The Elite Four (Japanese: 四天王 Four Heavenly Kings) are four Pokémon Trainers who are regarded as the toughest in their regional Pokémon League, just short of the Pokémon League Champion. Those who challenge the Elite Four must have won all eight Badges from that region (or, for Trainers in Alola, must have completed all of their island challenge trials). To become Champion, Trainers must face all four and the current Champion consecutively without losing to any of them.
One group resides at the Indigo Plateau in Kanto and are considered the best Trainers in both Kanto and Johto. Another group is located in Ever Grande City in Hoenn, while another is located on Mount Lanakila in Alola. Three more groups reside at the Pokémon Leagues in Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos.
One group resides at the Indigo Plateau in Kanto and are considered the best Trainers in both Kanto and Johto. Another group is located in Ever Grande City in Hoenn, while another is located on Mount Lanakila in Alola. Three more groups reside at the Pokémon Leagues in Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos.
An island kahuna (Japanese: しまキング Island King or しまクイーン Island Queen) is a person who presides over a certain island challenge in the Alola region. Island kahunas serve as the final obstacle in that particular island's trial and battle a Trainer in a Grand Trial. There is one kahuna for each of the four main islands of Alola, with each one chosen by that island's guardian deity. In addition to presiding over an island, they are also in charge of tending to their guardian's ruins when necessary and selecting new Trial Captains for their island. Prior to the establishment of the Alolan Pokémon League, a Trainer attempting their island challenge who had finished all of their trials and grand trials was to scale Mount Lanakila and battle all four kahunas in a row in order to become an island challenge champion.
According to Acerola, a person chosen to be an island kahuna cannot refuse the position; in this case, she was referring to Nanu. A kahuna's reign lasts until they die, as was the case with Hapu's grandfather and predecessor, or are forcibly ejected from their position by their respective guardian deity, as was with the case with a former unspecified kahuna who established the gang that Team Skull drew inspiration from. The time in between an island kahuna's exit from their position and the naming of a new one is not always immediate — following the death of Hapu's grandfather, Poni Island was left without a kahuna for several years.
It is unknown how the lack of a kahuna affects the island challenge, specifically the assignment of Trial Captains and the final trial. In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Poni Island's sole Trial Captain, Mina, says that a kahuna from one of the other islands has to substitute for an island without one in order to allow that island's grand trials to be conducted — a role Nanu had to play prior to Hapu's crowning. However, Mina does not mention who selected her to be a Trial Captain.
According to Acerola, a person chosen to be an island kahuna cannot refuse the position; in this case, she was referring to Nanu. A kahuna's reign lasts until they die, as was the case with Hapu's grandfather and predecessor, or are forcibly ejected from their position by their respective guardian deity, as was with the case with a former unspecified kahuna who established the gang that Team Skull drew inspiration from. The time in between an island kahuna's exit from their position and the naming of a new one is not always immediate — following the death of Hapu's grandfather, Poni Island was left without a kahuna for several years.
It is unknown how the lack of a kahuna affects the island challenge, specifically the assignment of Trial Captains and the final trial. In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Poni Island's sole Trial Captain, Mina, says that a kahuna from one of the other islands has to substitute for an island without one in order to allow that island's grand trials to be conducted — a role Nanu had to play prior to Hapu's crowning. However, Mina does not mention who selected her to be a Trial Captain.
A Gym Leader (Japanese: ジムリーダー Gym Leader) is the highest-ranking member of a Pokémon Gym. The main job of a Gym Leader is to test Trainers and their Pokémon so that they are strong and resourceful enough to take the Pokémon League challenge. If a Trainer defeats a Gym Leader in battle, then the Trainer earns that Gym's Badge.
Gym Leaders are also responsible for overseeing how their respective Gym is run and maintain it. Great care must be taken to make sure that their Gym reflects the best environment for the type they specialize in, such as swimming pools in a Water-type Gym or trees and flowering plants in a Grass-type Gym. According to Morty, teaching young people how to battle with Pokémon can also be the job of a Gym Leader. Unlike regular Pokémon Trainers, a Gym Leader has the right to directly challenge the Pokémon League Champion, as revealed by Brock in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.
It has not exactly been made clear how Gym Leaders attain their position, but it appears that it varies for each Gym. Some of them founded their Gym and are self-appointed; others, such as Whitney, are chosen by the other members of the region's Pokémon League. A few appear to be passed on through families: Janine, Falkner, and Flannery all take over their respective Gyms from a close family member. However, Gyms do not necessarily belong to a particular family; Roark and his father Byron are both Gym Leaders at the same time, in different Gyms. Leaders can also choose to vacate their position; examples include Koga, Giovanni, and Wallace.
Nearly all Leaders rely on a single type of Pokémon. For example, Erika uses only Grass-type Pokémon in official Gym battles. Some Leaders, however, stray from this mold, albeit rarely. This is evidenced by the different types used by Blue during his reign as the Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym in Generations II, IV, and VII, although he is the only Gym Leader to do so. However, many Gym Leaders have one or two Pokémon that stray from their type theme.
Geography and climate can often be connected to the type of Pokémon the Gym Leader of that area uses. Pastoria Gym Leader, Crasher Wake, uses Water-type Pokémon, a direct allusion to the flooded marsh that surrounds the area and the constant downpour that plagues Pastoria City. Another example of this is the Cinnabar Gym Leader, Blaine, who uses Fire-type Pokémon and lives in a volcanic area.
