Saying Aloha to Alola #3: Native Species of Alola

Aloha kākou! We are back to another segment of Saying Aloha to Alola, a blog series containing my perspective of references made to Hawaiʻi for the upcoming Sun and Moon games as a player who grew up on Maui and attending college on Oʻahu. If you haven’t read my previous segment, “Tapu Koko and Friends”, you can find it here.

In today’s segment, I will be discussing about newly revealed Pokémon such as Bounsweet, Comfey, Jangmo-o, Pyukumuku, and Crabrawler.

The Queen of Fruit

Bounsweet has a pretty interesting design. A friend of mine once claimed this Pokémon looks like a lychee, but I didn’t think so at first. I took a look at Bounsweet’s information on Bulbapedia, and it states that this Pokémon’s design is based off a mangosteen.

Now, you’re wondering what on Earth a mangosteen is. Does it look like a mango? Does it taste like a mango? Is it even related to a mango?

The answer to all these questions is no. The mangosteen is best known for its luxurious taste, and it’s said to have a refreshing sweet and sour taste. I haven’t had the chance to try one for myself for a couple legitimate reasons. They are rare in Hawaiʻi, and because of that, only a few farmers on the Big Island are able to harvest this fruit. In addition to the mangosteen’s rarity, they can get expensive, and they also cannot be exported outside of Hawaiʻi. In Chinatown, mangosteens can sell for roughly $20 per pound. I honestly haven’t seen fruit so expensive, but with how delicious it tastes, it should be well worth its price. If you’d like to learn a little more about the mangosteen, you can read The Queen of Fruit, an article published in Honolulu Magazine. Speaking of queens, its final evolved form, Tsareena, is depicted as a Pokémon with the nature of a high-class nobility, and one of its abilities is known as Queenly Majesty, which both are references to this nickname of the mangosteen.

A Symbol of the Alola Spirit

It’s obvious that Comfey’s design is based off a lei, which is a major symbol of Hawaiʻi; however, a lei isn’t only constructed by flowers. It’s typically constructed by things such as leaves, seeds, shells, nuts, feathers, and even the teeth and bones of certain animals. When a lei is given to someone, it symbolizes the aloha spirit in several ways. This would include things like love, honor, and even as a way to greet someone, especially if that someone is new to the islands. In fact, it’s very common to give leis to students at graduation ceremonies in Hawaiʻi. I remember when I graduated high school, we’d walk over to a special area where you receive leis from your friends and family, and I got so much that I almost suffocated in them. It was such a fun time, and it’s exciting to know that I’ll be experiencing this for a second time after I finish college. If you’d like to know more about the tradition of the lei, you can read it here.

Me suffocating in a bunch of leis at my high school graduation. I can’t believe it’s been over three years…

Deez Dragons Like Scrap

English translation: These dragons want to fight.

What really stood out to me when looking at Jangmo-o’s evolution line is the suffix of their names, “mo-o”. I thought the way it’s spelled is so weird because many Hawaiian words incorporate the ʻokina, otherwise known as the reverse apostrophe-like character that produces a glottal stop in words. I soon realized that maybe Game Freak’s programs may not have been able to recognize the ʻokina as a character. Another reason could be that the ʻokina is so unusual that it’d be difficult for someone to find this character if the Hawaiian keyboard isn’t available. If they were able to use this character, Jangmo-o’s name would have originally been spelled as “Jangmoʻo”, but nonetheless, their pronunciations should be the same.

“Moʻo” means gecko in Hawaiian, in reference to the common house geckos in the homes of Hawaiʻi and many other places around the world. However, Jangmo-o and its evolution line are dragon types because moʻo can also mean dragon. There isn’t a true Hawaiian word for dragon, and as a result, moʻo is the closest in terms of meanings, which makes this definition quite ambiguous.

Then, Jangmo-o evolves into Hakamo-o, which gains the fighting type. Before we get into more information about this Pokémon, let’s take a look at a part of its description from the official website:

“Hakamo-o dances before battle to show its strength, clanging its scales together to make them ring out. When this dance reaches climax, Hakamo-o bellows a fierce war cry to challenge its opponent.”

The prefix of its name, “haka”, is a traditional Māori dance typically performed by warriors in the olden times. During those times, the haka would be performed before battle to show intimidation to their opponents, ergo the fighting typing for Hakamo-o and Kommo-o. Nowadays, the haka is performed to welcome guests or to celebrate special occasions such as graduations, weddings, funerals, etc.

“Wat brah, like scrap?”

There are different types of haka, so if you’d like to learn more about them, as well as other information about the haka in general, you can find it all here. Below, there are videos of the All Blacks, a famous rugby team from Aotearoa (New Zealand), performing two different types of haka. The first is the most commonly known haka, “Ka Mate”, and the other is known as “Kapa o Pango”.

