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The Rocket Trio and their Pokémon
Tropes that apply to all three of them
Three members of Team Rocket that gave Ash and his friends a lot of trouble in the old timeline trying to steal his Pikachu. Upon Ash's return to the past, he Reminded them of the old timeline and formed a permanent truce with them. Over time, this became a genuine friendship and they soon turned over a new leaf.
- Almighty Janitor: They were this in the previous timeline. Despite their constant failures, the TRio were actually more competent than most grunts (from just about any villain team in the series), and once they started taking levels in badass, they hit admin-level right before the timeline reset. The only reason why their actual skill levels didn't reflect their criminal accomplishments is because they went against Ash all the time, who himself was an example of this trope.
- Achievements in Ignorance: The readers on the Spacebattles thread note that the trio actually has multiple talents (machinery operation, business acumen, etc.), but their focus on being criminals prevents them from being successful through legitimate means. Now that they are successful Team Rocket agents (admins even, with Giovanni's direct approval no less), they focus on and excel at these other pursuits.
- Adaptational Badass: Oh, yes.
- Thanks to Ash's memory restoration, they acquired new skills that allowed them to be more competent than they were in the original timeline. And after fulfilling Giovanni's Secret Test of Character, they Rank Up to Rocket Executives and PR agents for Team Rocket. And they stay that way. Oh, and Meowth becomes a Ninja thanks to Koga's Meowzie teaching him.
- They also made it to the semifinals of the Indigo Conference.
- Their Pokémon get in on this, too. Besides Meowth, those that were already in the roster evolve and get new moves, while newcomers include an Audino who is a Supreme Chef, a cosplaying Pikachu, and a freakin' Moltres.
- Badass Crew: Giovanni holds them and their abilities in incredibly high regard, a very stark contrast to the original anime. They more than live up to his new expectations.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Is viewed as this by Giovanni; they are certainly strange but also are very effective. This holds true in reality as well; they are, in fact, that badass but also still tend towards being... odd.
- Cool Plane: Has used several in place of their old Meowth balloon, but they seem to have settled on a modified C-130 Machamp
tiltrotor. And they've used it for many a Gunship Rescue. - Curb-Stomp Battle: Thanks to Ash giving them their memories of the original timeline, the first thing they do after encountering the Poison-type poacher Rico (who originally forced them to release Arbok and Weezing) is to hand him his ass.
- Dungeon Bypass: Using Abra's Teleport, they do this and skip the entire obstacle course in the Fuchsia Gym. Koga's response is to promptly disallow the usage of Teleport for future challengers.
- Friendly Enemy: Ash knows them well enough to restore the memories of all three and the Pokémon they had at the time. There's no way that would've been possible if this trope wasn't in play.
- Honorary True Companion: To Ash and co., thanks to Ash restoring their (and their Pokémon's) memories of the original timeline. In spite of all that's transpired between them, it becomes very clear that on some level, he regards the trio as very close friends. As the fic goes on, Team Rocket eventually stops attacking Ash altogether and is content hanging out with him, Misty, and Brock whenever they cross paths, any previous hostility having long-since dissipated... which usually leaves new Pokémon who were with Ash in the previous timeline to be rather confused when Team Rocket shows up, and instead of reciting the motto and attempting to steal them, instead sit down for a chat.
- Humongous Mecha:
- They don't use them nearly as often as they used to like in canon, but if they want to emphasize the eccentricity of their cell, nothing is better. Such as using three modeled after the Mega-Evolved Kanto starters to assault a Team Galactic facility.
- In fact, their giant robots are of a rather high quality and since they used them so often, that means that Ash and co. are unusually well-versed in giant robots as well. When faced with another such robot being used by a poacher, Pikachu outright complains of how poorly-made it is compared to the stuff he used to face with Team Rocket.
- Laser-Guided Karma: The rare good variation. Towards the end of Voice of the Forest, Team Rocket had Pikachu's Poké-ball and a sure-fire chance of finally capturing him. After much deliberation, they make the decision to return it to Ash, even though they have waited years for this sort of opportunity. Knowing all this, one can't help but feel that the universe was rewarding them for their selflessness by having Wallace give them their own unique and powerful Pikachu.