The character archetype can also reflect the type of Pokémon a Leader uses. For example, Roark and Byron, who are both miners, use the related Rock- and Steel-type Pokémon. Tate and Liza could be based on the archetype of twins who can communicate telepathically, and thus train Psychic-type Pokémon and being twins, they also battle opposing Trainers in Double Battles.
In addition to Gym Leaders, there are also Gym Trainers. They are Trainers that are either a devotee or apprentice to the Gym Leader, who follow the same type theme as the Leader does. It is usually necessary to defeat multiple Gym Trainers before challenging the Gym Leader. Some Gyms in the game require the player to solve a puzzle, and one must often use Gym Trainers as obstacles to reach the solution. They have no direct impact on the overall plot, other than rarely offering the player helpful advice. It is also worth noting that the type of Trainer appearing in a Gym will depend on the Gym itself. For instance, Gardenia employs Aroma Ladies and Beauties, exclusively, while Misty recruits Sailors and Swimmers; these Gym Leaders represent the types Grass and Water, respectively. However, starting in Generation VIII, they only have the Trainer class "Gym Trainer", as well as a special introduction featuring their Badge.
Gym Leaders are also responsible for overseeing how their respective Gym is run and maintain it. Great care must be taken to make sure that their Gym reflects the best environment for the type they specialize in, such as swimming pools in a Water-type Gym or trees and flowering plants in a Grass-type Gym. According to Morty, teaching young people how to battle with Pokémon can also be the job of a Gym Leader. Unlike regular Pokémon Trainers, a Gym Leader has the right to directly challenge the Pokémon League Champion, as revealed by Brock in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.
It has not exactly been made clear how Gym Leaders attain their position, but it appears that it varies for each Gym. Some of them founded their Gym and are self-appointed; others, such as Whitney, are chosen by the other members of the region's Pokémon League. A few appear to be passed on through families: Janine, Falkner, and Flannery all take over their respective Gyms from a close family member. However, Gyms do not necessarily belong to a particular family; Roark and his father Byron are both Gym Leaders at the same time, in different Gyms. Leaders can also choose to vacate their position; examples include Koga, Giovanni, and Wallace.
Nearly all Leaders rely on a single type of Pokémon. For example, Erika uses only Grass-type Pokémon in official Gym battles. Some Leaders, however, stray from this mold, albeit rarely. This is evidenced by the different types used by Blue during his reign as the Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym in Generations II, IV, and VII, although he is the only Gym Leader to do so. However, many Gym Leaders have one or two Pokémon that stray from their type theme.
Geography and climate can often be connected to the type of Pokémon the Gym Leader of that area uses. Pastoria Gym Leader, Crasher Wake, uses Water-type Pokémon, a direct allusion to the flooded marsh that surrounds the area and the constant downpour that plagues Pastoria City. Another example of this is the Cinnabar Gym Leader, Blaine, who uses Fire-type Pokémon and lives in a volcanic area.
The character archetype can also reflect the type of Pokémon a Leader uses. For example, Roark and Byron, who are both miners, use the related Rock- and Steel-type Pokémon. Tate and Liza could be based on the archetype of twins who can communicate telepathically, and thus train Psychic-type Pokémon and being twins, they also battle opposing Trainers in Double Battles.
In addition to Gym Leaders, there are also Gym Trainers. They are Trainers that are either a devotee or apprentice to the Gym Leader, who follow the same type theme as the Leader does. It is usually necessary to defeat multiple Gym Trainers before challenging the Gym Leader. Some Gyms in the game require the player to solve a puzzle, and one must often use Gym Trainers as obstacles to reach the solution. They have no direct impact on the overall plot, other than rarely offering the player helpful advice. It is also worth noting that the type of Trainer appearing in a Gym will depend on the Gym itself. For instance, Gardenia employs Aroma Ladies and Beauties, exclusively, while Misty recruits Sailors and Swimmers; these Gym Leaders represent the types Grass and Water, respectively. However, starting in Generation VIII, they only have the Trainer class "Gym Trainer", as well as a special introduction featuring their Badge.
A Trial Captain (Japanese: キャプテン Captain) is a person who designs and presides over a certain island challenge trial and gives guidance to participating Trainers. All of the Trial Captains have previously completed their own island challenge a few years prior. They retire from their position when they turn 20. Like Gym Leaders, they specialize in certain types of Pokémon. They can be identified by the flower-shaped adornment they wear someplace on their bodies, each with a different colored jewel to represent their specialized type. In Pokémon Sun and Moon, there are seven Trial Captains who each preside over a trial in the island challenge, although as shown by the Vast Poni Canyon trial, a trial can exist in a functional form without a Captain to preside over it.
Normally, Captains are chosen by the island's Kahuna. However, in special circumstances, they may be chosen by the previous Captain, as was the case when Molayne chose Sophocles to succeed him after retiring.
All Trial Captains keep their Pokémon in Ultra Balls, with the exception of Lana, who uses Net Balls instead.
Normally, Captains are chosen by the island's Kahuna. However, in special circumstances, they may be chosen by the previous Captain, as was the case when Molayne chose Sophocles to succeed him after retiring.
All Trial Captains keep their Pokémon in Ultra Balls, with the exception of Lana, who uses Net Balls instead.
IMPORTANT NOTES
Pokemon: Legend of the Seven Islands will not be following these descriptions accurately for the "Island Kahuna" (Island Captain) and Trial Captain. There will be a total of seven Island Captains, one for each of the main islands and fourteen Trial Captains, two for each of the main islands. Any other questions can be brought directly to me via PM on Gaia or DM on Discord.