Ka Mate:

Kapa o Pango:

Nobody Wants This Thing…

“Due to their appearance and their lifestyle, Pyukumuku are considered unappealing to tourists. Part-time work chucking Pyukumuku back into the sea is available at tourist beaches. But no matter how far they’re thrown, Pyukumuku will always return to the same spot.

Once a Pyukumuku finds a place it likes, it won’t budge from it. If someone moves it away, back it comes to the same spot. If it runs out of food to eat in that spot, it’ll stay there—and starve. The people of Alola found this so pitiful that they developed a tradition of chucking Pyukumuku back into the food-rich sea whenever they come across any thin-bellied Pyukumuku.”

First off, I’m surprised Game Freak actually made a design based off a sea cucumber. It’s an oddly satisfying design because I know it looks like a sea cucumber; yet, it’s much rounder and shorter than the typical ones I usually see.

Pyukumuku’s ability is Innards Out, which will be able to deal one last bit of damage to its opponent, equal to the amount of HP it had left before it received the final blow after this Pokémon faints.

This hand shaped gut coming out of its body is a reference to the defense system of sea cucumbers within the order of Aspidochirotida. This defense mechanism of theirs is usually activated when the sea cucumber is stressed, and they expel enlargements of their respiratory tree, known as cuverian tubes (named after the French zoologist Georges Cuveris), out of their anus. With this defense mechanism, they have the ability to tangle potential predators, like how Pyukumuku can damage opposing Pokémon with its ability.

Now, you’re wondering why Pyukumuku’s insides come out of its mouth. First of all, its very likely that parents would not appreciate their children seeing things come out from the back end. Second, its name, “Pyukumuku”, is just a combination of “puke” and “mucus”. The funniest thing about its name is although it sounds Japanese and can easily be written in katakana as ピュクムク, its Japanese name is actually “Namakobushi” (ナマコブシ), a combination of “namako” (sea cucumber), and “kobushi” (fist).

As for the feature of throwing back Pyukumuku in the sea to make money, it relates to the harvesting of sea cucumbers in Hawaiʻi. In fact, in the summer of 2015, there was an emergency ban on the harvesting sea cucumbers, which are mainly prized for medicinal purposes, as sea cucumbers can be used to cure diseases like arthritis, joint pain, and even cancer. In the video below is a clip of throwing Pyukumuku back into the sea.

Dis Crab Goin’ Give You Lickins’

English translation: This crab will beat you up if you make it mad.

“Crabrawler’s favorite food is Berries. It punches the trunks of trees to give the branches a good shake and knock any ripe Berries to the ground so it can feast! Many Crabrawler may gather around a tree, but only the one that emerges victorious in battle against all the others receives the privilege of eating the ripe Berries.”

According to Bulbapedia, Crabrawler seems to be based off the coconut crab. My first thought was why Crabrawler doesn’t have water typing, even though it’s a crab. I did a bit of research, and found out that the coconut crab is a land crab that cannot swim, except when they are larvae.

Coconut crabs mainly feed on fruits, nuts, seeds, and the pith of fallen trees; however, they are actually omnivores. These crabs can also eat just about anything they can find. They prey on tortoise hatchlings, smaller crabs, and even go as far as eating the carcasses of dead animals, including people and other coconut crabs. Because of their wide options in their diet, they are actually illegal in Hawaiʻi because according to to Dr. Rob Toonen, Ph.D. professor of the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, “they’ll raid people’s trash cans, eat native birds, eat juvenile plants, and tear up the landscape if they’re here. They grab a hold of things, can rip them open, can bust open a coconut, and the idea of that crawling around in their backyard is not going to be very pleasant to most people in Hawaiʻi.” The last time a coconut crab was seen in Hawaiʻi was in December 2014, and it went all over the media in Hawaiʻi because it’s such a big deal something so dangerous would even show up here. You can read more about it here.

“Crabrawler uses its claws to protect its face and belly while getting in close to an opponent to throw punches. Its punches are powerful enough to split tree trunks!”

In addition to how threatening coconut crabs are, they have very powerful pincers. If you ever get pinched by one of these things, they might be capable of breaking your finger. In the video below, you can see a coconut crab easily crushing a pen:

Even though Crabrawler is supposedly based off a coconut crab, the most interesting thing about it is that they punch things rather than pinch things. The only crustacean I know that punches things is the smasher mantis shrimp. The mantis shrimp’s punch is as fast as a 22-caliber bullet, which is impossible for us to see. The punch is activated with a saddle-shaped part of the exoskeleton, which acts like a spring to store and release energy. These punches can easily break a crab’s shell, and they can also probably break your hand if you’re not careful. There are mantis shrimp in Hawaiʻi, but they aren’t smashers. In fact, they are zebra mantis shrimp, a variation of the spearers. The zebra mantis shrimp roam free in the water of the Ala Wai Canal, which has the dirtiest water in Honolulu. Surprisingly enough, all that muck in the water actually benefits the zebra mantis shrimp. I even think people are crazy for canoe paddling over there, and I heard from a friend that someone swam in the water and ended up getting sick.

