Why Jessie and James are leaving Pokémon Go?

For fans of the Pokémon animated series, getting Jessie and James into Pokémon Go has been a fun adventure. They were a special encounter for the Rocket Balloons, and you knew it was them because they showed up in their iconic Meowth shape. However, on September 31, they will be leaving the game, and Niantic has encouraged players to try and fight them. Still, it's a random chance every few hours for a Rocket Ball to spawn, so players don't have much of a choice except to check the game every once in a while. Why is the dynamic duo leaving the game?

This is probably because Niantic is preparing to move on to his next Team Rocket event. When the COVID-19 pandemic first began in April and May 2020, Niantic announced the removal of monthly Giovanni events. These events provided an opportunity for Trainers to travel the world fighting Grunts who had taken control of Pokémon Go Stops, battle the Leaders, and ultimately complete enough quests to have a chance to fight Giovanni himself. Each month, Giovanni had a new Legendary Pokémon by his side that he had turned into Shadow Pokémon, and trainers could free them from his service. With these events along the way, Niantic had to imagine something new for players to fight Team Rocket without leaving their homes.

Their solution was the Team Rocket balls. These balloons would float above a player's location whether or not they were near a Pokémon Go stop. The first to use it were Jessie and James, and so these two became a rare spawn during the Team Rocket events in July, leading up to the 2020 Pokémon Go Fest event. However, when the team initially announced that they were removing Giovanni, they promised to bring him back in late September and somewhere in October.

With October almost here, and Jessie and James have been in the game for a few months, it's time to go our separate ways. The struggling duo will likely make a comeback, potentially with new Pokémon, but at this time, we don't know the answer. You have until September 30 to fight them and catch their Shadow Pokémon. From September 22 to September 30, you are more likely to meet them and see their iconic Meowth balloon.