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as per the Pokemon Character Reorganization thread
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[[center:[[WMG:''{{Franchise/Pokemon}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Pokemon}} characters Index]]''' ''([[Characters/PokemonTypes Pokémon Types]], [[Characters/PokemonRecurringArchetypes Recurring Pokémon Archetypes]])''\\
[-'''Pokémon Family Species:''' [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIFamilies Gen I]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIBulbasaurToParasect Bulbasaur to Parasect]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVenonatToCloyster Venonat to Cloyster]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIGastlyToMiltank Gastly to Miltank]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIMagikarpToMew Magikarp to Mew]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIFamilies Gen II]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIChikoritaToGranbull Chikorita to Granbull]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIQwilfishToCelebi Qwilfish to Celebi]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIFamilies Gen III]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIITreeckoToSharpedo Treecko to Sharpedo]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIWailmerToDeoxys Wailmer to Deoxys]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVFamilies Gen IV]] | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVFamilies Gen V]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVVictiniToZoroark Victini to Zoroark]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVMinccinoToGenesect Minccino to Genesect]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIFamilies Gen VI]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIChespinToHawlucha Chespin to Hawlucha]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIDedenneToVolcanion Dedenne to Volcanion]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIFamilies Gen VII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIRowletToComfey Rowlet to Comfey]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIOranguruToMelmetal Oranguru to Melmetal]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraBeasts Ultra Beasts]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIFamilies Gen VIII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIGrookeyToHatterene Grookey to Hatterene]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIImpidimpToCalyrex Impidimp to Calyrex]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGlitches Glitches]]\\
'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivals Protagonists And Rivals]] ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
'''[[Characters/PokemonVillainTeams Pokémon Villain Teams]]:''' [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamRocket Team Rocket]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamAquaMagma Team Aqua/Magma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamGalactic Team Galactic]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamPlasma Team Plasma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamFlare Team Flare]] / '''Team Skull''' / [[Characters/PokemonTeamYell Team Yell]]\\
[[Characters/PokemonFrontierBrainsAndOtherFacilityHeads Frontier Brains And Other Facility Heads]] | [[Characters/PokemonTrainerClasses Trainer Classes]] | [[Characters/PokemonOtherNonPlayableCharacters Other NPCs]] ([[Characters/PokemonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraReconSquad Ultra Recon Squad]] / [[Characters/PokemonMacroCosmos Macro Cosmos]])\\
[[Characters/PokemonLegendsArceus Pokémon Legends: Arceus]]-]]]]]
%%Lusamine, Gladion, and Lillie have been confirmed by the moderators that they are NOT expies of the ''Kill la Kill'' characters. Any such examples will be struck down.
'''''WARNING: Major spoilers for VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon and VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon follow. Read at your own risk.'''''
----
!!Team Skull
The villainous team of the Alola region. Their designs are based on punk culture, and unlike the crime syndicates and terrorist groups before them, they operate more like street gangs than anything else, having a strong sense of familial bonds throughout their ranks. [[NamesTheSame Not to be confused with the trio of Poison-type Pokémon]] from ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers''.
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[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Tropes that apply to the organization as a whole]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/team_skull_grunts_sm.png]]
* AffablyEvil: They're actually pretty personable, speaking casually and showing a great deal of inter-team brotherhood, even in regards to their Pokémon.
* AmbiguouslyGay:
** When you walk in on two female Grunts arguing in the Team Skull base, one of them will, depending on your gender, remark that "a boy" or "a cute girl" overheard their argument.
** Elsewhere in Po Town, a male Grunt wonders if the reason another male Grunt keeps waving at him is because "he realizes how hot I am".
* AntiHeroTeam: Becomes this at the end of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''.
* BatOutOfHell: Like other villainous teams before them, such as Team Rocket and Aqua/Magma, they have a penchant towards using Zubat.
* BigFancyHouse: Subverted with their headquarters. The Shady House is a large mansion, but it's just as run down and derelict as the rest of Po Town.
* BilingualBonus: When a male grunt spots the player, a voice clip is played saying "dokuro", the Japanese word for ''skull''.
* BreakingOldTrends: The first villainous team to not have an end goal that affects the entire region, or a legendary Pokémon, they just want to lash out and get respect from a society they feel has tossed them aside.
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Their symbol, worn by all members as a necklace, is a tilted 'S' stylised to form a skull's head and eyes, with an additional set of "teeth" under it to form the full skull shape.
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To Team Rocket. They're both criminal organizations, but while Team Rocket is TheMafia and mainly operate underground, Team Skull are GangBangers who work out in the open. They both exploit Pokémon for profit, but while Team Rocket's ultimate goal is world domination, Team Skull's members turned to crime just to survive.
* CriminalFoundFamily: Not that they're ''great'' at being criminals, but Plumeria certainly seems to see them as a great big family.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindows: Pink hair and eyes for female grunts and bright blue hair and eyes for male grunts.
* DarkIsEvil: They wear all-black outfits, and are shown to steal Pokémon and commit petty crimes throughout Alola. Even moreso, when [[spoiler:their boss turns out to be in cahoots with the even more evil Aether Foundation.]]
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of the KidHero, in a world where young children are sent out into the world alone. [[spoiler:Many members mention suffering from horrible self-esteem over always losing, homelessness, and failing to complete the islands' trials. When you finally reach the town they are based out of, it is in ruins with almost no power or supplies. As one Grunt says early on, they're not out to take over the world or anything, they just want money. Albeit the postgame (where various grunts get employed or taken in by other characters) makes it clear their situation was not so desperate that they had no other options, and they just chose to focus on revenge against the society they feel that cheated them.]]
* DelinquentHair: Almost all members of Team Skull revealed have unusual hair colors, with the male and female grunts having bright blue and pink hair, Plumeria having pink and yellow hair. The exception is Guzma with his white at the top, black at the bottom hair.
* DrowningMySorrows: Implied by the sheer number of empty bottles seen lying around the Shady House.
* EndearinglyDorky: Despite being a villain team, nobody save for Lillie takes the Grunts seriously, and they always gesture wildly when they talk, during battles, and even when taken aback. Plumeria even calls them her "cute, dumb brothers and sisters".
* ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow: Female grunts wear purple eyeshadow.
* FloralThemeNaming: ''Plumeria'', ''Gladiolus'', and ''Guzmania'' are all genera of flowering plants.
* TheFellowshipHasEnded: [[spoiler:The ending of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' shows Guzma and Plumeria standing in front of the Team Skull grunts, with the Team Skull logo crossed out in a big red X on the back of his jacket. He makes it clear that Team Skull is officially disbanded. The grunts change out of their outfits but [[SubvertedTrope still insist on staying with their boss]]. Guzma is amused by this.]]
* TheFriendsWhoNeverHang: Strangely enough, at no point in the story are Guzma and Plumeria in the same place, nor do they interact with each other on-screen. Later averted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' where they appear together during the credits.
* GangBangers: Their gesticulation, speech patterns, and attire, as well as their more informal tone compared to previous villain groups, make them resemble American street gangs. Specifically, their outfits, as well as the fact that Guzma and Plumeria are named after plants prominent in Central and South America, gives them a resemblance to Latino street gangs from the West Coast. [[spoiler:Furthermore, their motivation is that they're broke trainers who were never able to make a legitimate earning, and turned to a life of crime in the desperate hope of keeping themselves afloat, a common origin for a lot of American gang members.]]
* GoingThroughTheMotions: When walking or speaking, the grunts [[MilkingTheGiantCow gesture dramatically]] like stereotypical gang bangers.
* GoodCostumeSwitch: Reformed Grunts, such as the one at Mallow's family's restaurant, have removed their Team Skull articles, now appearing as Alolan Punk Guys/Girls.
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Post-game, Hala takes two Team Skull grunts under his wing, and they say that they're training so that they become strong enough to help people in need. One also appears in Mallow's parents' restaurant, happy that she was given another chance. Meanwhile, Plumeria and Guzma dedicate their lives to training once again, the latter doing so with Hala in ''Sun and Moon''.]]
* HelpfulMook: In Po Town, two Grunts are hanging around inside the Pokémon Center and will heal your team like any normal Pokémon Center for the paltry fee of 10 Pokédollars. They'll cheerfully bust a rhyme out for you in your support.
* IgnoredEnemy: Even when they first appear, they're completely ignored until they force you and Ilima to pay attention.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: With the exception of Lillie, [[IgnoredEnemy nobody takes them seriously]], ''ever''. With certain dialogue choices, even the player character brushes them off as nothing more than a nuisance.
* JapaneseDelinquents: While their designs are based on punk and Latino culture, they have quite a few hallmarks of the ''yankii'' subculture, such as bandanas, face masks, DelinquentHair, excessive jewelry, and tattoos. They also care for each other like siblings, just like a Japanese group of delinquents would.
* JiveTurkey: They all speak in absurd street slang with the exception of Plumeria and Gladion.
* KickTheDog: Most of their early actions are too [[LaughablyEvil funny]] and [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain hopeless]] to be regarded as bad, but the first real nasty thing you see them do is when a couple of grunts mock their ally Gladion for being homeless. [[spoiler:They also steal a Yungoos belonging to a ''preschooler'' at the Aether House, so they're not above stealing from little girls.]]
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Before you fight Guzma in [[spoiler:Aether Paradise]], you have to fight a couple grunts back to back. A third one stops you... only to let you pass without any trouble, since he's smart enough to not fight a battle he can't win.
* LaughablyEvil: Confirmed by WordOfGod to be 100% intentional. Team Skull has become a target of mockery in Alola, mainly due to their street gang aesthetic and designs, but their [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain plans not being able to back them up due to them being ineffectual]]. As for their members, there's Gladion's constant poker-face and hand gestures, Plumeria's description of her own minions as "stupid", alongside Guzma explicitly being noted as a failed Trial Captain. You can even walk away from them during your first encounter with them!
* MenCantKeepHouse: Hilariously true here for the most part. Most of the Shady House is in shambles and barely livable, and even Guzma's room is cluttered. Plumeria's room, however, is clean, neat, and tidy.
* MilkingTheGiantCow: The Grunts gesture wildly as they walk and speak.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: A minor example occurs when a pair of grunts the player previously encountered trying to steal berries from an elderly man try to mess up your first Trial. After losing to you again, they give up on fighting you and simply try to capture the Yungoos (in ''Sun'') or Rattata (in ''Moon'') that is constantly switching between three holes as you're trying to catch it. By blocking two of the holes, they restrict the Pokémon to one hole.
* NobleDemon: They genuinely seem to care about each other, with Plumeria being one of the first Admins to grow [[BenevolentBoss pissed off]] when you hurt her minions. [[spoiler:Which makes sense when you learn that they're a bunch of failures who wound up homeless because they couldn't make a living as trainers on their own. They became a would-be family when Guzma brought them together.]]
* NoTrueScotsman: They apparently have this mindset, despite being a bunch of wild and varied people, they criticize Gladion for not ''really'' being part of Team Skull since he's their enforcer.
* ObviouslyEvil: Team ''Skull'' is too sinister a name to belong to anything other than a group of villains.
* OutlawTown: Po Town, a small town that they took over, made into their headquarters and proceeded to run to the ground. It is so horribly destitute that they have the only Pokémon Center in the game that charges you for their services.
* PaletteSwap: A truly unusual case of this: all of the Team Skull Grunts are palette swaps of the Alolan Punk Guy/Girl trainer class, just with Team Skull apparel on, and they have the exact same losing animations. There's signs that it might be intentional, though, between the way several of the latter Trainers talk exactly like Team Skull Grunts and how a Punk Guy and Girl are seen with the [[spoiler:reformed]] Plumeria during the credits, suggesting that they might be "off-duty" Grunts who've simply taken off their Skull merch.
* PoorPredictableRock: Most use Dark or Poison-types, not unlike Team Rocket, with a few Psychic-type Pokémon sprinkled in.
* SelfDeprecation:
** They aren't too shy about their self-esteem issues.
** A {{Meta}} version appears in Verdant Cavern with two male Grunts "trying" to harass you, with one conversation [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] [[YouALLLookFamiliar the reuse of character models]].
** Another one has an argument between two female Grunts in Po Town, which culminates as another {{lampshade|Hanging}} concerning why everyone is referred to as "Grunt".
* SerialEscalation: Inverted. Unlike previous evil teams, these guys aren't out to conquer the world or control some powerful legendary Pokemon. They're just out to steal whatever they can get their hands on, particularly money, while also just being dicks to Trainers going through the island challenge.
* SexyWalk: The female grunts walk like this, similar to Plumeria.
* StrangeSalute: The mooks pose before battle by crossing their arms across their chest and then curling them to their sides to gesticulate a skull and crossbones.
* TrashOfTheTitans: They've taken residence in a mansion, and the interior is a mess, with garbage and graffiti everywhere and a fallen chandelier blocking one of the stairwells. Only Plumeria keeps her room clean.
* TrueCompanions: Probably the thing that differentiates Skull the most from any other villainous team: They're all struggling due to shortcomings or failures in life, and have banded together to try and get the respect they believe society owes them. In the process, they, along with Guzma and Plumeria, form an extremely tight bond to the point they don't disband after reforming, instead refocusing their efforts on positive contributions to society.
* TheUnreveal: Their origins are said to have originated as a group formed around one of the Kahunas, who was then struck down by one of the island deities. The identity of the Kahuna and original leader of Team Skull is left unmentioned beyond that.
* ValleyGirl: Two female grunts in Po Town talk like this.
* VisualPun: The goofy "arms curled towards hips" thing the grunts do is supposed to be their arms and body [[http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/157/905/db8.jpg mimicking the shape of a cartoon skull]]. The white saltire on their shirts also makes it look like a skull and crossbones.
* WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises: The grunts sport these on a loss.
* WhoWearsShortShorts: Female grunts wear cut off shorts.
* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler:Or at least, Would Steal From And Kidnap Children. Team Skull at one point steals a Yungoos from a ''preschooler'', and later, Plumeria kidnaps Lillie to bring her back to the Aether Foundation's headquarters (although Lillie agrees to go with Plumeria in order to protect the other children who were with her at the time). Albeit it's notable that Plumeria is very regretful about the whole thing later on, she followed orders but was against the whole plan.]]
* {{Yakuza}}: Very clearly the type of thing Guzma ''wants'' to invoke with the team, but also very clearly ''not'' the case, [[spoiler:with the difference between them and the ''real'' Yakuza - Team Rocket - being shown clearly in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''.]]
* ZergRush: Sort of. At Ancient Poni Path, before you head into Vast Poni Canyon, you have to fight a lone female Grunt and seemingly a single male Grunt. However, in the overworld, there are five other male Grunts, and the male Grunt has five Pokémon, giving the impression that all five male Grunts are either all fighting you or they just let the one Grunt do all the work. This is likely due to the lack of the Horde Trainer battles that were present in the Hoenn remakes.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Guzma]]
!!Guzma (グズマ ''guzuma'')
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/guzma_sm.png]]
-->''"Wanna see what destruction looks like?\\
Here it is in human form - it's your boy Guzma!"''
->Voiced by: Creator/DougErholtz (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - EN), Tatsuhiro Kikuchi (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - JP)
The leader of Team Skull. He's a fierce and merciless battler, and seems to have a past with Professor Kukui. He is a Bug-type specialist, until the Battle Tree, where he diversifies his team into Poison-types and Dark-types.
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* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler:A house on Route 2, his childhood home, hints that Guzma may have had a very troublesome childhood. It's implied that his father beat him, but Guzma later retaliated and ran away from home afterward. His father says "I tried to set that boy straight, but instead, I was the one who got beat." And then there's the bag of bent and broken golf clubs found in the same house. What makes it more unsettling is that the very lady he follows orders from is an abusive mother herself. Further hints that he may have been abused as a child can be seen in his catchphrase about being "the hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up" (which could be a FreudianSlip about what his father did to him), and the way he slips into third-person and screams "Guzma! What is wrong with you?!", which combined with his AlwaysSecondBest status, further looks like sublimated emotional abuse.]]
* AchievementsInIgnorance: [[spoiler:When he shows up at Team Rainbow Rocket's Castle to rescue Lusamine, he unintentionally causes two Rainbow Rocket Grunts to [[IllNeverTellYouWhatImTellingYou tell him where she is]].]]
* AlwaysSecondBest: Not even that. [[spoiler:Almost all of the trophies in his childhood bedroom are bronze, so he was always ''third'' best. He also has a single silver trophy, meaning that the one time he actually got second best was an accomplishment for him.]]
* AtArmsLength: [[spoiler:He does this to two Rainbow Rocket Grunts, holding his hands against their faces while they futilely swing their arms at him.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: His bravado isn't just for show; he's easily a very strong battler, and ''definitely'' the strongest member of Team Skull. [[spoiler:When you confront him in Aether Paradise, he's already defeated ''Gladion''[[note]]who at this point uses a Golbat, which is a ''Flying-type'' and thus should have had a major advantage over his primarily Bug-type team[[/note]] and is ready to rip you apart. Also, his team when you battle him in the post-game is on par with the ''Elite Four'', and he can also be found amongst many strong, fightable (and recruitable) trainers in the Battle Tree.]]
* AxCrazy: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. He isn't necessarily murderous as far as the story goes, but he's definitely violent, irritable, and aggressive to the point of being mentally unhinged.
-->"You wanna know what I do when some machine messes up? The first thing I do is [[PercussiveMaintenance give it a nice hard smack]]! I mean, most of the time I smash it to pieces, but hey, what can you do? ''(donning a SlasherSmile)'' [[WouldHurtAChild Now let's see if I can't fix you!]]"
* BadassBoast: His section's establishing quote.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: [[spoiler:According to Plumeria, he likes Lusamine because she's the only adult who ever seemed to acknowledge his strength.]]
* BenevolentBoss: Even if it isn't as immediately obvious with him as it is with [[CoolBigSis Plumeria]], Guzma does care about his underlings. [[spoiler:If you speak to him in the postgame of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he'll tell you that he's working hard to become stronger so that he can make sure no one messes with his "homies". This is also the reason he formed Team Skull in the first place, as a means to give fellow social outcasts a place to call home.]]
* BewareTheSillyOnes: He's just as much of a LargeHam as the rest of his team, but unlike them, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking he's actually a threat]].
* BigBad: TheLeader of Team Skull, and as such, he acts as one for [[DiscOneFinalBoss the first part of the game]]. [[spoiler:Later subverted, as he is actually TheDragon to [[TheManBehindTheMan Lusamine]], who operates the much more competent and just as villainous Aether Foundation.]]
* BigBadWannabe: Played with. He certainly ''acts'' like he wants to be feared by everyone [[spoiler:despite not being [[BigBad the biggest threat to Alola]]]], and there may be a scared, broken boy with self-esteem issues underneath his loud, boastful attitude. But he's still a hostile, destructive gang leader who's out to do as much damage as he can and is perfectly willing to back up his threats.
* BigBrotherInstinct: [[spoiler:Seems to feel this way about the protagonist and Lillie in the Rainbow Rocket storyline. He joins you in a battle againt two rainbow rocket grunts, telling them before that "(even though his team is disbanded, he still has things) he can't let go of and won't let anybody mess with". He also holds off other grunts to allow the protagonist to take on the leaders of the Rainbow Rocket relatively unbothered.]]
* BigCreepyCrawlies: Of all of the villain team leaders (with the exception of Giovanni, as he was a Gym Leader [[note]]and even then, he doesn't have a full team of Ground-types in ''Pokémon Yellow''[[/note]] as well as a Villain Team Leader), he is the only one who carries a team full of a certain type of Pokémon. In Guzma's case, he specializes in Bug-type Pokémon. Fittingly, this may be because his original aspirations were to be a Trial Captain, the Alolan equivalent of Gym Leaders, and his dedication to a single-type team is a holdover from those dashed hopes. His favorite Pokémon and ace is [[SignatureMon Golisopod]], a giant isopod that stands taller than him. His room in the Shady House has a large pile of Buginium-Z Crystals, one of which the player can take for themselves. The Poké War Games event in ''Masters'' even has him paired up with Buzzwole.
* BlingOfWar: He wears various bits of jewelry, such as a gold watch and a Team Skull pendant. [[spoiler:He takes off the pendant after disbanding Team Skull.]]
* BonusBoss: He can be challenged to a match [[spoiler:when you visit his childhood home after becoming Champion in ''Sun and Moon''. In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he's instead one of the Title Defense challengers you can battle.]]
* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:In ''Sun and Moon'', when you find him in Ultra Space, he realizes [[AxCrazy Lusamine]] has gone too far when both are stuck in Ultra Space, and he gets possessed by a Nihilego when he cockily tried to capture it. By his own words, [[MindRape his body and mind were driven out of his control]], and he experienced fear for the first time. Meanwhile, [[BrokenPedestal Lusamine is just on another level and was gone for him]], and it's implied [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath he tried to talk her down]], but it didn't work.]]
* BrokenAce: [[spoiler:If the trophies in his parents' house on Route 2 are any indication, then he most certainly is. Not only that, he had actually trained his Pokémon since he was younger during his island trial, and he also failed at becoming a Trial Captain, feeling like society cheated him when this happened. These are the reasons to why he formed Team Skull, as [[NobleDemon he wanted to take in people that weren't that different from him]], and despite being TheAce and TheLeader of the team, he is a broken ace one at the end of the day. Fortunately, by the end of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he works to amend his issues.]]
* TheBrute: Views himself as such, being a burly looking man who calls himself "destruction in human form".
* CallingTheOldManOut: [[spoiler:Post-game in ''Ultra Sun And Moon'', he has the audacity to visit his old home on Route 2, and beat his father in a battle.]]
* CatchPhrase:
** "The hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up... Yeah. Big bad Guzma is here!"
** "Guzma! What is wrong with you?!", which he says whenever he loses a battle.
* CardCarryingVillain: Introduces himself as "destruction in human form."
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To Giovanni. They both lead criminal organizations and specialize in one specific type, [[spoiler:and in the end, they both disband their gangs in order to focus on becoming stronger trainers. But while Giovanni is the BigBad of his game, Guzma is TheDragon to the real big bad, Lusamine. And while Giovanni is training because he intends to reassemble Team Rocket someday, Guzma is able to move on and is training in order to better himself. In addition, Guzma is heavily implied to have suffered rather nasty parental abuse as a child while Giovanni himself, while not explicitly shown to be physically abusive to his son, has still been shown to be a terrible father towards Silver up to and including abandoning his son after the events of the first games]].
* CoolShades: Guzma wears an asymmetrical pair of sunglasses on his forehead. [[spoiler:He swaps them out for a symmetrical pair after his HeelFaceTurn.]]
* CreepyShadowedUndereyes: Sports these, likely to reflect his angry and intimidating demeanor.
* TheDragon: [[spoiler:He is one to Lusamine, the president of the Aether Foundation]].
* TheDogBitesBack: It's implied his StartOfDarkness occurred when he finally [[spoiler:delivered a return beatdown to his abusive father.]]
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: [[spoiler:And this is despite his mother being an {{abusive parent|s}}. If you visit his house in the postgame, his mother will say that while she heard all sorts of rumors that her Guzma was up to no good, she knew they were "all lies", implying he couldn't bring himself to fess up to her.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** Despite being the leader of a gang, seeing himself as "destruction in human form", and wanting to vandalize Alola, he's the only villainous team leader to not plan to {{take over the world}}, or do something to it. [[spoiler:Reinforced by Episode RR in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''.]]
** [[spoiler:He also feels [[AxCrazy Lusamine]]'s OmnicidalManiac tendencies are going too far, at the end of ''Sun and Moon''.]]
** [[spoiler:In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he also doesn't seem to take backstabbing well, as Faba did to Lusamine.]]
* EvilIsHammy: He's ''very'' [[NoIndoorVoice loud]] and [[MilkingtheGiantCow expressive]], to say the least.
* EvilLaugh: While it's not heard or shown in his dialogue, one of his animations before battle is a maniacal laugh.
* {{Foil}}:
** To Kukui. Guzma mentions that both of them failed at becoming Trial Captains, but instead of doing something good with his talents like Kukui, Guzma went crazy and created Team Skull instead.
** To Plumeria, his second-in-command. Guzma is loud and gets angrily very easily, while Plumeria always keeps her cool. [[spoiler:While Guzma happily goes along with Lusamine's plan (until the events in Ultra Space), Plumeria is against kidnapping Lillie and regrets being a part of it. She apologizes sincerely for her actions and has nothing but nice things to say to the protagonist. When the protagonist meets Guzma after Team Skull's disbandment in ''Sun and Moon'', he gives them his lucky Dawn Stone while refusing to call it a gesture of apology]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** [[spoiler:His encounter and battle themes both contain samples of the Aether Foundation theme, which hints towards who he answers to.]]
** Inverted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''. He knows Hala's grandson, Hau, and that he's approximately the same age as the main character. [[spoiler:Which makes more sense since, after his ''Sun and Moon'' postgame fight, Hala is revealed to have been his former mentor.]]
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:He's implied to be as violent and aggressive as he is because of a rough childhood, particularly because [[AbusiveParents his parents abused him]] (moreso his father) until he snapped, beat his father up, and ran away from home. Afterwards, he tried to become a Trial Captain, but failed. This combination led Guzma to see society as the source of his problems and drove him to try and take revenge on Alola as a whole.]]
* GoodCostumeSwitch: Sort of. [[spoiler:After disbanding Team Skull, he swaps out his sunglasses, ditches the necklace, removes his tattoos, and crosses out the Team Skull logo on his jacket with red paint. The resulting look is largely unchanged except for the removal of all Team Skull motifs.]]
** He's back to his original look for his ''Masters'' appearance, despite having been through his character development.
* {{Guyliner}}: Wears dark gray eyeshadow.
* HairTriggerTemper: Guzma is known for getting angry very easily, and expresses it physically. When you sit in his chair, you'll notice that the arms of the chair have wear and tear from him slamming his fists on it angrily. He'll also freak out and yell at himself for losing at you constantly.
* TheHeavy: The Team Skull goons who serve as the most regular obstacles to the player are all working for him, and once the player arrives on Ula'ula Island, Guzma takes (negative) notice of them and becomes a RecurringBoss. [[spoiler:He's not the BigBad, but he ''is'' the game's most frequent obstacle.]]
* HeelFaceTurn:
** [[spoiler:In the post-game, he disbands Team Skull, with his title changing from "Team Skull Boss Guzma" to "Pokémon Trainer Guzma". After being defeated, he leaves with Hala to train and become stronger.]]
** [[spoiler:More so in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon]]''. Guzma helps the protagonist take down Team Rainbow Rocket, primarily by keeping an eye on the entrance to their castle and intercepting grunts who pass by while the protagonist investigates the interior, and becomes one of the potential challengers after the player character has become the Champion, meaning that Guzma has cleaned up his act]].
* HiddenDepths: In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' Plumeria suggests that despite how much Guzma rants about his hatred of many of Alola's traditions, he still cares deeply about his homeland and hence was willing to jump into another dimension to try to protect it. She admits though that Guzma himself may not realize this.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Yes, Guzma is the leader of Team Skull, which are all a bunch of delinquents that plan to cause damage to Alola, with him being the most competent of them all. [[spoiler:However, the reason [[NobleDemon he took all of the grunts into Team Skull]], including Plumeria, is because he knew how bad they must have felt after they failed to make an impact to the society they are a part of, and felt cheated by them. Deep down, all that Guzma wants is for him and the people he sympathizes with to be recognized, though of course, [[HiddenDepths he will not let the positive side of him be seen by the heroes]].]]
* HumanityEnsues: Ironically, this is what happened to "destruction in human form" himself at the end of both games.
