Blasting Off Again: 25 Surprising Things You Didn’t Know About Pokémon’s Jessie And James
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When it comes to iconic cartoon villains, Jesse and James are near the top of any list. Here are 25 Mind-Blowing facts about the Pokémon duo!
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Category : Pokemon
The Pokémon anime series has typically followed the adventures of Ash Ketchum and two sidekicks. They’re always portrayed as the heroes and heroines of the story and do their best to help others. The series has several enemies, but the most recurring evil team are Team Rocket. Team Rocket is the name of a larger group, but the duo Jessie and James have terrorized Ash and his friends since the start.
Once you hear the familiar Team Rocket intro music, you may feel annoyed. They often appear to interrupt the episode’s plot or cause some mayhem that is immediately stopped by Ash and his crew. Their boss, Giovanni, requires them to obtain as many Pokémon as possible, by any means necessary. His demands include stealing them or breaking into a Pokémon Center to take the recovering creatures.
Jessie and James were not always the interruptive force they are today. Though they may seem happy and comedic now, both of their backstories are tragic. Even in their current lives, they have faced hardships, like saying goodbye to those they care about and making challenging and potentially life-ending decisions.
We’ve compiled a list of some of the craziest facts you probably didn’t know about the Team Rocket duo. To make the article more accessible to those who have only watched the North American localization of the show, we’ll be referring to characters and Pokémon by their English translated names.
25 Don’t Mess With The Gravity-Defying Hair
Jessie is has a unique, gravity-defying hairstyle that makes her stand out. She likely spends long hours doting on her hair. When her hair is drenched in water, it falls around her shoulders. Only Jessie knows her hair best, and she prefers to keep it that way. One of Jessie’s anger triggers is when something happens to her hair.
Any time during the series when her hair is damaged, Jessie goes berserk.
After Seviper took some of her rice balls (or donuts to North American viewers) and attacked her hair, she almost destroyed it in a fit of rage. She almost eliminated a pack of Scyther for cutting her hair but wasn’t able to catch up to them. It’s no surprise Jessie gets angry with the long amount of time it takes her to style her hair.
24 Special Stones Aren’t Always Required To Evolve
Most of the Pokémon series is about action with humor. There are some surprisingly sad moments, like Ash’s passing in Pokémon: The First Movie. In the very first tv show series, we learned quickly how powerful tears could be in the Pokémon universe. Not only did they have the power to revive Ash from stone, tears can also evolve Pokémon.
In “Dig Those Diglett!!”, Jessie and James wanted their Pokémon to evolve so badly they were driven to tears. They didn’t have the means to make them evolve. Without an evolution stone, Wheezing and Arbok evolved into their next forms just by Team Rocket’s tears. We might think the antics of this trio are humorous, but their love for their Pokémon is no laughing matter.
23 Has A Surprising, Fashionable Talent
Pokémon Coordinators are different from most trainers. Instead of making them battle, Pokémon Coordinators train their Pokémon to create beautiful performances. Pokémon: XY focused on the struggles of Serena to become one of the best. She often had to face off against Jessie.
Team Rocket often fumbles on simple tasks, but Jessie excelled at being a Coordinator.
After learning from her defeat in Hoenn, she quickly reaches the high ranks in contests afterward. In the Sinnoh Grand Festival and Kalos Master Class, Jessie reaches the fourth place. Unfortunately, the Producers don’t want to see the evil Team Rocket win for any reason. If she were allowed, Jessie would likely find more success as a Pokémon Coordinator and leave her evil ways in the past.
22 Will Become A Self-Made Millionaire
Longtime Pokémon viewers know about James’ past. He grew up in the lap of luxury, wanting for nothing. His parents doted on him and gave him anything he desired. The only thing they didn’t give him was freedom. His parents tried to force him into their way of life. He ended up running away and meeting Jessie. Though he’s currently poor, he’s happy. James intends on being rich on his own and without the help of his parents. Since running away, James has not asked his parents for monetary assistance. At the same time, he has no issues asking Jessie, his partner-in-crime for help. James wants to become rich by working and earning money and honest, or even dishonest, way.
21 Take On Any Roles To Capture Pokémon
Call Team Rocket anything, but they’re not lazy. They work hard and play hard, especially when it comes to capturing Pokémon. Since the show is often light-hearted, the trio fails more often than they succeed. Watching how the devise their plans are what makes them so fun.
Jessie and James will dress up in any disguises necessary to achieve their goals.
What makes this so unique is that they often dress as the opposite gender without explaining their choices. It’s not unusual to see Jessie dress as a groom while James is her bride or to see them both wearing revealing bikinis. Other cartoons are just now allowing their characters more freedom to be who they want. Jessie and James have been defying norms for over two decades.
