The Very Queer, 25-Year Legacy of ‘Pokémon’ Antiheroes Team Rocket

After more than 25 years, the Pokémon anime is making some big changes. Perpetual 10-year-old protagonist Ash Ketchum is headed off with Pikachu to make room for new stars, sparking a wave of nostalgic sadness among multiple generations of fans. But just as heartbreaking has been the farewell to the long-time villains of the show—and, for many parts of the internet, a set of beloved queer icons.

In the Pokémon games, Team Rocket is an evil organization dedicated to exploiting Pokémon. But in the anime, it’s usually only a trio of bumbling, loveable field agents, scheming up ways to separate Pikachu and Ash. Jessie, James, and Meowth appear in the second-ever episode, and they’ve been a fixture of every season since.

Despite being nominally the show’s main antagonists, the group has long been popular with viewers. For starters, they’re more comic relief than villains. Their incompetence means they never really pose a threat to Pikachu; instead, the whole affair is played for laughs, thanks to their constant failures.

Read more at The Daily Beast.