- The Mole: Ultimately, they are working with Ash to prevent the disaster that ends the world, and in the meantime, they're putting on a good show for Giovanni while aiding Ash is other situations - including staged battles between the Rockets and Ash that make both look good. It just so happens, however, that Giovanni is just as interested in keeping the world safe as they are and sees them as perfect agents to head off rogue Rockets, other evil Teams and other disasters, so even though he doesn't know about their true allegiances he makes it easy for them without having to eat any kittens. Their job becomes especially easy when Giovanni orders them to stop "attacking" Ash and co. and focus on global threats entirely. However, they still have to make sure nobody figures out that the two groups are actually friends as opposed to just happening to run into each other.
- Mugging the Monster: Thanks to Ash restoring the Rocket Trio's memories, the Poison-type poacher Rico (who originally forced them to release Arbok and Weezing) got his ass handed to him on a silver platter.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Given their ridiculous appearance, yet undeniable competence, Giovanni sees them as this.Giovanni: You know, I can't tell if you're hyper-competent and just look silly, or you're the luckiest people who don't actually have a Victini.
- And they know how to use it to their advantage. When staging an attack on a Team Galactic facility, they make the attack so flashy and eccentric (through the use of Humongous Mecha) that Team Galactic see it as a retaliation against a previous skirmish and a manoeuvre for their organization to save face like the Yakuza they are, instead of a distraction for Meowth to infiltrate the facility.
- Rank Up: Thanks to a Secret Test of Character, the trio are admins now. Sure, they only qualified for the lowest rung of the executive branch, but it's a step up nonetheless.
- Seen It All: All the chaos Ash has faced, they've faced. Hence, stuff that stuns even their boss Giovanni, they take in stride, to the point that their reaction after Giovanni abruptly cuts off his transmission with them after their report about the Battle Finale of Legend is to note he took things rather well.
- Token Good Teammate: To all of Team Rocket, though most of the other Rockets believe that everything they do is on Giovanni's orders (which it technically is). Giovanni himself seems to realize that they're not particularly evil, but he doesn't mind because he needs agents like that for PR purposes.
- Took a Level in Badass:
- Unlike in the anime, the levels stick. Their increased competency astonishes both Brock and Misty, who only ever knew them as their incompetent incarnations. Add to the fact that Team Rocket has gained many new, powerful Pokémon, and it's probably a good thing that they don't hound Ash as much and are technically on his side.
- It really says something when Giovanni acknowledges their competency and outright admits, to their faces, that he wished that his other agents were as good as they are.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Because of all those lectures they gave on Ash to the rest of Team Rocket so everyone knows to stay clear of him, particularly emphasizing how strong his Pokémon are, when Ash and Co. show up to stop him, The Iron-Masked Marauder knew precisely which Pokémon to throw his Dark Balls at.
- Villain with Good Publicity: On top of being one of Team Rocket's best teams, most of the PR work Team Rocket has been doing since the time travel mainly involves them. It started when they participated in the Kanto Gym Challenge and placed third at the Indigo League, and spearheaded from there. Since then they are visibly seen at many of Ash's world-saving trials (which is often covered by the news) and have participated at many other well-covered events such as the Pokéathlon. Because of this and their new executive status, they enjoy a great amount of freedom that most other Rocket teams lack, which they use to pursue non-criminal pursuits (in fact, Jessie, James, and co. haven't committed or even tried to commit an actual crime since the end of Kanto). Their lack of crime has become so prevalent in the later chapters that really the only thing that makes them "villains" is the fact that they're members of a criminal organization, and even then one that has proven to be the most relatively benign in the narrative. It's even acknowledged that at their cores, the TRio aren't actually evil.
Jessie
A vain and short-tempered Team Rocket agent with long, flowing red hair, she is the de facto leader of the trio. Unsuccessful in attempts to become an idol or nurse, she turned to a life of crime and became infamous before meeting Ash.
Accomplishments:
Accomplishments:
- Hoenn Ribbons: 5 unknown ribbons.
- Kanto Ribbons: 5 unknown ribbons. Kanto Grand Festival Top Coordinator.
