Matori
| Matori マトリ Matori | |
 Matori in Pokémon Journeys: The Series | |
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Unknown |
| Region | Kanto |
| Member of | Team Rocket |
| Rank | Secretary Matori Matrix leader |
| Animated debut | Memories are Made of Bliss! |
| English voice actor | Emily Jenness |
| Japanese voice actor | Kiyomi Asai |
Matori (Japanese: マトリ Matori), also referred to as Giovanni's secretary (Japanese: サカキの秘書 Sakaki's secretary), is a recurring character in Pokémon the Series. Following her debut in Memories are Made of Bliss!, she was a minor recurring character during Pokémon the Series: Black & White and Pokémon the Series: XY before gaining a more significant role in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon.
History
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
In Memories are Made of Bliss!, Delibird arrived in Sinnoh to inform Jessie, James, and Meowth to contact Team Rocket headquarters immediately. When they did, instead of reaching Giovanni as they expected to, Matori greeted them. She informed the trio that they had to return to headquarters right away for an assignment from their Boss himself. Later, Matori delivered the files on Jessie, James, and Meowth to Giovanni for review before being dismissed.
Pokémon the Series: Black & White
In In the Shadow of Zekrom!, Matori informed Giovanni of the mobilization of an unknown organization in Unova.
In Enter Iris and Axew!, she told the trio that they could not use their previous Pokémon and had to catch Pokémon native to Unova, as non-native Pokémon would arouse suspicion. After the transmission, she gave Giovanni some coffee and expressed doubts about the trio's ability to carry out the mission, but Giovanni soothed her fears by expressing confidence that they would draw the unknown organization out.
She appeared in The Battle Club and Tepig's Choice!, Dreams by the Yard Full!, and Snivy Plays Hard to Catch!. These were all non-speaking cameo roles, where she was seen alongside Giovanni in transmissions to the trio.
In Battling For The Love of Bug-Types!, after the events of the unaired episodes which are no longer part of canon, she dismissed Jessie, James, and Meowth to act on their own in Unova, telling them that Giovanni was very busy and could not give them any more missions at that time. Matori did not appear again in Pokémon the Series: Black & White outside of non-speaking cameo appearances alongside Giovanni, first in Unrest at the Nursery!, and then in The Dream Continues! dressed in new clothing.
Pokémon the Series: XY
Matori only had minor appearances in Pokémon the Series: XY. She first made a non-speaking cameo alongside Giovanni in A Battle of Aerial Mobility!. She then received the trio's call to headquarters in An Explosive Operation! and immediately connected them to Giovanni.
Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon
Matori has a more active role in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, commonly contacting Jessie, James, and Meowth to receive reports on a regular basis.
She was first seen briefly in a flashback in Loading the Dex!, alongside Giovanni. In The Sun, the Scare, the Secret Lair!, she confronted the trio regarding the lack of reports on their progress in Alola. The trio tried to argue with her, only to immediately fall into line once Giovanni joined the conversation.
In Alola, Kanto!, it was revealed that Matori had summoned the trio back to Team Rocket HQ in Kanto for unknown reasons. She admonished Jessie in Now You See Them, Now You Don't!, after they failed to attend the meeting.
Matori and Giovanni contacted the trio in Acting True to Form!, and discovered they had encountered an Alolan Meowth. She ordered them to investigate and report the data about its powers. Much to the trio's surprise, she later revealed that the Alolan Meowth arrived at Team Rocket HQ and was now acting as her assistant. Matori was thankful and asked them to keep sending good Pokémon, unaware that the Meowth had traveled to Kanto on its own accord.
In Why Not Give Me a Z-Ring Sometime?, Matori scolded the trio for falling behind in their duties again. Jessie mentioned having plans of using Z-Moves, and she advised them that a Z-Ring can only be obtained from an island kahuna. In the following episode, she stood by as Giovanni made a phone call to Nanu to ask him for information about the "Blinding One". Matori was later contacted by the trio, who wanted to inform Giovanni about the same subject. Since he was already aware of it, Matori advised them to report some bigger information if they wanted to impress the boss.
In A Battle Hand-Off!, Matori learned that the trio had recently acquired a Z-Ring and a Mimikium Z. She seemed pleased by their confidence and ordered them to keep reporting on any Pokémon they have gotten.
In Filling the Light with Darkness!, Matori headed a special Team Rocket unit named the Matori Matrix (Japanese: マトリマトリックス Matori Matrix), and was on an aircraft approaching Alola with the unit's members, including Gozu. She was contacted by Giovanni for a briefing on the progress of her mission, and she reported that a small Ultra Wormhole had appeared in Alola, meaning that their target might appear. When asked by Giovanni if the target could be the "Blinding One", Matori responded that finding out the answer was the purpose of her mission. Giovanni ended the transmission by telling her he expected great things from her. She then asked Gozu if they would arrive in Alola soon, and when he confirmed that they would, she had him give the order to activate their craft's cloaking device.
