James

James (Japanese: コジロウ Kojirō) is a member of Team Rocket, more specifically part of a trio with Jessie and, that follows Ash Ketchum and around in the Pokémon anime, usually trying to steal Ash's Pikachu.

Pre-series
As an only child of millionaires, James was forced to endure formal society while growing up. Often having to take part in numerous lessons and activities he had little to no interest in, he eventually began to grow weary of the rules and standards that appeared to be ever-present within the upper-class.

At a young age, he was engaged to a girl named Jessebelle. It was revealed in The Treasure Is All Mine! that he wanted to marry her at some point but he changed his mind after he saw how controlling and overbearing she was. Unable to stand her, he ran away, leaving his lavish lifestyle as well as his beloved pet, Growlie, behind.

In The School of Hard Knocks, Jessie and James told that while they were at the Pokémon Trainers' school Pokémon Tech, they both received the lowest scores in the school's history. The school later brought back bad memories for both Jessie and James.

After this, as revealed in The Bridge Bike Gang, Jessie and James joined a bicycle gang in Sunnytown. During his tenure there, James was known for using training wheels, subsequently acquiring the nicknames "Little Jim" and "Trainer James".

Due to conflicts in canon between Kanto and Johto episodes and the special episode Training Daze, what happened between James and Jessie after the bike gang is unknown. What is known, as shown in the special episode, is that they joined Team Rocket separately and were on initially unfriendly terms after being grouped with but they quickly made up and became good friends.

Original series
James debuted in Pokémon Emergency alongside Jessie and Meowth. The trio first set their sights on the injured Pokémon in the Pokémon Center. Sending out their and  from their Meowth balloon, they quickly overtook the Pokémon Center, which only had Nurse Joy,, and  inside. Before they could steal any of the Pokémon, however, Ash's Pikachu, who teamed up with many other in the Pokémon Center, used an electric attack, causing the entire Pokémon Center to explode. It was here that Team Rocket decided to capture Pikachu, deeming him as an exceptionally powerful Pokémon, and made it their goal to capture him.

In Electric Shock Showdown, after hearing that Pikachu would fight to defend his own honor and Ash's, the trio were inspired to cheer on Pikachu before his rematch against Gym Leader Lt. Surge's.

In Holy Matrimony!, James returned to his home as a result of a trap by his parents, who pretended to be dead in order to get him to come back to the estate, knowing he would return to pay his respects. He suspected that it was a trap, but he ended up being forced into participating by Jessie and Meowth, who wanted the fortune. After the deception was revealed, he was once again subjected to Jessebelle's torment until Growlie came to his rescue. After temporarily chasing Jessebelle away, James soon left his family's manor and as a result declined his inheritance. Growlie stayed behind upon James's request when he returned to Jessie and Meowth.

In The Ultimate Test, James expressed interest in joining the Indigo Plateau Conference and decided to take the Pokémon League Admissions Exam in order to accomplish that. However, when the results of an exam that measured his knowledge on Pokémon were revealed, he was shown to be one of the lowest ranking applicants along with Jessie and Ash. Later, during the practical skills exam, where he had to face one of the instructors in three consecutive, he broke the rules by sending two Pokémon at once and was expelled.

James went with Jessie and Meowth to Hoenn while they were stuck on the hull of the ship.

In That's Just Swellow, James partook in the Crossgate PokéRinger competition. He was able to get to the final round with Jessie's Dustox but lost to Ash's Swellow. He was taken by Jessie and Meowth to their balloon in which they reveal the stolen Pokémon. Swellow freed them with and then Team Rocket was sent flying by.

In Sweet Baby James, James reunited with his grandparents, Nanny and Pop-Pop. While there, they looked after his sick while James got a

In Off the Unbeaten Path, James along his Team Rocket colleagues participated in Pokémon Orienteering. He was able to win the contest with Mime Jr. Despite winning, James gave the fruit to and  for their actions earlier.

In The Ole' Berate and Switch!, following a failed attempt of getting Ash's Pikachu, James separated with Jessie and Meowth, and met up with Cassidy. James went back with Jessie and Meowth after Team Rocket were caught with stealing a load of Poké Balls.

The trio arrived in Sinnoh using their balloon. In Two Degrees of Separation!, the trio arrived in James's vacation house and James retrieved his that he caught a long time ago. James left the house with Jessie and Meowth because Mr. Cheeves told James that Jessebelle would be coming to the house soon. Giovanni approved the trio's plans to set up a Team Rocket branch in Sinnoh.

