Guzma/Anime/Character

Guzma has a great amount of determination, which was best showcased during the Manalo Conference, where he entered with the strong hopes of destroying it from within. Guzma uses dirty tactics in order to win, as seen during his battle against Ilima, where he had his position itself so that Kangaskhan's baby was always in the middle, endangering her well-being and causing the mother to hesitate often enough to be defeated. This was seen again during his battle against, when he had ruthlessly attack  without mercy.

Although his fighting style is questionable, he never breaks the rules. Despite his brutality, he is a careful fighter who observes his opponents and adapts his Pokémon's next moves accordingly, both by not falling for the same tricks twice and by trying to find a weakness he can exploit. All of this is done with cold and calculating precision, with him taking full advantage of any chance that comes.

Guzma completely defied the use of Z-Rings and Z-Crystals because, in his youth, he never learned to understand them properly and was bitter for always losing exercise battles against Kukui, despite the latter always commending his growth as a Trainer. After resolving to become strong in his own, Guzma built his reputation among Team Skull as "the Undefeated" by actually defeating only weak Trainers and retreating from battles against stronger Trainers with an excuse that he would have won anyways due to the damage his brutal tactics would do to his opponents' Pokémon. It was only during his battle against Ash in the Manalo Conference when Guzma was finally forced to admit his own cowardice and Golisopod, who had previously shared the same personality traits as him, now convinced him to let go of his fear of losing and keep battling until the end.