Meowth

Meowth (/miːˈaʊθ/ or /ˈmjaʊθ/, known as Nyarth (ニャース, Nyāsu) in Japanese) is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's Pokémon franchise. Meowth first appeared in the video games Pokémon Red and Blue and subsequent entries in the franchise. In addition, it was one of the Pokémon to get an Alolan Form variant of the Dark type. It now also has a Galarian Form, which is a Steel type, and is the only Pokémon to have both an Alolan form and a Galarian form. It later appeared in various merchandise, spinoff titles and animated and printed adaptations of the franchise. A male Meowth capable of human speech is a major secondary character in the Pokémon TV series and is considered by many fans as the mascot of the villainous group Team Rocket. Meowth is voiced by Inuko Inuyama in Japanese, and by Maddie Blaustein (dub episodes 33-420), and James Carter Cathcart (dub episodes 422-1,234) in English.

Known as the Scratch Cat Pokémon, it spends most of the daytime sleeping and prowls the city streets at night. Meowth evolves into Persian in Kanto and Alola and Perrserker in Galar. Meowth is considered as rival of the Pokémon mascot Pikachu and also has a Pokédex number opposite that of Pikachu (its Pokédex number being 52 while Pikachu's is 25). Meowth is among the most recognizable Pokémon, largely because a member of the species is a central character in the Pokémon anime series. This particular Meowth, belonging to Team Rocket, the anime's main antagonists, is one of the few Pokémon that have the ability to speak human language. The episode "Go West Young Meowth" shows the character's backstory, in which Meowth attempted to impress a female Meowth called Meowzie (Madonnya (マドンニャ, Madonnya) in Japanese version) by teaching himself how to walk on two legs and speak human language, but it ended up alienating Meowzie.

In the English version of the franchise, Team Rocket's Meowth speaks with a Brooklyn accent. The character has received a mixed reception, Game Daily describing him as "adorable" while GamesRadar described it as "not all that useful" and said that Meowth as a species would not have stood out if it did not have such a large role in the anime.