* IGaveMyWord: Defeating him in the Shady House has him actually give back the Yungoos that Team Skull kidnapped. [[spoiler:Likewise, defeating him in Aether Paradise has him let you through, letting you battle [[BigBad Lusamine]].]]
* IncomingHam: He makes his first appearance by loudly announcing "Greetings, cowering public!" and introducing himself as "the hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up" and as "destruction in human form."
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: For all of his fearmongering and bravado, it's implied that [[spoiler:his less than stellar upbringing combined with]] his failure to become a Trial Captain left him with some confidence issues. [[spoiler:Team Skull is his way of trying to compensate for them and lash out.]]
* {{Irony}}: Being a gang boss who's a LargeHam and has a tendency to [[PercussiveMaintenance break technology by hitting it]], it's made apparent that he's ''smarter'' than [[spoiler:your average Team Rainbow Rocket Grunt (i.e: "experienced" {{Mooks}} part of TheMafia), and Faba, as he has an incredulous look as a reaction to the latter revealing to Lusamine that he backstabbed her ''just to further his own career''.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: Played with. Guzma formed Team Skull as a way of lashing out after failing to become a Trial Captain and blames society instead of moving on. [[spoiler:Though given the implications he was abused in the past, the trials were probably not the only factor, and his underlings were all kids who couldn't make a living as trainers and are also blaming society for their troubles, so Team Skull's ambitions aren't just for him alone.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Settles into this in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', [[spoiler:after his HeelFaceTurn. In the post-game, Guzma thanks you for saving the world from Necrozma and demonstrates to actually get along a bit with Hau, the grandson of Hala, who was Guzma's former mentor. Likewise, Guzma helps you in Episode RR by taking down a pair of Team Rocket grunts, and despite claiming that he did because they were getting on his nerves, he later reassures the player character that he's got their back by holding the entrance and holding off said pair of grunts. He's also helping the player character because Team Rainbow Rocket kidnapped Lusamine, the only person who truly recognized his strength, and he wanted to return the favor by saving her]].
-->'''Guzma:''' Maybe when you bring out the best in others, it helps you find the best in yourself too, huh?
* LargeAndInCharge: Even while slouching, Guzma is visibly one of the tallest characters in the game, and his bravado as the leader of Team Skull isn't for show. His height is even made note of on a few occasions; according to official character sheets, his height is anywhere from 6'6" to 7'2" (the variation presumably due to ''Sun and Moon'' having most adults have similar heights).
* TheLeader: Of Team Skull.
* MeaningfulName: The ''Guzmania'' genus is part of the plant family known as Bromeliads, many species of which are notable for being home to micro-ecosystems, and Team Skull gives off much more of a casual and familial tone than previous villainous teams. More specifically, ''Guzmania'' bromeliads flourish in hot, humid climates, such as tropical places like Alola.
* MentorArchetype: During ''Masters'', he unwillingly becomes this to Liza when she asks him to help make her stronger and more confident.
* MusicalSpoiler: [[spoiler:His theme actually glitches out at several points, playing a snippet of the Aether Foundation {{Leitmotif}}.]]
* NinetiesAntiHero: Seems to turn into this at the end of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''. [[spoiler: His "heroism" part is played up in Episode RR where he describes himself as a "nobody" before teaming up with the player against Rainbow Rocket grunts.]] Besides, his design and traits had already mimicked many of those examples in the genres, and he has the speech of such.
* NobleDemon: The entire reason Guzma formed the team was to lash out at a society he felt cheated by. [[spoiler:So he took in a bunch of weak trainers and other failures that knew how hard and unfair the life of a trainer can be, and gave them a home and a purpose.]]
* NotSoDifferentRemark: In his first appearance, Guzma attempted to pull this card between himself and Professor Kukui, as they both failed to become Trial Captains in their youth. [[spoiler:But Kukui points out that they are indeed different, because unlike Guzma, Kukui didn't ''fail'' to become a Trial Captain, he just chose to do something else, like become a professor.]]
* NumberOneDime: In ''Sun and Moon'', he carries around a Dawn Stone that he received after his first-ever victory as a good luck charm, even past the point where it's become apparent that it hasn't been very lucky for him where it counts. ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' seem to replace it with a [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Grip Claw]].
* PersonalityPowers: His [[SignatureMon signature Pokémon]] is Golisopod; [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex a cowardly weakling that became big and strong, but underneath its fearsome appearance is still the same coward it always was]].
* PutOnABus: In the postgame of ''Sun and Moon'', [[spoiler:he goes to train with Hala. He [[TheBusCameBack comes back briefly]] on the Battle Tree for ''Moon'', where you can face him off or team up with him.]]
** Averted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', [[spoiler:where he can instead be found at the trailer park outside Haina Desert, as well as being a potential Title Defense challenger.]]
* RebelRelaxation: He crouches down while battling rather than standing up.
* ReformedButNotTamed: [[spoiler:After disbanding Team Skull, his attitude still hasn't changed one bit. He even makes a point of telling you he'll never change. Averted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', where he [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold mellows out]] by the end of the game.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler:Once it becomes clear [[AxCrazy just how far]] Lusamine's fallen off the deep end, he decides he really wants no further part in her plans. He can't actually go anywhere given [[EldritchLocation where he is at the time,]] though.]]
* SecondPlaceIsForLosers: [[spoiler:One of the causes in Guzma's descent to villainy is found in his trophy collection: he has a ''single'' silver trophy and the rest after that are bronze.]]
* ShockAndAwe: Vikavolt replaces his Ariados as the ''other'' very slow Bug-type in the remakes, giving his team not only a secondary special attacker other than Masquerain but it also helps his team handle Flying-types more efficiently.
* SignatureMon:
** Golisopod. When you infiltrate Team Skull's hideout, you learn that it's his favorite Pokémon. Unlike most examples of this trope, he sends it out immediately, [[ArtificialBrilliance because its ability, Emergency Exit, would be useless if he saved it for last]].
*** Also makes more sense when you consider both have a case of InferioritySuperiorityComplex.
** The Poké War Games event in ''Masters'' puts more emphasis towards his focus on brute force by pairing him up with Buzzwole.
** In the Battle Tree, his team diversifies a bit, but can still include Golisopod, as well as Mega Pinsir.
* SlasherSmile: He has a big grin on his face as he laughs and threatens to beat down the player in every encounter.
* SoreLoser: He doesn't take losing to a [[KidHero child]] over and over again very well.
* StartOfDarkness: The formation of Team Skull was the result of his being rejected from being a Trial Captain [[spoiler:after running away from home to escape his abusive father]].
* TattooedCrook: He has tattoos of Team Skull's emblem on his forearms.
* ThirdPersonPerson: He slips into this when he loses a battle. [[spoiler:After all, [[AbusiveParents he's probably used to hearing himself berated for failure this way]].]]
-->"Guzma! What is wrong with you?!"
* TinTyrant: The Poké War Games event in ''Masters'' gives him Buzzwole-themed armor.
* TookALevelInBadass: Compared to his role in the original games, ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' shows him [[spoiler:facing you as one of the potential opponents for the title of Champion!]]
** [[spoiler:He even helps you take back Aether Paradise and rescue Lusamine from Giovanni and spends a good chunk of Episode RR holding back two Rainbow Rocket Grunts.]]
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Tapu Cocoa, if one of the clues needed to get through the Shady House are any indication.
* {{Tsundere}}: His and Plumeria's event in ''Masters'' reveals him to be this in his interactions with Scottie/Bettie and especially Liza, who has adopted him as her mentor. Despite his protests to Liza calling him "master," it's clear by the end of the story that he cares about her and wants to see her develop as a trainer in her own right.
* WalkingSpoiler: There's a reason why there's a lot of white in this page. Most notably, knowing too much about him reveals that [[spoiler:he is [[BigBad Lusamine's]] [[TheDragon second-in-command]] during the events of Ultra Space, and that Team Skull was collaborating with the Aether Foundation behind the scenes the whole time.]]
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: [[spoiler:During the Team Rainbow Rocket arc, when confronted by multiple Team Rocket Grunts, Guzma simply attacks and restrains the trainers themselves rather than waiting for them to bring out their Pokémon.]]
* WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises: Sports this look in his pre-battle animation.
* WorthyOpponent: Averted and PlayedForDrama. In the post-game, he's chastised [[spoiler:by Hala]] for only recognizing his own strength, and his failure to see the strength of others is what keeps dragging him down. Indeed, his go-to "Guzma! What is wrong with you?!" indicates he sees the player's victories as personal failures and nothing else.
* WouldHitAGirl: The female player character is not exempt from the below-mentioned threat. And in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', [[spoiler:he noticeably smacks Lillie out of his way while chasing after Lusamine through the Ultra Wormhole.]]
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Despite his white hair, Guzma seems to be a lot younger than he looks, probably in his early twenties. [[spoiler:Plumeria's wording that Lusamine was the only ''adult'' that ever acknowledged his strength, rather than the only person, and his parents and Hala referring to him as a "young man", further reinforce this, and it's mentioned that he failed at becoming a Trial Captain, and 20 is the cutoff age for Trial Captains.]] In case this is true, he's likely the youngest villainous team leader in the main games, moreso than [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Cyrus]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Plumeria ''[-(Plumeri)-]'']]
!!Plumeria / Plumeri (プルメリ ''purumeri'')
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/plumeria_sm_1.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MichelleRuff (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - EN), Ai Kaneta (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - JP)
The sole admin of Team Skull, she's described as the "Big Sister" of the gang and looks out for the younger members while keeping them in line.
----
* AmbiguouslyBrown: She looks like a GyaruGirl, and her fashion sense certainly evokes the fashion style, leaving it ambiguous as to whether or not her tan skin is natural or just the result of makeup- the white on her eyes is her eyeshadow, as shown when she wears it less excessively during the post-game.
* AnimeHair: Pink and yellow hair drawn into four long strands, pink in the front and yellow in the back.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Her role as the admin of Team Skull is implied to be the result of being the strongest next to Guzma, since she doesn't contribute much aside from being a strong trainer, and looking out for her grunts. In ''Sun and Moon'', she's shown to be a strong enough trainer to challenge the Champion. Though to be fair, Team Skull is far from an organized crime organization in need of much else.
* BareYourMidriff: She wears a tank top that exposes her midriff, which also has a tattoo of Team Skull's emblem.
* BenevolentBoss: While Plumeria is not the actual leader of Team Skull, she's the admin, the [[NumberTwo second-in-command]] to Guzma, and she cares about her grunts, [[CoolBigSis treating them like her siblings]]. She also has a Golbat which evolves into Crobat later in the game. This is reinforced when she mentions that you "picking on" the grunts is her BerserkButton.
* BigSisterInstinct: She is fiercely protective of her "cute, dumb brothers and sisters". This is the reason she initiates the first confrontation with the player, who has dispatched several Skull mooks by then with little effort.
* BlowYouAway: She owns a Golbat, later a Crobat.
* BonusBoss: [[spoiler:Appears as one of the potential challengers for the player's title as champion.]]
* TheBrute: See AsskickingEqualsAuthority above.
* CoolBigSis: Fittingly for a group partially-based on JapaneseDelinquents, she serves as this to younger Team Skull members. She is in a sense everything the grunts want to be: intelligent, powerful and "cool." Even her room in the headquarters is organized and well-kept compared to the mess that the Grunts and Guzma make of their rooms (in fact, if she greets the player upon them logging in to ''Masters'' during the morning, she mentions that she spends all day making it so tidy. Yet despite being so objectively "superior" she sees the grunts' flaws as making them cute and deserving of her attention rather than scorn, which just makes her more beloved by them.
* DarkActionGirl: She's a skilled battler with strong Pokémon and works for the resident evil team.
* DeathGlare: Her pre-battle animation has her sport one, and due to her yellow eyes, it's actually quite unnerving.
* TheDragon: To Guzma, [[spoiler:though it's subverted as it turns out Guzma is this to Lusamine and she implicitly quits after having to kidnap Lillie]].
* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[spoiler:She did ''not'' like kidnapping Lillie one bit]].
* ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow: She wears lots of eye makeup - dark eyeliner and eyeshadow, and white eyeshadow - applied all around her eyes. [[spoiler:Fittingly enough, she gets rid of the white makeup after reforming, making it less excessive.]]
* FaceOfAThug: Plumeria has one heck of a DeathGlare, [[PerpetualFrowner wears a constant scowl]], works for Team Skull, and generally looks like the kind of person you don't want to meet in a dark alley. However, she's actually fairly pleasant with a fierce BigSisterInstinct, and the only reason she initially has [[JustForPun a bone to pick with you]] is because you were beating on the grunts. She's also one of the least antagonistic villains in the series.
* {{Foil}}: To Guzma, her boss. Guzma is loud and gets angrily very easily, while Plumeria always keeps her cool. [[spoiler:While Guzma happily goes along with Lusamine's plan (until the events in Ultra Space), Plumeria is against kidnapping Lillie and regrets being a part of it. She apologizes sincerely for her actions and has nothing but nice things to say to the protagonist. When the protagonist meets Guzma after Team Skull's disbandment, he gives them his lucky Dawn Stone while refusing to call it a gesture of apology]].
* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: Her room in the Team Skull HQ has two Pokémon dolls on her bed.
** Elaborated on in ''Masters''. The event that introduces her has a sub-episode where the protagonist accompanies her on a trip through town, and she's constantly getting sidetracked by cute things, in particular a shop selling stuffed animals.
* GoodCostumeSwitch: [[spoiler:After Team Skull is disbanded, she removes her white eye shadow and tattoo, and dons [[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:Spr_SM_Plumeria_2.png a Salazzle-themed bandana and pair of pants]].]]
** She's back to her Team Skull look in ''Masters'', despite that version of her clearly having been through her CharacterDevelopment from the main games.
* GyaruGirl: She has pink and blonde hair, and accents her eyes with white makeup. Her design is clearly inspired from ganguro style, further exemplified by the baggy clothing fashion that the entire organization wears.
* HartmanHips: Her hips are quite wider than her body, and she tends to [[SexyWalk walk and show this off]].
* HeelFaceTurn: Turns over a new leaf after Team Skull is disbanded, albeit even while she's still with Team Skull she is notably less antagonistic than other members [[spoiler:and outright against things like kidnapping]].
* HiddenDepths: [[spoiler:Her Title Defense defeat dialogue implies that]] she's not as confident in herself as she puts up. Indeed, this hints as to why she may have joined Team Skull.
--> '''Plumeria:''' "I failed again... like I always do. I promised myself I wouldn't! I told myself I would never fail again!"
** Further, in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' we learn her favorite Pokémon is Bounsweet. She has a desire to watch over "cute, dumb" things and Bounsweet is notably fairly defenseless and while often harassed by other Pokémon, it tends to not be very good at communicating it needs help. This is likely why she is the CoolBigSis to the grunts and in turn, why they all adore her.
* HypercompetentSidekick: She's a lot more level-headed and in control than her superior. Makes one wonder how Guzma got her to join...
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
** While she is a member of Team Skull, she is beloved by the grunts as a caring big-sister figure. [[spoiler:She's also genuinely remorseful for her part in kidnapping Lillie, and personally apologizes to her for it.]]
** She has an additional moment in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' for her kindness to shine. [[spoiler:She doesn't really approve of kidnapping Lillie, but she actually respects Lillie for being able to stand up to herself when she and another grunt came by to take her, instead of accusing her of being a thief like the originals did.]]
* MeaningfulName: [[https://cdn6.bigcommerce.com/s-52h2v/products/377/images/1014/aussie_confetti__90644.1409325328.1280.1280.jpg?c=2 Plumeria flowers]] are not only pink and yellow in color, they're also symbols of family and believed to provide shelter to ghosts and demons, fitting her status as the "big sister" of the team.
* NiceGirl: Heavily downplayed until the climax of the game, but it's there. Plumeria notably lacks some of the antagonism typical of villain team admins. She only battles the player character because they had [[BerserkButton defeated a bunch of her grunts]], who she loves and [[CoolBigSis treats them like her siblings]]. Later, she apologizes to Lillie [[spoiler:for kidnapping her and mentions she wasn't on board with it at all]], and she has nothing but nice things to say to Lillie and to the player before they go to save Guzma and Lusamine. [[spoiler:When she appears as a challenger at the Pokémon League, it's hinted that she disliked knocking a bunch of Pokémon out to reach the Champion and is very sensitive to letting other people down; plus, her Golbat's evolution to a Crobat (which is only achieved through high friendship) implies she does love her Pokémon.]]
* NiceHat: [[spoiler:After Team Skull's disbandment, Plumeria switches her skull hair decorations out for a Salazzle-themed bandanna, which matches her pants.]]
* NumberTwo: The second-in-command of Team Skull, and TheDragon to [[TheLeader Guzma]]. Strangely, they only interact once, [[spoiler:and this is in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'']].
* OnlySaneWoman: [[HypercompetentSidekick More cool-headed than Guzma]], and the only member of the team to not be a LargeHam, nor [[MilkingTheGiantCow gesture while she speaks]].
* PerpetualFrowner: She ''never'' smiles in any of your interactions with her, not counting the epic SlasherSmile she gives you in the Demo. [[spoiler:She finally [[WhenSheSmiles cracks a genuine smile]] in the ending of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.'' Averted further in ''Masters''.]]
* PoisonousPerson: Specializes in Poison-type Pokémon, and gives the player a Poisonium Z.
* SelfDeprecation: Like Team Skull as a whole, she doesn't hide her self-esteem issues. [[spoiler:She automatically assumes that Lillie won't and shouldn't forgive her for kidnapping her, and has no problem with it because she believes it's deserved. [[AllLovingHero Lillie]], of course, ''does'' actually forgive her.]]
* SexyWalk: Like most of the older, notably attractive females in the game, she has quite a bit of hip movement when she strides forward.
* SignatureHeadgear: Plumeria wears two skull-shaped hair clips, with her four bunches of hair going through the eye portions.
* SignatureMon: Salazzle. [[spoiler:She even wears a bandana and pants modeled after it after her HeelFaceTurn.]]
* SurroundedByIdiots: An odd example. She has a low opinion of her grunts' smarts, but rather than it annoying her, she finds it oddly endearing. She pretty much thinks of them as her cute dumb younger siblings that she, as their CoolBigSis, needs to watch over.
* TattooedCrook: She has a tattoo bearing Team Skull's emblem on her midriff. [[spoiler:She removes it after Team Skull is disbanded.]]
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' reveals that she shares Guzma's preference for Tapu Cocoa.
* UncattyResemblance: In the post-game, Plumeria drops the skull motif and wears Salazzle-themed bandana and pants.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:Despite being responsible for Lillie's kidnapping, she's nowhere to be found when Hau, Gladion, and the player raid Aether Paradise. Perhaps justified when she explains later how much she regretted being a part of the whole thing to begin with, presumably she took the first opportunity to leave the place.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: {{Subverted|Trope}}. [[spoiler:She does kidnap Lillie as part of Team Skull's plan and leaves her in Aether Paradise, but is resentful for doing this and apologizes to her for this before they enter Vast Poni Canyon.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Gladion ''[-(Gladio)-]'']]
!!Gladion / Gladio (グラジオ ''gurajio'')
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gladion_sm.png]]
->Voiced by: Alan Lee (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - EN), Creator/KoukiUchiyama (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - JP)
An Enforcer of Team Skull. A young man who places strength in battle above everything.
----
* AdaptedOut: In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', his Sneasel was switched out for a Zorua.
* AgentScully: [[spoiler:Implied. He gives you one of the flutes needed to awaken the Legendary Pokemon, but doesn't seem to believe in the existence of it himself.]]
* AntiHero: [[spoiler:Revealed to be this as he wants to save Lillie from being kidnapped and to stop [[EvilMatriarch Lusamine]] from possibly destroying the planet.]] He also isn't the [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold nicest guy ever]].
* AntiVillain: Despite allying himself with Team Skull, he doesn't seem to particularly care for their goals and mostly just does what he's told. He even warns the player and Hau to be careful of them at some point. [[spoiler:He becomes an AntiHero after defecting from Team Skull entirely.]]
* AllTheOtherReindeer: Because Gladion is hired muscle for Team Skull, the grunts are quick to remind him that he is not a ''real'' member of the team, and so they don't respect him. Though they do recognize that he's a stronger trainer than a lot of them and will back down from a fight with the player after learning that you beat Gladion.
* AloofAlly: [[spoiler:After Lillie gets kidnapped by Team Skull, Gladion teams up with the Player Character and Hau to rescue her from the Aether Foundation. Despite that, he still struggles with opening up to them, even explicitly blocking them from entering a room containing information about what exactly Type: Null is.]]
* ArtificialBrilliance: In his first battle in the ''Ultra'' games, his Zorua is disguised as his Zubat. The two Pokemon don't share weaknesses and Zorua's Dark-Type makes it immune to Zubat's Psychic weakness, easily capable of catching unaware Trainers off-guard. Less so later on, however, as Zoroark is later seen disguising as Type: Null and Lucario, both of whom share a Fighting weakness with it.
* ArtisticAge:[[spoiler:He's older than the protagonist, but is shorter than his younger sister Lillie. ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' and most spin off material such as the anime seem to scale him up to make his age more obvious.]]
* BenevolentBoss: Contrasting the rest of Gladion's cold and aloof persona, he's very compassionate towards his Pokémon, especially towards Type: Null, and continues the trend in previous generations of [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration owning Pokémon that only evolve with high friendship ratings]]. To wit, his team composition in your battle on Mount Lanakila sports no less than three such examples: Crobat, Lucario, and his ace Silvally. [[spoiler:He even takes over as president of the Aether Foundation in ''Sun and Moon'' and changes it for the better in the post-game.]]
* BigBrotherInstinct: [[spoiler:Toward Lillie. Even if their relationship was a bit strained after he left her with Lusamine, Gladion cares for her a lot and quickly performs a HeelFaceTurn to team up with the player and Hau to rescue her.]]
* BirdsOfAFeather:
** He states that this is how he sees his relationship with Null, since both were created by Lusamine in a way and forced to be what she wanted them to be.
** In ''Masters'', Hau seems to think both Gladion and Lisia are very similar only because of Gladion's usual battle pose looking similar to her contest pose. Gladion at first protests he's not trying to please fans with his pose, but then Lisia comes up to them and comments his pose needs a bit of work for people to see him better. ''[[BishieSparkle He happily takes the advice to heart.]]''
* BloodKnight: His main concern is becoming a strong battler, and even after [[spoiler:Lusamine is dealt with]], he feels that the best way to thank the player character is through giving them a good battle.
* BonusBoss: [[spoiler:Appears as one of the potential challengers for the player's title as champion.]]
%% * ABoyAndHisX: Him and his Type: Null, which eventually becomes Silvally. Silvally even resembles a dog somewhat [[spoiler:and can be seen licking Gladion's face affectionately in the credits.]] %% Add more context to describe their relationship and what effect it has on them. %%
* CallingParentsByTheirName:
** [[spoiler:While he never denies that Lusamine is his mother, he almost never refers to her with that title - he either calls her by her name or, even more jarringly, just "the president". It's yet another point of contrast between himself and Lillie, who always addresses Lusamine as "Mother" despite their strained relationship.]]
** Averted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon,'', where Gladion ''does'' address [[spoiler:Lusamine as Mother, both to her face and to other people. This is likely a reflection of how their relationship in that story is better, [[AdaptationalHeroism as Lusamine isn't quite so horrible.]]]]
* CharacterTics: Covering his face with his right hand while clutching his right side with the left. He switches hands in his pre-battle animation. May cross into ChewingTheScenery.
* ClothingDamage: The rips in his clothes are apparently a result of Type: Null [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength not knowing its own strength]].
* CatchPhrase: His losing-battle dialogue is "How annoying!"
* ChickMagnet: [[ImpliedTrope Implied]] by the ending credits of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', [[spoiler:where the majority of the crowd that gathers to see him off is made up of female Aether Foundation employees.]]
* {{Chuunibyou}}: Gladion has many hallmarks of this character type. He's got an angry demeanor and denies being friends with any human characters, is obsessed with strength, poses dramatically during battle, and even gets called out by Hau on acting mysterious just to seem cooler.
* ColorMotif: His colors mainly consist of red and black as they are on his outfit and [[BloodKnight fit his personality]]. Silvally can also have either the Fire or Dark typing. Both of those types are indicated by Black and Red for colors. [[spoiler:This suffers deep contrast to [[LightIsNotGood Lusamine]] and his sister Lillie]]. He's also one of the best cases of DarkIsNotEvil.
* CoolBoat: Takes command of one with Team Skull livery.
* DarkIsNotEvil: He's not as sinister as his black and red ColorMotif might suggest, being an AntiHero who is determined to [[spoiler:stopping Lusamine and the Ultra Beasts]].
* DeathGlare: His eyes narrow when he's particularly angry.
* DefrostingIceKing: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed.]] [[spoiler:While he does warm up to the protagonist, he still goes out of his way to state that they aren't really friends.]]
** [[spoiler:In the Spanish version of the retellings, after battling him at Mount Lanakila, his dialogue suggests that he already considers the player character a friend, but he seems unable to understand why they would do the same for him]]
* DisappearedDad: His father [[spoiler:Mohn]] was researching Ultra Beasts, and disappeared during an experiment.
* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler: Averted in ''Sun and Moon'', he never calls Lusamine his mother to her face once, which, all things considered, [[AbusiveParents is entirely justified.]] However, he does run the Aether foundation in her place at the end of the game, meaning he at least acknowledges Aether's work as important enough to stand in.]]
* EmoTeen: Design-wise, he wears red and black punk clothes and has PeekABangs. Personality-wise he's aloof, cynical, and abrasive. This is even lampshaded in his concept art, with "Gotta express that middle-school arrogance and being emo." Of course, [[DarkAndTroubledPast he has a lot of things to be emo about]].
* {{Expy}}: He shares many characteristics with [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Silver.]] They're both rivals to you, both antagonize you as well, they are both mainly concerned about getting stronger, their primary colors are red and black, both use the Zubat and Sneasel lines, [[spoiler:they both stole their primary partner Pokémon from a lab, and they're the offspring to the leader of a villainous team.]] That said, Gladion is nowhere near as much a {{Jerkass}} as Silver was before his CharacterDevelopment.
* {{Foil}}:
** A SpearCounterpart thematically to Lillie. Both have straight blonde hair and green eyes. He wears red and black, places a high value on being strong in Pokémon battles, and works for Guzma [[spoiler:and in a degree, Lusamine, the true villain]]. She wears white with light blue, is not fond of making Pokémon fight in battles at all, and works for Kukui. Gladion even means Sword "Lillie," see below. [[spoiler:Makes a bit more sense when it's revealed that they are actually siblings, with Lusamine as their mother. Additionally, both stole Pokémon from their mother in order to rescue them from the experimentation of the Foundation.]]
** He's also one to Hau in terms of their personalities. Gladion's pretty put off by the way Hau can stay upbeat and cheerful even after losing a battle, while even [[NiceGuy Hau]] notes how overly serious and hard to get along with Gladion is.
* {{Foreshadowing}}
** Unlike Plumeria and Guzma, Gladion's theme sounds nothing like the Team Skull theme, hinting to his status as an outsider.
** It also shouldn't come as a surprise [[spoiler:that he's related to Lillie and Lusamine]] considering they all share the same hair and eye color.
* GetOut: If you visit him in his motel room, this is all he has to say.
* GoodIsNotNice: Gladion is on the side of good, but he's still a pretty grumpy person.
* GradeSchoolCEO: [[spoiler:He's not much older than the protagonist, yet he becomes the acting president of the Aether Foundation in ''Sun and Moon'' while Lusamine is undergoing treatment in Kanto. [[ChildHater Faba]] is not pleased, try as he might to hide it.]]
