History Characters / PokemonVillainTeamRocket

* TakeOverTheWorld: A Silph employee says that this is Team Rocket's ultimate end goal. However, it seems that rather than relying on a super-strong {{OlympusMon|s}} to do so (like many teams to follow), their big plan is putting themselves in positions of power and influence (e.g. taking over the Silph Company, the leading manufacturer of Pokémon technology).

* TakeOverTheWorld: A Silph employee says that this is Team Rocket's ultimate end goal. However, it seems that rather than relying on a super-strong OlympusMon to do so (like many teams to follow), their big plan is putting themselves in positions of power and influence (e.g. taking over the Silph Company, the leading manufacturer of Pokémon technology).

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Compared to later antagonists, Team Rocket are the only ones who are [[CardCarryingVillain openly, unabashedly evil]], with later teams [[KnightTemplar believing they were doing the right thing]], or at least [[BitchInSheepsClothing putting up a similar facade]]. On the other side of the coin, their motives are far more mundane compared to later teams until Team Skull -- they're a fantasy {{Yakuza}} in their operations, and at no point is controlling an {{Olympus Mon|s}} their goal.

* WeaponOfChoice: Constantly played with. In ''Red'' and ''Blue'' his strongest Pokémon when fought as a Gym Leader is [[MightyGlacier Rhydon]], but he's also partial to the similar-looking [[JackOfAllStats Nidoqueen, Nidoking, and Kangaskhan]]. Kangaskhan is his strongest Pokémon in the first battle, then Nidoqueen for the second, and in the Gym Battle he ditches Kangaskhan for Nidoqueen and Nidoking. His various battles in the series feature them in various configurations. His Gen IV BonusBoss appearance has Nidoking, Nidoqueen and Kangaskhan, with Nidoqueen being his strongest, while he's got Rhyperior, Nidoking and Nidoqueen in Gen V's World Tournament with Rhyperior as his signature Pokémon, though he loses Nidoqueen in the Type Experts bracket. In ''Pokémon Stadium'' he caries all three again in the first round, then loses Rhydon for Round 2 while keeping the other two. ''Yellow'' and ''Stadium'' also feature him with a [[FragileSpeedster Persian]] as in the anime, replacing his Kangaskhan in the first two battles, but it doesn't stick in later generations that ignore ''Yellow''.

* TheBusCameBack: [[spoiler:They return in ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'' after being inactive for around a decade, both in-universe and out (the last game to feature them was ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver HeartGold/SoulSilver]]'').]]

* RainbowMotif: [[spoiler:Their appearance in ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon'' gives them a rainbow-colored background when they challenge the player, and a logo adorning a building is colored likewise. Coincidence or not, it matches the Rainbow Badge from their old base of operations, Celadon City.]]

Boss of Team Rocket and the Viridian Gym Leader--''The Self-Proclaimed Strongest Trainer''[[note]]He has no official Gym Leader title, but is called this by the Pokémon World Tournament announcer.[[/note]]

* {{Badass in a Nice Suit}}: He's always sharply dressed and is the most powerful trainer in Team Rocket.

* BigBad: He's the one behind all of Team Rocket's shenanigans in the first generation.

* CerebusRetcon: The original ''Red'' and ''Blue'' games have Giovanni declare that once he disbands Team Rocket, he will dedicate his life to studying Pokémon in peace, implying he will reform. The remakes instead have him declare that he will go to train in solitude since he is unworthy to lead Team Rocket, and in ''[=HeartGold=]'' and ''[=SoulSilver=]'' he's preparing to take control of them again and go back to his old ways. His appearance in the World Tournament in Generation V makes it clear that while Giovanni may retreat, he will never fully abandon his dream of world domination.

* NiceHat: A fedora.
* OneHitKill: His Rhydon in the original Red and Blue knows both Horn Drill and Fissure.

* UnnamedParent: Inverted--Giovanni has a name, but his son doesn't unless you give him one ("Silver" is just a placeholder).

* GuardsMustBeCrazy: They are notoriously bad at guarding places or items. In the Rocket HQ under the Rocket Corner, a notable Rocket Grunt loudly exclaims that he dropped the Lift Key after he gets defeated, and doesn't bother to pick it up. In Saffron City, the Grunt guarding the Silph Co. entrance is found to be asleep on duty, allowing the player to sneak past him and liberate the company from Giovanni.

* UnexpectedCharacter: A ''Juggler'' helps them take over Silph Co. Presumably intended to catch the player off guard, he has a Kadabra, and Mr. Mime. [[spoiler:To say nothing of their appearance in ''Ultra Sun'' and ''Ultra Moon'']].

