Pokémon fanfiction has a fairly high barrier for entry, even for readers. As of the most recent update to Bulbapedia, there are 941 episodes of the Pokémon anime that have been broadcast in English, and several more available in the original Japanese, with 19 movies set between them. This adds up to more than 347 hours of viewing—more than 14 continuous days—accumulated over the twenty years that the Pokémon cartoon has aired on American television. This is an undertaking for obsessives of a caliber far, far greater than mine, and is certainly not necessary for understanding or appreciating my Trans Team Rocket fanfiction universe. So, I have prepared a curated viewing list to enable would-be admirers of my fiction to apprise themselves of necessary backstory before diving into the Trans Team Rocket world.
The list below suggests episodes for several purposes. Most of the list is the narrative touchstones shared, referenced, and altered in “When James Met Jane,” as well as a few episodes that help lay out the basic premise of the Pokémon world. A handful of episodes are included because they feature James in feminine clothing and/or Jessie in masculine clothing, serving as evidence of the duo’s queerness, and others are included to show the pair engaged in compassionate heroism instead of villainy. Installments of the Trans Team Rocket universe after “When James Met Jane” generally make involved reference to particular pieces of Pokémon canon, which are highlighted here as well. Each episode is listed with a few sentences explaining its contribution to making the Trans Team Rocket universe make sense, such as whether it is included as an example of specific actions; because it contains an event (such as the addition of a Pokémon to a character’s team) that “When James Met Jane” presents another way; or because it introduces a location, character, or event that features prominently in one or more Trans Team Rocket stories. (Note that events in Pokémon canon may not be in the same order as the corresponding events or references in Trans Team Rocket.)
This viewing guide takes Pokémon down from an impossible 347 hours to a manageable 14, scattered across its overall continuity, dramatically reducing the commitment required to go from a Pokémon ingénue to a devoted Trans Team Rocket aficionado. I hope it serves my readers-in-waiting well.
Episode # | Series | Within-series # | Title |
1 | Original | 1 | Pokémon – I Choose You! |
First episode of Pokémon; lays out premise of world. | |||
2 | Original | 2 | Pokémon Emergency! |
Introduction of Jessie, James, and their Pokémon. | |||
6 | Original | 6 | Clefairy and the Moon Stone |
An example of Jessie and James’s attempts at villainy. | |||
7 | Original | 7 | The Water Flowers of Cerulean City |
An example of Jessie and James’s attempts at villainy. | |||
9 | Original | 9 | The School of Hard Knocks |
Jessie and James reveal they failed out of Pokémon trainer school. | |||
15 | Original | 15 | Battle aboard the St. Anne |
Example of general Team Rocket villainy. James buys a Magikarp from a swindler. | |||
16 | Original | 16 | Pokémon Shipwreck |
First episode in which Jessie and James cooperate with series protagonists. | |||
18 | Original | 18 | Beauty and the Beach |
Example of James in feminine clothing. | |||
22 | Original | 22 | Abra and the Psychic Showdown |
Example of James in feminine clothing. | |||
28 | Original | 28 | Pokémon Fashion Flash |
Example of Jessie and James being successful entrepreneurs. | |||
31 | Original | 31 | Dig Those Diglett! |
Jessie and James’s Pokémon evolve through the power of their trainers’ tears. | |||
36 | Original | 36 | The Bridge Bike Gang |
Jessie and James reveal their time as petty gangsters. | |||
48 | Original | 48 | Holy Matrimony! |
James reveals that he ran away from an opulent home to escape an arranged marriage. His arranged fiancée wishes to remake him into a “gentleman.” Introduction of Growly. | |||
52 | Original | 52 | Princess vs. Princess |
Jessie is revealed to come from poverty. Introduction of Likitung. Early disguise work. | |||
54 | Original | 54 | The Case of the K-9 Caper! |
Jessie and James villainy. Example of James in feminine and Jessie in masculine clothing. | |||
57 | Original | 57 | The Breeding Center Secret |
Introduction of Butch and Cassidy. Jessie and James’s first act against Team Rocket. | |||
61 | Original | 61 | The Misty Mermaid |
Example of James in feminine and Jessie in masculine clothing. | |||
70 | Original | 70 | Go West Young Meowth |
Meowth’s tragic backstory. | |||
— | Movie | 2 | Pokémon Movie 2000: The Power of One |
Jessie, James, and Meowth make heroic sacrifices and engage in queer-coded banter. | |||
129 | Original | 129 | Ignorance is Blissey |
Jessie’s backstory as an unfairly failed nursing student. Jessie’s fundamental benevolence. | |||
146 | Original | 146 | Tricks of the Trade |
Jessie trades her Likitung for a Wobbuffet. | |||
173 | Original | 173 | Wobbu-Palooza! |
Jessie and James come to the aid of villagers being attacked by a violent gang. | |||
214 | Original | 214 | Mantine Overboard! |
Jessie and James show their commitment to the Team Rocket intro sequence in a submarine. | |||
280 | Advanced Generation | 6 | A Poached Ego! |
Jessie and James defend some wild Pokémon from a poacher, release Arbok and Weezing into the wild, and add Cacnea to James’s team. Necessary for full impact of “Eyes on the Future, Heart in the Past.” | |||
288 | Advanced Generation | 14 | All in a Day’s Wurmple |
Jessie excitedly catches a Wurmple. | |||
302 | Advanced Generation | 28 | Seeing is Believing! |
Jessie’s Wurmple, having evolved into a Cascoon in a previous episode, attains its final form. | |||
358 | Advanced Generation | 84 | Who’s Flying Now? |
James meets a Chimecho after meeting the Pokémon swindler again, and adds it to his team. | |||
382 | Advanced Generation | 108 | Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snorunt! |
Series protagonist Ash captures a Snorunt. This event is adapted in “When James Met Jane.” | |||
421 | Advanced Generation | 147 | Sweet Baby James |
James visits his grandparents and one of their Pokémon adopts him. | |||
432 | Advanced Generation | 158 | Queen of the Serpentine |
Introduction of Pike Queen Lucy, who appears in “Angling for Myself” and “A Better, Shinier World.” | |||
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— | Movie | 9 | Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea |
Events, characters, and concepts from this movie play a large role in “A Better, Shinier World.” | |||
520 | Diamond and Pearl | 54 | Once There Were Greenfields |
James leaves Cacnea with Gardenia for training. | |||
527 | Diamond and Pearl | 61 | Team Shocker! |
Jessie wins a Pokémon contest in disguise. | |||
557 | Diamond and Pearl | 91 | One Team, Two Team, Red Team, Blue Team! |
Jessie is assigned a Hippowdon as a mount in a Pokémon race. | |||
612 | Diamond and Pearl | 146 | Dressed for Jess Success! |
James adopts one of Jessie’s contest personas and wins a Pokémon contest. | |||
719 | Best Wishes | 62 | Crisis at Chargestone Cave! |
Team Rocket undertakes a plot in Chargestone Cave, a locale referenced in “Eyes on the Future, Heart in the Past.” | |||