Team Rocket's on-screen record against Ash is famously poor, but the group's Pokémon lineup tells a different story. A ranking of Team Rocket's strongest Pokémon spans the anime, manga and games and focuses on partners whose achievements go beyond the organization's usual results. Some have knocked out Pikachu; others have destructive power that Team Rocket itself struggles to manage.
The list opens with Jessie's Gyarados, obtained through the Prize Master in Pokémon Journeys, which fights with Ice Fang, Hydro Pump, Aqua Tail and Hyper Beam. Jessie sends it into “Ivysaur's Mysterious Tower!” to stop Ash and Goh from disrupting a plan to steal wild Ivysaur and Bulbasaur. Pikachu's Thunderbolt ultimately wins the fight because Gyarados' Water and Flying typing takes four times the damage from Electric moves. Even so, Gyarados forces Pikachu to use a full Thunderbolt, suggesting a different matchup would make it a real threat.
Archer's Houndoom anchors his final stand in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, where Archer leads Team Rocket temporarily while Giovanni is missing and trusts Houndoom with the organization's future at the top of the Radio Tower. The pattern repeats: FireRed and LeafGreen place Houndoom last on his team, Pokémon Adventures gives his counterpart Carl three Houndoom, and Pokémon Masters EX pairs Archer with Houndoom as his sync pair. The ranking calls Houndoom the clearest case of a Team Rocket executive defined by a single Pokémon.
Jessie's Wobbuffet uses Counter and Mirror Coat to return physical and special damage, leaving opponents without an easy way to win. In Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver, its Counter blasts off Butch and Cassidy. Its defense finally fails in “The Battlefield of Truth and Love!” against James' Mareanie: Wobbuffet blocks every attack with Counter and Mirror Coat, and only a relentless Spike Cannon barrage knocks it out. The takeaway is that constant pressure, not one powerful attack, is what beats Wobbuffet.
James' Mareanie enters the Manalo Conference battle against Wobbuffet with orders to lose, but it wants a real fight and James lets her have one. That choice shows a Pokémon trusting its own power more than a plan. Mareanie then uses a relentless barrage of Spike Cannons to break through Wobbuffet's Counter and knock it out. Since Wobbuffet had reflected every earlier attack, only that volume of fire could overwhelm it.
In Pokémon Adventures, Ariana's Arbok handles the jobs Team Rocket cannot afford to lose. Ariana first uses it against Carr, then ambushes Silver and Crystal on Route 38, where Arbok nearly swallows Silver before pinning him to a tree. Its moveset includes Dig, Glare, Wrap, Ice Fang and Poison Sting, and it also defeats Crystal's Bonee in that fight. At the Sinjoh Ruins, Arbok drags Arceus onto the Mystri Stage so Team Rocket can force the Pokémon to create Dialga, Palkia and Giratina—a feat the ranking treats as evidence of serious strength.
Jessie catches Yanma in “The Thief That Keeps On Thieving!”, and it evolves into Yanmega almost immediately in battle. Yanmega knows Ancient Power, Silver Wind, Steel Wing and Sonic Boom. The ranking says its power towers over most of Jessie's other Pokémon and that it gets closer than any Team Rocket Pokémon to crushing Ash's group. Its teamwork adds to that: Yanmega and Seviper knock Metagross away when Jessie rescues James in Sinnoh, and in Pokémon Journeys Yanmega's Silver Wind merges with Seviper's Poison Tail into one massive beam aimed at Ash's Pokémon.
Giovanni's Rhydon is saved for last in Pokémon Red and Blue and set at level 50, above Nidoqueen and Nidoking. It has Fissure and Horn Drill, both one-hit knockout moves when they connect. The manga adaptation of Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution shows Rhydon's power when Giovanni sends it at Mewtwo and tries to weaken the Pokémon with Horn Drill; the attack cracks Mewtwo's armor. According to the ranking, Rhydon's drill damaged equipment designed to contain the strongest Pokémon in the world.
Jessie's Mimikyu matches Pikachu closely in Pokémon the Series: Sun and Moon. In their first fight, Pikachu's Iron Tail does nothing because Mimikyu's Disguise absorbs the hit, and Mimikyu responds with Play Rough and beats up Pikachu. The Disguise gives Mimikyu a free pass against Pikachu's favorite physical attack, forcing Ash to rethink his opening. In “A Battle Hand-Off!”, Mimikyu overwhelms Pikachu with fast, powerful attacks, and one dark stare makes Bewear release Team Rocket so the fight continues. In “Battle Royal 151!”, Mimikyu defeats Pikala's Pikachu and then chases Ash's Pikachu.
Giovanni's Persian takes a direct Iron Tail from Ash's Pikachu in “Meloetta and the Undersea Temple!” from Pokémon the Series: Black and White, then quickly knocks Pikachu out with Power Gem. The ranking notes that Persian's durability matches its offense and that it pairs Power Gem with Shadow Claw. Giovanni's habits confirm Persian's value: he puts away his Gym Pokémon between battles, yet Persian stays at his side. In Pokémon GO, Persian is the only Shadow Pokémon that appears in every one of Giovanni's party pools.
The final entry is Mewtwo. In Mewtwo Strikes Back, Giovanni funds Dr. Fuji's research to create an improved, living replica of Mew. Team Rocket puts Mewtwo to work immediately: it beats every Trainer who challenges the Viridian Gym, including Gary Oak, and helps capture wild Pokémon for Giovanni, serving as both Gym champion and agent. Team Rocket designs armor to suppress and control Mewtwo's power, but that lasts only until Mewtwo learns Giovanni sees it as a tool. Mewtwo then destroys the armor and Team Rocket's headquarters in one go, proving the organization had no way to control it or match its destructive power.
Sources: Comic Book Resources.