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RocketShipping

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370Luvdisc.png This article is about shipping.
As hints and evidence for ships are mostly speculation, this page may contain personal points of view.

RocketShipping (Japanese: コジムサ KojiMusa) is the belief that Jessie and James of Team Rocket belong in a romantic relationship. It was also historically known as JAJL, or Jessie and James Love.

Jessie and James choose flight over fight in Watt's with Wattson?

History of the RocketShipping Fandom

An image from the epilogue to Electric Tale of Pikachu

The RocketShipping fandom has undergone substantial change over the years, with peaks of popularity naturally coinciding with the occurrence of Shipping "hints" in the source material.

In the beginning, there was only one kind of RocketShipper—the one who thought that Jessie and James were attracted to each other. Some fans hoped they would eventually become a full-fledged couple. The term "RocketShipping" was the first time the suffix "Shipping" was applied to any couple outside of the X-Files fandom where it originated. Maria Rocket and other fans on the message board of TRHQ used the term to describe a romantic relationship between Jessie and James, following which this naming convention was adopted by the rest of the Pokémon Shipping community.

The first major event in the RocketShipping fanbase occurred when a member of TRHQ came across an untranslated graphic novel in a bookstore, the last volume of Toshihiro Ono's The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga. The epilogue of the manga contained two important scenes: one was a panel showing James confessing his love to Jessie; the other was a full-page illustration in which Jessie and James were married and Jessie visibly pregnant. Most importantly of all for fans, this was official and approved by Nintendo. The RocketShipping fan community went crazy. It finally had officially sanctioned proof that Jessie and James were a romantic couple. Some believed that it was only a matter of time before something similar happened in the TV anime series.

However, not long after this, the number and frequency of the Rocketshippy hints in the anime decreased, along with other changes in characterization. Also around this time, a website named Pokemopolis was getting attention for rebutting the "evidence" found in the manga. Pokemopolis became the most prominent anti-RocketShipping site in the Pokémon fandom, as well as the main proponent of the theory that James is gay. As a result, the RocketShipping fan community split into several sects, each with different takes on RocketShipping.

RocketShipping had notable resurgences in popularity following the episode Noodles! Roamin' Off!, during the airing of Team Rocket's Secret Empire and again after A Fork in the Road! A Parting of the Ways!. It continues to have a strong international fan following.

Sects of RocketShipping

These sects were in use to differentiate between various "types" of RocketShipper who each had a different perception of the ship. It should be noted that they have not actively been in use in the fandom since the Advanced Generation series of the anime started airing in America.

RocketShippers
This is the general term for anyone who supports the idea of Jessie and James being a couple, whether past, present, or future. It was also a term for a sect consisting of people who believe that Jessie and James are currently not in love but believed that they eventually would be.

R*cketShippers
This was a more extreme type of RocketShipper, who believed that Jessie and James are currently in love. They generally preferred the idea of Jessie and James in more stereotypical gender conforming roles.

QueerShippers
Self-proclaimed "in-character RocketShipping". Supporters generally believed that James plays the role of a woman and Jessie plays the role of a man, but that they would become a couple nevertheless.

WrongRocketShippers
Smaller sect which believed that Jessie and James are currently in a "friends with benefits" type relationship. They didn't necessarily believe that they are in love with each other, but did believe that they have some kind of secret physical relationship going on. They took a more relaxed and joking stance to the Ship.

AntiRocketShippers
Supporters denied any sort of romantic relationship between Jessie and James. They liked to see them as best friends, but nothing more. In many cases, they believed that James is gay, based on the more camp portrayal of James by Eric Stuart and James's cross-dressing. Opinions on Jessie's sexuality varied.

Evidence

General

Jessie and James's first fearhug in Showdown in Pewter City
  • James fell in love at first sight with his fiancée Jessebelle, who is a doppelgänger of Jessie and also shares her voice actress in the original and majority of international dubs. They look so similar that James's housekeepers in Sweet Baby James, as well as his butler and Jessebelle's own security guards in The Treasure Is All Mine! mistake Jessie for Jessebelle.
  • Jessie and James have more numerous examples of intimate physical contact than any other humans in the anime, including holding hands, linking arms, hugging and sleeping on one another. This occurred most frequently in the original series but has remained a staple throughout their appearances across the franchise, so much so that it is beyond the scope of this page to list every instance.
  • Jessie and James are very comfortable with using each other's Pokémon. Neither they nor their Pokémon have had a problem with this on most occasions whereas borrowing others' Pokémon is usually a big deal to other Trainers.
  • They are the only known characters to share a Z-Power Ring.
  • James's Pokémon have occasionally affectionately attacked Jessie the same way they do James. Similarly, Jessie's Yanmega affectionately rests on James's head in The Thief That Keeps on Thieving! and Jessie's Mimikyu shields James as well as Jessie from seeing its true form (and consequent death) in Mimikyu Unmasked!, a protection it does not extend to Meowth.

Anime

There is significant variation in the characterization of Jessie and James across languages, most notably between the original and the English dub (from which the majority of other international dubs are derived). This has generally had a negative impact for RocketShipping.

In addition to Eric Stuart's stereotypical gay interpretation of James (at odds with Shin'ichirō Miki's original performance), the TPCi dub is infamous for adding discord to the Team Rocket trio's relationship where there originally was none. For example, during Contests James's original lines would often be fundamentally altered from expressions of support towards Jessie to ones of fear of retribution if she failed.

On the other hand, some viewers of the Latin American Spanish dub report that Jessie and James are hinted to already be in a canonical relationship in their localization. James frequently sings lines from love songs during the motto and calls Jessie “mamita” or “querida” (terms of endearment like “honey” or “sweetie”), or by pet name “Jessita”.

