As Professor Kukui asked me to, I went to the Pokémon School today to show the kids the Pokémon Egg and what a Mega Evolution looks like. In return I got taught a lot about Z-Moves I didn’t know before!
As you know, I’m an early riser. The jet lag didn’t hit quite too hard and I am back in my normal sleep rhythm. So I got to the school ground earlier than I was supposed to be there. But behold, Professor Kukui was also just approaching and greeted me with a friendly “Alola!”
He thought I might turn up early again. And he was correct.
Professor Kukui brought me inside and introduced me to the principal. The visual resemblance to Professor Oak is uncanny. But the behaviour totally different. I’m just.. the jokes… I’ll leave it there.
As befitting the warm climate of the Alolan region, the school rooms don’t even have walls all around them, but are open towards the sea, or forest. Wild Pokémon come and go as well as personal Pokémon are allowed to roam around whenever they please. That was not possible back at home. It’s a beautiful school and I could see how prod Professor Kukui was about the work they did here. And they sure can be.
After that brief tour it was time to head to the class I’d visit today. All the kids of this class had never seen a Pokémon Egg before. They were first years or around their first year. This school doesn’t take it too strict with age and year. If the kids are willing to learn and around the same age, they will be grouped and stay in that group until they “decide” to graduate and move on.
The kids had a ton of questions for me about the egg, my home and the world in general. And they also wanted to see my Pokémon obviously.
Torny and Lucario didn’t seem too fond about all the kids poking and petting them, but endured it admirably (I’m saying this out loud as I’m writing it and I can see them blush… and the rest of the team giggle… I love my team so much ^^). Luxray and Greninja were favourites among the boys and Zorua among the girls. Only Gengar was left alone a bit as the kids didn’t seem too fond of ghosts. But I had an idea to change that later.
Then I was allowed to take part as a student myself. They were currently discussing Z-Moves. To help me catch up, each kid had to quickly summarise what they had learned so far and thanks to them (and some small corrections from Professor Kukui), I now have a better understanding how these Z-Moves and Z-Powers work.
To sum it up for my personal understanding:
- Z-Power is generated mainly by the trainer. But it can only be forged if the bond between the trainer and the Pokémon is strong enough.
- The trainer and the Pokémon will have to simultaneously use the Z-Move specific Z-Pose in order to generate the Z-Power and transfer it from the trainer to the Pokémon.
- The trainer also needs both a Z-Ring (or the newer Z-Power-Ring) and a Z-Crystal corresponding with the Z-Move type, not the Pokémon type!
- There are 18 Z-Crystals that each correspond with one of the types. Professor Kukui even showed a box containing all of them, albeit just replicas. But they looked impressive none the less.
- There are however also an unknown number of species-specific Z-Crystals. They will allow a special Z-Move that only that species or even individual Pokémon can perform. For example the Eevium-Z that allows Evvee to use the Z-Move Extreme Evoboost.
- Most of these species-specific Z-Crystals have different shapes and can only be used by a Z-Power-Ring. That’s why nowadays, only these Z-Power-Rings are being forged by the Kahuna.
- Already mentioned, Z-Rings are made by the four Kahuna out of a special metal commonly known as “Sparkling Stone” or sometimes also referred to as “Z-Ring Ore”.
- It’s “usually” the Kahuna that decide if a trainer is fit to receive one of these Z-Rings. Usually, because it also happened that the Tapu-Pokémon would interfere and grand a ring to trainers they seemed worthy of holding one. That’s what at least Professor Kukui said. Even the kids seemed to have not yet heard about this and were astonished, wishing they could encounter a Tapu-Pokémon themselves one day!
The lessons went on about the Tapu-Pokémon, the Z-Poses, which Z-Move each of the kids would love to one day be able to use and so on until it was lunchtime.
Same as back home, the kids eat in the classroom amongst themselves and their Pokémon. I was guided to the teachers office where we took our lunch together. The other teachers also had a ton of questions for me and were looking forward to the afternoon presentation… Apparently Professor Kukui couldn’t hold back and informed everyone that I’d be there that afternoon. Not that I mind and actually it makes me smile how close that whole school is as a community. Well, to be clear, the whole island is. Or rather the whole Alolan region?
In the afternoon then, my time to shine or rather Gengar’s! I knew they wanted to see Lucario’s mega evolution but I felt bad that Gengar got so little love back in the classroom and wanted her to steal the stage for now.
I was supposed to hold a mock battle against one of the strongest students Kiawe but he couldn’t make it that day I’ve been told. He’s currently on his own island challenge and was about to have a grand trial. I still only know a little about these trials and am looking forward to when I’ll take them myself.
So instead I did face off against Professor Kukui again. This time he used another one of his own Pokémon, a Lucario! I did tell him during the lunch break I’d use Gengar and he told me that he specifically brought his Lucario along to show them the differences between normal and mega. But he was okay with me switching. That would make the fight more interesting. And we could maybe see the differences after the battle.
The fight then was quite the show. Professor Kukui didn’t hold back and we exchanged blow after blow. Again I won’t go into all the details, Rotom will do that later~ Thanks buddy!
A bit sooner than expected we were pushed to use our mega evolution. I let Professor Kukui know after the battle that he’s really an amazing trainer.
Lucario and Professor Kukui seemed to be ready at that point too and were now using their Z-Move: Gigavolt Havoc!
At first I was a bit surprised to see an electric move but then remembered, it’s not the Pokémon type that’s important but the move itself. His Lucario seemed to know Thunder Punch and therefore was also able to use that electric type Z-Move.
The Z-Move flashed brightly and everyone was sure my Gengar would take serious damage by this huge attack. Yet she didn’t. With Gengar in her mega evolution state, she could absorb any attack and send it to another dimension, including this Z-Move.
Gengar loves to put on a show and covered the whole area with a black ground before sucking the attack right through it, almost like a black hole. Before Lucario or Professor Kukui even knew what was happening, we finished the fight off with a Dazzling Gleam, turning the black ground into a brightly shining one and then back to normal when we released the mega evolution.
Finally Gengar got the attention she deserved all day long (again, saying this out loud and now I have to pet her next to me. Yes, I am writing this too you silly girl).
After the battle I gave a little lesson about the mega evolution to those that were willing to listen (almost the whole school was still present) and now finally showed the kids what the mega evolution of Lucario looked like. Luckily Professor Kukui’s Lucario wasn’t too badly hurt after the battle and could stand beside my much taller Lucario. I knew before that it was tall but never thought it to be that much taller. And his mega evolution stage also adds a few cm to the already impressive height. Or maybe the Alolan Lucarios are smaller?
Professor Kukui thanked me again and told me, he will put in a good word for me the next time he met the Kahuna.
It’s him I’ll seek out these coming days to start my own island challenge.