In the video below, you can learn more about both spearers and smashers (WARNING: NSFW):

Bonus: Spooky Owls

To commemorate Halloween, I decided to circle back to Rowlet and its evolution line. First off, I did first think of the pueo in my first segment; however, the more I look at Rowlet and Dartrix, the more I’m convinced their designs are actually based off the invasive barn owls. Like the mongoose, the barn owl was mainly introduced to hunt for rats, but they preyed on native birds instead, which include seabirds, waterbirds, and forest birds.

Recently, a friend gave me information that very fascinating. The final evolution of Rowlet is Decidueye, which is Grass/Ghost, rather than Grass/Flying, and this is because Decidueye is based off the genus of true owls known as Grallistrix, or stilt-owls, and looking at Decidueye’s design, it has long stilt-like legs. These owls all lived on the Hawaiian Islands, but are now extinct, which is one thing that explains the ghost typing of Decidueye. Another explanation of the ghost typing is although stilt-owls can very well fly, they stalked sleeping birds on foot and raided seabird colonies at night. Currently, there is no photographic evidence of any of these owls whether it’d be a picture of a fossil or a drawing, as they have never been seen alive by scientists.

Another thing I noticed is Dartrix’s name. According to Bulbapedia, its suffix is derived from Strix, another genus of owls, which is referred to a type of owl believed to suck on the blood of infants. It could also have been derived from Grallistrix because by looking at Dartix’s design, it also has slightly long stilt-like legs. With this name derivation, it probably hinted the ghost typing of Decidueye, and it looks like Game Freak did a good job at making it hard to notice at first.

Closing

First and foremost, I sincerely apologize for such a long delay. So much has been going on in my life, and I’m really trying my best to keep it together. I really appreciate your patience for this third segment, and I really hope you enjoy this one like you enjoyed the other two. Sometime this week, I’ll get another segment up for you all, and to be fair, I’ll give a preview of what’s up next. In the next segment, I’ll discuss about Oricorio, the guardian deities, and their respective islands. I’ll also write about a few of the Alolan forms that stood out to me. Much mahalos for reading! Shoots, buggahs!

DISCLAIMER: This blog post contains only my personal perspective on the Sun and Moon news, so some of the information cannot yet be confirmed as fact, although I did research on these topics. I’ve tried my best to make it sound as accurate as I possibly can, and I continue to do research on such topics and update whenever I spot mistakes. Mahalo for understanding.

© 2016 Kasoman’s Sea of Thoughts
Published on 10/31/2016 at 12:15 PM HST

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Saying Aloha to Alola #2: Tapu Koko and Friends

Aloha kākou! We are back to another segment of Saying Aloha to Alola, a blog series containing my perspective of references made to Hawaiʻi for the upcoming Sun and Moon games as a player who grew up on Maui and attending college on Oʻahu. If you haven’t read my first segment, Aloha from Hawaiʻi, you can find it here!

In today’s segment of Saying Aloha to Alola, I will be discussing Tapu Koko for quite a lot, Pikipek’s similarity to an invasive bird in the islands, as well as my reaction to Bruxish, one of Pokémon introduced in the trailer released on July 1, 2016.

Tapu Koko

Classified as the Land Spirit Pokémon with the typing of Electric and Fairy, Tapu Koko is clearly an interesting one to talk about because there are so many things I think of after seeing this Pokémon.

First off, let’s try to dissect the meaning of its name. Here, we have both the English name and the Japanese name:

• ENG: Tapu Koko
• JPN: カプ・コケコ (Kapu Kokeko)

The first part of the Japanese name says “Kapu”, and I thought of the kapu system that ruled over the Hawaiian Islands before the 1800’s. Although it usually translates to “forbidden”, it can also mean “sacred” or “holy”, and I think all of these meanings might have been used for the naming. You might be thinking “Tapu” means nothing because the Japanese name has the reference to a Hawaiian word for that part. That would be false because the Hawaiian language is actually derived from several other languages of the Pacific Ocean. “Tapu” means the same thing as “kapu”, and “tapu” is part of the Tongan and Māori languages. As a result, “kapu” has been derived from “tapu”. With that being said, I’m actually not exactly sure where “tapu” first originated from between Tonga and New Zealand. “Tapu” is a widely used word in the Pacific Islands, and the word “taboo” has in fact, been derived from “tapu” after Captain Cook’s visit to Tonga. This piece I found online has expanded information on “tapu” if you’re interested in learning more about it.

