He is an upbeat, determined member of Team Rocket who can speak and understand the language of Pokémon. Unlike his many colleagues, he has no human teammates accompanying him and has been paired up with two Pokémon instead; the specieswapped Jessie and James.
His job description is that of a "Pokémon whisperer", for which he's tasked to persuade wild and captured Pokémon into joining the company. Since his job doesn't require him to "steal", human guidance is considered unnecessary.
His ability to speak the language of (then) all 150 Pokémon was what inspired his boss to put this different tactic to the test, hoping it would come with less consequences and more devoted fighters. It appeared successful for a while, until Mir met a young boy named Pete Ashtoo and started to neglect his duties to chase after him.
Mir Yusuf was born in Iran and spent most of his youth by himself. His mother was young and his father embarrassed to have a child out of wedlock. After helping her deliver their son in secrecy, he convinced the gullible teenager to abandon him in exchange for the promise to marry her properly. Mir was turned into a mistake that never happened; and discarded in a trash can. A pregnant Persian found him immediately after and accepted him as her kitten, even long after her own offspring reached adulthood.
When he was between the age of 2 and 3, she was killed by nearby human residents, since stray cat Pokémon were plentiful in the area and known for breaking into homes and raiding kitchens. While Mir Yusuf can't recall a time when he wasn't alone, his Persian mother and Meowth siblings stayed an unconscious memory and his fondness for the animals stems from this experience.
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As Mir's birth was never registered, he was never given an official name and called himself "Mir Yusuf" around the age of 7 with the expectation people would tolerate him more if he shed his uncivilized wolf child-reputation, but this did nothing because of the fact the main issue persisted;
As a toddler (2017).
Sketch of Mir Yusuf, waiting for rich people to adopt him like the girl in the movie he saw (2020).
He was often forced to take shelter on private property, and being haunted by the feeling of hunger made him delusional and mistake random objects for food. Villagers acquainted with him believed he was mentally insane because of this. As he continuously trespassed or destroyed property, he received no sympathy.
When he was a preteen, a feelgood movie at an open field-screening inspired him to make a fresh start in a Hollywood-esque neighbourhood. Not knowing how unwelcome people like him are in high-class communities, he quickly met with more disappointment and mistreatment, which pushed him into glorifying the first stranger that showed him kindness. The leader of a notorious street gang saved him from starvation, whereafter Mir decided to join the group for the sake of staying alive. The belief this man cared about him and Mir's subconscious wish to have a parental figure to make proud were big factors as well.
He spent most of his teenage years working for him, though did so with regret. He was ordered to do increasingly, unspeakably heinous jobs under the guise of proving his worth and loyalty. Whenever Mir showed faint signs of wanting to leave after the deed, or presumably retaliate, his boss would try to manipulate him back to his side by acting like a close friend or whenever it suited him.
These experiences left their mark and Mir Yusuf carries trauma, subtle to the common person, while his harsh upbringing turned him into a one-man army in disguise. This "talent" is considered unusable, as it distorts his sense of reality and makes him dangerous.
After the years of mental trickery, Mir became unsure about the reason for his unhappiness. He concluded that the absence of love in his life was to blame and strenuously taught himself the language of Pokémon in order to impress a beautiful rich man's daughter, just because she expressed preferring Pokémon over people. He caught nature documentaries on other people's TV's, bothered pets, examined Iran's wildlife, zoos, and any museum with stored audio clips from historic findings. When he believed to be ready, he met up with her again and expressed his love in 150 languages, but she thought the peasant had turned mad and was uttering nonsense. As she fled from his recital, she lost her signature golden headdress and Mir Yusuf loyally preserved the item in case she'd come back for it. After the realization hit she wouldn't, he kept it as a necklace and reminder of his personal conclusion he needs to find power and riches if he wants to win her love and become happy. With nothing waiting for him in Iran, he left and crossed several countries, looking for an opportunity.
He strolled and illegally hitchhiked his way through many regions, but nobody saw value in his capabilities and Mir couldn't speak English to plead with them. With no food or place to stay, he became skinnier and more unwashed, resulting into even less people showing him generosity.
After an unknown period of time, Mir had snuck onto a boat and arrived in Kanto, where he was given the chance to enjoy another movie through someone else's living room window. When the credits rolled, he was able to speak and understand English. Despite this, Kanto's people showed him no kindness either and believed he was just a thieving bum.
