How to beat Jessie and James in Pokémon Go

TIme to make them blast off again.
Image via Niantic

The original duo of Team Rocket, Jessie and James, have been appearing to inconvenience trainers in Pokémon Go in their signature Meowth-shaped balloon. 

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Just like with normal Team GO Rocket Grunts, you can battle the pair and earn rewards for sending them flying. 

Once you find the Meowth balloon flying around, interact with it and you will encounter Jessie and James. Unlike other Team Rocket battles, however, you will be battling both trainers in back-to-back matches. 

Each trainer will start off with their signature Pokémon, Ekans and Koffing, which will be Shadow Pokémon. If you manage to beat both Jessie and James, you will have a chance to save those Shadow Pokémon, and each of them has a chance to Shiny too. 

Here are some tips for how you can easily beat Jessie and James before they flee the scene of the crime later this month. 

First Pokémon

Jessie will start things off with her Ekans, while James will send out his Koffing, both of which are stronger than usual due to being Shadow Pokémon. You will want to use Steel-types to avoid their poisonous attacks or finish them off quickly with Psychic and Ground-type moves. 

Second Pokémon

Things are going to break away from the Anime for their second set of Pokémon, as Jessie will use a Scyther and James will be throwing out a Sneasel. Neither have good defensive stats and are weak to Fire-type moves, so bringing any competent Fire-type like Charizard or Arcanine will get the job done here. 

Third Pokémon

Lastly, the pair will be using a Bagon and Beldum respectively once you reach the end of the battle. They don’t share a weakness, but bringing a Giratina to the battle will capitalize on the matchup since Bagon is weak to Dragon-type attacks and Beldum won’t last against Ghost-type moves. 

Jessie will always lead off the encounter, followed by James, so it is easy to prepare for what essentially amounts to a slightly longer battle with GO Rocket Grunt. After you beat them, you can try to save the Shadow Ekans and Koffing and add them to your team.


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Cale Michael
Lead Staff Writer for Dota 2, the FGC, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more who has been writing for Dot Esports since 2018. Graduated with a degree in Journalism from Oklahoma Christian University and also previously covered the NBA. You can usually find him writing, reading, or watching an FGC tournament.