#island kahuna nanu

[reesieroo-spark]

Little comic where Reese is a pyukumuku (as if you couldn’t fucking tell)

[perelka-l]

Kittie and doggie violence :3c

[doctor-vertigo]

Does anyone want gifs of this silly old man who I love oh so very dearly (imgflip is literally a godsend I can make so so so many gifs)

[spiralstereo]

Hear me out

[zz-chikorita]

Role swap! What would Leon and Guzma be like if it was Guzma as a champion and Leon leading the band of misfit grunts? And would you still have Plumeria be close with Guzma (perhaps also part of the league in a role close to the champion) or would she now be Leon's bestie and help look after the grunts?

Ooh, that's an interesting one. I could see this going in a couple of directions...

So alternate universe where Guzma's dad isn't a piece of shit, and raised his son with love and encouragement, maybe he actually became a trial captain and eventually a Kahuna. He still has a pretty boisterous and snarky personality but uses it to endear people to him rather than as a front to mask his insecurities.

Leon, on the other hand, maybe was unable to compete in the pokemon league, or simply was never able to beat the champion. Discouraged, he left home, believing his mother would have an easier time providing for one child instead of two.

He wandered far and wide... not really intentially, he just kept getting lost, casually battling to earn just enough money to feed himself and his pokemon. He spent time in Kanto, Johto, and even Kalos. While in Johto he discovered he was rather good at counting cards, allowing him to easily make some extra cash.

He eventually made his way to Unova, where he found he had the most difficult time surviving. After getting mugged and assaulted one too many times, he makes his way to Alola.

He always wanted to go to Alola since he knew they didn't have a pokemon league- seeing all the gyms and challengers depresses him, regardless of region.

I imagine, once in Alola, his situation became similar to Guzma's in that he joined an existing gang in order to survive and then worked his way up and broke off because he didn't like how things were run and didn't want to be pushed around anymore. And if that's the case, then I guess it would make sense for Plumeria to more or less stay in the same situation (which eventually leads to being Leon's right hand).

Leon is a very different Boss than Guzma in that he is extremely reserved, even to Plumeria, and rarely speaks, choosing to let his pokemon "speak" for him with their sheer power. (This is also at least partially due to the fact that he never underwent speech coaching and thus has a tremendously difficult time talking without his heavy south galarian dialect. He'd rather avoid conflict and prevent himself from being othered whenever possible). If he must speak, he will usually whisper to Plumeria and have her relay the information.

He does have a soft spot for the younger grunts, as they remind him of his brother, and will protect them fiercely. He's grown extremely powerful in his travels, and would be more than capable of becoming the Galar Champion, but that dream has long been forgotten. However, anyone who messes with his kids will feel the full power of him and his team. He has a reputation of being a merciless and cutthroat battler among the island inhabitants as a result.

He was livid when he found out they were beginning construction on a pokemon league in the region and, subsequently, the Team became more active and destructive.

Guzma, being the Kahuna, attempts to open communications about this with Leon, who is far less than receptive.

It's rather irritating considering Guzma is usually so good at winning people over and it eventually becomes a personal challenge for him.

Over time, he figures out the one thing that won't give him a dead stare and cold silence as a response: flirting. The first time he tried it, it caught Leon so off guard he completely dropped his mask and blinked wide golden eyes at the Kahuna and sputtered something barely intelligible. He, eventually, realized what happened and quickly stormed off in an embarrassed huff.

Guzma himself was shocked... shocked by just how cute that stubborn haole could be...

And I'll leave it at that 😁

[nonovyabuisness]

So as you may know, In Pokémon Sun/Moon/US/UM , you can get different starters depending on the island on which you start your Island challenge on.

This is shown by the three normal starters on Mele’ Mele island with Kahuna Hala and professor Kukui. And by the three alolan meowth on Ula’ Ula island proposed by Kahuna Nanu to a new Island challenger in the police station.

And so, my brain decided to imagine what the options would be for Akala and Poni island.

I choose 3 Pokémon that all have a 3 stage evolution and can be found in Alola, no pseudo legendary and other ‘official’ starters. Also note that I will not follow the traditional Fire-Water-Grass thing.

Akala Island (Kahuna Olivia):

- Bounsweet

- Alolan Geodude

- Pikipeck

[ For this, I decided to make it a triangle as well. With Bounsweet being effective against Geodude, Geodude against Pikipeck who,is super effective against Bounsweet. Olivia has an alolan graveler on her team, and while Geodude may look like the best option at first.