Now, things get interesting with the second part of both names. I’ll start off with the English name, which the second part says “Koko”. According to Bulbapedia, “Koko” is likely to have been derived from “kokō”, which means the sound of chickens cackling in Hawaiian, or it could also have been derived from “koko”, which means blood in Hawaiian. I think both Hawaiian words are accurate for the naming. As for the Japanese name, which says “Kokeko”, the same source says it’s derived from コケコッコー (kokekokkō), the Japanese onomatopoeia for “cock-a-doodle-do”. All this sounds pretty weird right now, but look at its description from the official Sun and Moon website, then look at its design.

 “Tapu Koko can store up electricity by enclosing itself in the shells on its arms. And it also appears to enter this form during other, special times…”

It’s very interesting how Tapu Koko looks when it closes its shell because it looks like the head of a rooster.

Notice how its hands mimic the beak of a rooster, and with this angle, you can definitely see its resemblance to a rooster.

A rooster has feathers, and there is actually a god in Hawaiian mythology who wears feathers. His name is Kū, the god of war, and I mentioned that both “kokō” and “koko” are accurate for the naming of Tapu Koko because one of Kū’s main kinolau (or forms) is in fact, a rooster.

Tapu Koko is known to be the guardian deity of Melemele Island, which is shown on the map below:

Melemele Island appears to be the island based off Oʻahu, and it’s a funny thing to note because “melemele” means yellow in Hawaiian, and the color that represents Oʻahu is yellow. Tapu Koko’s shell is yellow, and its electric typing also makes sense because Oʻahu is the only urban island of Hawaiʻi. Its ability, Electric Surge, just adds on to that reference of the urban setting of the island.

Theorizing About the Other Guardian Deities

So, we know that Tapu Koko is Electic/Fairy, it looks like a rooster, it’s the guardian deity of Melemele Island, and its ability is Electric Surge, which automatically sets up an Electric Terrain as it enters the battle, but would we know anything about the other deities?

There are a total of three terrain moves in existence as of now, with Electric Terrain being one of them, and the other two being Misty Terrain and Grassy Terrain. With that being said, itʻs very likely that all four of the guardian deities will have the fairy typing, and there will also be a new terrain coming up in Sun and Moon. On an additional note, two of the remaining deities will very likely have abilities that set up Misty Terrain and Grassy Terrain.

There also four major islands in the Alola Region. In fact, there are also four major akua (tiki gods) in Hawaiian mythology: Kū, Lono, Kāne, and Kanaloa.

As for their naming, since we know that “tapu” means sacred, all of the other remaining deities would theoretically have “Tapu” as part of their name. It’s also very likely there will be representation of different animal kinolau (or forms) from the shells of the remaining deities.

Here is an outline of my theory, along with a few reasons as to why I came up with these:

Tapu Koko
Type:  
Ability: Electric Surge – Sets up Electric Terrain as it enters battle
Island: Melemele Island (Oʻahu)
Akua: Kū
Kinolau: Moa (Rooster)

• Oʻahu’s official color is yellow, and melemele means yellow.
• Oʻahu is the only urban island of Hawaiʻi.
• Kū is known to wear feathers, and the rooster is one of his main kinolau.

Tapu ???
Type:  
Ability: (Unnamed) – Sets up Grassy Terrain as it enters battle
Island: Kauaʻi
Akua: Lono
Kinolau: Puaʻa (Pig)

• The guardian deity of this island would be the one with Grassy Terrain because Kauaʻi is known as the Garden Isle.
• This Pokémon would be based off Lono because he is the god of agriculture.
• The pig is the only animal kinolau Lono would turn into.

Tapu ???
Type: 
Ability: (Unnamed) – Sets up Misty Terrain as it enters battle
Island: Maui
Akua: Kāne
Kinolau: Pueo (Owl)

• Kāne is the god of life, which is why I associated him with the pure fairy guardian.
• Maui’s official color is pink.
• The pueo is the only animal kinolau Kāne would turn into.