Due to this wide regional variation, evidence listed in this section which was not present in the original will be specified by the dub from which it originates.

Original series

When the two are convinced they are going to die, they hold hands, promising never to forget each other. James says to Jessie "Whoever said that beautiful people are destined to have a sad fate must have meant us," implying that he thinks she is beautiful.
The English line is similar: "Jessica, whoever said beauty doesn't last, must have been thinking of us." Of note, this is the only time James calls Jessie "Jessica", emphasizing the seriousness of his feelings.
When James is scared to cross Bulbasaur's vines and begs Jessie and Meowth to go on without him, Jessie refuses to leave him behind, insisting they'll cross together.
  • The Ghost of Maiden's Peak
    • James declares his love to the Ghost of Maiden's Peak's statue in a precarious position on the edge of a cliff. Jessie is holding onto his pants to keep him from falling off until she gets distracted and he falls. She tries to grab him but ends up falling with him into the sea.
    • When the ghost is dragging him away at the climax, James finally cries that he doesn't want to be separated from Jessie. Upon hearing this, she pulls out a bazooka and shoots the ghost. James smiles tearfully and says her name adoringly, to which she responds, "Don't get the wrong idea!" and attempts to hide the fact that she did it for his sake.
  • The Ninja Poké-Showdown
Jessie gives James a rose, much to his astonishment. She goes on to say that beautiful things can be painful.
After dodging bullets from Kaiser, James stands in front of Jessie to block her from the line of fire. He tells her to relax and trust him, grabs her by the waist and jumps off the roof with a parachute. The parachute falls on top of them after they crash-land and they scramble underneath it, during which time Jessie says, "Where do you think you're touching?!" When they emerge, James is wearing an unnaturally wide grin.
Jessie shows the Ditto a photo of a childhood crush. James insists on seeing the picture and both blush ferociously through the exchange.
Jessie and James are missing at the beginning of the episode. They finally pop out from behind a rock, looking smug, in response to Meowth's irritated calls. No explanation is offered for their absence. They are seen holding one another for a significant proportion of the remainder of the episode.
James expresses obvious unhappiness at the flirting between Dr Proctor and Jessie. When Dr Proctor asks Jessie on a date, James cocks an eyebrow and looks unimpressed. Later Jessie puts her hand on Proctor's chest to which James responds by glaring angrily at Jessie and clenching his fists. When Dr Proctor asks Jessie to assist him and she agrees, James volunteers to assist as well.
At the end of the episode, Jessie is crushed, conceding that James has decided to marry his fiancée Jessebelle and come into his inheritance. To her delighted surprise, James calls out with the motto, swooping down in the balloon to pick her up. When he tells her he wasn't able to get the inheritance, she brushes it off, saying they don't need it as long as they have their freedom. They shake hands to reaffirm their friendship. Their hands form a heart and the viewers are shown a prolonged scene of them gazing into each others' eyes as the music swells. They are so caught up in the moment they forget to pick up Meowth.
Jessie blushes and looks at James adoringly when he is doing well in battle against Ash and company.
  • Princess vs. Princess
    • James is visibly awed at the way Jessie looks when she is dressed in traditional Japanese dress for the pageant part of the Festival.
    • After Jessie tells James and Meowth about her history with the holiday and starts crying, James tears up, holds her hands and looks into her eyes, promising to wholeheartedly support her. The background during this whole scene is a pink sky filled with rosebushes.
    • After Jessie loses to Misty, James dresses himself and their Pokémon as the Hinamatsuri dolls that were the grand prize. Jessie is touched and cries, calling them idiots but reluctantly admitting that this has made her feel good. James and Jessie dress as the Emperor and Empress in their "doll" set.
  • The Ultimate Test
After Jessie is expelled from the test, James says in a determined voice that he will do his best for her.
The sudden explosion of Team Rocket Headquarters sends Jessie into James's arms and they press closer together when Mewtwo flies away from the wreckage. When Giovanni expresses his annoyance at seeing them, Jessie hides behind James who swallows hard and puts on a braver expression.
James tells Meowth that he will recognize Jessie no matter how she is disguised, because she thinks like him. While he is recalling their costumes, one of the images is of Jessie and James in their Salon Roquet outfits. Jessie is on bended-knee with her hand slid underneath James's hand, as if asking him to marry her. They both have very serious facial expressions.
When James scrambles over to Cassidy and grabs her arm, Jessie angrily drags him away from her. Later, they hug out of fear when they are about to be attacked by their own Pokémon.
James blushes after Jessie flirtatiously nudges him and compliments him on having a good memory.
  • Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon?
    • James becomes concerned when Jessie recounts her trouble in finding love, trying to comfort her when she starts crying.
    • Later on, they dress as a married couple with Jessie as the groom and James as the bride. They hide their hot air balloon in a mock wedding cake, paint two hearts pierced by Cupid's arrows on their balloon basket, and tie honeymoon cans to the bottom of the balloon basket.
  • The Rivalry Revival
During the motto, there are two hearts pierced by Cupid's arrows in the background. James is holding a rose as well.
After James picks a lock with a paper clip, Jessie nudges James with her elbow and flirtatiously compliments his skills.
In the English dub, James says that he has been buying a smaller amount and less expensive candy to save money so that Jessie will be proud of him.
Jessie, James, and Meowth cry at the thought of their poverty. Jessie cries a little harder than she can handle and has to sit down. She apologizes, so James takes her hands, looks into her eyes and tells her it's ok and that these are really tears of joy.
  • Forest Grumps
    • Jessie wonders if James and Meowth worry about her when she's away.
    • Jealous of all of the food that Ash and company have, Jessie recalls an occasion where she, James, and Meowth were eating instant noodles and crying from joy. In the English dub, James complimented Jessie on the way she prepared the noodles, causing her to grin widely.
  • The Fortune Hunters
Jessie goes to defend James after a disguised Cassidy throws him against a wall.
For one of DJ Mary's radio dramas, Jessie and James are cast as a married queen and king.
Jessie makes up a love story between her and Cullen to calm her nerves when she is preparing to ride into a fierce storm by hot air balloon. James tunes it out at first, and then evidently hears part of it and looks disappointed.
During the motto, James is holding a bouquet of flowers and is running after Jessie, as if trying to give them to her. He appears to have tossed some flower petals in her direction.
When Jessie gets very excited about playing with Brad's Smoochum, James looks suspicious and either annoyed or jealous. James may have thought that the person Jessie really wanted to see was Brad, which may be the reason that when they eventually battle him, he immediately sends Weezing out to battle when it is usual Jessie who goes first.
In the English dub, when disguised as geishas and getting ready to dance, James asks, "My dear Jessie, shall we show 'em?"
Close to falling off a cliff, Jessie and James hug. In the English dub, James says, "If I never see you guys again, just know that I love you."
  • Will the Real Oak Please Stand Up?
    • Disguised as Professor Oak and DJ Mary, Jessie puts her arms around James's neck, rocks him back and forth, and complements him on his confidence.
    • Later, before James presents a haiku to compete with the real Professor Oak, Jessie in the English dub says, "You don't know a thing about poems." James responds, "That's where you're wrong, dear Jessie." James goes on to recite a haiku that those present prefer over the real Oak's haiku. Jessie is especially impressed.

Advanced Generation series

James seriously considers staying with Kate, a village girl who has developed a crush on him. He broaches this with his teammates and just as he is suggesting that he and Kate could develop a new Team Rocket base together, he casts an uncomfortable glance at Jessie and seemingly unconsciously presses the launch button to their mecha, thereby ending any possibility of him staying. Stuck in a tree, James laments that he's lost his chance at happiness and Jessie tells him to give it up, referencing their team quest for a "white tomorrow". Ash and friends walk past and Jessie and James hold each other's gaze for a moment before he agrees. The incident is never again brought up.
Jessie blushing after James accidentally falls on top of her in Training Daze!
  • Training Daze!
    • In a flashback to the team's formation, Jessie is set up as a loner who does not tolerate or trust her partners. When Meowth has eaten both his and James's loaves of bread, Jessie insists on sharing hers with them. This marks the first time Jessie puts her partners' needs before her own.
    • When Meowth is sleeping, James admits to Jessie that he has been putting on a front and that he's actually been running away his whole life. She then opens up about having been alone her whole life. Having shared their greatest vulnerabilities with each other, they vow to be there for each other and to make their team shine.
    • When James is hurt during the mission, Jessie almost gives up, stating that loneliness is all there is to her life. James appears, not wanting to let the team down despite his injuries, and recites a variation of what will become the first line of the Japanese motto, "If you ask us 'is that all there is', the answer will be the world's compassion."
    • Towards the end of the episode, James and Meowth fall in a deep pit and again find themselves being held up by Jessie. James, not wanting to jeopardise the mission, decides to let go but Jessie refuses to leave him behind, declaring that she can't go on alone and that their friendship is more important than succeeding. She pulls him up and he lands on top of her. The camera pans to a shot of them panting heavily and staring into each other's eyes in this suggestive position, with Jessie visibly blushing.
  • Ready, Willing, and Sableye
A Taillow starts to mess up Jessie's hair, so she pulls out a bomb. In hopes of placating Jessie, James says, "But Jessie, sweetheart..."
In the Latin American Spanish dub, James uses the word "querida," meaning "sweetheart," "dear," or "darling."
Jessie moves close to James's face to yell at him, but he blushes before she says anything. They proceed to talk about stealing a Wailord, while James continues to blush. Jessie also briefly blushes. James stops blushing once they start talking about Giovanni.
  • Love at First Flight
    • When Illumise and Volbeat perform a "mating" dance, they are said to bring good fortune to spectators who are in love. Jessie wonders if it could work for her since she's in love with the idea of being married and living happily ever after. She pictures a prince from a fairy tale, since she's not talking about anyone in particular. James is disappointed by her explanation.
    • During the motto, Jessie dresses as an Illumise and James dresses as a Volbeat. In costume, James walks behind Jessie, with his hands on her hips, then they wiggle their behinds to show off the light fixture on the back of James's costume. The back of Jessie's costume has a heart on it, which is not a feature found on Illumise.
  • Candid Camerupt!
When Jessie and James emerge from hiding, James no longer has any interest in helping his friend Vito, for having put them in danger.
In the Latin American Spanish dub, when Cacnea affectionately attacks James he says, "¿Cacnea, por qué me quieres besar si sabes que ya tengo novia?"; or, "Cacnea, why do you want to kiss me if you know that I already have a girlfriend?"
Although novia can mean both “girlfriend” and “fiancée”, James never uses novia when he is saying "fiancée." Instead he uses prometida, an unambiguous word for "fiancée”. He always refers to Jessebelle as his "prometida," and Jessebelle in turn calls him her "prometido." By the same token, during James’s brief engagement to Temacu, she, James and Jessie all use the term "prometido". On top of that, James does not mention Jessebelle between catching Cacnea and Game Winning Assist, so Cacnea would not understand any reference to Jessebelle. Therefore, "novia" would mean "girlfriend" and can only reasonably refer to Jessie.
During the motto, there are hearts in the background, and in the foreground is James carrying Jessie on a giant heart.
Jessie and James dress up as Gym Leader Norman and his wife Caroline. Meowth and Wobbuffet clash on the disguises, so in the English dub James, playing the role of a married man, says to Jessie, "Everything was going as planned and then your kids had to mess it all up."
In the Latin American Spanish dub, James exclaims, "¡Ay, mamita!"; or, "Oh, honey!" when Jessie accidentally steals May's Torchic instead of Ash's Pikachu.
In the Latin American Spanish dub, in a drunken state, James calls Jessie "mi Jessie," meaning "my Jessie."
  • The Bicker the Better
    • Oscar and Andi assume Jessie and James are a couple in the English dub (in the original they simply suggest that the two have a good relationship). James looks confused at this and Jessie just ignores it. Since they don't get upset at it like Ash and May do, it could be interpreted that Jessie and James find the assumption acceptable.
    • Jessie and James’s quarrel after their failed Tag Battle is strongly reminiscent of a lovers' tiff, their insults more personal and the manner of delivery and receipt more flirtatious than Ash and May’s. It also gets physical: Jessie instinctively uses James as a body shield from May's Skitty, puts him in a headlock and somehow ends up piggybacking him.
