I Was Almost An Alolan Sandwich~

[Stinging Bea]

I Was Almost An Alolan Sandwich

A Small Introduction​

Some people say that the wait is always the best part of the journey. I would like to start by going on the record of saying that such thought process is a heavy load of Tauros pie. The past 48 hours have been restless, anxiety-filled, and downright the slowest time of my life. I had hype for this upcoming adventure. In fact, I dare say that I had not felt such hype in a long time. In fact, I forced myself to stay up last night three hours after I normally go to bed just to activate this game upon midnight.

I actually bought it back on Tuesday and downloaded it from the E-Shop on my 3DS XL that very night. Ever since then, that little square sat on my 3DS home screen, taunting me. It's illustrious shine filling my head with visions of the grand adventure and new explorations I had been wanting and dreaming of in Pokémon for years. Don't get me wrong. All the other games had been an enjoyable experience. But just from the trailers alone, I could tell I was in for one amazing journey through the Alola Region. After what felt like months had passed... The time had come. Friday... 12:00 AM... Pokémon Sun was officially unlocked on my 3DS. I had to get up at 6:00 AM that very morning for work... But I'd be damned if I let this opportunity pass me by.

The Journey Begins: My First Day In Alola!​

The adventure began in the most mysterious of ways, almost as if this game is gonna try to tell an actual narrative along the way. This sends back a surge of Gen 5 nostalgia for me, which still holds the place in my heart as my favorite generation in the series. I named my trainer Talia and after giving our new, bronzed-god of a professor the information he needed, the journey officially began~

Much like in Kalos, I was a newcomer to this tropical paradise known as Alola. However, differences were quickly made. For starters, I actually knew what region we were supposed to hail from. Not only that, but we have a much more reasonably-sized Pokémon pet in Meowth. (I'm fairly certain that he's much cheaper to care for as well compared to Grace's Rhyhorn, you know what I mean?) After getting a much more delightful wake-up from Meowth as compared to a certain Fletchling's actions, I made my way into the living room to greet my mom. We didn't get to talk too long, before a knock of the door caught our attention...

Before I even got to ask who it was, he just came barging in the room. Tall... tan skin... smile on his face with a laid back attitude. Yep, it was none other than Professor Kukui~

Move over Sycamore. Someone's gunning for your spot. And he's coming in hot.​

I was surprised that he was here so quick to not only greet me, but offer me a Pokémon as well. Most people, when they greet a new neighbor, only offer up something like a basket of muffins or fruit if they bring a welcoming gift. But this guy clearly has some class, not that I'm complaining. Of course, it was not going to be a painless exchange of greetings and gifts. Mother insisted that I needed my hat before I left... and he insisted that I have it as well...

So, after fetching my bag and adorning a glove that makes me look like a certain penguin in a Wallace and Gromit film, Kukui and I were off to receive my first Pokémon. When it came to the starters, I was quite undecided. Initially, I was leaning towards Rowlett. However as more information became leaked, that decision was not one I was so sure of how to make. Eventually, the final evolutions are what helped make my decision. With determination steeped deep in my heart, I closed my eyes and picked the partner that would join me across my epic journey...

There was no way I could pass up this adorable little slice of pie~​

Yes, Popplio was my starter of choice. Once I saw the final evolution, I knew that we were destined to be the greatest team in all the land. After a most adorable cutscene, we made our bond official with giving my new friend a nickname and taking a look at her nature and the like. Amazingly, I got a female Popplio from the get-go. Being a female and a water-type, there was only one nickname that came to mind for this little buddy. I named her Nami~

After creaming my (assumed) rival in a battle, Nami and I returned home to rest up. Once more, Kukui came by. This time, he showed me how to catch wild Pokémon (As if I never knew how 20 years later...) and was kind enough to give out a couple of Potions... but most importantly, he gave out glorious Pokéballs! With his tutorial done, I was quick to bound into the grass and make my first catch...

Yet another adorable slice of pie on the team~​

Like Nami, Pikipeck was a female. I gave her the name of Kiwi, before finally saving and passing out for the night...

The Team So Far!​

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[Snorl.ax]

They r cute I love them!

 

[Stinging Bea]

I Was Almost An Alolan Sandwich

Day Two: A Trial In Retrospect​

My second day in the delightful region of Alola essentially consisted of covering the rest of the first island. No, seriously. All I did was mostly spend all day playing the game. (Even going as far as to push work off when I could... Being an adult sucks sometimes...) I have to admit, the official start to your exploration of the first island is a tad bit annoying at first. I really get what they're going for with it, trying to set up the game to be a proper RPG. I respect this. However, my one issue with the beginning deals with the forced visit to the trainer's school.