20 Anger Helped The Trio Achieve Their Goals
Jessie has a serious anger problem. It’s toned down for the sake of a children’s show, but she does engage in slapstick comedy with James and other Pokémon. Jessie’s anger has helped her to increase the size of her Pokémon crew. She first caught Lickitung after it paralyzed Arbok. She was so upset that she threw the closest object at the Pokémon. That object turned out to be a Pokéball. Lickitung didn’t put up a fight and Jessie successfully caught it. Jessie also managed to capture a Seviper while in a fit of rage. After the Pokémon stole her rice ball, she began to fight it. Seviper was almost defeated, but Meowth reminded Jessie that this was her opportunity to capture a Pokémon. Jessie caught Seviper with no resistance.
19 They Helped An Episode Be Banned
Many shows from Japan end up censored once they hit North American shores. Pokémon is a long-running series that has faced many cuts. Some were unusual, such as removing any references to Japan. Others were excluded due to culturally sensitive topics or racy content.
“Beauty and the Beach” was removed from broadcast thanks to 4Kids Entertainment.
The episode revolves around the female characters entering a beauty contest. Jessie and James also join, with the latter wearing an inflatable costume with enhanced proportions. There were also other parts of the episodes that were too mature, such as Brock and Ash’s reactions to seeing Misty in a bikini. The episode was deemed too racy for kids. It was aired twice on the WB, but the decision was made to pull it from future releases, including the Indigo League DVD boxset.
18 Were Once In A Different Gang Together
In “The Bridge Bike Gang,” Ash, Brock, and Misty find themselves getting hassled by a gang on bicycles. It isn’t until Team Rocket appears that the group stops. For once in the series, Jessie and James are referred to as the best, but only because of an event from their past. After abandoning their school days, Jessie and James began a new life together.
Before their current job in Team Rocket, they were both members of a bicycle gang. The Bridge Bike Gang thought of Jessie and James as legends. Jessie was formerly known as “Chain Jess” because she would swing around a chain while riding her bike. James was called “Little Jim” because he was the only gang member who still needed training wheels on his bicycle.
17 Was Based On A Mean Ex
Jessie was always doomed from the start to be an enemy of Ash and his friends. Takeshi Shudō, head writer of the original Pokémon anime and first three movies, based Jessie off of different people, including those he’s known in real life. Jessie was inspired by his ex-girlfriend in high school.
No other information is known about his former love, but fans have speculated she may have been as beautiful, yet, conniving as Jessie.
Jessie is also based on the character Majo from Time Bokan. Though evil, she was also vain and intelligent. She wants to capture Dynamond and often bosses around her henchmen, similar to how Jessie sometimes treats James and Meowth. The kanji from her name was derived from the English word “witch.”
16 Named After An Infamous Outlaw
Team Rocket are seen as the enemies of the Pokémon series. In Japan, the duo is named after famous Japanese swordsmen. Kojiro, or James, was named after a swordsman ended by his rival. That rival, Musashi, is Jessie’s original name. Her mother was named Miyamoto. Put both names together, and you get Miyamoto Musashi, an expert swordsman who won 60 duels before his defeat.
Their English name is taken from someone with a criminal past. The duo takes their name from Jesse James, who was a thief and outlaw in the American Wild West. His name became known due to the violent nature of his crimes. Jessie and James are not as violent as Jesse James, but they certainly became known for causing mayhem and trying to steal Pokémon.
15 Forced To Eat Snow To Survive
When Jessie’s mother was still part of her life, they had a home and clothing but little else. Miyamoto may have been a high-ranking agent, but she was not paid well by her Team Rocket bosses.
To survive the harsh Winters, Miyamoto and Jessie were forced to eat snow.
Though this may seem tragic, Jessie looks back on her snow-eating days fondly. Miyamoto would make eating snow into a feast called a “Snowgasboard.” Each meal was made from snow but modeled to replicate sushi rolls, mashed potatoes, and pudding. Each snow dish was topped with a small amount of soy sauce to add flavor. Jessie claims that since snow is low in fat and calories, eating it helped her retain her girlish figure from a young age.
14 Money Doesn’t Always Buy Happiness
James is the only child of millionaires. His parents are high class and expected the same from their son. They expected him to act high-class. Though they only had the best intentions for him, he was miserable. The only friend he had at the time was his Pokémon, Growlie. Since Growlie couldn’t argue back, James confided his thoughts to him. James felt even more unhappy with his lack of freedom as he grew older. When James was forced into an arranged marriage, he finally put his foot down and left the upper-class lifestyle for good.
James lives a different life now as a member of Team Rocket. He often camps out in the woods and gets injured trying to steal Pokémon. Though he doesn’t live in luxury now, he’s happy.
13 Has Fire-Spitting Anger Issues
Jessie has some typical characteristics of an enemy. Not only is she over-confident and vain, she believes her plans will always succeed, even though they often fail. When Jessie fails, she often unleashes a vicious rage. Her explosive anger is sudden and usually followed by images of her standing in fire. Her fear even scared her partners, James and Meowth.
Nothing gets Jessie angrier than insulting her beauty.