One day, Mir Yusuf spotted a Team Rocket truck and treated it as a sign; as the first Pokémon and English word he understood happened to be "rocket". He climbed the back of the truck, which led him to Team Rocket's headquarters, where he managed to convince one of the entrance keepers to schedule an appointment with her boss.
Mir laying eyes upon Pezhman for the first time (2019).
Piece of comic sketch showing Mir underperforming at Team Rocket (2020).
Upon meeting Pezhman Fārsi for the first time, Mir was convinced it was his ex-boss from Iran and feared he'd get punished for abandoning the gang. Pezhman clearly didn't understand his Persian cries and Mir realized he was just a lookalike, thus quickly switched to showing off his lingual talents by speaking to his distrusting pet Persian.
Pezhman was immediately impressed and gave him a trial period within the company. He wished to see the extent of his talents and would often come to watch when Mir was pushed in front of a Pokémon, but many of the creatures Team Rocket had acquired were second generation and Mir could not understand them. Pezhman was angered by the lacklustre results, but decided to trust Mir's abilities and extend the trial. As Mir was still mangled by his lengthy period of starvation, Pezhman made sure his health was restored first.
Mir recovered and succeeded at learning several new languages in time for Pezhman to judge him again. He was given a steady position in Team Rocket and tasked to convince wild and owned Pokémon into freely joining the shady organization. Mir brought back many motivated and devoted fighters, as for Pokémon happy to go through torturous practises with the belief they were benefiting themselves or it to be for a greater good.
Mir was given two Pokémon companions as to protect him during his missions; the bullies that had badmouthed him in the hallways ever since he arrived, but ends up befriending.
His success came to an end when he crossed paths with a young boy, who had an equally valuable talent. He wished to recruit him for his boss in the hopes of getting his long-awaited promotion, but Pete Ashtoo had already been acquainted with Mir as being a wanted criminal, and refused.
From that moment on, Mir's tried to kidnap him, but is always outsmarted or a victim of bad luck.
The Team Rocket trio once followed Pete and his crew back to Iran for a movie premiere, where Charjessieon and Jamespuff first learned of Mir's home and past. Upon arrival, he got approached by his old gang, who expressed anger for his decision to run off, but were willing to forgive him if he rejoined and used his multilingual talents for their benefit. Mir refused, but then got confronted with the fact they had Marzieh. She expressed her displeasure for having to join a street gang, and her complaints made Mir assume she was being extorted. It led to a stab fight with his ex-boss, but before Mir could take his life, Marzieh stopped him. He understood from her words that she thought to owe him for taking care of her and they were in love. She still found Mir a freak and had no interest in leaving with him to the West.
He finally accepted her unchanged feelings, but kept her headdress as part of his Meowth look and his search for success continued.
Personality[]
Mir Yusuf is an indiscouragable worker and eager learner, yet selectively stupid. Among his Pokémon friends, the role of straight man circulates often and it's always someone else who makes fun of the other over their ignorance. Even less flattering characteristics are his egocentrism, unapologetically rude behaviour, and the belief he's always in the right or just the smartest person in the room.
He's also defined by his need to feel wanted and cared about, as empathy from others is something he didn't get to enjoy during his childhood. He's quick to fall in love with girls that show him a sliver of kindness or are just physically attractive. The majority of his love interests resemble cat Pokémon, which reflects his interest in the animals.
Despite his self-assured demeanour, he recognizes his many failures in life and keeps track of them mentally, insinuating it's an act to keep himself optimistic. He never lets go of the past, which is why he has an almost unreasonable disdain for Pezhman Fārsi, who's biggest crime is looking like the man who wronged him, though Mir publicly attributes it to jealousy over him getting all of Giovanni's attention.
"Give me your money, motherfucker!" - A brief look into Mir's previous life (2017).
Piece of comic sketch showing Pezhman awakening an episode (2020).
Even though Team Rocket is a criminal organization that doesn't shy away from weapons and force, Mir Yusuf never felt comfortable disclosing the details of this previous criminal life to his colleagues. He's only told his boss and teammates the bare minimum, since they demanded it once. His boss expressed confusion for his incompetence as his employee, to which Mir Yusuf guessed the difference lies in having people he can depend on and the things exposed to him not being comparable. He carries heavy baggage from his past that stays mostly -and purposely- unexplored in the series.
