Kamado: the Hisui leader who banishes the hero, then apologizes

He runs the whole Jubilife Village settlement, and he still doesn't trust Pokémon. Kamado commands Hisui's Galaxy Team, deals with the Diamond and Pearl Clans as an equal, and greets the protagonist with a sumo demonstration before banishing them from the village for something they didn't do. He is also the only inhabitant of the region known to have a descendant in the Sinnoh era.

Contents

• Head of the Galaxy Team, in Jubilife Village
• A sumo wrestler who doesn't like Pokémon
• The space-time rift and the banishment
• A festival, a plate and a rematch every day
• A tree's name, Galarian armor, a descendant
• Kamado at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Head of the Galaxy Team, in Jubilife Village

Kamado belongs to the first wave of settlers who came to Hisui under the Galaxy Team's banner. He has since become its leader, which gives him authority over every Corps the organization has set up in Jubilife Village, and it falls to him to deal in person with the leaders of the Diamond and Pearl Clans.

The protagonist only gets into his office after passing the trial set by Cyllene. The meeting takes place two floors up in the building and opens with a sumo demonstration: his way of warning that a stranger who literally fell from the sky won't find the rest of the village any more welcoming.

Still, the ruling goes the newcomer's way. The leader approves the newcomer's entry into the Survey Corps, with one explicit condition: make progress on the Pokédex. The deal sums up the character — the welcome is rough, the door opens anyway, and nothing comes for free.

A sumo wrestler who doesn't like Pokémon

Hisui credits him with two strengths. He is a born leader, and a man of extraordinary physical strength: sumo is his discipline, and everyone knows the reputation of his holds. Adaman, of the Diamond Clan, describes him as strong enough to toss boulders around — a feat that Chuck already pulled off in Gold, Silver and Crystal.

The portrait has its blind spots. Kamado is easily swayed by the superstitions of his fellow countrymen, and the man put in charge of an organization devoted to studying Pokémon deeply distrusts them: Beni and he fled the village where they were born, which had been devastated by rampaging Pokémon. He is aware of this prejudice and says he wants to get rid of it.

One species is an exception in the game's official artwork, though: his Snorlax. The leader poses with it at the Jubilife Village photography studio, first in a sumo wrestler's stance, then wearing his armor. The most distrustful man in the region has his portrait taken beside the most massive companion imaginable.

😴 The leader's companion has its own section: see the Snorlax products.

The space-time rift and the banishment

Only one matter truly occupies him. The space-time rift is hurling bolts of lightning that have driven the Nobles into a frenzy, and it's where the hero came from in the first place. So Kamado sends his recruit across the region from one end to the other to deal with anything out of the ordinary they find there.

Yet even with all five Nobles quelled, the rift keeps growing wider. The leader holds the protagonist responsible and throws them out of Jubilife Village without any due process, then sets off for Mount Coronet at the head of a Security Corps detachment, leaving Cyllene to run the village on her own.

The two men meet again at the Temple of Sinnoh, by which time the banished hero has gotten hold of the Red Chain, and the matter is settled in battle. Defeated, Kamado apologizes and leaves his subordinate to deal with both of the almighty Sinnoh, namely Dialga and Palkia, in whatever order your playthrough decides. His only instruction: everyone must fall back to the Summit Camp as soon as the second one appears.

A festival, a plate and a rematch every day

With the rift sealed and both Legendaries caught, the man of authority finally lets his guard down. His emotions end up spilling over, at Adaman's expense, before he brings the region's clans together for a grand festival to celebrate.

One debt remains to be settled. Kamado has held the Fist Plate since the day he landed, and he hands it over to the protagonist, in exchange for a battle, on Prelude Beach: the exact spot where each of them first set foot in Hisui.

