For many Pokémon fans, Team Rocket will always be the original—and the most memorable—"evil team" of all. Move over Team Magma; Team Skull can do their weird hip-hop moves somewhere else! For the Pokémon Red and Blue generation, Team Rocket is the evil team to beat—quite literally. Of course, anime fans will also be very familiar with this Team's antics, thanks to the omnipresent Jessie, James, and Meowth. Will they ever succeed in stealing Pikachu? Probably not. Will they keep trying until they're sent blasting off yet again? Absolutely.

While many Pokémon players remember Team Rocket with a kind of annoyed fondness for nostalgia reasons, even this group's biggest fans have to concede that not everything about them makes sense. They have to have some flaws, obviously—if they were hardened criminals who thought everything through and never made a slip-up the playable character would never be able to beat them! Plus, Jessie and James' constant failure to do anything right provides a lot of the anime's humor. We don't want Team Rocket to become any less inept by any means! However, sometimes their actions descend from a bit silly into the downright ridiculous. No wonder none of their schemes ever actually work...

If you've ever imagined Giovanni sat in his criminal lair, shaking his head at the utter incompetence of every other member of his team, we think you might be on to something. Then again, a lot of stuff about the big boss is pretty nonsensical too! Here are just some of the things about Team Rocket and their leader that will confuse the majority of Pokéfans.

25 Their Naming System

Here's the first of the many questions we have about Team Rocket in the Pokémon games. When you join the group, do you suddenly have to denounce your actual name and be referred to by your rank? You know what I mean: every single member of this Team that you battle is either named "Grunt" or "Admin"—aside from the big boss Giovanni, of course. In fact, it's pretty much the same with every single evil team in the Pokémon franchise. They're all just nameless criminals who you have to defeat to get to their leader. It seems quite sad, actually! Nobody should have to deny their true identity, right?

Of course, the rational explanation behind this is simple.

Pokémon's developers simply couldn't be bothered to give each and every Team Rocket Grunt a name. There are quite a few of them, after all. Still, it seems strange considering every Lass, Youngster, Bug Catcher, and Ace Trainer is named. Why did the bad guys not receive this privilege? Ultimately, this doesn't hinder gameplay too much, but it's still an amusing aspect of the games to consider. It's got to the point where Game Freak themselves have started to joke about this feature: in Sun and Moon, two Team Skull Grunts discuss the fact that labeling their clothes is really difficult because they're all named Grunt. Who doesn't love a bit of self-aware humor in a video game?

24 Jessie and James' Continued Employment

Of course, Team Rocket doesn't just feature in the video game installments of Pokémon: they're pretty prominent antagonists in the anime series too! Ever since the show's inception, Jessie, James, and their talking Meowth have been following Ash and his friends around, attempting to cause mischief and destruction wherever they go. I say "attempting" because all things considered, they're not very good at it! In fact, it's a wonder that this troublesome trio is still actually employed by Giovanni at all.

For starters, pretty much every single plan or scheme they've come up with over the years has failed. They still haven't managed to capture Ash's Pikachu—seemingly their main mission—and none of their little side-plots has come to fruition either. Jessie, James, and Meowth have constantly tried to steal Pokémon, trick people out of their money, pester Ash and bring the profits of their efforts back to Giovanni, but they haven't once managed it. This begs an important question: shouldn't Giovanni just fire these totally incompetent Grunts? Why is he still allowing them to tarnish the name of Team Rocket with their antics? Nobody knows. Maybe letting Jessie and James do their own thing is a good way to keep them out of Giovanni's hair. We wouldn't blame him if this was his approach.

23 Their Plan At Pokémon Tower

Going back to the Pokémon games, we have to address the fact that Team Rocket's "grand plans" in Red and Blue and pretty stupid, all things considered. Let's take their exploits at Lavender Town's Pokémon Tower, for example. The whole thing is just a total embarrassment from start to finish. For one, the main point of their plan in the Tower isn't just evil—it's incredibly illogical.

