Team Plasma

From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
Jump to navigationJump to search
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
Plasma redirects here. For the Plasma Pokémon, see Rotom (Pokémon).
Team Plasma
プラズマ団 Plasma-dan
Plasma-logo.png
Black 2 White 2 Team Plasma Grunts.png
Artwork of Team Plasma Grunts from Black 2 and White 2
Leader NBW, ColressB2W2, GhetsisB2W2
Region Unova
Admins Seven Sages, Zinzolin, Shadow Triad
Major targets Dreamyard, Nacrene City, Liberty Garden, Cold Storage, Chargestone Cave, Dragonspiral Tower, Relic Castle, Opelucid City, Giant Chasm
Base locations N's CastleBW, Plasma FrigateB2W2, P2 Laboratory

Team Plasma (Japanese: プラズマ Plasma-dan, literally Plasma Gang) is the villainous team in Unova.

In the games

In Black and White

201
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
201
Artwork of Team Plasma Grunts from Black and White

Team Plasma is met early in the games. Ghetsis appears in Accumula Town where he is holding a rally trying to get people to join Team Plasma's cause. Following this rally the player will be approached and battled by a person named N. After this, the player will next come across two Team Plasma Grunts at the Dreamyard who are trying to capture a Munna in order to get some Dream Mist to spread their message in people's dreams. After defeating them here they will steal a young girl's Pokémon and hide in the Wellspring Cave. The player will team up with Cheren and save the Pokémon.

After defeating Lenora at the Nacrene Gym, Team Plasma will attack the museum in Nacrene City and steal a bone from the Dragon Fossil. As the player gives chase, N will appear again and battle the player. After this, the player heads into Pinwheel Forest where they will defeat the Team Plasma Grunts, causing Gorm to return the Dragon Skull to player, which he or she then immediately gives to Lenora. The next encounter is in Castelia City where they have stolen Bianca's Munna. After confronting them, they will give Munna back.

After entering Nimbasa City, the player will find two Grunts harassing an old man. After defeating them, they will run off. After heading over to the Ferris wheel, N will appear again. N and the player will take a ride on the Ferris wheel where N will reveal that he is the leader of Team Plasma. The two will then battle after getting off the Ferris wheel. The next encounter will be in Driftveil City. Cheren will appear and say that Team Plasma has been seen in the city. Zinzolin and some Grunts are at the Cold Storage plotting something. Clay, the Driftveil Gym Leader appears and chases them off.

Later, as the player journeys through the Chargestone Cave, the Shadow Triad appears and takes the player to N and the two will battle again. After being defeated, they will leave. N is then briefly encountered outside the Mistralton Gym where he tests the friendship between the player and their current lead Pokémon. After defeating Brycen at the Icirrus Gym, Team Plasma appears at Dragonspiral Tower where N awakens ZekromB or ReshiramW. After a brief talk with the player, N flies off. Alder, who has also witnessed these events advises everyone to go to Relic Castle where they run into Ghetsis who tells them it is pointless to continue resisting them and leaves. Ghetsis will then confront the player on the Tubeline Bridge and tell them that even though they have the Light/Dark Stone Team Plasma will achieve its goal. Soon after the player will witness Ghetsis giving another speech in Opelucid City.

After defeating the Elite Four, the player will head to the Champion's room where they will see N after he has defeated Alder. N will then reveal his castle, which rises out of the ground and attaches to the Pokémon League building. The player then chases N into the castle where the Seven Sages try to stop him/her. The Unova Gym Leaders then appear to keep the sages busy while the player searches the castle. Two women who claim to be goddesses and the Shadow Triad will then lead the player to N. Before anything can happen, ZekromW or ReshiramB will appear and the player will have to capture the dragon. The player and N will then have one final battle, with the player proving victorious. Ghetsis arrives and is furious at N and says that he was just working behind the scenes on his true goal of ruling Unova as the only one with Pokémon. He will then challenge the player in rage.

