James

**James** returns as a member of Team Rocket. He and the others are in a sort of middle ground between their level of competence in the beginning and Unova arcs of the anime.

James is a somewhat dimwitted man with a heart of gold, who cares deeply for his friends and Pokémon. He along with his teammates, Jessie and Meowth are also fiercely loyal to Team Rocket and Giovanni specifically.

## History

### Starting Arc

Jessie, James and Meowth captured all the Spearow and Fearow that Ash and Pikachu defeated and gave them to Giovanni who congratulated them and told them their work wasn't finished yet and they decided to go off to Viridian City.

After Ash wakes up in the Viridian City Pokémon Center, James, Jessie, and Meowth blow a hole in the ceiling and recite the The Team Rocket motto. Misty asked if they're crazy and James told her that they're there to steal the Pokémon, which causes Misty to attack Jessie. James called out Koffing and then has it use Tackle on Pikachu. Pikachu deflects the attack with Iron Tail. James ordered Koffing to use Sludge, but Pikachu evaded the move. James remarked that maybe it would be a good idea to steal Pikachu, but quickly changes his tone when Ash's Pokédex informs everyone that electricity can make a Koffing explode and recalls Koffing. James began to brag about how smart he is when Ash has Pikachu use Thundershock, sending him and the rest of Team Rocket blasting off.

When reporting to Giovanni about the Viridian City incident, Giovanni assigned James, Jessie and Meowth to tail Ash on his journey, reporting on his progress and any important event. James was reluctant to agree in fear for his Koffing's life, but did end up acquiescing.

The trio camped out near the path they expected Ash to leave Viridian Forest on, until they heard the sound of an electric attack. They went to investigate but instead of finding Ash, they found a battlefield where a downtrodden Gary Oak was recovering after a loss. They disguised themselves so as not to be recognized as Team Rocket, and when questioning if the trainer had lost to Ash, he laughed at them for thinking that was possible before walking away. Realizing they could try to steal his Pokémon James and co prepared to engage with their motto, but were interrupted by a swarm of Beedrill.

### Pewter Arc

James spied on Ash while he was training at the Battle Club before retiring for the night to watch some television in the trio's hotel room. The next day, James watched Ash's gym battle against Brock and when it was concluded left to report the victory to Giovanni.

### Rota Arc

James along with Jessie and Meowth stopped Ash and Misty who were on the way to Rota, in an effort to convince them to go through Mt. Moon instead. This effort lasted until Psyduck made an appearance and blasted them off with a blast of psychic energy. When they reported this failure and that they have now lost track of Ash to Giovanni, they were scolded until James pointed out that they were explicitly ordered not to enter Rota in any circumstances. James continued explaining that it was unlikely Ash would remain there as he would want to continue collecting badges, so Giovanni ordered the three of them to monitor all roads between the two regions.

When they found Ash coming back into Kanto, they began tracking him until be chased off by a wild Rhydon. As they looked for their missing target, they came across the gate to Melanie's breeding facility but were chased off by the security system.

### Cerulean Arc

James along with his teammates prepared for two supermarket robberies before abandoning them due to them feeling empathetic to their owners. They then decided on a third target after vetting the owner and not finding anything sympathetic about him. The team then broke in, held the staff up with their Pokémon, collected what they needed before quickly escaping.

### Vermilion Arc

James visited a Battle Club where he and his Koffing did some speed training. While running on the treadmill, James called Giovanni to report on Ash's status.

Later he along with Jessie and Meowth watched Ash's Vermilion gym challenge, which they reported in about soon after. During the call James revealed that Ash and Misty had boarded the St. Anne, much to their boss' displeasure. He then ordered James and Jessie to relay that the operation is cancelled to Cassidy and Butch.

## Pokémon

* Sludge
* Protect

* Psybeam

## Equipment

### Key Stone

James obtained a Key Stone from his participation in the Battle Dome Tournament. He does not currently have any Mega Stones to go with it.

## Links

1. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/EP002
2. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/S14
3. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon\_anime
4. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/EP002
5. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/EP048
6. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/DP002
7. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/BW023
8. ↑ https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/XY003