- Hold Your Hippogriffs: At one point Jessie mentions wanting to put a Ponyta in Jessebelle's bed. The other Rockets were confused until she elaborated that it would set the bed on fire and probably break a lot of her stuff while trying to escape.
- Lovable Alpha Bitch: Is still domineering towards the other members of her cell (especially when it comes to contests), but is loyal to her team nonetheless.
James
A mild-mannered Team Rocket agent with blue hair, he is the most sensible of the trio. Born to privilege, he turned to a life of crime to escape his controlling parents and became infamous before meeting Ash.
- Chick Magnet: Or rather, Grass-type Magnet. Something about the way he smells and feels is the reason he keeps getting glomped by his Grass-types. Culminates in him getting dog-piled at a Grass Pokémon reserve.
- Crossdresser: Still enjoys dressing up as women, for events like taking Jessie's place during a contest.
Meowth
A Normal-Type cat Pokémon who taught himself how to walk and talk like a human, he is the witty comic relief of the trio. In this story, he took lessons from Koga's Meowth and became a formidable fighter in his own right.
- Ninja: Given his move set includes Substitute, Faint Attack, and shuriken-esque Pay Day, not surprising. He's even got skills like lock-picking and poison usage down pat.
- The Sneaky Guy: See Ninja above.
- Took a Level in Badass: As mentioned above, even after getting his memories restored, Meowth found that most of his talents was in translating. While Jessie and James were completing their Fuschia Gym challenge, Koga's own Meowth helped show him how to finally use Pay Day, which inspired him to really expand his moveset.
- Vot Ocksent?: Hasn't really picked up on his accent, when asked about it.
The Rocket Trio's Pokémon
Arbok
Jessie's oldest known companion, a Poison-Type cobra Pokémon who had his memories of the previous timeline restored at the same time as her.- Cultured Badass: Has a penchant for theater, from Japanese Noh plays to Gilbert and Sullivan.
Weezing
James's oldest known companion, a Poison-Type floating mine-like Pokémon who had their memories of the previous timeline restored at the same time as him.- Out of Focus: Appeared with Victreebel more often in the Kanto-Johto sagas, but has appeared less due to the additions to the team both from the original timeline and the new timeline.
- Those Two Guys: Often seen with Victreebel.
Growlie (Arcanine)
James's childhood pet and best friend, a Fire-Type canine Pokémon whom he left in his parents' care when he joined Team Rocket. At Ash's prompting after restoring his memories, James added the Growlithe to his team, evolving it immediately.- Ascended Extra: He joins James full-time after meeting him again a lot sooner than in canon and has been a frontline fighter since.
- Battle Couple: With Ninetales. Any time Ash teams up with the Team Rocket Trio the two fight side by side.
- Dating Catwoman: With Brock's Ninetales. Though it's somewhat debatable considering that the trio and their Pokémon are ultimately on Ash's side.
- Lightning Bruiser: Can dish out and take a lot of punishment, and even before using Extremespeed he's one of the fastest Pokémon species.
Gyarados
A Water/Flying-Type sea serpent Pokémon raised from a Magikarp that a con artist sold to James. Originally discarded, James elected to raise it well in this story knowing its hidden potential.- Ascended Extra: Was abused by James in the original timeline, but was treated well this time around and becomes one of their clear powerhouses.
- Extreme Omnivore: An unintentional example; Gyarados often ends up swallowing things that get too close to his mouth, like a race baton and a cellphone.
- Pet the Dog: The Rocket Trio decides to keep Magikarp this time around, letting him evolve into Gyarados.
Abra
An original character, a perpetually slumbering Psychic-Type vulpine Pokémon that James caught in Kanto.- Brilliant, but Lazy: Despite being unevolved, he's ridiculously strong, yet being an Abra, all he wants to do is sleep.
- Fourth-Wall Observer: Along with Psyduck and Arceus.
- Killer Rabbit: You wouldn't think that an unevolved Pokémon like him has enough psychic power to hit way above his weight class or do a space-to-earth teleport, but he does.
- Laborious Laziness: Willing to go to great lengths and is capable of pulling off great feats, all in the name of getting just a little more sleep.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In accordance to his Laborious Laziness, he always uses telepathy, even with other Pokémon. So when he actually speaks, you know it's something serious.
