Plumeria: The Team Skull Admin Who Puts Her Own First

She never fights for her group's plans, only for the people in it. Plumeria is the Admin of Team Skull, the number two of a band of Alolan troublemakers led by Guzma. Her specialty is the Poison type, but what sets her apart has less to do with her team than with her place in the group: that of a big sister who takes the hits for everyone else.

Contents

• The "Big Sis" of a Gang with Its Own Slang
• What Ties Her to Guzma, and What She Refuses to Do
• An Apology to Lillie, a Z-Crystal and a Trailer Park
• In the Anime, the Mobile Game and the Cards
• Plumeria at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

The "Big Sis" of a Gang with Its Own Slang

The game introduces her by a nickname that says everything about her role: Team Skull's "Big Sis". Plumeria is an Admin who acts more like an older sister than a boss, and most of her appearances involve coming to fetch Grunts who've gotten themselves into trouble.

She shares their very loose way of talking, sprinkled with slang. This way of speaking isn't a personal quirk but the glue that holds the group together: Team Skull is recognizable as much by the way it talks as by its skulls, and Plumeria never drops it, even in her most sincere moments.

Her stated specialty is the Poison type, which puts her among the Trainers who wear opponents down over time rather than hitting hard. She also understands the reasons that pushed Guzma to follow Lusamine, which gives her a weight her rank as Admin alone wouldn't explain.

What Ties Her to Guzma, and What She Refuses to Do

The affection she has for her Grunts extends to her boss. Plumeria respects Guzma and understands the reasons that led him to side with Lusamine, whereas the rest of the group mostly goes along with the decision without discussing it.

That loyalty doesn't go as far as buying in, though. The story is clear on this point: she never acts to bring Team Skull's reprehensible schemes to fruition, only to cover for her own people. Her violence is defensive, which sets her apart from the antagonists of the same generation.

That's why her exit from the plot doesn't feel like a defeat. When everything falls apart, her concern is the same as on day one: finding out what's become of Guzma, gone to a place where only the player can go and bring him back.

☠️ The Poison partner from her alternate sync pair has its own section: check out Gengar.

An Apology to Lillie, a Z-Crystal and a Trailer Park

At the end of the adventure, Plumeria goes to see Lillie to apologize for the harm she caused her, and in the same breath to ask that Guzma be pulled out of the Ultra Beasts' world. The confession and the request come in the same conversation.

She backs up the gesture with a gift: a Poisonium Z, the Poison-type Z-Crystal. The item fits her specialty, and it works as concrete rather than symbolic amends — the player walks away with a usable piece of gear.

After the League, she isn't written out of the world. You can find her over by the trailers on Route 13, settled in with other former Team Skull members: the disbanded group lives on as a community, which is exactly what she was standing up for throughout the story.

In the Anime, the Mobile Game and the Cards

The anime introduces her late in the Alola series, then enters her in the region's League. She's knocked out as early as the Battle Royal, facing Ilima; her Salazzle is seen in action with Sludge Wave, Dragon Claw and Dragon Pulse.

The mobile game Pokémon Masters added her on March 27, 2020, in her standard outfit. There she forms a default sync pair with Salazzle and an alternate sync pair with Gengar. Her signature Pokémon is a Salazzle, the one she keeps for last when she shows up at the League.

Her profile in that game stresses the same trait as the original story: an Admin who's more big sister than manager, quick to rush to her Grunts' rescue at the slightest hitch and unable to stand seeing them humiliated. As for the cards, she made her debut in the Sun & Moon—Burning Shadows expansion, released on August 19, 2017, in France.

Plumeria at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Plumeria in Pokémon?
  She's the Admin of Team Skull, the band of Alolan troublemakers led by Guzma. She specializes in the Poison type and is nicknamed the group's "Big Sis", because she protects the Grunts the way a big sister would.
• Which Pokémon does Plumeria use?
  In Sun and Moon, she fields Golbat and Salandit at the Akala Outskirts, Golbat and Salazzle on Route 15, then Gengar, Alolan Muk, Crobat, Toxapex and Salazzle as a League challenger. The mobile game Pokémon Masters gives her a default sync pair with Salazzle and an alternate sync pair with Gengar, and her Salazzle is also the one you see battling in the anime.
• Why does Plumeria hand over a Poisonium Z?
  To make amends. At the end of the adventure, she apologizes to Lillie for the harm she did her and hands over this Poison-type Z-Crystal, asking that Guzma be rescued from the Ultra Beasts' world.
• Where can you find Plumeria after the League?
  Over by the trailers on Route 13, where she lives with other former Team Skull members once the group has disbanded.
• Does Plumeria appear in the anime?
  Yes, late in the Alola series. She then takes part in the region's League, where she's knocked out as early as the Battle Royal by Ilima.

In short

Plumeria fills a rare slot among the franchise's supporting players: an antagonist whose motive is never the group's plan, but the people who make it up. The game confirms it right to the end, letting her apologize, hand over a Z-Crystal, then go back to an ordinary life on Route 13. A detail that suits the character well: her name is that of a latex-bearing plant from tropical regions — decorative, and toxic.