In Full Moon and Many Arms!, the Matori Matrix arrived in Alola, but were left lethargic due to Necrozma draining Ultra Aura from the adults around the region. Despite this, when they encountered Necrozma in its Dawn Wings form, they managed to trap it inside an electrified net before it shortly broke out. The unit briefly retreated, only to return and attack Lunala and Nebby using laser cannons on their aircraft while the pair recuperated on the beach of Melemele Island. They ensnared Lunala and Nebby in another electrified net, but it was soon destroyed by Gladion's Silvally and Ash's Pikachu. Nebby retaliated by hitting the aircraft with Flash Cannon, forcing them to retreat again. After Necrozma possessed Nebby, turned into Dusk Mane Necrozma, and fled through an Ultra Wormhole, Matori and the rest of the unit were rejuvenated and continued their mission. Later, at the Ultra Guardians' base, Ash and his classmates were informed of the Matori Matrix by Faba.
In The Prism Between Light and Darkness!, Matori and her unit witnessed the Ultra Guardians and Lunala head inside an Ultra Wormhole and attempted to pursue them, only to be stopped by Professor Kukui and Faba. Gozu and several Grunts were sent down to Ten Carat Hill to face the duo, while Matori and the rest of the unit had their aircraft repaired. In Securing the Future!, Matori called Gozu and urged him to wrap up his battle with Professor Kukui and Faba, as their repairs were done. The other members of the Matori Matrix returned to the aircraft, while Professor Kukui managed to defeat Gozu's Mega Aggron using his Incineroar's Malicious Moonsault. Once Gozu rejoined the others on the aircraft, the Matori Matrix set off to try and pass through the Ultra Wormhole. However, Tapu Koko attacked the aircraft and badly damaged it before blocking the way into the Ultra Wormhole. Though she wanted to continue the mission, Matori reluctantly ordered her unit to retreat.
In Spying for the Big Guy!, Matori contacted the trio, wanting to know why Bewear hadn't been sent to the headquarters before revealing she was coming over herself to get it, causing the trio to panic. After arriving in Alola with her Meowth, the trio took her to the Pokémon School, where they witnessed Ash's classmates practicing their Z-Move poses before being sent flying by Pikachu's Corkscrew Crash. Team Rocket then attempted to catch Grandpa Forest but failed when Bewear and Stufful turned up. That night, Matori decided to grab Stufful and return to the headquarters with it, only to be stopped by the trio. Jessie distracted Matori whilst James switched Stufful with a disguised Meowth. However, Matori found this out while she was flying back to Kanto, whereupon Bewear showed up and rescued Meowth. Later, a visibly injured Matori contacted the trio from Team Rocket HQ once again, only to be scared off when Bewear answered the call.
In Thank You, Alola! The Journey Continues!, Matori contacted the trio with new orders for them to return to the HQ, having grown tired of their lack of results in Alola.
Pokémon Journeys: The Series
In A Little Rocket R & R!, Matori contacted the trio at their base in Vermilion City, where she told them that Giovanni was giving them an order to take a vacation as a reward for accomplishing their missions. This was, in fact, a lie intended to get them out of the way for her own operation to steal large numbers of Pokémon at the Resort Area in Sinnoh. Giovanni gave her freedom to take as many Team Rocket Grunts as she wished with her, but she elected to only bring members of the Matori Matrix.
She traveled to the Resort Area via helicopter, where she met up with the Matori Matrix members at a tent they set up as a base and reviewed the mission plans with them. They successfully stole many Pokémon from the nearby town, including Ash's Pikachu. However, Jessie, James, and Meowth happened to be taking their vacation at the Resort Area and overheard her disparaging them, motivating them to help Ash and Goh free the Pokémon before the Matori Matrix could leave the area. The subsequent battle quickly turned against Matori and her unit, and when Officer Jenny arrived, she ordered a retreat. Later, the trio answered her next call to their Vermilion City hideout and noticed she was exhausted, guessing it was because Giovanni scolded her for failing her mission.
She appeared again in Nightfall? Nightmares!, where she and the Matori Matrix pursued a Cresselia over Fullmoon Island. After injuring it with their airship's electric blasts, they lost track of it and it escaped to a forest on the mainland. Matori contacted Jessie, James, and Meowth at their base in Vermilion City and ordered them to track Cresselia down, telling them that the operation to capture Cresselia and Darkrai was a mission directly from Giovanni and that success would greatly benefit their reputation. However, this was Matori's scheme to have them do the work for her, intending to blame them for their failure if they didn't succeed. She then ordered the Matori Matrix to continue their search for Darkrai.