    • They are still locked together when Meowth signs to them that this is an opportunity to get Pikachu. They immediately break apart, link arms and without apology or explanation the fight is over, and they are back in sync with their Pokémon attacks and a motto variation:
Jessie: Even if we sometimes quarrel
James: Even if we sometimes battle
Jessie: To stand by the evils of love and truth
James: We are the villains with an unshakeable bond
Jessie says her name after this with a wink at James, who is smiling back.
In the English dub, James tries to rationalise some bickering with, "They say that you always hurt the ones you love!"
A group of Breloom are pursuing Jessie and James, so they hug out of fear. They end up having to choose between Breloom attacks or jumping off a cliff. Indecisive, they hug again and Jessie cries in James's arms.
In the English dub, James starts to describe a memory and Jessie interrupts, saying that if it has to do with his past love life, she would rather jump off a cliff than hear it.
When Jessie and James imagine themselves dancing together at the Team Rocket nightclub, they do not include Meowth or any of their Pokémon in the fantasy. The 'R' on the wall of the club has hearts all over it.
Jessie cries after seeing a movie. James thinks she is crying because their plan failed and reassures her that "It will be OK," because they will have a more successful plan next time.
After Team Rocket crashes into a tree, Jessie in the English dub says, "You know James, I never felt this close to you before." Equally dramatically, James comments, "I feel the same about you..." his tone becomes markedly displeased as he adds, "and Wobbuffet."
  • Eight Ain't Enough
    • Jessie gets upset when James, disguised as Juan, flirts with his female fans.
    • In the Latin American Spanish dub, during the blast-off, Meowth says, "Perdimos todo el dinero"; or, "We lost all of the money." James adds, "Sí, y yo ya perdía todas mi chiquitas"; or, "Yes, and I lost all of my babes." Jessie fires back with, "¡Si no te callas, perderás tu perfil Griego!"; or, "If you don't shut up, you're going to lose that flawless face of yours!"
  • Hail to the Chef
A slow pan is shown of Jessie and James asleep in the same bed, nestled together, with Jessie half on top of James. Perhaps due to coloring error, the front of Jessie’s shirt appears to be open.
James and Meowth try to steal Pokémon in an attempt to cheer Jessie up after she has to get her hair cut. Although they fail the theft, they succeed in cheering her up.
  • Sweet Baby James
    • James's housekeepers mistake Jessie for Jessebelle and congratulate him on his marriage. James shouts "No!", imagining a married life in which he is doing chores while Jessie bosses him around. Although he appears to find this vision repulsive, in reality he is quite happy to do domestic tasks for Jessie at other times, for example ironing her contest outfit in Journey to the Unown!
    • Jessie is unimpressed by James’s reaction to the thought of being married to her and further upset when he introduces her as his secretary in an attempt to cover up his being in Team Rocket. She spends most of the rest of the episode wilfully going against James’s request to keep the peace and only becomes supportive again after James has been honest about their identity.
    • Throughout Team Rocket's stay, the housekeepers continue to ask about Jessie when she is not around and don’t seem to notice her bad behaviour. They even approve of her after finding out they are in Team Rocket, saying that “it seems like his friends are also good people”.
  • The Green Guardian
Jessie and James hug and hold hands after being rescued from dangerous thorns. They then salute with their hands on each others backs.
  • Spontaneous Combusken!
    • This episode marks the beginning of Jessie’s close relationship with James's Mime Jr. The interest and care Jessie takes builds over time and is later reflected in James’s increased investment in her contest career in the subsequent Diamond & Pearl series.
    • Having earlier heard that May may have a crush on Drew, Jessie gazes into the ocean and ponders the concept of first loves alongside Mime Jr., as James and Meowth watch from a distance. In the Latin American Spanish dub, Meowth remarks, "Yo olvidé el amor de verano"; or, "I don't even remember who my summer love was." James muses, "Tal vez no reconocemos la verdad cuando la vemos"; or, "Perhaps we don't know the truth when we see it."
  • King and Queen for a Day!
At the beginning of the episode, James does not allow his Mime Jr. to battle for fear of it getting hurt. However, when Brock's Bonsly relentlessly attacks Jessie, James angrily sends it into battle.
  • New Plot, Odd Lot!
    • James says that he sold his bottle caps so Jessie could buy the dress she wanted.
    • James is annoyed when Harley insults both Team Rocket and Jessie, holds Jessie's hands, and tells her that he is nevertheless a fan of her Contests. Jessie giggles and James looks at her with disappointment. He looks equally put out when they hold hands a second time.
  • The Ole' Berate and Switch
    • After Jessie, James, and Meowth decide to go their separate ways, Cassidy convinces James to join her. Upon seeing Cassidy manhandle James and then drag him away, Jessie kicks a fire extinguisher in anger.
    • Later, Jessie and James try to steal Poké Balls to impress each other, and apologize for having argued.
  • Aipom and Circumstance!
James gives Jessie some of his beloved bottle caps to cheer her up.
Harley asks Jessie to travel with him to Johto to be his training partner which she politely declines, saying that her work with Team Rocket is more important, something that pleases James.
When Regirock and Registeel use Lock-On on Team Rocket, James tries to carry Jessie away to save her. When they inevitably do get blasted off, he is still holding onto her. Of note, the last time (chronologically) the two met these Pokémon, Jessie seemingly died in front of James.