The worst insult is calling her an “Old Hag.” When Misty calls her this insult in “The Battling Eevee Brothers,” she spits fire. After Misty took off on her journey, Jessie’s rage subsided. Over the next few seasons, Jessie would control her anger. Instead of getting enraged when her plans failed, her anger is slightly more reduced.
12 Affection By Inflicting Pain
Though they are often shown trying to steal other character’s Pokémon, Jessie and James deeply care for the ones that are traveling with them. It may come as a surprise that their Pokémon also love them. When James and Jessie were forced to release their Arbok and Weezing, the two Pokémon cried.
James’ Pokémon are much more affectionate towards him than Jessie’s are to her. His Pokémon show their affection by inflicting pain on him. Victreebel would try to swallow him as soon as it was released from its Pokéball. Cacnea, which resembles a prickly cactus, hugs James so tightly it digs its spines into his neck and waist. Mareanie loves to wrap its tentacles around him, causing him to be poisoned in the process.
11 Lost Her Only Treasure To A Pokémon
Jessie grew up in a low-income household. She was so poor that she lived off of eating snow. Jessie had a roof over her head, a bed to sleep in, and clothes to wear, but only one toy. She was given a toy doll that she adored. One day, a Jynx took the doll to repair. Over time, she lost hope that she would ever see her beloved doll. She believed that Santa Clause’s real identity was a Jynx, and stopped believing in him.
Since Jessie no longer believed in Santa, he was unable to return her doll.
When Jessie grew older, James and Meowth planned to capture Santa and take back her doll. Sadly a Jynx snuck into their home that night instead of Santa and used the move “Sweet Kiss” to put them to sleep.
10 There Was Almost No Team Rocket Duo
Jessie and James spent time apart before joining forces. They did not have a happy reunion. Unknown events occurred, and the two were upset to see each other again. They force themselves to work together for the sake of Team Rocket and not because they like one another. Meowth is assigned as their partner. He doesn’t try to bring them together, and instead, is happy to have been assigned a special duty from Team Rocket’s boss, Giovanni.
Their training takes them into the mountains. As they work together, they slowly begin to gain trust in each other. Meowth and James almost get seriously hurt falling into a pit, but Jessie saves them. With their combined strengths, they make it out alive to become members of Team Rocket.
9 Flunked Out Of Technical School
James came from a wealthy household where he could have the best education. He was forced to learn about high society and how to act in public. He grew tired of such a restrictive life and ran away from home instead.
With a desire to continue his education, James enrolled in the Pokémon Technical Institute.
Pokémon Tech was where Trainers went when they didn’t want to spend time earning Gym Badges. After graduating, these trainers could go off into the world and qualify for Pokémon Leagues. Pokémon Tech is also where he first met Jesse. They made history in the school for receiving the lowest grades possible. With little hope of passing, both Jessie and James were forced to quit.
8 …And Then Failed Again
Jessie did not always intend on the evil life of a Team Rocket member. When she was still young, she aspired to be a Pokémon nurse. Because she was not a relative of Nurse Joy, she was forced to apply to the Pokémon Nurses school. Her schoolmates were all Chanceys. She befriended one Chancey named Blissey in particular and helped it to become a nurse at a Pokémon center. Jessie was doing well in her new role and excelled at wrapping bandages on wounded patients.
Jessie did not have what it takes to become a full-fledged Pokémon nurse. During a lesson where Chanceys had to use “Sing” to relax patients, Jessie fell asleep. She had to leave the Pokémon Nurses school. Before she left, her best friend gave her half of her official nurses’ badge. The two would not reunite until Johto Journeys “Ignorance is Blissey.”
7 Forced Into An Unwanted Marriage
When James was young, his parents made every decision for him. He was rich, but he had little control of his own life. His breaking point was when his parents forced him into an arranged marriage. The marriage was to a young Southern woman named Jessibelle. This woman was almost a replica of his Team Rocket partner Jessie. They both had the same facial features, but Jessibelle had an accent and her hair in curls. She was even more obsessed with the strict rules of society than his parents. While they were forced to interact, Jessibelle could correct James on his habits.
She wanted to change James and refused to accept him for who he was.
This arranged marriage sent James running from the estate, which Jessibelle was still lecturing him by correcting his running stance.
6 Found His First Love At A Carnival
James could be considered the kindest of the Team Rocket duo. He’d led a sheltered life and is trying to learn about the world around him. In “Who’s Flying Now?,” James recalled the very first Pokémon he wanted. He would often drive past carnivals but didn’t get to attend any. One fateful night, he saw a Chimecho for sale. He snuck out of his family home to buy it but was too late. The carnival was already packing up and leaving for its next location.
Years later, James was granted another opportunity to own a Chimecho. A salesman tried to sell him a Hoppip disguised as a Chimecho. After discovering the truth, James was heartbroken. At that moment, a real Chimecho flew into his life for keeps.
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