Team Rocket's intention is to go to the Tower, end the lives of numerous Cubone, and sell their skulls for profit. However, it's never made clear why people would actually want to buy these items. Surely most people would be disgusted by Team Rocket's actions, and distance themselves from these unethical products? It seems like the only people twisted enough to buy them are Team Rocket members themselves.

Not the best business model in the world, guys.

Then you have their actions surrounding Mr. Fuji, the kindly old man who tries to step in and save the Cubone. Why bother stealing him and talking him to the top of Pokémon Tower just to threaten him for a while? It's a huge waste of time. They could have just locked him in his house, or simply ignored him. Fuji is a pretty frail old guy, after all! No wonder this Team Rocket plot failed...

22 Their Less-Than-Subtle Outfits

Sometimes, you have to wonder whether Team Rocket actually WANT to get caught committing various crimes. After all, they're hardly subtle about their actions, are they? In the Pokémon games, various Team Rocket characters reveal huge secrets about the organization to the playable character, a ten-year-old kid that they've never seen before in their lives. That's hardly keeping things under wraps, is it? What's to stop that child going to the police with this easily-acquired information? Of course, that didn't fit the narrative of the games: the playable character takes it upon themselves to defeat Team Rocket instead. But still, guys... a bit of discretion would be good for you!

Then you have the fact that every Grunt walks around in the most blatant criminal uniform of all time. They literally all wear outfits emblazoned with Team Rocket's logo! Do they not realize just how badly this could backfire on them? If law enforcement did happen to go after Team Rocket, each member would be incredibly easy to find! Their clothes might as well just have "I'm a criminal" written all over them in huge red letters! Really, if Team Rocket wanted their plans to be a bit more successful, they should have gone for the more secretive option of wearing normal clothes. It's a lot easier to sneak around places when you're not quite literally wearing your guilt.

21 The Slowpoke Tails Debacle

Team Rocket are unique amongst Pokémon villains in the sense that they've now appeared in not one, not two, but three generations of the games! Well, that's including Team Rainbow Rocket and its members who are arguably a bit different to the regular group... But anyway. After being roundly defeated in Red and Blue, the original Team Rocket decides to come back for Round Two in Gold, Silver, and Crystal. No matter that they've been totally wrecked by a young child once within the last three years.

Time to let it happen again!

The first time we meet Team Rocket in Generation Two is just outside Azalea Town. They've formulated a plan that's actually pretty grim: they're going to chop off the tails of some poor, innocent Slowpokes and try to sell them on at an extortionate price. Just before this point, an NPC actually tries to sell the player a tail for a mere 999,999 Poké Dollars. Here is where we run into the issues with this plan. Firstly, nobody is going to pay that for an item that may or may not be as delicious as Team Rocket claims. People in the Pokémon world aren't all millionaires, guys! Really, the only people who might be interested in buying such an expensive and frankly unethical product are career criminals... So basically, Team Rocket themselves. Talk about the worst business plan ever.

20 Why The Gym Leaders Don't Stop Them

Now, we've already established that pretty much every member of Team Rocket is a pretty weak Pokémon trainer who can easily be defeated by the playable character—aka, a random child. This begs an important question: why don't the strongest trainers in Kanto and Johto band together to take out this criminal team? For example, these regions' Gym Leaders and Elite Four members could very easily send the team packing in some very short battles. A level 15 Grimer wouldn't exactly fare well against Lance's Dragonite, would it?

However, instead of stepping in and bringing Team Rocket's actions to a halt, these powerful trainers usually simply sit back and let them continue with their criminal endeavors. There are some examples: Lance does come to the Lake of Rage to challenge Team Rocket in Gold and Silver and does help the player defeat the group in Goldenrod Tower. Still... Can you imagine how much harm could have been prevented if someone had stepped in sooner? Here's where the conspiracy theories come in. Have the majority of the Pokémon Gym Leaders been bribed or blackmailed by Giovanni to prevent them from intervening in his Team's work? Is there some secret Illuminati-style organization in Kanto and Johto that's willing to let chaos ensue just so they can protect themselves? So many questions...