In Pursuing a Lofty Goal!, James borrowed Jessie's Yanmega to enter the Squallville PokéRinger competition. In the first round, he and Yanmega faced off against Steveland and his. James was confident he could win the match, but when an updraft hit the two Pokémon, Yanmega was left disoriented and fell to the ground. Skiploom used this opportunity to grab the ring from the balloon and bring it to the goal, earning Steveland the win. As a result, James was eliminated from the competition.

In Dressed for Jess Success!, James disguised himself as Jessilina and entered the Lilypad Town Pokémon Contest in Jessie's place. In the Performance Stage, James had Meowth use his to slice ramen for the Contest Judges, which impressed them enough and put James among the eight s moving on to the Battle Stage. There, James faced off against in the semifinals. During their battle, he took advantage of the fact that usually started the battle off by swallowing  and had Carnivine steal the Ice Shard with  before it happened. As a result, Mamoswine became enraged and James was able to win. James went on to the finals and won, earning himself a Ribbon and gave it to Jessie afterwards.

In the, Jessie, James, and Meowth were sent to the Unova region under orders from after they were promoted in Memories are Made of Bliss!. Now wearing black uniforms instead of their previous white ones, Jessie and James, along with Meowth, followed various missions given to them by Giovanni through other people. To prevent them from getting too much attention, Giovanni did not allow their other Pokémon to be sent to them, making them use only Pokémon native to Unova. Unknown to the trio, Giovanni was not certain they would be successful; however, he knew that their presence in the region would force Team Plasma to reveal themselves. In Battling for the Love of Bug-Types!, Jessie and James go back to wearing their white uniforms. The trio seems to be more serious and is much less comedic than before, using thought-out methods of escape, such as jetpacks, and thus has not been sent blasting off in the Best Wishes series. They also appear much less often than in previous series.

In Meloetta and the Undersea Temple! and Unova's Survival Crisis!, he manages to capture Meloetta but was stalled by Cilan, allowing for Meloetta to get away. However, with Meloetta caught by Giovanni, James and Jessie go inside the submarine with Giovanni and Dr. Zager and take them to the Abyssal Ruins for the awakening of the Kami trio located there.

Along with Jessie and, James reappeared in New Places... Familiar Faces!, where he returned to Unova for the first time since their Operation Tempest and temporary retreat back to Kanto. He went back to this old ways by catching Pikachu but with a new addition to his team, with James catching an sometime before meeting up with Ash and his friends. In The Dream Continues!, he is forced to give away his Pokémon to Giovanni under the pretense that he captured them for him.

He returned once again in the, following Ash into the Kalos region. In A Battle of Aerial Mobility!, Giovanni approved the trio's plan to steal as many rare and powerful Pokémon as they could in Kalos. In the same episode, James caught an.

The episode Facing the Grand Design! focuses highly on the strong bond between James and Inkay. During the episode, Inkay was furious when showed up with two other evil Malamar, and while Jessie and Meowth believed it was because Inkay wanted to hand them over to the evil Malamar, James knew otherwise, but was still concerned about why Inkay was acting the way he was. Later on after escaping being caught by the evil Malamar along with Meowth, Inkay, and Clemont, James found out through Meowth's translation that Inkay was furious with the evil Malamar for hypnotizing him in the past and wanted to make Malamar pay for what it had done.

Inkay then began talking to the forest Inkay and Malamar to try and get them to help with the quest to stop the evil Malamar. At first, the good Malamar were skeptical about Inkay's story until one of the Malamar showed up and attacked the forest Pokémon with. As the gang worked to stop the evil Malamar, the leader captured Inkay and brainwashed him with and made him attack his Trainer. James took Inkay's head on and then fed him a croissant, Inkay's favorite food. As he ate, Inkay began to remember all the times he and Inkay spent together, and Inkay was successfully returned to normal. When the group finally defeated the evil Malamar, Team Rocket watched the forest Pokémon as the Inkay led James's Inkay into the forest to play with them. James got up to leave without Inkay, but Inkay went back to him. Although at first James told Inkay that all he wanted was for him to be happy, so he wasn't going to ask him to stay with him, Inkay began shouting at James and Meowth translated this to say that being with his Trainer and the rest of Team Rocket makes him happy. James was overcome with tears of joy after hearing this.

