The Rocket Scout is a character of the day from the episode "Dues and Don'ts" (EP233). Her job is straightforward: she recruits new members for Team Rocket by evaluating candidates.
When she ran a computer check, she discovered that Jessie, James, and Meowth weren't even in the system—their Team Rocket memberships had actually expired. She broke the news by showing up with a caged Delibird and a recorded message, claiming she'd "caught ever so many" of them and was leaving it behind for the trio to catch as a test. After they managed to beat it, she laid it out: they were operating as "fake, phony frauds," and their membership cards revealed they'd skipped out on dues and gotten booted entirely.
The three wanted back in. The Scout told them they'd have to prove themselves by winning a battle against some Trainers first—and she conveniently picked Ash and his friends for the job. Jessie and James took the challenge seriously, even getting Delibird's help, but they lost anyway. Surprisingly, the Scout still let them rejoin. Turns out Team Rocket was so desperate for members at that point that she was willing to overlook the defeat.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
