The best of Misty and Jessie- a Rachael Lillis tribute

 A little while back, I found out through Veronica Taylor that Rachael was suffering from an aggressive form of cancer. So bad that she was in hospice care and a GoFundMe had been set up to help pay for her medical bills.
Sadly, the news came out today that she lost her fight over the weekend. Age 46... cancer sucks, but even more when it cuts someone's life short like that. 

I've been a Pokémon fan since I was a teenager, more than 25 years... dang, I'm old. Rachael may not have played my favorite characters in the series (Misty, I still have a lot of mixed feelings about), but she's still a part of that time in my life. So I want to put together some kind of a tribute post... which will be me reliving my favorite moments of the characters she played. 
Whether they were sentimental character building moments or just hilarious and I'll still laugh about them for years to come. 

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I've drawn Jigglypuff before but maybe not the other two...

my models <3

First, a quick shout-out to Jigglypuff. A Pokémon she did a speaking and singing voice for. 
This character was first introduced when the trio went through a city that doesn't sleep and all of the citizens are very irritable and rude as a result. They meet Jigglypuff in the forest and give it a remedy to help heal its throat.

Then they discover its one major gimmick- when Jigglypuff sings, it puts everyone within earshot to sleep. But it gets very upset when people fall asleep during a performance and scribbles on their faces with marker to get its revenge.
The funniest part is when Misty suggests having it sing to Psyduck because "it's too dumb to know if it's asleep or not"... then in the end, they discover it fell asleep with its eyes open. 
And if I remember right, Team Rocket uses it to put the city to sleep so they can commit robberies without opposition. A plan that fails because their measures to block out Jigglypuff's voice so they stay awake-- they don't work. What this scheme does accomplish is that the people in the city finally get a good night's sleep and their bad moods are completely cured.

Jigglypuff showed up a few times throughout the original series, but typically as a running gag. It randomly shows up to perform, everyone falls asleep and gets inked up. It's also responsible for the fact Ash and Misty wound up in the Orange Islands. Team Rocket hi-jacks their blimp, JIgglypuff randomly appears and sings everyone to sleep and the blimp drifts off its planned trajectory. 
Nothing wrong with the Orange Islands arc. I had a lot of fun with it. Kick-ass theme song. It was the region where Ash got Charizard to obey him and he actually won a championship there. But using Jigglypuff in that way still felt like a bit of a copout. 
I'm not sure if its character arc ever got resolved. Its quest, supposedly, was to find someone who'll listen to its song all the way through. But it's been so long I can't remember when its last appearance was. Definitely somewhere in Johto because there was that one story arc where Snubbull took away its microphone... 

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One thing about this series that was kinda funny and cool when I first learned about it and still is…
The fact Rachael and Eric Stuart played good guys and bad guys and both performances are unique- Eric as Brock and James and Rachael as Misty and Jessie- one member of team rocket and one member of the heroic trio, who interacted with each other a lot… that’s really cool.
With the way dubbing works, I assume the actors record all the lines for one character first and then go back and do the other one.

Quick side note- Eric Stuart didn’t do James until maybe episode 10 of the series.
And actually I think Rachael was Pikachu in the dub of episode one because they didn’t have access to Ikue Otoni’s recordings yet.
...did a little digging... she did Pikachu a number of times in season one. She also did Chansey, Horsea and Misty's sister Violet- to name a few. Cool... 

The fact Rachael was an equally convincing voice for a 10-11 year old and an older teenager- that’s range.
Now I kinda wish I knew off hand if her normal speaking voice was closer to Jessie or completely different from both.
Veronica Taylor is irreplaceable as Ash. But his mom’s voice is essentially her normal voice with some added inflections for emphasis.

So for Jessie- I believe canonically she’s 17 or 18. Both Misty and Jessie are scrappy characters but for completely different reasons.

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Just going off the first season, Jessie grew up poor so villainy is a means to net herself the kinds of things she never had. Fame and fortune, sure, but also nicer clothes and jewelry.
Of the Team Rocket trio, she’s probably the smartest. The mastermind of most of the schemes. It’s tempting to say more of them would've work if she had better sidekicks but the three of them together accrue a lot of self-sabotage. Obviously she and James both love fashion (he could recognize her fashion flair even underneath layers of veils) but the fact she’s usually the one in the man’s outfits and James is in the woman’s says a lot about their dynamic. It’s pretty hilarious. Plus the one time they shared a costume to pose as this tall guy but she was sitting on his shoulders until he crumbled under her weight.

