Guzma

Guzma
Species	Human
Affiliation	Team Skull
Hair color	White
Eye color	Gray
Base	Po Town, Ula'ula Island
Voiced by	Doug Erholtz (2020)
Debut	Pokémon Sun/Moon

Guzma is the Pokémon Trainer leading Team Skull who appeared as an antagonist in the seventh generation games of the Pokémon series, Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. He specializes in Bug-type Pokémon.

Background

Guzma originally lived in a house on Route 2 of Melemele Island with his parents. He was a skilled Pokémon trainer who trained under Hala and won several trophies, although they were all silver and bronze. He became bitter and jaded towards the island challenge system when he was never chosen to become an island captain. Guzma developed angry tendencies which involved violence towards others and himself. He got into a fight with his father when he tried to 'set him straight' and ran away from home after beating him. He eventually became the leader of Team Skull, although it was unclear if he was one of the original members. Team Skull originated as a group that formed following one of the kahunas, but one of the island deities was displeased with the group and struck them down. The surviving members formed Team Skull. As leader of Team Skull, Guzma united outcasts from throughout the Alola region who had failed the island challenge. These members included Plumeria, who acted as an Admin, and a more tentative member in the form of Gladion. Team Skull took over Po Town on Ula'Ula Island to use as their headquarters (with Guzma being based within an abandoned mansion known as the Shady House) and went around Alola stealing Pokémon and causing various other forms of mischief. Guzma wanted to defy the island challenge and Alola's other old traditions, and he instead sought to assert himself as the dominant power of Alola. He referred to himself as "the hated boss who beats you down again and again", "big bad Guzma" and "your boy Guzma". His temper was easy to set off and could be turned against himself when he lost in a battle, as he would beat himself up and ask himself what is wrong with him.

Although Team Skull seemed aimless in their goals, Guzma eventually began doing work for Lusamine of the Aether Foundation. Plumeria believed that he gravitated to Lusamine because she was the first person to really acknowledge his strength. Within the narrative of the seventh generation games, Guzma first appeared as Malie Island, where he confronted Professor Kukui and taunted him about his ideals. He saw the two of them as both having been rejected by the island's traditions, but Kukui asserted that he had willingly to become something other than a captain. Guzma also doubted Kukui's plans for an Alola Pokémon League, as he felt that he was already the strongest trainer on the island. He proceeded to confront Elio/Selene and questioned them about why they bothered with the island challenge, before taking them on in a battle, in hopes of destroying everything Kukui cared about before doing the same to Kukui himself. Guzma was left frustrated with his loss and vowed to remember the young trainer as someone he would be happy to beat down everytime. He then met Hala's grandson, Hau, and warned him that he did not have to take on the island challenge just because of his grandfather and that he might not get what he wanted out of the challenge. Afterwards, Nanu had a Yungoos stolen from a child at the Aether House near Po Town in order to distract Elio/Selene and other trainers. Elio/Selene confronted Guzma at the Shady House and defeated him a second time. Once more frustrated with his loss, he angrily commanded a grunt to return the Yungoos and renewed his vow to defeat Elio/Selene, now also saying that he would do so "no matter whose help [he] need[s] to do it". While Elio/Selene, Acerola and Nanu were distracted by the Yungoos incident, Plumeria returned to the Aether House and captured Lillie and her Cosmog for Lusamine.

Afterwards, Guzma and Team Skull traveled to Aether Paradise to provide security for Lusamine while she prepared to use Cosmog to open the Ultra Wormhole leading to Ultra Space. While he stood guard, Gladion challenged him and was defeated. Guzma admitted that he "kinda liked" Gladion for the way he left home to become stronger and defied his own mother. After Gladion was defeated, Elio/Selene battled and defeated Guzma again. Guzma was left puzzled at how he kept losing to the young trainer and let them through to Lusamine's Trophy Room. He proceeded to join them there and watched as the Ultra Wormhole was opened. Guzma proceeded to follow Lusamine into Ultra Space.

From there, the exact events involving Guzma differ depending on the version.

Sun/Moon

After arriving in Ultra Space, Guzma confronted a Nihilego and attempted to catch it. Instead, it temporarily possessed him. After breaking free, he was left horrified and claimed that it was the first time he felt fear in his life. As for Lusamine, she gave herself over completely to a Nihilego, which disturbed Guzma. He was unable to reason with her and proceeded to avoid her. He explained the situation to Elio/Selene and Lillie when they arrived in Ultra Space, and they all returned to Alola after Lusamine was defeated and separated from Nihilego.

