite from	
====In other games====
Portrait from
==Quotes==
==In the manga==
===Pokémon Adventures===
Archer's first counterpart was based on his Generation II design and named Carl. Although Proton and Petrel use the same design in Generation II, Carl owns three Houndoom which is the signature Pokémon of Archer. He appeared in the .
After the creation of , a second counterpart with Archer's new official name and design appears alongside the other three Executives as their leader. He, along with his teammates, take control of Team Rocket from Carr, saying that they will stay true to 's intentions.
While the other three have their tasks related to the Mythical Pokémon , Archer's task is the capture of the Pokémon itself. Archer, Petrel, and Proton arrive to see Ariana having defeated on Route 38. 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 uses its powers and transports them all to the Sinjoh Ruins, the four Executives restrain Arceus and force it onto the Mystri Stage. Archer takes control of Arceus, and uses the Plates to demonstrate its great and varied abilities to Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Archer forces Arceus to use its great powers to create the Legendary Pokémon , , and .
Believing he has pleased his boss, Giovanni, Archer starts breaking down into tears. However, his joy is quickly destroyed when Silver flies off to distract the Executives while Gold and Crystal finish off the three Pokémon Arceus created. Having done so, Arceus, now freed from its restraints, uses its powers to send Archer and the other Executives flying and completes itself by absorbing the Plates. Much to the shock of Gold, Silver, and Crystal, the clones begin reforming, to which Archer reveals that because the creation process started, it cannot be stopped. Archer snaps, and begins claiming that everything is destined; the creation of Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina, Arceus completing itself, the world becoming Team Rocket's, all destined. His insanity begins to scare his teammates.
When Giovanni returns, Archer is delighted to see that his plans worked and the person he considers the true boss of Team Rocket has returned. However, Archer becomes shocked when Giovanni starts to attack . Archer begs for Giovanni to stop, but Giovanni brushes him off. Outraged, Archer declares that Giovanni is not the man who he thought he was, and decides to capture Arceus and rule Team Rocket himself. Having lost his mind, Archer runs towards the stage to capture Arceus, only to be easily kicked away. He lands on Petrel and is knocked unconscious. After the battle had ended, Giovanni has Archer carried away and states that he will be given punishment later on.
====Pokémon====
=====On hand=====
=====Controlled=====
===Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure===
When Jō and were battling Team Rocket, Archer was spying on them via camera. After noticing that the grunts lost to the two Trainers, he takes action in his own hands by sending out Houndoom. However, Houndoom was not able to defeat them, which made Archer upset.
====Pokémon====
==Trivia==
* Archer's design in Generation IV is based upon the original sprite of all male from Generation II. The other male Executives (now known as Proton and Petrel) were given entirely new designs. Similarly, Ariana's design is based on the original female Executive sprite, being the only female Executive in Johto.
* Before Archer's name and identity were revealed in Generation IV, Pokémon Adventures and Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys had adapted the original male Executive as Carl and , respectively. Having similar roles to Archer and owning a , they should be considered as his cross-canon counterpart.
* Considering Saturn is left with the assets of Team Galactic in Cyrus's absence, Archer could be seen as his parallel, as he controls Team Rocket in Giovanni's absence.
* In Pokémon Stadium 2, despite not being a Gym Leader, Archer uses the Johto Gym Leader theme when he's battled.
==Names==
Language 	Name 	Origin
Japanese 	アポロ Apollo 	From the , the US spaceflight program named after the Greek sun god
English, Italian	Archer 	Possibly from AA-11 Archer (NATO reporting name for the Soviet air-to-air missile ) or an allusion to Apollo being the Greek god of archery
German, Spanish 	Atlas 	From , a family of US space launch vehicles
French 	Amos 	From , a series of Israeli communications satellites
Korean 	아폴로 Apollo 	From his Japanese name
Chinese () 	阿波羅 / 阿波罗 Ābōluó 	From his Japanese name
Chinese () 	阿波羅 Abōlòh 	From his Japanese name
Vietnamese 	Apollo 	Transcription of his Japanese name
==References==
==Related articles==
* Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
Category:Members of Team Rocket
Category:Criminal masterminds
Category:Gold, Silver and Crystal characters
Category:HeartGold and SoulSilver characters
Category:Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! characters
Category:Stadium 2 characters
Category:Pokémon Adventures characters
de:Atlas
es:Atlas
fr:Amos
it:Archer
ja:アポロ
zh:阿波罗