This page will attempt to answer a question which has plagued the hearts and minds of humanity for all of three years now: Are Jesse and James an item? Hello, I'm Kika, and I'll be your host (since Goldie and Camara are too busy arguing over who gets James in the first place) in this seminar, which will offer evidence outside of "Yes" or "No". Be informed that we are only giving you an opinion based on our research at the lighthouse. You're free and encouraged to draw your own conclusions. That being said, are you ready? This is going to get strange.
Feel free to take notes. Class is now in session.
We'll begin with our first point:
Point # 1: JAMES IS NOT GAY.
Okay? Am I going to say that without backing it up? No. This is the reasoning behind that statement: how many gay or lesbian anime characters have you seen? Myself, about six. That being said, how many of them were shy in the least about their sexual preference? None. Japanese animators, in my experience do not hedge around that fact. As a matter of fact, they are rather blunt about it. They come right out and say it. WERE James to be gay, we would not be having this lecture because we would already know.
Here is an example:
in the original Japanese version of Sailor Moon, Zoycite was a man. Malachite, who he is cuddling with in this picture, was his boyfriend.
Point #2: CROSSDRESSING
"Why do they crossdress so much?" This is a fairly common question. I've stuck this in here because it gives a little insight on the relationship these two have. There are probably several reasons for the dubious outfits. First of all, comic relief. Who didn't nearly die laughing when they heard James use his real voice in the hula skirt from the Saffron City/Sabrina episode? Admit it, you thought it was funny. And I needn't mention this infamous scene:
Second of all, the whole crossdressing routine establishes Jesse's dominance. You kind of get the feeling that James is dressing like this because Jesse tells him to (even though he *does* enjoy it). Aside from that assumption, third, crossdressing also shows the fact that they both have personality traits resembling those of the opposite sex. That is, Jesse has a more masculine attitude, and James a more feminine one. (Man, this is getting complicated) She is brash, hotheaded, domineering, and quick-tempered, all stereotypically male traits. He is more patient, a better listener, and more sensitive, all stereotypically female traits. And, yes, we do have a lot of time on our hands to think about these things, what makes you ask?
Point #3: POINTS BY EPISODE
Time for a little fun! Now we get to go through some of the more *interesting* episodes and see what we can gather from them. Ready? Here goes...
"The Squirtle Squad" Alright, did anyone notice something strange in this episode? Apparently, Jesse and James left Meowth alone with the Squirtles and Ash and his friends for close to 24 whole hours. Meowth can even be heard wondering where they are. The next we see them, they're holding up a general store for some flash powder and dental floss. No one ever explained the missing day. (Maybe they were abducted by a U.F.O. and suffered a "Missing Time" expereince?)Hmmmm....
"Pokemon Shipwreck" 
Awww....Ain't that cute? In a rare moment of "nice-ness", Jesse promises James that she and Meowth won't leave him on a sinking ship.
"The Ghost of Maiden's Peak"When what appears to be a ghost begins to drag James off, Jesse pulls an arm cannon(!) out of nowhere and attempts to blow the ghost to kingdom come. James replies happily, "You really do care!"
And the response? Jesse claims that she hates girls like the ghost, who're always waiting on their man, and that her shot had nothing to do with James. Hmmmm... That seems an awful lot like an excuse to me....
"The Problem With Paras"
When Meowth reveals he has a crush on Cassandra, James tells him that he knows the feeling (Even though we don't see him become infatuated with anyone during the course of the show....). Hmmmm....
"Holy Matrimony!"
Did Jesse realize that when James' parents were talking about his "fiancee", that they weren't refering to her? Ummm...No. Did she act like she cared when she met Jessebelle? No. As a matter of fact, she ordered James to go through with the wedding anyway. But...
As you can see, she's not to happy with being thrown out. She then comments, looking rather depressed, might I add, "If James marries her, he gets his inheritance..." (A word of advice, Jesse: When Jessebelle led you down the dark hallway to the dungeon - alone, with no one else around but Meowth and James, all by yourselves - you could have taken the opportunity to -hehehe- impersonate her. James and Meowth wouldn't have told, you'd have had plenty of time to get rid of the evidence, and you look exactly like her! No one would have noticed!)
And later, we see Jesse and Meowth looking rather dispondant because they think James has decided to "hang up his Team Rocket costume". However....
James does come back to be with his team (can't say as I blame him - girls, when you have to keep your fiance from escaping with a whip and a Vileplume, something's not right in your relationship). And, as you can see...
Jesse is pretty happy about it. James pulls her (and *not* Meowth) into the balloon and...
Guys, I hate to tell you...
...but THIS IS NOT A HANDSHAKE! Yes, they are holding hands at this point. (And the Japanese don't like handshaking, anyway; too many germs. That's what all the bowing is about)
"The Ultimate Test"
James gets a little concerned when Jesse gets expelled from the tests (maybe he wanted to cheat off of her...he sure did look her way alot.)
After Jesse is expelled, James vows to "...do my best for her!" Later, during the battle exams, he throws a pokeball and dedicates it to her. "This one's for you, Jesse!" (Maybe he should do that more often; he did get a Pikachu out of that pokeball. Or maybe not; the Pikachu got whipped by a Gravler)
Point #4: SO DOES HE...?
Does James have feelings for Jesse? In all probability, yes. Quite possibly the biggest evidence of that is the comment he made in the "Maiden's Peak" episode: "So you really do care?" But it's doubtful that Jesse knows. If she does know, it's very possible that she simply ignores it. Which brings us to our next point...
Point #5: SO DOES SHE...?
Does Jesse have feelings for James? There's a strong possibility. I don't know about you, but I think she seemed *just* a little too angry at that ghost of Maiden's Peak over it's "waiting around" prefernces. And if she really was annoyed with it for waiting around for its man to come back, why didn't she just say "Shut up"? Instead, she said, "Hey, girl! You can't take him! You don't stand a ghost of a chance!" (And then she proceded to attempt to blow the ghost into next week) Did that sound like a challenge to anyone else? Hmmm....Thought so. And here's something else to think about:
Did you ever notice...?
Have you ever noticed how at least half of the "slave boys" in Jesse's fantasies resemble James? It's actually kinda scary when you think about it... So, does James know if she likes him or not? Very, VERY unlikely. She's definitely too proud and independent to admit anything of the sort without proper cause.
Point #6: COMMON SENSE
Alright, folks. Stop laughing. Time to use a little common sense, here. How many 17 year olds have you known that could walk around with a gorgeous member of the opposite sex all the time (in the woods, often by themselves)and NOT begin to get ideas? Hmmm...I can think of about... none. Honestly people... think about it.
Point #7: THE VERDICT
Alright, this is what we've been building to. Do Jesse and James have romantic feelings for each other? Based on what we've seen here today, I'd have to say the answer is "Yes". However.... they seem to have a problem ADMITTING it. This leads us to believe "Are they an item?" is another question. The answer to that one seems to be "No", up until the "Holy Matrimony!" episode. Then, it's not really very clear, but it kinda looks like something is starting.... Guess we just have to wait on more episodes to get translated....
THE CONCLUSION
We hope this little seminar has helped you in some small way. The views expressed here are solely those of the Lighthouse staff, based upon their research. So don't come shoot us because we said something you don't like, okay? This has been your instructor, Kika, on behalf of the Lighthouse staff.
Class Dismissed.
