Rico (Japanese: リョウ Ryō) is a Pokémon poacher and character of the day who appeared in A Poached Ego!.

Rico

Ash and his friends found a piece of one of Rico's traps in Petalburg Woods. They later informed Officer Jenny about it when they visited a Pokémon Center. Jenny knew Rico was up to his usual evil deeds, and Ash and his friends volunteered to help her capture Rico.

Team Rocket were the first to encounter Rico after discovering his cage of poached Ekans hidden behind a camouflage blanket. He admitted that he was catching the Poison Pokémon on behalf of his clients, and demanded the trio hand over their Pokémon to guarantee their safety. The Rocket trio fought against Rico for the freedom of the Ekans and Koffing, but Rico defeated them, although Team Rocket managed to rescue the wild Pokémon. To be sure the Ekans and Koffing were safe, Jessie and James released their Arbok and Weezing to look after them.

Rico soon ran into Ash, his friends, and Officer Jenny, and was promptly arrested; in the process, he confessed that the Pokémon he had captured had all escaped, but neither he nor the others were aware of the fact that Jessie, James and Meowth had freed them.

Pokémon


This article is missing information on this character's English voice actor and Japanese voice actor.
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Fearow
Fearow alerted Rico to the Team Rocket trio's interference with the caged Ekans. Shortly after this, it battled against James's Weezing and Jessie's Arbok; it ultimately lost due to Arbok shutting its beak with Wrap.

Fearow was seen again a bit later beside Rico in the passenger seat of his car when Team Rocket appeared again to save the captured Pokémon. Jessie's Arbok attacked Fearow with a Headbutt, sending it into Rico's electrified cage, giving it a devastating electric shock. The Beak Pokémon was later defeated by Ash's Pikachu's Thunderbolt.

Fearow's known moves are Agility, Fury Attack, and Drill Peck.

Debut A Poached Ego!
 

 
Pupitar → Tyranitar
Rico's Tyranitar was first seen as a Pupitar during Rico's first confrontation with Team Rocket. Pupitar sent the Rocket trio blasting off with a Sandstorm attack.

Rico called on Pupitar's assistance again after Team Rocket had released the stolen Ekans and Koffing. It immediately evolved into a Tyranitar. Team Rocket found themselves helpless against this powerhouse, and told Arbok and Weezing to lead the wild Pokémon to safety. Meowth attempted to use Fury Swipes, Jessie and James also performed their own rendition. The trio were unrelenting in their attacks on Tyranitar, taking multiple hits and Hyper Beam attacks during the assault. After Jessie, James, and Meowth were knocked down, Rico recalled Tyranitar to chase after his catches. Later, Rico attempted to use it against Ash and his friends, but he was taken down by Officer Jenny's Growlithe before he was able call it out.

Tyranitar's known moves are Sandstorm and Hyper Beam.

Debut A Poached Ego!
Voice actors
Japanese
English Eric Stuart (as Pupitar)

Voice actors

Language Voice actor
Japanese 中村大樹 Daiki Nakamura
English Marc Thompson
Finnish Joonas Suominen
European French Arnaud Léonard
Norwegian Christian Barmen
Polish Aleksander Gawek
Brazilian Portuguese Sílvio Giraldi
Spanish Latin America Carlos Íñigo
Spain Pablo del Hoyo



  This article is part of Project COD, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each one-time character of the Pokémon anime.