After the player defeats Ghetsis, Cheren and Alder take him away while N tells the player he will continue on with his goal but will do it the right way. After the credits roll, Looker will appear at the player's house and request their help in finding and capturing the other sages of Team Plasma. Each sage will tell some back history on Team Plasma before being arrested. The Shadow Triad will also appear at Marvelous Bridge where they will give the player the Adamant, Lustrous, and Griseous Orbs. They also reveal that they rescued Ghetsis from being arrested and he has now fled.

Before the sage Ryoku is arrested at Relic Castle, he says that he was planning to catch the Pokémon Volcarona and give it to Ghetsis, but no one knows his and N's whereabouts, and that no one even knows if they are really parent and child. Once all the sages are arrested, Looker says that he heard N was seen in a distant land with a Dragon Pokémon.

Some Team Plasma Grunts will also appear during the Liberty Pass event where they will take over Liberty Garden and try to capture Victini.

Genesect was going to be revived from a Fossil and powered up by Team Plasma to create the most powerful Pokémon ever, but the project was abandoned because N felt that any Pokémon modified by science had lost its pureness. However, one scientist kept working on it, annoyed that N denied his talent. This scientist reconstructed Genesect and powered up the gun on its back.

As a part of Ghetsis's plan, Team Plasma had set up a laboratory in N's Castle which was used to attack and break the security around Amanita's Pokémon Storage System and gain master access to it with the intention of releasing every Pokémon that was stored there. Team Plasma had everything ready to begin releasing Pokémon, but this plan would only be carried out on N's command; since N, Ghetsis, and Team Plasma were ultimately defeated by the player, the plan was never executed.

In Black 2 and White 2

In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, Team Plasma is broken into two different forces, each with different purposes.

The current Team Plasma first appears at Floccesy Ranch where they steal a Herdier. After being stopped they head to Virbank City where they attempt to steal the player and Hugh's Pokémon. After fending them off, Hugh believes they have retreated to Castelia City, where they are found in Castelia Sewers. Colress also appears in the Castelia City where he mentions he is researching how to draw out the most strength from Pokémon. After defeating Burgh at the Castelia Gym Colress will use a special machine to clear the Crustle blocking off Route 4.

In Nimbasa City Team Plasma is seen where they are confronted by Hugh who demands answers about a Pokémon kidnapping in Aspertia City from them. After competing in the Pokémon World Tournament, the player, Hugh, and Cheren confront Team Plasma on their ship which has docked at the PWT. There Zinzolin appears and reveals they have a new plan to take over the Unova region before telling the Shadow Triad to remove the trio from the ship. After winning at the Mistralton Gym, Professor Juniper sends the player to Opelucid City to find out more information about the Legendary Dragon Pokémon from Drayden. On the way, they and Hugh encounter Zinzolin in Lacunosa Town where they battle him and a Grunt in a tag battle.

Following the player's victory at the Opelucid Gym, Team Plasma begin their operation by covering Opelucid City and nearby routes with ice in search of Drayden's DNA Splicers. They are quickly defeated and retreat to the Seaside Cave, although Opelucid City remains frozen for some time. After winning at the Humilau Gym the player heads to Route 22 where Colress gives them his device to make the Crustle roadblocks disappear. Upon making it past the Crustle, the player defeats the Team Plasma members inside, but once again is removed from the ship by the Shadow Triad and watches the ship fly off.

They track it down to the Giant Chasm where once again they must fight their way through the ship. Upon the defeat of Zinzolin and the new boss Colress, Ghetsis reveals himself as the true mastermind behind Team Plasma. He reveals he never intended to liberate Pokémon two years ago; It was just a ploy to get N to follow his plans. After defeating the Shadow Triad, the player gives chase to Ghetsis and find him in the deepest part of the Giant Chasm where he summons Kyurem. Ghetsis orders Kyurem to attack the player, but the attack is stopped at last minute by N who arrives to save them. Ghetsis is not surprised by this, who then uses the stolen DNA Splicers to merge Kyurem with N's Dragon. The Player then takes on the new Dragon as well as Ghetsis and put an end to his plans once and for all. Colress then disbands Team Plasma for good, taking the Plasma Frigate and docking it outside the P2 Laboratory where he continues his research.

