Welcome to the Islands

Dear Serena,

I made it to the Alola region! It's beautiful out here--I really wish you could join me, Misty, and Brock in this piece of paradise.

The flight went well--Mom and Dad saw me off (with a lot of hugs and tears), and not only did Misty and Brock meet me there, I also met two of the people they've met--Hikina and Mahina, two of the professor's good friends. Hikina knows just about everything about this area, so he was happy to give me a crash course in the Alolan language (everything is bilingual there--even Misty and Brock have picked some of it up)

Mahina is the artistic one--she's never without her ukulele, and isn't too shabby a puppeteer either. She played me a welcome song as soon as I got off the plane, which Tintri liked. (Brock told me later it was called "Alola, How Do You Do?")

We traveled to the professor's house, where the local professor, Prof. Kukui, met me. He's very laid back, so it's not unheard of to see him in a lab coat and swim trunks.

Next in the parade of guests was Lillie, one of the professor's assistants. She may be a little shy, but she'll open up once you get to know her. She is a bit of a bookworm, so she'll have a book on her at all times. Brock's learned a lot of interesting stories from her collection of Alolan folktale books.

I was tired from the flight, so after I commandeered a hammock for a much deserved nap, we had lunch (your typical Alolan plate lunch--some kind of meat, noodles, and rice. The meat can be nearly anything, but so long as you've got a meat, some noodles and rice, you've got the basic recipe)

After lunch, we all went to visit Prof. Oak's cousin Samson--he gave me a Z Crystal to set in my Mega Ring--if I use my Heart Song to invoke it, Tintri can use a very powerful move called Gigavolt Havoc--which we proceeded to practice on a beach overlooking the house. It wore Tintri out after a few tries, but I'm sure he'll get better with it as we travel.

Next, I went to sign up for the Island Challenge--instead of Gyms and badges here, you compete in trials--that may or may not involve battling, depending on the trial captain's mood. While we were there, I read up on some of the trial captains:

--Mallow, a captain who specializes in Grass types. She is said to enjoy cooking almost as much as Brock.

--Lana is the Water type captain. I have a feeling she and Misty will get along very well when we finally meet her

--Kiawe, a local dancer who is also a Fire type captain. He is never without Kame, his Turtonator. He promised to show me a traditional Alolan fire dance in return for my taking his trial.

Then there's Sophocles--the Electric type tinker that reminds me of Clemont a little bit. He can be a little shy, people have told me.

But the Cheri Berry on top for my first day of vacation? I actually got to see one of the guardians of Alola, an Electric type bird-like Pokemon named Tapu Koko.

He appeared to me in the middle of the night, which surprised both me and Tintri, and proceeded to supercharge the Z Crystal in my Mega Ring.

When I told everyone about it this morning, Mahina was the most surprised--Tapu Koko apparently doesn't appear to just anyone--he is a playful Pokemon by nature, so to have him appear to you is something very special indeed. Hikina added that getting to battle him is equally special.

Even the Pokedex here is something special--the design resembles a Rotom, so it's called a Rotom Pokedex. It's not often seen outside of Alola, or even within Alola itself, so it'll likely be my most valuable souvenir.

So today we went exploring and Tapu Koko appeared to me again--and this time, he wanted to battle me! And battle we did, complete with Tintri finally pulling off Gigavolt Havoc. He was still tired from using it afterwards, but just seeing Tintri use it was enough to please Tapu Koko.

Our battle was all Mahina could talk about, even after Tapu Koko had fled, and so she decided to write a song about it (which I can hear her working out the melody on her ukulele). Maybe Brock will add a guitar part to it, and it expand into an epic ballad about my time here.

If you're ever lucky enough to come out here, here are some basic Native Alolan words to know:

--Alola can mean the region itself, a greeting, a farewell, or refer to love, affection, kindness and goodness

--Mahalo--this means "thank you". Even though it is labeled on most trash cans, mahalo does not mean “trash”! (Mahina had to gently correct me on this)

--Kokua--this means "help or support" so often times for charity events and telethons, you'll hear them say "Mahalo for your kokua". (you'll often hear people slip Native Alolan words into an English sentence--which may sound strange when you hear it at first, but it's great motivation to learn the language!)

--Mauka and Makai--instead of saying "north and "south", you use these words. "Mauka" is "towards the mountains" (eg. north), and "Makai" is "towards the sea" (eg. south). No word on what the words for "east" and "west" are, although I'm sure there are words for them too.

--Poke--No, I didn't forget to write "mon", poke is actually a kind of food! It's deliciously yummy cubes of raw seafood (typically Magikarp) mixed with sauces and onions. If you get it over white rice, it's called a Poke bowl--not to be confused with a Poke Ball!

--Pono--this is another catch-all word. It is most often defined as righteousness, but can also mean proper, moral, or fair.

--Haole--Traditionally means a foreigner, but mostly refers to Alolan residents not originally from the region now. It has been used in a not-so-nice way, but most people mean well when they use it.

Howzit?--an informal greeting. Hikina uses this a lot.

Honu--the Native Alolan name for Wartortle

Ohana--you probably know this one from "Lilo and Stitch"--"Ohana means family, and no one gets left behind."

ʻOno--this means "delicious", so if someone says a place has "'ono grinds", they mean "delicious food".

Malasada--a kind of doughnut-like pastry popular in Alola. One of Hikina and Mahina's friends, Hau, runs a malasada shop with his family--and they really are 'ono!

Da kine--used to name something you don't remember the name of, or don't know the name of--something like "whatchamacallit" "thingy", or "doowatchie"

Kamaʻāina--used to refer to a long-term resident of Alola, regardless of origin. (true native Alolans have their own word, but I can't remember it.)

Lanai--a balcony or patio--lots of Alolan houses have them, and they come in every shape and size.

Wahine and Kane--Kane is "men" and wahine is "women"--you'll usually see them on public bathroom doors. (luckily, almost everything here is bilingual, so I didn't accidentally walk into the wahine bathroom!)

Auntie and Uncle--what kids are taught to call their elders, regardless of their actual connection. Brock's been called "Uncle Brock" a few times already by the local kids, and I'm sure I'll probably get called "Uncle Ash" a few times while I'm here.

Well, it's getting late, so I'd better get to bed--got another adventure tomorrow!

Your friend,
Ash