Bounsweet’s typing will do good against the Water trial, Olivia and Hapu.

Pikipeck is good against Hala, Guzma, the Grass trial and half decent for the Electric trial (the one with the Vikavolt line) and Molayne.

And Geodude is good against Guzma, the Fire trial, Kahili, Molayne and (kind of) the Water trial.]

Also can we talk about the fact that Olivia is super hot…

Poni Island ( Kahuna Hapu):

- Nidoran (gender is random)

- Trapinch

- Swinub

[ All of these Pokémon are found in Alola and all of these are 3 stage evolution that have or gain the ground typing. Which is Hapu’s type specialty.

Nidoran is good against Mina’s fairy trial and the Grass trial at first. Then it’s good against the Electric and Fire trial as well as Olivia and Molayne.

Trapinch is good against the Electric and Fire trial as well as Olivia and Molayne. Before being pretty good against the Wild trial ( Kommo-o’s trial).

And Swinub is good against the Electric, Fire and Grass trial. As well as the Wild trial, Olivia, Molayne, Kahili and Hapu.]

And there you have it, my island starters headcanons.

[thetravelingymleader]

Dad... what is that?

Seedot. You never seen one before?

Well, I mean, yea of course. They're all over Hoenn and Sinnoh, I just meant- I didn't know you had one.

I don't.

... So it's a wild one?

Yup.

Are ya keeping it?

No.

Oh.

It's injured, so I'm gonna care for it, then release it back out.

Oh, poor guy... Heh it sure is cute though. How did you find it?

Called out to me.

... Like a pokemon cry?

Not... exactly. It's- [*He pauses to sigh softly, pinching the bridge of his nose*] -hard to explain. It's Tapu related-

-[*The Seedot begins making noises, as if... speaking to the Kahuna. Just as strange, Nanu listens as if he understands the pokemon.*]

This is my son, Nox. You can trust him.

Uhh.... dad?

Hm? Ah. Ignore that. Grab me some bandages and full heals will you?

... Sure dad, be right back.

[leggerefiore]

cw: Christmas fic, fluff, guzma pov

pairing: Guzma/Reader

Christmas was not the biggest event in Alola. It still occurred yearly, yes, but it was rarely some centrepiece holiday of the region. Summer tended to be the peak season for those things, and the holiday seemed to coincide with a less happening part of the year. Still, Guzma recalled his youth at times. Much to his annoyance, of course, but it still entered his consciousness whether he wanted it to or not. They had not been the best. While he was his parents' only child, he was not exactly someone they overly enjoyed. Well, his father did not seem to, especially. They butted heads more than he would like to admit.

So, when he found himself leading a group of outcasts, he mostly found himself apathetic to anything that stirred up any negative memories. Christmas did not even cross his mind until the Aether President mentioned wanting to get him something. He felt confused by what she was on about, but apparently, she simply loved the holiday and felt lonely that she would be celebrating alone. Her kids had run off, after all. It made him feel odd, but he supposed he was not going to necessarily look a gift Mudsdale in the mouth.

Yet, somehow, the thought made him feel nostalgic. He was not the type to be softie. No, not at all. But… somehow, someone else made him feel interested in celebrating it. You had been some tourist who dumbly wandered right into Po Town. He would have let his grunts do whatever, but you looked far too much like a kicked Rockruff for him to just let that happen. So, he called them off and personally walked you back to a better area. His words had been harsh about being careful and not so stupid. You had just laughed at them and smiled.

Then, you came back.

And refused to leave.

Guzma supposed it was not really uncommon. That was usually how they got new members to join their gang, but you were not what he would qualify as a member. Well, you were… But, not like he would often acknowledge one. You had mostly been interested in him, following him around and pestering him whenever you could. It would have been annoying had you not been so cute to him. He put up with it even if you reminded him more of a Cutiefly than a person at times, buzzing around him. Team Skull members just seemed to have accepted you as his partner while Plumeria found his torment hilarious. His own admin had betrayed him. Apparently, she liked that he had a keeper now. You definitely felt like one.