19 Jessie And James' Intro Song

Anyone who watched the Pokémon anime as a kid will remember Team Rocket members Jessie and James' introductory song. They sang it in pretty much every single episode, after all! It was the perfect way of reminding us all who they were and what they wanted, despite the fact that there was no way we'd have forgotten since the last episode. Is there any 90s kid out there who can't recite at least a good portion of the lyrics?

Speaking of the lyrics of this song—has anyone else ever noticed that some of them make very little sense in the context of Jessie and James' general life outlook? Okay, so denouncing the evils of truth and love makes sense, as does extending their reach to the stars above—they want to bring havoc to the Pokémon world and beyond. However, the first portion of the song seems totally out of place!

"To protect the world from devastation?" Really? Surely Jessie and James WANT the world to be devastated—and they want to be the ones doing it? "To unite all peoples within our nation"... Now, that's a worthwhile aim for sure, but it doesn't exactly fit Team Rocket's philosophy. Unless they mean that they want to unite everyone in fear of their group and its leader, why would they want to enact this kind of peace in Kanto? Surely if things were a bit chaotic, it would make their life of crime easier? How strange...

18 Giovanni's Success

We've already established pretty convincingly that Team Rocket is mostly made up of incompetent buffoons. None of their plans ever work—in fact, the Team often ends up worse off directly because of their attempts to be criminal masterminds. They don't seem to make any money—it's not like anyone bought their Slowpoke Tails, after all—and they can't defend themselves effectively against other trainers. Basically, we can't see any way in which Team Rocket successfully make a living from their schemes and plans. However, their leader Giovanni still seems to be doing pretty well for himself.

How exactly does that work?

Think about it. Giovanni's main occupation, aside from briefly being Viridian City's Gym Leader, is being a criminal mastermind. He dresses in sharp suits, inspires fear and awe in his team members, and seems to live a life of relative luxury. How on earth does he manage all of this? Does he have another business venture that we don't know about that actually pays for all of his evil misadventures? Is he just faking all of his success? It doesn't make any sense. Plus, while Giovanni does eventually resign as the leader of Team Rocket once he's defeated once and for all by the playable character, how did he even last that long in charge? Surely his leadership must have been slightly to blame for some of the Grunts' terrible plans. He's at least somewhat accountable!

17 Their Dependence On Pokémon

Here's a question: why does a group with aims as nefarious as those of Team Rocket rely on Pokémon to do their bidding? Yes, yes, we know—the whole point of the Pokémon universe is the fact that we humans see these little creatures as friends, team members, and partners. It wouldn't make much sense if Team Rocket didn't use Pokémon at all and just beat everyone up themselves instead. Still... We know that violence isn't outside of their capabilities. Let us not forget that Team Rocket was responsible for the passing of Cubone's mother in Red and Blue. They're clearly not averse to using cruel and dangerous methods.

Why don't they do it more often?

Hear us out, here—we're not saying that Pokémon should suddenly turn into a crime/ thriller game or a shooter in which you have to take out Team Rocket. That's not the franchise's vibe, and we know that. It just seems a bit weird that a group that's basically the Mafia of the Pokémon world would be so tame in its methods. They didn't even have to show anything questionable in the game or anime—just allude to it. Yet, we're expected to believe that Team Rocket and Giovanni are happy to use nothing but sub-par Pokémon and the occasional threat to make sure their plans work. It doesn't make much sense, really.

16 How Jessie and James Get All That Tech

Here's another confusing aspect fo Jessie and James' antics in the Pokémon anime. How do they acquire all of the often complex technology that they use in their criminal endeavors? Does Giovanni send it all to them without question, and if so, why? We've already established that these two should have been fired by Team Rocket years ago! Why would the big boss waste his money on gadgets and contraptions to help his most incompetent recruits as they fail in their various missions once again? He wouldn't, is the answer. Jessie and James must get their hot air balloons, helicopters, net contraptions, massive cages and other tools of the trade from somewhere else.