In Party Dancecapades!, James and his team members decided to attend a dance party hosted by Monsieur Pierre. After seeing Serena and her friends go inside, James noted that it was no surprise that they were there as well, and Meowth noted that it would be a perfect chance to catch Pikachu. Jessie and then approached the two, and Jessie decided that James would be her date while Gourgeist decided Inkay to be hers. Later, he was seen being flailed by Jessie during their dance. With the dance party over, Monsieur Pierre announced a Tag Battle and Miette and James were partnered against Ash and Serena, much to the chagrin of James. However, despite putting up a good fight, James and Miette lost, much to the frustration of Jessie and Gourgeist.

In An Explosive Operation!, Jessie, James and Meowth were first seen contacting Giovanni and informed them about Team Flare and a powerful Pokémon which can exhibit various Formes. Intrigued, Giovanni assigned them with the task to catch the. As the trio searched for Squishy, they met up with another Pokémon resembling Squishy but having a blue core and Team Flare scientists Aliana and Mable. After his Inkay successfully damaged the device which was used by Team Flare to catch Z2, Jessie sent out her Gourgeist to attack Mable's Weavile and Aliana's Druddigon with which created smoke, successfully allowing Team Rocket to escape with Z2. Upon noticing the tired condition of Z2, he climbed up a small cliff and put it on the top which allowed it to regain its energy by. He and his teammates were confronted once again by Team Flare but despite putting up a good fight, his Inkay ended up losing. Later, he witnessed Z2 transform into its 50% Forme to fight against Team Flare's Pokémon and later Alain's Charizard. When the Order Pokémon lost, he along with his teammates jumped in front of Z2 to rescue it from Team Flare but ended up being blasted off by Mable's and Aliana's.

In Master Class Is in Session!, James first appeared praising Jessie, who had entered the Gloire City Pokémon Showcase Master Class, as the future Kalos Queen. He seemed visibly excited just before the first round of Master Class, claiming that they could successfully return to the life of crime if Jessie managed to win this. He, time and again, cheered Jessilee from the sidelines during her performances, causing his neighbors to be bothered. When the Master Class was over, he, along with Meowth, Inkay, Gourgeist and Wobbuffet, were seen walking behind a silent Jessie through Gloire City, fearing her wrath on losing. However, she shrugged their fears and decided that she just wanted to give them a feast for supporting her, which causes them to be overjoyed and jump over her; Jessie then angrily declared that the feast shall be financed by James, something James readily accepted.

He, his teammates, and Jessie's Wobbuffet worked as Malva's assistants during the Lumiose Conference from A League of His Own! to Down to the Fiery Finish!, with the aim of earning money and capturing any strong Pokémon in the Kalos League. However, they were not very pleased with their job and felt that they were overworking; despite this, they did not quit their jobs. In Kalos League Passion with a Certain Flare!, they made it a point to steal the two finalists, Ash and Alain's, Pokémon after the battle, but could not execute their plan due to Team Flare wreaking havoc in Lumiose City.

In Coming Apart at the Dreams!, he, in disguise of a news reporter, set out with his teammates,, Mairin and Professor Sycamore towards Lysandre Labs in an attempt to take over the base and bring Team Flare down. They reached the Lysandre Labs in The Right Hero for the Right Job!, where a surprise attack from Celosia's caused him, and his teammates, to be enraged enough to remove their disguises and take on Celosia and Drapion with his Inkay. In the next episode, he finally subdued Celosia, Mable, and their Pokémon by trapping them in a net, and after the Giant Rock transformed into a Zygarde, fled the Lysandre Labs along with his teammates on their helicopter. He piloted the helicopter as they followed the Rock on its way towards Anistar City, and like his teammates, was utterly surprised to see the seven Gym Leaders and Kalos Champion Diantha arrive on the scene to deal with the Giant Rock. He later assisted Ash and Alain in infiltrating the Giant Rock by sending out his Inkay in Forming a More Perfect Union! to fight the Megalith Zygarde. One of the roots, however, blasted him and his teammates out of the helicopter, but they were saved by Diantha's Gardevoir.

After the disaster, he and his teammates claimed sole credit for defeating Team Flare to Giovanni.

In Loading the Dex!, the trio arrived in the Alola region to obtain some rare Alolan Pokémon for Giovanni, as well as Ash's Pikachu, which they were surprised to find on Melemele Island. They had also left Inkay and Gourgeist behind at the headquarters. They allied with a which hated Pikachu, but at the end of the episode, a wild  kidnapped Jessie and James. In First Catch in Alola, Ketchum-Style!, the Bewear looked after the trio, giving them food and shelter at its den. Jessie used James's Luxury Ball to capture Mimikyu.