Still, he could not claim to even dislike you. No, really, the opposite was at play. Your genuine care for him was simply something that brought him too much joy. You listened to him rant and offered advice. It was nice to just have someone around to treat him like a person. That was how you both ended up dating. You cancelled your flight back him and opted to stay around with him, making him feel like you truly liked him as much as he did you.

He grumbled to himself as he walked through the stupid mall in Hau'oli. Gifts were nothing easy. Nothing cheap, either. He had one a few battles and landed himself some extra cash to spend, but nothing seemed in his price range or like something you would like. Guzma was desperate to find something that would make you give him a big smile. That sight had become something almost sacred to him as of late. Even that stupid Kahuna-cop next door had commented on it. He shook his head. Nah, Nanu had not really done anything to him. Why was he so frustrated? The large crowds of people flooding the mall likely was the culprit.

He headed out and watched as the streets bustled with people. His hands were in his pockets as he let out a sigh. This island… He hated being here, but Malie did not offer a lot in options. As he stood and leaned against a fence, he watched the people wandering around. Alola was too peaceful for its own good. It pissed him off. Before he could stew deeper into his thoughts, a voice called out his name, nearly making him jump. He felt everything peak higher when he saw who it was.

Kukui.

The professor waved at him far too amicably. “Hey there, Guzma,” he stopped a few feet in front of him, “Don't think I've seen you around these parts in a minute. What brings you here?” The Team Skull Boss was not ignorant to the slight suspicion that the professor held towards him. He glared at him. “Hey now, you looked a bit contemplative,” Kukui tried to soothe the situation a bit, “I was wondering if there was something on your mind.”

Guzma wanted to scoff. Like he actually cared… Despite being in the same boat as him, unable to finish their island challenge, he found himself surrounded by opportunity. It annoyed him. He was even married — The delinquent blinked. Married. As in, a long-term committed relationship. No. Absolutely not. Guzma was not going to sink so low as to ask Kukui of all people for help. Still… The approaching “due date” made him feel even more desperate than usual. They used to be amicable. Maybe he could ask Madame Prez... No, that sounded worse. She would ask a thousand questions. Kukui might only ask a hundred.

“What do you get a partner for Christmas?” the question left him as he stood up from his lean. Kukui's expression shifted as his mouth fell open. He blinked a few times and shook his head. The professor seemed like he had just been hit by a particularly powerful pokemon move.

“… Like a romantic… partner?”

“Yeah,” Guzma nodded.

Once again, the professor looked beyond shocked. Slowly, however, he seemed to come down from the disbelief and give him a genuine grin. “That's great, man…” he shook his head, “A gift, huh? Usually, Burnet just tells me what she wants…” He took off his hat and scratched his head. “What's something they like?” Kukui tried, “You know, sometimes it really is more the thought of things that matter. I'm sure they'd be happy that you tried at all.” Guzma wanted to snap at the annoying sentimental answer, but… Honestly…

“Yeah, you're probably right,” he nodded. Really, he had an idea of what to get you, but he was far too worried that you might hate it. His self-confidence felt lower at this time of year. Kukui walked over to his side and gave him a pat on the back, earning him a glare from the other man.

“C'mon, I'll help you look, yeah,” he motioned for him to follow him back into the mall. Guzma begrudgingly followed him. Kukui probably had an idea of what he was doing. Maybe getting some advice would not hurt. His tense feelings for the professor could be pushed to the side for a moment.

~

Guzma nervously held the gift in his hands as he found you. It was a bit cooler than usual — The only sign it was winter in Alola. He wore the stupid red hat that Kukui had insisted on. Your face had lit up when you turned around to see him, smiling splitting your face as you gave a laugh at the sight of him. He held out the present as an offering, not daring to speak a word. For once in his life, he felt like his tongue would not move. A rare event, really. You took it from him excitedly and looked at him as if to ask if it were okay to open it. He gave a nod. Of course, it was. He would not have given it to you had it not been.

You tore away the wrapping paper to find a small jewellery box. Opening it, you saw a necklace inside with a pendant shaped like a Ribombee. Guzma shifted nervously, not too sure how you would feel about it even still. Kukui had insisted that it was a good choice, but he worried that bug-types really were not for everyone (even if he knew you liked them due to your interest in his pokemon). You, however, went to put it on your neck and thanked him for such a lovely gift. Your smile was even brighter as you looked at the pendant even more. He felt himself relax.

Great, it had worked.