There is also a group of disbanded Team Plasma members, still loyal to N, who reside in the house just above Driftveil Gym with Rood, Anthea and Concordia. Ashamed of their past deeds, they've vowed to make amends by taking in abandoned and abused Pokémon and finding kind and caring trainers for them. They openly welcome the player into joining their cause to help stop Ghetsis, and to help take care of the abandoned Pokémon. As such, Rood gives the player N's Zorua, deeming them a caring trainer. They also confront the new Team Plasma at the Giant Chasm and help hold them off so the player can enter the Plasma Frigate. The player can also find N's Pokémon in various locations after witnessing a Memory Link.

On Victory Road, Backpacker Mae mentions that she was a Team Plasma Grunt, and that she battled Hilbert/Hilda.

In the anime

Team Plasma Grunts in the anime

Before Team Plasma's proper appearance in the anime, Giovanni mentioned a secret organization operating in the Unova region and wanted to draw them out.

Team Plasma made their proper debut in Best Wishes Season 2 Episode N. N debuted in BW109 on January 17, 2013, followed by Colress, Ghetsis and the Grunts from Black 2 and White 2 in BW112. Anthea and Concordia also appeared in BW117, and the Seven Sages appeared in a flashback in BW118.

Behind the scenes

Team Plasma were initially set to debut in BW023 and BW024 in a confrontation with Team Rocket, but the episodes were postponed indefinitely due to the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. TV TOKYO has made plans to air the episode on a later date, but no news has been made since on when the episode will air, nor has it been discussed since.

With the events depicted in BW112, the episodes have been retconned out of their original place in continuity. It is unknown if they will ever air in any form.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Team Plasma was first seen in An Odd Speech, attempting to build a stage for Ghetsis's speech on the place Black and White were sleeping that night. The next day, Ghetsis gave a speech to the citizens of Accumula Town, urging them to liberate their Pokémon, which some of the listeners actually did. It was later revealed that Black's Tula used to belong to another Trainer until Team Plasma convinced the Trainer to release him, some time after which Black fought N. Some time after this, three grunts harassed Musha at the Dreamyard and were also behind the artifact robbery of the Nacrene Museum. In this round it is also revealed what Team Plasma is after in order to achieve their ultimate goal - a legendary Dragon-type Pokémon who would help their leader to unite the minds of the people in Unova as one and liberate Pokémon. They kidnapped Bianca's Litwick, together with several other Pokémon and held them in their stronghold in Castelia City, and attempted to save Victini on Liberty Garden. They were also seeking for Relic Castle and Volcarona. In Nimbasa City, N traps White in a ferris wheel car where he reveals himself to be king of Team Plasma.

In the TCG

Team Plasma started being featured in the Pokémon Trading Card Game during the Noble Victories expansion, in which the first member to be featured was N. However, Pokémon belonging to Team Plasma did not appear until the Plasma Storm expansion. Unlike previous Villainous Teams, Team Plasma's Pokémon are not indicated by name, but by a header and the card itself.

