Giovanni's Persian

Giovanni's Persian (Japanese: サカキのペルシアン Sakaki's Persian) is a pet owned by. It was commonly seen outside of its Poké Ball.

Original series
Giovanni's Persian debuted in Battle Aboard the St. Anne, when Jessie, James, and reported to Giovanni. Since then, it has always been seen either at Giovanni's side or in his lap.

Persian briefly appeared in A Ruin with a View when Giovanni was talking to the Team Rocket trio over the phone. After the call ended, Giovanni was shown petting his Persian.

In Pearls are a Spoink's Best Friend, Persian appeared during a video call, sticking out its tongue in order to taunt.

After seeing a 's in the Pacifidlog Town Contest Hall in Mean With Envy, Meowth remembered Giovanni's Persian  to taunt him and decided to help Jessie win the Pokémon Contest. During his performance in the Appeals Round, Meowth used to make a sculpture of Giovanni and Persian out of a giant block of ice. He finished his performance by turning the Persian into a Meowth.

Persian reappeared in The Scheme Team, in which it was shown by Giovanni's side when Jessie, James, and Meowth returned to the to report the results of their operations in the Hoenn region.

Persian appeared in Two Degrees of Separation!. It was briefly shown sitting on Giovanni's lap while he was talking to Jessie, James, and over the videophone.

An illusory version of Persian created by a  appeared in Malice In Wonderland! as part of Meowth's fantasy. The was shown being tossed away by Giovanni, who wanted Meowth to be his new pet.

Persian appeared again in The Thief That Keeps on Thieving!, after sent Giovanni a newly. It was seen being and petted by its  while the computer ran an analysis of Yanma's Poké Ball.

It briefly appeared in Memories are Made of Bliss!, where it was seen lying on Giovanni's office while Matori informed Giovanni that she had contacted Jessie, James, and Meowth and assigned them their new mission.

Persian made a cameo appearance in In the Shadow of Zekrom!, being petted by Giovanni. It later appeared at the end of Unrest at the Nursery! with its Trainer and Matori. In the next episode, Persian was sent into battle against Ash's Pikachu and proved itself to be extremely powerful, taking an, then swiftly knocking Pikachu out with. It briefly appeared in Farewell, Unova! Setting Sail for New Adventures! and The Dream Continues!.

Persian appeared in A Battle of Aerial Mobility!, where it was seen being petted by Giovanni while Team Rocket contacted him about their arrival in Kalos.

It briefly appeared in An Explosive Operation!, where it watched Giovanni while Team Rocket contacted him about Team Flare.

Persian briefly appeared in Acting True to Form!, where it was being petted by Giovanni.

Personality and characteristics
Meowth views this Persian as a rival. Persian is the beloved pet of the boss of Team Rocket, and Meowth wants to kick Persian out and take its place as Giovanni's beloved pet, or the "Top Cat", as he calls it. Meowth's hatred of his evolved form was not started by this Persian, but his anger manifests against it more often than against any other Persian. Persian is also shown to be very loyal to its Trainer, and has also played some role in Team Rocket operations, such as signaling the disguised Team Rocket Grunts to commence their raid on the St. Anne patrons.

In the games
Giovanni also owns a Persian in and Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!. In Yellow, he uses it in all of the battles against him, while in Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, it only participates in the first two battles and merely stands on his side during the Gym battle. Persian also appears in both rounds of 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿. Aside from its use in battle, Giovanni's Persian also has a brief appearance in the Viridian Gym as a portrait in Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.

In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga
Persian was seen watching its owner in Ash vs. Gary as his anger fades away from remembering the  that Team Rocket scientists created.

In the How I Became a Pokémon Card manga
The backstory of how Giovanni met Persian is revealed in the How I Became a Pokémon Card manga. He rescued it when he was a child.

In the TCG
This listing is of cards featuring Giovanni's Persian in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.


 * Persian also appears in the card Giovanni's Scheme (BREAKthrough 138).

Trivia

 * Giovanni's Persian seems intended to parallel other series in which the main villain owns a cat as a pet.
 * Persian is the first pre-Generation V Pokémon not part of the main cast to appear in the in the flesh, having a cameo in In The Shadow of Zekrom.
 * Despite having appeared every once in a while since Battle Aboard the St. Anne, Persian wasn't shown using any moves until Meloetta and the Undersea Temple!, 738 episodes later.
 * This was also the first time when Persian's Poké Ball was shown in the anime.

Related articles
Giovannis Snobilikat Persian de Giovanni Persian de Giovanni Persian di Giovanni サカキのペルシアン