Yet, before he could fully unwind and move into enjoying a romantic evening with you, you pulled out a gift for him, too. He was shocked once more. Imitating what you had just done, he found himself ripping open the paper to find a Wimpod t-shirt inside. He stared at it for a few moments, completely bewildered, but eventually broke out a grin. Yeah, he got what Kukui meant now. Slipping the t-shirt over his tank-top, he found himself pretty contented with how everything went. You laughed as he posed in it.

Maybe, he would be down for more things like this in the future.

With you, at least.

[thetravelingymleader]

Hello, Leilani.

My son said you needed to speak with me about something urgent? Something about the tapus, I believe.

Hello Hapu, This is Nanu.

Is your mother around? I need to speak with her about something that was brought to my attention.

((-@thetravelingymleader))

Oh! Of course! One moment!

Mom, it's Mr. Nanu.

Thank you honey, I'll take care of it.

Nanu sir? It's Leilani.

[fallershipping]

I love this Poke Corpus tool because it gives me more fuel to analyze the games dialogue for any sort of crumbs.

Anabel used to call Nanu, for certain in the Japanese original text, not just her superior but her full on boss (上司). (She calls herself 新人, a rookie or new recruit in a formal setting) That it was quite a while ago... But it makes me wonder when he left and when he established himself? It seems so long ago.

Looker is funny. He always calls Anabel "Boss" in Japanese, but as in, BOSS. The english word for boss. It makes me think that some part of him really is a foreigner. I think there are other instances of Looker using english words, even in Masters. (Note: Masters does not have the same localizers as the games... and it is painful because english he calls her CHIEF instead of boss and this is only stupid for me whatever)

But back to Nanu and Anabel, I feel as though in the 10 year span, Nanu had to have at least left by the 4-5 year mark. Maybe 3. He's well known in Alola and has been filling in for Poni Island's Kahuna duties after passing away years before SM. Eh, whatever, don't think about the years, what matters is that it's enough for him to be Anabel's boss for a while to get her trained and perfect for ranking up though long before SM and then enough to establish himself within Alola's community. Possibly visiting often between the two before just flat out leaving.

Also Interpol remains a mysterious bunch. Nanu and Anabel have to step in when Looker is getting shouted at by whoever are the big heads in terms of what to do with Paulo, so it seems that Anabel's title is very much respected within Interpol and Nanu, despite being retired, also has sway with his own words.

Emma and Paulo seem to confirm that Interpol does not hire children or anyone not of age. That it is impossible, and while Paulo gets to work with Interpol, it's under strict supervision, he's not officially affiliated, and it's a matter of his probation/punishment. Sometimes protagonists do 'work' for Looker but always just as gameplay protagonist aid, not really official joining of the agency. It's curious to me that the Generations episode with Looker and Emma does not include a protagonist at all, opting that it is more or less a story that doesn't need the protag in it.

They have been dead set on "let the adults handle this" lately in games, and I would kinda,, idk appreciate PLAYING AS AN ADULT FOR ONCE TO EXPERIENCE SOME OTHER THINGS???? cmon it won't cost you an arm or a leg >:(

[reesieroo-spark]

2007 Emo style Nanu because idc how old he is, he fits that aesthetic to a T.

I hc he secretly shops at hot topic, and uses Acerola dragging him there as a chance to buy some band tees :p and maybe a hello kitty apron

[perelka-l]

When you both are in a shitty situation and can't even get up and are waiting for someone to arrive (whoever it is, really) and one of you has cigs and other access to fire so you just. Kinda chill for a moment. Like, it's just once, it should be fine, you can forget about it later.

[doctor-vertigo]

I was watching Nanu’s episodes again because I am sosososo normal, but I took some screenshots and thought I would share my findings with the class. They made this old man look SO unbelievably fine in the anime

Might watch more of the episodes he’s in later and take more screenshots if I’m feeling especially saucy (I have to wake up at 9 am tomorrow it is currently midnight)

[spiralstereo]

i did an art

so we got mars the bestest & most precious girl ever & then we got an emo cop named nanu

(i love them both sm its not even funny)

[alola-reblogging]

Got any team skull headcannons you could maybe write hehe I personally hc the grunts have rap battle night lol

Yes yes yes I have a thousand team skull headcannons omg thanks so much for requesting hehe ♡

• So the majority of team skull are kids who couldn't begin the island challenge and felt left out, or those who attempted the island challenge and gave up.