Diamond & Pearl series

Jessie's Contest arc in the Diamond & Pearl series is a major source of development for her relationship with James. The hesitancy he feels towards her participation, carried over from the Advanced Generation, eventually dissipates and he becomes increasingly involved, loaning her his Pokémon and on one occasion stepping in for her when she is sick. He repeatedly forgets to cheer her by her Jessilina alias and instead calls her Jessie before correcting himself, such as in Dawn of a Royal Day!. In Opposites Interact! James tries to get Jessie to let him watch her performances instead of selling merchandise.

  • Two Degrees of Separation!
    • When it is announced that his parents and Jessebelle are on their way to James's summer home, where the trio is staying, James insists on leaving. Although disappointed, Jessie and Meowth drop what they are doing and leave with him, with Jessie saying "it can’t be helped".
    • James suggests that maybe someday he, Jessie and Meowth can afford to live in a cottage together.
  • Mutiny in the Bounty!
Jessie feels the need to jealously bring up her own attractiveness whenever James mentions J. The two hold hands and hug multiple times during moments of fear or danger in the episode.
  • Borrowing on Bad Faith!
    • Right before Jessie performs in the First Round of a practice Contest, James shouts encouragement from the audience. In the Latin American Spanish dub, he says, "¡Órale, mi reina de cempasúchil!"; or, "Spot on, my marigold queen!" When Jessie completes the round, James says, "¡Ay, esa mi Jessie se la hizo!"; or, "Gosh, my Jessie did that!"
    • When Jessie wins the Contest, James and Meowth cry, and James says, "Our girl's gotten her first victory!"
  • The Champ Twins!
Jessie wraps her arm around James's neck and pulls him close. She refers to him as her training partner and friend. In the Latin American Spanish dub, Jessie calls James, "Jamesito," meaning "James dear."
While Jessie is asleep, in the English dub she says, "How sweet to be swept away by the special someone that I hold dear." She wakes up to find that she is literally being swept off her feet because James's battle sent them blasting off. James reminds her to be careful what she wishes for.
  • Throwing the Track Switch
    • James remains depressed over losing Cacnea, so Jessie and Meowth try to cheer him up with food. When this doesn’t work, they attempt to lift his spirits by stealing Buizel and Aipom. When James accidentally foils their plans, Jessie jumps on him and pins him down to hush him and then explains what they were doing. James is touched, hugs them and joins their effort. Even though they end up stealing the wrong Pokémon, James is moved to tears and he and Jessie hold hands.
    • Although Jessie is running the scam unbeknownst to James, he immediately recognizes her in spite of her disguise.
  • Crossing Paths
    • James is concerned Jessie might come to regret releasing Dustox, reminding her that she has lovingly raised it from a Wurmple. When she explains that this is Dustox’s chance at love, he is touched and assures her that he will help restore the lake.
    • The narrator at the episode's close suggests that Jessie might one day find happiness too, as the frame pans down to Jessie and James watching the Dustox migration side-by-side (the shot fading as Meowth comes into frame). The English dub changes the narration from finding happiness to finding love.
  • Our Cup Runneth Over!
Jessie, under the alias Jessalina, tries seducing Wallace in hopes that he will go a bit easy on her at the Wallace Cup. When she strokes his chest, James becomes furious and he and Meowth drag her away.
Jessie is upset about losing in the Sinnoh Wallace Cup, so James and Meowth go grab a TV camera, suggesting that Jessie cheer up by interviewing Coordinators and snubbing Ash and company. Jessie is touched and tears up.
James and Meowth are so proud of Jessie's accomplishments in the Pokémon Summer Academy, that they completely forget about stealing Pokémon. James also accidentally calls her Jessie, instead of her alias Ms. Jessalinda.
In the English dub, when Meowth says he wants to quit Team Rocket, Jessie says, "Are you pulling my leg?" and James adds, "Jessie's ticklish!"
  • Noodles! Roamin' Off!
    • James is upset by Meowth leaving the team, but heartbroken when Jessie leaves. He reminds her that they’ve been working towards the same dreams and she retaliates by reminding him that his family is rich and he has a fiancée, implying that she thinks he'd be happier back at home than he would be with her. He shouts at her retreating figure, “Was our bond really that fragile?”
