Team Rocket motto

The Team Rocket motto (Japanese: ロケット団の名乗り Rocket Gang's self-introduction) is a motto that Team Rocket members often recite or live by.

Jessie, James, and Meowth

In the animated series, Jessie, James, and Meowth have several mottos, saying one of them in nearly every episode when they reveal themselves to Ash and his friends. Early on, they had an irresistible urge to say it whenever hearing the word "trouble", but this seemingly is no longer the case. This motto would usually be said by all members of the trio, but when one of them is not present, another member takes their line. The exact motto recited was often modified based on the context of the episode.

Original series

The original motto was used from Pokémon Emergency! to From Brags to Riches. The original background music was used until the end of the original series. The new music debuted in Get the Show on the Road!.

Note that the lines "To denounce the evils of truth and love!" and "To extend our reach to the stars above!" were often said by both Jessie and James in the first season. In many later episodes, starting from Fit To Be Tide, James said "fight, fight, fight" instead of just the singular "fight" at the end of his last line. Wobbuffet also began saying his name at the end of the motto in Tunnel Vision, and has done so in most episodes since. There were many occasions in which the trio would use a radio or something similar to play the background music.

Since the episode Team Rocket was introduced in, the duo has been rhyming "prepare for trouble" and "make it double" phrases. Also, in almost all episodes after the Orange League, they tend to alter the first two sentences to match the current situation. An example from ZigZag Zangoose!, in which Jessie was training Seviper and Meowth filled in for her, is:

Meowth: Prepare for trouble, here in the wood...

James: ...and make it double like you know that you should!

This version of the motto was used in commercials for Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen with each line being said by different children, omitting the parts at which Jessie, James and Meowth say their own names and the line "Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light." This motto was also adapted into the songs Team Rocket Forever and Double Trouble.

Team Rocket used this motto in A Lean Mean Team Rocket Machine, as a return to their "hip and cool" ways, done by only Jessie, James, and Meowth, without the usual ending additions of Wobbuffet and Mime Jr.

This motto was also used in Alola, Kanto!, where Team Rocket had followed Ash and his classmates to Kanto during their extracurricular activity.

Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire

During the Battle Frontier saga, Jessie, James, and Meowth changed their motto. This motto was used from The Scheme Team to Two Degrees of Separation!.

Since the first episode, they have adapted their traditional rhyming phrases "Prepare for trouble" and "Make it double" into the motto, thereby restoring the first two lines of the original motto. James's Chimecho and Mime Jr. also contribute their names at the end of the motto in most episodes they appear in.

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

In Sinnoh, the trio changed to a new motto yet again. This motto was used from When Pokémon Worlds Collide! to Bucking the Treasure Trend!.

In the dub, they often replace the first two lines with

Jessie: Listen, is that a twerpish voice I hear?

James: It's shrieking to me loud and clear.

Jessie: Listen, is that a pitiful head of a Pokécenter I hear?

James: It whines to me loud and clear.

or something similar. As in Battle Frontier, Mime Jr. contributes its name after Wobbuffet.

It is notable that the Sinnoh motto is modified more often even in the Japanese version.

Pokémon the Series: Black & White

Best Wishes! and Best Wishes! Season 2

In Unova, the trio changed to a new motto yet again. This motto was used from Enter Iris and Axew! to A Restoration Confrontation! Part 1.

"*" denotes the phrase Jessie copies when they are about to announce their motto.

Best Wishes! Season 2: Episode N and Best Wishes! Season 2: Decolora Adventure!

In New Places... Familiar Faces!, Jessie, James and Meowth reverted to their original motto with some slight alterations, after having failed in their latest operation and making a brief retreat back to Kanto. Starting in Adventures in Unova and Beyond, the motto is altered to the situation.

Pokémon the Series: XY

Just like in Adventures in Unova and Beyond, Jessie, James, and Meowth still use their motto from the original series, but it is altered to the situation at hand in the episode.

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

In Alola, the trio once again changed to a new motto, which debuted in Loading the Dex!. The Japanese version of the Alolan motto is based on a series of yojijukugo, a type of Japanese proverb made up of four kanji. In English, the motto is very similar to the Unovan one.

