James's Weezing
 | This article is missing information on this character's English voice actor. Please feel free to edit this article to add this information. |
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James's Weezing (Japanese:コジロウのマタドガスKojirō's Matadogas) was the firstPokémonJames was known to have, and his third overall. He received it as ayear-end gift (aChristmas gift in the dub).
In animation
History
Pokémon the Series: The Beginning
Kanto
It was revealed inIsland of the Giant Pokémon thatJames receivedKoffing as a gift last Christmas,oseibo (a customary gift given during the winter season) in the original Japanese version. InPokémon Masters EX, it was revealed to have been given to him byGiovanni.
Weezing first appeared inPokémon Emergency! as a Koffing. James used it alongsideJessie'sEkans to quickly overtake the defenselessViridianPokémon Center. Koffing's job was to create aSmokescreen while Ekans destroyed the computers. Chasing everyone into the back room, Koffing and Ekans accompanied their Trainers in intimidatingAsh,Misty, andNurse Joy, which caused Misty to decide to battleTeam Rocket. However, this was a failed effort as both of them managed to catch up to Ash in no time. However, Nurse Joy'sPikachu came out and healedAsh's Pikachu with aThunder Shock attack, while at the same time attacking the Team Rocket trio. Giving Ash's Pikachu enough power to stand up, Ash charged up Pikachu using Misty's charred bike, letting him use his own Thunder Shock. As the group was electrocuted, Koffing usedSmog. The electricity climbed up the toxic gas, causing the entire Pokémon Center to explode and sending Team Rocket blasting off for the first time.
Koffing was separated from James inIsland of the Giant Pokémon along withMeowth and Ekans after a group ofGyarados sent them flying withDragon Rage. When Team Rocket's Pokémon came across Ash's Pokémon, who were also separated from their Trainer, Meowth ordered Koffing and Ekans to attack them. However, they both refuse to listen, simply stating Meowth is not their Trainer. Meowth tried to convince the two Pokémon that, as bad guys, they didn't need the company of their Trainers to do anything bad, but Ekans told him that "there are no bad Pokémon; only their Trainers are bad." Because of the situation, the two groups of Pokémon joined forces to look for their Trainers. The next day, Koffing and the rest of the Pokémon were seen being chased by a group of giant mechanical Pokémon. It would not be until they jumped into a mine cart their Trainers were riding that Koffing would be reunited with James.
InBeauty and The Beach, Koffing and Ekans were entered into theBeach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contest. The two dressed up as anOmastar before being kicked off the stage byGary Oak.
InPokémon Scent-sation!, Team Rocket attempted to sneak into theCeladon Gym to steal a perfume formula. Inside, they encountered aGloom, and James sent out Koffing to deal with it. It released a Poison Gas, but the Weed Pokémon enjoyed the stench and countered by releasing its own.
It eventuallyevolved into a Weezing inDig Those Diglett!, along with Ekans, after James andJessie were desperate for them to evolve. Despite their new forms, however, they were easily overwhelmed by a horde ofDiglett andDugtrio.
InThe Problem with Paras, Weezing, along with Arbok, faked losing a battle againstCassandra'sParas so it could gain the confidence to evolve.
InPrincess vs. Princess, Jessie used Weezing during theQueen of the Princess Festival contest. Weezing helped Jessie make it to the finals but ultimately failed against Pikachu's Thunder Shock.
InThe Battle Of The Badge, Weezing was used by Jessie when she acted as the temporaryViridian City Gym Leader. It was swiftly defeated by aThunderbolt from Ash's Pikachu.
InThe Evolution Solution, Weezing was used to battle aShellder James dug up. Weezing easily defeated it after dodging itsIce Beam. Just as James was about to catch it, Jessie jumped in andcaught it herself.
InGo West Young Meowth, Weezing and Arbok defended Meowth from his old gang. Their distraction allowed Meowth to take on the leader, aPersian. and defeat it.
Orange Islands
InPikachu Re-Volts, Weezing was used to try to nab the PokémonButch andCassidy stole. It, along with the rest of Team Rocket's Pokémon, was hypnotized by Butch and Cassidy'sDrowzee and forced to attack its Trainer. They were later freed by Ash and his Pikachu and joined together to battle Drowzee.
