The words Team Rocket and respect may sound like an oxymoron, but while they may be the bumbling, consistently inept laughing stock of the Pokémon world—and with good reason, thanks to their track record—they've had their moments that have made them worthy of respect. Except for Meowth, who acts more like a human than a Pokémon, they are still human, after all.
Whether it's helping their nemesis Ash, saving a group of Pokémon from a horrible fate, or taking the fall for someone else, they have it within themselves to do what's right, despite spending most of their time doing wrong.
10 Team Rocket Helped Ash Sneak Into The Celadon Gym
Episode 26, "Pokémon Scent-sation!" sees Jessie and James dress up as Ash's parents to get him into the Celadon Gym in return for freeing them from a tree they are stuck in.
They easily could have refused to help Ash after they had been freed out of spite, but they went through the effort of dressing him up in a convincing disguise and telling him to change his voice. In the end, Ash gets his Rainbow Badge while Team Rocket gets some stinky perfume that knocks them out.
9 Team Rocket Cheered For Pikachu In His Battle With Raichu
In "Electric Shock Showdown," the fourteenth episode of the anime, Ash battles Lt. Surge at the Vermillion City Gym. Team Rocket is watching the battle from the outside.
Lt. Surge's Raichu is dominating Pikachu, which makes Team Rocket wonder whether or not he's worth stealing. They decide to root for Pikachu, even though it means rooting for their arch-rival, Ash. At the end of the episode, James says: "Drat, we wasted this episode cheering the good guys!"
8 Team Rocket Joined Forces With Ash & Co. On A Sinking Ship
In "Pokémon Shipwreck," the sixteenth episode of the anime, Team Rocket put their differences with Ash and his friends aside while trapped in a sinking ship. After meeting up, the two groups start a Pokémon battle, but when the ship starts rocking, they put an end to it and everyone recalls their Pokémon.
Team Rocket concedes that surviving is more important than a Pokémon battle. The truce is just a temporary one, but it shows that Team Rocket is capable of taking the high road.
7 Meowth Helped Orville The Pidgey Realize His Dream
"Fly Me to the Moon," Episode 211 of the anime, features a Pidgey named Orville who lives on Pudgy Pidgey Isle and wants to fly higher than any other Pokémon ever has.
Thinking back to his past and how difficult it was to learn to walk and talk like a human, Meowth sees some of himself in the ambitious Pidgey and helps Orville achieve his dream of flying to the edge of the atmosphere.
6 Team Rocket Helped Thwart An Evil Malamar's Plans
Episode 19 of Pokémon the Series: XY sees a psychopathic Malamar intent on conquering the world. Team Rocket joins forces with Ash and his friends to try and stop the evil Malamar, but it gets away.
It returns in Episode 54 along with two more evil Malamar, hypnotizing James's Inkay in an attempt to turn it against him, but their bond is so strong that it doesn't work. Inkay, Officer Jenny's Manectric, Pikachu, and some wild Pokémon defeat the evil Malamar and thwart their plan for global domination.
5 Team Rocket Sweated & Toiled To Dig A Tunnel
In "The Winner by a Nosepass," Team Rocket hatches a plan to dig underneath the Gym in which Ash is battling to grab Pikachu from below, with James thinking it's a better idea than a lot of their more elaborate, cost-intensive schemes.
They end up being blown out of the tunnel after getting hit with Nosepass's Zap Cannon, but their hard work and diligence show that Team Rocket is willing to put in the hard yards to achieve their goal.
4 Jessie Took The Fall For Blissey When She Emptied A Pokémon Center Storeroom Of Its Food
In Episode 129, "Ignorance Is Blissey," Jessie chances upon an old friend: a Chansey she knew in nursing school. Blissey is happy to see Jessie but sad to see that she and her friends are going hungry, so she gives them all the food from the storeroom at the Poké Center, where she works.
Although Blissey's intentions were good, Nurse Joy is less than pleased. Team Rocket stage a robbery to save Blissey's job, playing up to their ne'er-do-well image to help their friend.
3 Team Rocket Came To The Rescue So That Ash Could Save The World
In Pokémon the Movie: 2000, Team Rocket comes to the rescue in a motorboat, helping Ash reach an island in order to get an Ice Sphere.
Lugia saves Ash and Team Rocket from the legendary birds, but the extra weight of Team Rocket holding onto it is holding it back from letting Ash save the world, so they sacrifice themselves and let go, thinking they'll be done for. They land safely in the water, surrounded by hundreds of Pokémon.
2 Team Rocket Defeated Ash In A Battle
In Episode 12 of the Sun & Moon anime, "The Sun, The Scare, The Secret Lair!," Team Rocket defeats Ash in a battle, showing that despite all the training and battling Ash has done over the years, Team Rocket is capable of going toe-to-toe with the wannabe Pokémon Master and even beating him.
Their celebrations are short-lived, however, as Bewear appears out of the water and carries Team Rocket back to its den.
1 Team Rocket Saved Caged Pokémon From A Poacher
In the sixth episode of the Ruby and Sapphire series, "A Poached Ego," Team Rocket discovers a Pokémon-poaching operation run by Rico, who keeps the Pokémon he catches in a cage.
They end up saving a group of Ekans and Koffing from the poacher, showing that in spite of their nefarious deeds, they really do care for the welfare of Pokémon and are willing to put themselves in danger to save them from harm.