Zipp: The Team Skull Grunt Who Gets His Garbodor Treated

He's the member of the trio remembered for a trip to the Pokémon Center, not for a dirty trick. Zipp is a Team Skull Grunt, part of the gang of troublemakers that runs through the entire Alola series of the anime. He always operates as one of three, fails just about every time, and almost never appears on his own on screen — except once, and it's precisely that one time that gives the character his depth.

Contents

• The Third Member of a Gang Named After Packaging
• Three Yungoos, a Garbodor and a Borrowed Tauros
• A Record Made Up Entirely of Defeats
• The Poison Blockage: The Only Scene Where Zipp Is Alone
• The Alola League and Loyalty to Guzma
• Zipp at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

The Third Member of a Gang Named After Packaging

A recurring character throughout the Alola series, Zipp shows up from the very first seasons of that era right through to a final return, much later. He practically never acts alone: he forms a fixed trio with Tupp and Rapp, and the three Grunts arrive, act and leave together in almost all of their appearances.

All three names come from the same family of objects, which says a lot about how seriously they're meant to be taken. Zipp refers to the Ziploc brand of resealable plastic bags, Rapp to cling wrap and Tupp to Tupperware: a gang of crooks named after a supermarket's food storage aisle.

His personal file is almost empty — no hometown, no known family, nothing but the Alola region and his rank as a Grunt. In the trio's internal pecking order, Zipp is the follower: when the gang comes across a wild Eevee, he simply lets Tupp and Rapp fight over the catch instead of joining the race.

Three Yungoos, a Garbodor and a Borrowed Tauros

His team consists of just two species. The first is the Yungoos, and he has not one but three of them, all used at the same time. These three Yungoos were only seen in action during the trio's very first appearance, with Bite as the only move they showed.

The other is a Garbodor, by far the more developed of the two. It battles with Venoshock, Toxic and Sludge Bomb, and it has an amusing distinction: it's the only Pokémon in the whole trio not to have appeared in the Alola series' opening episode, all the others having been there from day one.

On top of that comes a mount that was never his. Having slipped into the Pokémon School, the three Grunts steal the Tauros used there as Ride Pokémon, just to stir up trouble; it's Ash's mother, Delia Ketchum, who stands up to them, together with her son's Litten. Once beaten, they leave the Tauros behind.

A Record Made Up Entirely of Defeats

Their first appearance sets the tone: the gang goes after Kiawe to take his Charizard and unleashes nine Pokémon on him at once. A single Turtonator and one Z-Move are enough to send the whole crew running, and the attempted rematch that follows ends with a single attack from Ash's Pikachu.

The list keeps growing without ever turning around. Gladion's Umbreon escapes them thanks to a Lycanroc, Ilima's Eevee fends off an entire group of Grunts who came to the Pokémon School, and an attempt to seize Mina's Ribombee is settled with a drawing contest. A rare detail: the three Grunts' drawings impress Mina enough that she considers calling it a tie — it's Tupp's wounded ego that restarts the fight, and loses it.

Even their rivals get there first. Facing Jessie, James and Meowth, the gang fights over a Darkinium Z guarded by an oversized Alolan Totem Raticate: it's Team Rocket who walk away with the Z-Crystal. Later sent to Poni Island by Plumeria, they steal radishes from a field to lure Oricorio, and the owner Hapu's Mudsdale dispatches them in moments.

☠️ The rivals who snatched the Z-Crystal from under their noses have their own section: see Team Rocket.

The Poison Blockage: The Only Scene Where Zipp Is Alone

The character's best moment begins with a failed battle. As the trio attacks Ash to take his Poipole, a poison blockage jams his Garbodor's arm, which then starts giving off a foul stench. The fight stops dead, with no combatant left in any shape to continue.

Ash advises him to take the Pokémon to a Pokémon Center, but the gang prefers to take off on their motorcycles. Zipp comes back alone, though, and gets stuck in front of the entrance, not daring to walk through the door — it's Ash, spotting him, who invites him in to have Garbodor treated.

Nurse Joy and her team get the Pokémon back on its feet, and Zipp sincerely thanks them before leaving. Along the way, he takes the opportunity to steal a device meant to keep the blockage from ever coming back: the character doesn't change sides, but his only truly personal theft is a care item for his own Pokémon.

The Alola League and Loyalty to Guzma

It's the trio who brings the Shady House the announcement from Professor Kukui about the first Alola League being held. Zipp and his two sidekicks then try to sabotage the stadium to get it canceled, without breathing a word to their boss; they are beaten by Ash, Kiawe and Hau, then harshly scolded by Guzma and Plumeria for how pointless the stunt was.

The three still sign up for the competition. They're knocked out as early as the Battle Royal, after ganging up on Ilima and his Eevee. They spend the rest of the tournament mostly in the stands: celebrating Guzma's victories, and trying — without the slightest success — to intimidate Lana just before her own match against him. Between matches, they still find time to spray graffiti on the stadium walls and threaten Mimo with their Pokémon, before being routed by Gladion's Silvally.

The scene that closes their arc is the only one where they come away with something. Guzma, beaten by Ash, considers disbanding Team Skull; his Grunts tell him his defeat changes nothing about their admiration and that they want to keep training with him. They're later seen doing exactly that, their Pokémon facing their boss's Golisopod.

Zipp at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Zipp in Pokémon?
  He's a Team Skull Grunt, recurring in the Alola series of the anime. He always acts as part of a trio he forms with Tupp and Rapp, and his rank never rises above that of a mere underling taking orders from Guzma and Plumeria.
• Which Pokémon does Zipp have?
  Two species: three Yungoos, seen only once during the trio's very first appearance, and a Garbodor that battles with Venoshock, Toxic and Sludge Bomb. He also briefly stole Tauros used as Ride Pokémon, which he abandoned after his defeat.
• Where does Zipp's name come from?
  From Ziploc, the American brand of resealable plastic bags. His two teammates follow the same logic: Rapp comes from cling wrap and Tupp from Tupperware.
• What happens when Zipp's Garbodor gets sick?
  Its arm gets jammed by a poison blockage and gives off a foul stench, which interrupts the ongoing battle against Ash. Zipp later returns alone to the Pokémon Center, hesitates in front of the door, and it's Ash who invites him in. Nurse Joy treats the Pokémon.
• Does Zipp take part in the Alola League?
  Yes, with Tupp and Rapp. The three are eliminated as early as the Battle Royal, after ganging up on Ilima and his Eevee. They then follow the rest of the tournament from the stands, cheering on Guzma.

In short

Zipp illustrates a type of character the franchise often uses without giving it any depth: the third-tier grunt, who exists through the group and loses every battle. A single episode pulls him out of that role, when he returns alone to the Pokémon Center for his Garbodor and hesitates on the threshold. The end of his arc doesn't make him switch sides, though: when Guzma talks about disbanding Team Skull, Zipp asks to stay.