"*" denotes the phrase Jessie copies when they are about to announce their motto.

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

As in Pokémon the Series: XY, Jessie, James and Meowth use their motto from the original series.

Variations

Main article: Team Rocket motto variations

Meowth filling in for Jessie or James

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Missing lines for many of the variations

On many occasions, because Jessie or James weren't around, Meowth would fill their missing lines.

This first happened in Island of Giant Pokémon, when Meowth, along with Ekans and Koffing, were separated from Jessie and James. When they discover Ash's Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, who were separated from their Trainer as well, Meowth attempted to recite the motto but failed because Jessie and James weren't around.

In The Stun Spore Detour, where Meowth and James were following Misty to get some salveyo weed to heal Jessie from an attack by a wild Vileplume's Stun Spore.

It happened again in ZigZag Zangoose!, in which Jessie was training Seviper, and James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet tried to steal Ash's Pikachu.

Later, in That's Just Swellow, Jessie and Meowth tried to steal the losing flying Pokémon almost at the end of the Contest, and because James was still participating on it, Meowth and Jessie said the motto all by themselves.

In The Saffron Con, meanwhile Jessie was at an operation room, Meowth and James tried to steal some Pokémon. When Ash and his friend saw them, they said a special motto.

Also, in Off the Unbeaten Path, while James was participating in the Pokémon Orienteering Contest, Jessie and Meowth tried to steal the prize and some Pokémon. When they were spotted by his friends, they said their motto. Meanwhile, they were saying that Ash and his friends saved the Pokémon and the prize, leaving Jessie and Meowth really angry.

In Bonnie for the Defense!, Jessie and Meowth said the motto together, surprising Ash and his friends while they were escorting a lost Lapras back to the ocean. James's absence was later explained by him being waiting further ahead, ready to catch the group off-guard in case they got away.

ZigZag Zangoose!

Jessie was training Seviper, and James, Meowth and Wobbuffet tried to steal Ash's Pikachu, and Meowth and James recite the motto.

Meowth: "Prepare for trouble," I've always wanted to say!

James: Huh?

Meowth: Just do it like you always do, you gotta end in a rhyme.

James: What?

Meowth: Oh, come on, I'm Jessie! Prepare for trouble here in the wood!

James: Make it double like you know that you should!

Meowth: To protect the world from devastation!

James: To unite all peoples within our nation!

Meowth: To denounce the evils of truth and love!

James: To extend our reach to the stars above!

Meowth: Meowth!

James: And James!

Meowth: Team Rocket, blasts off at the speed of light!

James: Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!

Wobbuffet: Wobbuffet!

That's Just Swellow

Jessie and Meowth tried to steal the losing flying Pokémon almost at the end of the Contest, and because James was still participating on it, Meowth and Jessie said the motto all by themselves.

Jessie: Prepare for trouble as we steal then split!

Meowth: Make it double as we get away with it!

Jessie: To protect the world from devastation!

Meowth: To unite all peoples within our nation!

Jessie: To denounce the evils of truth and love!

Meowth: To extend our reach to the stars above!

Jessie: Jessie!

Meowth: And Meowth!

Jessie: Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!

Meowth: So surrender now or prepare to fight!

Wobbuffet: Wobba...hic!

The Saffron Con

Jessie was at a contest, so James and Meowth had to say the motto, and steal Ash's Pikachu and other Pokémon again.

Meowth: Prepare for trouble, cause we're stealing Pokémon and having a ball!

James: Make it double, that's all!

Meowth: Evil as old as the galaxy!

James: Sent here to fulfill our destiny!

Meowth: Just look at me!

James: To denounce the evils of truth and love and extend our reach to the stars above! I'm James!

Meowth: And I'm Meowth!

James: Whenever there's peace in the universe, Team Rocket!

Meowth: Will be there!

Both: To make everything worse!