In the aftermath of the Ultra Space incident, Guzma disbanded Team Skull and returned to his childhood home on Route 2. After Elio/Selene won the championship, they could find Guzma there, and he would invite them over to the Hau'oli City Beachfront for one more battle. He tried to assert that even though he had to disband Team Skull, he personally would never change the way he is. After losing again, Guzma was left questioning himself again, but they were then joined by Hala. Hala tried to teach Guzma the value of respecting his opponents and acknowledging their worth, so that both could become stronger. Hala declared that he would help Guzma become a better man as penance for the deeds he and Team Skull had committed, and that the two of them would travel together to meet more people and Pokémon who would enrich their lives. Guzma was resistant to Hala acting like his mentor again, but he ultimately relented to referring to him as Master. Guzma refused to repent or apologize for his actions to Elio/Selene, but he decided to give them a Dawn Stone, which was a lucky charm from his first ever victory. Guzma was left wondering what the Alolan winds would bring and told Elio/Selene that he would count on them in the future to test how much stronger he's gotten.

In Moon, Guzma could also appear at the Battle Tree as either an opponent or a Multi Battle partner.

Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon

Guzma's motivations were slightly different in these versions, as Lusamine had the relatively altruistic motive of entering Ultra Space to defeat Necrozma before it could attack Alola, and Guzma joined her for the battle. Plumeria believed that this was because he truly cared for Alola and wanted to protect it, even though he would not admit to it. Despite their efforts, Guzma and Lusamine were soundly defeated by Necrozma, who ejected the two of them onto the Altar at Poni Island. He could only watch as Elio/Selene took on Necrozma and urged them to give it a good beatdown for him. After Ultra Necrozma was defeated, Guzma was left musing that bringing out the best in others could help bring out the best in one's self as well.

Afterwards, Guzma appeared at Route 15 by the Aether House while Elio/Selene was undertaking Mina's trial. He begrudgingly thanked Elio/Selene for their help against Necrozma and also answered Hau's questions about his Pokémon. Hau reminded Guzma of all the friends he had in Team Skull and his Pokémon team and tried to assure Guzma that it was not a failure that he did not become a captain. Instead, he could become something else, that no one ever was before. Guzma was left reminded of Hala's ideals (specifically mentioning a journey in which people and Pokémon would enrich one's life, which Hala mentioned in their Sun/Moon encounter) and came to believe that the island challenge might actually mean something again with participants like Elio/Selene and Hau. Guzma proceeded to give Elio/Selene a Grip Claw that he did not need anymore and mused that the winds of Alola were blowing again and bringing new change. He also returned to his childhood home at one point, as his father mentioned having challenged him to a battle after he returned suddenly and was soundly defeated.

During the Episode RR storyline, Guzma came to Team Rocket's Castle to help Elio/Selene to save Lusamine from Team Rainbow Rocket. He took on various members of the team while helping Elio/Selene to progress, and at one point they teamed up in a Multi Battle against a pair of Team Rainbow Rocket grunts. Guzma could also be found by Plumeria's trailer at Route 13, where he talked about helping Plumeria train her Pokémon and admiring how she could get her way no matter who she dealt with. He also vowed to keep taking care of his 'homies' regardless of whether or not he was a captain, as he took pride in continuing to be "big, bad Guzma". Guzma would also take on the Pokémon League at some point, as he could appear as a Title Defense challenger, during which he said that he would keep on challenging them until he found something new of his own. Guzma also appeared at the Battle Tree in Ultra Moon, as an opponent or Multi Battle partner, just as in Moon.

Pokémon Roster

Guzma states that all of his Pokémon are ones from his childhood island challenge, with his Golisopod originating from even before he took on the challenge.

• Golisopod
• Ariados: This Pokémon is in Sun/Moon only.
• Masquerain: In Sun/Moon, he uses this Pokémon from the third battle on. In Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, he instead uses it starting from the first battle, replacing Ariados.
• Pinsir: In Sun/Moon, he uses this Pokémon from the third battle onwards. In Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, he instead uses it starting in the second battle.
• Vikavolt: He uses this Pokémon in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon only, starting with the third battle.
• Scizor: This Pokémon is part of his post-game team in all versions.

At the Battle Tree, Guzma will use a combination of four Pokémon in Single Battles, two in Multi Battles or four in Double Battles drawn from a pool of Pokémon including Pinsir, Golisopod, Honchkrow, Toxicroak, Liepard, Bisharp and Toxapex. The Honchkrow could use Darkinium Z.

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters EX, Guzma and Golisopod have appeared as a playable sync pair that could be recruited at random through the game's Sync Pair Scout feature, after being added to the game in March 2020. A Special Costume variant paired with Buzzwole was also made available during limited time periods starting in November 2021. He has also made appearances in a number of the game's events. In the Story Event "Team Skull Crash Course", he defeated Drake and Liza in a Pokémon battle, and he reluctantly helped Liza learn how to stand on her own two feet as a trainer, while shaking off her attempts to call him her mentor. In the "Family Ties" Story Event, Guzma noted that Lusamine had changed and now seemed like a real mom, but he also looked up to the powerful look she used to have in her eye.

Guzma was also featured in the "Poké War Games" Costume Event, in which he and Jasmine lead one of two teams competing in collecting Golden Spheres, with that team being themed around Eastern-inspired fashion. He appeared during the Battle Prep scene for rival leader Diantha, in which she defeated him in a practice duel, which left him frustrated but also eager to win at the actual event. During his own Battle Prep scene, he trained with Plumeria and admitted that while he did not know much about Ultra Beasts aside from them being "rad beings from another dimension", he teamed up with Buzzwole due to feeling that it was an outcast like them. Diantha showed up to train with him as well, and Hala also challenged Guzma to a battle, leaving Diantha to wonder about their past. The Poké War Games event faded out just as the event's final battle was about to ensue, with the ultimate winner left unknown. During the Costume Event "Solve the Case", Guzma took part in a mystery game in which he was assigned the role to cleaner (despite preferring to smash things to bits instead of cleaning them). The one thing he liked about the assigned role was that the cleaner disliked the mansion's owner, which gave him an in-character reason to continue complaining. After the mystery game was solved, a new crime was revealed, as Guzma realized that his Golisopod had been stolen by a mysterious thief who called themselves the Phantom Imaginate. Looker, Steven Stone and Shauna proceeded to solve the case. It turned out that it was the work of a Team Break member who was targeting members of villainous organizations, regardless of whether or not they had reformed. Guzma was ultimately reunited with his Golisopod after the culprit was caught.

During the Main Story's Villain Arc, Guzma appeared during the Alola arc, in which he showed up with Plumeria and Team Skull to provide Lusamine with back-up against rogue Aether Foundation members and Team Rocket grunts. He roughly questioned one Aether traitor to learn about the machine that was opening the Ultra Wormholes, which he proceeded to smash apart. Guzma reappeared in the Villain Arc's Final Chapter, in which he, Plumeria and Team Skull fought alongside Piers, Marnie and Team Yell against members of Team Rocket.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Guzma was featured during the Sun/Moon arc. His tendency to beat himself up shown in a somewhat darker fashion, as he was seen bleeding after hitting himself. During the storyline, he was entrusted with a Cosmog by Lusamine that he uses to summon Ultra Beasts to battle the protagonists. The Ultra Beasts ultimately turned on him, and he was abducted by a Nihilego. After being recovered, he saw that Lusamine was growing addicted to Nihilego's possession, so he turned to the protagonists to save her. In the ending of the arc, it was shown that a reformed Guzma was helping Hau with his new malasada and Tapu Cocoa shop.
• In the Pokémon anime, Guzma did not appear until later into the Sun/Moon-based series, despite Team Skull making a number of appearances. This version showed that he and Kukui had learned under Hala together, which was the beginning of their rivalry, and he was also outspoken about not using Z-Crystals due to never understanding them properly and blaming them for his past losses against Kukui. Guzma competed in the Manalo Conference, where he defeated Ilima and Lana in battle using underhanded tactics, such as endangering a baby Kangaskhan. Guzma was ultimately defeated by Ash in the semifinals and initially feared that his reputation was ruined, only to find that Plumeria and Team Skull found inspiration from his battle. In the Pokémon Journeys series, he made a cameo appearance with Team Skull watching a battle royal between Ash, Kukui, Gladion and Kiawe.
• Guzma made a minor appearance in the second episode of the Pokémon Evolutions anime, which adapted Ultra Moon. He was seen in a flashback watching when the Ultra Wormhole was opened, and he was also seen being dropped by onto the Altar of the Moone with Lusamine by Necrozma after their defeat.

Trivia

• He is named after the flowering plant genus "Guzmania".
• Guzma keeps his Pokémon in Poké Balls.
• Despite his Bug-type focus, he also uses Poison and Dark-type Pokémon at the Battle Tree. The Battle Tree is the only time Guzma uses a Z-Crystal in battle as well, which is a Darkinium Z for this Honchkrow, rather than his type specialty.
• His father's dialogue and the presence of bent golf clubs in the family home have led some fans to theorize that his father physically abused him. However, it has also been pointed out that the bent golf clubs could just as well be a product of Guzma taking out his anger, and the father's dialogue may have been referring to a Pokémon battle, especially as dialogue in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon referred to them having a Pokémon battle when Guzma returned to their home. The Japanese text included the phrase 'beaten black and blue', but it has also been noted that such a phrase seems to be used idiomatically in Japanese.
• Guzma's mother mentions hearing awful things about Guzma after he left home, but she believes them all to be lies.