Childhood trauma bred a second personality, which mainly shows its head in life-threatening situations, but is still a rare occurrence. Mir's mind experiences a slight reset and relives his gang life; whereafter he can't make out his surroundings or recognize people anymore and is convinced to be hunting down people in Iran. His movements become nimble and on point, he himself target-oriented and seemingly can't feel pain anymore. He also loses his ability to speak any language but his native tongue, though speaks little at all.
If dealing with an impossible enemy, he'd unknowingly kill himself trying to take them down.
Mir regrets his past and taught himself not to "depend" on this side of him. He keeps himself out of this learned state by purposely forgetting the life he's lived, and many dangerous situations he's dealt with by embracing his old, cowardice self, though in the presence of Pezhman Fārsi it's hard to do.
Having that said, his trauma didn't only turn him into an on/off assassin, but can also inflict crippling fear. This is very occasionally caused by Pezhman's moments of scolding when Mir fails to produce results for him. Mir is unable to recall it happened or to have spoken with Fārsi when he comes back to his senses.
Appearance[]
Mir Yusuf's first design (2013).
Mir Yusuf has the appearance of a young adult, but like most of his personal details, his age is unknown. Pete Ashtoo and his friends once shared their guesses, which varied between 15 and 30 years old, while Mir himself has never been able to guess or care.
He has dark skin, dark-blue eyes, drawn out eyebrows, prominent lips, a tooth gap, and long black hair with uneven bangs. It's noticeably short and frizzy at the back, caused by the years of abuse/hair-pulling by his ex-boss. His hair stopped growing properly around that area ever since.
Mir's hair before and after joining Team Rocket (2017).
Mir Yusuf with his gang; his ex-boss would grab his hair when angered (2019).
When he was given a position in Team Rocket, he cut and bleached his hair to resemble a Meowth's head and tail. He originally did this as an attempt to impress his cat-loving boss and earn himself an early promotion.
While his boss criticized his look and believes it not to fit his organization's image, Mir stays convinced he likes it and has grown fond of it himself. He noticed a boost in trust wild Pokémon have for him the more he looks like a Pokémon, and it's his preferred excuse.
Mir wears a black shirt under a sandy-white Team Rocket turtleneck, matching pants, long black gloves, and long brown boots. He has fairly large feet and often trouble finding shoes his size, explaining why these left-over boots don't match the rest of his attire. That he won't settle with brown gloves and a shirt instead is a testament to his undeveloped logical thinking.
Certain pieces he wears are undoubtedly from the women's aisle as well, since Mir is short and too skinny to fit the clothes available in Team Rocket's male wardrobe. More employees with other than average bodytypes had to deal with this issue, like Charjessieon and Jamespuff's owners.
Notable relationships[]
Jessie and James[]
Mir knows his Pokémon teammates as "Jessie" and "James", who're called "Charmeleon" and "Jigglypuff" by everyone else, since most other Pokémon don't care for names and human characters can't understand them when being informed. While the trio is rarely seen apart, Mir Yusuf is not their trainer and both Pokémon have owners who also work for Team Rocket. Mir's relationship with these men is minimal, as he tends to address Charjessieon and Jamespuff whenever there's a problem.
Mir Yusuf finishing the Team Rocket greeting in Persian, making it fully incomprehensible since Pokémon now perform the rest of the bit (2017).
Because Mir either flees or draws a weapon, he qualifies as a low-level trainer and isn't able to properly command his teammates in battle when he decides to use them. Their trainers are assigned to the same area as them and often tag along, allowing for Mir to benefit from a more controlled Charjessieon and Jamespuff during confrontation.
Further in time, their trainers leave the country and Mir is asked to take care of them full-time. Their relationship has developed enough that they show him more obedience when given commands.
Mir Yusuf's relationship with his teammates is special in the sense he treats them like human beings and spends his already meagre wage on getting them (beauty) items, since they don't get paid and their owners never cared for it. As Mir is also theatrical and cares for aesthetics, he found it important to hear their requests.
Jamespuff was able to style and dye his hair thanks to Mir, while Charjessieon was given mascara and a Team Rocket outfit he made himself. Before meeting Mir, they looked like a mostly regular Jigglypuff and Charmeleon.
Mir sees Pete Ashtoo as the key to his success, despite his boss having expressed not to be interested in hiring a child and him being the reason for his millions of dollars in debt.
