Number 52 Meowth – Little known facts

Meowth is one of the more unique members of the gen 1 Pokédex, but there's so much more to it than talking, walking and hanging out with 2 trainers. He's been part of a fashion line collaboration, was nearly the face of the game and has over 100 physical card variants – and that just scratches the surface.

Scratch: 1 colourless energy, 10 damage.

Today, we're looking at all of the nuance details behind this cute, cookie and surprisingly deep Pokémon – as well as a couple of variations.

There are going to be facts from the anime, games and movies.

Even in Pokémon, cats believe they should be worshipped

First up, let's quickly look at why the Meowth in Team Rocket can talk for those who haven't seen the anime in a while. We actually have a more detailed version in our Twisted & Tragic Pokémon series which we'll link below, but here's the short version. 

Meowth was in love with a fellow Meowth called Meowzie, and after being rejected for not being enough, he trained himself to be more human like her beloved wealthy owners. This incredible feat had the opposite effect, since the spoiled Kitty now saw him as a ‘freak’ and rejected him. 

Meowth joined Team Rocket because he felt that if he couldn't be loved, he'd be feared instead.

Meowth is number 52 in the Pokédex, which is the exact opposite of Pikachu at number 25. This was done on purpose to show that they're total opposites.

It's no mistake that Pikachu is modelled on a mouse, while Meowth is based on a cat. This symbolism comes from playing a ‘cat and mouse’ game of continuous chase, just like Team Rocket and Ash's Pikachu. 

ニャース is how Meowth is written in Japanese. This font style is called Katakana and is mostly used for modern words that haven't got Hiragana attached.

The gold item on Meowth's head is a koban – an ancient coin commissioned in Japan's Edo period. The koban was first produced in 1601, and paper versions are often sold at shrines as lucky charms called Engimono.

Meowth is – or was – a gym leader. In the episode ‘The Battle of the Bridge’ Giovanni temporarily entrusts the care of his gym to Jessie, James and Meowth. This means that Team Rocket’s Meowth was the only Pokémon to hold the title of gym leader. 

Though, we probably shouldn't say Team Rocket's without clarity, because some people believe Meowth is actually a wild Pokémon. In the episode ‘A Frenzied Factory Fiasco’ (Pokémon the Series XY: S18, E30) Pikachu and Meowth throw Poké Balls at each other and dodge them to avoid capture. Some suggest that dodging the balls in the factory shows a fear of being caught and claimed.

We know from ‘The Ultimate Test’ (English dub: S1, E56) that owned Pokémon – specifically this Meowth – can't be captured in a Poké Ball and the instructor explains that owned Pokémon can't be caught. Considering this, he's already proven he can escape a Poké Ball. Add this to the fact that Pikachu is dodging too, we think the scene is more about comedy, because Pikachu is definitely owned – even if he was reluctant at first. 

We think Meowth is owned, but chose to be, which is why he's usually roaming free rather than in a Poké Ball. We never see him be summoned to, or released from, a Poké Ball by Team Rocket, unlike Wobbuffet or Seviper. Meowth is treated as an equal, he never used in battle, and he's with Jessie and James. 

We bring that last part up because of Team Rocket's goals. Considering Giovanni wants rare Pokémon stolen, we'd expect that if Meowth was unowned he would want to keep this rare talking example much closer and out of the reach of others. It's as though he knows Meowth is bound or connected to the team already. 

We theorise that Meowth was not caught by a Poké Ball, but is owned in a different way with both parties accepting a connection. 

It's also a bittersweet vibe, because if we're right, this would be Meowth allowing himself to be loved and love in return, after having his heart shattered. 

What do you think? We'd love to hear your views in the comments.

Back to the clear facts.

The Gamecube had a demo called ‘Meowth's Party’ where Meowth was the star of the show. Meowth played guitar with other Pokémon as support. The demo was meant to show how multiple characters could be on screen at once with the Gamecube technology. Unfortunately, this game ended as a demo, but we did see it again when it was re-purposed into an ending sequence in the anime, as well as in the ‘Pokémon Channel’ title for the GameCube.

Speaking of games, Meowth was available as a free download in Pokémon Black 2 & White 2 in the Japanese and Korean versions, as well as being distributed at a theme park. It's little known because it was quite challenging getting the technology of the day to Internet link for the download, but it was a pretty cool way to celebrate ‘Best Wishes: Episode N’ in the anime. If you did download him, it was obvious that he was Team Rocket's Meowth because he couldn't use the move Pay Day. Instead, he came with Sing, Fury Swipes, Nasty Plot and Snatch.

Turning to the card game, there are over 100 variants of Meowth in the TCG, with the first being printed in 1999. The artwork was done by Mitsuhiro Arita who also did the Base Set Charizard design and has produced over 600 Pokémon card designs, as well as working on Monster Hunter, Final Fantasy XI, and Shin Megami Tensei.

McDonald's have featured 2 Meowth cards in their exclusive Happy Meal sets.

Around 10 of the Meowth cards are Japanese-exclusives.

Some of these include the Meowth 192/SV-P promo, the 072/066 secret rare, the P-A 012 Pocket promo, and Galarian Meowth 314/S-P Sword & Shield promo.

That brings us to Meowth types more widely. 

You've probably been picturing the original Kantonian Meowth which is the cream–furred Normal-type from gen 1. That's a classic. 

There's also Alolan Meowth who is a Dark-type variation from gen 7 (Sun and Moon). He has bluish-grey fur, slightly smaller eyes and a snooty expression – probably because these Meowths are the pampered pets of Alolan royalty. It’s kind of ironic considering everything with Meowzie.

There's also Galarian Meowth, who was introduced in gen 8 (Sword and Shield). This Steel-type variant looks very different to the others with thick fur and huge claws that are adapted for the harsh Galar region it comes from.

Evolution wise, the three variations also have unique differences. The Kantonian Meowth evolves into a Persian when it gets to level 28. Alolan Meowth is similar in look because it evolves into Alolan Persian, but it gets there with high friendship bonds rather than power levels. 

Galarian Meowth is perhaps the most unique even though its evolution happens at level 28 like the Kantonian version, because it doesn't become a Persian. It becomes a Perrserker – a tanky Viking-like Pokémon.

There is one other kind of Meowth that people often forget  – clone Meowth. He appeared in the ‘Mewtwo Strikes Back’ movie (tear jerker, by the way) and has one of the most beautiful lines. He says, ‘We do have a lot in common. The same earth, the same air, the same sky. Maybe if we started looking at what’s the same instead of always looking at what’s different... well, who knows?’

That shows just how deep Meowth can get. He's so much more than comedic relief – and there are so many other examples, like the time he showed comradery with Pikachu in ‘Bound for Trouble’ (S2, E48), when he stands up for Pokémon rights against Giovanni in ‘Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel’ (Movie 19), and especially when he nurses a Ralts back to health in secret against Team Rocket's orders in ‘Do I Hear a Ralts’ (Advanced Generation, E155).

Finally, did you know that Meowth was featured in a Vocaloid collaboration? It was a fun fashion project called ‘Meowth Run’ that mixed elements of Meowth with futuristic designs to make outfits for Miku, Rin and Len.

Thanks for reading! We'll be back with more Pokémon facts soon. Please follow us on our social media for more cool content – linked at the bottom of our website. See you soon!