In The Sun, the Scare, the Secret Lair!, James made an attempt to catch a, but he failed. However, in the same episode, he managed to catch a female after saving her from a.

In A Seasoned Search!, the trio completed their secret base in Bewear's den.

In A Team-on-Team Tussle!, the trio, upon learning about Z-Moves, began their search for a Z-Ring. They discovered a Darkinium Z in a nest of and, led by a  Raticate, and attempted to retrieve it. However, they were intercepted by members of Team Skull, also after the same Z-Crystal. Ultimately, after a clash with the other team, and with the Totem Pokémon, the trio obtained the Z-Crystal for themselves.

In Pulling Out the Pokémon Base Pepper!, James, along with his teammates, played Pokémon Base against Ash and in an effort to get Oluolu's autograph for Jessie, but lost.

In Alola, Kanto!, Team Rocket was revealed to have flown to Kanto as per orders from the headquarters. At the airport, the trio noticed Misty and Brock meet up with Ash and his classmates, and after eavesdropping on the group's conversation, decided to steal Pokémon off of Professor Oak's Laboratory to present them to Giovanni. However, their attempt to steal the group's Pokémon was thwarted, and they were carried back to Alola by Bewear in When Regions Collide!.

In Fighting Back the Tears!, James fought with Mareanie's former crush, a, for her affections. Later, James talked about leaving Mareanie with Toxapex. She eavesdropped on this and subsequently ran away, later finding sanctuary with Ash at Professor Kukui's house. The next morning, James saw Mareanie being attacked by another Tentacruel, and saved her again. Despite their reunion, he still insisted on Mareanie, leaving her in tears. However, James was then challenged to a fight by Toxapex to make Mareanie happy, which ended in a tie. Following the fight, Mareanie decided to stay with James, which he accepted.

Character
James' well-traveled and wealthy lifestyle afforded him luxuries and time to become well versed in various activities, including Pokémon Haiku, Pokémon Orienteering, and PokéRinger, among other things. Despite James' wealthy upbringing, he often criticizes it as sheltered and because of Jessebelle's harassment. Joining Team Rocket offered James an adventurous escape from his families demands, riches, and expectations.

James also has a tendency to cross-dress. He commonly impersonates Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and Jessie. He also often dresses up like famous celebrities like, Juan, and Norman, and impersonates other non-human objects, including Pokémon, animals, and shrubs.

James has collected an impressive amount of rare bottle caps since he was a young child. In the episode All That Glitters! it is revealed that he has "drunk enough soda pop to float an aircraft carrier".

At times, instead of a Pokédex, he uses a deck of cards to identify Pokémon, such as in Gymbaliar! when he first learned of 's, or in Mass Hip-Po-Sis! when he used it to look up. The cards, used in the Sinnoh region, shared similar details to an electronic Pokedex, including statistics like height and weight.

James has an odd and rather submissive personality. He regularly complies with Jessie and 's schemes, the results of which often do not fare in his favor, including the loss of his bottle caps and trading away his. He and Meowth also bear the brunt of Jessie's many tirades. However, James is sometimes shown to get angry himself, though not to the same extent as Jessie. Despite the arguments, James' self-doubt and lackluster confidence is bolstered by his fellow teammates. In A Hole Lotta Trouble, Ash and Brock attempted to make James aware that he needed to assert himself without his teammates.

Victreebel and 's overenthusiastic displays of affection are evidence of James' strong relationships with his Pokémon. James has been shown to be emotional and shares a close bond with his Pokémon, in which he prioritizes their health and potential. For example, James left his at his old vacation home so it could recover fully from a fever in Sweet Baby James. Also, in Once There Were Greenfields, James accepted Gardenia's offer to train on how to master.

James has a tendency to be swindled by the Magikarp salesman, who, despite James's increasing wariness and personal vendetta against the shady character, has on many occasions tricked him into buying a Magikarp or other useless Pokémon and items for large sums of money.

Throughout most of the series, James and his two friends were presented as horribly failing and erroneous criminals, always botching their missions to capture or other Pokémon. However, early in the, the Team Rocket trio had developed a more serious work attitude. This slowly reverted to the previous, blundering attitude by the end of the Best Wishes series. In the, James's Pokémon flash cards returned in the form of a handheld computer with a Pokédex function.