Even though she’s technically a bad guy, Jessie cares about her Pokémon as much as any trainer. Except for maybe Wobbuffet who had this running gag of popping out of its pokéball unprovoked- although she’d occasionally remember to actually use its moves in battle.
Both she and James got their Pokémon Ekans and Koffing to evolve for them because they were bemoaning the fact they lose all the time and their Pokémon wanted to help them.
This might’ve after Rachael’s time as the character but probably the most touching moment between Jessie and a Pokémon was releasing her Dustox so it could get its happily ever after with another Dustox.

Most of Rachael’s funniest moments as this character was anytime Jessie’s face or hair got ruined by something. Sure, this is a very vain character trait but her voice going way over the top to show her sadness or rage over this— it’s great.

Two instances that come to mind:
"Tower of Terror" where Meowth accidentally scratches her face to attack a Ghastly and she gets this massive mallet out of nowhere to get back at him for it.
And this orange islands episode where Tracey gets a Scyther but at one point Jessie gets her hair hacked off by a Scyther and she’s on a revenge mission as a result.

Another great moment that says a lot about her character is the "Ghost of Maiden’s Peak" where Eric Stuart (Brock and James) gets kidnapped by a ghost. After she winds up doing most of the Team Rocket motto by herself (absolutely brilliant!), she attacks the ghost with a bazooka (yeah, lots of random weaponry coming out of nowhere- season one comedy gold) and goes on this huge feminist rant. The legend of the ghost is essentially how this maiden died on the peak while waiting for her sailor to return from a war. Jessie is not moved by this in the slightest. 

"Women like her disgust me. Always waiting around for her man as if she were his faithful pet. She can't live without him. She cries. But I say 'see you later.' There are plenty of fish in the sea."  

...if I remember this verbatim, I'd be impressed. A LOT of that series stuck with me during those years so I remember a lot of it offhand like that. 

It’s kinda cool that Jessie starts participating in artistic Pokémon events when they’re introduced in the series. A lot of cheating is involved at the beginning but over time she starts to participate legitimately and she actually has a lot of talent for it. Ego aside, and often the first round of these events it’s at center stage surrounded by her Pokémon’s moves, it’s hard not to be impressed.

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The most notable highlight for both characters is the princess festival episode. Women are in charge (James’s comment of “how is that different from any other day?” Classic!), only men have to pay for food and services and it all culminates in a Pokémon battle tournament. And the winner gets a princess doll set.
Apparently this is an actual holiday in Japan, as is Kid’s Day. which gets a tiny mention in a later episode. But March 3rd is Doll’s Day (hinamatsuri), also called Girl’s Day- the dolls are called hinaningyo and they’re meant to protect girls from illnesses and misfortunes.

Of course in the episode's final act, Rachael has a battle against herself. Jessie almost wins thanks to her recent acquisition of a Lickitung. Ash and Brock lent Misty Pokémon to give her all-water type team more variety but she winds up winning thanks to her own Psyduck.
Normally this is a Pokémon that gives her a lot of trouble. It always shows up at random and it’s useless in battle until it gets a really bad headache. It’s always up to chance whether this happens or not but it’s always conveniently when she needs the help the most.
And Misty really did deserve to win the contest in this case. It was possibly the first time in her life she ever got to own anything that wasn't a hand-me-down from her three older sisters.

Just to finish off with Jessie before moving-- the final scene of the episode was a really sweet gesture from James and Meowth. They got dressed up as princess dolls to make up for the fact she didn't win them in the contest. The three of them will have their fights and arguments, but it's moments like these that prove how much they care about each other. 

Probably the most likable bad guys I'd seen on any series...

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Misty may be the “tomboyish mermaid" in the games and the youngest of the Sensational Sisters of Cerulean City... but in the rare occasion she gets dressed up, she always looks great. I especially like her with her hair down, although it's a very rare occurrence. 
I'm a bit of a tomboy myself. I mean, my go-to outfit on a normal day is a T-shirt, hoodie, pants and sneakers. But the way Misty catches attention when she puts on a kimono or the one time she played a mermaid in a Cerulean gym water show, I experienced something similar when I went to prom. The two of us have at least that much in common. 