    • Once Jessie learns about James being in danger, she immediately drops the façade of pursuing her contest career and rushes to his aid. Upon saving him, the two feign aloofness for a few seconds before James throws himself on his knees and cries with joy that Jessie has returned.
    • When the Shiny Metagross is about to kill them, James apologizes for getting Jessie involved, which she brushes off saying they're friends. He goes on to say life wasn't wasted because he spent it with good friends, looking at her significantly. Closing their eyes for the final blow, Jessie says, “If there is another world after we die, let’s meet again there.” James agrees and smiles, no longer looking afraid. This is an addendum to James's promise in Training Daze to always be at Jessie's side.
  • Old Rivals, New Tricks
James tells Mime Jr. that he is counting on it to get Jessie her third Ribbon.
A motto sequence from Uncrushing Defeat!
During the motto, Jessie and James are on a set of scales with a pink heart on it. They are seemingly at balance, despite it swinging slightly.
When Azure and Crimson tell Jessie and James that they prefer being thieves to joining a criminal organization, Jessie retorts that they are “romantics”. Azure and Crimson respond, laughing, that romance is an old-fashioned idea. Jessie and James's blush furiously at this.
  • Where No Togepi Has Gone Before!
    • In the Sinnoh Team Rocket base, there is no bed in James's room. However, there is a cat-sized pet bed in Meowth's room and a double bed in Jessie's room. The implication therefore being that James shares Jessie's bed.
    • Jessie and James once again emphasise that their involvement with Team Rocket is linked to their being romantics.
  • Dressed for Jess Success!
    • James tries to help Jessie back to bed as she is sick. When she overexcites herself and collapses, James catches her, and supports her weight, all with an air of affectionate exasperation.
    • Later, James disguises himself as Jessalina and enters his first Contest. After winning, Jessie hugs him and Meowth and nuzzles the Ribbon he won her, declaring "I love you my darling Ribbon!" James and Meowth watch her happily as she does this, saying that her happiness was worth it.
  • The Treasure Is All Mine!
James’s flashback to meeting Jessebelle shows him developing a crush on first sight of her. Earlier in the episode, James himself acknowledges how similar she and Jessie look when concocting a plan to have Jessie dress as Jessebelle.
James refers to Jessebelle as his first love, implying that he'd fallen in love with someone else subsequently; otherwise, one would expect him to say she was his 'one love,' his 'only love' or his 'true love.' Yet, there are no other known love interests in his past, and he did not even have any friends until he met Jessie.
Before intentionally getting hit by a Thunderbolt to escape Jessebelle, Jessie and James hold hands.
James is proud when Jessie advances to the Final Round of the Neighborly Town Contest. In the Latin American Spanish dub, James says, "¡Nuestra linda Jessie está que arde!"; or, "Our pretty Jessie is on fire!"
In the Latin American Spanish dub, during the First Round, James yells, "¡Eso es, mi Jessie!"; or, "That's how it's done, my Jessie!" Similarly, during the Final Round, James shouts, "¡A la otra ya se apestó, mi Jessie!"; or, "The other one is already done in, my Jessie!"
After Jessie loses, James worries about her uncharacteristic depression and tries to comfort her. When Jessie is about to throw away the “pity” ribbon Salvia gave her, he shouts at her to stop and reminds her that its her place in the Grand Festival that is at stake.
During the motto, Jessie and James are seductively posed and looking at each other from the corner of their eyes. In the Latin American Spanish dub, Jessie, in a tender tone, says, "Una rosa con otro nombre es igual de dulce"; or, "A rose by any other name is just as sweet." In the same tone, James responds, "Y tus babosadas hacen que mi córazon pulse"; or, "And your daffiness makes my heart race."
  • Opposites Interact!
    • James seems to be selling a surplus of Jessalina products.
    • James cheers when Jessie advances to the Top 16. In the Latin American Spanish dub, James shouts, "¡Wow, eso es mi Jessie-Jess!"; or, "Wow, that's my Jessie-Jess!" Jessie-Jess is Jessie's nickname from her days at Team Rocket Academy.
  • Battling a Thaw in Relations!
Jessie, James, and Meowth pile their hands after a long day's work and say, "Great form!" Though Meowth simply puts an open paw on top of James's hand, James actually cups his hand around Jessie's.