* UnexpectedCharacter: A ''Juggler'' helps them take over Silph Co. Presumably intended to catch the player off guard, he has a Kadabra, and Mr. Mime.

* WhipItGood: The Grunts' sprites in the first generation games are holding a whip in the pose they have for the battle encounter sprite in those games. This was removed in the remakes.

* TheDon: Later games give him a fedora and corsage (and matching Honchkrow) to complete the imagery, [[StealthPun which makes him]] "[[Creator/WolfgangAmadeusMozart Don Giovanni]]."

* TheDon: Later games give him a fedora and corsage (and matching Honchkrow) to complete the imagery, [[StealthPun which makes him "Don Giovanni."]]

* AnticlimaxBoss: He manages to be both this and a ClimaxBoss in the same game. After defeating him at Silph Co., the [[SequenceBreaking open-ended]] part of the game ends, and the player can fight the last three Gyms in immediate succession. In the last, one fights Giovanni again, and he is just holed up in his Gym, doing no evil schemes or anything to call attention to himself, until he can regain power, apparently needing to hire new minions from scratch. And then [[ConvenientWeaknessPlacement the player steamrolls his team with a single Water-type.]] [[AlasPoorVillain It's actually kind of pathetic.]]

* ClimaxBoss: The ''second'' battle, in Silph Co., counts as much as his Gym battle. It is the last mandatory thing the player does before the PlotTunnel closes,[[note]]Seafoam Islands and the Power Plant are optional[[/note]] and all that is left in order to reach the Pokémon Leage is 1) beat Sabrina, 2) reach Cinnabar Island (accessible by one of the simplest routes in the game), 3) retrieve the Secret Key from the (short) Pokémon Mansion and fight Blaine, and then 4) just Fly to Viridian City and take on Giovanni immediately. Compared to how much time is spent between each of the first six Gyms, the last two can be beaten in very quick succession. More importantly, after liberating Silph, Giovanni is the only Rocket left (until [[TheRemnant the sequels]]).

* AnticlimaxBoss: He manages to be both this and a ClimaxBoss in the same game. After defeating him at Silph Co., the [[SequenceBreaking open-ended]] part of the game ends, and the player can fight the last three Gyms in immediate succession. In the last, one fights Giovanni again, and he is just holed up in his Gym, doing no evil schemes of anything to call attention to himself, until he can regain power, apparently needing to hire new minions from scratch. And then [[ConvenientWeaknessPlacement the player steamrolls his team with a single Water-type.]] [[AlasPoorVillain It's actually kind of pathetic.]]

* ClimaxBoss: The ''second'' battle, in Silph Co., counts as much as his Gym battle. It is the last mandatory thing the player does before the PlotTunnel closes,[[note]]Seafoam Islands and the Power Plant are optional[[/note]] and all that is left in order to reach the Pokémon Leage is 1) beat Sabrina, 2) reach Cinnabar Island (accessible by one of the simplest routes in the game), 3) retrieve the Secret Key from the (short) Pokémon Mansion and fight Blaine, and then 4) just Fly to Viridian City and take on Giovanni immediately. Compared to how much time is spent between each of the first six Gyms, the last two can be beaten in very quick succession. More importantly, after liberating Silph, Giovanni is the only Rocket left (until [[TheRemnant the sequels]]).

[[/folder]]

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Has pale blue hair.

* WeaponOfChoice: Constantly played with. In ''Red'' and ''Blue'' his strongest Pokémon when fought as a Gym Leader is [[MightyGlacier Rhydon]], but he's also partial to [[JackOfAllStats Nidoqueen, Nidoking, and Kangaskhan]]. Kangaskhan is his strongest Pokémon in the first battle, then Nidoqueen for the second, and in the Gym Battle he ditches Kangaskhan for Nidoqueen and Nidoking. His various battles in the series feature them in various configurations. His Gen IV BonusBoss appearance has Nidoking, Nidoqueen and Kangaskhan, with Nidoqueen being his strongest, while he's got Rhyperior, Nidoking and Nidoqueen in Gen V's World Tournament with Rhyperior as his signature Pokémon, though he loses Nidoqueen in the Type Experts bracket. In ''Pokémon Stadium'' he caries all three again in the first round, then loses Rhydon for Round 2 while keeping the other two. ''Yellow'' and ''Stadium'' also feature him with a [[FragileSpeedster Persian]] as in the anime, replacing his Kangaskhan in the first two battles, but it doesn't stick in later generations that ignore ''Yellow''.