• Some of the grunts had just came from broken homes, and Guzma sympathised with them and let them stay instantly

• Friends or siblings or cousins of grunts then joined, and the team skull family got bigger

• I mean it's cannon Plumerina sees herself as everyone's big sister, and the grunts go to their big sis with all their problems

• Relationship problems, period pain, battling tips, and to Plums annoyance, to settle the dumbest arguments

• Plums tries her best to support all the kids, and give them 1 on 1 time

• She teaches the grunts life skills, such as battling, type match ups, gives advice on the best move set and so on

• She even teaches the grunts some cooking (not that she's great at it but she's a fairly decent cook), she usually supervises in the kitchen though as there's been more then one eight times incident in the kitchen

• The grunts who have an interest in makeup, Plums teaches them too. All of Alola may be fearful of Team skull but they can't deny their eyeliner is immaculate

• Yeah I can TOTALLY see them doing rap battles lol

• Every Friday night is rap battle night, and all the grunts are welcome to participate, the majority of everyone writes their own raps

• Many of the grunts know how to beat box

• Some of them will rap, others will back up the track beatboxing

• When Guzma joins in all of the grunts get so excited!!

• Both because the boss is in their presence, and because Guzma's sic on the mic

• They have game nights too

• They play loads of different games like Monopoly, Twister, Cludeo, they even play video games too

•It usually ends in boards being flipped, controllers being thrown and someone sulking in the corner

• Of course they have battle nights as well

• I mean, they battle every day, but once a month they'll hold a mini tournament and all battle one another

• It was something Plums came up with to help the grunts grow stronger together

• Spray painting is also a big past time of the grunts

• Most of them just tag places with the skull logo or some anarchy logos

• A few of the grunts are quite artistic about it, and all throughout alola you can see beautiful works of art that most would refuse to believe were created by a member of team skull

• And someone *cough cough guzma* spray painted ACAB on the wall of the police station

• Nanu hasn't bothered to clean it off

• In her spare time, Plumeria likes to watch anime and read manga, she has a secret soft spot for slice of life stuff

• If you mention it though she'll probably crush you.

• She also enjoys watching pokemon battles online from past champion defences or big matches from tournaments, she especially loves watching poison type trainers

• She's got a crush on Raihan from the Hammerlocke gym in the Galar region

• She follows him on social media and has seen all of his matches

• Its a secret dream of hers to battle him

• It's no secret Guzma holds a lot of anger towards Kukui and Kahuna Hala, but there's times where he truly does miss the times when he and Kukui were kids, and would just chill at the beach, eating malasadas and catching pokemon

• He misses Molayne too, and just the three of them doing absolutely nothing but cracking on and having a good time

• He would never admit to anyone, and it pisses him off when he has thoughts like that as he considers them weak and worthless

• Usually when he thinks about his old friends and the fun they had something ends up getting heavily destroyed

• When Guzma recruited Gladion as the enforcer of team skull he offered Gladion to come stay with them in Po Town

• Gladion refused, simply because the grunts annoyed him to point of going insane, and he knew it was best to be alone to get stronger, and he didn't want so many untrustworthy eyes of Null

• Plumeria and Guzma knew he was living rough, and felt bad for the kid, so Guzma fronted Gladion the cash for his motel room

• Gladion insisted on paying Guzma back but he refused to accept the money, stating to Gladion that it was nothing and in return he can back up the grunts when needed and do odd jobs for them

• Gladion was instantly thankful, though he had a difficult time expressing it

• Gladion usually had to defend the grunts against island challengers when they were loosing in battle

• The odd jobs consisted of many things, like stealing supplies from warehouses, finding and catching a specific pokemon, sometimes even doing drop offs for some not so legal products Guzma was selling on the low

• Gladion tried to keep away from Po Town and Team skull whenever he could, but the money was decent and Gladion was desperate

• He knew he had to feed his Pokemon, as well as himself

• He doesn't regret his time in team skull because he knew it was do or die but its not his proudest moment

• Gladion is always invited to game nights or rap battle nights by Plumeria but he always refuses, insisting he's got no time for nonsense with people below his level

• There was this one time he was at the mansion late delivering some stuff he picked up for Guzma, when a tropical rainstorm ensued and the trails was blocked off by mini floods, so he had no choice but to spend a night at the mansion