Butch and Cassidy

Butch and Cassidy also have a set of mottos, which are similar to Jessie and James's mottos. In The Breeding Center Secret, it is implied to be based on Jessie and James's motto, though in Pikachu Re-Volts, they state that theirs is actually the correct version. During Pokémon Chronicles, they add "(now) here's our mission, so ya better listen!" after Butch's first line of their version of the "original" motto. Like Meowth and Wobbuffet, Cassidy's Raticate appears at the end. Apparently, they have switched to a new motto, which is itself similar to Jessie and James's Sinnoh motto, with Butch's Shuckle appearing instead of Cassidy's Raticate.

Original motto

Sinnoh motto

This is the version used in Sleight of Sand!. Because of some of the lines included, it was probably composed especially for whenever the two Team Rocket groups crossed paths.

Ripoffs

The motto has been ripped off repeatedly by Ash and his friends during the series. The first time it was done was in Bye Bye Butterfree, in which Ash, Misty, and Brock entered the house where Team Rocket was by breaking the windows and by saying the first lines of the motto. In Ditto's Mysterious Mansion, Ash, Misty, and Brock, along with Duplica, put on Team Rocket uniforms and mocked the original motto, with Duplica severely angering the two by saying "ignite" instead of "unite". In Holy Matrimony!, James's parents revealed that they weren't dead by saying the lines "Prepare for trouble!" and "Yes dear, and make it double!".

The director Cleavon Schpielbunk used a motto to introduce himself — "Prepare for trouble! No stunt double!" — with Jessie saying, "Wait a second, aren't those our lines?" after the first two lines.

In It's Mr. Mime Time when Ash revealed that he was the one in the Mr. Mime costume, the Team Rocket background music was playing. The motto was mockingly mimicked again in The Chikorita Rescue!. In The Mother Of All Battles!, the Pokémon Poacher Brothers introduced themselves to Ash and the gang in a Team Rocket-style motto. However, there was no background music like in the Rocket's introduction; instead, they only said their names with a big "B" behind them. But even though it was different, Jessie stated that they were just imitating them. Much later, the DP motto was mocked in Mass Hip-Po-Sis and The Keystone Pops!. Like the many times before, the trio was angered.

In Mega-Mega Meowth Madness!, Bonnie and Serena imitated the motto, angering them once again.

In The Cave of Mirrors!, the Mirror World's version of Team Rocket performed their own motto, reflecting their heroic characteristics.

In Nightfall? Nightmares!, Chrysa and Ren performed the motto as members of "Team Cerise" in Ash and Goh's combined nightmare caused by a Darkrai.

Bye Bye Butterfree

Ash: Prepare for trouble!

Misty: And you can make that triple!

Brock: To protect the world from devastation!

Ash and Misty: To unite all peoples within our nation!

Jessie (deadpan): This was just...

James (deadpan): Too good...

Meowth (deadpan): To last.

Ash: You got that right.

Pikachu: Pika!

Misty: We're defending the beauty of truth and love!

Brock: Let's do it!

Meowth (interrupting them): We gotta stop that!

Ditto's Mysterious Mansion

This is the only episode of the series to show Ash and his friends doing the complete original motto.

Ash: Prepare for trouble!

Brock: And make it Double, Double!

James (angrily): Uhh, quit imitating us!

Misty: To protect the world from devastation!

Duplica: To ignite all people within our nation!

Jessie (angrily): Err! This is insulting!

Ash: To denounce the evils of truth and love!

Misty: To extend our reach to the stars above!

Ash: Ash!

Misty: Misty!

Brock: And Brock!

Duplica: Duplica, that's right!

Brock: Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!

Duplica: Surrender now, or prepare to fight all of us!

Pikachu: Pika, Pika!

Lights, Camera, Quacktion!

The director Cleavon Schpielbunk introduces himself with a motto which is very similar to that of Team Rocket.

Cleavon: Prepare for trouble! No stunt double!

Jessie: Wait a second, aren't those our lines?

Cleavon: To protect the movies from devastation!

To restore spectacle and imagination!

To make great epics of hate and love!

To direct the best films you ever heard of!