Pokémon
As the standards of the Team Rocket organization dictated, James was first shown with a Poison-type Pokémon. However, James seems to have a fondness for carnivorous (or at least dangerous), owning , , ,  and. It was shown during a flashback in Cream of the Croagunk Crop! how James, as a boy, found in the Great Marsh. It was trapped in the mud and James rescued it, the two forming a bond of friendship. The capture of a early in Hoenn furthered his apparent preference for Grass types. Often, when going into battle, his Grass Pokémon will show great affection towards James, which usually results in pain for him since all of them either have sharp teeth or spines. It is also shown that James develops a strong bond with each of his Pokémon in general; James almost treats them as his own children, and they in turn are all greatly attached to him. This could stem from the childhood memories he occasionally brings up, where it is shown that while growing up James hadn't really had any friends other than his Pokémon. When it comes time to leave a Pokémon behind for one reason or another, James often has great difficulty in letting go of his beloved friends, as shown in A Poached Ego! when he had to release his, and in Throwing the Track Switch, when he spend much of the episode depressed due to leaving his behind one episode prior.

Travels with
This section is for the Pokémon that James currently travels with, but has not caught.

Living with
This section is for the Pokémon that James currently lives with, but has not caught.

Pokémon competitions
James has competed in the following :
 * Beach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contest - N/A (with Jessie as "Rocket Boosters" in Beauty and the Beach)
 * P1 Grand Prix - Runner-up (with Jessie as "Giant" in The Punchy Pokémon)
 * Sunflora Festival - Disqualified (with Jessie as "Rock" and "Eta" in Grin to Win!)
 * Grass Tournament - N/A (as "Mr. Semaj" in The Grass Route)
 * PokéRinger
 * Crossgate PokéRinger - Runner-up (That's Just Swellow)
 * Squallville PokéRinger - Round 1 (as "Jamus" in Pursuing a Lofty Goal!)
 * Pokémon Orienteering - Winner (as "Jameson" in Off the Unbeaten Path)
 * Pokémon Dress-Up Contest - N/A (All Dressed Up With Somewhere To Go!)
 * Pastoria Croagunk Festival - N/A (with Jessie in Cream of the Croagunk Crop!)
 * - Winner (as "Jessilina" in Dressed for Jess Success!)
 * Scalchop King Competition - Disqualified (with Jessie as "Jacen" and "Jesty" in Crowning the Scalchop King!)
 * Poké Puff Contest - Preliminary round (with Jessie in A Battle by Any Other Name!)
 * Pokémon Sky Relay - Disqualified (with Jessie as "Team R" in A Relay in the Sky!)
 * Pokémon Pancake Race - Disqualified (Racing to a Big Event!)
 * Charjabug race Koko Cup - Disqualified (with Jessie as "Bewear Max" in Mounting an Electrifying Charge!)
 * Alola Bread Festival - Unknown (with Jessie and Meowth in Sours for the Sweet!)

In I Choose You! and The Power of Us
James appeared in I Choose You!, which is set in a different continuity from the main series. He first appeared in disguise with Jessie and in a Pokémon Center, being wanted for stealing Pokémon. When a Trainer who had just battled an hurried inside the Pokémon Center, Team Rocket eavesdropped on the conversation and decided to hunt for Entei themselves. While looking for Entei in the forest, they were blasted off by a raging.

Travels with
This section is for the Pokémon that James currently travels with, but has not caught.

In the games
Both Jessie and James appear in as in-game bosses. They first attack the main character in Mt. Moon, while trying to take one of the rare Fossils uncovered there.

Later, in Celadon City's Rocket Hideout, Jessie and James guard Giovanni's room. During that time, as the player runs into them, they are eager for revenge after the main character busted up their plans at Mt. Moon.

They hold Mr. Fuji hostage at Pokémon Tower, attacking the main on the seventh floor.

Finally, at Silph Co. in Saffron City, Jessie and James make their final appearance, once again trying to stall the main character from reaching their Boss.

Unlike in the anime, Jessie and James do not follow the main character around and come up with their usual evil plans to capture.

First battle

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Second battle

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Third battle

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Fourth battle

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Fifth battle

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Pokémon Yellow

 * Mt. Moon
 * Before battle
 * "Stop right there!"
 * "That fossil is Team Rocket's! Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"


 * Being defeated
 * "A brat beat us?"


 * After being defeated
 * "Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"


 * Rocket Hideout
 * Before battle
 * "Not another step, brat!"
 * "How dare you humiliate us at Mt. Moon! It's payback time, you brat!"


 * Being defeated
 * "Such a dreadful twerp!"


