When it comes to romance, fans may think Pokemon is straight-up allergic to fluff. Over the years, the anime has shown Ash Ketchum explore his eternal pre-teen years with Pikachu, but he has rarely dipped into the world of love. This stance has fared poorly with die-hard fans of Team Rocket, but they don’t need to fret over Jessie and James.
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After all, The Electric Tales of Pikachu tackled the couple sometime ago, and it confirmed they were more than teammates to one another.
For anyone unaware, fans got their first-look at the manga years ago, but its English translation under Viz Media fell under the radar. The story loosely adapted the Pokemon anime, bringing in the overall plot of Indigo League and Adventures in the Orange Islands. Written by Toshinori Ono, the four-volume run saw Ash and Pikachu get into all kinds of trouble, but its last issues saw Jessie and James make their relationship official.
By the end of volume four, James revealed his feelings for Jessie aren’t as friendly as some thought. The manga, which was officially licensed, saw James confess his love for Jessie while poor Meowth was set off to the side. Then, by the manga’s end, fans got a new look at the dastardly duo after they got hitched.
As you can see above, the manga saw Jessie sitting down while James posed behind his new wife… and that’s not all. Fans don’t have to look hard to see that Jesse is clearly pregnant here, and Meowth can be seen in the back regretting all of his life choices. As for what happens to the kid, well – fans will never know. The manga ended at four volumes, so The Electric Tales of Pikachu never explained how Team Rocket Jr. fared, but fans like to think the kid became real good friends with Meowth.
Even today, the most die-hard fans may not realize that Pokemon has been this forward with Jesse and James. Pokemon‘s lengthy manga history can be hard to follow for newcomers, and its previous stories are easy to look over given their obscure localizations. So, if you really want to see James get down on one knee for his Team Rocket partner, you’ll need to collect a copy of The Electric Tales of Pikachu ASAP.
What do you make of this long-hidden prototype? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!
