Team Rocket Organization
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Team Rocket (“Roketto-dan” in Japanese) is an evil ficticious organization in the metaseries Pokémon. In each of its various incarnations, Team Rocket desires to steal Pokémon to further its goal of global domination and is led by Giovanni. Team Rocket first debuted in the original game, Pokémon Red and Blue, then made a move into the animated series and the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
This article covers the organization of Team Rocket itself: its foundations, history, practices, etcetera. To find information about individual Rocket members, please go to that character’s individual page.
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[edit] In the Anime
Team Rocket is a global organization that wishes to steal and to exploit Pokémon to further its goal of world domination.
[edit] Founding
There have been two known leaders of Team Rocket: the current leader is Giovanni, and his predecessor and mother was Madame Boss. As no leaders before Madame Boss have ever been mentioned, it is generally assumed that she founded Team Rocket herself, though no factual evidence exists to prove this theory. Madame Boss was a cruel and demanding boss, sending Rockets into dangerous missions. She was a financially effective leader, however, as, through bank robberies and other illegal means, she managed to make Team Rocket into a very wealthy organization.
The circumstances surrounding her departure as leader of Team Rocket and the assention of her son Giovanni as the current leader are unknown. As Giovanni is the Gym Leader of Viridian City and Pokémon Gyms seem to be passed down through a family line, Madame Boss may very well have been the previous Gym Leader.
[edit] Money
Team Rocket is a very wealthy organization, capable of everything from funding low-ranking members with scientifically-advanced technology to supporting its substantial staff’s salaries. The majority of Team Rocket’s revenue comes from selling the Pokémon its members steal on the black market, although Team Rocket has other means of funding itself, like a possible theme park seen in an earlier Kanto episode in which Giovanni was developing a giant Pokémon robot theme park.
Team Rocket has an expansive number of members worldwide, each involved in his or her own doings. In such, Team Rocket likely has hand in everything from science to government to television. The extent of Team Rocket’s grasp has not been fully developed, however, and is considered one of the largest plot holes in the series.
[edit] Training
All would-be Rockets are sent through a rigorous training routine. Prospective Rockets either join or are recruited to take place in this training, and once they have passed, they are official employees of Team Rocket. Whilst some Rockets are field agents, like Jessie and James and Butch and Cassidy, others are trainers, recruiters, scientists, machinists, or any other sort of profession.
Field operatives are trained in a variety of areas, from stealth techniques, disguise, hand-to-hand combat, thief techniques, acrobatics, and survival skills.
[edit] Staff
Team Rocket employes potentially millions of people worldwide, each serving to further Team Rocket’s goal. Aside from its field operatives like Jessie and James, Team Rocket is known to employ scientists, machinists, secretaries, special operatives like Domino, recruiters, and a giant mob-like task force often referred to as the Black Squad.
[edit] Field Operative Uniforms
Field operatives are issued an official Team Rocket uniform. The uniform is black with a big red “R” and red and white trim, topped off by a black hat. As the uniform is standard, it is strange that the unforms of Jessie and James, Butch and Cassidy, and all special operatives seen in the movies differ (sometimes greatly) from the standard issue; Jessie and James explained that their uniforms differ so greatly because they designed theirs themselves to better reflect their personalities.
[edit] Field Operative Mottos
Both field teams of Jessie and James and Butch and Cassidy have a motto, which they use to theatrically introduce themselves. It is unclear whether or not Rockets are given a motto, whether they create one themselves, or whether such practice is endorsed by Team Rocket at all.
[edit] Scientists
Team Rocket employs scientists in all fields. One major aspect of the Team Rocket science department includes machinists who design and construct the advanced machines Team Rocket operatives use. The machines these scientists create range from large robots to net guns.
[edit] Project Mewtwo
Giovanni approved a project in which Team Rocket scientists tried to clone a Mew, so he could have the most powerful Pokémon in the world. The process started within the Brazilian jungle to find a DNA sample of Mew. This sample was brought to an isolated island owned by Team Rocket. The head researcher was a man who lost his daughter and was to create a clone of her (Amber) and her starter Pokémon (Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle) along with Mewtwo. In the early stages of stablizing the clone Mewtwo, it interacted with Amber and her Pokémon through telekinesis. After learning about Amber's past she dissipated along with her Pokémon and was lost. Only Mewtwo survived the cloning procedure and in the later stages of development, Mewtwo had rebelled against the human researchers who had created him. After encountering Ash and Pikachu, Mewtwo had learned that humans and clones can live in peace and harmony, thus Mewtwo exiled itself to Mt. Quena where it could not be located by Team Rocket and erased the memories of it existing to every person who was present at the given situation. Although later in Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns, Mewtwo had been discovered via Team Rocket's satelite over an opening of cloud cover above Mt. Quena. Even with the holding of Mewtwo's clones, it did not submit to Giovanni's demands completely. After Mewtwo's second encounter with Ash, Mewtwo had erased the memory of it existing in every member of Team Rocket present on Mt. Quena. Thus proving that Project Mewtwo was a failure to Team Rocket.
[edit] Team Rocket Members
[edit] In the Manga
In the Pokémon manga series, Pokémon Adventures, Team Rocket was defeated by the protagonists. Afterwards, Team Rocket was reformed as Neo Team Rocket.
The leader of Neo Team Rocket is the Mask of Ice, a stranger being able to shoot ice at his enemies.
The Mask of Ice kidnapped Green, Silver, Shum, Cart, Will and Karen as children, and raised them as his servants. Blue and Silver escaped soon after, but the rest of them remained as his servents. After Giovanni disbanded Team Rocket, the Mask of Ice recruited the Rocket Grunts that were left behind, forcing those who are not interested by controlling them with masks. However, former Team Rocket Executives Lt. Surge, Sabrina, and Koga were not recruited by Mask of Ice.
The Mask of Ice’s true identity is that of Pryce, the Gym Leader of Mahogany Town.
- A major difference between the manga and anime versions of Team Rocket is that several Gym Leaders are Rocket members in the manga, while they are not in the anime.
- In this continuity, Team Rocket is an acronym
for “Raid On the City, Knock-out Evil Tusks.”
[edit] In the Video Games
In the video games, Team Rocket was temporary disbanded as a result of the player’s efforts in the First Generation games, Pokémon Red and Blue and Pokémon Yellow (and then again in the Third Generation remakes of those games, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen). Three years later in the Second Generation consisting of Pokémon Gold and Silver and Pokémon Crystal, Team Rocket continues to survive through their Executives, who control the organization but seek to bring back Giovanni. When the Executives are beaten by the player, however, Team Rocket is permanently disbanded.
- The permanent disbanding may be disputed in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, but is not yet verified.
Black Squad members, in the games referred to as "Team Rocket Grunts," often use wicked-looking Pokemon like Golbat, Mightyena, and Sharpedo.
[edit] In the Card Game
Team Rocket received its own expansion set of cards in the Pokémon Trading Card Game. This expansion features “Dark Pokémon”, Pokémon that have been turned evil by Team Rocket. It should be noted that these Dark Pokémon are not necessarily of the Dark-type.
[edit] Miscellania
- “Roketto-dan” literally translates to “Rocket Gang.” When Pokémon came to America, executives chose to change “gang” to “team” to avoid any references to gang activity.