Team Plasma's Pokémon
Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.
Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Card Type English
Expansion
Rarity # Japanese
Expansion
Rarity #
Torterra Grass Plasma Storm Rare 003/135 Plasma Gale Uncommon 003/070
Amoonguss Grass Plasma Storm Uncommon 013/135 Plasma Gale Common 008/070
Moltres-EX Fire Plasma Storm Rare Holo ex 014/135 White Kyurem-EX Battle Strength Deck   001/018
Infernape Fire Plasma Storm Rare Holo 017/135 Plasma Gale Rare Holo 011/070
Articuno-EX Water Plasma Storm Rare Holo ex 025/135 Plasma Gale Rare Holo 016/070
Plasma Storm SuperRare Holo 132/135 Plasma Gale SuperRare Holo 072/070
Sharpedo Water Plasma Storm Rare 033/135 White Kyurem-EX Battle Strength Deck   004/018
Jellicent Water Plasma Storm Rare 039/135 Black Kyurem-EX Battle Strength Deck   003/018
Beartic Water Plasma Storm Rare 041/135 Plasma Gale Uncommon 022/070
Magnezone Lightning Plasma Storm Rare 046/135 Plasma Gale Rare Holo 025/070
Zapdos-EX Lightning Plasma Storm Rare Holo ex 048/135 Black Kyurem-EX Battle Strength Deck   007/018
Rotom Lightning Plasma Storm Uncommon 049/135 Plasma Gale Common 026/070
Crobat Psychic Plasma Storm Rare Holo 055/135 Plasma Gale Rare Holo 029/070
BW Black Star Promos   BW51 BW-P Promotional cards   181/BW-P
Weezing Psychic Plasma Storm Rare Holo 058/135 Plasma Gale Rare Holo 031/070
Giratina Psychic Plasma Storm Rare 062/135 Plasma Gale Rare Holo 035/070
      Team Plasma Battle Gift Set   002/016
Garbodor Psychic Plasma Storm Rare Holo 066/135 Team Plasma's Powered Half Deck   004/017
Garbodor Psychic Plasma Storm Rare 067/135 Plasma Gale Common 037/070
Beheeyem Psychic Plasma Storm Rare 070/135 Plasma Gale Common 039/070
Liepard Darkness Plasma Storm Rare 084/135 Plasma Gale Common 045/070
Scrafty Darkness Plasma Storm Rare 086/135 Plasma Gale Common 047/070
Skarmory Metal Plasma Storm Rare 087/135 BW-P Promotional cards   177/BW-P
Klinklang Metal Plasma Storm Rare Holo 090/135 Team Plasma's Powered Half Deck   008/017
Durant Metal Plasma Storm Uncommon 091/135 Team Plasma's Powered Half Deck   009/017
Durant Metal Plasma Storm Uncommon 092/135 Plasma Gale Common 048/070
Druddigon Dragon Plasma Storm Rare 094/135 Plasma Gale Common 050/070
Snorlax Colorless Plasma Storm Rare 101/135 Plasma Gale Uncommon 055/070
      BW-P Promotional cards   207/BW-P
Lugia-EX Colorless Plasma Storm Rare Holo ex 108/135 Plasma Gale Rare Holo 059/070
Plasma Storm SuperRare Holo 134/135 Plasma Gale SuperRare Holo 074/070
Watchog Colorless Plasma Storm Uncommon 112/135 Team Plasma's Powered Half Deck   011/017
Watchog Colorless Plasma Storm Rare 113/135 Plasma Gale Common 061/070
Bouffalant Colorless Plasma Storm Rare 114/135 BW-P Promotional cards   178/BW-P
Other related cards
Card Type English
Expansion
Rarity # Japanese
Expansion
Rarity #
N Su Noble Victories Uncommon 092/101 Red Collection Uncommon 066/066
Noble Victories SuperRare Holo 101/101 Red Collection SuperRare Holo 071/066
Dark Explorers Uncommon 096/108 Reshiram EX Battle Strength Deck   016/018
      Zekrom EX Battle Strength Deck   016/018
      Master Deck Build Box EX   041/046
      BW-P Promotional cards   180/BW-P
Colress Su Plasma Storm Uncommon 118/135 Plasma Gale Uncommon 064/070
Plasma Storm SuperRare Holo 135/135 Plasma Gale SuperRare Holo 075/070
      Team Plasma's Powered Half Deck   014/017
      Team Plasma Battle Gift Set   012/016
Colress Machine I Plasma Storm Uncommon 119/135 Plasma Gale Uncommon 062/070
      Team Plasma's Powered Half Deck   012/017
      Team Plasma Battle Gift Set   009/016
Hypnotoxic Laser I Plasma Storm Uncommon 123/135 Plasma Gale Uncommon 063/070
      Team Plasma's Powered Half Deck   013/017
      Team Plasma Battle Gift Set   010/016
      BW-P Promotional cards   175/BW-P
Plasma Frigate St Plasma Storm Uncommon 124/135 Plasma Gale Uncommon 066/070
      Team Plasma's Powered Half Deck   016/017
      Team Plasma Battle Gift Set   015/016
Team Plasma Grunt Su Plasma Storm Uncommon 125/135 Plasma Gale Uncommon 065/070
      Team Plasma's Powered Half Deck   015/017
      Team Plasma Battle Gift Set   014/016
      BW-P Promotional cards   176/BW-P
Plasma Energy Colorless E Plasma Storm Uncommon 127/135 Plasma Gale Uncommon 067/070
      Team Plasma's Powered Half Deck   017/017
      Black Kyurem-EX Battle Strength Deck   018/018
 