I don't want to spend too much time focusing on the negatives, so I'll say this much:
The only reason I've ever had to dislike Misty comes down to her friendship with Ash. 

As silly as it may sound, I just wish she was nicer to him.
They obviously got off on the wrong foot because he accidentally wrecked her bike after “borrowing” it. They eventually get to a point where she’s more than just that girl who’s following him and she stuck around this long for reasons other than collecting a debt. So why is it so difficult to drop that antagonistic facade? Does she think if she gets complacent and is too nice, he’ll forget to pay her back?
Also, yeah, a true friend will be honest and tell you you’re getting ahead of yourself or you’re about to make a mistake— Ash isn’t perfect but Misty didn’t have to be so harsh when she drew attention to these things.
Their rapport improved over time, of course, but in those early days, I just kept thinking “if I had a friend who pointed out my shortcomings all the time, I would stop being friends with them.”

Now for some actual highlights. Between recollecting the series now and when I rewatched it five years ago, I found some great moments. Some that escaped my notice the first couple of times and of course some others I never forgot...

The two biggest moments that stood out in my memory came from instances where she saved his life. 
The first was when she found an herbal remedy to help him and Tracey when they were paralyzed by stun spore. And as a bonus, she left some of it for James and Meowth who were doing their own foraging to help Jessie. They were so moved by the gesture that they tried talking Jessie out of battling them once everyone got well.
Then on a much grander scale, the second movie where she saved him from drowning. She’s a water specialist so she’s a strong swimmer but the fact she braved the extra rough surface… dang, that plus her comment how “Ash is never really alone because he’s got me”… that hits different now and in the best way.

Moments I’ve glossed over from early on- the rare compliment only the audience gets to hear.
The end of episode 3 where she says “I’ve never met anyone like him…” I never noticed but this is the earliest sign she does like him and potentially more than a friend.
Then in Pewter City, she offers her help with a healthy dose of sarcasm, but she’s clearly concerned when he doesn’t take her advice. Then when he walks away from the rematch because he didn’t want to win it over the sprinklers going off by accident, she admires him for doing so.

There’s a conversation they have on the St Anne that’s maybe the first time it feels like a conversation between friends. She goes over to talk to him cuz he seems distracted and he explains his second thoughts about trading away Butterfree. It may not seem like much but it speaks volumes.

When Tentacool were causing trouble at an island resort, she was the only one who didn’t write them off. She figured there was a bigger picture they were missing. And on top of that she made an emotional plea to their leader on behalf of the people to stop its rampage. Something that could’ve gone sideways for her if it hadn’t listened.

Her relationship with her sisters, which hasn’t always been easy, did lead to one major positive. Two occasions where the trio met a group of siblings and the youngest is having a hard time, she’s the one who helps bridge that gap. Coincidentally, both Mikey and Sakura both came from families of Eevee trainers and have a big legacy to uphold as a result. We never find out whether Mikey’s evolves or not, but in Sakura’s reappearance, hers does and she’s become a much stronger person thanks to Misty’s friendship.

Then as a hopeless romantic, she likes to play matchmaker when Pokémon experience obstacles in the battlefield of love. Ash’s Butterfree for one but also the two Nidoran Tony and Maria (yep, they went there!) with their own Romeo and Juliet story.
On the other hand, she develops a habit in Johto of pulling Brock away by his ear when he’s flirting with the ladies. A habit that unfortunately became a running gag for the rest of his run in the series, but it’s just not the same when someone else is doing it (Max in Hoen and Croagunk in Sinnnoh).

Somewhere in the middle of the first season, they had a  story arc featuring the protagonist from the newly released Pokémon Snap. One of these was where we met the other Team Rocket duo of Cassidy and Butch who stage a breeding center scheme to steal hundreds of rare Pokémon. And they’re so sneaky and devious that when they get found out, they feign innocence and have officer Jenny arrest. Misty and Pikachu are the only ones who get away and they wind up saving everyone by setting the record straight.

Blaine sets up a bunch of riddles before Ash can challenge his gym on Cinnabar Island. Misty’s the only one who figures out all of them.

