Meowth

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pokémon - Meowth
No. 52
Region Kanto
Colour Yellow
Height 1 ft 4 in
Weight 9.3 Ib
Type Normal
Attack Type Scratch Cat
Evolution
Evolves from N/A
Evolves into Persian
Pokédex
Previous Next
Dugtrio Persian

Meowth (ニャース, Nyāsu, Nyarth in original Japanese language versions) is a Pokémon species in Nintendo's Pokémon series. Meowth first shows in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue. Meowth is one of the most popular Pokémon, because of an individual Meowth's role in the Pokémon anime series. This Meowth, owned by Team Rocket, is one of the few Pokémon who can speak in human language.

Design[change | change source]

Meowth has a cat-like design, with cream-colored fur, and has brown paws and tail tip. It has whiskers, black-and-brown ears, and a gold coin on its head. Meowth is spends most of the daytime sleeping and walks the city streets at night.[1] They put their claws back into their paws, so they can move without noise and not leave footprints.[2] Meowth loves round objects, as well as shiny things.[3] The item it loves collecting the most are coins, since they are both round and shiny.[2] Meowth collects them and keeps them in its nest. Murkrow, a bird Pokémon, also likes coins and steals them from Meowth.[4]

Appearances[change | change source]

In the video games[change | change source]

Meowth appears as a wild Pokémon in many versions of the games. Meowth is one of the characters in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games. Meowth is also seen in the Nintendo 64 game Pokémon Snap, the Nintendo GameCube game Pokémon Channel, and many others. Meowth is seen in the Super Smash Bros. series as a Pokémon used with a Poké Ball item, and uses its move "Pay Day" and throws coins at players.

In the anime[change | change source]

Meowth has made an appearance in almost every episode in the anime because one is owned by Team Rocket agents Jessie and James, the show's main antagonists. He first lived in the city, and tried to impress a female Meowth named Meowzie by learning to walk on two legs and speak human language. Instead of being impressed, she told him he was a freak, so Meowth joined Team Rocket.[5] Meowth was cloned in Pokémon: The First Movie, but his clone could not talk or walk on two legs, because Meowth needed to learn how to do this.[6] The Meowth clone is shown again in Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns.[7] A trainer named Tyson owns a Meowth, which beat Ash's Pikachu at the Hoenn Pokémon League.[8] This Meowth was dressed up like Puss in Boots.[9]

In other media[change | change source]

In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Meowth's first appearance is a cameo in the first chapter as one of the Pokémon that escapes from Professor Oak's Laboratory. Meowth has appeared in the Pokémon Trading Card Game first in the Jungle series. A special Meowth card was given when buying the Pokémon Trading Card Video Game. In an open forum interview with ABC News, Pokémon anime director Masakazu Kubo noted Meowth as his favorite Pokémon, saying that while not a major Pokémon in the games, a Meowth is in the anime.[10]

Critical reception[change | change source]

Team Rocket's Meowth ranked fourth on Game Daily's top 10 list of Nintendo characters that deserve their own games, describing him as "adorable" and explaining that his intelligence and ability to speak gave writers more depth than other Pokémon would.[11] IGN stated that without the anime, the character would not have been as famous, further describing it as "probably the funniest part of the show".[12] However, another editor stated it was also popular amongst people who have never seen the anime due to being a feline.[13] IGN also said that Meowth would make a good choice as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl "if Brawl's developers really wanted much more representation for Pokémon as a franchise" also stating "it would be fun to face him in battle as a real fighter, just to be able to send him "blasting off again," referencing Team Rocket's Meowth [14] GamesRadar described Meowth as "not all that useful", and questioned if the Pokémon would have stood out if it were not for its portrayal in the anime.[15]

References[change | change source]

  1. Game Freak (2004-09-07). Pokémon FireRed. Vol. Game Boy Advance. Nintendo. All it does is sleep during the daytime. At night, it patrols its territory with its eyes aglow.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Game Freak (2003-03-17). Pokémon Ruby. Vol. Game Boy Advance. Nintendo. Meowth withdraws its sharp claws into its paws to slinkily sneak about without making any incriminating footsteps. For some reason, this Pokémon loves shiny coins that glitter with light.
  3. Game Freak (2001-07-29). Pokémon Crystal. Vol. Game Boy Color. Nintendo. It loves things that sparkle. When it sees a shiny object, the gold coin on its head shines too.
  4. Game Freak (2001-07-29). Pokémon Crystal. Vol. Game Boy Color. Nintendo. It hides any shiny object it finds in a secret location. Murkrow and Meowth loot one another's stashes.
  5. Takeshi Shudō (writer) (October 9, 1999). "Go West Young Meowth". Pokémon. Season Indigo League. Episode 70. Various.
  6. Takeshi Shudō (writer) (November 6, 1999). "Pokémon: The First Movie". Pokémon. Various.
  7. Hideki Sonoda (writer) (December 4, 2001). "Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns". Pokémon. Various.
  8. Atsuhiro Tomioka (writer) (March 25, 2006). "At the End of the Fray". Pokémon. Season Advanced Battle. Episode 131. Various.
  9. Aya Matsui (writer) (March 4, 2006). "Like a Meowth to Flame!". Pokémon. Season Advanced Battle. Episode 125. Various.
  10. Staff (2000-02-09). "ABC News Pokémon Chat Transcript". IGN. Archived from the original on 2012-08-12. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  11. Buffa, Chris. "Top 10 Nintendo Characters That Deserve Their Own Games". GameDaily. AOL. p. 7. Archived from the original on 2008-04-11. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  12. "Meowth Biography". IGN. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2012-08-07. Retrieved 2009-09-28.
  13. "Pokemon Crystal Version - Pok¿mon of the Day: Meowth (#52)". IGN. Archived from the original on 2019-02-16. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  14. Lucas M. Thomas (March 9, 2008). "Smash It Up! - The Animal Kingdom - Wii feature - at IGN". IGN. Archived from the original on August 7, 2012. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  15. Elston, Brett. "The complete Pokémon RBY Pokédex, part 5". GamesRadar. Future Publishing. p. 8. Retrieved 2009-10-01.