Trivia

  • Plasma is a state of matter in which the negative electrons and positive nuclei that usually form atoms become pulled apart and separated. This is analogous with Team Plasma's ideology, which states that people and Pokémon should be separated from one another.
  • Like Team Rocket and Team Galactic, Team Plasma's Japanese name is a pun: "plasma-dan" can also mean "plasma bullet."
  • Plasma can be interpreted as the culmination of both fire and lightning.
  • Team Plasma's original style resembles that of the medieval knights.
    • Their logo resembles a shield.
    • The lettering in their logo resembles the Chi Rho symbol.
      • The symbol on their shield is made up of the letters P and Z, possibly from the transliteration of the Japanese for "plasma", purazuma (プラズマ).
    • Ghetsis's clothing resembles the crenelation of a fortified position such as a castle.
    • Their base is a castle.
    • N is known as "king of Team Plasma" or "Lord N", as opposed to the simple "boss" used by other villainous teams.
  • P2 Laboratory's name is similiar to the Propaganda Due, known as P2 Lodge, a secret Masonic lodge in Italy that implicated in numerous Italian crimes and mysteries.
    • The Italian versions of the game have censored the "P2 Laboratory" by changing its name to "Laboratorio P&P" instead. The Spanish versions changed it to "Laboratorio P+P".
  • Team Plasma's style in Black 2 and White 2 resembles that of classical pirates.
    • There is a mark on the grunts' hats which appears to be a toned-down Jolly Roger.
    • Their base, the Plasma Frigate, is styled after a sailing ship complete with gangplank, posing as such in Castelia City and the Pokémon World Tournament.
    • The Ghetsis Cane is modeled after the helm of a ship.
    • Ghetsis is seen wearing a type of eyepatch, which in Black 2 and White 2 is darkened to resemble that seen by typical pirates.
    • They are now far more open about how malevolent their intentions are; knights are seen as honorable, while pirates are seen as thieving criminals.
  • In Black and White, Team Plasma is the only main series villainous team to not have any administrators challenge the player at various points throughout the game. In fact, Ghetsis and N are the only non-grunt members to even battle the player. This is no longer the case in Black 2 and White 2.

Names

Language Name Origin
Japanese プラズマ団 Plasma-dan From plasma.
English, French, German, Italian Team Plasma Same as the Japanese name.
Spanish Equipo Plasma Same as the Japanese name.
Korean 플라스마단 Plasma Dan Same as the Japanese name.



King: N (animeAdventuresMasters)
Seven Sages: Ghetsis (Masters) • GormBroniusRoodZinzolinGialloRyoku
Notable members: Shadow TriadAnthea and ConcordiaColress (Masters)
Lower members: Team Plasma GruntsTogari*Aldith*
Schwarz and Weiss*Barret*Whitley*Whitley's mother*
Buildings: N's CastleP2 LaboratoryPlasma Frigate


Villainous teams
Team RocketTeam MagmaTeam AquaTeam GalacticTeam PlasmaTeam Flare
Team SkullTeam Rainbow RocketTeam YellTeam Star
Team Great RocketTeam SnagemCipherPhobos BattalionGo-Rock SquadTeam Dim Sun
Team DebonairsPokémon PinchersDark LegionTeam GO RocketTeam BreakExplorers