When do Jessie and James appear, how to find them
Jessie and James balloons, which appear as a huge Meowth head floating in the sky, will randomly appear in place of a normal Team GO Rocket balloon. Unless their spawn rate is changed by some event, such as the one scheduled for Christmas, when Jessie and James spawn more regularly, they spawn on first start within six hours of midnight.
What does it mean? It's actually quite simple. Starting at midnight and until 6 a.m. when opening Pokémon GO for the first time, a Team GO Rocket balloon will appear. There's about a 50% chance that this balloon is a variation of Jessie and James. Then at 6 a.m., the cycle repeats, with a balloon appearing the first time you start the game from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m. And so on, from 12 p.m. to 18 p.m. then from 18 p.m. to 12 p.m.
After you open the game and the Team GO Rocket or Jessie and James balloon appears, you have about 20 minutes to fight and defeat them before they fly away and you have to wait for the next six hour cycle. So to maximize the number of Jessie and James fights you can have, for example when you have to defeat them four times for the Special Research Distracted by Something Shiny, you have to make sure to open Pokémon GO in each of these. six o'clock windows. If Jessie and James do show up, just use our guide below to form a team of the best counters.
The best Jessie and James counters
Jessie and James mixed up their teams for their return in December 2020, so we need to break down the top counters against the six of their brand new Pokémon. Below is a list of their team and some of the best counters you can use to defeat this character. Just use the strongest counter you have with the ideal set of moves and you should pass pretty easily. Your reward is a chance on a Shiny Pinsir and a Shiny Scyther, so it's worth beating them even if you don't need them for Special Research.
A few tips before diving into the best meters. Jessie and James operate by the same rules as Team GO Rocket grunts. This means they never use shields which makes them pretty easy. Additionally, if you're struggling, you can trade Pokémon or use a charged attack to make them delay their attacks for a few turns.
How to beat Jessie
Jessie will start the battle with her Shadow Scyther which should be easily defeated using a solid Rock-type Pokémon such as Tyranitar with Smack Down and Stone Edge or Rampardos with Smack Down and Rock Slide. Basically anything about Smack Down will tear it down. The next one will be Ekans which is well countered by Psychic Pokémon and attacks. Mewtwo should be short of him. And finally, Stantler will appear so switch to your toughest Fighting type Pokémon, like Lucario with Counter and Aura Sphere or Machamp with Counter and Dynamic Punch.
How to beat James
After defeating Jessie and catching what is, hopefully, a brilliant Shadow Scyther, you'll face off against James. Its opening Pokémon will be Pinsir, the best against which is the Fire-type Pokémon and attacks. Chandelure or Darmanitan with Incinerate and Superheat or Sulfura with Fire Spin and any charged attack should work fine. Koffing will come after that and can be countered well with another Mewtwo with Confusion and Psystrike or any other solid Psychic Pokemon. And finally, there's Grimer who is easily beaten by that same Mewtwo who probably survived the previous battle. So the key to countering James is having a good Fire Pokémon to start with before moving on to your best Psychic-type attacker to finish the battle.
And this is how to fight and defeat Jessie and James in Pokémon GO using the best counters from December 2020.