Apparently, battling your rival twice and roughly four to five trainer battles isn't enough to know how Pokémon battling works in the region of Alola. Instead, I was forced to go to the school, fight more trainers, and learn things that I... pretty much already knew. And pretty much everyone knows at this point. Still in retrospect, I suppose that the trainer's school visit wasn't the worst. It did give me a chance to catch a very valuable new member of the team...

I dunno if I'm the only one to think so, but this guy is absolutely fabulous.​

Now for those here who know me, I'm sure they totally get the fact that coming with various nicknames for Pokémon is not exactly my strong suit. Still, I thought I was pretty clever when I called my new Meowth by the name of Ash. I mean... he is dark colored... kinda grayish-purple... and is a Dark type...

With my new Meowth in tow and the school conquered, it was time to finally start exploring the school proper. The first major city in the game, Hau'oli City, gave me a taste of what I assume is to come for a majority of the game, compliments of my two new friends of the region: Hau and Lillie.

These two guys are lovable in their own way. One a bit more than the other.​

Whenever you see these guys in a town or on a route, you usually should be prepared to stop. They're going to be giving you your next task or step along the way of your Island Challenge, or be introducing you to a new game feature or give you an item. In terms of personality, I find them both to be pretty okay. That said, I'm a bit more keen on Lillie as opposed to Hau. Don't get me wrong, Hau is a pretty nice kid. But outside of that... he really doesn't have much going for him. He's pretty excitable, but he seems to have no drive in being the best trainer he can. He's almost like a Barry with no substance. Lillie on the other hand, is a delight to interact with. You can tell that she's so new to almost everything she encounters along the way, and that there's some deep stuff or secret just waiting to pop out. She's kinda cute to just watch, especially when she's dealing with her little buddy, Nebby.

While exploring the town, I also got my first peek at Team Skull. I'm a just say it right now. These guys are the best. From their animations to how they talk, everything is just amazing about them. They even make appearances in spots you really would not expect them to. The best part about these guys have to deal with the fact of how they constantly throw their arms around when they talk. As of writing this, I can't actually put these guys as my favorite evil team ever, but they're definitely in the top three.

Are these guys taking new recruits? I'd love the chance to join them!​

The first trial was pretty basic, but I really didn't expect anything too much from the game's first one. After taking down some wild Pokémon, you fight the Totem Pokémon and get the Z-Stone of the type that the Pokémon you encounter represent. In short, they really are just gyms and gym leaders. Perhaps they'll be a bit more of a difference to these later on?

Real talk, this guys is a total trap. I spent the longest time after meeting Ilima wondering if the Captain was actually a male or female. After completing Ilima's trial, I'm really still not sold on Rotom's claim to calling them a hunk.​

After receiving the Normal Z-Stone, it was time to head back and fight the Kahuna of the island. Of course, this was saddled with exploring the rest of Route 2 and 3 while heading back. None of the Pokémon I encountered really interested me enough to try and catch and train, so most of it was just a huge grind session for my current team. I suppose the good thing that came out of it was getting Popplio to evolve into Brionne and Pikipeck to evolve into Trumbeak. So, I can't really complain there.

After battling the Kahuna of the first island and receiving a Fighting Z-Stone, I received probably the best upgrade to the game yet: Riding Tauros. You can travel so much faster when riding on this guy and the fact that he can use abilities to help you reach new areas that were previously not accessible was the best. It really did not feel like a chore to revisit every area of the first island to do this brief item hunt run... In fact, the Tauros even opens up an entirely new area that I couldn't access before in the form of Ten Carat Hill. It was at this hill that I would finally catch my fourth team member, too.

Yes, I'm sure everyone will have one at some point, but he's just... another adorable slice of pie.​

Most of the rest of my time on the island was spent boosting the affection of my current team and leveling up my new Rockruff, who was dubbed with the name of Scout, to be of use. I wanna touch briefly on this feature as I feel that like everything else that came from X and Y, it's become much... MUCH better. When your team takes damage in battle, usually on account of a physical move, you get the chance to do some caring after battle. This includes cute little features like drying them off if they got wet or brushing the tangles out of their fur and feathers. One neat feature is getting to apply medicine to heal their negative status afflictions. This not only makes it easier to boost their affection, but also allows you to not have to go threw items as fast, as applying medicine when caring for your Pokémon doesn't consume your items! This is probably my favorite feature of the entire game.

With the first island complete, I look so forward to seeing what else the game has to offer!

The Team So Far!​

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