The leader then becomes a sparring partner. You can battle him again at the village's Training Grounds, once a day, either in a free battle or on the Path of Tenacity, as long as you ask Ingo. Further rounds open up after the side request "Daybreak," and he always takes the third and final spot, behind Zisu and then Beni, with his Pokémon's effort levels rising from 3 to 5 and then to 7 in every stat.

Outside the games, the character's exposure remains thin. He only makes a cameo on screen, on the dock alongside Prelude Beach, where he welcomes the people arriving in Jubilife Village — among them Alec, the protagonist — then reappears alongside Beni in the following episode. The card game gives him a sharper role: arriving with the Sword & Shield—Astral Radiance expansion in May 2022, he makes his owner discard their whole hand except for one card, then draw four.

A tree's name, Galarian armor, a descendant

It's his family line that made his reputation. No other inhabitant of Hisui has officially been given a line of descendants reaching modern-day Sinnoh: Kamado's runs through Professor Rowan, the Sandgem Town scientist, who inherited his features down to the last detail. His French name, Cormier, even refers to a European tree also known as the sorbier domestique, or service tree, while Rowan's French name is Sorbier — the kinship is written right into their names.

The game closes the loop on its own. Once the Pokédex is complete, the leader raises the possibility of leaving the Galaxy Team to devote his time to observing Pokémon, which is exactly the profession of his distant descendant. On his terrace, he explains where the name "Galaxy" comes from and predicts it will fade into oblivion — a forecast Cyllene reacts to, in one of the rare intimate scenes that Pokémon Legends: Arceus gives its colony leader.

His accessories tell the rest of the story. His metal armor, which he presents as a traditional Galarian piece, looks strikingly like the one worn by Wikstrom of the Kalos Elite Four. Both the kimono and the armor are on display at the museum in Lumiose City, in the exhibition Pokémon Legends: Z-A devotes to Hisui, where the placard suggests that the family of Wikstrom may have gifted suits of armor to the people of Galar, one of which made its way to Kamado.

Two details complete the portrait. A wedding photo on his desk is the only place the game ever shows his wife, and the Japanese version has him lose his temper in a dialect typical of Kansai, the region of Japan that inspired Johto — a nod the Italian edition makes explicit by having him mention Mt. Silver and the Whirl Islands.

Kamado at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Kamado in Pokémon?
  He is the leader of the Galaxy Team in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. One of the first settlers to reach Hisui, he commands the organization's various Corps from Jubilife Village and deals in person with the leaders of the Diamond and Pearl Clans.
• Why does Kamado banish the hero from Jubilife Village?
  Because the space-time rift keeps growing even though the five Noble Pokémon have been quelled. He wrongly blames the protagonist, who came out of that very rift, and throws them out of the village without further ado. He apologizes after his defeat at the Temple of Sinnoh.
• What is the connection between Kamado and Professor Rowan?
  Kamado is his ancestor, and the professor has every one of his features. He is the only inhabitant of Hisui whose line has been officially confirmed to reach the Sinnoh era. His French name, Cormier, even comes from a tree also called the sorbier domestique, echoing Rowan's French name, Sorbier.
• Where can you battle Kamado again after the story?
  At the Jubilife Village Training Grounds, once a day, either in a free battle or on the Path of Tenacity. You need to ask Ingo. After the side request "Daybreak," he closes every round in third place, behind Zisu and Beni.
• Which Pokémon accompany Kamado?
  The only companion the game's artwork explicitly shows at his side is a Snorlax, photographed with him at the Jubilife Village photography studio, first in a sumo stance and then in armor.

In short

Kamado holds an uncomfortable position: he embodies the authority of a settlement devoted to studying Pokémon, and he is the last person to trust them. The game spares him nothing — he blames the wrong person, banishes an innocent, loses the battle he provoked himself, and has to apologize to someone much younger than he is. It's this journey that makes the character's exit believable, when he considers stepping down as leader to observe Pokémon up close. The man who fled a devastated village ends up wanting to understand what destroyed it — and in the Sinnoh era, his face will be that of a professor.