Jessie’s Pokémon Contest Career Managed to Keep Team Rocket Relevant

Aside from Ash himself, Team Rocket are arguably the most major characters in the Pokémon anime, the only other ones who’ve been there since the very beginning, across numerous regions and around the world. While their recurring attempts to steal Pikachu are certainly doomed to failure, the series actually found another way for Team Rocket to occasionally get a win: through Contests.

Beginning in Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, Jessie began to enter Pokémon Contests as a Coordinator. Contests are special competitions which Pokémon can compete in that allow them to show off more than just their battling skills, although battling is often a part of contests. Jessie would take on alternate personas which usually riffed on her name, like Jessadia and Jessilina, entering the contests in disguise so as not to draw negative attention.

While Jessie initially fared quite poorly in Contests, she began to develop more skill as they followed Ash back to the Kanto region, eventually going to the final round against May.

Contests Gave Team Rocket Purpose Beyond Pikachu

By the time of Ruby & Sapphire, the Team Rocket gimmick was already beginning to wear a bit thin; their inclusion in episodes felt like they were merely checking off a box. Everyone knew by this point that Team Rocket would never succeed at stealing Pikachu, and it left the trio in an awkward position. It was clear that Team Rocket’s characters needed something else to do, and contests ended up being the perfect venue for them to compete. Jessie, in her everlasting quest for fame and riches, takes her career as a Coordinator seriously, and usually competes in good faith.

Since Contests ended up being a recurring element of the series through to XY‘s Showcases, this gave Jessie a goal of her own to work towards, and one that was actually achievable, unlike stealing Pikachu. Jessie wins her first (unofficial) contest early in Diamond & Pearl, actually borrowing Ash’s Aipom in order to do so, and this surprising turn of events actually gave Team Rocket their first real win in the series. James and Meowth are often supportive of Jessie’s dreams, cheering her on from the audience (and causing trouble when she loses).

This also had the side benefit of giving Ash’s companions, like Dawn and May, a rivalry of their own with Jessie, rather than them simply being wrapped up in Ash’s long-standing adversarial relationship with Team Rocket. Although Dawn and May often didn’t see through Jessie’s disguises, they would inevitably discover the truth, forcing Jessie to create a new persona occasionally. It also gave Jessie the opportunity to bond with her Pokémon and see them succeed, proving that even Team Rocket care for their own Pokémon.

By giving Team Rocket other goals aside from Pikachu, the trio (but especially Jessie) were able to carry storylines on their own, and offered different perspectives on the contests than simply that of Ash’s companions. The lack of contests in Pokémon Journeys may be part of why Team Rocket’s roles in those seasons are less well regarded, as they returned to aimless wandering and failed attempts at stealing Pikachu. Incorporating contests into Team Rocket’s goals made Pokémon a better show overall.

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