Best Wishes series

The Best Wishes series is noteworthy for attempting to put Jessie, James and Meowth in more serious, antagonistic roles. Their normal personalities and relationships are so much suppressed during the series that it inspired the creation of the Team Rocket's Secret Empire radio show, in the introduction to which James accuses Jessie of only speaking to him these days to confirm mission plans. This change resulted in a complete absence of shipping evidence until the Decolora Adventure portion of the saga when they start to revert to their prior selves.

When Jessie freezes in terror at the prospect of being attacked by a swarm of Beedrill, James takes her by the shoulders to guide her out of harm's way.
As soon as Team Rocket's Basculin submarine spirals out of control, Jessie wraps her arm around James's neck out of fear and to keep James from crashing into the walls of the vehicle.

XY series

In a progression of his involvement in Jessie's Contest arc in the Diamond & Pearl series, James is a bedrock of support for Jessie during the Pokémon Showcase competition. As before, he often forgets to call her by her stage name and is now frequently shown to be the loudest supporter in the crowd, to the point that it becomes a nuisance for the audience seated near him.

Jessie and James hug onscreen for the first time since the Diamond and Pearl series.
Jessie is briefly shown pushing James out of the way of a rampaging Salamence’s Dragon Breath.
Although James is exasperated by Jessie's compulsive need to perform, he spontaneously joins her on stage and spins and dips her during a short dance sequence.
  • A Fork in The Road! A Parting of The Ways!
    • After being separated during a blast-off, James and Meowth find Jessie telling Ash and company she is quitting Team Rocket to stay with Dr. White, who she has fallen in love with. Meowth is about to stop Jessie, but James tells him they shouldn't get in the way of her happiness. James then runs away crying as he reminisces about his life with his partner.
    • When their Pokémon are stolen, James, in a state of obvious emotional distress, seeks the help of Ash and friends to get them back without relying on Jessie. In the original Japanese, Serena begins to ask an ambiguous question of James about Jessie which he cuts off with an affirmative grunt before she can express the verb. Given the context it is hinted that she may have been about to ask if he likes her.
    • Having heard the above exchange, Jessie tries to explain to Dr. White that the group are in danger from the Pokémon hunter. When White runs to Beatrice instead, Jessie chooses to rescue them herself. Meowth begs her to live for love, not evil, to which she replies that she is carrying out the evils of love and truth, quoting their motto.
  • Rivals: Today and Tomorrow!
    • Jessie becomes infatuated with Steven Stone and gets increasingly carried away with dreams of marrying into his wealthy family. James finally snaps during a wedding fantasy, literally tearing it down.
    • Ironically, the thing Jessie is most attracted to is Steven's position as an heir, a fact she mentions at least thrice. That he shares this trait with James seems to be lost on her.
  • Mending a Broken Spirit!
    • James spends the episode in disguise helping Serena's Braixen, at total odds with Jessie. During the motto Jessie throws James a pleading look to join back in so he does so, thinking, "It can't be helped!"
    • Jessie quite casually puts a hand in James's back pocket to take something out. He is flustered by this.
  • Party Dancecapades!
Jessie takes James as her plus-one to a dance party.
Although the team fears Jessie sulking due to not winning, she actually thanks everyone for helping her get this far. James and Jessie are both blushing when everyone tackles Jessie to the floor. As the camera pans upwards we can hear James saying he'll follow her anywhere.
When Jessie struggles to open a trick wall, James whacks a hand against it, briefly trapping Jessie between his body and the wall until it opens. Annoyed, she tells him, "That was misleading." The frames are presented like a classic [Kabedon] scene, a trope often used in anime and manga for love confessions.

Sun & Moon series

In the episode preview, Jessie asks for a "precious-like" bed for their secret base which James and Meowth deny on the basis that it will be too costly, but James agrees to make her one himself instead. The canonicity of the episode previews is dubious and we never see a bed in Bewear's Den, however there is an upstairs floor which is never shown so it is possible that he actually did this.
When Totem Raticate attacks Team Rocket with Bite, James jumps in front of Jessie to protect her.
James gets visibly worried when Jessie goes missing. Later when Meowth scolds him for making a bad joke, James pointedly tells him "Jessie would have laughed!"
Jessie becomes frantic with worry when Toxapex poisons James and is shown hunched over his body whilst they care for him at their base. She is no less concerned the second time it happens in the episode, and in the post credits scene reassures Meowth that it is better they don't capture Toxapex as James's health is more important than getting a rare and powerful Pokémon.
  • Why Not Give Me a Z-Ring Sometime?
    • James is noticeably more concerned about Jessie being possessed by Gengar than he was when the same happened to Meowth. He realises Mareanie has to attack Gengar to release Jessie and asks Mareanie to do so gently to avoid hurting Jessie.
    • This episode introduces the Z-Power Ring Jessie and James share, the only two trainers across the franchise to do so.
  • Got Meltan?
James gets cranky when trying to fix their van. Jessie surreptitiously feeds him to replenish his energy. His mood immediately improves.
James tells Jessie she looks beautiful before an audition.
  • Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Strategy!
    • After James beat Jessie to a quarterfinal spot in the Manalo Conference in The Battlefield of Truth and Love!, Jessie furiously demands James win his match against Gladion and gives him the Z-Ring to help him do so.
    • To make up for forgetting to send his résumé before their match, Jessie has sent in an exaggerated bio describing James as a "ferocious warrior who has travelled the world and conquered Gyms". Meowth points out that she is a little overexcited in her cheering for him.
    • After he loses, Jessie, unable to tell James that she's proud, yet again shows she cares through food - by giving him a can of iced Komala Coffee and reminding him that Team Rocket always moves forward. James appears suitably touched.
  • Z-Move Showdown!
In the post-credits sequence, Jessie and James are positioned shoulder-to-shoulder in the hot spring, both implied to be naked.
In Mareanie's fantasy of the group flying on a plane, the entire team is positioned at the very front except for Jessie who is right at the back. Given Mareanie's canon crush on James, this may represent her feeling threatened by Jessie for James's love.

New series

The duo perform a ballroom dance sequence in the new stock motto animation. They dance holding hands and James at one point dips Jessie.