Hoping it would earn him his long-awaited promotion, Mir planned to recruit the talented trainer; an offer Pete rejected with violence. He then concluded it'd be easier to kidnap the 7-year-old, but still booked no success and his blind obsession with Pete turned him and his team into a joke.
Pete sees and treats Mir Yusuf as a child predator of some sorts, though gets genuine enjoyment out of "battling" him and isn't that worried about being in danger when in his presence.
Mir has stated that they could've been friends if they had both been children and met at an earlier point in time.
Mr. Giovanni[]
Mir Yusuf adores his boss' pet Persian, debatably more than he does. One of his life goals is to pet him, and hopefully keep him as a pet one day, but Giovanni treats him as a bother. His angry comments are always ignored by Mir, though, and even after a harsh insult, it only takes a few seconds for the excessive "cooing" to repeat itself.
Because Mir Yusuf's talents make him important, Giovanni keeps his claws to himself and Mir has never fallen victim of the typical lashing out a Persian does to unwelcome people, which makes Mir only further believe there's a friendship growing between the two.
Pezhman Fārsi[]
Mir often comes in contact with his boss, though rarely for good reasons.
Pezhman was the first person to value his talents and give him the chance to prove himself; even when Mir Yusuf botched his first impression and a gave a weak performance during his trial period.
Mir realizes to owe him alot and isn't making things better by eating away at Team Rocket's budget with his futile attempts at capturing Pete Ashtoo, but is steered by his disdain and sometimes jealousy for Pezhman. As he's a clone of his ruthless ex-boss from Iran, he can't muster any respect for him and makes him a target of insults and jokes.
Since Pezhman is tolerant towards Mir's shenanigans, relatively speaking, he's given little reason to stop his therapeutic bad-mouthing and disobedience.
Nevertheless, Pezhman is the only human (adult) character Mir trusts to approach with certain matters, as Jamespuff's and Charjessieon's owners aren't even considered.
Trivia[]
He has no surname and is only known as "Mir Yusuf", though it's often shortened to "Mir" by others;
The passport granted by his boss treats "Yusuf" as his last name and argues he's 21 years old, as to ensure he has full legal freedom.
Pezhman Fārsi is the only character who consistently addresses him with his full name.
It's likely that Mir's adoptive Meowth family helped him develop his talent of deciphering and speaking the language of Pokémon, not unlike the character Tommy from the original Pokémon series.
Mir Yusuf has been criticized for his "grating" and "annoying" voice more than once;
His voice is that of the late Maddie Blaustein, Meowth's second voice actor.
When Mir Yusuf came to solicit for a job with Team Rocket, he told the entrance desk clerk to have just crossed the country's border and shared the way he learned English. She commented on his American dialect, to which he explained the character in the movie had one like it;
After having mastered the language of Pokémon, it's become easier for Mir to learn languages, which is his strongest talent;
Still, he cannot teach himself without mimicking his example's sound and/or dialect, which is why he speaks a Pokémon's language in the original voice of that Pokémon, and has a Brooklyn accent when speaking English.
Further in time he also manages to flawlessly imitate people, and as more time passes, combine voices and accents.
Mir Yusuf's understanding of the Pokémon language comes with the ability to hear their "real voice", making Charjessieon and Jamespuff sound like Jessie and James to him.
Mir Yusuf doesn't always talk to Charjessieon and Jamespuff in their own language, as they are owned Pokémon with a fair understanding of the human language.
Mir Yusuf has never caught a Pokémon and isn't interested in owning one, since the company provides him with weapons and tools, giving him little reason to use the creatures.
Mir Yusuf's main weapon is a set of six daggers he now and then sticks between his fingers as to mimic the scratch attack of a Meowth;
Mir is skilled with small blades, but keeps weighing down his hands for the sake of looking cool, making him not fast enough to land a hit in most cases.
Mir Yusuf tends to call Pete Ashtoo "the kid with the golden touch" or "Kid Midas".
Mir Yusuf never remembers what species Nidorash is and keeps mistaking him for a Rattata.
People, mainly Pezhman, always respond to Mir Yusuf's mention of his teammates with "Who's Jessie and James?", because of their unfamiliarity with the names and lack of interest in remembering.
Mir Yusuf loves soap operas.
Mir Yusuf can't swim.
Mir Yusuf has a fascination with the moon.
Mir Yusuf is good with machinery.
Mir Yusuf is a good cook.
Mir Yusuf has high metabolism;
Because he's starved most of his life, his hunger never really disappears.