- Original Character: He wasn't there with the Rocket Trio in the original timeline.
- Psychic Powers: Is a Psychic-Type, so naturally among his moves include Teleport and Telepathy.
- Psychic Teleportation: A very proficient user of such; he is one of the TRio's modes of transport.
Cubone/Marowak
An original character, a smallish but powerful Ground-Type dinosaur Pokémon burdened by regretful memories of her lost family, that Jessie caught in Kanto.- Bad with the Bone: Other than just her regular bone weapon, her Reality Marble can create the bones of other Pokémon for her to use as weapons. And they still carry the elemental nature of their types, so manifested bones of Dark-types can block Psychic attacks.
- Broken Bird: She's carrying a lot of pain and regret for being unable to save her family when they needed her. Ash's Aura Purge helps her surpass much of it, but she doesn't fully come to terms with it until part 53 of Hoenn. And with that, she evolves.
- By the Power of Grayskull!: Needs to recite a short aria in order to summon her Reality Marble. She can even do it while still in her PokéBall if she wants to access it immediately in battle.
- Expy: Of Archer.
- She's also clearly based on the killed Marowak moment of Red and Blue.
- Equippable Ally: Has used Arbok and Seviper as whips.
- Field of Blades: Her Reality Marble manifests as a field of bones. It turns into a normal grass field after her "therapy session" with Ash.
- Nerf: After the events of Mewtwo Returns, her Reality Marble does this. It basically becomes less powerful and harder to access, but more flexible and easier to alter.
- Original Character: She wasn't there with the Rocket Trio in the original timeline.
- People Puppets: If she understands someone's skeleton well enough, she can manipulate his/her skeleton like one of her bone weapons. So far she's used it with Arbok.
- Spontaneous Weapon Creation: Can manifest bones out of her Reality Marble.
- Survivor Guilt: One of the reasons why it took her so long to let go of her guilt is because, while she can and wants to get over it, she refuses to do so because she fears she'd forget her dead family if she did.
- You Should Have Died Instead: Downplayed. She doesn't actually think this, but she's quite angry that Ash got resurrected (first movie) while her family stayed dead.
Weepinbell/Victreebel
One of James's original companions, a Grass/Poison-Type pitcher plant Pokémon that was a friend of his from childhood.- Out of Focus: Appeared with Weezing more often in the Kanto-Johto sagas, but has appeared less due to the additions to the team both from the original timeline and the new timeline.
- Those Two Guys: Often seen with Weezing.
Wobbuffet
One of Jessie's original companions, a Psychic-Type counterattacker who she met when she accidentally traded away her Lickitung.- Counter-Attack: Counter and Mirror Coat, natch.
- Hurricane of Puns: Now that we can understand him, there's no escape from his punny onslaught...
- Pungeon Master: Much to everyone's dismay.
Moltres
The Legendary Bird of Fire who roosted on Mt. Ember, the trio brought down poachers around her nest and she began following them, soon joining their team.- Accidental Kidnapping: Accidentally captured herself in one of James's Pokéballs while sneaking around their camp.
- Stalker with a Crush: After she watched James in his Moltres costume help thwart a group of Pokémon Pinchers who were looking to capture her, she fell in love and started following him around.
- You No Take Candle: Meowth is teaching her to speak to humans, but she's not very coherent yet.
Carnivine
One of James's original companions, a Grass-Type venus flytrap Pokémon that was a friend of his from childhood.- Early-Bird Cameo: Joins the team a lot earlier than in canon.
Seviper
One of Jessie's original companions, a Poison-Type viper Pokémon that was Jessie's first catch in the Hoenn region.- Beware My Stinger Tail: And he has a lot of different kinds of stings: Dragon Tail, Aqua Tail, Poison Tail, Iron Tail...
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Was this for Arbok in canon, but is Lampshaded when he rejoins the TRio in Chapter 119 to find that Arbok was never released. The two of them have a bit of a stand-off before becoming good friends.
Cacnea/Cacturne
One of James's original companions, a Grass-Type (Grass/Dark post-evolution) cactus Pokémon that was James's first catch in the Hoenn region.- Cuddle Bug: As in canon. Her increased size doesn't make things easier for poor James, though.
