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Rocketshippy FAQ!
Unfamiliar with the "Rocketshipping"? Are you totally unable to see
how Jessie and James could be a couple? Read on to see some of the most
Frequently Asked Questions answered.
- "Shippy"? What's that supposed to mean?
This is an internet term for "relationship-things"... or more concisely,
"shippy". There are many kinds of shippiness as well:
- Rocketshippy: This is my personal favorite.
It involves Jessie and James as a couple. There is a lot of evidence
for this in the series (most notably, the ending of "Holy Matrimony"
and the "Epilogue" of the final manga).
- Pokeshippy: This involves Ash and Misty
as a couple. All the evidence for this seems to be one-sided...
we have "Misty's Song", and plenty of hints from her POV in the
episodes ("Misty Meets Her Match", "Wherefore Art Thou, Pokemon?",
etc.) but Ash is pretty clueless to the whole thing.
- Neoshippy: This involves Butch and
Cassidy as a couple. There is only a little "evidence" for this...
their lines about "Love Power" in "The Breeding Center Secret",
and the scene in "Pikachu Re-Volts" where Butch looks angry that
James is grabbing onto Cassidy's arm (see the bottom pic on the
Rocketshippers' Paradise page).
There is quite a bit of this in fanfics, though.
- There are plenty of additional pairings as well: Gymshipping (Misty
& Brock), Palletshipping (Ash and Gary (!)), Orangeshipping (Misty
& Tracey), Eldershipping (Delia & Oak). There are also some pretty
twisted pairings, such as Duplica & Ditto, Delia & Mr. Mime, Delia
& Brock, Tracey & Prof. Oak, and pretty much any combination of
the Team Rocket characters that you can imagine, but there is little
to no evidence for these bizarre match-ups.
- What about the crossdressing?
There are a number of perfectly normal explanations for that:
First of all, in Japanese animation, the villains often crossdress,
since it makes them even more "evil"... in other words, they are so
desperate to get what they want that they'll do anything, even dress
like a member of the opposite sex.
Second, Team Rocket's crossdressing makes sense in the show's context.
Think about it: if you were Ash (or one of his friends), and you're
biggest opponents were a crimson-haired girl and a bluish-purple-haired
guy, would you be suspicious if you were accosted by two girls? Or
two guys? Or a red-haired guy and a lavender-haired girl? If you were
a twerp, you wouldn't think that was suspicious. Which allows Team
Rocket to partially succeed in some of their schemes.
For example, take episode 15, "Battle Aboard the St. Anne". Do you
really think that the kids would have accepted cruise tickets from
Team Rocket? Maybe not, but they were more than happy to take them
from a pair of "Valley Girls".
And what about "Pokeball Peril"? Team Rocket had just wrecked the
twerps' blimp on Valencia Island. Would the kids want TR in charge
for the return trip? Maybe not, but they boarded the new blimp when
two male "flight attendants" were in charge.
Finally (just one more example), take "Wherefore Art Thou, Pokemon?".
If TR had dressed as a typical wedding couple, how would they have
disguised themselves? But with Jessie as the groom (her hair swept
forward over her face), and James as the bride (with the veil covering
his face), nobody recognized them!
Sensing a pattern here? When Team Rocket uses these disguises, they
more often than not succeed, at least for a little while.
One more thing: James isn't the only one (and Jessie, too, for that
matter) who crossdresses in the show.
- Meowth disguised himself as a Nurse ("Sparks Fly for Magnemite)
and a Stewardess ("Volcanic Panic").
- Ash, the show's "hero", became "Ashley" ("Pokemon Scent-Sation")
- And what about Brock? Remember his frilly pink outfit in "March
of the Exeggcutor Squad"? And what about that apron of his? Yeah,
I know that it makes sense for him to wear an apron when he cooks,
but he always wears a pink, ruffled apron! Tell me THAT'S not a
bit girly, and coming from the hormone-crazed Brock!
But that's not all! What's the main reason for the crossdressing?
Because it's funny! Remember the old Looney Tunes cartoons? How often
did Bugs Bunny dress as a girl? There was no real purpose to it, other
than the fact that it was fun! Many stage plays and comedy routines
use this comic element all the time.
Ok, then, moving on...
- What about Ash and Misty? How can Jessie and James be a couple if
Ash and Misty are destined to be together?
First off, that whole thing is totally one-sided (in my opinion).
Yeah, there's "Misty's Song", and evidence in "Wherefore Art Thou,
Pokemon", "Pokeball Peril", and "P2K the Movie", but when do you ever
see Ash even noticing that Misty likes him? Even in "Misty Meets her
Match", Misty leaves Rudy behind for Ash, but he doesn't even seem
to notice that she likes him, even when Rudy makes a remark about
the twerp being a lucky guy. (A similar thing happens in the manga
version of this story).
On the other hand, how much Rocketshippy evidence is there in the
series? All those hand-holdings, fear/happiness/caring hugs, not to
mention shows like "Holy Matrimony".
And although it hasn't been officially confirmed, I've heard countless
rumors about J&J getting together at the end of the anime series.
The main story floating around is that, in the very last episode of
the anime, Jessie and James get married. The Epilogue of the manga
(in the graphic novel manga of "Surf's Up, Pikachu") shows the two
of them together, wearing wedding rings... and Jessie is pregnant!
This isn't a fan-created "doujinshi", this is actual authentic
Pokemon manga.
I'm sure the writers intend on wrapping that story up someday, and
making the A&M thing happen. There are lots of "Pokeshippers", but
I don't see that romance going anywhere right now. While Misty may
like him, Ash will remain clueless, blissfully unaware of her feelings
for him, at least until he grows up a little. I can't see them really
hooking up for quite a while... but who knows?
BACK to Rocketshippers' Paradise
BACK to TR's Rockin!
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