* GrumpyBear: Gladion's default mood tends to fall into this. Even after he [[WorthyOpponent warms up to the Player Character and Hau]] he never actually "cheers up."
* HaughtyHmph: He does this so often it's practically another catchphrase. And Hau calls him out for this, too.
* HeroicBSOD: He suffers a brief one after [[spoiler:losing to Guzma at Aether Paradise]], wondering if all the days he spent struggling on his own were all for nothing. After [[spoiler:the player character beats Guzma]], he recovers.
* HiddenDepths:
** Gladion genuinely cares for his Pokémon to the point his Type: Null evolves into Silvally out of trust. [[spoiler:Turns out he's not that bad of a guy. Additionally, his team includes a Crobat and a Lucario, two Pokémon that only evolve through friendship]]. Then there's also the fact that [[spoiler:the Moon dex entry for Silvally states that Gladion himself gave it that name, and the last four letters for it spells "ally"]]. He is also far more aware of the workings of the Aether Foundation and Team Skull than he initially lets on.
** In ''Masters'', [[spoiler:his sister Lillie]] notes that she is a mess trying to do any sort of sewing, but ''Gladion'' is very good at it.
* IdiotHair: Even with his messy PeekABangs, Gladion noticeably has this going on. He's not an idiot ''per se'', but he does have an impulsive streak.
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:Works as an enforcer for Team Skull after he runs away from the Aether Foundation and his mother, both of which support Team Skull financially]].
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: [[spoiler:When he learns that Lillie and Cosmog were captured by Team Skull, he forces you into a battle out of blind rage. After losing, he acknowledges that his actions were irrational and apologizes.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Is pretty cold and aloof most of the time (especially to Hau), but he genuinely cares about his Pokémon as noted by the fact his Type: Null ([[spoiler:And later, his Crobat and Lucario]]) all evolve by friendship. [[spoiler:And he absolutely loses it when Lillie is kidnapped by Team Skull.]] [[spoiler:In the post-game, with Lusamine in Kanto to find a cure for Nihilego's toxins, Gladion takes over as president and ensures that the Aether Foundation's intended purpose of protecting Pokémon is a reality.]]
* LeanAndMean: He's quite skinny for someone his age, [[GoodIsNotNice and his personality is initially far from friendly.]]
* LeeroyJenkins: Downplayed. He's fairly levelheaded for the most part, but when he gets angry he makes some pretty rash decisions, like starting a battle with the first person he lays eyes on. Speaking to [[spoiler:Wicke during the infiltration on Aether Paradise]] will further reveal that he'll just jump into things without thinking of the consequences whenever he gets worked up over something.
* LimitBreak: [[spoiler:His Lucario has a Steelium Z, enabling it to use the Steel-type move Corkscrew Crash.]]
** [[spoiler:In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', his Zoroark gets the Darkium-Z instead, enabling it to use Black Hole Eclipse. This also adds a bit of foreshadowing to Gladion's reaction when Nanu first demonstrates the move to the player, especially since Nanu is the one who later gives Gladion his Z-Ring.]]
* LockedOutOfTheLoop:
** As he's considered more like hired help than an actual member of Team Skull, he knows little about their plans, only doing what he's told. [[spoiler: This means that he has no idea of the connection between Team Skull and the Aether Foundation until Lillie and Nebby have been kidnapped.]]
** In the storyline of the ''Ultra'' games, [[spoiler:Team Rainbow Rocket's attack on Aether Paradise occurs while he is away from Alola, and there is never any indication that he was ever made aware of it.]]
* MadeOfIron: {{Implied}}. Gladion's ClothingDamage is said to come from his Type: Null attacking him. Type: Null was also built to battle the Ultra Beasts, and it has a decent base Attack stat of 95. He also survived all of those attacks and isn't even shown to have trouble moving.
* MeaningfulName: The ''Gladiolus'' genus of flowers is colloquially known as the Sword Lily, fitting his BloodKnight nature and tying him to his sister. It also symbolizes honor and integrity, which ties in to his warning against the player as seen above. In addition, "Gladiolus" has the same word root as "''gladiator''", which also goes along with Gladion's strive to be a strong battler.
* MilkingTheGiantCow: Gladion isn't exactly hammy, but his exaggerated hand gestures more than make up for it.
* MinorLivingAlone: He apparently lives alone in one of the roadside motels on Akala Island, with the landlady telling you he's been there for two years. [[spoiler:He's moved out by the end of the story, either going back to Aether Paradise in ''Sun and Moon'' or temporarily leaving the Alola region altogether in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'']]
* MoralityPet:
** Type: Null is the most obvious one, but [[spoiler:he eventually not only gains regular implied Morality Pet Crobat, but also Lucario and, obviously, Silvally, ''all'' of whom evolve through high friendship.]]
** [[spoiler:Lillie is also one to him, as he defects from Team Skull as soon as he learns they kidnapped her.]]
* MySisterIsOffLimits: [[spoiler:His reaction to Hau saying Lillie looked "fantastic" after her SignificantWardrobeShift has shades of this. He's okay with Lillie and the protagonist's ShipTease though.]]
* NotSoAboveItAll: As frustrated with Hau's antics and unfriendly he may be, Gladion's poses are often dramatic and hammy, which supplimental materials show he's doing it on purpose.
* PeekABangs: His blond bangs cover his right eye, [[spoiler:a trait shared by his mother]].
* PerpetualFrowner: Wears a near constant scowl on his face in almost all of his appearances.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: In a case of GameplayAndStoryIntegration, despite his [[HiddenHeartOfGold rough]] [[AloofAlly exterior]], ''half'' of Gladion's team is actually comprised of Pokémon that requires a high level of friendship with their trainer in order to evolve.
* PrivilegedRival: [[spoiler:Gladion is the son of Aether President Lusamine, and as the older of her two children he's presumably the heir to the foundation. ''Sun and Moon's'' postgame sees him taking up the role as president in her absence.]]
* PunchClockVillain: As a hired gun of Team Skull, Gladion doesn't carry out acts of delinquency when he's off the clock. On the flip side, ''being'' a hired gun also means Gladion is [[DeconstructedTrope left out of the loop]] about Team Skull activities that don't concern him. Like when [[spoiler:Team Skull kidnaps Lillie and Nebby and hands them over to the Aether Foundation.]]
* PutOnABus: In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''. [[spoiler:Since Lusamine is never affected by Nihilego's toxin, she's able to stay in Alola to run the Aether Foundation and so Gladion is the one who leaves on a boat at the end of the game. Wicke tells you in the postgame that he has gone to Kanto and Johto to train. [[TheBusCameBack Though it's for a while]] as he returns strong as a title defense challenger]].
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: His clothing is mostly black with some red accents. [[spoiler:Subverted with the "evil" part, though; he's an AntiVillain at worst.]]
* RedOniBlueOni: His ColorMotif is entirely red and black, in contrast to Lillie's blue and white. While Lillie is a [[NiceGirl very sweet and charming girl]] who isn't a trainer and dislikes battling, Gladion is a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold pessimistic, unfriendly boy]] who [[BloodKnight loves to battle]]. [[spoiler:Later it's revealed that they are [[SiblingYinYang brother and sister]]]].
* TheRival: Notably in that he's the first rival since Silver to ''not'' be your friend. He's also the first one to be a part of the villainous team, which gives an additional reason for this beyond simple competition. And like Wally, Gladion never gets one of the three starter Pokémon; instead his final Pokémon is Type: Null, although it evolves into Silvally, whose type will always beat your starter's.
* TheRunaway: [[spoiler:His mother Lusamine is extremely controlling, and Gladion ran away when he couldn't stand it anymore.]]
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: [[spoiler:When he ran away from home, he took Type:Null with him to spare the designated "beast killer" from further abuse at the Aether Foundation's hands.]]
* TheSixthRanger:
** He isn't an official Team Skull member, just hired muscle.
** [[spoiler:He's also this for the good guys joining later in the game.]]
* ShouldersOfDoom: The hood on his sweatshirt has pointed edges, giving a spiky look to his shoulders.
* SignatureMon: His partner is the mysterious Type: Null, which later evolves into Silvally. Silvally's type will be advantageous against the player's starter. [[spoiler:In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he also gets a Kanto starter of the same type as the player's chosen starter during his title defense battle but his ace is still Silvally]].
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Despite being considerably more friendly with Hau and the player character, he still tells the latter to get out when they enter his room, which is a completely realistic response to someone bursting into one's room, unlike typical [=NPCs=] in [=RPGs=] that don't seem to mind.
%%* TeensAreShort: He’s only slightly taller than the protagonist, and his younger sister dwarfs him.
* TookALevelInBadass: His team does get stronger, particularly in the Ultra games.
* TookALevelInKindness: While he has plenty of PetTheDog moments in ''Sun and Moon'', they're taken to a new level in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.'' He has many more lines that show how much he cares for Lillie (at one point outright stating that he left home so he could train to become strong enough to protect his sister). When he learns that Team Skull took her back to Aether Paradise, he blames himself for not being around to protect her, whereas the original games had him fiercely berate the player and Hau for not being around in his stead. He even shows a lot more care for [[spoiler:''Lusamine.'' He begs her to let him go into the Ultra Wormhole and fight Necrozma himself, because he can't stand the thought of losing her the same way he lost [[DisappearedDad Mohn]].]]
* {{Tritagonist}}: Since part of the main plot is dealing with [[spoiler:his mother]], he qualifies as this after the protagonist and Lillie.
* TsurimeEyes: His eyes are slanted upwards, giving him an angry look. This is another point of contrast between him and [[TaremeEyes Lillie]].
* UnskilledButStrong: Gladion has some fairly strong Pokemon, but it's clear he lacks experience and training in battling. This is largely the reason he loses.
* VagueAge: He's older than the player and Lillie, but it's never stated how old he is. Considering the latter two are eleven, it can be assumed he's anywhere in his early to midteens.
* WhatTheHellHero: Lillie chews him out for leaving her alone with Lusamine after taking Type: Null, never as much coming back after their mother promptly became even ''worse'' as a result of his actions.
* WhenHeSmiles: 99% of the time he's seen scowling or frowning. The few times he ''does'' smile, such as when [[spoiler:he warms up to you and Hau during their infiltration to Aether Foundation, and after your final battle with him, when he acknowledges that Hau was right about ThePowerOfFriendship and when he sees Lillie happily enjoying herself at your victory celebration]] are very heartwarming to see as a result. In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he has another scene where he smiles. [[spoiler:When he's leaving Alola, he was pleasantly surprised when he sees that Lusamine came to bid him farewell.]]
* WorthyOpponent: Considers the Player Character, and later Hau, this. He even talks the Skull Grunts out of trying to pick a fight with the PC because they'd just end up getting their Pokémon hurt.
[[/folder]]
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[-'''Pokémon Family Species:''' [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIFamilies Gen I]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIBulbasaurToParasect Bulbasaur to Parasect]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVenonatToCloyster Venonat to Cloyster]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIGastlyToMiltank Gastly to Miltank]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIMagikarpToMew Magikarp to Mew]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIFamilies Gen II]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIChikoritaToGranbull Chikorita to Granbull]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIQwilfishToCelebi Qwilfish to Celebi]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIFamilies Gen III]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIITreeckoToSharpedo Treecko to Sharpedo]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIWailmerToDeoxys Wailmer to Deoxys]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVFamilies Gen IV]] | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVFamilies Gen V]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVVictiniToZoroark Victini to Zoroark]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVMinccinoToGenesect Minccino to Genesect]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIFamilies Gen VI]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIChespinToHawlucha Chespin to Hawlucha]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIDedenneToVolcanion Dedenne to Volcanion]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIFamilies Gen VII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIRowletToComfey Rowlet to Comfey]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIOranguruToMelmetal Oranguru to Melmetal]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraBeasts Ultra Beasts]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIFamilies Gen VIII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIGrookeyToHatterene Grookey to Hatterene]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIImpidimpToCalyrex Impidimp to Calyrex]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGlitches Glitches]]\\
'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivals Protagonists And Rivals]] ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
'''[[Characters/PokemonVillainTeams Pokémon Villain Teams]]:''' [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamRocket Team Rocket]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamAquaMagma Team Aqua/Magma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamGalactic Team Galactic]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamPlasma Team Plasma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamFlare Team Flare]] / '''Team Skull''' / [[Characters/PokemonTeamYell Team Yell]]\\
[[Characters/PokemonFrontierBrainsAndOtherFacilityHeads Frontier Brains And Other Facility Heads]] | [[Characters/PokemonTrainerClasses Trainer Classes]] | [[Characters/PokemonOtherNonPlayableCharacters Other NPCs]] ([[Characters/PokemonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraReconSquad Ultra Recon Squad]] / [[Characters/PokemonMacroCosmos Macro Cosmos]])\\
[[Characters/PokemonLegendsArceus Pokémon Legends: Arceus]]-]]]]]
%%Lusamine, Gladion, and Lillie have been confirmed by the moderators that they are NOT expies of the ''Kill la Kill'' characters. Any such examples will be struck down.
'''''WARNING: Major spoilers for VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon and VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon follow. Read at your own risk.'''''
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!!Team Skull
The villainous team of the Alola region. Their designs are based on punk culture, and unlike the crime syndicates and terrorist groups before them, they operate more like street gangs than anything else, having a strong sense of familial bonds throughout their ranks. [[NamesTheSame Not to be confused with the trio of Poison-type Pokémon]] from ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers''.
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[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Tropes that apply to the organization as a whole]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/team_skull_grunts_sm.png]]
* AffablyEvil: They're actually pretty personable, speaking casually and showing a great deal of inter-team brotherhood, even in regards to their Pokémon.
* AmbiguouslyGay:
** When you walk in on two female Grunts arguing in the Team Skull base, one of them will, depending on your gender, remark that "a boy" or "a cute girl" overheard their argument.
** Elsewhere in Po Town, a male Grunt wonders if the reason another male Grunt keeps waving at him is because "he realizes how hot I am".
* AntiHeroTeam: Becomes this at the end of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''.
* BatOutOfHell: Like other villainous teams before them, such as Team Rocket and Aqua/Magma, they have a penchant towards using Zubat.
* BigFancyHouse: Subverted with their headquarters. The Shady House is a large mansion, but it's just as run down and derelict as the rest of Po Town.
* BilingualBonus: When a male grunt spots the player, a voice clip is played saying "dokuro", the Japanese word for ''skull''.
* BreakingOldTrends: The first villainous team to not have an end goal that affects the entire region, or a legendary Pokémon, they just want to lash out and get respect from a society they feel has tossed them aside.
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Their symbol, worn by all members as a necklace, is a tilted 'S' stylised to form a skull's head and eyes, with an additional set of "teeth" under it to form the full skull shape.
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To Team Rocket. They're both criminal organizations, but while Team Rocket is TheMafia and mainly operate underground, Team Skull are GangBangers who work out in the open. They both exploit Pokémon for profit, but while Team Rocket's ultimate goal is world domination, Team Skull's members turned to crime just to survive.
* CriminalFoundFamily: Not that they're ''great'' at being criminals, but Plumeria certainly seems to see them as a great big family.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindows: Pink hair and eyes for female grunts and bright blue hair and eyes for male grunts.
* DarkIsEvil: They wear all-black outfits, and are shown to steal Pokémon and commit petty crimes throughout Alola. Even moreso, when [[spoiler:their boss turns out to be in cahoots with the even more evil Aether Foundation.]]
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of the KidHero, in a world where young children are sent out into the world alone. [[spoiler:Many members mention suffering from horrible self-esteem over always losing, homelessness, and failing to complete the islands' trials. When you finally reach the town they are based out of, it is in ruins with almost no power or supplies. As one Grunt says early on, they're not out to take over the world or anything, they just want money. Albeit the postgame (where various grunts get employed or taken in by other characters) makes it clear their situation was not so desperate that they had no other options, and they just chose to focus on revenge against the society they feel that cheated them.]]
* DelinquentHair: Almost all members of Team Skull revealed have unusual hair colors, with the male and female grunts having bright blue and pink hair, Plumeria having pink and yellow hair. The exception is Guzma with his white at the top, black at the bottom hair.
* DrowningMySorrows: Implied by the sheer number of empty bottles seen lying around the Shady House.
* EndearinglyDorky: Despite being a villain team, nobody save for Lillie takes the Grunts seriously, and they always gesture wildly when they talk, during battles, and even when taken aback. Plumeria even calls them her "cute, dumb brothers and sisters".
* ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow: Female grunts wear purple eyeshadow.
* FloralThemeNaming: ''Plumeria'', ''Gladiolus'', and ''Guzmania'' are all genera of flowering plants.
* TheFellowshipHasEnded: [[spoiler:The ending of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' shows Guzma and Plumeria standing in front of the Team Skull grunts, with the Team Skull logo crossed out in a big red X on the back of his jacket. He makes it clear that Team Skull is officially disbanded. The grunts change out of their outfits but [[SubvertedTrope still insist on staying with their boss]]. Guzma is amused by this.]]
* TheFriendsWhoNeverHang: Strangely enough, at no point in the story are Guzma and Plumeria in the same place, nor do they interact with each other on-screen. Later averted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' where they appear together during the credits.
* GangBangers: Their gesticulation, speech patterns, and attire, as well as their more informal tone compared to previous villain groups, make them resemble American street gangs. Specifically, their outfits, as well as the fact that Guzma and Plumeria are named after plants prominent in Central and South America, gives them a resemblance to Latino street gangs from the West Coast. [[spoiler:Furthermore, their motivation is that they're broke trainers who were never able to make a legitimate earning, and turned to a life of crime in the desperate hope of keeping themselves afloat, a common origin for a lot of American gang members.]]
* GoingThroughTheMotions: When walking or speaking, the grunts [[MilkingTheGiantCow gesture dramatically]] like stereotypical gang bangers.
* GoodCostumeSwitch: Reformed Grunts, such as the one at Mallow's family's restaurant, have removed their Team Skull articles, now appearing as Alolan Punk Guys/Girls.
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Post-game, Hala takes two Team Skull grunts under his wing, and they say that they're training so that they become strong enough to help people in need. One also appears in Mallow's parents' restaurant, happy that she was given another chance. Meanwhile, Plumeria and Guzma dedicate their lives to training once again, the latter doing so with Hala in ''Sun and Moon''.]]
* HelpfulMook: In Po Town, two Grunts are hanging around inside the Pokémon Center and will heal your team like any normal Pokémon Center for the paltry fee of 10 Pokédollars. They'll cheerfully bust a rhyme out for you in your support.
* IgnoredEnemy: Even when they first appear, they're completely ignored until they force you and Ilima to pay attention.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: With the exception of Lillie, [[IgnoredEnemy nobody takes them seriously]], ''ever''. With certain dialogue choices, even the player character brushes them off as nothing more than a nuisance.
* JapaneseDelinquents: While their designs are based on punk and Latino culture, they have quite a few hallmarks of the ''yankii'' subculture, such as bandanas, face masks, DelinquentHair, excessive jewelry, and tattoos. They also care for each other like siblings, just like a Japanese group of delinquents would.
* JiveTurkey: They all speak in absurd street slang with the exception of Plumeria and Gladion.
* KickTheDog: Most of their early actions are too [[LaughablyEvil funny]] and [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain hopeless]] to be regarded as bad, but the first real nasty thing you see them do is when a couple of grunts mock their ally Gladion for being homeless. [[spoiler:They also steal a Yungoos belonging to a ''preschooler'' at the Aether House, so they're not above stealing from little girls.]]
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Before you fight Guzma in [[spoiler:Aether Paradise]], you have to fight a couple grunts back to back. A third one stops you... only to let you pass without any trouble, since he's smart enough to not fight a battle he can't win.
* LaughablyEvil: Confirmed by WordOfGod to be 100% intentional. Team Skull has become a target of mockery in Alola, mainly due to their street gang aesthetic and designs, but their [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain plans not being able to back them up due to them being ineffectual]]. As for their members, there's Gladion's constant poker-face and hand gestures, Plumeria's description of her own minions as "stupid", alongside Guzma explicitly being noted as a failed Trial Captain. You can even walk away from them during your first encounter with them!
* MenCantKeepHouse: Hilariously true here for the most part. Most of the Shady House is in shambles and barely livable, and even Guzma's room is cluttered. Plumeria's room, however, is clean, neat, and tidy.
* MilkingTheGiantCow: The Grunts gesture wildly as they walk and speak.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: A minor example occurs when a pair of grunts the player previously encountered trying to steal berries from an elderly man try to mess up your first Trial. After losing to you again, they give up on fighting you and simply try to capture the Yungoos (in ''Sun'') or Rattata (in ''Moon'') that is constantly switching between three holes as you're trying to catch it. By blocking two of the holes, they restrict the Pokémon to one hole.
* NobleDemon: They genuinely seem to care about each other, with Plumeria being one of the first Admins to grow [[BenevolentBoss pissed off]] when you hurt her minions. [[spoiler:Which makes sense when you learn that they're a bunch of failures who wound up homeless because they couldn't make a living as trainers on their own. They became a would-be family when Guzma brought them together.]]
* NoTrueScotsman: They apparently have this mindset, despite being a bunch of wild and varied people, they criticize Gladion for not ''really'' being part of Team Skull since he's their enforcer.
* ObviouslyEvil: Team ''Skull'' is too sinister a name to belong to anything other than a group of villains.
* OutlawTown: Po Town, a small town that they took over, made into their headquarters and proceeded to run to the ground. It is so horribly destitute that they have the only Pokémon Center in the game that charges you for their services.
* PaletteSwap: A truly unusual case of this: all of the Team Skull Grunts are palette swaps of the Alolan Punk Guy/Girl trainer class, just with Team Skull apparel on, and they have the exact same losing animations. There's signs that it might be intentional, though, between the way several of the latter Trainers talk exactly like Team Skull Grunts and how a Punk Guy and Girl are seen with the [[spoiler:reformed]] Plumeria during the credits, suggesting that they might be "off-duty" Grunts who've simply taken off their Skull merch.
* PoorPredictableRock: Most use Dark or Poison-types, not unlike Team Rocket, with a few Psychic-type Pokémon sprinkled in.
* SelfDeprecation:
** They aren't too shy about their self-esteem issues.
** A {{Meta}} version appears in Verdant Cavern with two male Grunts "trying" to harass you, with one conversation [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] [[YouALLLookFamiliar the reuse of character models]].
** Another one has an argument between two female Grunts in Po Town, which culminates as another {{lampshade|Hanging}} concerning why everyone is referred to as "Grunt".
* SerialEscalation: Inverted. Unlike previous evil teams, these guys aren't out to conquer the world or control some powerful legendary Pokemon. They're just out to steal whatever they can get their hands on, particularly money, while also just being dicks to Trainers going through the island challenge.
* SexyWalk: The female grunts walk like this, similar to Plumeria.
* StrangeSalute: The mooks pose before battle by crossing their arms across their chest and then curling them to their sides to gesticulate a skull and crossbones.
* TrashOfTheTitans: They've taken residence in a mansion, and the interior is a mess, with garbage and graffiti everywhere and a fallen chandelier blocking one of the stairwells. Only Plumeria keeps her room clean.
* TrueCompanions: Probably the thing that differentiates Skull the most from any other villainous team: They're all struggling due to shortcomings or failures in life, and have banded together to try and get the respect they believe society owes them. In the process, they, along with Guzma and Plumeria, form an extremely tight bond to the point they don't disband after reforming, instead refocusing their efforts on positive contributions to society.
* TheUnreveal: Their origins are said to have originated as a group formed around one of the Kahunas, who was then struck down by one of the island deities. The identity of the Kahuna and original leader of Team Skull is left unmentioned beyond that.
* ValleyGirl: Two female grunts in Po Town talk like this.
* VisualPun: The goofy "arms curled towards hips" thing the grunts do is supposed to be their arms and body [[http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/157/905/db8.jpg mimicking the shape of a cartoon skull]]. The white saltire on their shirts also makes it look like a skull and crossbones.
* WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises: The grunts sport these on a loss.
* WhoWearsShortShorts: Female grunts wear cut off shorts.
* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler:Or at least, Would Steal From And Kidnap Children. Team Skull at one point steals a Yungoos from a ''preschooler'', and later, Plumeria kidnaps Lillie to bring her back to the Aether Foundation's headquarters (although Lillie agrees to go with Plumeria in order to protect the other children who were with her at the time). Albeit it's notable that Plumeria is very regretful about the whole thing later on, she followed orders but was against the whole plan.]]
* {{Yakuza}}: Very clearly the type of thing Guzma ''wants'' to invoke with the team, but also very clearly ''not'' the case, [[spoiler:with the difference between them and the ''real'' Yakuza - Team Rocket - being shown clearly in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''.]]
* ZergRush: Sort of. At Ancient Poni Path, before you head into Vast Poni Canyon, you have to fight a lone female Grunt and seemingly a single male Grunt. However, in the overworld, there are five other male Grunts, and the male Grunt has five Pokémon, giving the impression that all five male Grunts are either all fighting you or they just let the one Grunt do all the work. This is likely due to the lack of the Horde Trainer battles that were present in the Hoenn remakes.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Guzma]]
!!Guzma (グズマ ''guzuma'')
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/guzma_sm.png]]
-->''"Wanna see what destruction looks like?\\
Here it is in human form - it's your boy Guzma!"''
->Voiced by: Creator/DougErholtz (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - EN), Tatsuhiro Kikuchi (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - JP)
The leader of Team Skull. He's a fierce and merciless battler, and seems to have a past with Professor Kukui. He is a Bug-type specialist, until the Battle Tree, where he diversifies his team into Poison-types and Dark-types.
----
* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler:A house on Route 2, his childhood home, hints that Guzma may have had a very troublesome childhood. It's implied that his father beat him, but Guzma later retaliated and ran away from home afterward. His father says "I tried to set that boy straight, but instead, I was the one who got beat." And then there's the bag of bent and broken golf clubs found in the same house. What makes it more unsettling is that the very lady he follows orders from is an abusive mother herself. Further hints that he may have been abused as a child can be seen in his catchphrase about being "the hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up" (which could be a FreudianSlip about what his father did to him), and the way he slips into third-person and screams "Guzma! What is wrong with you?!", which combined with his AlwaysSecondBest status, further looks like sublimated emotional abuse.]]
* AchievementsInIgnorance: [[spoiler:When he shows up at Team Rainbow Rocket's Castle to rescue Lusamine, he unintentionally causes two Rainbow Rocket Grunts to [[IllNeverTellYouWhatImTellingYou tell him where she is]].]]
* AlwaysSecondBest: Not even that. [[spoiler:Almost all of the trophies in his childhood bedroom are bronze, so he was always ''third'' best. He also has a single silver trophy, meaning that the one time he actually got second best was an accomplishment for him.]]
* AtArmsLength: [[spoiler:He does this to two Rainbow Rocket Grunts, holding his hands against their faces while they futilely swing their arms at him.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: His bravado isn't just for show; he's easily a very strong battler, and ''definitely'' the strongest member of Team Skull. [[spoiler:When you confront him in Aether Paradise, he's already defeated ''Gladion''[[note]]who at this point uses a Golbat, which is a ''Flying-type'' and thus should have had a major advantage over his primarily Bug-type team[[/note]] and is ready to rip you apart. Also, his team when you battle him in the post-game is on par with the ''Elite Four'', and he can also be found amongst many strong, fightable (and recruitable) trainers in the Battle Tree.]]
* AxCrazy: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. He isn't necessarily murderous as far as the story goes, but he's definitely violent, irritable, and aggressive to the point of being mentally unhinged.