Dustox
One of Jessie's original companions, a Bug/Poison-Type moth Pokémon that she raised from a Wurmple.- Commuting on a Bus: Borrowed one of Professor Oak's transceivers so she could rejoin the Rocket cell if needed after reuniting with her old mate.
Audino
An original character, a Normal-Type medically inclined Pokémon gifted to the trio by Giovanni following the events of Altomare to assist with the team's injuries. He was apprenticed to a Chansey that Jessie was friends with.- Berserk Button: Gets rather annoyed if someone tries to over-spice his cooking."Don't add that much salt, you'll ruin it!"
- The Medic: His new role in Team Rocket's cell.
- Original Character: Didn't exist in canon.
- Super Mode: Ash gives the Rocket Trio the Audinite he found, and Giovanni lets them use a Key Stone from TR's armory.
- Supreme Chef: He's really, really good at making food. That being said, it's not advised to over-spice his cooking.
- Team Chef: His other new role in Team Rocket's cell. And he's very good at it.
- Team Mom: Named as such in-universe.
Cosplay Pikachu
An original character, an Electric-Type murine Pokémon rewarded to Jessie from Wallace after she impressed him with her comedic appeal.- Cosplay: She has a lot of costumes, to say the least.
- Clothes Make the Superman: And just like in the games, wearing a costume gives her an associated new move that she normally cannot learn - that immediately disappears once it's taken off.
- Genki Girl: She's rather energetic.
- Irony: After years and years of hunting, over six hundred attempts to ambush Ash, thousands of schemes, time travel, and the collection of a Legendary Pokémon, Team Rocket... has a Pikachu. And they didn't even have to steal her or catch her or whatever — she was a gift.
Chimecho
One of James's original companions, a Psychic-Type wind chime-like Pokémon known for its vocal abilities and rarity.- The Ditz: So much so, that even when its Pokémon Speak is translated, it's still saying its own name.
- Literal-Minded: Overhears a comment about Meowth having a "big mouth", and thus starts measuring the mouths of the other Team Rocket Pokemon for comparison.
- The Medic: On account of his Heal Bell move.
- Pokémon Speak: It talks like this even when translated.
- Third-Person Person: Even when it manages to say more than just its name, it still says its name a lot, including in place of any personal pronouns.
Mime Jr.
One of James's original companions, a Psychic-Type clown-like Pokémon that originally joined James after he left his ill Chimecho in his grandparents' care.- Psychic Teleportation: Knows how to teleport, but isn't strong enough to use it on very big objects yet.
Yanmega
One of Jessie's original companions, a notably powerful Bug/Flying-Type dragonfly Pokémon that was originally one of the one-in-a-million times that the trio succeeded in catching a Pokémon of the week.Wyvern (Porygon)
Originally a hunter-seeker program developed by Dragon of the PoryDozen, she got trapped in Team Galactic's servers and developed Porygon sapience as a result. Upon being rescued by Meowth, she offers to join their cell.- Grew Beyond Their Programming: From a hunter-seeker program designed for infiltration to a full Porygon AI.
Team Rocket Organization
Tropes that apply to the organization as a whole
- Evil Versus Oblivion: While Team Rocket still seeks control by all means in this timeline, it DOES NOT dabble in methods that result in massive collateral damage, societal collapse, or the universe itself being screwed up, and the reason is that you can't rule or make a profit in a destroyed world. As such, Giovanni would send his Rocket Executives (namely the Rocket Trio) to disaster areas not only to gather good PR but to eliminate threats to his ultimate plans, which of course results in said Executives aiding Ash and Co.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: All Rocket agents are under direct orders to avoid confrontation with Ash even if it'll cost a mission. The only circumstances where a Rocket would find it okay to fight him is if it's to buy time for the evacuations. Jessie and James even make it a point by giving lectures and classes on how to deal with situations that involve Ash. Their advice: stay away from him.
- Right Hand Versus Left Hand: Giovanni outright states that some Rocket cell plots will come into conflict with each other, but he says that the more short-term plots will have to be sacrificed for the team as a whole.
- Universally Beloved Leader: Unlike the original timeline, Giovanni plans to make his organization so beloved and ingratiated with the populace that they'll happily allow them the influence over them he seeks.