Cleavon Schpielbunk, winner of the Golden Growlithe for best director at the Flea Collar Film Festival!

Lights! Camera!

Hit your mark when I call "Action!" or prepare to fight!

That's right!

The Chikorita Rescue

In this episode Ash Ketchum breaks into a Team Rocket hideout to save a Chikorita, captured by Jessie and James. He recites a motto and Team Rocket instinctively says their phrases.

Ash: Team Rocket, prepare for trouble! On second thought, make that double!

Jessie (surprised): To protect the world from devastation?

James (surprised): To unite all peoples within our nation?

Ash: Maybe you think I'm a little too brash. But the master is here and my name is Ash!

Pikachu: Pikachu!

Ash: My Pokémon team is faster than light! Surrender now, or you're in for a fight!

Meowth: Meowth! That's right!

Mass Hip-Po-Sis

Dawn (really angry): Get ready for trouble!

Pikachu (really angry): Pika!

Brock (really angry): Make it double!

James (shocked): Hey, no fair!

The Keystone Pops!

Ash: Listen, is that bad guy talk I hear?

Dawn: It speaks to me loud and clear!

Ash: On the wind!

Dawn: Past the stars!

Brock: In your ear!

Jessie (interrupting them): It's that kind of imitation they invented lawsuits for!

Dawn: Chill out! We couldn't care less about you!

Ash: We're looking for Spiritomb!

Mega-Mega Meowth Madness!

Bonnie: Prepare for trouble, I'd say you bad people have finally met your match!

Serena: And make it a double-crook catch! To protect the world from — !

Jessie (interrupting them): Twerp thieves!

James: Copyright infringment! Get away from him!

Serena: You let us go now, or you're gonna wish you had!

The Cave of Mirrors!

Jessie: What's with this place?!

Mirror Jessie: "What's with this place?" is compassion and right!

Mirror James: And goodness and caring with mercy and light!

Mirror Meowth: Heroes of Justice, that's right!

Mirror Wobbuffet: Wobbuffet!

Team Rocket: Oh, no!

Wobbuffet: Wobbuffet!

Mirror Jessie and James: Team Rocket, good night!

Nightfall? Nightmares!

Chrysa: Prepare for trouble with a well-researched flare!

Ren: And make it double, the facts are all there!

Chrysa: To protect the world from devastation!

Ren: To unite all people within our nation!

Chrysa: To denounce the evils of truth and love!

Ren: To extend our reach to the stars above!

Chrysa: Chrysa!

Ren: And Ren!

Chrysa: Team Cerise blasts off at the speed of light!

Ren: Surrender now, or prepare for a logical fight!

Yamper: Yamper!

Mimey: Mime mime mime mime!

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

In Pokémon Adventures, the "Rocket" in Team Rocket is apparently their motto, which is an acronym for:

Raid

On

City

Knock out

Evil

Tusks

When translated from Japanese, this motto means, "Attack cities one after another!! Devastate them!! We are the fangs of evil!!"

In the games

In the core series

During their appearances in Pokémon Yellow, Jessie and James use parts of their original Kanto motto in their dialogue. They never recite the whole thing, however. They say "Surrender now or prepare to fight!" before their battle at Mt. Moon, and "So render yourself invisible, or prepare to fight!" before their battle at Pokémon Tower. Upon being defeated at Mt. Moon, they say "Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!".

In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, they do not quote their motto.

In the spin-off games

Pokémon Masters EX

In Pokémon Masters EX, Jessie, James, Meowth, and the player recite the original motto during the limited-time event Double Trouble and the follow-up event Blasting Off Again.

Pokémon Zany Cards

In Pokémon Zany Cards, Jessie and James recite their motto from the original series, at the start of the match against them. However, Meowth does not appear at this point, so the phrase "Meowth, that's right!" is not said.