-->"You wanna know what I do when some machine messes up? The first thing I do is [[PercussiveMaintenance give it a nice hard smack]]! I mean, most of the time I smash it to pieces, but hey, what can you do? ''(donning a SlasherSmile)'' [[WouldHurtAChild Now let's see if I can't fix you!]]"
* BadassBoast: His section's establishing quote.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: [[spoiler:According to Plumeria, he likes Lusamine because she's the only adult who ever seemed to acknowledge his strength.]]
* BenevolentBoss: Even if it isn't as immediately obvious with him as it is with [[CoolBigSis Plumeria]], Guzma does care about his underlings. [[spoiler:If you speak to him in the postgame of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he'll tell you that he's working hard to become stronger so that he can make sure no one messes with his "homies". This is also the reason he formed Team Skull in the first place, as a means to give fellow social outcasts a place to call home.]]
* BewareTheSillyOnes: He's just as much of a LargeHam as the rest of his team, but unlike them, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking he's actually a threat]].
* BigBad: TheLeader of Team Skull, and as such, he acts as one for [[DiscOneFinalBoss the first part of the game]]. [[spoiler:Later subverted, as he is actually TheDragon to [[TheManBehindTheMan Lusamine]], who operates the much more competent and just as villainous Aether Foundation.]]
* BigBadWannabe: Played with. He certainly ''acts'' like he wants to be feared by everyone [[spoiler:despite not being [[BigBad the biggest threat to Alola]]]], and there may be a scared, broken boy with self-esteem issues underneath his loud, boastful attitude. But he's still a hostile, destructive gang leader who's out to do as much damage as he can and is perfectly willing to back up his threats.
* BigBrotherInstinct: [[spoiler:Seems to feel this way about the protagonist and Lillie in the Rainbow Rocket storyline. He joins you in a battle againt two rainbow rocket grunts, telling them before that "(even though his team is disbanded, he still has things) he can't let go of and won't let anybody mess with". He also holds off other grunts to allow the protagonist to take on the leaders of the Rainbow Rocket relatively unbothered.]]
* BigCreepyCrawlies: Of all of the villain team leaders (with the exception of Giovanni, as he was a Gym Leader [[note]]and even then, he doesn't have a full team of Ground-types in ''Pokémon Yellow''[[/note]] as well as a Villain Team Leader), he is the only one who carries a team full of a certain type of Pokémon. In Guzma's case, he specializes in Bug-type Pokémon. Fittingly, this may be because his original aspirations were to be a Trial Captain, the Alolan equivalent of Gym Leaders, and his dedication to a single-type team is a holdover from those dashed hopes. His favorite Pokémon and ace is [[SignatureMon Golisopod]], a giant isopod that stands taller than him. His room in the Shady House has a large pile of Buginium-Z Crystals, one of which the player can take for themselves. The Poké War Games event in ''Masters'' even has him paired up with Buzzwole.
* BlingOfWar: He wears various bits of jewelry, such as a gold watch and a Team Skull pendant. [[spoiler:He takes off the pendant after disbanding Team Skull.]]
* BonusBoss: He can be challenged to a match [[spoiler:when you visit his childhood home after becoming Champion in ''Sun and Moon''. In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he's instead one of the Title Defense challengers you can battle.]]
* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:In ''Sun and Moon'', when you find him in Ultra Space, he realizes [[AxCrazy Lusamine]] has gone too far when both are stuck in Ultra Space, and he gets possessed by a Nihilego when he cockily tried to capture it. By his own words, [[MindRape his body and mind were driven out of his control]], and he experienced fear for the first time. Meanwhile, [[BrokenPedestal Lusamine is just on another level and was gone for him]], and it's implied [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath he tried to talk her down]], but it didn't work.]]
* BrokenAce: [[spoiler:If the trophies in his parents' house on Route 2 are any indication, then he most certainly is. Not only that, he had actually trained his Pokémon since he was younger during his island trial, and he also failed at becoming a Trial Captain, feeling like society cheated him when this happened. These are the reasons to why he formed Team Skull, as [[NobleDemon he wanted to take in people that weren't that different from him]], and despite being TheAce and TheLeader of the team, he is a broken ace one at the end of the day. Fortunately, by the end of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he works to amend his issues.]]
* TheBrute: Views himself as such, being a burly looking man who calls himself "destruction in human form".
* CallingTheOldManOut: [[spoiler:Post-game in ''Ultra Sun And Moon'', he has the audacity to visit his old home on Route 2, and beat his father in a battle.]]
* CatchPhrase:
** "The hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up... Yeah. Big bad Guzma is here!"
** "Guzma! What is wrong with you?!", which he says whenever he loses a battle.
* CardCarryingVillain: Introduces himself as "destruction in human form."
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To Giovanni. They both lead criminal organizations and specialize in one specific type, [[spoiler:and in the end, they both disband their gangs in order to focus on becoming stronger trainers. But while Giovanni is the BigBad of his game, Guzma is TheDragon to the real big bad, Lusamine. And while Giovanni is training because he intends to reassemble Team Rocket someday, Guzma is able to move on and is training in order to better himself. In addition, Guzma is heavily implied to have suffered rather nasty parental abuse as a child while Giovanni himself, while not explicitly shown to be physically abusive to his son, has still been shown to be a terrible father towards Silver up to and including abandoning his son after the events of the first games]].
* CoolShades: Guzma wears an asymmetrical pair of sunglasses on his forehead. [[spoiler:He swaps them out for a symmetrical pair after his HeelFaceTurn.]]
* CreepyShadowedUndereyes: Sports these, likely to reflect his angry and intimidating demeanor.
* TheDragon: [[spoiler:He is one to Lusamine, the president of the Aether Foundation]].
* TheDogBitesBack: It's implied his StartOfDarkness occurred when he finally [[spoiler:delivered a return beatdown to his abusive father.]]
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: [[spoiler:And this is despite his mother being an {{abusive parent|s}}. If you visit his house in the postgame, his mother will say that while she heard all sorts of rumors that her Guzma was up to no good, she knew they were "all lies", implying he couldn't bring himself to fess up to her.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** Despite being the leader of a gang, seeing himself as "destruction in human form", and wanting to vandalize Alola, he's the only villainous team leader to not plan to {{take over the world}}, or do something to it. [[spoiler:Reinforced by Episode RR in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''.]]
** [[spoiler:He also feels [[AxCrazy Lusamine]]'s OmnicidalManiac tendencies are going too far, at the end of ''Sun and Moon''.]]
** [[spoiler:In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he also doesn't seem to take backstabbing well, as Faba did to Lusamine.]]
* EvilIsHammy: He's ''very'' [[NoIndoorVoice loud]] and [[MilkingtheGiantCow expressive]], to say the least.
* EvilLaugh: While it's not heard or shown in his dialogue, one of his animations before battle is a maniacal laugh.
* {{Foil}}:
** To Kukui. Guzma mentions that both of them failed at becoming Trial Captains, but instead of doing something good with his talents like Kukui, Guzma went crazy and created Team Skull instead.
** To Plumeria, his second-in-command. Guzma is loud and gets angrily very easily, while Plumeria always keeps her cool. [[spoiler:While Guzma happily goes along with Lusamine's plan (until the events in Ultra Space), Plumeria is against kidnapping Lillie and regrets being a part of it. She apologizes sincerely for her actions and has nothing but nice things to say to the protagonist. When the protagonist meets Guzma after Team Skull's disbandment in ''Sun and Moon'', he gives them his lucky Dawn Stone while refusing to call it a gesture of apology]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** [[spoiler:His encounter and battle themes both contain samples of the Aether Foundation theme, which hints towards who he answers to.]]
** Inverted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''. He knows Hala's grandson, Hau, and that he's approximately the same age as the main character. [[spoiler:Which makes more sense since, after his ''Sun and Moon'' postgame fight, Hala is revealed to have been his former mentor.]]
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:He's implied to be as violent and aggressive as he is because of a rough childhood, particularly because [[AbusiveParents his parents abused him]] (moreso his father) until he snapped, beat his father up, and ran away from home. Afterwards, he tried to become a Trial Captain, but failed. This combination led Guzma to see society as the source of his problems and drove him to try and take revenge on Alola as a whole.]]
* GoodCostumeSwitch: Sort of. [[spoiler:After disbanding Team Skull, he swaps out his sunglasses, ditches the necklace, removes his tattoos, and crosses out the Team Skull logo on his jacket with red paint. The resulting look is largely unchanged except for the removal of all Team Skull motifs.]]
** He's back to his original look for his ''Masters'' appearance, despite having been through his character development.
* {{Guyliner}}: Wears dark gray eyeshadow.
* HairTriggerTemper: Guzma is known for getting angry very easily, and expresses it physically. When you sit in his chair, you'll notice that the arms of the chair have wear and tear from him slamming his fists on it angrily. He'll also freak out and yell at himself for losing at you constantly.
* TheHeavy: The Team Skull goons who serve as the most regular obstacles to the player are all working for him, and once the player arrives on Ula'ula Island, Guzma takes (negative) notice of them and becomes a RecurringBoss. [[spoiler:He's not the BigBad, but he ''is'' the game's most frequent obstacle.]]
* HeelFaceTurn:
** [[spoiler:In the post-game, he disbands Team Skull, with his title changing from "Team Skull Boss Guzma" to "Pokémon Trainer Guzma". After being defeated, he leaves with Hala to train and become stronger.]]
** [[spoiler:More so in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon]]''. Guzma helps the protagonist take down Team Rainbow Rocket, primarily by keeping an eye on the entrance to their castle and intercepting grunts who pass by while the protagonist investigates the interior, and becomes one of the potential challengers after the player character has become the Champion, meaning that Guzma has cleaned up his act]].
* HiddenDepths: In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' Plumeria suggests that despite how much Guzma rants about his hatred of many of Alola's traditions, he still cares deeply about his homeland and hence was willing to jump into another dimension to try to protect it. She admits though that Guzma himself may not realize this.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Yes, Guzma is the leader of Team Skull, which are all a bunch of delinquents that plan to cause damage to Alola, with him being the most competent of them all. [[spoiler:However, the reason [[NobleDemon he took all of the grunts into Team Skull]], including Plumeria, is because he knew how bad they must have felt after they failed to make an impact to the society they are a part of, and felt cheated by them. Deep down, all that Guzma wants is for him and the people he sympathizes with to be recognized, though of course, [[HiddenDepths he will not let the positive side of him be seen by the heroes]].]]
* HumanityEnsues: Ironically, this is what happened to "destruction in human form" himself at the end of both games.
* IGaveMyWord: Defeating him in the Shady House has him actually give back the Yungoos that Team Skull kidnapped. [[spoiler:Likewise, defeating him in Aether Paradise has him let you through, letting you battle [[BigBad Lusamine]].]]
* IncomingHam: He makes his first appearance by loudly announcing "Greetings, cowering public!" and introducing himself as "the hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up" and as "destruction in human form."
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: For all of his fearmongering and bravado, it's implied that [[spoiler:his less than stellar upbringing combined with]] his failure to become a Trial Captain left him with some confidence issues. [[spoiler:Team Skull is his way of trying to compensate for them and lash out.]]
* {{Irony}}: Being a gang boss who's a LargeHam and has a tendency to [[PercussiveMaintenance break technology by hitting it]], it's made apparent that he's ''smarter'' than [[spoiler:your average Team Rainbow Rocket Grunt (i.e: "experienced" {{Mooks}} part of TheMafia), and Faba, as he has an incredulous look as a reaction to the latter revealing to Lusamine that he backstabbed her ''just to further his own career''.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: Played with. Guzma formed Team Skull as a way of lashing out after failing to become a Trial Captain and blames society instead of moving on. [[spoiler:Though given the implications he was abused in the past, the trials were probably not the only factor, and his underlings were all kids who couldn't make a living as trainers and are also blaming society for their troubles, so Team Skull's ambitions aren't just for him alone.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Settles into this in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', [[spoiler:after his HeelFaceTurn. In the post-game, Guzma thanks you for saving the world from Necrozma and demonstrates to actually get along a bit with Hau, the grandson of Hala, who was Guzma's former mentor. Likewise, Guzma helps you in Episode RR by taking down a pair of Team Rocket grunts, and despite claiming that he did because they were getting on his nerves, he later reassures the player character that he's got their back by holding the entrance and holding off said pair of grunts. He's also helping the player character because Team Rainbow Rocket kidnapped Lusamine, the only person who truly recognized his strength, and he wanted to return the favor by saving her]].
-->'''Guzma:''' Maybe when you bring out the best in others, it helps you find the best in yourself too, huh?
* LargeAndInCharge: Even while slouching, Guzma is visibly one of the tallest characters in the game, and his bravado as the leader of Team Skull isn't for show. His height is even made note of on a few occasions; according to official character sheets, his height is anywhere from 6'6" to 7'2" (the variation presumably due to ''Sun and Moon'' having most adults have similar heights).
* TheLeader: Of Team Skull.
* MeaningfulName: The ''Guzmania'' genus is part of the plant family known as Bromeliads, many species of which are notable for being home to micro-ecosystems, and Team Skull gives off much more of a casual and familial tone than previous villainous teams. More specifically, ''Guzmania'' bromeliads flourish in hot, humid climates, such as tropical places like Alola.
* MentorArchetype: During ''Masters'', he unwillingly becomes this to Liza when she asks him to help make her stronger and more confident.
* MusicalSpoiler: [[spoiler:His theme actually glitches out at several points, playing a snippet of the Aether Foundation {{Leitmotif}}.]]
* NinetiesAntiHero: Seems to turn into this at the end of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''. [[spoiler: His "heroism" part is played up in Episode RR where he describes himself as a "nobody" before teaming up with the player against Rainbow Rocket grunts.]] Besides, his design and traits had already mimicked many of those examples in the genres, and he has the speech of such.
* NobleDemon: The entire reason Guzma formed the team was to lash out at a society he felt cheated by. [[spoiler:So he took in a bunch of weak trainers and other failures that knew how hard and unfair the life of a trainer can be, and gave them a home and a purpose.]]
* NotSoDifferentRemark: In his first appearance, Guzma attempted to pull this card between himself and Professor Kukui, as they both failed to become Trial Captains in their youth. [[spoiler:But Kukui points out that they are indeed different, because unlike Guzma, Kukui didn't ''fail'' to become a Trial Captain, he just chose to do something else, like become a professor.]]
* NumberOneDime: In ''Sun and Moon'', he carries around a Dawn Stone that he received after his first-ever victory as a good luck charm, even past the point where it's become apparent that it hasn't been very lucky for him where it counts. ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' seem to replace it with a [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Grip Claw]].
* PersonalityPowers: His [[SignatureMon signature Pokémon]] is Golisopod; [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex a cowardly weakling that became big and strong, but underneath its fearsome appearance is still the same coward it always was]].
* PutOnABus: In the postgame of ''Sun and Moon'', [[spoiler:he goes to train with Hala. He [[TheBusCameBack comes back briefly]] on the Battle Tree for ''Moon'', where you can face him off or team up with him.]]
** Averted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', [[spoiler:where he can instead be found at the trailer park outside Haina Desert, as well as being a potential Title Defense challenger.]]
* RebelRelaxation: He crouches down while battling rather than standing up.
* ReformedButNotTamed: [[spoiler:After disbanding Team Skull, his attitude still hasn't changed one bit. He even makes a point of telling you he'll never change. Averted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', where he [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold mellows out]] by the end of the game.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler:Once it becomes clear [[AxCrazy just how far]] Lusamine's fallen off the deep end, he decides he really wants no further part in her plans. He can't actually go anywhere given [[EldritchLocation where he is at the time,]] though.]]
* SecondPlaceIsForLosers: [[spoiler:One of the causes in Guzma's descent to villainy is found in his trophy collection: he has a ''single'' silver trophy and the rest after that are bronze.]]
* ShockAndAwe: Vikavolt replaces his Ariados as the ''other'' very slow Bug-type in the remakes, giving his team not only a secondary special attacker other than Masquerain but it also helps his team handle Flying-types more efficiently.
* SignatureMon:
** Golisopod. When you infiltrate Team Skull's hideout, you learn that it's his favorite Pokémon. Unlike most examples of this trope, he sends it out immediately, [[ArtificialBrilliance because its ability, Emergency Exit, would be useless if he saved it for last]].
*** Also makes more sense when you consider both have a case of InferioritySuperiorityComplex.
** The Poké War Games event in ''Masters'' puts more emphasis towards his focus on brute force by pairing him up with Buzzwole.
** In the Battle Tree, his team diversifies a bit, but can still include Golisopod, as well as Mega Pinsir.
* SlasherSmile: He has a big grin on his face as he laughs and threatens to beat down the player in every encounter.
* SoreLoser: He doesn't take losing to a [[KidHero child]] over and over again very well.
* StartOfDarkness: The formation of Team Skull was the result of his being rejected from being a Trial Captain [[spoiler:after running away from home to escape his abusive father]].
* TattooedCrook: He has tattoos of Team Skull's emblem on his forearms.
* ThirdPersonPerson: He slips into this when he loses a battle. [[spoiler:After all, [[AbusiveParents he's probably used to hearing himself berated for failure this way]].]]
-->"Guzma! What is wrong with you?!"
* TinTyrant: The Poké War Games event in ''Masters'' gives him Buzzwole-themed armor.
* TookALevelInBadass: Compared to his role in the original games, ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' shows him [[spoiler:facing you as one of the potential opponents for the title of Champion!]]
** [[spoiler:He even helps you take back Aether Paradise and rescue Lusamine from Giovanni and spends a good chunk of Episode RR holding back two Rainbow Rocket Grunts.]]
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Tapu Cocoa, if one of the clues needed to get through the Shady House are any indication.
* {{Tsundere}}: His and Plumeria's event in ''Masters'' reveals him to be this in his interactions with Scottie/Bettie and especially Liza, who has adopted him as her mentor. Despite his protests to Liza calling him "master," it's clear by the end of the story that he cares about her and wants to see her develop as a trainer in her own right.
* WalkingSpoiler: There's a reason why there's a lot of white in this page. Most notably, knowing too much about him reveals that [[spoiler:he is [[BigBad Lusamine's]] [[TheDragon second-in-command]] during the events of Ultra Space, and that Team Skull was collaborating with the Aether Foundation behind the scenes the whole time.]]
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: [[spoiler:During the Team Rainbow Rocket arc, when confronted by multiple Team Rocket Grunts, Guzma simply attacks and restrains the trainers themselves rather than waiting for them to bring out their Pokémon.]]
* WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises: Sports this look in his pre-battle animation.
* WorthyOpponent: Averted and PlayedForDrama. In the post-game, he's chastised [[spoiler:by Hala]] for only recognizing his own strength, and his failure to see the strength of others is what keeps dragging him down. Indeed, his go-to "Guzma! What is wrong with you?!" indicates he sees the player's victories as personal failures and nothing else.
* WouldHitAGirl: The female player character is not exempt from the below-mentioned threat. And in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', [[spoiler:he noticeably smacks Lillie out of his way while chasing after Lusamine through the Ultra Wormhole.]]
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Despite his white hair, Guzma seems to be a lot younger than he looks, probably in his early twenties. [[spoiler:Plumeria's wording that Lusamine was the only ''adult'' that ever acknowledged his strength, rather than the only person, and his parents and Hala referring to him as a "young man", further reinforce this, and it's mentioned that he failed at becoming a Trial Captain, and 20 is the cutoff age for Trial Captains.]] In case this is true, he's likely the youngest villainous team leader in the main games, moreso than [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Cyrus]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Plumeria ''[-(Plumeri)-]'']]
!!Plumeria / Plumeri (プルメリ ''purumeri'')
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/plumeria_sm_1.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MichelleRuff (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - EN), Ai Kaneta (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - JP)
The sole admin of Team Skull, she's described as the "Big Sister" of the gang and looks out for the younger members while keeping them in line.
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* AmbiguouslyBrown: She looks like a GyaruGirl, and her fashion sense certainly evokes the fashion style, leaving it ambiguous as to whether or not her tan skin is natural or just the result of makeup- the white on her eyes is her eyeshadow, as shown when she wears it less excessively during the post-game.
* AnimeHair: Pink and yellow hair drawn into four long strands, pink in the front and yellow in the back.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Her role as the admin of Team Skull is implied to be the result of being the strongest next to Guzma, since she doesn't contribute much aside from being a strong trainer, and looking out for her grunts. In ''Sun and Moon'', she's shown to be a strong enough trainer to challenge the Champion. Though to be fair, Team Skull is far from an organized crime organization in need of much else.
* BareYourMidriff: She wears a tank top that exposes her midriff, which also has a tattoo of Team Skull's emblem.
* BenevolentBoss: While Plumeria is not the actual leader of Team Skull, she's the admin, the [[NumberTwo second-in-command]] to Guzma, and she cares about her grunts, [[CoolBigSis treating them like her siblings]]. She also has a Golbat which evolves into Crobat later in the game. This is reinforced when she mentions that you "picking on" the grunts is her BerserkButton.
* BigSisterInstinct: She is fiercely protective of her "cute, dumb brothers and sisters". This is the reason she initiates the first confrontation with the player, who has dispatched several Skull mooks by then with little effort.
* BlowYouAway: She owns a Golbat, later a Crobat.
* BonusBoss: [[spoiler:Appears as one of the potential challengers for the player's title as champion.]]
* TheBrute: See AsskickingEqualsAuthority above.
* CoolBigSis: Fittingly for a group partially-based on JapaneseDelinquents, she serves as this to younger Team Skull members. She is in a sense everything the grunts want to be: intelligent, powerful and "cool." Even her room in the headquarters is organized and well-kept compared to the mess that the Grunts and Guzma make of their rooms (in fact, if she greets the player upon them logging in to ''Masters'' during the morning, she mentions that she spends all day making it so tidy. Yet despite being so objectively "superior" she sees the grunts' flaws as making them cute and deserving of her attention rather than scorn, which just makes her more beloved by them.
* DarkActionGirl: She's a skilled battler with strong Pokémon and works for the resident evil team.
* DeathGlare: Her pre-battle animation has her sport one, and due to her yellow eyes, it's actually quite unnerving.
* TheDragon: To Guzma, [[spoiler:though it's subverted as it turns out Guzma is this to Lusamine and she implicitly quits after having to kidnap Lillie]].
* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[spoiler:She did ''not'' like kidnapping Lillie one bit]].
* ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow: She wears lots of eye makeup - dark eyeliner and eyeshadow, and white eyeshadow - applied all around her eyes. [[spoiler:Fittingly enough, she gets rid of the white makeup after reforming, making it less excessive.]]
* FaceOfAThug: Plumeria has one heck of a DeathGlare, [[PerpetualFrowner wears a constant scowl]], works for Team Skull, and generally looks like the kind of person you don't want to meet in a dark alley. However, she's actually fairly pleasant with a fierce BigSisterInstinct, and the only reason she initially has [[JustForPun a bone to pick with you]] is because you were beating on the grunts. She's also one of the least antagonistic villains in the series.
* {{Foil}}: To Guzma, her boss. Guzma is loud and gets angrily very easily, while Plumeria always keeps her cool. [[spoiler:While Guzma happily goes along with Lusamine's plan (until the events in Ultra Space), Plumeria is against kidnapping Lillie and regrets being a part of it. She apologizes sincerely for her actions and has nothing but nice things to say to the protagonist. When the protagonist meets Guzma after Team Skull's disbandment, he gives them his lucky Dawn Stone while refusing to call it a gesture of apology]].
* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: Her room in the Team Skull HQ has two Pokémon dolls on her bed.
** Elaborated on in ''Masters''. The event that introduces her has a sub-episode where the protagonist accompanies her on a trip through town, and she's constantly getting sidetracked by cute things, in particular a shop selling stuffed animals.
* GoodCostumeSwitch: [[spoiler:After Team Skull is disbanded, she removes her white eye shadow and tattoo, and dons [[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:Spr_SM_Plumeria_2.png a Salazzle-themed bandana and pair of pants]].]]
** She's back to her Team Skull look in ''Masters'', despite that version of her clearly having been through her CharacterDevelopment from the main games.
* GyaruGirl: She has pink and blonde hair, and accents her eyes with white makeup. Her design is clearly inspired from ganguro style, further exemplified by the baggy clothing fashion that the entire organization wears.
* HartmanHips: Her hips are quite wider than her body, and she tends to [[SexyWalk walk and show this off]].
* HeelFaceTurn: Turns over a new leaf after Team Skull is disbanded, albeit even while she's still with Team Skull she is notably less antagonistic than other members [[spoiler:and outright against things like kidnapping]].
* HiddenDepths: [[spoiler:Her Title Defense defeat dialogue implies that]] she's not as confident in herself as she puts up. Indeed, this hints as to why she may have joined Team Skull.
--> '''Plumeria:''' "I failed again... like I always do. I promised myself I wouldn't! I told myself I would never fail again!"
** Further, in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' we learn her favorite Pokémon is Bounsweet. She has a desire to watch over "cute, dumb" things and Bounsweet is notably fairly defenseless and while often harassed by other Pokémon, it tends to not be very good at communicating it needs help. This is likely why she is the CoolBigSis to the grunts and in turn, why they all adore her.
* HypercompetentSidekick: She's a lot more level-headed and in control than her superior. Makes one wonder how Guzma got her to join...
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
** While she is a member of Team Skull, she is beloved by the grunts as a caring big-sister figure. [[spoiler:She's also genuinely remorseful for her part in kidnapping Lillie, and personally apologizes to her for it.]]
** She has an additional moment in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' for her kindness to shine. [[spoiler:She doesn't really approve of kidnapping Lillie, but she actually respects Lillie for being able to stand up to herself when she and another grunt came by to take her, instead of accusing her of being a thief like the originals did.]]
* MeaningfulName: [[https://cdn6.bigcommerce.com/s-52h2v/products/377/images/1014/aussie_confetti__90644.1409325328.1280.1280.jpg?c=2 Plumeria flowers]] are not only pink and yellow in color, they're also symbols of family and believed to provide shelter to ghosts and demons, fitting her status as the "big sister" of the team.
* NiceGirl: Heavily downplayed until the climax of the game, but it's there. Plumeria notably lacks some of the antagonism typical of villain team admins. She only battles the player character because they had [[BerserkButton defeated a bunch of her grunts]], who she loves and [[CoolBigSis treats them like her siblings]]. Later, she apologizes to Lillie [[spoiler:for kidnapping her and mentions she wasn't on board with it at all]], and she has nothing but nice things to say to Lillie and to the player before they go to save Guzma and Lusamine. [[spoiler:When she appears as a challenger at the Pokémon League, it's hinted that she disliked knocking a bunch of Pokémon out to reach the Champion and is very sensitive to letting other people down; plus, her Golbat's evolution to a Crobat (which is only achieved through high friendship) implies she does love her Pokémon.]]
* NiceHat: [[spoiler:After Team Skull's disbandment, Plumeria switches her skull hair decorations out for a Salazzle-themed bandanna, which matches her pants.]]
* NumberTwo: The second-in-command of Team Skull, and TheDragon to [[TheLeader Guzma]]. Strangely, they only interact once, [[spoiler:and this is in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'']].
* OnlySaneWoman: [[HypercompetentSidekick More cool-headed than Guzma]], and the only member of the team to not be a LargeHam, nor [[MilkingTheGiantCow gesture while she speaks]].
* PerpetualFrowner: She ''never'' smiles in any of your interactions with her, not counting the epic SlasherSmile she gives you in the Demo. [[spoiler:She finally [[WhenSheSmiles cracks a genuine smile]] in the ending of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.'' Averted further in ''Masters''.]]
* PoisonousPerson: Specializes in Poison-type Pokémon, and gives the player a Poisonium Z.