Another notable role she carried through a major chunk of the series- taking care of Togepi. Not counting Ho-Oh from episode one (because it isn’t named yet), Togepi was the first Pokémon from generation two that was introduced. I’m not sure how many Pokémon fans liked it- I know I wasn’t a fan. It didn’t do much other than cry and Pikachu often got into hairy situations in the shorts because it had to look after it. We see a small hint of its power in the orange islands where it uses metronome.
In the end, it does have a big role to play in a subplot in the Hoen region. Misty is brought back for a three episode stint. And she has her own “bye bye Butterfree” moment when they go their separate ways at the end. Of the heroic trio, she was obviously the best choice to take care of it and the payoff at the end made it all worth it.

In the Pokémon League at the end of season one, there’s a lot of great character moments. Ash obviously overcomes a lot to get to the top 16. Some was pure luck but some skill does come into play later on. Around that point, Misty and Brock are in the audience instead of cheering on the sidelines because he wanted to win one on his own. It’s an even bigger test because it’s on the heels of Gary getting knocked out of the tournament earlier that day.
He brings out Muk as a last resort against Jeanette’s Bellsprout. A choice that surprises Misty as much as she admires the intuitiveness of it.

I know I give her a lot of grief over her attitude but in the story arc with Richie and the 5th round of the tournament, some things hit differently in retrospect… it wasn’t until five years ago when I watched through the series again that I recognized these were outbursts that came from a place of caring or simply tough love.
Team Rocket stages a kidnapping scheme that makes Ash late for the battle, which involves staging a phony phone call. Their mistake was insulting Misty when she was the one who answered. On the surface, she’s taking her frustration out on Richie over the insult she thought had come from him. However, she wouldn’t just storm onto the arena over something petty like that. It’s kinda hilarious they don’t even call security. The commentator is too busy admiring her gusto. No, her anger is worry and concern about why Ash hasn’t shown up yet.

Then there’s the aftermath of the whole affair. Ash losing because Charizard forfeited the final matchup. I was so devastated— it’s been years since I thought about how I felt in that moment and it was a terrible feeling. He did eventually get Charizard to obey him- thank god!- but that one moment is why I scoff whenever I see Charizard on some “best of all time” Pokémon list.” Just because I understand why this moment was necessary for Ash's growth as a character, doesn’t mean I have to like it.

As bad as I felt about all this, Ash obviously felt a lot worse. The fact he was still miserable about this loss the following day- I was kinda shocked, actually. He’d taken losses hard before but this time was different. 
Misty takes it upon herself to snap him out of it. I really don’t like how she did it but it did work.
I’m not sure if I would’ve come around on this if this situation hadn’t come up again in Kalos. Serena is Misty’s polar opposite in a lot of ways and that’s why I like her a lot more. But she loses her temper with him after a string of difficult losses leaves him inconsolable and he refuses to accept her help. I hate to say it but it seems like tough love is the only thing that works with him.
And technically Misty did try everything else to snap him out of it, exerting a great deal of patience in the process and nothing else worked.

Going forward, their dynamic was more playful. The orange islands posed a few interesting challenges. The orange crew (gym leaders) were two guys and two girls. And with both of the guys, some sort of flirtation was going on. Danny was older and of course good looking so Misty was smitten but I’m sure some of her actions were to make Ash jealous. While she succeeded, it was more of “hey you’re supposed to be on my side” type of jealousy.
Then with Rudy, he was the one who was smitten with Misty but it became clear to him during the match who she cared about more. In the middle of a battle when he was losing, she called out to him to get his act together. And he did exactly that. I don’t remember that quite as well so it might be worth a revisit.

Another funny orange islands storyline was the one time she had a Golduck. She had a battle with fellow water specialist Marina and beat her with what she thought was her evolved Psyduck. It turns out hers had been in its ball the entire time (still a Psyduck) and the one she saw evolve was a wild one that liked to show off to girls.
In her disappointment, she quips “it’s a Pokémon version of Brock”

I’m sure there are many other great Misty moments I forgot but I have to stop somewhere. I’m starting to think I will have to revisit a bunch of these episodes, to reminisce and remember the great talent that brought her to life.
I also suspect that Veronica and Rena Taylor will be doing their own tribute on their Trainer’s Guide podcast and if I’m right, it’ll be something to look forward to for sure.