RocketShipping

RocketShipping is the het ship between Jessie and James from the Pokémon fandom.

Anime (Overview)
Jessie and James are comrades in Team Rocket and have a friendship that dates back to their first meeting as co-workers. They work together on wacky plans to steal Ash’s Pikachu and impress their leader Giovanni, with their talking Meowth.

Jessie and James have a liability to embrace or hold onto each other when they are frightened (dubbed “fear-hugs” by RocketShippers) or happy. Jessie and James also do not have a issue with physical contact such as sleeping onto each other or holding each other in ways that friends won't.

Pokémon: Indigo League
When the two are convinced they are going to die in “Pokémon Shipwreck”, they hold hands, promising never to forget each other. James says to Jessie that he thinks she is beautiful. When James is scared to cross Bulbasaur’s vines and begs Jessie and Meowth to go on without him, Jessie refuses to leave him behind, insisting that they will cross together.

In “The Ghost of Maiden’s Peak”, James declares his love to the ghost’s statue in a precarious position on the edge of a cliff. Jessie is holding onto his pants to keep him from falling off until she gets distracted and he falls. She tries to grab him but ends up falling with him into the sea. When the ghost is dragging him away at the climax, James finally cries that he doesn't want to be separated from Jessie. Upon hearing this, she pulls out a bazooka and shoots the ghost. James smiles tearfully and says her name adoringly, to which she responds, “Don’t get the wrong idea!” and attempts to hide the fact that she did it for his sake. When the group is fighting against Gastly, Jessie and James are in the background fear-hugging.

In “The Ninja Poké-Showdown”, Jessie gives James a rose, much to his surprise. He pricks himself on a thorn as Jessie goes on to say that beautiful things can be painful.

In “The Legend of Miniryu”, James stands in front of Jessie to block her from the line of fire after dodging some bullets from Kaiser. He tells her to relax and trust him, grabs her by the waist and jumps off the roof with a parachute. The parachute falls on top of them after they crash-land and they scramble underneath it, during which time Jessie says, “Where do you think you’re touching?!” When they emerge, James is wearing an unnaturally wide grin.

In “A Chansey Operation”, James expresses obvious unhappiness at the flirting between Dr. Proctor and Jessie. When Dr. Proctor asks Jessie on a date, James cocks an eyebrow and looks unimpressed. Later Jessie puts her hand on Proctor’s chest to which James responds by glaring angrily at Jessie and clenching his fists. When Dr Proctor asks Jessie to assist him and she agrees, James volunteers to assist as well.

In “Holy Matrimony!”, Jessie is crushed, thinking that James has decided to marry his fiancée Jessebelle and come into his inheritance. To her delighted surprise, James calls out with the motto, swooping down in the balloon to pick her up. When he tells her that he was not able to get the inheritance, she brushes it off, saying that they do not need it as long as they have their freedom. They shake hands to reaffirm their friendship. Their hands form a heart and they gaze into each others’ eyes as the music swells as they end up forgetting to pick up Meowth.

Pokémon: Journey to the Orange Islands
In “Snack Attack”, James blushes after Jessie flirtatiously nudges him and compliments him on having a good memory.

The Electric Tale of Pikachu Manga
Throughout the manga, there is suggestive physical contact between Jessie and James. They also share a bed. In the epilogue, there is a panel in which is a flashback to James confessing his love to Jessie. At the end of the manga, Jessie and James are shown to be married with a child on the way.

Fanon
In the beginning, there was only one kind of RocketShipper—the one who thought that Jessie and James were attracted to each other. Some fans hoped they would eventually become a full-fledged couple. The RocketShipping fan community went wild after the publishing of The Electric Tale of Pikachu, which was official and approved by Nintendo themselves. It finally had officially sanctioned proof that Jessie and James were a romantic couple. Some believed that it was only a matter of time before something similar happened in the TV anime series.

However, as the hints decreased, a fan website named Pokemopolis was getting attention for rebutting the “evidence” found in the manga. Pokemopolis became the most prominent anti-RocketShipping site in the fandom, as well as the main proponent of the theory that James is gay.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

DEVIANTART

PIXIV

WIKIS
 * RocketShipping on Bulbapedia

Variations

 * TRio — the friendship including Meowth