Petrel

Petrel
Species	Human
Affiliation	Team Rocket
Hair color	Purple
Eye color	Black
Debut	Pokémon: HeartGold Version/Pokemon: SoulSilver Version

Petrel is one of the four Team Rocket Executives featured in Pokémon: HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions, who are based on nameless Executives originally appearing in Gold, Silver and Crystal. He is known as a master of disguise, but is apparently not as good as actually acting like people.

Background

Petrel was a high-ranking member of Team Rocket, presumably prior to Giovanni's disbanding of the team and subsequent disappearance. Petrel was among those Executives who worked together underground during the following three years to reform Team Rocket and attract Giovanni's attention so that he could lead them again. Petrel seemed to mostly use his talents at disguise, despite their flaws and his arrogance.

Gold first confronted Petrel within the hidden Team Rocket HQ at Mahogany Town, in a room that could only be opened with two passwords. Petrel at first disguised himself as Giovanni in an attempt to trick Gold, but he was then informed that he neither looked nor sounded like Giovanni (despite Gold never having even met Giovanni yet in the game). He then undid his disguise and, guessing that Gold was seeking the password to the radio control room, told him that it was "Hail Giovanni". However, he believed this to be inconsequential because it was a lock that only responded to his voice. He then battled Giovanni and was defeated, but Petrel remained sure that Giovanni was waiting for their revival and fled the base with the knowledge that Gold would be unable to reach the control room; however, he left behind a Murkrow in the room that was able to mimic his voice, with which Gold was able to enter the control room and shut down Team Rocket's local operation.

He was then sent to the Goldenrod Radio Tower after Team Rocket took it over. He impersonated the Director and supported all of the new Team Rocket programs broadcast throughout Johto in order to gain Giovanni's attention as well as influence the nation into following Team Rocket. Gold eventually walked in on him, at which point he discarded his disguise and battled Gold again, this time determined to hold nothing back in battle. He was still defeated and told him that the real Director was held in the Underground Warehouse, going as far as to provide Gold with a key. This time his hubris further failed him, as he had done so because he did not believe that a child like Gold would really get that far with it. The executives and grunts all disappeared after Archer disbanded Team Rocket, leaving it unknown who was arrested (if any) and who escaped.

Pokémon Roster

His roster is unchanged from Gold/Silver/Crystal to HeartGold/SoulSilver. Petrel uses Zubat, Koffing and Raticate in the first battle; in the second battle he uses five Koffing and a Weezing.

Trivia

• He is named after a type of British rocket.
• Petrel's role is altered somewhat from the unnamed Rocket Executive he was based on in the original games. In Mahogany Town, he claimed to be inhabiting Giovanni's office, but he did not disguise himself as Giovanni or show any of Petrel's smugness. After being defeated, he simply ran off and never revealed the password, and that time the player simply learned the password from the Murkrow as it was not voice activated. The second confrontation was similar in both versions, except in the original version the Executive never took off his Director disguise.