* SelfDeprecation: Like Team Skull as a whole, she doesn't hide her self-esteem issues. [[spoiler:She automatically assumes that Lillie won't and shouldn't forgive her for kidnapping her, and has no problem with it because she believes it's deserved. [[AllLovingHero Lillie]], of course, ''does'' actually forgive her.]]
* SexyWalk: Like most of the older, notably attractive females in the game, she has quite a bit of hip movement when she strides forward.
* SignatureHeadgear: Plumeria wears two skull-shaped hair clips, with her four bunches of hair going through the eye portions.
* SignatureMon: Salazzle. [[spoiler:She even wears a bandana and pants modeled after it after her HeelFaceTurn.]]
* SurroundedByIdiots: An odd example. She has a low opinion of her grunts' smarts, but rather than it annoying her, she finds it oddly endearing. She pretty much thinks of them as her cute dumb younger siblings that she, as their CoolBigSis, needs to watch over.
* TattooedCrook: She has a tattoo bearing Team Skull's emblem on her midriff. [[spoiler:She removes it after Team Skull is disbanded.]]
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' reveals that she shares Guzma's preference for Tapu Cocoa.
* UncattyResemblance: In the post-game, Plumeria drops the skull motif and wears Salazzle-themed bandana and pants.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:Despite being responsible for Lillie's kidnapping, she's nowhere to be found when Hau, Gladion, and the player raid Aether Paradise. Perhaps justified when she explains later how much she regretted being a part of the whole thing to begin with, presumably she took the first opportunity to leave the place.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: {{Subverted|Trope}}. [[spoiler:She does kidnap Lillie as part of Team Skull's plan and leaves her in Aether Paradise, but is resentful for doing this and apologizes to her for this before they enter Vast Poni Canyon.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Gladion ''[-(Gladio)-]'']]
!!Gladion / Gladio (グラジオ ''gurajio'')
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gladion_sm.png]]
->Voiced by: Alan Lee (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - EN), Creator/KoukiUchiyama (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - JP)
An Enforcer of Team Skull. A young man who places strength in battle above everything.
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* AdaptedOut: In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', his Sneasel was switched out for a Zorua.
* AgentScully: [[spoiler:Implied. He gives you one of the flutes needed to awaken the Legendary Pokemon, but doesn't seem to believe in the existence of it himself.]]
* AntiHero: [[spoiler:Revealed to be this as he wants to save Lillie from being kidnapped and to stop [[EvilMatriarch Lusamine]] from possibly destroying the planet.]] He also isn't the [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold nicest guy ever]].
* AntiVillain: Despite allying himself with Team Skull, he doesn't seem to particularly care for their goals and mostly just does what he's told. He even warns the player and Hau to be careful of them at some point. [[spoiler:He becomes an AntiHero after defecting from Team Skull entirely.]]
* AllTheOtherReindeer: Because Gladion is hired muscle for Team Skull, the grunts are quick to remind him that he is not a ''real'' member of the team, and so they don't respect him. Though they do recognize that he's a stronger trainer than a lot of them and will back down from a fight with the player after learning that you beat Gladion.
* AloofAlly: [[spoiler:After Lillie gets kidnapped by Team Skull, Gladion teams up with the Player Character and Hau to rescue her from the Aether Foundation. Despite that, he still struggles with opening up to them, even explicitly blocking them from entering a room containing information about what exactly Type: Null is.]]
* ArtificialBrilliance: In his first battle in the ''Ultra'' games, his Zorua is disguised as his Zubat. The two Pokemon don't share weaknesses and Zorua's Dark-Type makes it immune to Zubat's Psychic weakness, easily capable of catching unaware Trainers off-guard. Less so later on, however, as Zoroark is later seen disguising as Type: Null and Lucario, both of whom share a Fighting weakness with it.
* ArtisticAge:[[spoiler:He's older than the protagonist, but is shorter than his younger sister Lillie. ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' and most spin off material such as the anime seem to scale him up to make his age more obvious.]]
* BenevolentBoss: Contrasting the rest of Gladion's cold and aloof persona, he's very compassionate towards his Pokémon, especially towards Type: Null, and continues the trend in previous generations of [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration owning Pokémon that only evolve with high friendship ratings]]. To wit, his team composition in your battle on Mount Lanakila sports no less than three such examples: Crobat, Lucario, and his ace Silvally. [[spoiler:He even takes over as president of the Aether Foundation in ''Sun and Moon'' and changes it for the better in the post-game.]]
* BigBrotherInstinct: [[spoiler:Toward Lillie. Even if their relationship was a bit strained after he left her with Lusamine, Gladion cares for her a lot and quickly performs a HeelFaceTurn to team up with the player and Hau to rescue her.]]
* BirdsOfAFeather:
** He states that this is how he sees his relationship with Null, since both were created by Lusamine in a way and forced to be what she wanted them to be.
** In ''Masters'', Hau seems to think both Gladion and Lisia are very similar only because of Gladion's usual battle pose looking similar to her contest pose. Gladion at first protests he's not trying to please fans with his pose, but then Lisia comes up to them and comments his pose needs a bit of work for people to see him better. ''[[BishieSparkle He happily takes the advice to heart.]]''
* BloodKnight: His main concern is becoming a strong battler, and even after [[spoiler:Lusamine is dealt with]], he feels that the best way to thank the player character is through giving them a good battle.
* BonusBoss: [[spoiler:Appears as one of the potential challengers for the player's title as champion.]]
%% * ABoyAndHisX: Him and his Type: Null, which eventually becomes Silvally. Silvally even resembles a dog somewhat [[spoiler:and can be seen licking Gladion's face affectionately in the credits.]] %% Add more context to describe their relationship and what effect it has on them. %%
* CallingParentsByTheirName:
** [[spoiler:While he never denies that Lusamine is his mother, he almost never refers to her with that title - he either calls her by her name or, even more jarringly, just "the president". It's yet another point of contrast between himself and Lillie, who always addresses Lusamine as "Mother" despite their strained relationship.]]
** Averted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon,'', where Gladion ''does'' address [[spoiler:Lusamine as Mother, both to her face and to other people. This is likely a reflection of how their relationship in that story is better, [[AdaptationalHeroism as Lusamine isn't quite so horrible.]]]]
* CharacterTics: Covering his face with his right hand while clutching his right side with the left. He switches hands in his pre-battle animation. May cross into ChewingTheScenery.
* ClothingDamage: The rips in his clothes are apparently a result of Type: Null [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength not knowing its own strength]].
* CatchPhrase: His losing-battle dialogue is "How annoying!"
* ChickMagnet: [[ImpliedTrope Implied]] by the ending credits of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', [[spoiler:where the majority of the crowd that gathers to see him off is made up of female Aether Foundation employees.]]
* {{Chuunibyou}}: Gladion has many hallmarks of this character type. He's got an angry demeanor and denies being friends with any human characters, is obsessed with strength, poses dramatically during battle, and even gets called out by Hau on acting mysterious just to seem cooler.
* ColorMotif: His colors mainly consist of red and black as they are on his outfit and [[BloodKnight fit his personality]]. Silvally can also have either the Fire or Dark typing. Both of those types are indicated by Black and Red for colors. [[spoiler:This suffers deep contrast to [[LightIsNotGood Lusamine]] and his sister Lillie]]. He's also one of the best cases of DarkIsNotEvil.
* CoolBoat: Takes command of one with Team Skull livery.
* DarkIsNotEvil: He's not as sinister as his black and red ColorMotif might suggest, being an AntiHero who is determined to [[spoiler:stopping Lusamine and the Ultra Beasts]].
* DeathGlare: His eyes narrow when he's particularly angry.
* DefrostingIceKing: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed.]] [[spoiler:While he does warm up to the protagonist, he still goes out of his way to state that they aren't really friends.]]
** [[spoiler:In the Spanish version of the retellings, after battling him at Mount Lanakila, his dialogue suggests that he already considers the player character a friend, but he seems unable to understand why they would do the same for him]]
* DisappearedDad: His father [[spoiler:Mohn]] was researching Ultra Beasts, and disappeared during an experiment.
* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler: Averted in ''Sun and Moon'', he never calls Lusamine his mother to her face once, which, all things considered, [[AbusiveParents is entirely justified.]] However, he does run the Aether foundation in her place at the end of the game, meaning he at least acknowledges Aether's work as important enough to stand in.]]
* EmoTeen: Design-wise, he wears red and black punk clothes and has PeekABangs. Personality-wise he's aloof, cynical, and abrasive. This is even lampshaded in his concept art, with "Gotta express that middle-school arrogance and being emo." Of course, [[DarkAndTroubledPast he has a lot of things to be emo about]].
* {{Expy}}: He shares many characteristics with [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Silver.]] They're both rivals to you, both antagonize you as well, they are both mainly concerned about getting stronger, their primary colors are red and black, both use the Zubat and Sneasel lines, [[spoiler:they both stole their primary partner Pokémon from a lab, and they're the offspring to the leader of a villainous team.]] That said, Gladion is nowhere near as much a {{Jerkass}} as Silver was before his CharacterDevelopment.
* {{Foil}}:
** A SpearCounterpart thematically to Lillie. Both have straight blonde hair and green eyes. He wears red and black, places a high value on being strong in Pokémon battles, and works for Guzma [[spoiler:and in a degree, Lusamine, the true villain]]. She wears white with light blue, is not fond of making Pokémon fight in battles at all, and works for Kukui. Gladion even means Sword "Lillie," see below. [[spoiler:Makes a bit more sense when it's revealed that they are actually siblings, with Lusamine as their mother. Additionally, both stole Pokémon from their mother in order to rescue them from the experimentation of the Foundation.]]
** He's also one to Hau in terms of their personalities. Gladion's pretty put off by the way Hau can stay upbeat and cheerful even after losing a battle, while even [[NiceGuy Hau]] notes how overly serious and hard to get along with Gladion is.
* {{Foreshadowing}}
** Unlike Plumeria and Guzma, Gladion's theme sounds nothing like the Team Skull theme, hinting to his status as an outsider.
** It also shouldn't come as a surprise [[spoiler:that he's related to Lillie and Lusamine]] considering they all share the same hair and eye color.
* GetOut: If you visit him in his motel room, this is all he has to say.
* GoodIsNotNice: Gladion is on the side of good, but he's still a pretty grumpy person.
* GradeSchoolCEO: [[spoiler:He's not much older than the protagonist, yet he becomes the acting president of the Aether Foundation in ''Sun and Moon'' while Lusamine is undergoing treatment in Kanto. [[ChildHater Faba]] is not pleased, try as he might to hide it.]]
* GrumpyBear: Gladion's default mood tends to fall into this. Even after he [[WorthyOpponent warms up to the Player Character and Hau]] he never actually "cheers up."
* HaughtyHmph: He does this so often it's practically another catchphrase. And Hau calls him out for this, too.
* HeroicBSOD: He suffers a brief one after [[spoiler:losing to Guzma at Aether Paradise]], wondering if all the days he spent struggling on his own were all for nothing. After [[spoiler:the player character beats Guzma]], he recovers.
* HiddenDepths:
** Gladion genuinely cares for his Pokémon to the point his Type: Null evolves into Silvally out of trust. [[spoiler:Turns out he's not that bad of a guy. Additionally, his team includes a Crobat and a Lucario, two Pokémon that only evolve through friendship]]. Then there's also the fact that [[spoiler:the Moon dex entry for Silvally states that Gladion himself gave it that name, and the last four letters for it spells "ally"]]. He is also far more aware of the workings of the Aether Foundation and Team Skull than he initially lets on.
** In ''Masters'', [[spoiler:his sister Lillie]] notes that she is a mess trying to do any sort of sewing, but ''Gladion'' is very good at it.
* IdiotHair: Even with his messy PeekABangs, Gladion noticeably has this going on. He's not an idiot ''per se'', but he does have an impulsive streak.
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:Works as an enforcer for Team Skull after he runs away from the Aether Foundation and his mother, both of which support Team Skull financially]].
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: [[spoiler:When he learns that Lillie and Cosmog were captured by Team Skull, he forces you into a battle out of blind rage. After losing, he acknowledges that his actions were irrational and apologizes.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Is pretty cold and aloof most of the time (especially to Hau), but he genuinely cares about his Pokémon as noted by the fact his Type: Null ([[spoiler:And later, his Crobat and Lucario]]) all evolve by friendship. [[spoiler:And he absolutely loses it when Lillie is kidnapped by Team Skull.]] [[spoiler:In the post-game, with Lusamine in Kanto to find a cure for Nihilego's toxins, Gladion takes over as president and ensures that the Aether Foundation's intended purpose of protecting Pokémon is a reality.]]
* LeanAndMean: He's quite skinny for someone his age, [[GoodIsNotNice and his personality is initially far from friendly.]]
* LeeroyJenkins: Downplayed. He's fairly levelheaded for the most part, but when he gets angry he makes some pretty rash decisions, like starting a battle with the first person he lays eyes on. Speaking to [[spoiler:Wicke during the infiltration on Aether Paradise]] will further reveal that he'll just jump into things without thinking of the consequences whenever he gets worked up over something.
* LimitBreak: [[spoiler:His Lucario has a Steelium Z, enabling it to use the Steel-type move Corkscrew Crash.]]
** [[spoiler:In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', his Zoroark gets the Darkium-Z instead, enabling it to use Black Hole Eclipse. This also adds a bit of foreshadowing to Gladion's reaction when Nanu first demonstrates the move to the player, especially since Nanu is the one who later gives Gladion his Z-Ring.]]
* LockedOutOfTheLoop:
** As he's considered more like hired help than an actual member of Team Skull, he knows little about their plans, only doing what he's told. [[spoiler: This means that he has no idea of the connection between Team Skull and the Aether Foundation until Lillie and Nebby have been kidnapped.]]
** In the storyline of the ''Ultra'' games, [[spoiler:Team Rainbow Rocket's attack on Aether Paradise occurs while he is away from Alola, and there is never any indication that he was ever made aware of it.]]
* MadeOfIron: {{Implied}}. Gladion's ClothingDamage is said to come from his Type: Null attacking him. Type: Null was also built to battle the Ultra Beasts, and it has a decent base Attack stat of 95. He also survived all of those attacks and isn't even shown to have trouble moving.
* MeaningfulName: The ''Gladiolus'' genus of flowers is colloquially known as the Sword Lily, fitting his BloodKnight nature and tying him to his sister. It also symbolizes honor and integrity, which ties in to his warning against the player as seen above. In addition, "Gladiolus" has the same word root as "''gladiator''", which also goes along with Gladion's strive to be a strong battler.
* MilkingTheGiantCow: Gladion isn't exactly hammy, but his exaggerated hand gestures more than make up for it.
* MinorLivingAlone: He apparently lives alone in one of the roadside motels on Akala Island, with the landlady telling you he's been there for two years. [[spoiler:He's moved out by the end of the story, either going back to Aether Paradise in ''Sun and Moon'' or temporarily leaving the Alola region altogether in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'']]
* MoralityPet:
** Type: Null is the most obvious one, but [[spoiler:he eventually not only gains regular implied Morality Pet Crobat, but also Lucario and, obviously, Silvally, ''all'' of whom evolve through high friendship.]]
** [[spoiler:Lillie is also one to him, as he defects from Team Skull as soon as he learns they kidnapped her.]]
* MySisterIsOffLimits: [[spoiler:His reaction to Hau saying Lillie looked "fantastic" after her SignificantWardrobeShift has shades of this. He's okay with Lillie and the protagonist's ShipTease though.]]
* NotSoAboveItAll: As frustrated with Hau's antics and unfriendly he may be, Gladion's poses are often dramatic and hammy, which supplimental materials show he's doing it on purpose.
* PeekABangs: His blond bangs cover his right eye, [[spoiler:a trait shared by his mother]].
* PerpetualFrowner: Wears a near constant scowl on his face in almost all of his appearances.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: In a case of GameplayAndStoryIntegration, despite his [[HiddenHeartOfGold rough]] [[AloofAlly exterior]], ''half'' of Gladion's team is actually comprised of Pokémon that requires a high level of friendship with their trainer in order to evolve.
* PrivilegedRival: [[spoiler:Gladion is the son of Aether President Lusamine, and as the older of her two children he's presumably the heir to the foundation. ''Sun and Moon's'' postgame sees him taking up the role as president in her absence.]]
* PunchClockVillain: As a hired gun of Team Skull, Gladion doesn't carry out acts of delinquency when he's off the clock. On the flip side, ''being'' a hired gun also means Gladion is [[DeconstructedTrope left out of the loop]] about Team Skull activities that don't concern him. Like when [[spoiler:Team Skull kidnaps Lillie and Nebby and hands them over to the Aether Foundation.]]
* PutOnABus: In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''. [[spoiler:Since Lusamine is never affected by Nihilego's toxin, she's able to stay in Alola to run the Aether Foundation and so Gladion is the one who leaves on a boat at the end of the game. Wicke tells you in the postgame that he has gone to Kanto and Johto to train. [[TheBusCameBack Though it's for a while]] as he returns strong as a title defense challenger]].
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: His clothing is mostly black with some red accents. [[spoiler:Subverted with the "evil" part, though; he's an AntiVillain at worst.]]
* RedOniBlueOni: His ColorMotif is entirely red and black, in contrast to Lillie's blue and white. While Lillie is a [[NiceGirl very sweet and charming girl]] who isn't a trainer and dislikes battling, Gladion is a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold pessimistic, unfriendly boy]] who [[BloodKnight loves to battle]]. [[spoiler:Later it's revealed that they are [[SiblingYinYang brother and sister]]]].
* TheRival: Notably in that he's the first rival since Silver to ''not'' be your friend. He's also the first one to be a part of the villainous team, which gives an additional reason for this beyond simple competition. And like Wally, Gladion never gets one of the three starter Pokémon; instead his final Pokémon is Type: Null, although it evolves into Silvally, whose type will always beat your starter's.
* TheRunaway: [[spoiler:His mother Lusamine is extremely controlling, and Gladion ran away when he couldn't stand it anymore.]]
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: [[spoiler:When he ran away from home, he took Type:Null with him to spare the designated "beast killer" from further abuse at the Aether Foundation's hands.]]
* TheSixthRanger:
** He isn't an official Team Skull member, just hired muscle.
** [[spoiler:He's also this for the good guys joining later in the game.]]
* ShouldersOfDoom: The hood on his sweatshirt has pointed edges, giving a spiky look to his shoulders.
* SignatureMon: His partner is the mysterious Type: Null, which later evolves into Silvally. Silvally's type will be advantageous against the player's starter. [[spoiler:In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he also gets a Kanto starter of the same type as the player's chosen starter during his title defense battle but his ace is still Silvally]].
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Despite being considerably more friendly with Hau and the player character, he still tells the latter to get out when they enter his room, which is a completely realistic response to someone bursting into one's room, unlike typical [=NPCs=] in [=RPGs=] that don't seem to mind.
%%* TeensAreShort: He’s only slightly taller than the protagonist, and his younger sister dwarfs him.
* TookALevelInBadass: His team does get stronger, particularly in the Ultra games.
* TookALevelInKindness: While he has plenty of PetTheDog moments in ''Sun and Moon'', they're taken to a new level in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.'' He has many more lines that show how much he cares for Lillie (at one point outright stating that he left home so he could train to become strong enough to protect his sister). When he learns that Team Skull took her back to Aether Paradise, he blames himself for not being around to protect her, whereas the original games had him fiercely berate the player and Hau for not being around in his stead. He even shows a lot more care for [[spoiler:''Lusamine.'' He begs her to let him go into the Ultra Wormhole and fight Necrozma himself, because he can't stand the thought of losing her the same way he lost [[DisappearedDad Mohn]].]]
* {{Tritagonist}}: Since part of the main plot is dealing with [[spoiler:his mother]], he qualifies as this after the protagonist and Lillie.
* TsurimeEyes: His eyes are slanted upwards, giving him an angry look. This is another point of contrast between him and [[TaremeEyes Lillie]].
* UnskilledButStrong: Gladion has some fairly strong Pokemon, but it's clear he lacks experience and training in battling. This is largely the reason he loses.
* VagueAge: He's older than the player and Lillie, but it's never stated how old he is. Considering the latter two are eleven, it can be assumed he's anywhere in his early to midteens.
* WhatTheHellHero: Lillie chews him out for leaving her alone with Lusamine after taking Type: Null, never as much coming back after their mother promptly became even ''worse'' as a result of his actions.
* WhenHeSmiles: 99% of the time he's seen scowling or frowning. The few times he ''does'' smile, such as when [[spoiler:he warms up to you and Hau during their infiltration to Aether Foundation, and after your final battle with him, when he acknowledges that Hau was right about ThePowerOfFriendship and when he sees Lillie happily enjoying herself at your victory celebration]] are very heartwarming to see as a result. In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he has another scene where he smiles. [[spoiler:When he's leaving Alola, he was pleasantly surprised when he sees that Lusamine came to bid him farewell.]]
* WorthyOpponent: Considers the Player Character, and later Hau, this. He even talks the Skull Grunts out of trying to pick a fight with the PC because they'd just end up getting their Pokémon hurt.
[[/folder]]
----
to:
[-'''Pokémon Family Species:''' [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIFamilies Gen I]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIBulbasaurToParasect Bulbasaur to Parasect]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVenonatToCloyster Venonat to Cloyster]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIGastlyToMiltank Gastly to Miltank]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIMagikarpToMew Magikarp to Mew]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIFamilies Gen II]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIChikoritaToGranbull Chikorita to Granbull]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIQwilfishToCelebi Qwilfish to Celebi]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIFamilies Gen III]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIITreeckoToSharpedo Treecko to Sharpedo]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIIIWailmerToDeoxys Wailmer to Deoxys]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationIVFamilies Gen IV]] | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVFamilies Gen V]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVVictiniToZoroark Victini to Zoroark]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVMinccinoToGenesect Minccino to Genesect]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIFamilies Gen VI]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIChespinToHawlucha Chespin to Hawlucha]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIDedenneToVolcanion Dedenne to Volcanion]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIFamilies Gen VII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIRowletToComfey Rowlet to Comfey]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIOranguruToMelmetal Oranguru to Melmetal]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraBeasts Ultra Beasts]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIFamilies Gen VIII]] ([[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIGrookeyToHatterene Grookey to Hatterene]] / [[Characters/PokemonGenerationVIIIImpidimpToCalyrex Impidimp to Calyrex]]) | [[Characters/PokemonGlitches Glitches]]\\
'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivals Protagonists And Rivals]] ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
'''[[Characters/PokemonVillainTeams Pokémon Villain Teams]]:''' [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamRocket Team Rocket]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamAquaMagma Team Aqua/Magma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamGalactic Team Galactic]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamPlasma Team Plasma]] / [[Characters/PokemonVillainTeamFlare Team Flare]] / '''Team Skull''' / [[Characters/PokemonTeamYell Team Yell]]\\
[[Characters/PokemonFrontierBrainsAndOtherFacilityHeads Frontier Brains And Other Facility Heads]] | [[Characters/PokemonTrainerClasses Trainer Classes]] | [[Characters/PokemonOtherNonPlayableCharacters Other NPCs]] ([[Characters/PokemonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraReconSquad Ultra Recon Squad]] / [[Characters/PokemonMacroCosmos Macro Cosmos]])\\
[[Characters/PokemonLegendsArceus Pokémon Legends: Arceus]]-]]]]]
%%Lusamine, Gladion, and Lillie have been confirmed by the moderators that they are NOT expies of the ''Kill la Kill'' characters. Any such examples will be struck down.
'''''WARNING: Major spoilers for VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon and VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon follow. Read at your own risk.'''''
----
!!Team Skull
The villainous team of the Alola region. Their designs are based on punk culture, and unlike the crime syndicates and terrorist groups before them, they operate more like street gangs than anything else, having a strong sense of familial bonds throughout their ranks. [[NamesTheSame Not to be confused with the trio of Poison-type Pokémon]] from ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers''.
----
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Tropes that apply to the organization as a whole]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/team_skull_grunts_sm.png]]
* AffablyEvil: They're actually pretty personable, speaking casually and showing a great deal of inter-team brotherhood, even in regards to their Pokémon.
* AmbiguouslyGay:
** When you walk in on two female Grunts arguing in the Team Skull base, one of them will, depending on your gender, remark that "a boy" or "a cute girl" overheard their argument.
** Elsewhere in Po Town, a male Grunt wonders if the reason another male Grunt keeps waving at him is because "he realizes how hot I am".
* AntiHeroTeam: Becomes this at the end of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''.
* BatOutOfHell: Like other villainous teams before them, such as Team Rocket and Aqua/Magma, they have a penchant towards using Zubat.
* BigFancyHouse: Subverted with their headquarters. The Shady House is a large mansion, but it's just as run down and derelict as the rest of Po Town.
* BilingualBonus: When a male grunt spots the player, a voice clip is played saying "dokuro", the Japanese word for ''skull''.
* BreakingOldTrends: The first villainous team to not have an end goal that affects the entire region, or a legendary Pokémon, they just want to lash out and get respect from a society they feel has tossed them aside.
* BroughtToYouByTheLetterS: Their symbol, worn by all members as a necklace, is a tilted 'S' stylised to form a skull's head and eyes, with an additional set of "teeth" under it to form the full skull shape.
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To Team Rocket. They're both criminal organizations, but while Team Rocket is TheMafia and mainly operate underground, Team Skull are GangBangers who work out in the open. They both exploit Pokémon for profit, but while Team Rocket's ultimate goal is world domination, Team Skull's members turned to crime just to survive.
* CriminalFoundFamily: Not that they're ''great'' at being criminals, but Plumeria certainly seems to see them as a great big family.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindows: Pink hair and eyes for female grunts and bright blue hair and eyes for male grunts.
* DarkIsEvil: They wear all-black outfits, and are shown to steal Pokémon and commit petty crimes throughout Alola. Even moreso, when [[spoiler:their boss turns out to be in cahoots with the even more evil Aether Foundation.]]
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of the KidHero, in a world where young children are sent out into the world alone. [[spoiler:Many members mention suffering from horrible self-esteem over always losing, homelessness, and failing to complete the islands' trials. When you finally reach the town they are based out of, it is in ruins with almost no power or supplies. As one Grunt says early on, they're not out to take over the world or anything, they just want money. Albeit the postgame (where various grunts get employed or taken in by other characters) makes it clear their situation was not so desperate that they had no other options, and they just chose to focus on revenge against the society they feel that cheated them.]]
* DelinquentHair: Almost all members of Team Skull revealed have unusual hair colors, with the male and female grunts having bright blue and pink hair, Plumeria having pink and yellow hair. The exception is Guzma with his white at the top, black at the bottom hair.
* DrowningMySorrows: Implied by the sheer number of empty bottles seen lying around the Shady House.
* EndearinglyDorky: Despite being a villain team, nobody save for Lillie takes the Grunts seriously, and they always gesture wildly when they talk, during battles, and even when taken aback. Plumeria even calls them her "cute, dumb brothers and sisters".
* ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow: Female grunts wear purple eyeshadow.
* FloralThemeNaming: ''Plumeria'', ''Gladiolus'', and ''Guzmania'' are all genera of flowering plants.
* TheFellowshipHasEnded: [[spoiler:The ending of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' shows Guzma and Plumeria standing in front of the Team Skull grunts, with the Team Skull logo crossed out in a big red X on the back of his jacket. He makes it clear that Team Skull is officially disbanded. The grunts change out of their outfits but [[SubvertedTrope still insist on staying with their boss]]. Guzma is amused by this.]]
* TheFriendsWhoNeverHang: Strangely enough, at no point in the story are Guzma and Plumeria in the same place, nor do they interact with each other on-screen. Later averted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' where they appear together during the credits.
