'Pokemon' Is Now Recruiting Real-Life Team Rocket Members

If you have ever wanted to join Jesse and James, then you can try your hand at joining Team Rocket right now. Pokemon fans in Japan can take part in an open-recruitment for the villainous gang until the end of November. That is, if they happen to visit Japan's Saga Prefecture.

Thanks to a report by Rocket News, Pokemon fans can see Team Rocket is in a bit of a bind. The organization is looking for new members to beef up its power, and Team Rocket has a big recruitment goal in mind. According to the video above, the gang wants to bring a staggering 10 million fans into its ranks.

If you are curious about Team Rocket's plans, then you should know they have to do with a recent Pokemon milestone. The anime just debuted its 1000th episode, and the series held an event to commemorate the episode in Saga to celebrate.

The prefecture didn't expect all 10 million recruits to come at once, so the Team Rocket count is being held until November 26. Saga houses less than one million people, but fans from all over Japan and the world are coming to visit the prefecture to honor Ash Ketchum.

So far, it seems like locals are all for the Pokemon spotlight. The governor of Saga Prefecture took part in the Team Rocket recruitment campaign. Yoshinori Yamaguchi is seen in the video posing as Sagaki, the boss of Team Rocket's local branch. The man is also seen holding a version of the Alolan version of Persian, the Giovanni's go-to Pokemon.

If you're wondering what kind of perks come with the Team Rocket membership, then there are a few. Fans can compete in social media campaigns to win t-shirts, Pikachu plushes, and more.

Team Rocket is recognized as one of Pokemon's most enduring organizations. Fans fell for Jesse and James when the dynamic duo appeared in the original anime and went up against Ash. The pair were on a mission for Team Rocket to collect Kanto's most powerful Pokemon, and Pikachu ranked high up on that list. The team failed dozens of time to capture Ash's starter for good, and the pair eventually became known as a mostly good-hearted piece of comedic relief.