But where? As we've seen, Jessie, James, and Meowth travel fairly light as they follow Ash and his friends around the Pokémon world. To carry all of their Pikachu-catching kits around with them, they'd need a massive truck or two—but they don't have even a tiny car. Does their gear just magically appear when they need it the most, like a Pokémon equivalent of the Harry Potter universe's Room of Requirement? Or do they simply happen upon nets, cables, and cages wherever they go and steal them for their own criminal use? We need answers!

15 Their Cash Flow

Speaking of Jessie and James' resources: where do they get all of their money from? Like, they must need a bit of cash to buy food, water, and other necessities. Where does this come from? Again, we can't imagine Giovanni constantly throwing cash at these two: it's just a totally pointless investment for him. They're not going to do anything useful for him, so why would he keep paying them? Then there's the possibility that Jessie and James somehow make a living on their own, but this doesn't seem all too likely either based on what we've seen.

Throughout the many seasons of the Pokémon anime, Jessie and James have formulated many get-rich-quick schemes to help pay their bills and make their fortunes. Inevitably, though, these plans fail. They're lucky if they get away with even a couple of Poké Dollars, let alone the thousands that they'd been hoping for. The fact that these money-making endeavors are never successful doesn't seem to affect Team Rocket's quality of life too much, though—they're still able to survive somehow. Sure, they often complain about being hungry and having no money, but they're still going! They haven't had to quit and go get a "normal job" quite yet! So who funds their adventures? Maybe Meowth just uses Payday again and again... Or maybe Jessie and James just constantly steal things. We wouldn't put it past them, to be honest.

14 How They Avoid Justice

While many of Team Rocket's plans in the Pokémon games don't ultimately succeed, the fact that they even try to carry them out in the first place is pretty questionable. They constantly try to steal, harm, or even end the lives of Pokémon. They intimidate people, try to extort their money, and even kidnapped an old man at some point. Surely all of this is enough for the Pokémon world's law enforcement teams to step in? We know that there are policemen out there—you even battle a couple of them in Gold and Silver! So, why don't these guys step in and arrest many of Team Rocket's members? It's not like they're hard to find—as we noted previously, they literally wear outfits that have their team affiliation plastered all over them!

Is there some kind of cover-up or conspiracy going on here that we innocent, naive Pokémon Trainers don't know about? Is Giovanni bribing or threatening the police forces of Kanto and Johto to make sure that they don't interfere with his plans? Is there some kind of deal between Team Rocket and the police that allows the latter to turn a blind eye to the former's antics? Or are police officers in the Pokémon world too busy battling random children to notice what's going on right underneath their noses? Probably the latter, let's be honest.

13 Their Obsession With Pikachu

From the very beginning of the Pokémon anime, Jessie, James, and Meowth have made their ultimate objective clear: they want to steal Ash's Pikachu. They see it as a much stronger specimen than any other random Pikachu they could find in the wild—although they do sometimes try to steal these creatures as well—and have their hearts set on getting what they want. They've followed Ash around multiple regions to try to snatch away his prized Pokémon, and even though they've failed literally hundreds of times at this point, they still keep trying anyway. The question is: why bother?

We love Pikachu, but it's not that special!

Team Rocket could spend their time and energy trying to steal any Pokémon in the world. Why have they settled on an electric mouse that's at best sub-par? Compared to something super-rare and incredibly powerful say, like, a Zapdos, it's practically puny! There are way better creatures to capture and take to the boss—it's frankly confusing that Pikachu is the one these guys went for. Not that Jessie and James would be able to capture a rare Pokémon, of course, since they're totally inept... But still. They haven't exactly set their sights very high, have they?