* GangBangers: Their gesticulation, speech patterns, and attire, as well as their more informal tone compared to previous villain groups, make them resemble American street gangs. Specifically, their outfits, as well as the fact that Guzma and Plumeria are named after plants prominent in Central and South America, gives them a resemblance to Latino street gangs from the West Coast. [[spoiler:Furthermore, their motivation is that they're broke trainers who were never able to make a legitimate earning, and turned to a life of crime in the desperate hope of keeping themselves afloat, a common origin for a lot of American gang members.]]
* GoingThroughTheMotions: When walking or speaking, the grunts [[MilkingTheGiantCow gesture dramatically]] like stereotypical gang bangers.
* GoodCostumeSwitch: Reformed Grunts, such as the one at Mallow's family's restaurant, have removed their Team Skull articles, now appearing as Alolan Punk Guys/Girls.
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Post-game, Hala takes two Team Skull grunts under his wing, and they say that they're training so that they become strong enough to help people in need. One also appears in Mallow's parents' restaurant, happy that she was given another chance. Meanwhile, Plumeria and Guzma dedicate their lives to training once again, the latter doing so with Hala in ''Sun and Moon''.]]
* HelpfulMook: In Po Town, two Grunts are hanging around inside the Pokémon Center and will heal your team like any normal Pokémon Center for the paltry fee of 10 Pokédollars. They'll cheerfully bust a rhyme out for you in your support.
* IgnoredEnemy: Even when they first appear, they're completely ignored until they force you and Ilima to pay attention.
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: With the exception of Lillie, [[IgnoredEnemy nobody takes them seriously]], ''ever''. With certain dialogue choices, even the player character brushes them off as nothing more than a nuisance.
* JapaneseDelinquents: While their designs are based on punk and Latino culture, they have quite a few hallmarks of the ''yankii'' subculture, such as bandanas, face masks, DelinquentHair, excessive jewelry, and tattoos. They also care for each other like siblings, just like a Japanese group of delinquents would.
* JiveTurkey: They all speak in absurd street slang with the exception of Plumeria and Gladion.
* KickTheDog: Most of their early actions are too [[LaughablyEvil funny]] and [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain hopeless]] to be regarded as bad, but the first real nasty thing you see them do is when a couple of grunts mock their ally Gladion for being homeless. [[spoiler:They also steal a Yungoos belonging to a ''preschooler'' at the Aether House, so they're not above stealing from little girls.]]
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: Before you fight Guzma in [[spoiler:Aether Paradise]], you have to fight a couple grunts back to back. A third one stops you... only to let you pass without any trouble, since he's smart enough to not fight a battle he can't win.
* LaughablyEvil: Confirmed by WordOfGod to be 100% intentional. Team Skull has become a target of mockery in Alola, mainly due to their street gang aesthetic and designs, but their [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain plans not being able to back them up due to them being ineffectual]]. As for their members, there's Gladion's constant poker-face and hand gestures, Plumeria's description of her own minions as "stupid", alongside Guzma explicitly being noted as a failed Trial Captain. You can even walk away from them during your first encounter with them!
* MenCantKeepHouse: Hilariously true here for the most part. Most of the Shady House is in shambles and barely livable, and even Guzma's room is cluttered. Plumeria's room, however, is clean, neat, and tidy.
* MilkingTheGiantCow: The Grunts gesture wildly as they walk and speak.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: A minor example occurs when a pair of grunts the player previously encountered trying to steal berries from an elderly man try to mess up your first Trial. After losing to you again, they give up on fighting you and simply try to capture the Yungoos (in ''Sun'') or Rattata (in ''Moon'') that is constantly switching between three holes as you're trying to catch it. By blocking two of the holes, they restrict the Pokémon to one hole.
* NobleDemon: They genuinely seem to care about each other, with Plumeria being one of the first Admins to grow [[BenevolentBoss pissed off]] when you hurt her minions. [[spoiler:Which makes sense when you learn that they're a bunch of failures who wound up homeless because they couldn't make a living as trainers on their own. They became a would-be family when Guzma brought them together.]]
* NoTrueScotsman: They apparently have this mindset, despite being a bunch of wild and varied people, they criticize Gladion for not ''really'' being part of Team Skull since he's their enforcer.
* ObviouslyEvil: Team ''Skull'' is too sinister a name to belong to anything other than a group of villains.
* OutlawTown: Po Town, a small town that they took over, made into their headquarters and proceeded to run to the ground. It is so horribly destitute that they have the only Pokémon Center in the game that charges you for their services.
* PaletteSwap: A truly unusual case of this: all of the Team Skull Grunts are palette swaps of the Alolan Punk Guy/Girl trainer class, just with Team Skull apparel on, and they have the exact same losing animations. There's signs that it might be intentional, though, between the way several of the latter Trainers talk exactly like Team Skull Grunts and how a Punk Guy and Girl are seen with the [[spoiler:reformed]] Plumeria during the credits, suggesting that they might be "off-duty" Grunts who've simply taken off their Skull merch.
* PoorPredictableRock: Most use Dark or Poison-types, not unlike Team Rocket, with a few Psychic-type Pokémon sprinkled in.
* SelfDeprecation:
** They aren't too shy about their self-esteem issues.
** A {{Meta}} version appears in Verdant Cavern with two male Grunts "trying" to harass you, with one conversation [[LampshadeHanging lampshading]] [[YouALLLookFamiliar the reuse of character models]].
** Another one has an argument between two female Grunts in Po Town, which culminates as another {{lampshade|Hanging}} concerning why everyone is referred to as "Grunt".
* SerialEscalation: Inverted. Unlike previous evil teams, these guys aren't out to conquer the world or control some powerful legendary Pokemon. They're just out to steal whatever they can get their hands on, particularly money, while also just being dicks to Trainers going through the island challenge.
* SexyWalk: The female grunts walk like this, similar to Plumeria.
* StrangeSalute: The mooks pose before battle by crossing their arms across their chest and then curling them to their sides to gesticulate a skull and crossbones.
* TrashOfTheTitans: They've taken residence in a mansion, and the interior is a mess, with garbage and graffiti everywhere and a fallen chandelier blocking one of the stairwells. Only Plumeria keeps her room clean.
* TrueCompanions: Probably the thing that differentiates Skull the most from any other villainous team: They're all struggling due to shortcomings or failures in life, and have banded together to try and get the respect they believe society owes them. In the process, they, along with Guzma and Plumeria, form an extremely tight bond to the point they don't disband after reforming, instead refocusing their efforts on positive contributions to society.
* TheUnreveal: Their origins are said to have originated as a group formed around one of the Kahunas, who was then struck down by one of the island deities. The identity of the Kahuna and original leader of Team Skull is left unmentioned beyond that.
* ValleyGirl: Two female grunts in Po Town talk like this.
* VisualPun: The goofy "arms curled towards hips" thing the grunts do is supposed to be their arms and body [[http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/157/905/db8.jpg mimicking the shape of a cartoon skull]]. The white saltire on their shirts also makes it look like a skull and crossbones.
* WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises: The grunts sport these on a loss.
* WhoWearsShortShorts: Female grunts wear cut off shorts.
* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler:Or at least, Would Steal From And Kidnap Children. Team Skull at one point steals a Yungoos from a ''preschooler'', and later, Plumeria kidnaps Lillie to bring her back to the Aether Foundation's headquarters (although Lillie agrees to go with Plumeria in order to protect the other children who were with her at the time). Albeit it's notable that Plumeria is very regretful about the whole thing later on, she followed orders but was against the whole plan.]]
* {{Yakuza}}: Very clearly the type of thing Guzma ''wants'' to invoke with the team, but also very clearly ''not'' the case, [[spoiler:with the difference between them and the ''real'' Yakuza - Team Rocket - being shown clearly in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''.]]
* ZergRush: Sort of. At Ancient Poni Path, before you head into Vast Poni Canyon, you have to fight a lone female Grunt and seemingly a single male Grunt. However, in the overworld, there are five other male Grunts, and the male Grunt has five Pokémon, giving the impression that all five male Grunts are either all fighting you or they just let the one Grunt do all the work. This is likely due to the lack of the Horde Trainer battles that were present in the Hoenn remakes.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Guzma]]
!!Guzma (グズマ ''guzuma'')
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/guzma_sm.png]]
-->''"Wanna see what destruction looks like?\\
Here it is in human form - it's your boy Guzma!"''
->Voiced by: Creator/DougErholtz (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - EN), Tatsuhiro Kikuchi (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - JP)
The leader of Team Skull. He's a fierce and merciless battler, and seems to have a past with Professor Kukui. He is a Bug-type specialist, until the Battle Tree, where he diversifies his team into Poison-types and Dark-types.
----
* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler:A house on Route 2, his childhood home, hints that Guzma may have had a very troublesome childhood. It's implied that his father beat him, but Guzma later retaliated and ran away from home afterward. His father says "I tried to set that boy straight, but instead, I was the one who got beat." And then there's the bag of bent and broken golf clubs found in the same house. What makes it more unsettling is that the very lady he follows orders from is an abusive mother herself. Further hints that he may have been abused as a child can be seen in his catchphrase about being "the hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up" (which could be a FreudianSlip about what his father did to him), and the way he slips into third-person and screams "Guzma! What is wrong with you?!", which combined with his AlwaysSecondBest status, further looks like sublimated emotional abuse.]]
* AchievementsInIgnorance: [[spoiler:When he shows up at Team Rainbow Rocket's Castle to rescue Lusamine, he unintentionally causes two Rainbow Rocket Grunts to [[IllNeverTellYouWhatImTellingYou tell him where she is]].]]
* AlwaysSecondBest: Not even that. [[spoiler:Almost all of the trophies in his childhood bedroom are bronze, so he was always ''third'' best. He also has a single silver trophy, meaning that the one time he actually got second best was an accomplishment for him.]]
* AtArmsLength: [[spoiler:He does this to two Rainbow Rocket Grunts, holding his hands against their faces while they futilely swing their arms at him.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: His bravado isn't just for show; he's easily a very strong battler, and ''definitely'' the strongest member of Team Skull. [[spoiler:When you confront him in Aether Paradise, he's already defeated ''Gladion''[[note]]who at this point uses a Golbat, which is a ''Flying-type'' and thus should have had a major advantage over his primarily Bug-type team[[/note]] and is ready to rip you apart. Also, his team when you battle him in the post-game is on par with the ''Elite Four'', and he can also be found amongst many strong, fightable (and recruitable) trainers in the Battle Tree.]]
* AxCrazy: {{Downplayed|Trope}}. He isn't necessarily murderous as far as the story goes, but he's definitely violent, irritable, and aggressive to the point of being mentally unhinged.
-->"You wanna know what I do when some machine messes up? The first thing I do is [[PercussiveMaintenance give it a nice hard smack]]! I mean, most of the time I smash it to pieces, but hey, what can you do? ''(donning a SlasherSmile)'' [[WouldHurtAChild Now let's see if I can't fix you!]]"
* BadassBoast: His section's establishing quote.
* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: [[spoiler:According to Plumeria, he likes Lusamine because she's the only adult who ever seemed to acknowledge his strength.]]
* BenevolentBoss: Even if it isn't as immediately obvious with him as it is with [[CoolBigSis Plumeria]], Guzma does care about his underlings. [[spoiler:If you speak to him in the postgame of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he'll tell you that he's working hard to become stronger so that he can make sure no one messes with his "homies". This is also the reason he formed Team Skull in the first place, as a means to give fellow social outcasts a place to call home.]]
* BewareTheSillyOnes: He's just as much of a LargeHam as the rest of his team, but unlike them, [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking he's actually a threat]].
* BigBad: TheLeader of Team Skull, and as such, he acts as one for [[DiscOneFinalBoss the first part of the game]]. [[spoiler:Later subverted, as he is actually TheDragon to [[TheManBehindTheMan Lusamine]], who operates the much more competent and just as villainous Aether Foundation.]]
* BigBadWannabe: Played with. He certainly ''acts'' like he wants to be feared by everyone [[spoiler:despite not being [[BigBad the biggest threat to Alola]]]], and there may be a scared, broken boy with self-esteem issues underneath his loud, boastful attitude. But he's still a hostile, destructive gang leader who's out to do as much damage as he can and is perfectly willing to back up his threats.
* BigBrotherInstinct: [[spoiler:Seems to feel this way about the protagonist and Lillie in the Rainbow Rocket storyline. He joins you in a battle againt two rainbow rocket grunts, telling them before that "(even though his team is disbanded, he still has things) he can't let go of and won't let anybody mess with". He also holds off other grunts to allow the protagonist to take on the leaders of the Rainbow Rocket relatively unbothered.]]
* BigCreepyCrawlies: Of all of the villain team leaders (with the exception of Giovanni, as he was a Gym Leader [[note]]and even then, he doesn't have a full team of Ground-types in ''Pokémon Yellow''[[/note]] as well as a Villain Team Leader), he is the only one who carries a team full of a certain type of Pokémon. In Guzma's case, he specializes in Bug-type Pokémon. Fittingly, this may be because his original aspirations were to be a Trial Captain, the Alolan equivalent of Gym Leaders, and his dedication to a single-type team is a holdover from those dashed hopes. His favorite Pokémon and ace is [[SignatureMon Golisopod]], a giant isopod that stands taller than him. His room in the Shady House has a large pile of Buginium-Z Crystals, one of which the player can take for themselves. The Poké War Games event in ''Masters'' even has him paired up with Buzzwole.
* BlingOfWar: He wears various bits of jewelry, such as a gold watch and a Team Skull pendant. [[spoiler:He takes off the pendant after disbanding Team Skull.]]
* BonusBoss: He can be challenged to a match [[spoiler:when you visit his childhood home after becoming Champion in ''Sun and Moon''. In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he's instead one of the Title Defense challengers you can battle.]]
* BreakTheHaughty: [[spoiler:In ''Sun and Moon'', when you find him in Ultra Space, he realizes [[AxCrazy Lusamine]] has gone too far when both are stuck in Ultra Space, and he gets possessed by a Nihilego when he cockily tried to capture it. By his own words, [[MindRape his body and mind were driven out of his control]], and he experienced fear for the first time. Meanwhile, [[BrokenPedestal Lusamine is just on another level and was gone for him]], and it's implied [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath he tried to talk her down]], but it didn't work.]]
* BrokenAce: [[spoiler:If the trophies in his parents' house on Route 2 are any indication, then he most certainly is. Not only that, he had actually trained his Pokémon since he was younger during his island trial, and he also failed at becoming a Trial Captain, feeling like society cheated him when this happened. These are the reasons to why he formed Team Skull, as [[NobleDemon he wanted to take in people that weren't that different from him]], and despite being TheAce and TheLeader of the team, he is a broken ace one at the end of the day. Fortunately, by the end of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he works to amend his issues.]]
* TheBrute: Views himself as such, being a burly looking man who calls himself "destruction in human form".
* CallingTheOldManOut: [[spoiler:Post-game in ''Ultra Sun And Moon'', he has the audacity to visit his old home on Route 2, and beat his father in a battle.]]
* CatchPhrase:
** "The hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up... Yeah. Big bad Guzma is here!"
** "Guzma! What is wrong with you?!", which he says whenever he loses a battle.
* CardCarryingVillain: Introduces himself as "destruction in human form."
* ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To Giovanni. They both lead criminal organizations and specialize in one specific type, [[spoiler:and in the end, they both disband their gangs in order to focus on becoming stronger trainers. But while Giovanni is the BigBad of his game, Guzma is TheDragon to the real big bad, Lusamine. And while Giovanni is training because he intends to reassemble Team Rocket someday, Guzma is able to move on and is training in order to better himself. In addition, Guzma is heavily implied to have suffered rather nasty parental abuse as a child while Giovanni himself, while not explicitly shown to be physically abusive to his son, has still been shown to be a terrible father towards Silver up to and including abandoning his son after the events of the first games]].
* CoolShades: Guzma wears an asymmetrical pair of sunglasses on his forehead. [[spoiler:He swaps them out for a symmetrical pair after his HeelFaceTurn.]]
* CreepyShadowedUndereyes: Sports these, likely to reflect his angry and intimidating demeanor.
* TheDragon: [[spoiler:He is one to Lusamine, the president of the Aether Foundation]].
* TheDogBitesBack: It's implied his StartOfDarkness occurred when he finally [[spoiler:delivered a return beatdown to his abusive father.]]
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: [[spoiler:And this is despite his mother being an {{abusive parent|s}}. If you visit his house in the postgame, his mother will say that while she heard all sorts of rumors that her Guzma was up to no good, she knew they were "all lies", implying he couldn't bring himself to fess up to her.]]
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** Despite being the leader of a gang, seeing himself as "destruction in human form", and wanting to vandalize Alola, he's the only villainous team leader to not plan to {{take over the world}}, or do something to it. [[spoiler:Reinforced by Episode RR in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''.]]
** [[spoiler:He also feels [[AxCrazy Lusamine]]'s OmnicidalManiac tendencies are going too far, at the end of ''Sun and Moon''.]]
** [[spoiler:In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he also doesn't seem to take backstabbing well, as Faba did to Lusamine.]]
* EvilIsHammy: He's ''very'' [[NoIndoorVoice loud]] and [[MilkingtheGiantCow expressive]], to say the least.
* EvilLaugh: While it's not heard or shown in his dialogue, one of his animations before battle is a maniacal laugh.
* {{Foil}}:
** To Kukui. Guzma mentions that both of them failed at becoming Trial Captains, but instead of doing something good with his talents like Kukui, Guzma went crazy and created Team Skull instead.
** To Plumeria, his second-in-command. Guzma is loud and gets angrily very easily, while Plumeria always keeps her cool. [[spoiler:While Guzma happily goes along with Lusamine's plan (until the events in Ultra Space), Plumeria is against kidnapping Lillie and regrets being a part of it. She apologizes sincerely for her actions and has nothing but nice things to say to the protagonist. When the protagonist meets Guzma after Team Skull's disbandment in ''Sun and Moon'', he gives them his lucky Dawn Stone while refusing to call it a gesture of apology]].
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** [[spoiler:His encounter and battle themes both contain samples of the Aether Foundation theme, which hints towards who he answers to.]]
** Inverted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''. He knows Hala's grandson, Hau, and that he's approximately the same age as the main character. [[spoiler:Which makes more sense since, after his ''Sun and Moon'' postgame fight, Hala is revealed to have been his former mentor.]]
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:He's implied to be as violent and aggressive as he is because of a rough childhood, particularly because [[AbusiveParents his parents abused him]] (moreso his father) until he snapped, beat his father up, and ran away from home. Afterwards, he tried to become a Trial Captain, but failed. This combination led Guzma to see society as the source of his problems and drove him to try and take revenge on Alola as a whole.]]
* GoodCostumeSwitch: Sort of. [[spoiler:After disbanding Team Skull, he swaps out his sunglasses, ditches the necklace, removes his tattoos, and crosses out the Team Skull logo on his jacket with red paint. The resulting look is largely unchanged except for the removal of all Team Skull motifs.]]
** He's back to his original look for his ''Masters'' appearance, despite having been through his character development.
* {{Guyliner}}: Wears dark gray eyeshadow.
* HairTriggerTemper: Guzma is known for getting angry very easily, and expresses it physically. When you sit in his chair, you'll notice that the arms of the chair have wear and tear from him slamming his fists on it angrily. He'll also freak out and yell at himself for losing at you constantly.
* TheHeavy: The Team Skull goons who serve as the most regular obstacles to the player are all working for him, and once the player arrives on Ula'ula Island, Guzma takes (negative) notice of them and becomes a RecurringBoss. [[spoiler:He's not the BigBad, but he ''is'' the game's most frequent obstacle.]]
* HeelFaceTurn:
** [[spoiler:In the post-game, he disbands Team Skull, with his title changing from "Team Skull Boss Guzma" to "Pokémon Trainer Guzma". After being defeated, he leaves with Hala to train and become stronger.]]
** [[spoiler:More so in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon]]''. Guzma helps the protagonist take down Team Rainbow Rocket, primarily by keeping an eye on the entrance to their castle and intercepting grunts who pass by while the protagonist investigates the interior, and becomes one of the potential challengers after the player character has become the Champion, meaning that Guzma has cleaned up his act]].
* HiddenDepths: In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' Plumeria suggests that despite how much Guzma rants about his hatred of many of Alola's traditions, he still cares deeply about his homeland and hence was willing to jump into another dimension to try to protect it. She admits though that Guzma himself may not realize this.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: Yes, Guzma is the leader of Team Skull, which are all a bunch of delinquents that plan to cause damage to Alola, with him being the most competent of them all. [[spoiler:However, the reason [[NobleDemon he took all of the grunts into Team Skull]], including Plumeria, is because he knew how bad they must have felt after they failed to make an impact to the society they are a part of, and felt cheated by them. Deep down, all that Guzma wants is for him and the people he sympathizes with to be recognized, though of course, [[HiddenDepths he will not let the positive side of him be seen by the heroes]].]]
* HumanityEnsues: Ironically, this is what happened to "destruction in human form" himself at the end of both games.
* IGaveMyWord: Defeating him in the Shady House has him actually give back the Yungoos that Team Skull kidnapped. [[spoiler:Likewise, defeating him in Aether Paradise has him let you through, letting you battle [[BigBad Lusamine]].]]
* IncomingHam: He makes his first appearance by loudly announcing "Greetings, cowering public!" and introducing himself as "the hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up" and as "destruction in human form."
* InferioritySuperiorityComplex: For all of his fearmongering and bravado, it's implied that [[spoiler:his less than stellar upbringing combined with]] his failure to become a Trial Captain left him with some confidence issues. [[spoiler:Team Skull is his way of trying to compensate for them and lash out.]]
* {{Irony}}: Being a gang boss who's a LargeHam and has a tendency to [[PercussiveMaintenance break technology by hitting it]], it's made apparent that he's ''smarter'' than [[spoiler:your average Team Rainbow Rocket Grunt (i.e: "experienced" {{Mooks}} part of TheMafia), and Faba, as he has an incredulous look as a reaction to the latter revealing to Lusamine that he backstabbed her ''just to further his own career''.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: Played with. Guzma formed Team Skull as a way of lashing out after failing to become a Trial Captain and blames society instead of moving on. [[spoiler:Though given the implications he was abused in the past, the trials were probably not the only factor, and his underlings were all kids who couldn't make a living as trainers and are also blaming society for their troubles, so Team Skull's ambitions aren't just for him alone.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Settles into this in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', [[spoiler:after his HeelFaceTurn. In the post-game, Guzma thanks you for saving the world from Necrozma and demonstrates to actually get along a bit with Hau, the grandson of Hala, who was Guzma's former mentor. Likewise, Guzma helps you in Episode RR by taking down a pair of Team Rocket grunts, and despite claiming that he did because they were getting on his nerves, he later reassures the player character that he's got their back by holding the entrance and holding off said pair of grunts. He's also helping the player character because Team Rainbow Rocket kidnapped Lusamine, the only person who truly recognized his strength, and he wanted to return the favor by saving her]].
-->'''Guzma:''' Maybe when you bring out the best in others, it helps you find the best in yourself too, huh?
* LargeAndInCharge: Even while slouching, Guzma is visibly one of the tallest characters in the game, and his bravado as the leader of Team Skull isn't for show. His height is even made note of on a few occasions; according to official character sheets, his height is anywhere from 6'6" to 7'2" (the variation presumably due to ''Sun and Moon'' having most adults have similar heights).
* TheLeader: Of Team Skull.
* MeaningfulName: The ''Guzmania'' genus is part of the plant family known as Bromeliads, many species of which are notable for being home to micro-ecosystems, and Team Skull gives off much more of a casual and familial tone than previous villainous teams. More specifically, ''Guzmania'' bromeliads flourish in hot, humid climates, such as tropical places like Alola.
* MentorArchetype: During ''Masters'', he unwillingly becomes this to Liza when she asks him to help make her stronger and more confident.
* MusicalSpoiler: [[spoiler:His theme actually glitches out at several points, playing a snippet of the Aether Foundation {{Leitmotif}}.]]
* NinetiesAntiHero: Seems to turn into this at the end of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''. [[spoiler: His "heroism" part is played up in Episode RR where he describes himself as a "nobody" before teaming up with the player against Rainbow Rocket grunts.]] Besides, his design and traits had already mimicked many of those examples in the genres, and he has the speech of such.
* NobleDemon: The entire reason Guzma formed the team was to lash out at a society he felt cheated by. [[spoiler:So he took in a bunch of weak trainers and other failures that knew how hard and unfair the life of a trainer can be, and gave them a home and a purpose.]]
* NotSoDifferentRemark: In his first appearance, Guzma attempted to pull this card between himself and Professor Kukui, as they both failed to become Trial Captains in their youth. [[spoiler:But Kukui points out that they are indeed different, because unlike Guzma, Kukui didn't ''fail'' to become a Trial Captain, he just chose to do something else, like become a professor.]]
* NumberOneDime: In ''Sun and Moon'', he carries around a Dawn Stone that he received after his first-ever victory as a good luck charm, even past the point where it's become apparent that it hasn't been very lucky for him where it counts. ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' seem to replace it with a [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Grip Claw]].
* PersonalityPowers: His [[SignatureMon signature Pokémon]] is Golisopod; [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex a cowardly weakling that became big and strong, but underneath its fearsome appearance is still the same coward it always was]].
* PutOnABus: In the postgame of ''Sun and Moon'', [[spoiler:he goes to train with Hala. He [[TheBusCameBack comes back briefly]] on the Battle Tree for ''Moon'', where you can face him off or team up with him.]]
** Averted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', [[spoiler:where he can instead be found at the trailer park outside Haina Desert, as well as being a potential Title Defense challenger.]]
* RebelRelaxation: He crouches down while battling rather than standing up.
* ReformedButNotTamed: [[spoiler:After disbanding Team Skull, his attitude still hasn't changed one bit. He even makes a point of telling you he'll never change. Averted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', where he [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold mellows out]] by the end of the game.]]
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler:Once it becomes clear [[AxCrazy just how far]] Lusamine's fallen off the deep end, he decides he really wants no further part in her plans. He can't actually go anywhere given [[EldritchLocation where he is at the time,]] though.]]
* SecondPlaceIsForLosers: [[spoiler:One of the causes in Guzma's descent to villainy is found in his trophy collection: he has a ''single'' silver trophy and the rest after that are bronze.]]
* ShockAndAwe: Vikavolt replaces his Ariados as the ''other'' very slow Bug-type in the remakes, giving his team not only a secondary special attacker other than Masquerain but it also helps his team handle Flying-types more efficiently.
* SignatureMon:
** Golisopod. When you infiltrate Team Skull's hideout, you learn that it's his favorite Pokémon. Unlike most examples of this trope, he sends it out immediately, [[ArtificialBrilliance because its ability, Emergency Exit, would be useless if he saved it for last]].
*** Also makes more sense when you consider both have a case of InferioritySuperiorityComplex.
** The Poké War Games event in ''Masters'' puts more emphasis towards his focus on brute force by pairing him up with Buzzwole.
** In the Battle Tree, his team diversifies a bit, but can still include Golisopod, as well as Mega Pinsir.
* SlasherSmile: He has a big grin on his face as he laughs and threatens to beat down the player in every encounter.
* SoreLoser: He doesn't take losing to a [[KidHero child]] over and over again very well.
* StartOfDarkness: The formation of Team Skull was the result of his being rejected from being a Trial Captain [[spoiler:after running away from home to escape his abusive father]].
* TattooedCrook: He has tattoos of Team Skull's emblem on his forearms.