- Villain with Good Publicity: What Giovanni wants his organization to become as a whole, so the entire populace won't question them if they decide to take over. A lot of the Rocket Trio's missions are basically PR work intended to make Team Rocket look good.
- Yakuza: Par the course. Giovanni's punishment for Annie and Oakley regarding their unsanctioned work in Altomare includes complete Yubitsume on top of demotion and a Pokémon ban.
- Cyrus even recognises Team Rocket as such and interprets their actions accordingly. The TRio even use this to their advantage, using a retaliatory strike to save face to disguise a secret infiltration mission.
Giovanni
The boss of the criminal Team Rocket organization and the Rocket Trio's (Jessie, James, and Meowth) direct superior.
- Adaptational Heroism: In a sense. Giovanni is still a ruthless, power-hungry crime boss with designs on controlling the world, but here it's emphasized that he understands there are different kinds of control. And he's especially interested in controlling the world through making himself and his organization so beloved and ingratiated with the populace that they'll happily allow him the influence over them he seeks. As a result, he focuses on keeping the Rockets' criminal side as secret as possible while devoting a lot of energy into world-saving and seemingly altruistic matters. The different ways incidents like Mewtwo's birth unfold further convince him that large-scale megalomaniacal efforts aren't worth the hassle, leaving him much less interested in them.
- Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: If Jessie and James catching a Relicanth for his mother in any indication, Giovanni seems close to said mother, despite his criminal activities.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: What angered Giovanni concerning Vicious's little time travel plot to usurp him as boss of Team Rocket in the Voice of the Forest arc was not the attempted coup itself; it was the possibility that he might've not met his beloved Persian. Say what you want about Giovanni, but there is no doubt that he is intensely devoted to his partner.
- Geo Effects: Rather apropos, his battle specialty is terrain control. His Pokémon are very experienced in controlling the battlefield or making their own terrain and modifying it to their advantage.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: He quickly realizes that Ash is way out of his league, so he makes it a point for all Rocket agents to avoid the kid whenever possible. He'll even accept mission failure if the reason involves Ash.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: After Vicious (the Iron-Masked Marauder) is captured and thrown in prison, Giovanni makes sure he dies of "natural causes" - namely, a stroke via his Persian's Shadow Claw.
- Pet the Dog: His treatment of the Rocket Trio (at least in this timeline) has shades of this. He also treats his Pokemon well, enough to use Mega Evolution.
- Pragmatic Villainy: The reason why the department the trio is in exists, as you can't rule and/or extort the world if there is no world. Word of God was that Operation Tempest in the original timeline was a desperation move, as he didn't see enough heroes to deal with the recent disasters. In this timeline, knowledge of Ash and Wes means he won't even think about it.
- He immediately punishes Annie and Oakley by subjecting them to Yubitsume, demoting them to grunt work, and banning them from the use of Pokémon after the events of the Heroes movie. Their little scheme, which was heavily implied to be unauthorized judging by the language Giovanni used in his conversation with them, nearly undid all the PR work the trio have been doing since the time travel — he only managed to salvage the damage by sending the trio to be visibly seen in stopping the crisis.
- Also, his opinion on attempts to reshape reality (via legendary Pokémon or otherwise) is incredibly low.
Giovanni: Useful, I'll admit, but far too flashy — and dangerous to acquire. And Team Rocket does not like risk. Agents risk, the Team endures. - Reasonable Authority Figure: Surprisingly enough, yes. He's harsh but he'll tolerate failure if there is a legitimately good reason for it. He let Cassidy and Butch's ditching an operation slide because it would've pitted them up against Ash, someone he knows was completely out of their league.
- This applies to him as a Gym leader as well. He is able to Mega Evolve his Kangaskhan, but he will only do so if he's facing a trainer who's using a Mega Evolution of their own or a Legendary Pokemon. If they don't, then he won't use Mega Evolution either, in the interest of fairness.
- Right-Hand Cat: His Persian. His starter, most loyal companion, and someone he'd kill for.
- Secret Test of Character: He demands that James turn over his Arcanine, Growlie, because it is a rare and powerful Pokémon. When James refuses, he reveals that it was a test and promptly promotes the trio.