12 Why Meowth Can Talk

Have you ever wondered why Jessie and James' Meowth can talk, or even where it learned to do that? Well, so have we... And we still haven't quite figured out the answer. Don't get us wrong, we're not saying Meowth SHOULDN'T talk—his sassy comments make the Pokémon anime all that much more hilarious! However, it does seem a bit strange that this one random Meowth has gained the ability to speak human languages, while pretty much every other Pokémon can only say its own name. Even other Meowths in the anime can only speak Meowth language! What gives?

According to the anime, Team Rocket's Meowth learned to talk like a human after a female Meowth, Meowzie, rejected him. Meowzie claimed that she preferred humans to her suitor, so Meowth tried to make himself as "human-like" as possible—only for Meowzie to reject him for the second time! Poor guy! This does beg an important question, though. If Meowth managed to teach himself to speak the human language of the Pokémon world, why haven't other creatures done it? It would make the bond between trainer and Pokémon even stronger! It's clearly possible—why doesn't it happen more? So many questions...

11 Their Link To Mewtwo

The connection between Team Rocket and the Legendary Pokémon Mewtwo is one only hinted at in Pokémon Red and Blue. However, fans have made much of the little links that are scattered throughout the games' plot. For one, there's the fact that Team Rocket seems to have a bit of a presence in Cerulean City—right next to the cave where Mewtwo resides. Then there's Giovanni's plot to steal the Master Ball, the only Pokéball guaranteed to catch any Pokémon. That includes incredibly strong creatures like Mewtwo! Finally, fans have speculated that Mr. Fuji, the kindly old man from Lavender Town, was formerly a scientist who was hired by Team Rocket to create Mewtwo.

It's pretty shady stuff!

However, being involved in a plan to genetically engineer a powerful Pokémon and then recapture it when it escapes doesn't really sound like the Team Rocket we know and love. Where would they get the money to fund something like that? If all of these theories are true, why aren't they directly mentioned in the game? Finally, why would a Team that's otherwise only really involved in petty crime suddenly decide to construct a monstrosity that could help them to rule the world? Perhaps Giovanni got a bit too big for his boots—or maybe he had nothing to do with the creation of Mewtwo.

10 Their Pokémon Choices

Anyone who's ever played the first two Generations of Pokémon games can probably list off the exact creatures that each Team Rocket Grunt uses in battle. It's hardly difficult, as they all use the same few absolutely rubbish Pokémon: Koffing, Zubat, Grimer, and, if they're feeling really adventurous, a Rattata. That's it. It makes every single battle with Team Rocket totally predictable and kinda easy, but it does make you wonder about these guys' abilities as Trainers. Like, only using the same few Pokémon is bad enough whatever they are, but Team Rocket's Pokémon choices just outright suck.

For one, these guys have a habit of using Poison-type after Poison-type: not a great move, guys! You need some typing coverage in there—Poison moves aren't going to be effective against everything! Plus, these guys don't seem to evolve their Pokémon at the same time as a normal Trainer would. They leave their Grimers and Koffings as their first-stage evolutions way longer than necessary, basically making them sitting ducks for the playable character's extensively trained Pokémon. Seriously, someone needs to give Team Rocket some basic lessons in Pokémon team-building and battling. How can they expect to do well with teams like that?! Send them all back to the Trainers' School!

9 Giovanni's Gym Leader Logic

Spoiler alert: Giovanni is the eighth Gym Leader in Pokémon Red and Blue! Okay, okay, it's not really a spoiler anymore... Although the identity final Gym trainer may have been a mystery back in 1996, it's common knowledge now. Giovanni brings out a team of mostly Ground-type Pokémon against the child who ruined Team Rocket's plans, and as per usual, he loses spectacularly. You get your eighth Gym Badge and the ability to challenge the Pokémon League, and Giovanni gets really, really sad. In fact, he's so devastated that he disbands Team Rocket for good. Well, until it reforms without him in Gold and Silver.