* ThirdPersonPerson: He slips into this when he loses a battle. [[spoiler:After all, [[AbusiveParents he's probably used to hearing himself berated for failure this way]].]]
-->"Guzma! What is wrong with you?!"
* TinTyrant: The Poké War Games event in ''Masters'' gives him Buzzwole-themed armor.
* TookALevelInBadass: Compared to his role in the original games, ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' shows him [[spoiler:facing you as one of the potential opponents for the title of Champion!]]
** [[spoiler:He even helps you take back Aether Paradise and rescue Lusamine from Giovanni and spends a good chunk of Episode RR holding back two Rainbow Rocket Grunts.]]
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Tapu Cocoa, if one of the clues needed to get through the Shady House are any indication.
* {{Tsundere}}: His and Plumeria's event in ''Masters'' reveals him to be this in his interactions with Scottie/Bettie and especially Liza, who has adopted him as her mentor. Despite his protests to Liza calling him "master," it's clear by the end of the story that he cares about her and wants to see her develop as a trainer in her own right.
* WalkingSpoiler: There's a reason why there's a lot of white in this page. Most notably, knowing too much about him reveals that [[spoiler:he is [[BigBad Lusamine's]] [[TheDragon second-in-command]] during the events of Ultra Space, and that Team Skull was collaborating with the Aether Foundation behind the scenes the whole time.]]
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: [[spoiler:During the Team Rainbow Rocket arc, when confronted by multiple Team Rocket Grunts, Guzma simply attacks and restrains the trainers themselves rather than waiting for them to bring out their Pokémon.]]
* WideEyesAndShrunkenIrises: Sports this look in his pre-battle animation.
* WorthyOpponent: Averted and PlayedForDrama. In the post-game, he's chastised [[spoiler:by Hala]] for only recognizing his own strength, and his failure to see the strength of others is what keeps dragging him down. Indeed, his go-to "Guzma! What is wrong with you?!" indicates he sees the player's victories as personal failures and nothing else.
* WouldHitAGirl: The female player character is not exempt from the below-mentioned threat. And in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', [[spoiler:he noticeably smacks Lillie out of his way while chasing after Lusamine through the Ultra Wormhole.]]
* YoungerThanTheyLook: Despite his white hair, Guzma seems to be a lot younger than he looks, probably in his early twenties. [[spoiler:Plumeria's wording that Lusamine was the only ''adult'' that ever acknowledged his strength, rather than the only person, and his parents and Hala referring to him as a "young man", further reinforce this, and it's mentioned that he failed at becoming a Trial Captain, and 20 is the cutoff age for Trial Captains.]] In case this is true, he's likely the youngest villainous team leader in the main games, moreso than [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Cyrus]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Plumeria ''[-(Plumeri)-]'']]
!!Plumeria / Plumeri (プルメリ ''purumeri'')
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/plumeria_sm_1.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MichelleRuff (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - EN), Ai Kaneta (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - JP)
The sole admin of Team Skull, she's described as the "Big Sister" of the gang and looks out for the younger members while keeping them in line.
----
* AmbiguouslyBrown: She looks like a GyaruGirl, and her fashion sense certainly evokes the fashion style, leaving it ambiguous as to whether or not her tan skin is natural or just the result of makeup- the white on her eyes is her eyeshadow, as shown when she wears it less excessively during the post-game.
* AnimeHair: Pink and yellow hair drawn into four long strands, pink in the front and yellow in the back.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Her role as the admin of Team Skull is implied to be the result of being the strongest next to Guzma, since she doesn't contribute much aside from being a strong trainer, and looking out for her grunts. In ''Sun and Moon'', she's shown to be a strong enough trainer to challenge the Champion. Though to be fair, Team Skull is far from an organized crime organization in need of much else.
* BareYourMidriff: She wears a tank top that exposes her midriff, which also has a tattoo of Team Skull's emblem.
* BenevolentBoss: While Plumeria is not the actual leader of Team Skull, she's the admin, the [[NumberTwo second-in-command]] to Guzma, and she cares about her grunts, [[CoolBigSis treating them like her siblings]]. She also has a Golbat which evolves into Crobat later in the game. This is reinforced when she mentions that you "picking on" the grunts is her BerserkButton.
* BigSisterInstinct: She is fiercely protective of her "cute, dumb brothers and sisters". This is the reason she initiates the first confrontation with the player, who has dispatched several Skull mooks by then with little effort.
* BlowYouAway: She owns a Golbat, later a Crobat.
* BonusBoss: [[spoiler:Appears as one of the potential challengers for the player's title as champion.]]
* TheBrute: See AsskickingEqualsAuthority above.
* CoolBigSis: Fittingly for a group partially-based on JapaneseDelinquents, she serves as this to younger Team Skull members. She is in a sense everything the grunts want to be: intelligent, powerful and "cool." Even her room in the headquarters is organized and well-kept compared to the mess that the Grunts and Guzma make of their rooms (in fact, if she greets the player upon them logging in to ''Masters'' during the morning, she mentions that she spends all day making it so tidy. Yet despite being so objectively "superior" she sees the grunts' flaws as making them cute and deserving of her attention rather than scorn, which just makes her more beloved by them.
* DarkActionGirl: She's a skilled battler with strong Pokémon and works for the resident evil team.
* DeathGlare: Her pre-battle animation has her sport one, and due to her yellow eyes, it's actually quite unnerving.
* TheDragon: To Guzma, [[spoiler:though it's subverted as it turns out Guzma is this to Lusamine and she implicitly quits after having to kidnap Lillie]].
* EvenEvilHasStandards: [[spoiler:She did ''not'' like kidnapping Lillie one bit]].
* ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow: She wears lots of eye makeup - dark eyeliner and eyeshadow, and white eyeshadow - applied all around her eyes. [[spoiler:Fittingly enough, she gets rid of the white makeup after reforming, making it less excessive.]]
* FaceOfAThug: Plumeria has one heck of a DeathGlare, [[PerpetualFrowner wears a constant scowl]], works for Team Skull, and generally looks like the kind of person you don't want to meet in a dark alley. However, she's actually fairly pleasant with a fierce BigSisterInstinct, and the only reason she initially has [[JustForPun a bone to pick with you]] is because you were beating on the grunts. She's also one of the least antagonistic villains in the series.
* {{Foil}}: To Guzma, her boss. Guzma is loud and gets angrily very easily, while Plumeria always keeps her cool. [[spoiler:While Guzma happily goes along with Lusamine's plan (until the events in Ultra Space), Plumeria is against kidnapping Lillie and regrets being a part of it. She apologizes sincerely for her actions and has nothing but nice things to say to the protagonist. When the protagonist meets Guzma after Team Skull's disbandment, he gives them his lucky Dawn Stone while refusing to call it a gesture of apology]].
* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: Her room in the Team Skull HQ has two Pokémon dolls on her bed.
** Elaborated on in ''Masters''. The event that introduces her has a sub-episode where the protagonist accompanies her on a trip through town, and she's constantly getting sidetracked by cute things, in particular a shop selling stuffed animals.
* GoodCostumeSwitch: [[spoiler:After Team Skull is disbanded, she removes her white eye shadow and tattoo, and dons [[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:Spr_SM_Plumeria_2.png a Salazzle-themed bandana and pair of pants]].]]
** She's back to her Team Skull look in ''Masters'', despite that version of her clearly having been through her CharacterDevelopment from the main games.
* GyaruGirl: She has pink and blonde hair, and accents her eyes with white makeup. Her design is clearly inspired from ganguro style, further exemplified by the baggy clothing fashion that the entire organization wears.
* HartmanHips: Her hips are quite wider than her body, and she tends to [[SexyWalk walk and show this off]].
* HeelFaceTurn: Turns over a new leaf after Team Skull is disbanded, albeit even while she's still with Team Skull she is notably less antagonistic than other members [[spoiler:and outright against things like kidnapping]].
* HiddenDepths: [[spoiler:Her Title Defense defeat dialogue implies that]] she's not as confident in herself as she puts up. Indeed, this hints as to why she may have joined Team Skull.
--> '''Plumeria:''' "I failed again... like I always do. I promised myself I wouldn't! I told myself I would never fail again!"
** Further, in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' we learn her favorite Pokémon is Bounsweet. She has a desire to watch over "cute, dumb" things and Bounsweet is notably fairly defenseless and while often harassed by other Pokémon, it tends to not be very good at communicating it needs help. This is likely why she is the CoolBigSis to the grunts and in turn, why they all adore her.
* HypercompetentSidekick: She's a lot more level-headed and in control than her superior. Makes one wonder how Guzma got her to join...
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
** While she is a member of Team Skull, she is beloved by the grunts as a caring big-sister figure. [[spoiler:She's also genuinely remorseful for her part in kidnapping Lillie, and personally apologizes to her for it.]]
** She has an additional moment in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' for her kindness to shine. [[spoiler:She doesn't really approve of kidnapping Lillie, but she actually respects Lillie for being able to stand up to herself when she and another grunt came by to take her, instead of accusing her of being a thief like the originals did.]]
* MeaningfulName: [[https://cdn6.bigcommerce.com/s-52h2v/products/377/images/1014/aussie_confetti__90644.1409325328.1280.1280.jpg?c=2 Plumeria flowers]] are not only pink and yellow in color, they're also symbols of family and believed to provide shelter to ghosts and demons, fitting her status as the "big sister" of the team.
* NiceGirl: Heavily downplayed until the climax of the game, but it's there. Plumeria notably lacks some of the antagonism typical of villain team admins. She only battles the player character because they had [[BerserkButton defeated a bunch of her grunts]], who she loves and [[CoolBigSis treats them like her siblings]]. Later, she apologizes to Lillie [[spoiler:for kidnapping her and mentions she wasn't on board with it at all]], and she has nothing but nice things to say to Lillie and to the player before they go to save Guzma and Lusamine. [[spoiler:When she appears as a challenger at the Pokémon League, it's hinted that she disliked knocking a bunch of Pokémon out to reach the Champion and is very sensitive to letting other people down; plus, her Golbat's evolution to a Crobat (which is only achieved through high friendship) implies she does love her Pokémon.]]
* NiceHat: [[spoiler:After Team Skull's disbandment, Plumeria switches her skull hair decorations out for a Salazzle-themed bandanna, which matches her pants.]]
* NumberTwo: The second-in-command of Team Skull, and TheDragon to [[TheLeader Guzma]]. Strangely, they only interact once, [[spoiler:and this is in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'']].
* OnlySaneWoman: [[HypercompetentSidekick More cool-headed than Guzma]], and the only member of the team to not be a LargeHam, nor [[MilkingTheGiantCow gesture while she speaks]].
* PerpetualFrowner: She ''never'' smiles in any of your interactions with her, not counting the epic SlasherSmile she gives you in the Demo. [[spoiler:She finally [[WhenSheSmiles cracks a genuine smile]] in the ending of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.'' Averted further in ''Masters''.]]
* PoisonousPerson: Specializes in Poison-type Pokémon, and gives the player a Poisonium Z.
* SelfDeprecation: Like Team Skull as a whole, she doesn't hide her self-esteem issues. [[spoiler:She automatically assumes that Lillie won't and shouldn't forgive her for kidnapping her, and has no problem with it because she believes it's deserved. [[AllLovingHero Lillie]], of course, ''does'' actually forgive her.]]
* SexyWalk: Like most of the older, notably attractive females in the game, she has quite a bit of hip movement when she strides forward.
* SignatureHeadgear: Plumeria wears two skull-shaped hair clips, with her four bunches of hair going through the eye portions.
* SignatureMon: Salazzle. [[spoiler:She even wears a bandana and pants modeled after it after her HeelFaceTurn.]]
* SurroundedByIdiots: An odd example. She has a low opinion of her grunts' smarts, but rather than it annoying her, she finds it oddly endearing. She pretty much thinks of them as her cute dumb younger siblings that she, as their CoolBigSis, needs to watch over.
* TattooedCrook: She has a tattoo bearing Team Skull's emblem on her midriff. [[spoiler:She removes it after Team Skull is disbanded.]]
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' reveals that she shares Guzma's preference for Tapu Cocoa.
* UncattyResemblance: In the post-game, Plumeria drops the skull motif and wears Salazzle-themed bandana and pants.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler:Despite being responsible for Lillie's kidnapping, she's nowhere to be found when Hau, Gladion, and the player raid Aether Paradise. Perhaps justified when she explains later how much she regretted being a part of the whole thing to begin with, presumably she took the first opportunity to leave the place.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: {{Subverted|Trope}}. [[spoiler:She does kidnap Lillie as part of Team Skull's plan and leaves her in Aether Paradise, but is resentful for doing this and apologizes to her for this before they enter Vast Poni Canyon.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Gladion ''[-(Gladio)-]'']]
!!Gladion / Gladio (グラジオ ''gurajio'')
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gladion_sm.png]]
->Voiced by: Alan Lee (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - EN), Creator/KoukiUchiyama (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - JP)
An Enforcer of Team Skull. A young man who places strength in battle above everything.
----
* AdaptedOut: In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', his Sneasel was switched out for a Zorua.
* AgentScully: [[spoiler:Implied. He gives you one of the flutes needed to awaken the Legendary Pokemon, but doesn't seem to believe in the existence of it himself.]]
* AntiHero: [[spoiler:Revealed to be this as he wants to save Lillie from being kidnapped and to stop [[EvilMatriarch Lusamine]] from possibly destroying the planet.]] He also isn't the [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold nicest guy ever]].
* AntiVillain: Despite allying himself with Team Skull, he doesn't seem to particularly care for their goals and mostly just does what he's told. He even warns the player and Hau to be careful of them at some point. [[spoiler:He becomes an AntiHero after defecting from Team Skull entirely.]]
* AllTheOtherReindeer: Because Gladion is hired muscle for Team Skull, the grunts are quick to remind him that he is not a ''real'' member of the team, and so they don't respect him. Though they do recognize that he's a stronger trainer than a lot of them and will back down from a fight with the player after learning that you beat Gladion.
* AloofAlly: [[spoiler:After Lillie gets kidnapped by Team Skull, Gladion teams up with the Player Character and Hau to rescue her from the Aether Foundation. Despite that, he still struggles with opening up to them, even explicitly blocking them from entering a room containing information about what exactly Type: Null is.]]
* ArtificialBrilliance: In his first battle in the ''Ultra'' games, his Zorua is disguised as his Zubat. The two Pokemon don't share weaknesses and Zorua's Dark-Type makes it immune to Zubat's Psychic weakness, easily capable of catching unaware Trainers off-guard. Less so later on, however, as Zoroark is later seen disguising as Type: Null and Lucario, both of whom share a Fighting weakness with it.
* ArtisticAge:[[spoiler:He's older than the protagonist, but is shorter than his younger sister Lillie. ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' and most spin off material such as the anime seem to scale him up to make his age more obvious.]]
* BenevolentBoss: Contrasting the rest of Gladion's cold and aloof persona, he's very compassionate towards his Pokémon, especially towards Type: Null, and continues the trend in previous generations of [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration owning Pokémon that only evolve with high friendship ratings]]. To wit, his team composition in your battle on Mount Lanakila sports no less than three such examples: Crobat, Lucario, and his ace Silvally. [[spoiler:He even takes over as president of the Aether Foundation in ''Sun and Moon'' and changes it for the better in the post-game.]]
* BigBrotherInstinct: [[spoiler:Toward Lillie. Even if their relationship was a bit strained after he left her with Lusamine, Gladion cares for her a lot and quickly performs a HeelFaceTurn to team up with the player and Hau to rescue her.]]
* BirdsOfAFeather:
** He states that this is how he sees his relationship with Null, since both were created by Lusamine in a way and forced to be what she wanted them to be.
** In ''Masters'', Hau seems to think both Gladion and Lisia are very similar only because of Gladion's usual battle pose looking similar to her contest pose. Gladion at first protests he's not trying to please fans with his pose, but then Lisia comes up to them and comments his pose needs a bit of work for people to see him better. ''[[BishieSparkle He happily takes the advice to heart.]]''
* BloodKnight: His main concern is becoming a strong battler, and even after [[spoiler:Lusamine is dealt with]], he feels that the best way to thank the player character is through giving them a good battle.
* BonusBoss: [[spoiler:Appears as one of the potential challengers for the player's title as champion.]]
%% * ABoyAndHisX: Him and his Type: Null, which eventually becomes Silvally. Silvally even resembles a dog somewhat [[spoiler:and can be seen licking Gladion's face affectionately in the credits.]] %% Add more context to describe their relationship and what effect it has on them. %%
* CallingParentsByTheirName:
** [[spoiler:While he never denies that Lusamine is his mother, he almost never refers to her with that title - he either calls her by her name or, even more jarringly, just "the president". It's yet another point of contrast between himself and Lillie, who always addresses Lusamine as "Mother" despite their strained relationship.]]
** Averted in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon,'', where Gladion ''does'' address [[spoiler:Lusamine as Mother, both to her face and to other people. This is likely a reflection of how their relationship in that story is better, [[AdaptationalHeroism as Lusamine isn't quite so horrible.]]]]
* CharacterTics: Covering his face with his right hand while clutching his right side with the left. He switches hands in his pre-battle animation. May cross into ChewingTheScenery.
* ClothingDamage: The rips in his clothes are apparently a result of Type: Null [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength not knowing its own strength]].
* CatchPhrase: His losing-battle dialogue is "How annoying!"
* ChickMagnet: [[ImpliedTrope Implied]] by the ending credits of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', [[spoiler:where the majority of the crowd that gathers to see him off is made up of female Aether Foundation employees.]]
* {{Chuunibyou}}: Gladion has many hallmarks of this character type. He's got an angry demeanor and denies being friends with any human characters, is obsessed with strength, poses dramatically during battle, and even gets called out by Hau on acting mysterious just to seem cooler.
* ColorMotif: His colors mainly consist of red and black as they are on his outfit and [[BloodKnight fit his personality]]. Silvally can also have either the Fire or Dark typing. Both of those types are indicated by Black and Red for colors. [[spoiler:This suffers deep contrast to [[LightIsNotGood Lusamine]] and his sister Lillie]]. He's also one of the best cases of DarkIsNotEvil.
* CoolBoat: Takes command of one with Team Skull livery.
* DarkIsNotEvil: He's not as sinister as his black and red ColorMotif might suggest, being an AntiHero who is determined to [[spoiler:stopping Lusamine and the Ultra Beasts]].
* DeathGlare: His eyes narrow when he's particularly angry.
* DefrostingIceKing: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed.]] [[spoiler:While he does warm up to the protagonist, he still goes out of his way to state that they aren't really friends.]]
** [[spoiler:In the Spanish version of the retellings, after battling him at Mount Lanakila, his dialogue suggests that he already considers the player character a friend, but he seems unable to understand why they would do the same for him]]
* DisappearedDad: His father [[spoiler:Mohn]] was researching Ultra Beasts, and disappeared during an experiment.
* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler: Averted in ''Sun and Moon'', he never calls Lusamine his mother to her face once, which, all things considered, [[AbusiveParents is entirely justified.]] However, he does run the Aether foundation in her place at the end of the game, meaning he at least acknowledges Aether's work as important enough to stand in.]]
* EmoTeen: Design-wise, he wears red and black punk clothes and has PeekABangs. Personality-wise he's aloof, cynical, and abrasive. This is even lampshaded in his concept art, with "Gotta express that middle-school arrogance and being emo." Of course, [[DarkAndTroubledPast he has a lot of things to be emo about]].
* {{Expy}}: He shares many characteristics with [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Silver.]] They're both rivals to you, both antagonize you as well, they are both mainly concerned about getting stronger, their primary colors are red and black, both use the Zubat and Sneasel lines, [[spoiler:they both stole their primary partner Pokémon from a lab, and they're the offspring to the leader of a villainous team.]] That said, Gladion is nowhere near as much a {{Jerkass}} as Silver was before his CharacterDevelopment.
* {{Foil}}:
** A SpearCounterpart thematically to Lillie. Both have straight blonde hair and green eyes. He wears red and black, places a high value on being strong in Pokémon battles, and works for Guzma [[spoiler:and in a degree, Lusamine, the true villain]]. She wears white with light blue, is not fond of making Pokémon fight in battles at all, and works for Kukui. Gladion even means Sword "Lillie," see below. [[spoiler:Makes a bit more sense when it's revealed that they are actually siblings, with Lusamine as their mother. Additionally, both stole Pokémon from their mother in order to rescue them from the experimentation of the Foundation.]]
** He's also one to Hau in terms of their personalities. Gladion's pretty put off by the way Hau can stay upbeat and cheerful even after losing a battle, while even [[NiceGuy Hau]] notes how overly serious and hard to get along with Gladion is.
* {{Foreshadowing}}
** Unlike Plumeria and Guzma, Gladion's theme sounds nothing like the Team Skull theme, hinting to his status as an outsider.
** It also shouldn't come as a surprise [[spoiler:that he's related to Lillie and Lusamine]] considering they all share the same hair and eye color.
* GetOut: If you visit him in his motel room, this is all he has to say.
* GoodIsNotNice: Gladion is on the side of good, but he's still a pretty grumpy person.
* GradeSchoolCEO: [[spoiler:He's not much older than the protagonist, yet he becomes the acting president of the Aether Foundation in ''Sun and Moon'' while Lusamine is undergoing treatment in Kanto. [[ChildHater Faba]] is not pleased, try as he might to hide it.]]
* GrumpyBear: Gladion's default mood tends to fall into this. Even after he [[WorthyOpponent warms up to the Player Character and Hau]] he never actually "cheers up."
* HaughtyHmph: He does this so often it's practically another catchphrase. And Hau calls him out for this, too.
* HeroicBSOD: He suffers a brief one after [[spoiler:losing to Guzma at Aether Paradise]], wondering if all the days he spent struggling on his own were all for nothing. After [[spoiler:the player character beats Guzma]], he recovers.
* HiddenDepths:
** Gladion genuinely cares for his Pokémon to the point his Type: Null evolves into Silvally out of trust. [[spoiler:Turns out he's not that bad of a guy. Additionally, his team includes a Crobat and a Lucario, two Pokémon that only evolve through friendship]]. Then there's also the fact that [[spoiler:the Moon dex entry for Silvally states that Gladion himself gave it that name, and the last four letters for it spells "ally"]]. He is also far more aware of the workings of the Aether Foundation and Team Skull than he initially lets on.
** In ''Masters'', [[spoiler:his sister Lillie]] notes that she is a mess trying to do any sort of sewing, but ''Gladion'' is very good at it.
* IdiotHair: Even with his messy PeekABangs, Gladion noticeably has this going on. He's not an idiot ''per se'', but he does have an impulsive streak.
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:Works as an enforcer for Team Skull after he runs away from the Aether Foundation and his mother, both of which support Team Skull financially]].
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: [[spoiler:When he learns that Lillie and Cosmog were captured by Team Skull, he forces you into a battle out of blind rage. After losing, he acknowledges that his actions were irrational and apologizes.]]
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Is pretty cold and aloof most of the time (especially to Hau), but he genuinely cares about his Pokémon as noted by the fact his Type: Null ([[spoiler:And later, his Crobat and Lucario]]) all evolve by friendship. [[spoiler:And he absolutely loses it when Lillie is kidnapped by Team Skull.]] [[spoiler:In the post-game, with Lusamine in Kanto to find a cure for Nihilego's toxins, Gladion takes over as president and ensures that the Aether Foundation's intended purpose of protecting Pokémon is a reality.]]
* LeanAndMean: He's quite skinny for someone his age, [[GoodIsNotNice and his personality is initially far from friendly.]]
* LeeroyJenkins: Downplayed. He's fairly levelheaded for the most part, but when he gets angry he makes some pretty rash decisions, like starting a battle with the first person he lays eyes on. Speaking to [[spoiler:Wicke during the infiltration on Aether Paradise]] will further reveal that he'll just jump into things without thinking of the consequences whenever he gets worked up over something.
* LimitBreak: [[spoiler:His Lucario has a Steelium Z, enabling it to use the Steel-type move Corkscrew Crash.]]
** [[spoiler:In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', his Zoroark gets the Darkium-Z instead, enabling it to use Black Hole Eclipse. This also adds a bit of foreshadowing to Gladion's reaction when Nanu first demonstrates the move to the player, especially since Nanu is the one who later gives Gladion his Z-Ring.]]
* LockedOutOfTheLoop:
** As he's considered more like hired help than an actual member of Team Skull, he knows little about their plans, only doing what he's told. [[spoiler: This means that he has no idea of the connection between Team Skull and the Aether Foundation until Lillie and Nebby have been kidnapped.]]
** In the storyline of the ''Ultra'' games, [[spoiler:Team Rainbow Rocket's attack on Aether Paradise occurs while he is away from Alola, and there is never any indication that he was ever made aware of it.]]
* MadeOfIron: {{Implied}}. Gladion's ClothingDamage is said to come from his Type: Null attacking him. Type: Null was also built to battle the Ultra Beasts, and it has a decent base Attack stat of 95. He also survived all of those attacks and isn't even shown to have trouble moving.
* MeaningfulName: The ''Gladiolus'' genus of flowers is colloquially known as the Sword Lily, fitting his BloodKnight nature and tying him to his sister. It also symbolizes honor and integrity, which ties in to his warning against the player as seen above. In addition, "Gladiolus" has the same word root as "''gladiator''", which also goes along with Gladion's strive to be a strong battler.
* MilkingTheGiantCow: Gladion isn't exactly hammy, but his exaggerated hand gestures more than make up for it.
* MinorLivingAlone: He apparently lives alone in one of the roadside motels on Akala Island, with the landlady telling you he's been there for two years. [[spoiler:He's moved out by the end of the story, either going back to Aether Paradise in ''Sun and Moon'' or temporarily leaving the Alola region altogether in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'']]
* MoralityPet:
** Type: Null is the most obvious one, but [[spoiler:he eventually not only gains regular implied Morality Pet Crobat, but also Lucario and, obviously, Silvally, ''all'' of whom evolve through high friendship.]]
** [[spoiler:Lillie is also one to him, as he defects from Team Skull as soon as he learns they kidnapped her.]]
* MySisterIsOffLimits: [[spoiler:His reaction to Hau saying Lillie looked "fantastic" after her SignificantWardrobeShift has shades of this. He's okay with Lillie and the protagonist's ShipTease though.]]
* NotSoAboveItAll: As frustrated with Hau's antics and unfriendly he may be, Gladion's poses are often dramatic and hammy, which supplimental materials show he's doing it on purpose.
* PeekABangs: His blond bangs cover his right eye, [[spoiler:a trait shared by his mother]].
* PerpetualFrowner: Wears a near constant scowl on his face in almost all of his appearances.
* ThePowerOfFriendship: In a case of GameplayAndStoryIntegration, despite his [[HiddenHeartOfGold rough]] [[AloofAlly exterior]], ''half'' of Gladion's team is actually comprised of Pokémon that requires a high level of friendship with their trainer in order to evolve.
* PrivilegedRival: [[spoiler:Gladion is the son of Aether President Lusamine, and as the older of her two children he's presumably the heir to the foundation. ''Sun and Moon's'' postgame sees him taking up the role as president in her absence.]]
* PunchClockVillain: As a hired gun of Team Skull, Gladion doesn't carry out acts of delinquency when he's off the clock. On the flip side, ''being'' a hired gun also means Gladion is [[DeconstructedTrope left out of the loop]] about Team Skull activities that don't concern him. Like when [[spoiler:Team Skull kidnaps Lillie and Nebby and hands them over to the Aether Foundation.]]