Tapu ???
Type:  
Ability: (Unnamed) – Sets up newly introduced terrain as it enters battle
Island: Big Island
Akua: Kanaloa
Kinolau: Mūheʻe (Squid) or Heʻe (Octopus)

• Kanaloa is the god of the sea, but he’s also depicted as the god of the underworld.
• I’m against having a water terrain because it would essentially make rain teams too powerful, so I used the depiction of Kanaloa representing evil to determine this guardian’s typing.
  • It is also said that Kanaloa is a companion of Kāne, so with this scenario, think of yin and yang.
• I’m fine with either the squid or the octopus, although I would prefer the squid since it smells worse. Both have tentacles, which are found on those creepy creatures from science fiction movies.
• With the new Dark/Fairy typing means there would theoretically be a dark terrain. I’m predicting the effects of the new terrain based on the effects of the other three:
  • Effects:
    • Reduces all Pokémon’s HP by 1/16 every turn (only those that touch the ground)
    • Halves the power of Psychic-type moves
  • Reasons:
    • There should be something to balance out Grassy Terrain’s effect of restoring HP.
    • Dragon doesn’t affect Fairy, and Psychic doesn’t affect Dark. In Misty Terrain, the power of Dragon-type moves are reduced by 50%, and it would make sense for this dark terrain to reduce the power of Psychic-type moves by 50%.
    • It shouldn’t boost Dark-type moves because Yveltal already does that with Dark Aura, like how Xerneas boosts Fairy-type moves with Fairy Aura, and Misty Terrain doesn’t boost Fairy-type moves.

Would these terrains have an effect in competitive play? Yes! They would basically define the metagame of the VGC 2017 season with a likely ruleset of Alola Dex only. Pairing up terrains with weather can be viable for the first time, and these terrains would help improve creativity in team building.

Is Pikipek Really That Bird?

I’ve seen many claims from other local people in Hawaiʻi saying Pikipek is based off this bird:

This bird right here is commonly seen in Hawaiʻi, and it’s known as the Red-Crested Cardinal. Although there is a slight bit of resemblance, I can confirm this claim as false.

Pikipek is classified as a woodpecker Pokémon, and there is a woodpecker that Pikipek happens to actually be based off of, called the Pileated Woodpecker.

The Region Fish?

Bruxish, a Pokémon that looks very much like a triggerfish. In fact, Hawaiʻi’s state fish happens to be a type of triggerfish, known as the humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa, or simply the reef triggerfish.

There was this show called Calabash Kids, and here’s a clip of them teaching how to pronounce humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa:

 

Then, we see its ability, Dazzling, which prevents priority moves from happening. Basically, it’s like an automatic Quick Guard, and it can potentially stop Pokémon with the ability of Prankster (i.e. Thundurus, Whimsicott, Liepard, etc.). For competitive play, this seems huge, but it really depends on how good Bruxish’s base stats are because Thundurus can still deal a lot of damage to it with a super-effective Thunderbolt.

Side Notes:

• I usually don’t refer to myself as a Hawaiian as well as others, unless they are of Hawaiian ancestry. There are native Hawaiians in Hawaiʻi, and I say “Hawaiʻi resident” or “local” so I don’t offend the Hawaiians in any way.
• There are unique symbols I’ve used, and I could only type them out by installing the Hawaiian keyboard.
  • The apostrophe looking symbol between the two I’s in Hawaiʻi is called an ʻokina, which is a letter that makes a glottal stop in between two vowels.
  • The slanted line above any vowel is called a kahakō, which makes vowels sound a bit longer than normal.

Closing

I hope you enjoyed reading about the Sun and Moon hype in the perspective of someone who grew up in Hawaiʻi. This is honestly something I haven’t seen from my friends, and I think this what we need to see in the community because of some inside jokes you might not know. I had a lot of fun researching information to come up with theories about the guardian deities, and if they appear incorrect in the end, that’s okay with me. Mahalo for reading, and we’ll find out what’s in the next segment of Saying Aloha to Alola! Shoots, buggahs!

DISCLAIMER: This blog post contains only my personal perspective on the Sun and Moon news, so some of the information cannot yet be confirmed as fact, although I did research on these topics. I’ve tried my best to make it sound as accurate as I possibly can, and I continue to do research on such topics and update whenever I spot mistakes. Mahalo for understanding.

© 2016 Kasoman’s Sea of Thoughts
Published on 7/7/2016 at 7:38 AM HST

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Saying Aloha to Alola #1: Aloha from Hawaiʻi

Aloha, everyone! This is the first segment of Saying Aloha to Alola, a blog series containing my perspective of references made to Hawaiʻi for the upcoming Sun and Moon games as a player who grew up on Maui and attending college on Oʻahu.

In today’s segment of Saying Aloha to Alola, I will be discussing about the naming of the region, the geography of the region, as well as the newfound diversity of people, including Professor Kukui and Hau. I will also be discussing about the meaning of the starter Pokémon.

Why is This Region’s Name “Alola”?

The first thing that would come to mind with the name Alola would be the most famous Hawaiian word, “aloha”. First things first, let’s dig into the meaning of aloha. Aloha is a common way to say hello or goodbye in Hawaiian, and it also means love, but there’s much more than just those meanings.

Aloha is by far the most complex word in the Hawaiian language when it comes to meanings. The literal meaning of aloha is the “presence of breath” or the “breath of life”. Growing up in Hawaiʻi, I learned aloha as a way of life since elementary school, and it could be that the literal meaning behind it may have a very deep connection to this lifestyle I grew up with.

