Alola from Pokémon. It was the biggest change-up in the series formula before the recent Pokémon Legends Arceus game, It had no traditional Pokémon League challenge and it took place on an island like the controversial Gen III games. Despite this, it managed to become one of the most unique and interesting regions in the series.
Alola's mythology and traditions were much different than the rest of the Pokémon world. It had an involved narrative involving complex characters. And unlike the previous 3DS generation, it got sequel games to expand on its themes and give it plenty of secrets and features.
No Hometown
Hometowns in Pokémon are usually quaint little hamlets. These towns are out in the countryside and meadows. Alola doesn’t really have a quaint meadow, though. Instead, the player’s house is one Route 1.
Routes are traditionally the home of wild and strong Pokémon, whether in Alola or not. If people live on them, they’re usually fairly eccentric, which to be fair, the player character is in Alola. In fact, Route 1 is home to a variety of buildings, like the Trainer School.
Smallest Amount of Settlements
There’s likely a reason why Alola has to put important landmarks in Routes. Simply put, there’s not very much space on the Hawaii-inspired Alola. Even when counting cities and towns together, there are only ten settlements on the four main islands.
This is the smallest number of cities and towns in the series. Famously, Alola doesn’t even have a Pokémon League before the events of the story. But the islands are anything but bare. The smallest scope helps the inhabitants of each island stand out, from the unnamed NPCs to the mighty Kahunas.
Alala, Alola
The Pokémon franchise has released a lot of songs with Alola in the title. There are two different language anime openings with the title. As the region’s name is a portmanteau of the Hawaiian words for love and hello, it’s a welcoming lyric. But there’s an obscure Japanese-only song less known than the anime openings.
Alala, Alola is a bizarre song made for a Japanese-only website. The lyrics contain the repetition of “lala” at the end of “Alala.” But it's worth noting that Alala doesn’t mean anything in the context of Alola; it’s just a nonsensical song meant to serve a fake tourism website; one of the oddest things Pokémon has done.
Hau’oli Cemetery and Memorial Hill
Pokémon games are usually bright and cheery, but they usually include at least one foray into the macabre. The burial grounds are a recurring location type throughout the series, serving as a pet cemetery for Pokémon. Alola pulls double duty as the first generation to contain two such sites.
Hau’oli Cemetery is found on Melemele Island relatively early in the game. It has graves for humans and Pokémon alike, and at night players can find a Machamp with survivor’s guilt. Memorial Hill is a human-focused graveyard, that served as a burial site for old Alolan royalty on the island of Akala, but Ghost Pokémon can still be found roaming the graves.
Generation VI Connections
Pokémon X and Y never received a continuation. While some speculate that Pokémon Z was in development and then canceled, the only way for those concepts to return was to piggyback on the next generation. Sina and Dexio, two characters from Kalos, arguably had more screen time in Alola. In addition, the generation’s signature new gameplay of Mega Evolution also came with it.
While some found it conflicted with Alola’s own gimmick of Z-Moves, it was better than abandoning the concept. And in Alola, the Kalos legendary that would've hypothetically headlined Pokémon Z, Zygarde, made a comeback, receiving two additional forms. These are added without fanfare, meaning that players who didn’t play Gen VI aren’t likely to realize they’re holdovers.
Akala Island Smash Bros Connection
Although Smash Bros..
A recurring stage in Smash ever since Melee has been Pokémon Stadium. This stage transforms between specialty type battlefields of Water, Fire, Grass, and Rock. Akala has four trials on it, and they are also those types. While this could be a coincidence, Pokémon has the most characters out of any franchise in Smash, so it could be seen as a tribute.
Poni Island has no Routes
Given Route 1 serves the place of a hometown, one would expect Routes to be very prevalent all over Alola. And while they’re essential on three of the islands, the fourth has no official Routes. While it does contain roads and pathways, there are no numbered Routes on Poni Island. This makes it feel wilder than its contemporaries.
Despite having a port for the player to land on, Poni lacks a lot of things. It doesn’t even have a trial for the player to challenge initially. Instead, the player is sent to investigate its cliff faces, which have not been properly charted. One can only pray to the island’s guardian Tapu Fini that Routes get added soon.
Hau’oli City and Ultra Ruins
Pokemon Sun and Moon introduced an extra dimension called the Ultra Space where terrifying Pokémon called Ultra Beasts could be found. It was introduced in the originals but was expanded upon in re-releases. One new location was the Ultra Ruins, a deserted city ruled over by Guzzlord. Players will soon realize that this abandoned city is clearly Hau’oli City from earlier in the game.
Hau’oli City was Alola’s biggest metropolis. Its chippy and cheery demeanor welcomed players to Gen VII with fanfare, so it’s crushing to see it in this state. It definitely appears to be an alternate universe Hau’oli, as the technology is not one-to-one with the original. A man in a Guzzlord costume is the only inhabitant, and he speaks of the destruction and abandonment of this dimension.
Only Kanto Pokémon Have Alolan Forms
Regional forms made their grand debut in Generation VII. It’s a wonderful feature that mixes nostalgia with real-world biology. Pokémon, much like real animals, vary in appearance and ability based on their environment. It was such a beloved feature that Regional forms appeared in Galar and Hisui.
But despite innovating the concept, Alola’s take was more limited. In Alola, all of the regional variants were based on Pokémon from Kanto. Given Alola also featured returning characters from Kanto, it was a two-front nostalgia assault.
Most Scientists, Professors, and Researchers
Professors and scientists have always been part of Pokémon, but Alola took it a step further. While technically Galar has two Professors, Alola’s Kukui has far more compatriots to count on. In addition to himself, there’s the two assistants from Kalos. Also returning from another game is Professor Burnet, who is actually Kukui’s wife.
The game also features the science-aligned Aether Foundation, which has plenty of researchers on-site. While these characters are antagonistic, they’re all qualified scientists, as former member Mohn will attest to. The final researcher is a surprise, as it’s the cousin of Professor Oak, Samson, who looks like a tanned version of his relative.