Movies

  • Mewtwo Strikes Back
    • Jessie and James spend a significant proportion of their time onscreen hugging.
    • While the Pokémon are befriending their clones, Jessie and James apologize to each other for past arguments. Then they hug and cry.
  • The Power of One
In the Japanese version, Meowth says to Jessie and James, "You guys act love-love all the time." In the English dub, the line is, "You two don't need the opposite sex because you got each other."
In the Japanese version, the scene where Team Rocket is pedaling their Magikarp submarine is accompanied by the part of "You're Not Alone" that says one should never forget their loving and sharing heart.
Jessie and James are seen holding one another at the climax of the film. They, along with Meowth, express gratitude for still being alive and say that they don’t need wishes when living in the moment can make them happy. Jessie and James look into each other's eyes and James takes hold of her hands before they put their palms and cheeks together.
  • Lucario and the Mystery of Mew
    • Jessie dances with James at the ball, and when James mentions stealing Pokémon, Jessie responds that she just wants to dance all night. Another dancer cuts in, and Jessie is very flattered, but she was not intending to seek out a second dance partner. She meets back up with James later in the ball, because they are seen holding hands when Lucario starts to emerge from Sir Aaron's staff.
    • When Jessie almost falls out of the car due to the rocky road, James grabs her. As a result, he almost falls out with her.
    • In the Latin American Spanish dub of the leukocyte scene, it is implied that Jessie interprets James's incoherence after chasing her as him trying to tell her something important. Jessie asks, "¿Ay, cómo puedes hacer tan lejos?" or, "¿Oh, how can you be so distant?", where distance can be interpreted literally or emotionally. James says, "¿Ay, Jessie, no te haces más lina? Jessie, no me dejes. Mamita. Ay, Jessita, no me dejes"; or, "Oh, Jessie, can't you be sweeter? Jessie, don't leave me. Honey. Oh, Jessie dear, don't leave me." When James tries to warn her about the leukocyte, she says, "Me quieres mucho, ay. James, juego de 'huir' de persecución"; or, "You love me so much, aww. James, I'm playful so as to 'avoid' the chase." In other words, she is saying that she tries to be relatively upfront and wants him to do the same, instead of playing a game of cat and mouse. The joke is that the leukocytes then 'catch' Jessie.
    • After the leukocyte traps Jessie, James uses his Cacnea to try and rescue her. In an uncommon show of seriousness, he dodges Cacnea when it tries to hug him. After James fails to rescue Jessie, she and James cry out to each other as she is dragged down. James stands there speechless, visibly heartbroken. He quickly releases his Chimecho and lets himself get engulfed as well.
    • When they have been restored to normal physical form, Jessie and James are seen in the same chamber holding hands and later hugging tight.
  • Zoroark: Master of Illusions
A Skiploom knocks Jessie out of Team Rocket's aircraft, so James grabs her, falling out himself.
When Jessie starts to fall into a manhole, James grabs her and falls with her, rather than letting go once he starts to lose his footing.
  • Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction
    • When the trio believe they are about to get rich from Diancie’s diamonds, James's first suggestion is they could build a house with the money and Jessie follows this up by saying they might get a holiday home too. In their excitement the two link arms and dance around the room.
    • Jessie and James instinctively hug before they are turned to stone by Yveltal. The scenes of them being frozen and unfrozen in each other’s arms are shown in parallel with those of Merilyn and Riot who become a canon couple at the end of the film.
  • Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel
    • When in Alva's airship, Jessie and James are holding each other's arms. They're in a similar position towards the end of the movie, after the fortress falls.
    • The pair is stuck in a tree after being thrown out of a plane. James shoots a grappling hook onto the protagonists’ passing aircraft and with his other arm pulls Jessie. They ascend with Jessie’s arms wrapped tightly around James’ waist, her head buried in his chest.

Manga

  • The Electric Tale of Pikachu
    • Throughout the manga, there is suggestive physical contact between Jessie and James. They also share a bed.
    • In the epilogue, there is a panel in which we see a flashback to James confessing his love to Jessie.
    • At the end of the manga, Jessie and James are shown to be married with a child on the way.

Radio

  • It's a White Tomorrow, Team Rocket!
    • When Jessie says the only thing she can rely on is her partner, James asks hopefully whether she means him. He becomes irritated when he realises she was referring to Arbok.
    • Trapped and anticipating a fatal attack from an angry hoard of Beedrill, Jessie and James recite the lines of a famous Kabuki scene when two lovers commit a double suicide.
  • Team Rocket's Secret Empire
    • "Space People No. 1", the opening drama of Episode 7, explores the aftermath of a rocketship accident. "James" is frantically searching for "Jessie" and is distraught to find her injured and trapped under rubble. He is unable to free her despite his best efforts, so holds her as she dies. She tells him how happy she is that he is with her at the end and encourages him to save himself, as she believes their relationship is destined by fate and they will be reunited in another life.
      • The characters played by Musashi (Jessie) and Kojirō (James) are named "Jessie" and "James" as an homage to their dub names.
      • When asked in the final episode, Jessie cites this as her favourite opening skit of the series and James agrees.

Game

During Round Four in Spa Service, they are wearing their bride and groom clothing from the episode Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon?. Unlike the episode, Meowth is dressed as a flower girl and the background music is "Treulich Geführt" by Richard Wagner, known in English as the "Bridal Chorus".

Other

During one of James's occasional Q&A sessions on Twitter, a follower asked him, "Jessie is cute! Since you are together all the time, haven't you fallen in love with her?" James answered, "Because (she's my) eternal partner!" (「永遠のパートナーだからな！」)

Similarities

Jessie and James dressed as newlyweds in Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon?!
  • Jessie and James have both owned multiple Poison-type Pokémon.
  • Jessie's earrings are the same shade of green as James's eyes, Jessie's eyes are the same shade of blue as James's hair and Jessie's hair (prior to the transition to digital coloring) is the same shade of red as James's signature rose in the Original Series.
  • Jessie and James have a similar style of dress and normally coordinate their outfits.
They have also donned various disguises pretending to be a couple, most notably as Gym Leader Norman and his wife Caroline in A Double Dilemma; newlyweds in Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon?; and, in Pokémon Fashion Flash, Bad to the Bone, In the Pink, and I Feel Skitty!, wearing outfits similar to the ones Oscar and Andi wear. The latter is most likely a reference to the the manga The Rose of Versailles.
Jessie is incapable of fooling James with disguises, as is evident in Bad to the Bone, Throwing the Track Switch and A Fork in the Road! A Parting of the Ways!. This is saying something, as even their close friend Christopher fails to recognize Jessie's disguise in Noodles! Roamin' Off!
Indeed, in Holy Matrimony!, Meowth thinks Jessie is exactly like Jessebelle in looks and personality. By Two Degrees of Separation!, Meowth has decided that Jessie is nicer.
Ironically, Jessie calls one of her recurring aliases Jessebella.
Furthermore, in Where No Togepi Has Gone Before!, Jessie opens her closet door, revealing a full wardrobe in a style quite similar to what James's mother and Jessebelle wear.

Trivia

External links


Project Shipping logo.png This article is part of Project Shipping, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each couple in Pokémon.
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