What Team Rocket Brings To The Pokemon Anime

gamerant.com:

When the Pokemon anime began airing in the late 1990s, the first generation of Pokemon fans were introduced to the main character Ash Ketchum, and his partner, Pikachu. Over the past quarter-century, the show has continued to focus on the duo despite various formulaic changes and the regular shifting of most of its supporting cast.

Ash and Pikachu are the constants in an ever-changing series which frequently cares more about adhering to the newest thing from the video games than continuity (sometimes for better, sometimes not). The only other constant in the Pokemon anime's long journey are the Team Rocket Trio: Jessie, James, and Meowth (and to a lesser extent Jessie's Wobbuffet). In an anime so eager to alternate its cast, how and why has Team Rocket managed to stick around?

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Just like in the video games, Team Rocket is a vast evil organization that routinely abduct Pokemon for use in their nebulous goals. The trio are often implied to be mid-ranking by the standards of the group, above the grunts but below high-ranking officers and Team Rocket's leader, Giovanni. Since their introduction in the anime's second episode, they have been obsessed with capturing Pikachu and delivering it to Giovanni, along with any other Pokemon that seem powerful or rare. Jessie and James are human, while Meowth is one of the series' few Pokemon who is capable of speech. Consequently, Meowth has an intense jealousy and desire to replace Giovanni's Persian, which is Meowth's evolved form.

Jessie and James, like Ash, have used a wide variety of Pokemon in battle which tend to switch off between generations. While in Johto, Jessie came into possession of a Wobbuffet which has been the team's only