InThe Stun Spore Detour, Jessie was paralyzed by aVileplume, which could be cured withSalveyo weed. James and Meowth found the herb on aPoliwag, and Weezing was sent out to battleMisty's Staryu over who would obtain it. Staryu easily cut through Weezing's Smog withDouble-Edge, defeating it. It later tried attacking the Poliwag directly, but was smacked away byDouble Slap. Ultimately, Misty left them some of the Salveyo weed to help Jessie.
Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver
Throughout theJohtoregion, James tended to useVictreebel for combat over Weezing. Weezing was mainly used during this time to create smoke to cover the trio's escapes and entrances.
InBeauty and the Breeder, Weezing, alongside the rest of Team Rocket's Pokémon, was entered in thePokémon Beauty Contest. They impressed the crowd with their stylish looks before getting thrown out byOfficer Jenny for breaking the rules.
InImitation Confrontation, Weezing battledDuplica'sDitto, Mini-Dit. Mini-Dittransformed into Wobbuffet and used his moveset to battle Weezing and Arbok before transforming into Pikachu and blasting Team Rocket off.
InA Ghost of a Chance, Weezing and Arbok battled againstMorty's Gengar. Due to its ability to turn invisible and hide in the shadows, Gengar was able to disorient the two before defeating them withShadow Ball.
InThe Big Balloon Blow-Up, James used Weezing's Smog to choke up the competition during thePokémon Balloon Race. This caused several competitors to drop out, though Team Rocket ended up not finishing due to Pikachu destroying their balloon.
Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire andChronicles
InA Ruin with a View, James sent out Weezing alongside Arbok to battle theTeam Magma Grunts who approached them. Not long after being sent out,Team Magma'sHoundoom usedRoar to send Weezing and Arbok back into theirPoké Balls.
InWe're No Angels!, Weezing and Arbok accidentally made Team Rocket the town heroes by destroying a mecha heading towards them.
InIn the Knicker of Time!, Weezing and Arbok battled Ash andhis friends for the final time, where they were blasted off by Pikachu'sThunder.
InA Poached Ego!, Team Rocket took onRico, aPokémon poacher who had captured a herd of Ekans andKoffing inPetalburg Woods. Eventually, James and Jessie reluctantly ordered Weezing and Arbok to stay in the wild and guard the young Ekans and Koffing. The pair tearfully escaped into the wilderness as Jessie, James, and Meowth fought Rico and hisTyranitar by themselves.
Pokémon Journeys: The Series
Weezing appeared in a fantasy inRocket Revengers! when Team Rocket reminisced about their old Pokémon.
Personality and characteristics
Weezing was extremely loyal to James, caring about him a great deal and only taking orders from him. InIsland of the Giant Pokémon, as a Koffing, it refused to attackAsh's Pokémon onMeowth's orders, simply because he was not James. In addition, Koffing and Ekans were very sad about being separated from theirTrainers, and they cried happily upon reuniting with them.
Despite its loyalty to James, Weezing showed a moral conscience of its own, revealing inIsland of the Giant Pokémon when it was a Koffing that there is no such thing as an evil Pokémon; rather, that moral responsibility lies with theTrainer. There have also been rare occasions where Weezing and Arbok refused to obey their Trainers, such as inA Chansey Operation, where they refused to attack aChansey because it had treated the injuries they suffered from Team Rocket's schemes; andGot Miltank?, where Weezing, along with the rest of Team Rocket's Pokémon, agreed to not attack theMiltank or any of the Pokémon at a Pokémon-exclusive oasis out of respect.
Weezing and Arbok, even before theirEvolutions, were a deadly duo. InThe Flame Pokémon-athon!, Weezing defended Arbok after it was injured by aPonyta's flames and retaliating withSmog, even though its Smog ignited the flames. Weezing often provided theSmokescreen for Team Rocket's grand entrances and escapes. ItsSludge was also commonly used to blind Pokémon like inAsh Catches a Pokémon.
