Ash's Meowth

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* Gigantamax

Ash's Meowth was a part of Team Rocket alongside Jessie and James until he got fired for failing a mission in the Unova region. He eventually found an ally in Ash and joined him in his travels after years of trying to capture his Pikachu. He has the ability to talk.

### History

#### Pre-series

In a flashback in *Go West Young Meowth*, Meowth's earliest memory is being alone at Camp Pokéhearst. With no food, he was always starving and once tipped over a basket of baseballs believing it was food. As punishment for tipping the basket over, the baseball coach hung him from a tree; from this tree, he was able to see a movie called *That Darn Meowth!*, which depicted a Meowth in Hollywood being given delicious food by its family. Meowth instantly decided to go to Hollywood, which he believed would be a paradise.

However, when he arrived in Hollywood, he was merely perceived as a stray Pokémon, and was constantly being chased for stealing food. Soon, a Meowth gang, led by a Persian, took him in. Meowth lived on the streets as a member of the gang for a long time; the gang annoyed the humans in town by stealing food and causing trouble, the town's local Butcher Shop Owner in particular. One day, Meowth came across a female Meowth named Meowzie. She rejected him, saying that he was poor and that she preferred humans, so Meowth attempted to make himself more human-like to make her love him. Thus, he painstakingly taught himself to speak human language and walk upright like a human. When he approached her after this transformation, she once again rejected him, calling him a freak. Heartbroken, Meowth remembered the first human word he understood—"rocket"—and was inspired to join Team Rocket.

In *Battle Aboard the St. Anne*, Meowth stated that he was Giovanni's "Top Cat" in front of Giovanni with no objection (while noticing that Persian was now in that position). In *Training Daze*, however, he was shown to have been present at Team Rocket HQ for a short time, during which it is revealed that Persian is already there. During this time, Meowth became a servant to Giovanni, bringing him food and drinks; however, he was unsuccessful at this task because he tripped over a wire, spilled Giovanni's coffee, and got himself shocked. Giovanni didn't appear to be angry, but he assigned Meowth to Jessie and James's team.

#### Original series

##### Kanto

Meowth made his debut in the anime in *Pokémon Emergency*. Alongside Jessie and James, they set their sights on the injured Pokémon in the Viridian City Pokémon Center. As the two sent out their Ekans and Koffing from their Meowth balloon, they quickly overtook the Pokémon Center, which only had Nurse Joy, Ash, and Misty inside. Before they could steal any of the Pokémon, however, Ash's Pikachu, who teamed up with many other Pikachu in the Pokémon Center, used an electric attack, causing the entire Pokémon Center to explode. It was here that Team Rocket vowed to capture Pikachu, deeming Ash's one as an exceptionally powerful Pokémon, making it their lifelong goal to capture him.

In *Electric Shock Showdown*, after hearing that Pikachu would fight to defend his own honor and Ash's, the trio were inspired to cheer on Pikachu before his rematch against Vermilion Gym Leader Lt. Surge's Raichu.

In *Island of the Giant Pokémon*, Team Rocket was swept away onto Pokémon Land, located on the Island of the Giant Pokémon, after a group of Gyarados, including James's own, triggered a cyclone using Dragon Rage. Meowth, Ekans, and Koffing were separated from Jessie and James in the chaos and landed on another part of the island. When Meowth found Pikachu without Ash, he ordered Koffing and Ekans to attack Pikachu, but they refused since Meowth was not their actual master. The following day, the trio found their way back to Jessie and James.

Jessie used Meowth during the Queen of the Princess Festival contest in *Princess vs. Princess*.

In *Go West Young Meowth*, Meowth, Jessie, and James returned to Hollywood while following Ash. While there, Meowth was reunited with Meowzie, who had since been abandoned by her mistress and was forced to join the gang of street Meowth. Meowth fought his former Persian leader to win Meowzie's love, and won, but Meowzie demonstrated that her loyalty was with Persian since he took care of her when she needed it (in addition to calling him a *walking talking freak Meowth*). Meowth was, once again, left heartbroken.

###### Orange Archipelago

Because of the effort Meowth exerted while learning to speak and walk like a human, he has not learned the signature move of his species, Pay Day. In *Meowth Rules!*, Meowth was worshiped by an island of people who believed that he could bring them riches with Pay Day. When he was caught in a battle meant to induce Pay Day, Jessie and James had to secretly bail him out by throwing the last of their spare change and some of James's prized bottlecaps in order to appease the islanders.