• It just so happened to he rap battle night

• Gladion hid in a corner watching in utter horror as all of the grunts danced around, spitting bars and blaring music throughout the mansion

• Guzma pushed him to the centre where he utterly froze and refused to participate

• This is where the grunts distsin of him really began, they already didn't like that he refused to live in the mansion and wear the team skull uniform, but they went absolutely mad when their boss paid for a motel for him too

• The grunts were jealous of the favoritism that Guzma showed Gladion, so when the boss himself wanted Gladion to rap and he refused, that was pretty much a death sentence for Gladion in the grunts eyes

• One of the grunt girls have a little thing for Gladion, and they're always overly flirty with him

• Gladion shows her no interest and is extremely uncomfortable with her advances

• She doesn't stop though, and overtime he just becomes irritated

• A lot of the grunts took this offensively that Gladion wasn't interested in their friend, just adding another reason to their hatred

• When the grunts gang up on him, it ends in pokemon battles, although there's been occasions its ended in a fist fight

• Plumeria always tries to keep the peace but even she has been at the blunt end of Gladions sharp tongue in the past

• do you guys remember when gladion called plumeria a whore in the manga omfg

Tysm for this ask it was fun ♡

[g-zma]

// random rambling about Guzma and his relationships

I don't even know. I ramble. This has some discussions of child abuse, trauma, and manipulation.

This is very long by the way. Like. Actually though.

Okay to start off with, let's talk about Guzma and Elio.

Elio is what really led to Guzma being able to get help. Without Elio coming and beating the shit out of Guzma every time the guy ran into him, he wouldn't have had the motivation to get better. The big thing is that Guzma didn't really mean to get better in terms of himself, he just wanted to get better at battling. That has more to do with Hala, who I'll talk about in a bit.

So, now that Guzma's in a better place, he's also running into Elio a lot more. The kid lives right next to Iki town, and he's friends with Hau, so he shows up all the time. Not only that, but the kid was there to deal with the UB situation at the same time he was, and though Guzma would never admit it, he has a soft spot for kids.

So he won't say it out loud, but he really does care about Elio. He wants to make sure the kid has a good life.

Now, what about him and Hala?

Hala's been Kahuna for a while. Probably since Guzma was a kid. So while Guzma didn't know him personally, he did know him before the events of the games. And then when the big, powerful Kahuna came around and told him to stop being a baby, and that he would help Guzma become stronger, Guzma agreed. It was a bit begrudgingly at first, but he did agree.

But Hala knew that, in order to become better at battling, Guzma needed to get better in the rest of his life. He had to face his issues.

Guzma had, obviously, a lot of problems, especially after the situation with Lusamine (which I will also discuss). Being possessed by Nihilego reopened a bunch of wounds that had scarred over and pretty much forced them to the front of his mind. And that, amongst other things, freaked him out bad. It brought back memories he had forgotten, things that he'd purposefully ignored. Mostly, things to do with his Father. Guzma's dad was abusive, he did not treat his son well. And the Nihilego made him relive that, all in an instant.

The biggest things Hala has worked on with Guzma so far, though, are his anger issues and alcohol abuse. They've touched on the underlying trauma, but Guzma tends to get very uncooperative, especially with people like Hala, who are older, kind figures towards him. I think I've mentioned before how the anger issues stem from his father's abuse, but not in its own post.

So now we go into a bit of a Guzma and his parents, as well as Alolan society in general.

Guzma's reputation as an aggressive, violent person started as a defense mechanism. It didn't help against his dad, but he was already being bullied fairly often, and it did help with that. Kids were less likely to pick on the scrappy bug nerd when the scrappy bug nerd would start throwing punches if you looked at him wrong. But, it also backfired a bit. Nobody was willing to get close enough to him to realize that something was wrong. If he came to school with bruises and scrapes, it was automatically assumed that he'd gotten into a fight, that he was the aggressor. And he actively pushed away anyone who tried to get to know him.

He wasn't willing to accept any help that was offered. He was generally scorned by the people around him, and so he simply didn't trust them. This especially came into effect when he started his Island Challenge. He was so proud of himself. He worked so hard, he wanted to be captain. That was the best award he could've ever been given. But then he failed. He couldn't complete it, so he wasn't allowed to be a captain. And his dad was angry with him. And Guzma was scared. He was terrified. But he had his own pokemon now, and a Golisopod can be awful scary when it wants to be. So Guzma's dad got what was coming to him, and Guzma ran the fuck away.

