Carmen: The Caph Squad Grunt Who Bullied, Then Guarded, Eri

She stands guard for the girl she once targeted. Carmen is a Grunt in the Caph Squad, the Team Star branch led by Eri, and a friend close enough to call her "Riri." Players of Scarlet and Violet run into her twice: first as a sentry outside the base entrance, then for a confession that sets the whole Team Star arc straight.

Contents

• A Sentry Who Takes Over for Her Own Boss
• The Confession: From Bully to Bullied
• What the Caph Squad Calls Its Greatest Treasure
• In the Animated Series: A Lookout on Cyclizar
• Carmen at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

A Sentry Who Takes Over for Her Own Boss

The encounter plays out in front of the Caph Squad's Base. Carmen shows up looking for Eri and finds her standing guard at the entrance, holding the post her Grunts should have been manning, already facing off against Clavell and the player.

The Boss tells her friend to get away: with intruders around, the place isn't safe anymore. Carmen offers to trade places and refuses to back down — she'll take the entrance while Eri goes inside to catch her breath. It takes some insisting, but the Boss finally agrees and heads in.

The battle that follows is short: Carmen is beaten by the player in front of the base. Her reaction sums up the character better than any speech — since Eri got her time to rest, the mission is accomplished and the result doesn't matter. She heads back into the base, where her Boss will be defeated in turn.

The Confession: From Bully to Bullied

After Eri's defeat, it's Clavell who gets Carmen to explain herself. His question is blunt: why doesn't this particular Grunt treat her Boss the way the other members of the squad do? The answer goes back to the academy, years before Team Star.

Carmen was queen of the school until a new student arrived who was beautiful, an exceptional athlete and a gifted Trainer. Eri took her place as the school's darling, and jealousy did the rest: Carmen came to hate her, then to bully her, and pushed other students to join in.

When Eri left for Team Star, the pack lost its prey. The bullies turned on Carmen, who experienced from the inside exactly what she had orchestrated. No one at the academy took her side.

🎒 Caph Squad Grunts are still academy students: see the section dedicated to back to school.

What the Caph Squad Calls Its Greatest Treasure

The only person who stood by her during that time was the one she had persecuted. Eri's reasoning came down to one idea: she knew what it was like to have no one to turn to. Right after, she invited Carmen to join Team Star.

Carmen makes no excuses for herself when she tells all this: she calls her own behavior stupid and credits Eri with a heart of gold. Since joining the squad, she says, she has had plenty of great times — and the character stops being a mere obstacle along the way.

She also takes the opportunity to deny the rumors accusing Team Star's students of bullying others; coming from her, the denial carries weight. Then she makes her one request to Clavell and the player: Eri and Team Star are the Caph Squad's greatest treasure, so don't take them away. After that, she leaves to comfort her friend.

In the Animated Series: A Lookout on Cyclizar

The short animated series set in Paldea gives her a role in its third episode. Carmen is on patrol there, riding her Cyclizar and catches Hohma and his Quaxly in front of the entrance to the Caph Squad's Base; when questioned, the boy claims he wants to join Team Star.

Unconvinced, she decides to introduce him to Eri and has him wait in front of a huge tent. Hohma, who has actually come to write an article about the squad, goes inside despite being told not to and comes face to face with the Boss. Carmen loses her temper with him, and it's Eri who has to calm her down, exactly the reverse of the roles you'd expect.

She then follows the training session her Boss organizes and watches Hohma's Quaxly evolve into Quaxwell. When the Starmobile's Revavroom goes out of control and Eri throws herself at it to rein it in, Carmen yells at her, before going to tell her she's amazing but doesn't need to go that far for them. Faced with such a close-knit group, the journalist drops his article and leaves.

Carmen at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Carmen in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?
  A Grunt in the Caph Squad, the Team Star branch led by Eri, and a student at the Paldea academy. She's her Boss's closest friend and the only one who calls her "Riri."
• Where do you battle Carmen?
  In front of the Caph Squad's Base. She takes over guard duty so Eri can go rest, challenges the player and loses — which doesn't stop her from considering her mission a success.
• Why is Carmen so attached to Eri?
  Because she bullied her first. Jealous of Eri for stealing her popularity at the academy, Carmen went after her and dragged other students along. When the bullies turned on Carmen, Eri was the only one who stood by her, and she invited her into Team Star.
• What Pokémon does Carmen have?
  In Scarlet and Violet, she uses a level 54 Croagunk and a level 55 Primeape; the animated series also gives her a Cyclizar, which she rides. Her profile also lists a preference for Fighting-type Pokémon.
• Does Carmen appear in the animated series?
  Yes, in the third episode of the short series set in Paldea. She intercepts Hohma in front of the base, takes part in Eri's training session, and her loyalty ends up convincing the journalist to drop his hit piece.

In short

Carmen is neither a Boss nor a memorable opponent: she's a Grunt you beat in a few turns outside a base entrance. What makes her interesting is entirely what she confesses once defeated — that Team Star, accused of bullying students, was founded by a bullied girl and took in her own bully. The most suspected group in Paldea turns out to be the only place where these two could end up on the same side.