Aloha is not just a greeting, and it doesn’t just mean love. Aloha is feeling of positivity and living in harmony. To me, aloha is a way to bring people together by showing we genuinely care for one another without ever expecting something in return. There is no right meaning of aloha, and the only wrong meaning of aloha would be when it’s interpreted in a negative connotation…or simply if it’s because that “meaning” somehow goes way off. There’s even a law in Hawaiʻi about the Aloha Spirit, and although you won’t get in trouble for breaking it, it’s a way to remind both residents and visitors to treat others the way they want to be treated. It’s more of a lesson actually, and you can read more about it, as well as other aspects of the word aloha here. It’s a very interesting thing to learn about, and I actually never knew about this law until after I graduated high school.

In regards to the new region in the upcoming games, the name of Alola was derived from the word aloha because Game Freak knows how much their fans love this franchise, and they also know how much positivity this game brings to many communities. Think of all the friends you have who love Pokémon, or even the ones you made simply because of Pokémon. Haven’t you ever thought of how cool that is? The name of Alola, in my opinion, is a very inviting name to think of, and it’s also a name that will become memorable as well like the other regions.

Geography of the Alola Region

The first island revealed easily made me think of Oʻahu, the most populated island of the state. I thought that was the whole region until the whole map was released. Then, things started to make sense after seeing this map.

As you can see here, this is a map of the Hawaiian Islands, and if you compare this map to the map of the Alola Region, you can see the islands are arranged in a similar fashion from right to left. In the Alola Region, the four major islands, along with Niʻhau are being represented in the game. There aren’t islands based on Molokaʻi, Lanaʻi, and Kahoʻolawe, and as someone who grew up on Maui, the reason why the three islands were not included would be because they are all a part of Maui County. In my opinion, it’d be redundant to include those three islands when all you need to do is make one island based on each respective county. Having all four islands would make the game much longer, and it would also be more difficult for the designers to come up with ideas since these three islands have low populations compared to Maui.

This picture I found online is a comparison between Hawaiʻi and the Alola Region (credits to whoever made it), and I think it’s funny and accurate. It’s okay if you don’t get it now. I will write about them in the future, and although I would love to go into more detail about each island, it would take too long to write about them here. I would like a bit more information on each individual island before writing about them, although I can already spot some interesting references to certain places in Hawaiʻi. I would honestly expect to write about each island individually in the future because there are many different references Game Freak makes in terms of locations alone.

Ethnic Diversity

I’m actually very glad there are more dark-skinned characters like Professor Kukui and Hau being included in Sun and Moon. At least Game Freak did their research, unlike a certain movie (*cough* Aloha), and this is what local residents like me appreciate. Hawaiʻi is very well-known to be a melting pot of ethnic diversity with not only native Hawaiians, Caucasians, Latinos, and African-Americans, but also Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Tongans, Samoans, Native Americans, and so much more! In fact, it’s actually rare for someone to be full Hawaiian, so people of Hawaiian ancestry usually have a mix of several different races. I’m also glad trainer customization is making a comeback because it just adds into the diversity Sun and Moon would have, and that’s what we need for a game based on Hawaiʻi. In future games, I hope this kind of ethnic diversity continues.

Professor Kukui

Professor Kukui is the Alola region’s dependable Pokémon professor. He lives near your home and looks out for you. He’s passionate about his research into Pokémon moves and has sometimes taken direct hits from Pokémon when there was something to be learned from it. Sporting a white lab coat slung casually over his bare torso, he shows off his own unique style.

Professor Kukui is the first professor who is dark-skinned and shirtless, and like other professors, he’s named after some form of plant life. For his case, he’s been named after the kukui nut, otherwise known as the candlenut, for his dependability. How is the kukui nut dependable? Well, the kukui nut got its name because it has a high oil content, which allows it to be used as a candle. Its shells, leaves, and flowers can be used to make beautiful leis for other people to wear, its trunk can be used to make canoes, and there are several other uses from this tree. Another thing to note is as the Hawaiians often had many levels to their speech and language, the kukui was often used as a symbol of knowledge and enlightenment. Because of all of these uses, the kukui nut has been declared as Hawaiʻi’s state tree, and it also represents Molokaʻi, which is known as the “Friendly Isle”.

His appearance is also what caught my eye. Along with his white lab coat, he seems to have a color scheme of green and black paired with it, and he’s also wearing a white cap with a rainbow on it. I immediately thought of the school I attend, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, which is a research institution, its school colors are green, black, and white, and their athletics teams are known as the “Rainbow Warriors” (or “Bows” for short). As a student of UH Mānoa, I think this reference is a very obvious one, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a place similar to UH Mānoa on the island that represents Oʻahu. I would also not be surprised if there are Yungoos and/or its evolved form(s) all over that place because I actually see mongooses everywhere on the UH Mānoa campus.