* PutOnABus: In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''. [[spoiler:Since Lusamine is never affected by Nihilego's toxin, she's able to stay in Alola to run the Aether Foundation and so Gladion is the one who leaves on a boat at the end of the game. Wicke tells you in the postgame that he has gone to Kanto and Johto to train. [[TheBusCameBack Though it's for a while]] as he returns strong as a title defense challenger]].
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: His clothing is mostly black with some red accents. [[spoiler:Subverted with the "evil" part, though; he's an AntiVillain at worst.]]
* RedOniBlueOni: His ColorMotif is entirely red and black, in contrast to Lillie's blue and white. While Lillie is a [[NiceGirl very sweet and charming girl]] who isn't a trainer and dislikes battling, Gladion is a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold pessimistic, unfriendly boy]] who [[BloodKnight loves to battle]]. [[spoiler:Later it's revealed that they are [[SiblingYinYang brother and sister]]]].
* TheRival: Notably in that he's the first rival since Silver to ''not'' be your friend. He's also the first one to be a part of the villainous team, which gives an additional reason for this beyond simple competition. And like Wally, Gladion never gets one of the three starter Pokémon; instead his final Pokémon is Type: Null, although it evolves into Silvally, whose type will always beat your starter's.
* TheRunaway: [[spoiler:His mother Lusamine is extremely controlling, and Gladion ran away when he couldn't stand it anymore.]]
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: [[spoiler:When he ran away from home, he took Type:Null with him to spare the designated "beast killer" from further abuse at the Aether Foundation's hands.]]
* TheSixthRanger:
** He isn't an official Team Skull member, just hired muscle.
** [[spoiler:He's also this for the good guys joining later in the game.]]
* ShouldersOfDoom: The hood on his sweatshirt has pointed edges, giving a spiky look to his shoulders.
* SignatureMon: His partner is the mysterious Type: Null, which later evolves into Silvally. Silvally's type will be advantageous against the player's starter. [[spoiler:In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he also gets a Kanto starter of the same type as the player's chosen starter during his title defense battle but his ace is still Silvally]].
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Despite being considerably more friendly with Hau and the player character, he still tells the latter to get out when they enter his room, which is a completely realistic response to someone bursting into one's room, unlike typical [=NPCs=] in [=RPGs=] that don't seem to mind.
%%* TeensAreShort: He’s only slightly taller than the protagonist, and his younger sister dwarfs him.
* TookALevelInBadass: His team does get stronger, particularly in the Ultra games.
* TookALevelInKindness: While he has plenty of PetTheDog moments in ''Sun and Moon'', they're taken to a new level in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.'' He has many more lines that show how much he cares for Lillie (at one point outright stating that he left home so he could train to become strong enough to protect his sister). When he learns that Team Skull took her back to Aether Paradise, he blames himself for not being around to protect her, whereas the original games had him fiercely berate the player and Hau for not being around in his stead. He even shows a lot more care for [[spoiler:''Lusamine.'' He begs her to let him go into the Ultra Wormhole and fight Necrozma himself, because he can't stand the thought of losing her the same way he lost [[DisappearedDad Mohn]].]]
* {{Tritagonist}}: Since part of the main plot is dealing with [[spoiler:his mother]], he qualifies as this after the protagonist and Lillie.
* TsurimeEyes: His eyes are slanted upwards, giving him an angry look. This is another point of contrast between him and [[TaremeEyes Lillie]].
* UnskilledButStrong: Gladion has some fairly strong Pokemon, but it's clear he lacks experience and training in battling. This is largely the reason he loses.
* VagueAge: He's older than the player and Lillie, but it's never stated how old he is. Considering the latter two are eleven, it can be assumed he's anywhere in his early to midteens.
* WhatTheHellHero: Lillie chews him out for leaving her alone with Lusamine after taking Type: Null, never as much coming back after their mother promptly became even ''worse'' as a result of his actions.
* WhenHeSmiles: 99% of the time he's seen scowling or frowning. The few times he ''does'' smile, such as when [[spoiler:he warms up to you and Hau during their infiltration to Aether Foundation, and after your final battle with him, when he acknowledges that Hau was right about ThePowerOfFriendship and when he sees Lillie happily enjoying herself at your victory celebration]] are very heartwarming to see as a result. In ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'', he has another scene where he smiles. [[spoiler:When he's leaving Alola, he was pleasantly surprised when he sees that Lusamine came to bid him farewell.]]
* WorthyOpponent: Considers the Player Character, and later Hau, this. He even talks the Skull Grunts out of trying to pick a fight with the PC because they'd just end up getting their Pokémon hurt.
[[/folder]]
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* SlasherSmile: He has a big grin on his face as he laughs and threatens to beat down the player in every encounter.
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* WouldHurtAChild: Heavily implied. He threatens to beat the player character up right before the battle with him in Po Town's Shady House.
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There is no canon evidence he didn’t complete the island trials, only that he couldn’t become a trial captain, which is not the same thing.
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** [[spoiler:More so in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon]]''. Guzma helps the protagonist take down Team Rainbow Rocket, primarily by keeping an eye on the entrance to their castle and intercepting grunts who pass by while the protagonist investigates the interior, and becomes one of the potential challengers after the player character has become the Champion, meaning that Guzma has cleaned up his act and finally completed the Alola challenge]].
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** [[spoiler:More so in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon]]''. Guzma helps the protagonist take down Team Rainbow Rocket, primarily by keeping an eye on the entrance to their castle and intercepting grunts who pass by while the protagonist investigates the interior, and becomes one of the potential challengers after the player character has become the Champion, meaning that Guzma has cleaned up his act and finally completed the Alola challenge]].act]].
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* ItsAllAboutMe: Played with. Guzma formed Team Skull as a way of lashing out after failing to complete the Alola Challenge, more specifically because ''he'' couldn't pass the trials and instead of moving on, Guzma is blaming society instead. [[spoiler:Though given the implications he was abused in the past, the trials were probably not the only factor, and his underlings were all kids who couldn't make a living as trainers and are also blaming society for their troubles, so Team Skull's ambitions aren't just for him alone.]]
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* ItsAllAboutMe: Played with. Guzma formed Team Skull as a way of lashing out after failing to complete the Alola Challenge, more specifically because ''he'' couldn't pass the trials become a Trial Captain and blames society instead of moving on, Guzma is blaming society instead.on. [[spoiler:Though given the implications he was abused in the past, the trials were probably not the only factor, and his underlings were all kids who couldn't make a living as trainers and are also blaming society for their troubles, so Team Skull's ambitions aren't just for him alone.]]
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* NotSoDifferentRemark: In his first appearance, Guzma attempted to pull this card between himself and Professor Kukui, as they both failed to complete the Alola Challenge in their youth. [[spoiler:But Kukui points out that they are indeed different, because unlike Guzma, Kukui didn't ''fail'' to become a Trial Captain, he just chose to do something else, like become a professor.]]
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* NotSoDifferentRemark: In his first appearance, Guzma attempted to pull this card between himself and Professor Kukui, as they both failed to complete the Alola Challenge become Trial Captains in their youth. [[spoiler:But Kukui points out that they are indeed different, because unlike Guzma, Kukui didn't ''fail'' to become a Trial Captain, he just chose to do something else, like become a professor.]]
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* TookALevelInBadass: Compared to his role in the original games, ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' shows him [[spoiler:actually completing the island challenge and facing you as one of the potential opponents for the title of Champion!]]
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* TookALevelInBadass: Compared to his role in the original games, ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' shows him [[spoiler:actually completing the island challenge and facing [[spoiler:facing you as one of the potential opponents for the title of Champion!]]
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* * MentorArchetype: During ''Masters'', he unwillingly becomes this to Liza when she asks him to help make her stronger and more confident.
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* * MentorArchetype: During ''Masters'', he unwillingly becomes this to Liza when she asks him to help make her stronger and more confident.
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'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivals Protagonists And Rivals]] ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHisui Hisui]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
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'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivals Protagonists And Rivals]] ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHisui Hisui]]) Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
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[[Characters/PokemonFrontierBrainsAndOtherFacilityHeads Frontier Brains And Other Facility Heads]] | [[Characters/PokemonTrainerClasses Trainer Classes]] | [[Characters/PokemonOtherNonPlayableCharacters Other NPCs]] ([[Characters/PokemonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraReconSquad Ultra Recon Squad]] / [[Characters/PokemonMacroCosmos Macro Cosmos]])-]]]]]
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[[Characters/PokemonFrontierBrainsAndOtherFacilityHeads Frontier Brains And Other Facility Heads]] | [[Characters/PokemonTrainerClasses Trainer Classes]] | [[Characters/PokemonOtherNonPlayableCharacters Other NPCs]] ([[Characters/PokemonAetherFoundation Aether Foundation]] / [[Characters/PokemonUltraReconSquad Ultra Recon Squad]] / [[Characters/PokemonMacroCosmos Macro Cosmos]])-]]]]]
Cosmos]])\\
[[Characters/PokemonLegendsArceus Pokémon Legends: Arceus]]-]]]]]
[[Characters/PokemonLegendsArceus Pokémon Legends: Arceus]]-]]]]]
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dewicking You Gotta Have Blue Hair per trs
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* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: [[PinkGirlBlueBoy Female grunts have pink hair, and male grunts have bright blue hair.]]
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* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: An unnatural shade of yellow, as well as pink. Both accentuate her GyaruGirl appearance.
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* MulticoloredHair: It's pink and blonde.
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His Sun and Moon quotes do have him referring to her as his mother, just not to her face.
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* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler: Averted in ''Sun and Moon'', he never calls Lusamine his mother once, which, all things considered, [[AbusiveParents is entirely justified.]] However, he does run the Aether foundation in her place at the end of the game, meaning he at least acknowledges Aether's work as important enough to stand in.]]
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* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler: Averted in ''Sun and Moon'', he never calls Lusamine his mother to her face once, which, all things considered, [[AbusiveParents is entirely justified.]] However, he does run the Aether foundation in her place at the end of the game, meaning he at least acknowledges Aether's work as important enough to stand in.]]
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'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivals Protagonists And Rivals]] ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
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'''Pokémon Human Characters:''' [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivals Protagonists And Rivals]] ([[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsAlola Alola]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsGalar Galar]]) Galar]] / [[Characters/PokemonProtagonistsAndRivalsHisui Hisui]]) | [[Characters/PokemonProfessors Professors]] | [[Characters/PokemonGymLeaders Gym Leaders]] ([[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKanto Kanto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersJohto Johto]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersHoenn Hoenn]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersSinnoh Sinnoh]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersUnova Unova]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersKalos Kalos]] / [[Characters/PokemonGymLeadersGalar Galar]]) | [[Characters/PokemonTrialCaptainsAndKahunas Trial Captains and Kahunas]] | [[Characters/PokemonEliteFour Elite Four]] | [[Characters/PokemonChampions Champions]]\\
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* {{Expy}}: He shares many characteristics with [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Silver.]] They're both antagonists that are mainly concerned about getting stronger, their primary colors are red and black, both use the Zubat and Sneasel lines, [[spoiler:stole their primary partner Pokémon from a lab, and they're the offspring to the leader of a villainous team.]] That said, Gladion is nowhere near as much a {{Jerkass}} as Silver was before his CharacterDevelopment.
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* {{Expy}}: He shares many characteristics with [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Silver.]] They're both antagonists that rivals to you, both antagonize you as well, they are both mainly concerned about getting stronger, their primary colors are red and black, both use the Zubat and Sneasel lines, [[spoiler:stole [[spoiler:they both stole their primary partner Pokémon from a lab, and they're the offspring to the leader of a villainous team.]] That said, Gladion is nowhere near as much a {{Jerkass}} as Silver was before his CharacterDevelopment.
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* TheRival: Notably in that he's the first rival since Silver to ''not'' be your friend. He's also the first one to be a part of the villainous team, which gives an additional reason for this beyond simple competition. And like Wally, Gladion never gets one of the three starter Pokémon; instead his final Pokémon is Type: Null.
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* TheRival: Notably in that he's the first rival since Silver to ''not'' be your friend. He's also the first one to be a part of the villainous team, which gives an additional reason for this beyond simple competition. And like Wally, Gladion never gets one of the three starter Pokémon; instead his final Pokémon is Type: Null.Null, although it evolves into Silvally, whose type will always beat your starter's.
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* TheFellowshipHasEnded: [[spoiler:The ending of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' shows Guzma and Plumeria standing in front of the Team Skull grunts, with the Team Skull logo crossed out in a big red X on the back of his jacket. He makes it clear that Team Skull is officially disbanded. The grunts change out of their outfits but [[SubvertedTrope still insist on staying with their boss]]. Guzma is amused by this]].
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* TheFellowshipHasEnded: [[spoiler:The ending of ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' shows Guzma and Plumeria standing in front of the Team Skull grunts, with the Team Skull logo crossed out in a big red X on the back of his jacket. He makes it clear that Team Skull is officially disbanded. The grunts change out of their outfits but [[SubvertedTrope still insist on staying with their boss]]. Guzma is amused by this]].this.]]
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* PunchClockVillain: As a hired gun of Team Skull, Gladion doesn't carry out acts of delinquency when he's off the clock. On the flip side, ''being'' a hired gun also means Gladion is [[DeconstructedTrope left out of the loop]] about Team Skull activities that don't concern him. Like when [[spoiler:Team Skull kidnaps Lillie and Nebby and hand them over to the Aether Foundation.]]
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* PrivilegedRival: [[spoiler:Gladion is the son of Aether President Lusamine, and as the older of her two children he's presumably the heir to the foundation. ''Sun and Moon's'' postgame sees him taking up the role as president in her absence.]]
* PunchClockVillain: As a hired gun of Team Skull, Gladion doesn't carry out acts of delinquency when he's off the clock. On the flip side, ''being'' a hired gun also means Gladion is [[DeconstructedTrope left out of the loop]] about Team Skull activities that don't concern him. Like when [[spoiler:Team Skull kidnaps Lillie and Nebby andhand hands them over to the Aether Foundation.]]
* PunchClockVillain: As a hired gun of Team Skull, Gladion doesn't carry out acts of delinquency when he's off the clock. On the flip side, ''being'' a hired gun also means Gladion is [[DeconstructedTrope left out of the loop]] about Team Skull activities that don't concern him. Like when [[spoiler:Team Skull kidnaps Lillie and Nebby and
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* CriminalFoundFamily: Not that they're ''great'' at being criminals, but Plumeria certainly seems to see them as such.
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* CriminalFoundFamily: Not that they're ''great'' at being criminals, but Plumeria certainly seems to see them as such.a great big family.
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* CriminalFoundFamily: Not that they're ''great'' at being criminals, but Plumeria certainly seems to see them as such.
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* YoungerThanTheyLook: Despite his white hair, Guzma seems to be a lot younger than he looks, probably in his early twenties. [[spoiler:Plumeria's wording that "Lusamine was the only ''adult'' that ever acknowledged his strength, rather than the only person, and his parents and Hala referring to him as a "young man", further reinforce this, and it's mentioned that he failed at becoming a Trial Captain, and 20 is the cutoff age for Trial Captains.]] In case this is true, he's likely the youngest villainous team leader in the main games, moreso than [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Cyrus]].
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* YoungerThanTheyLook: Despite his white hair, Guzma seems to be a lot younger than he looks, probably in his early twenties. [[spoiler:Plumeria's wording that "Lusamine Lusamine was the only ''adult'' that ever acknowledged his strength, rather than the only person, and his parents and Hala referring to him as a "young man", further reinforce this, and it's mentioned that he failed at becoming a Trial Captain, and 20 is the cutoff age for Trial Captains.]] In case this is true, he's likely the youngest villainous team leader in the main games, moreso than [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Cyrus]].
** He states that this is how he sees his relationship with Null, since both were created by Lusamine in a way and forced to be what she wanted them to be.
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** In his home game, he states that this is how he sees his relationship with Null, since both were created by Lusamine in a way and forced to be what she wanted them to be.
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* LockedOutOfTheLoop: As a hired enforcer than an actual member of Team Skull, he knows little about their plans, only doing what he's told. [[spoiler: This means that he doesn't know Skull provided pokemon to Lusamine to freeze, that Lillie is being targeted by Skull for Nebby, or Aether and Skull's connection at all.]]
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* LockedOutOfTheLoop: LockedOutOfTheLoop:
** Asa he's considered more like hired enforcer help than an actual member of Team Skull, he knows little about their plans, only doing what he's told. [[spoiler: This means that he doesn't know Skull provided pokemon to Lusamine to freeze, that Lillie is being targeted by Skull for Nebby, or Aether and Skull's has no idea of the connection at all.between Team Skull and the Aether Foundation until Lillie and Nebby have been kidnapped.]]
** In the storyline of the ''Ultra'' games, [[spoiler:Team Rainbow Rocket's attack on Aether Paradise occurs while he is away from Alola, and there is never any indication that he was ever made aware of it.]]
** As
** In the storyline of the ''Ultra'' games, [[spoiler:Team Rainbow Rocket's attack on Aether Paradise occurs while he is away from Alola, and there is never any indication that he was ever made aware of it.]]
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* BigCreepyCrawlies: Of all of the villain team leaders (with the exception of Giovanni, as he was a Gym Leader [[note]]and even then, he doesn't have a full team of Ground-types in ''Pokémon Yellow''[[/note]] as well as a Villain Team Leader), he is the only one who carries a team full of a certain type of Pokémon. In Guzma's case, he specializes in Bug-type Pokémon. Fittingly, this may be because his original aspirations were to be a Trial Captain, the Alolan equivalent of Gym Leaders, and his dedication to a single-type team is a holdover from those dashed hopes. His favorite Pokémon and ace is [[SignatureMon Golisopod]], a giant isopod that stands taller than him. His room in the Shady House has a large pile of Buginium-Z Crystals, one of which the player can take for themselves. The Poke War Games event in ''Masters'' even has him paired up with Buzzwole.
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* BigCreepyCrawlies: Of all of the villain team leaders (with the exception of Giovanni, as he was a Gym Leader [[note]]and even then, he doesn't have a full team of Ground-types in ''Pokémon Yellow''[[/note]] as well as a Villain Team Leader), he is the only one who carries a team full of a certain type of Pokémon. In Guzma's case, he specializes in Bug-type Pokémon. Fittingly, this may be because his original aspirations were to be a Trial Captain, the Alolan equivalent of Gym Leaders, and his dedication to a single-type team is a holdover from those dashed hopes. His favorite Pokémon and ace is [[SignatureMon Golisopod]], a giant isopod that stands taller than him. His room in the Shady House has a large pile of Buginium-Z Crystals, one of which the player can take for themselves. The Poke Poké War Games event in ''Masters'' even has him paired up with Buzzwole.
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* TinTyrant: The Poke War Games event in ''Masters'' gives him Buzzwole-themed armor.
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* TinTyrant: The Poké War Games event in ''Masters'' gives him Buzzwole-themed armor.
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don't know if this is the correct trope.
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* BigCreepyCrawlies: Of all of the villain team leaders (with the exception of Giovanni, as he was a Gym Leader [[note]]and even then, he doesn't have a full team of Ground-types in ''Pokémon Yellow''[[/note]] as well as a Villain Team Leader), he is the only one who carries a team full of a certain type of Pokémon. In Guzma's case, he specializes in Bug-type Pokémon. Fittingly, this may be because his original aspirations were to be a Trial Captain, the Alolan equivalent of Gym Leaders, and his dedication to a single-type team is a holdover from those dashed hopes. His favorite Pokémon and ace is [[SignatureMon Golisopod]], a giant isopod that stands taller than him. His room in the Shady House has a large pile of Buginium-Z Crystals, one of which the player can take for themselves.
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* BigCreepyCrawlies: Of all of the villain team leaders (with the exception of Giovanni, as he was a Gym Leader [[note]]and even then, he doesn't have a full team of Ground-types in ''Pokémon Yellow''[[/note]] as well as a Villain Team Leader), he is the only one who carries a team full of a certain type of Pokémon. In Guzma's case, he specializes in Bug-type Pokémon. Fittingly, this may be because his original aspirations were to be a Trial Captain, the Alolan equivalent of Gym Leaders, and his dedication to a single-type team is a holdover from those dashed hopes. His favorite Pokémon and ace is [[SignatureMon Golisopod]], a giant isopod that stands taller than him. His room in the Shady House has a large pile of Buginium-Z Crystals, one of which the player can take for themselves. The Poke War Games event in ''Masters'' even has him paired up with Buzzwole.
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*TinTyrant: The Poke War Games event in ''Masters'' gives him Buzzwole-themed armor.
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->Voiced by: Creator/DougErholtz (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - EN)
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->Voiced by: Creator/DougErholtz (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - EN)
EN), Tatsuhiro Kikuchi (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - JP)
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->Voiced by: Creator/MichelleRuff (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - EN)
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->Voiced by: Creator/MichelleRuff (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - EN)
EN), Ai Kaneta (''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' - JP)
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* ZergRush: Sort of. At Ancient Poni Path, before you head into Vast Poni Canyon, you have to fight a lone female Grunt and seemingly a single male Grunt. However, in the overworld, there are five other male Grunts, and the male Grunt has five Pokémon, giving the impression that all five male Grunts are either all fighting you or they just let the one Grunt do all the work. This is likely due to the lack of the Horde Trainer battles that were present in the Hoenn remakes.
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* ItsPronouncedTroPay: His name is pronounced 'Gooz-ma'.
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i figure it's not a big enough to really apply for this trope
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* AdaotationalJerkass: A downplayed variant. While he still abandons Lillie to their mother, his motivations come from the selfless need of wanting to free Type: Null to wanting to become stronger to take care of his family after Mohn's disappearance, a much more selfish goal- as he promptly left the family he wanted to get stronger for.
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* AdaotationalJerkass: A downplayed variant. While he still abandons Lillie to their mother, his motivations come from the selfless need of wanting to free Type: Null to wanting to become stronger, a much more selfish goal.
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* AdaotationalJerkass: A downplayed variant. While he still abandons Lillie to their mother, his motivations come from the selfless need of wanting to free Type: Null to wanting to become stronger, stronger to take care of his family after Mohn's disappearance, a much more selfish goal.goal- as he promptly left the family he wanted to get stronger for.
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* AdaotationalJerkass: A downplayed variant. While he still abandons Lillie to their mother, his motivations come from the selfless need of wanting to free Type: Null to wanting to become stronger, a much more selfish goal.
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* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:Works as an enforcer for Team Skull after he runs away from the Aether Foundation, which supports Team Skull financially]].
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* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:Works as an enforcer for Team Skull after he runs away from the Aether Foundation, Foundation and his mother, both of which supports support Team Skull financially]].
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* LockedOutOfTheLoop: As a hired enforcer than an actual member of Team Skull, he knows little about their plans, only doing what he's told. [[spoiler: This means that he doesn't know Skull provided pokemon to Lusamine to freeze, that Lillie is being targeted by Skull for Nebby, or Aether and Skull's connection at all.]]
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* WhatTheHellHero: Lillie chews him out for leaving her alone with Lusamine after taking Type: Null, never as much coming back after their mother promptly became even ''worse'' as a result of his actions.
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just revealed!
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** The Poké War Games event in ''Masters'' puts more emphasis towards his focus on brute force by pairing him up with Buzzwole.
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* BreakingOldTrends: The first villainous team to not have an end goal that affects the entire region, or a Legendary pokemon, they just want to lash out and get respect from a society they feel has tossed them aside.
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* BreakingOldTrends: The first villainous team to not have an end goal that affects the entire region, or a Legendary pokemon, legendary Pokémon, they just want to lash out and get respect from a society they feel has tossed them aside.
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* NoTrueScotsman: They apparently have this mindset, despite being a bunch of wild and varied people, they criticize Gladion for not ''really'' being a part of Team Skull as much as he is an enforcer.
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* NoTrueScotsman: They apparently have this mindset, despite being a bunch of wild and varied people, they criticize Gladion for not ''really'' being a part of Team Skull as much as he is an since he's their enforcer.
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* PoorPredictableRock: Most use dark or poison-types, not unlike Team Rocket, though a few psychic type pokemon will be sprinkled in.
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* PoorPredictableRock: Most use dark Dark or poison-types, Poison-types, not unlike Team Rocket, though with a few psychic type pokemon will be Psychic-type Pokémon sprinkled in.
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* TrueCompanions: Probably the thing that differentiates Skull the most from any other villainous team: They're all struggling due to shortcomings or failures in life, and have banded together to try and get respect they believe society owes them. In the process, they, along with Guzma and Plumeria, form an extremely tight bond to the point they don't disband after reforming, just refocus their efforts on being positive contributions.
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* TrueCompanions: Probably the thing that differentiates Skull the most from any other villainous team: They're all struggling due to shortcomings or failures in life, and have banded together to try and get the respect they believe society owes them. In the process, they, along with Guzma and Plumeria, form an extremely tight bond to the point they don't disband after reforming, just refocus instead refocusing their efforts on being positive contributions.contributions to society.
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* AmbiguouslyBrown: She looks like a GyaruGirl, and her fashion sense is certainly evoking of that fashion style, it's very doubtful that her skin is tan- the white on her eyes is her eyeshadow, as shown when she wears it less excessively during the post-game.
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* AmbiguouslyBrown: She looks like a GyaruGirl, and her fashion sense is certainly evoking of that evokes the fashion style, it's very doubtful that leaving it ambiguous as to whether or not her tan skin is tan- natural or just the result of makeup- the white on her eyes is her eyeshadow, as shown when she wears it less excessively during the post-game.
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* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Her role as the admin of Team Skull is likely this, since she doesn't contribute much aside from being a strong trainer, and looking out for her grunts. In ''Sun and Moon'', she's shown to be a strong enough trainer to challenge the Champion. Though to be fair, Team Skull is far from an organized crime organization in need of much else.
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* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Her role as the admin of Team Skull is likely this, implied to be the result of being the strongest next to Guzma, since she doesn't contribute much aside from being a strong trainer, and looking out for her grunts. In ''Sun and Moon'', she's shown to be a strong enough trainer to challenge the Champion. Though to be fair, Team Skull is far from an organized crime organization in need of much else.
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* BirdsOfAFeather: In ''Masters'', Hau seems to think both Gladion and Lisia are very similar only because of Gladion's usual battle pose looking similar to her contest pose. Gladion at first protests he's not trying to please fans with his pose, but then Lisia comes up to them and comments his pose needs a bit of work for people to see him better. ''[[BishieSparkle He happily takes the advice to heart.]]''
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* BirdsOfAFeather: BirdsOfAFeather:
** In ''Masters'', Hau seems to think both Gladion and Lisia are very similar only because of Gladion's usual battle pose looking similar to her contest pose. Gladion at first protests he's not trying to please fans with his pose, but then Lisia comes up to them and comments his pose needs a bit of work for people to see him better. ''[[BishieSparkle He happily takes the advice to heart.]]''
** In ''Masters'', Hau seems to think both Gladion and Lisia are very similar only because of Gladion's usual battle pose looking similar to her contest pose. Gladion at first protests he's not trying to please fans with his pose, but then Lisia comes up to them and comments his pose needs a bit of work for people to see him better. ''[[BishieSparkle He happily takes the advice to heart.]]''
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* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Despite being considerably more friendly with Hau and the player character, he still tells the latter to get out when they enter his room, which is a completely realistic response to someone bursting into one's room, unlike typical npcs in rpgs that don't seem to mind.
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* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Despite being considerably more friendly with Hau and the player character, he still tells the latter to get out when they enter his room, which is a completely realistic response to someone bursting into one's room, unlike typical npcs [=NPCs=] in rpgs [=RPGs=] that don't seem to mind.
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* BreakingOldTrends: The first villainous team to not have an end goal that affects the entire region, or a Legendary pokemon, they just want to lash out and get respect from a society they feel has tossed them aside.