 * After being defeated
 * "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"


 * Pokémon Tower
 * Before battle
 * "Stop right there!"
 * "Grampa here wanted to complain, so we're setting him straight. So render yourself invisible, or prepare to fight!"


 * Being defeated
 * "You will regret this!"


 * After being defeated
 * "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"


 * Silph Co.
 * Before battle
 * "Hold it right there, brat!"
 * "Our Boss is in a meeting! You better not disturb him!"


 * Being defeated
 * "Like always..."


 * After being defeated
 * "Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light! Again..."

Pokémon Puzzle League
Along with many other anime characters, both Jessie and James appeared in Pokémon Puzzle League, where they appeared with a Weezing, an Arbok, and a. They are the main opponents in the "Spa Service" line clear challenge.

Pokémon Zany Cards
Jessie and James appear as the first opponents in both Wild Match mode and Special Seven mode.

In the Ash & Pikachu manga
In the series Ash & Pikachu, based on the, James appears along with the rest of the Team Rocket trio, Jessie and.

In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga
James appears in the series The Electric Tale of Pikachu along with his teammates Jessie and.

His first appearance is in Pikachu's Excellent Adventure. He, Jessie and Meowth tag along with a group of lost Pokémon, including, to try to find the Hidden Village. When they arrive, he and Jessie attempt to steal the Pokémon living in the village, but they are quickly expelled by a. In this chapter, he uses a in battle. James's next appearance is in You Gotta Have Friends. He and Jessie attempt to steal a herd of wild. At this point in the manga, James's has evolved into, though its evolution is not depicted in the manga.

Following this, James and Jessie begin more regularly appearing in the manga, following Ash to the Pokémon League championship at Indigo Plateau and cheering him on at the Orange League. James, along with Jessie, seems to maintain a friendship or at least acquaintance with Ash, as he has the Team Rocket trio deliver a letter to his mother as they are passing Pallet Town in Epilogue: Wild Type.

While in the anime, the nature of James's relationship with Jessie is not explicitly stated, in the epilogue of the manga, he is shown confessing his love to Jessie. They are shown afterwards married with Jessie visibly pregnant.

In the movie adaptations
As James has appeared in every movie to date, he has appeared in the manga adaptations of them.

In the TCG
Jessie and James appear on both versions of the card, which originally released in the TCG Team Rocket set; it was re-released with different artwork in TCG EX Team Rocket Returns. In that expansion, there was also a preconstructed TCG Theme Deck based on TCG James.

It is rumored that James may also be on the TCG Gym Challenge set card, as there is a Rocket in the background, seen only from the back, who has his hairstyle.

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring James's Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Trivia

 * James at times uses the name Jameson.
 * James hasn't evolved any of his Pokémon since Here's Lookin' at You, Elekid!.
 * James is the only main character to have one Pokémon and release it or give it away, then get another Pokémon of the same species.
 * James was the only main character to not obtain any Pokémon in the Johto region, if his second Victreebel is not counted.
 * James was the first main character to release a Pokémon.
 * A running gag in the involves James's Pokémon hurting him in a show of affection.
 * would often try to swallow him when called from its Poké Ball.
 * would hug him around the neck or waist, driving the spikes on its arms into James.
 * would wrap its tail around him, leaving him unable to see.
 * would often get a death grip on James's head with its mouth.
 * would wrap her tentacles around James's head and poison him.
 * In Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, a newswoman on Area 4 of Mt. Battle references James, claiming she is looking for someone with the same Pokémon as she has. The Pokémon she uses are and.
 * He shares both his Japanese and Brazilian voice actors with Ryusuke Yamino, from.
 * Excluding Victreebel, James has never battled any of his Pokémon before catching them.
 * Including the that James briefly owned, James has owned a  Pokémon from every generation until Generation VI.
 * James has owned three Pokémon which is more than any other main character thus far.
 * In early concept art, James was depicted wearing a hat.

Name origin
James's English name is taken from, an American outlaw. His Japanese name, Kojirō, is taken from 佐々木小次郎 ', a prominent Japanese swordsman most famous for being killed by his rival, 宮本武蔵 ', the namesake of Jessie. Also, 二郎 Jirō is a name meaning "second son," while 三郎 Saburō means "third son." Kojirō takes advantage of Jirō, while the Japanese name of Butch, Kosaburō, takes advantage of Saburō.

He is based on from the  anime (originally written by Takeshi Shudō), and the young thief  from the "" .

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