Referring to someone as “cousin” is actually a normal thing in the islands, although some of us would use “cuz” for short. It’s because Hawaiʻi has this vibe of treating someone as if they were family, and it’s very common for children to refer to their elders as “Aunty” or “Uncle”, even if they are not related. Even I still do that for family friends, and I’m 21 years old.

Hau

Hau is a Pokémon-loving young boy with a big appetite! He’s the same age as your character. When you move to the Alola region, he makes friends with you right away. He has a real weakness for malasada, a famous treat in the Alola region, and he is always in search of malasada shops. He is a big-hearted boy who really loves Pokémon.

Let me just say I love Hau as a character, even though the games haven’t been released yet. He dresses in a similar fashion of how a local boy in Hawaiʻi would dress, and he has such a cheerful attitude.

I’ve been doing a bit of research on the meaning of his name, and I was able to find answers. If you directly translate “hau” from Hawaiian to English, the result would be “ice”, and I thought it was odd since Hau isn’t close to being a cold person at all. I then found the Hawaiian word, “hauʻoli”, which translates to “happiness”. Because of this definition, I would figure Hau’s name has been derived from the word hauʻoli, which makes a lot of sense for his cheerful personality and big heart.

My favorite part about Hau is his dialect, which is actually a language I grew up with. I seriously got hyped up about it when I saw it on the E3 stream.

“Ho! Howzit, Sun?” = “Hey! How’s it going, Sun?”

This is Hawaiian Creole English, otherwise known as “Pidgin”, and this is one of three official languages of Hawaiʻi, with the other two being English and Hawaiian.

Chicken skin is another commonly used term in Hawaiʻi, which means goosebumps. What’s even more interesting is Hau’s catchphrase “Hoo-ee!” The term I think of is “chee hoo”, and people usually yell this out when they get excited for something. The way I see this catchphrase is a modified backwards version of “chee hoo”. In this link, there is a video containing a humorous way of incorporating “chee hoo” with Pokémon, and it actually went viral among many local people in Hawaiʻi.

Let’s not forget that Hau loves malasadas! If you don’t know what a malasada is, it is a Portuguese treat that is an egg-sized ball of yeast dough, deep fried in oil and coated in sugar. It’s sweet, soft, and fluffy, and I love the simplicity of malasadas. Hau’s always on the lookout for malasada shops, and there is actually a famous one in Hawaiʻi called Leonard’s Bakery.

Leonard’s is a small local bakery located in Honolulu, and it’s actually close to UH Mānoa. Leonard’s is my favorite place to go for malasadas, and it’s only about a 10 minute bus ride away from the campus. The funny thing is that I’m actually planning to pick up some maladadas there when Sun and Moon comes out.

Other than plain sugar, there are other flavors like chocolate, custard, and even unique Hawaiian tastes like haupia (coconut), lilikoi (passion fruit), and my favorite, li hing mui, which is the reddish colored one on the bottom left corner. Li hing mui is a red plum powder that is sweet, sour, and salty, which is very unique for the most part, so some people may like it, and some people may not like it. Li hing mui also comes in the form of actual plums, which are typically dried then topped off with the powder. Many local kids would put the powder on candy, shave ice, popcorn, and mochi crunch. Definitely try it whenever you have a trip to Hawaiʻi!

The Starter Pokémon

Like always, we get hyped up about the starter Pokémon, and this generation shows no slouch. The grass starter, Rowlet, which looks like an owl, the fire starter, Litten, looking like a cat, and Popplio, the one that looks like a seal. I like the designs of all three of them, and as for referencing Hawaiʻi, it somehow gets better.

Let’s start with Rowlet, the grass starter. The first thing that pops up in my mind upon seeing it would be the Pueo, a sub-species of the short eared owl that is endemic to Hawaiʻi.

The Pueo, in the Hawaiian culture, is considered to be sacred, being known as the Aumakua of Divine Guidance (Aumakua means “ancestral spirit”). According to a blog post I found, “an Aumakua was a deified ancestral guardian spirit, embodying the form of an animal to watch over their descendants. An Aumakua could manifest itself as a pueo (owl), shark, a sea turtle, an ʻio (hawk), or other animal. Aumakuas empower, guide, protect and inspire their descendants. Pueo is among the oldest of the Aumakua. She is often asked for advice in times of need. The Pueo is considered as the ‘Bringer of Good Luck’, protector and messenger.”

