Plumeria debuted in That's Some Spicy Island Research!. However, all the Grunts were eventually defeated by Ilima's Eevee. Multiple Team Skull Grunts appeared in Turning Heads and Training Hard!, where Tupp, Rapp, and Zipp led them to the Pokémon School to battle Ilima. Unlike the games, however, he is not associated with Team Skull in the anime and is even shown defeating Tupp, Rapp, and Zipp in a battle. Gladion made his physical debut in A Glaring Rivalry!.
They lost after a wild Bewear showed up, scaring the Totem and Ally Pokémon away while Team Rocket unearthed the Darkinium Z from the hill it was embedded in. Team Skull fought Team Rocket in A Team-on-Team Tussle! over possession of a Darkinium Z, which multiple Alolan Rattata, Raticate, and a Totem Raticate were protecting.
More Grunts appeared in a flashback in Yo, Ho, Ho! Go, Popplio!, where they were harassing a Popplio on the beach until Lana intervened by freezing them solid with her Ride Lapras. These three Grunts would go on to become recurring characters throughout Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon. This particular trio have become recurring characters, often appearing to cause trouble only to be stopped by Ash and Pikachu's Gigavolt Havoc. Though the three Grunts outnumbered Kiawe and Ash, the two Trainers emerged victorious through the combined efforts of Ash's Pikachu and Kiawe's Turtonator. Team Skull debuted in Alola to New Adventure!, where three Team Skull Grunts, Tupp, Rapp, and Zipp, were seen harassing Kiawe in front of the Pokémon School. Guzma is one of the former members taken under Hala's wing, but rather to help hone his potential and help him overcome his anger issues. Others are taken by Hala to train in Iki Town, deciding to become a rescue team and dubbing themselves "Team Reskull" (Japanese: タスカル団 Tasukaru-dan, literally Rescue Gang). One Grunt becomes an apprentice chef under Mallow in Konikoni City, while two others in the Po Town Pokémon Center offer a Skull Tank for sale in order for them to make enough money to leave. Guzma returns to his parents' house on Melemele Island, while Plumeria takes up residence in a camper on Route 13 and later challenges the Alola Pokémon League. Following Team Skull's kidnapping of Lillie and Nebby, Gladion immediately severed his ties with them and joined with Hau and the player to infiltrate and rescue them from Aether Paradise.Īfter Guzma is rescued from Ultra Space by the player, he disbands Team Skull and its members go their separate ways. Not all of the members were aware of her influence - while Plumeria knew that Guzma respected Lusamine as she was the only older figure to acknowledge his strength, Lusamine's estranged son Gladion was only aware that Team Skull was after Cosmog without knowing of their ties to the Aether Foundation president. The group is known to highly value kinship - many of the grunts are close friends with each other, the team's admin Plumeria treats her underlings like a caring older sibling and in return is respected by them for it, and several grunts mock Gladion for lacking friends in the team and technically not being a true member of Team Skull as hired work.Īt some point, Lusamine became the secret benefactor of Team Skull, and they, in turn, started to carry out her orders. At some point, Team Skull took over Po Town on Ula'ula Island, driving away the original residents, vandalising the buildings with graffiti and structural damage along with generally preventing others from entering the town and hindering the flow of electricity. The survivors became the first members of Team Skull. This group provoked the wrath of the four island deities and was struck down. Team Skull originated from a group that coalesced around one of Alola's kahunas. In a stark contrast to other villainous teams, they do not pose a serious threat to the wellbeing of Alola and its residents, the majority of whom consider them thuggish nuisances at worst. They steal Pokémon from people, but unlike previous villainous teams, they do not have a specific goal other than to cause trouble and acquire enough money to support themselves. As revealed by some of their members, Team Skull is composed of misfits who failed the island challenge. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.