Trivia

• Since the middle of Pokémon the Series: Black & White, every motto has its own unique animation.
  • Also during Pokémon the Series: Black & White, it changed several times due to Team Rocket's constant role changes.
• The original motto has been performed at least once in every series to date.
• The motto used during the Battle Frontier saga is rather unique since it was also used once, in Two Degrees of Separation!, during the Pokémon: Diamond & Pearl season.
  • It was also used in the first episode in Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, but it wasn't completed.
• In every one of Butch's appearances in the original series' English dub, he was the one who said the opening line "Prepare for trouble!", which is usually said by the female character. In The Breeding Center Secret, Butch, along with Cassidy, said "Prepare for trouble and make it double!". In Pikachu Re-Volts, he was the one who began the motto showdown by saying "Then prepare for trouble!". In The Fortune Hunters, he said alone "Prepare for trouble and make it double!". In The Mystery is History!, he said "Prepare for trouble, you got that right!". The last time he did this was in A Parent Trapped!, in which he said "It's time to prepare for trouble!". In Pokémon Chronicles, the motto was dubbed with the Cassidy saying the first line like how it is was in Japanese.
• In the Sinnoh motto, Jessie's section of "A rose by any other name is just as sweet" alludes to Act II Scene II Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, in which Juliet argues:

What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;

This is a commonly quoted phrase meaning that the names of things do not matter, only what the thing is. This quote is also the origin of the title for A Battle by Any Other Name!.

• In the Unova motto, Jessie likens herself to Reshiram with the words "white" and "fiery", while James likens himself to Zekrom with "black" and "thunderous".
• The first two lines of the motto were mentioned and said by the Fortune Teller as a warning in an episode of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, a show that was also dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment (and also based on a Nintendo franchise). The episode the Fortune Teller appeared in was "The Fofa Factor".
• In the Finnish dub, the original motto was different than usual in Team Rocket's first two appearances (Pokémon Emergency! and Ash Catches a Pokémon), where it was translated directly from English without rhyming. The rhyming motto was used for the first time in Challenge of the Samurai.
• In the European Portuguese dub, the expression "Preparar para azar!", the Portuguese equivalent to "Prepare for trouble!" (which literally translated is "Prepare for bad luck!") is still used in recent episodes as a Team Rocket's catchphrase, even during some mottos.
• In the Korean dub of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, the expressions "화안류오 수월폐화", "비룡승운 영자삽상", and "일련탁생 연대책임", which are direct hanja to hangul translations of the Japanese motto, are given explanations at the bottom of the screen due to the difficulty in understanding these phrases.
• In the Russian dub, the original motto has three variants of translation due to the changes in dubbing companies during the original series, Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, and Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl.
• Toward the end of the Pokémon Trading Card Game: Trainer Video, the original motto is recited by various kids. It omits "Prepare for trouble; Make it double," and Meowth's name, and the kids make various mistakes before correcting themselves.
• In the Latin American Spanish dub, starting from the second season, James would often replace the line "Hasta las estrellas" (the translation for "to the stars above") with random places, most of the time citing places or cities from Latin American locations. The line of "Surrender now or prepare to fight!" would also be replaced by lines of songs from various Latin American performers.
• In the Italian dub, the motto used during Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl debuted directly in the first episode of that series, and in its full version in the next episode, instead of using the motto from the Battle Frontier saga.

In other languages

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: missing equivalent terms for "Team Rocket motto" in other language dubs

Related articles

Team Rocket in Pokémon the Series Boss: Giovanni • Madame Boss (formerly) Secretary: Matori Executives: Iron-Masked Marauder Notable members: Team Rocket trio (Jessie • James • Meowth) Miyamoto • Mondo • Attila • Hun • Domino • Rocket Scout Wendy • Tyson • Jubei • Viper • Pierce • Gozu Scientists: Dr. Fuji • Dr. Namba • Sebastian • Dr. Zager Lower members: Team Rocket Grunts (Matori Matrix) Former members: Butch • Cassidy • Christopher Dub only: Annie • Oakley Locations: Viridian Gym • Team Rocket HQ Team Rocket Academy • Bewear's den Related: Mechas (Rocket Prize Master) • (Variations) • Blasting off • Arsenal Mirror Team Rocket • Alternate World Team Rocket See also: Games • Adventures

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.