Does anyone else think that Giovanni's reaction to this loss is a little bit overdramatic? It doesn't make much sense, all things considered! This guy is supposedly one of the toughest guys in Kanto. He's got no qualms about ending the lives of innocent Pokémon and is pretty much the closest thing the Pokémon world has to a Mafia boss. Would this guy really be driven to quit because he loses one Gym battle? Moreover, the kid he loses against is hardly your average trainer—it's pretty clear that Red, the playable character, is one of the most talented Pokémon Masters of his generation. If Giovanni's going to lose to anyone, it's going to be Red! It's not that much of a shameful outcome, really. Giovanni needs to take a chill pill.

8 Why Jessie And James Can Travel So Much

All things considered, Jessie and James have had a pretty rough time of it throughout the anime. They're both misfits who couldn't find a place in the non-criminal world. Even when they joined Team Rocket, they couldn't find a way to excel. Their professional lives have been one failure after another. All they really have is each other, and even then, they seem to have a bit of a love-hate relationship at best. Honestly, I doubt many people would like to take these guys' places.

However, there is one thing that Jessie, James, and Meowth have going for them. They get to travel A LOT! Throughout each season of the anime, they've followed Ash and his pals across numerous regions. They've explored Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, and now Alola—not bad, eh? Sure, their main reason for being in each of these places is to stalk Ash and steal his Pikachu, but they surely have at least a little bit of time for sightseeing too. Giovanni should start using "Join Team Rocket: Travel The World!" as his new promotional slogan.

Question is... How exactly do Jessie and James manage to do all of this traveling? Who funds it, for starters? As we've already established, Giovanni is an idiot if he's the one throwing money at this motley crew. Another thing: don't Jessie and James have homes to return to, or possessions to check on? Do they just live on the road all the time? It's a mystery...

7 They're Literally Child's Play

While Team Rocket has had a lot of embarrassing failures to cover up over the years, possibly the most cringe-worthy knowledge they've had to deal with is the fact that they were taken down by a mere child—TWICE. In both Red and Blue and Gold and Silver, this Team's actions are foiled by a mere ten-year-old child—otherwise known as the playable character. Sure, these characters are supposed to be talented and masterful Pokémon trainers, but the end of the day, they're just kids. Even Giovanni, supposedly a hugely terrifying boss with a strong team of Pokémon, is taken down pretty easily by Red. Perhaps that's why he disbanded Team Rocket following the loss—out of sheer embarrassment.

This fact is true of Team Rocket in the Pokémon anime, too. While Jessie and James are both pretty blatantly inept human beings, it's still kinda shocking that they're constantly outsmarted and defeated by Ash—who isn't always the brightest spark himself. It's basically like this whole franchise is full of idiots trying to outwit each other and constantly failing because they're idiots. If you think we're being too harsh on Ash, remember that this is the kid who once forgot what a Koffing looked like, despite fighting Team Rocket's specimen for literally years before that point. I rest my case.

6 Jessie And James' Lack Of Pokémon Knowledge

Speaking of Jessie and James being total morons, have you ever noticed that these two are seriously lacking in their knowledge about Pokémon? It once again raises the question of whether Team Rocket trains their Grunts at all, or just leaves them to stumble helplessly through Kanto.

Probably the latter, let's be real.

On numerous occasions, Jessie and James demonstrate that they lack even basic know-how about some of the most common Pokémon out there. For example, in the very first series of the anime, James is tricked into buying a Magikarp with his last few Pokédollars because he apparently has no idea what they are. He doesn't know that this Pokémon can only use Splash, and he also doesn't realize that it evolves into Gyarados. Just... How? Magikarp is infamous!

You really have to wonder what Team Rocket's leaders are playing at if they genuinely don't give their new recruits training of any sort. Like, at various points in the anime, Jessie and James don't realize that certain type matchups are useless, don't seem to realize how evolution works, regularly try to force their Pokémon to evolve by yelling at them, and yet still have the audacity to be confused when their schemes don't work. Has nobody taught them anything?