###### Johto

Several times, Meowth and Pikachu have had to team up, such as in the episodes *Bound for Trouble* and *Hoenn Alone!* when both were separated from their respective parties. His relationship with Jessie and James varies in quality; for example, in *Go West, Young Meowth* they stated that they regarded Meowth as a friend, but in *Bound for Trouble*, having discovered Meowth and Pikachu after the two had been stuck together, they both stated that they had really been looking for Pikachu and Meowth was just 'part of the package'. Meowth seems to have aspects of each of his teammates in him; in arguments, he can often be seen siding with either Jessie (usually denouncing James' incompetence) or James (usually complaining about Jessie's overdramatic and rash behavior). Despite these fights, the three remain very close and loyal friends, although at one point in Giovanni's Gym in Viridian City, they threatened to split up. However they realized they had over reacted, and became friends again, proving themselves very loyal to each other.

In *The Trouble with Snubbull*, Team Rocket first tried using Meowth as bait for a newly-evolved Granbull, which had been persistently following Meowth, so they could collect a reward from the Granbull's owner, Madame Muchmoney. This failed, and they subsequently used a Meowth-shaped mecha for their next attempt. Through a misunderstanding over Meowth trying to release Granbull from the mecha's tail, Team Rocket were mistakenly assumed to have tricked Madame Muchmoney. When Team Rocket was blasted off following a battle between the mecha and Granbull, Granbull returned home and no longer followed Meowth.

Meowth has also, since late Johto, had frequent fantasies about presenting Giovanni with various Pokémon. These fantasies often involve whatever creature it happens to be assisting Giovanni in his daily routine.

##### *Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire*

Upon learning of his species' love for gathering coins and shiny objects from Ash's Pokédex in *Do I Hear a Ralts?*, Jessie criticized him for not doing so.

Jessie, disguised as "The Jester", used Meowth in the Pacifidlog Contest in *Mean With Envy*. In the Appeals Round, he created an ice sculpture of Giovanni, his Persian and himself. During his Contest Battle against Erica's Jynx, he used "Transform" by using the pouch attached to his belly. He transformed into a Sunflora first, using Razor Leaf against Jynx. Later, he transformed into a Kirlia and again into a Wailord. He popped the inflatable Wailord with his claws and Jessie was eventually disqualified.

##### *Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl*

In *Two Degrees of Separation!*, Giovanni approved the trio's plans to set up a Team Rocket branch in the Sinnoh region.

In *Noodles! Roamin' Off!*, Christopher, a former Team Rocket member and the owner of the ramen shop, saw Meowth use Fury Swipes to slice dough in order to make ramen and asked him to work in his restaurant as a noodle maker. After some thought, which included reflecting back on previous failures and the lack of appreciation and respect from Jessie and James, Meowth quit the Team Rocket Trio and accepted the offer. However, he eventually rejoined the group after hearing that James and Jessie were in danger.

Meowth has used his claws to pick locks on several occasions, such as when Jessie, James, and he wanted to get into Canalave City's Old Chateau in *Get Your Rotom Running!*.

In *To Thine Own Pokémon Be True!*, Jessie and Meowth were competing against another Trainer and his Marowak. Although Jessie complained that Marowak's Thick Club would put her and Meowth at a huge disadvantage, the match continued. However, they were immediately disqualified from the Pokémon Ping Pong Tournament, because Meowth accidentally sliced the ball with his Fury Swipes, instead of hitting it.

In *Dressed for Jess Success!*, James disguised himself as Jessilina due to Jessie being sick. Meowth, following his promise in *Old Rivals, New Tricks!*, was used during the Performance Stage, where he used his talent for slicing ramen noodles. The two then gave the judges the ramen to taste, which was declared to be of excellent quality. The performance was impressive enough to advance Jessilina to the Battle Stage. Upon seeing the appeal on TV, Christopher became very proud.

### Gallery

Meowth fighting an ArmaldoMeowth arguing with an evil MalamarMeowth cheering Ash on in the leagueMeowth being confidentMeowth, Ash, and Pikachu vs Giovanni and PersianMeowth and AshWith ChloeWearing Ash's backpackBeing sucked into a portalAsh, Pikachu, and MeowthMeowth and Pikachu