- Super Mode: He has a Kangaskhan and the associated Kangaskhanite.
- Surrounded by Idiots: Tends to give off this vibe at times — ironically, some of the only ones he doesn't regard as idiots (to some degree) are the main trio, who he sees as eccentric, but nonetheless extremely competent.
- You Have Failed Me: Most of the movie villains that were Rocket-affiliated are revealed to be Rogue Agents or overenthusiastic agents who ultimately screwed up his master plans. In such situations, he tends to take care of them himself. It's rarely pretty.
Vicious/The Iron-Masked Marauder
An infamous member of Team Rocket and the Big Bad of the Voice of the Forest arc. His trademark is using special Poké Balls called Dark Balls to turn the Pokémon he captures into a merciless killing machines.
- Adaptational Badass: A villainous example, in this story his Dark Balls are even capable of capturing Pokémon that already have trainers. He took advantage of Giovanni sending a squad of Rockets after him early to 'acquire' some of their Pokémon this way. And then he manages to get Pikachu in one...
- Being Tortured Makes You Evil: What his Dark Balls do to Pokémon; they forcibly turn them into Shadow Pokémon. They can even capture registered Pokémon and turn them against their trainers.
- Karmic Death: Ultimately, the person who does him in is Giovanni, the same man he tried to overthrow, who has his Persian "fix things" so Vicious will, ahem, die of natural causes.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: He dies in prison from a stroke, which was engineered by Giovanni and done by his Persian's Shadow Claw.
- Meaningful Name: A vicious rogue Team Rocket agent who treats his own Pokémon like crap and is willing to use them like disposable tools in his bid to usurp Giovanni as head of Team Rocket.
- Rogue Agent: Was a member of Team Rocket before he decided to go rogue.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: His Croconaw starter sometime in his journey. Which gives you an idea of how much of a bastard this guy was.
- The Starscream: All of the shenanigans he was doing in his arc were in an attempt to usurp Giovanni as head of Team Rocket.
Annie and Oakley
A duo of Team Rocket agents who both make up the Big Bad of the Heroes arc.
- Adaptational Badass: In the original movie, they had an Espeon and an Ariados. This time, both of them come loaded with full teams of 6. Not that it helps them in the end.
- Epic Fail: Oakley's attempts to Mega Evolve her Beedrill.
- Yubitsume: In addition to demoting them to grunts and banning them from using Pokémon, Giovanni subjects Annie and Oakley to this trope when their plans (which going by Giovanni's wording were heavily implied to be unauthorized) nearly led to the undoing of all the Rocket Trio's PR activities since the time travel.
Butch and Cassidy
A duo of Team Rocket grunts who, in the original timeline, were rivals of the TRio and notably more competent.
- Butt-Monkey: In the Kanto chapters, they took the place of the TRio as the Rockets who would tried to interfere with the heroes only to get horribly humiliated by them in some way (usually unwittingly, and due to both Ash and Co. and the TRio). Even when they get stronger Pokémon to face off against Ash during the Lake of Rage incident, they are still soundly beaten, much to their shock.
- Hourglass Plot: In the previous timeline, Butch and Cassidy were the competent, rising stars of Team Rocket while the TRio were the bumbling failures who were the butt of every joke. Now, in the new timeline, the TRio are Rocket executives and Giovanni's top field agents, with the carte blanche to do whatever they want as long as it forwards Team Rocket's reputation, while Butch and Cassidy are low-level grunts who are only worth any notice because they are slightly more competent than most. While Butch and Cassidy aren't aware of the time travel, they are aware of reversal in fortune, and what few scenes they appear in show them to be quite bitter about it.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Their response to seeing (and recognizing) Ash showing up to one of their scams is to immediately skedaddle out of the area. Giovanni actually praises them for it.
- Out of Focus: Post-Johto, they don't show up as much, reflecting how they've practically disappeared from the anime since the end of Johto.
- The Resenter: It's subtle, especially since they don't appear very often, but it seems and Butch and Cassidy are slightly resentful of how the TRio are executives (on the lowest rung, but still), while they're still (technically) only high-level grunts. They have access to strong Pokémon and control over many low-level operations, but they don't have the freedom and trust Jessie, James, and co. all enjoy.