And where did he end up? In a new group. Not Skull- This was a group under the Kahuna before Nanu. Guzma, in a way, got what he wanted. Approval. Of course, not everyone's approval, though. Tapu Bulu ended up rejecting its Kahuna for whatever reason, and striking that group down. Guzma lost the one group of people he had that he'd finally been accepted by. And he was pissed. So, he started Skull. He built his group up again, new. He leaned into the cruel, scary reputation he'd made for himself. And for the most part, they weren't actually that bad. Sure, they stole, they threatened people, but they needed to feed themselves. They were the people who couldn't get jobs, for whatever reason. Who were thrown out of their homes. Who needed someplace to go, but weren't accepted anywhere else. This was the place they were accepted. And that continued for a while, until Guzma got involved with Lusamine.

And that is a whole situation.

Lusamine needed someone who could do her dirty work. She needed someone to take her blame. And she found that in Guzma. He already had a reputation as a thug. So, she started to get in contact with him. She gave him that approval that he sought so desperately. She used his childhood for her own purposes. When he told her about how he failed, she told him that she was proud. When he told her that his mother never did anything to protect him, she told him that she would. She gave him things he needed, money and food and clothes and medicine to provide for his team, and he was so desperate to keep her. I don't think it was necessarily romantic, but he did love her, and she used it entirely for her own advantage. And once she had him solidly stuck in her trap, she started pulling strings. She removed the exits. If he needed a few days, she would threaten him with taking away something, or to step back. And he needed her. So he did what she said. Especially considering that she was a smart woman. She never made it an explicit threat. She kept it strong enough that he would panic, but hidden enough that he wouldn't catch on to what she was doing.

And this really hurt him, especially after the events in Ultra Space. He had been betrayed, and the fact that she never actually cared about him was shoved in his face. And that, combined with Nihilego literally possessing him for a moment, is why he's so freaked out by the idea of something controlling his mind, now. It's happened to him twice, though the how of it was different.

Now, backtracking a little bit. Let's look at Guzma and Kukui (and by extension Burnet).

Kukui and Guzma met about during their island challenges. They started at the same time, and from the same island. Really, the Island Challenge just provided a situation where Guzma couldn't escape Kukui's attempts at friendship. And he really did try! Guzma pushed him away at every turn, but Kukui kept on keeping on. They ended up rivals, somewhat. But, then they both couldn't complete the challenge. This obviously affected Guzma way more than Kukui.

Kukui was sad that he couldn't be a Trial Captain, but he had other things to work for. He put himself into his schooling, became a professor, and travelled! Which is how he met his lovely wife, Burnet. So for a long while, he wasn't in contact with Guzma. Even when he returned to Alola, he never really saw him. Skull, yeah, but not Guzma himself. And he was sad about that, but it was okay.

Then things really started kicking off! He saw Guzma again. And sure, that was exciting, but Guzma was even more against friendship than he had been before. But!! But then Guzma was taken in by Hala, and he couldn't avoid him. And he was a bit more willing to allow Kukui in.

Which leads us to ~about~ present day with those two. Kukui cares about Guzma a lot, and Guzma's working on letting him do that. Because Kukui and Burnet really do want to help him. And he needs it, even if it's hard to admit.

I think that he'd be more willing to open up to Burnet at first, despite not knowing her for nearly as long. Probably because he hadn't known her for as long. She knew her husband has a huge personality, so she was willing to be the balance to that. Just letting Guzma sit and ruminate with her. And he started to appreciate that, a lot.

Both Kukui and Burnet love Guzma, and he loves them, but again, I don't know if it would be necessarily romantic in nature. They have a bit of a qpr going on. More than just friends, but not quite romantic. Kukui and Burnet are absolutely romantic though.

Guzma's relationship with Plumeria is more simple.

She's been there for him through it all, and she's going to keep being there. She's the big sis of Team Skull, and she's not intending to let that go.

As well as his relationship with the other Alola kids.

He's gotten fairly close to them, especially Gladion and Hau. Gladion, because he did work for Skull, and he felt bad for the kid. Hau, because he's basically his unwilling big brother now. He'd never admit it, but he really does enjoy spending time with them. Most of the time, anyways.

That's the main major things I have to say. I hope this was interesting, lmao