Sadly, because of pollution, disease, and competition among invasive species, the pueo’s population is decreasing, and it is considered an endangered species. In my opinion, the pueo is one of the most beautiful birds I’ve seen, and it would be very sad news if it ever goes extinct. There are other native birds facing similar problems as the pueo does, and believe me, these birds are beautiful, and they also make beautiful sounds.

Now, we move on to Litten, the fire starter. Before we go on to the reference to Hawaiʻi, I would just like to applaud Game Freak for their word play in naming this Pokémon. Lit and kitten does make an interesting play of words to form “Litten”. Anyway, the first thing that comes to mind for me would be the common feral cats, which are actually everywhere in the islands. The fact that Litten is also a fire type makes sense since the feral cats are contributors in the declining population of the native birds, and Rowlet is indeed, a grass type. The big irony of this is feral cats are very, very common; yet, starters are considered to be rare, so Litten really portrays the image of both endangered and invasive species in Hawaiʻi. Other than that, I really don’t have anything else to say about this starter.

Finally, there’s Popplio, the water starter. Research on this Pokémon has been the most fun for me, and I have nothing but good things to say about Popplio!

It’s no doubt that Popplio’s name is based on the Hawaiian monk seal, or ʻIlio-holo-i-ka-uaua (dog that runs in rough water). Part of Popplio’s name, “lio”, has been derived from the Hawaiian name of this adorable creature, which is pretty awesome to find!

Then, I got more information from this picture, which is Popplio “snorting out a balloon made out of water from its nose.” Baby seals are known as pups, and balloons can pop in the end, which means “Popp” is derived from both the words “pop” and “pup”. Thus, this is how Popplio got its name!

As far as the Hawaiian monk seal’s rarity goes, yes, it is also an endangered species, and it is also protected by law. It is illegal to capture, kill, harass, or even touch the seal. This would be classified as a Class C felony, and the penalty is up to five years in prison along with even a $50,000 fine, so don’t go near a Hawaiian monk seal if it ever lies down on a beach!

Bonus: Yungoos

I figured since Yungoos is what made me want to write this, I figured why not include Yungoos in the segment?

“Yungoos is not a Pokémon that is native to the Alola region. It was brought to the region to help deal with the explosive population of a certain other Pokémon, and now Yungoos are commonly seen around the Alola region.”

Well, there is a similar animal that is not native to Hawaiʻi. It was brought to help deal with the explosive population of certain animals, and now they are commonly seen around in Hawaiʻi. That’s right. I immediately thought of the infamous Small Asian Mongooses that roam around Hawaiʻi. I mean, don’t you see the resemblance?

In the 1800’s, there were sugar cane plantations in the islands, and the reason why the mongooses were introduced was because there were rats that were destroying the crops. However, there was one big problem: the mongooses are crepuscular, while the rats are nocturnal. As a result, the mongooses turned to preying on the native birds and their eggs, and crops continually got damaged, which became a catastrophic mistake for Hawaiʻi.

As far as its name, “goos” is obviously derived from “mongoose”, and “Yung” took a bit of searching on Google. It turns out that “Yung” is simply a variation of “Young” in Korean, and also an unusual baby name in other Asian cultures. Because of this, it’s very likely it will have at least one evolved form.

As for its design, I like how Yungoos is so grumpy looking, yet, it still looks kinda cute like how a mongoose does. It’s quite amusing to see.

Side Notes:

• I usually don’t refer to myself as a Hawaiian as well as others, unless they are of Hawaiian ancestry. There are native Hawaiians in Hawaiʻi, and I say “Hawaiʻi resident” or “local” so I don’t offend the Hawaiians in any way.
• There are unique symbols I’ve used, and I could only type them out by installing the Hawaiian keyboard.
  • The apostrophe looking symbol between the two I’s in Hawaiʻi is called an ʻokina, which is a letter that makes a glottal stop in between two vowels.
  • The slanted line above the first A in Mānoa is called a kahakō, which makes vowels sound a bit longer than normal.

Closing

I hope you enjoyed reading about the Sun and Moon hype in the perspective of someone who grew up in Hawaiʻi. This is honestly something I haven’t seen from my friends, and I think this what we need to see in the community because of some inside jokes you might not know. Like the meaning of aloha, Pokémon is about bringing us together, and having newer ideas for content makes it easier for us. Mahalo for reading, and we’ll find out what’s in the next segment of Saying Aloha to Alola! Shoots, buggahs!

DISCLAIMER: This blog post contains only my personal perspective on the Sun and Moon news, so some of the information cannot yet be confirmed as fact, although I did research on these topics. I’ve tried my best to make it sound as accurate as I possibly can, and I continue to do research on such topics and update whenever I spot mistakes. Mahalo for understanding.

© 2016 Kasoman’s Sea of Thoughts
Published on 6/17/2016 at 7:37 AM HST
Last updated on 6/18/2016 at 3:33 PM HST

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.