Appearance
| As a Koffing |
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Moves used
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| A† shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
- In thedubbed version ofThe Evolution Solution, James told Weezing to useHaze. In the original Japanese version, he simply told Weezing to counterattack.
In the games
In thecore series
Weezing appears inPokémon Yellow andPokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! as part ofJessie andJames's team each time they appear, alongsideMeowth/Arbok and its pre-evolved form.
Pokémon Yellow
Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!
In thespin-off games
Pokémon: Catch the Numbers!
Weezing appears inPokémon: Catch the Numbers!.
Pokémon GO
James used to lead with aShadow Koffing, impiled to have been borrowed fromGiovanni. The player has a chance to catch it after defeating him. Unlike most Shadow Pokémon, the Shadow Koffing has a chance to beShiny.
Pokémon Masters EX
- Main article:James (Masters) → Weezing
Weezing appears alongside James as async pair during thespecial eventsDouble Trouble andBlasting Off Again. In the game, Weezing uses the movesSludge andPoison Gas, with hissync move being Make It Double Sludge.
| Dex | Trainer | NDex | Pokémon | Type | Weakness | Role | EX role | Base potential | Availability | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #104 |  | James | #1101 |  | Weezing♂ | Poison | Psychic |  | ★★★ | Event Blasting Off Again | |
Pokémon Puzzle League
Weezing was one ofJessie andJames's three Pokémon inPokémon Puzzle League.
Pokémon Zany Cards
Weezing is depicted on a photograph on the box art forPokémon Zany Cards, along withArbok andWobbuffet. However, it does not make an appearance in the game.
In the manga
The Electric Tale of Pikachu
James's Weezing first appears as a Koffing inPikachu's Excellent Adventure. All of its subsequent appearances, beginning inYou Gotta Have Friends, are as a Weezing. Like in the animated series, Weezing is James's primary battling Pokémon.
Moves used
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| A† shows that the move was used recently, unless all moves fit this case or there are fewer than five known moves. | ||||||||||
In the TCG
James's Weezing is featured in the TCG as of one James's Pokémon. The following is a list of cards featuring Weezing.
| Weezing Cards listed with ablue background are only legal to use in the currentExpanded format. Cards listed with agreen background are legal to use in both the currentStandard andExpanded formats. | |||||||
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| Card | Type | English Expansion | Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion | Rarity | # |
| Weezing |  | Hidden Fates |  | 29/68 | Sky Legend |  | 028/054 |
Trivia
- Weezing spent 279 episodes in James'sparty, longer than any of his other Pokémon.
- It also holds the record for the most appearances out of James's Pokémon at 115 main series episodes.
- InThe Misty Mermaid, Weezing is shown to be less dense than water, causing it to float.
- Though Team Rocket began chasingPikachu mainly because it was powerful enough to blow up the Pokémon Center, it should be noted that Koffing was part of the cause as its gas reacted with the electricity to create the explosion.
- Not including temporary Pokémon, Weezing, as a Koffing, was the first Pokémon belonging to a main character in theanimated series to use amove itcannot legally learn in thegames.
- Weezing is the first main character-owned Pokémonto consist of multiple bodies.
- Michael Haigney's voice for Koffing was inspired by a man named Paul, who Haigney saw regularly while they worked at CBS Broadcasting. Paul wheeled a coffee wagon around the CBS office buildings and would announce his presence with a booming voice, asking "Coffee? Coffee?" as he passed by.[1]
References
- ↑Haigney, Michael. "Ep. 2 Pokémon Emergency."Original Pokéman, Buzzsprout, 23 Mar 2022.https://originalpokeman.buzzsprout.com/1663597/10305025-ep-2-pokemon-emergency, 27:25–28:12.
Related articles
For more information on this Pokémon's species, seeKoffing andWeezing.
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| For a list of other Pokémon Team Rocket has commanded, seehere andhere | |||||||
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| For Pokémon owned byGiovanni in thePokémon Adventures manga, seehere For a full list of Pokémon owned byGiovanni in thePokémon Pocket Monsters manga, seehere | ||||||
 | This article is part ofProject Anime, aBulbapedia project that covers all aspects ofPokémon animation. |