In A Midsummer Night's Light!, she and the Matori Matrix finally caught up to Darkrai and Cresselia on a beach, where Ash, Goh, Chloe, and Dawn were with the Lunar duo. Ordering an attack, she descended from the airship with four other Matori Matrix members and commanded them as they battled against Ash's group. The Matori Matrix managed to overwhelm them and subdue Darkrai, but as Matori ordered her henchmen to collect it, Cresselia healed Darkrai using Lunar Dance. Reinvigorated, Darkrai then blasted the Matori Matrix's airship away with Dark Pulse before using Dark Void to engulf Matori and the others, trapping them in nightmares and defeating them.
Character
Matori appears to take her job as secretary seriously, as shown many times when she delivers messages coming from the Team Rocket Boss to Jessie, James and Meowth, or when she demands reports from them. She is also seen to be faithful and deferential to Giovanni. While interacting with the Team Rocket trio, she is noticeably more cold and harsh.
In Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, more of Matori's personal relationship with the trio is fleshed out. She becomes a rival figure to Jessie, who carries an intense dislike for her, as she considers Matori's attitude to be too authoritarian and almighty due to her status as the boss's secretary. She angrily calls her names such as "four eyes, "loser locks" and "bob-cut glasses goon" (Japanese: おかっぱメガネ bob-hair glasses) when she is not around, although later on both Jessie and Matori begin showing their disdain of one another publicly. Jessie also periodically uses a hand puppet of Matori to mock things the latter says, such as lectures after the trio fails missions. James seems to be more respectful of her, if not a little intimidated by her. Meowth appears to feel neutral towards her. He once considered bribing her with food, but quickly gave up on the idea.
Matori, on her side, is usually not impressed with the trio's lack of achievements and their failure to report on schedule. She does, however, show certain respect for them when they manage to report true achievements, such as unwittingly finding an Alolan Meowth or acquiring a Z-Power Ring. While the trio usually responds to her in a combative manner, especially when not in Giovanni's presence, she is either unaware of this or chooses to ignore it.
It is later revealed that in addition to being Giovanni's secretary, Matori is also an elite Team Rocket operative who leads her own special unit, the Matori Matrix. While leading this unit, she wears a standard Team Rocket uniform, but it is styled in a more militaristic fashion, with fancy, decorative shoulder-pads and the hat being down-turned and carrying the Matori Matrix insignia. In her role with the Matori Matrix, she is shown to be a serious, goal-oriented leader, dedicated to accomplishing her missions at any cost. Additionally, she also shows a vain and condescending personality, having the unit named after herself and dismissing the trio's offer to help. She appears to trust Gozu's advice, although she maintains her bossy demeanor and becomes even more irritable while lethargic due to the draining of Ultra Aura. She also has a reckless side, as seen when she hesitated to give up on pursuing the Ultra Guardians through an Ultra Wormhole, even though the Matori Matrix's airship was badly damaged.
Matori knows when to cut her losses, as seen in Spying for the Big Guy!, when she gave up trying to bring Bewear back to the Team Rocket HQ and instead captured Stufful. Bewear's rescue of Meowth subsequently resulted in Matori developing a fear of Bewear, as seen when she attempted to contact the trio, only for Bewear to answer her.
Pokémon
On hand
 Meowth |
Used as a messenger
 Delibird |
Voice actors
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Trivia
- Matori was the last character to be introduced in Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, debuting in the final episode.
- This makes her the only recurring human character to be introduced in the final episode of a series.
- Prior to the original Japanese version of Battling For The Love of Bug-Types!, Matori was known only as Giovanni's secretary. The Chinese and Indonesian dubs retained Meowth's line revealing her name in that episode, but the English dub removed it. She remained nameless in the English dub until the English captions for The Sun, the Scare, the Secret Lair! referred to her as Matori. This was later confirmed when her name was spoken in Full Moon and Many Arms!, 347 episodes after it was originally revealed in Japanese.
- Matori seems to have taken over Cassidy's role as Jessie's main rival within Team Rocket.
- An early, unused design for Matori depicted her with a different uniform and a haircut resembling that of Lorelei.[citation needed]
- Aside from the Team Rocket trio and Giovanni, Matori has appeared in more series than any other named member of Team Rocket, at five.
Names
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | マトリ Matori | |
| English, Italian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese | Matori | Same as Japanese name |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 真鳥/真鸟 Zhēnniǎo | From 真鳥 Matori |
| Korean | 마트리 Mateuri | Similar to Japanese name |
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |