Mars

Mars
Species	Human
Affiliation	Team Galactic
Hair color	Red
Eye color	Red
Relatives	Arezu (possible ancestor)
Voiced by	Christie Cate (2022)
Debut	Pokémon: Diamond/Pearl Versions

Mars is one of the four (three outside of Platinum) Team Galactic commanders serving under Cyrus who are featured as recurring enemies in Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions, as well as the remakes Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

Background

As one of the commanders of Team Galactic, Mars firmly believed in the group's mission to create a better world, and she was frustrated by those who did not believe. She was first sent to the Valley Windworks in order to drain its energy for Team Galactic's use. In Platinum she was partnered with Charon for this mission, even though she disliked him due to the superior attitude he took around her, as she only wished to take orders from the boss, Cyrus. Eventually, she was confronted by Lucas/Dawn, who also did not buy their beliefs. Mars decided to battle them with a wager that Team Galactic would leave if Lucas/Dawn won, and that trainer would have to leave if she won. It was Lucas/Dawn who won, and Mars was upset by the loss, but she admitted that she had fun at the same time. Charon scolded her for losing to a child, but he also saw that they had drained enough electricity that they could leave. After getting angry at him, Mars departed with the others.

She apparently got in some trouble for that incident, but she was then deployed to Lake Verity to capture its local mirage Pokémon, Mesprit. In this process, she faced and defeated the player trainer's friend, Dawn/Lucas. Lucas/Dawn showed up of their friend's defeat, and Mars reintroduced herself, as she did not think that the trainer recognized her, but she was intent on avenging her previous loss. She accused Lucas and Dawn of being some "lovey dovey couple" and battled them. Mars suffered another loss, but Mesprit was already claimed by Team Galactic, so she saw no problem with retreating. The Team Galactic commanders next showed up at the Spear Pillar, where Cyrus was engineering the ceremony to summon Dialga and/or Palkia. Lucas/Dawn arrived once again, and Mars was ready to fight them again for another chance at payback. With Barry's arrival, she and Jupiter decided to take them on in a double battle. They lost, and Mars was left thinking that she should have taken them on all alone. In Platinum, she was shocked after Cyrus disappeared into the Distortion World, and the the Team Galactic commanders retreated afterwards.

In Platinum, Charon then took control of Team Galactic and took them on a mission to Stark Mountain. When Mars saw Lucas/Dawn again, she demanded to know what had happened to Cyrus and did not understand or believe the story about Cyrus's disappearance into the Distortion World. She was annoyed to lose again, and then Jupiter was defeated as well. At this point, Mars decided to quit Team Galactic and find the Distortion World on her own to search for Cyrus. Jupiter then decided to quit as well, at which point Mars said they were going back to being ordinary girls, while leaving Lucas/Dawn to "mop up" whichever way they wanted. With that, they departed.

In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Mars could appear at the Battle Tower as a double battle opponent in which she teamed up with Cyrus.

Pokémon Roster

She uses the following Pokémon in her battles:

• Zubat/Golbat - First used in Valley Windworks battle, evolved by Lake Verity battle.
• Purugly - Used in all battles.
• Bronzor / Bronzong - First used in Lake Verity battle. It evolves only in Platinum before the Stark Mountain battle.

At the Battle Tower in Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, the Pokémon she could use included Purugly, Bronzong, Raichu, Espeon, Togekiss and Crobat.

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters EX, Mars initially appeared as a non-playable character. She was accompanied by her Purugly, and she alternately used a Bronzong when faced as an opponent during the "Team Galactic Takedown" Extreme Battle Event. In the Main Story, she was featured during the Sinnoh chapter of the Villain arc. Team Galactic gathered together on Pasio under Cyrus's command and learned about sync stones. Mars worked with Saturn and Jupiter to advance his plans until Cynthia revealed the truth about Cyrus's ambitions to them, which caused them to grow disillusioned with him. This led them to help Dawn and the others to track down Cyrus. Once they split up, Mars went with Lucas (who was the trainer she defeated at Lake Verity in this version) and talked about wanting a rematch while also continuing to tease the idea of Lucas and Dawn being a couple. Ultimately, they were all able to reach Cyrus and convince him to alter his plans. Mars, Saturn and Jupiter chose to return to Cyrus's side, while accepting that he only saw them as tools and pawns.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• She appeared in several episodes of the Pokémon anime's Diamond & Pearl series featuring Team Galactic. In her first appearance, she and Saturn worked together in stealing the Lustrous Orb from the Celestic City museum. She appeared in another two-part episode, where she tried using the Spear Key at Steel Island to determine the Spear Pillar's location, but she failed and attempted to destroy the island, only to fail in that too after Ash and his friends worked with Riley to defeat her. Lastly, she appeared in the two-part conclusion of the Team Galactic arc. After Cyrus disappeared into his new universe, which started disappearing after Dialga and Palkia were released from his control, Mars screamed and tried to follow him until Saturn held her back. She was then seen being arrested with the other Galactic commanders. She was later featured in a series of Pokémon Journeys specials, in which she reformed Team Galactic with Saturn and Jupiter in an attempt to find and retrieve Cyrus by opening a space-time gate. Their efforts ultimately fail, and they are arrested again.
• Mars has appeared in the Pokémon Adventures manga during the Diamond/Pearl arc, and she was first seen using her Electivire to steal energy from the Valley Windworks, which she used to power the Galactic Bomb. She later went to Lake Verity and captured Mesprit after battling Diamond and briefly taking his mother hostage. During the battles at the Spear Pillar, she was defeated by Crasher Wake and Gardenia, but she was able to escape. She returned in the Platinum arc, where Team Galactic entered the Distortion World in search of Cyrus. She ended up battling Cheryl until the battle was interrupted by Giratina]. After escaping from the Distortion World, Cyrus decided to disband Team Galactic, but Mars and the other commanders still left with him.
• In the Pokémon Generations anime miniseries, she appeared in one episode that was based on the Platinum version of the events on the Spear Pillar, where she witnessed Cyrus's attempt to summon Dialga and Palkia, and him being whisked away by Giratina.
• In Pokémon Evolutions, she made a brief appearance during the fifth episode, in which she was seen stepping forward for her and Jupiter's battle with Lucas and Barry.

Trivia

• All of Team Galactic's commanders are named after planets or other celestial bodies, and Mars is named after the third planet of the solar system.
• In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Arezu bears a strong physical resemblance to Mars and has a name that is based on hers (Arezu being a play on "Ares", the Greek equivalent of Mars, while her Japanese name is based on an archaic name for Mars). This implies that she is Mars's ancestor.