Elio: Alola's Hero Who Traded Gyms for the Island Challenge

Eleven years old, a fresh move, and not a single Gym on the horizon. Elio is the male protagonist of Pokémon Sun and Moon, and later of their Ultra versions. Freshly arrived from Kanto with his mother, he discovers an archipelago where a Trainer's journey no longer runs through eight badges but through the Island Challenge. He's the hero of a generation that took the series' formula apart to offer a new one.

Contents

• An Avatar With No Set Name, Yet a Name Drawn From the Sun
• The Island Challenge in Place of the Gym Circuit
• What an Alola Player Adds to Their Team
• What the Ultra Versions Change in His Story
• Beyond the Main Games: Mobile, Manga and a Single Animated Appearance
• Elio at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

An Avatar With No Set Name, Yet a Name Drawn From the Sun

Elio is the male avatar of Pokémon Sun and Moon and their Ultra versions. Choosing him simply erases Selene from the story: the two protagonists never coexist, as one fills the spot the other leaves empty. Like every playable hero since the sixth generation, he starts the game with no predefined name.

His default look pairs black hair with dark gray eyes. The first release gives him a black cap trimmed in light blue to match his backpack, a blue-and-white striped shirt, and brown and red capri pants; the Ultra versions overhaul his wardrobe from top to bottom, with a red bucket hat, a shorter haircut, a blue tank top and loose white striped shorts. Still, almost everything can be adjusted to the player's taste, skin tone and hairstyle included: only the backpack and the bracelet on his left wrist escape customization.

His name, for its part, circulated before it became official. It first appeared in promotional material for Sun and Moon, then became canon when the character joined the mobile game Pokémon Masters. In every language, the name points to the sun, and the European version derives from Helios, the Greek god of the sun.

Other labels were attached to him along the way. The Sun and Moon Special Demo Version called him Sun, the official website for the Ultra versions briefly displayed Ray, and unused internal data in the 3DS games still holds a Kai — Hawaiian for "ocean." Among players, it's the nickname "Sun" that ended up sticking.

The Island Challenge in Place of the Gym Circuit

An aspiring Trainer who has just settled in the islands, Elio is old enough to take on the Island Challenge. Professor Kukui sends him to Hala, the kahuna of Melemele Island, who gives him a special bracelet, the Z-Ring: it's what unlocks Z-Moves, the region's signature battle mechanic.

Before he even owns a Pokémon, he throws himself into a scuffle. On Mahalo Trail, he comes across Lillie, whose Cosmog, which she calls Nebby, is surrounded by Spearow in the middle of a bridge. The bridge gives way beneath his feet, and it's the guardian deity Tapu Koko who gets them both out of trouble.

From there, the journey weaves together three fronts. Elio has to stand up to Team Skull, get to the bottom of what's going on at the Aether Foundation and help set up the Alola Pokémon League, which the region didn't have yet. The badge disappears, but the Trainer's progression remains: it's redistributed between island trials and the storyline.

What an Alola Player Adds to Their Team

The start comes down to three species native to the islands: Rowlet, a Grass- and Flying-type, Litten for Fire, and Popplio for Water. This trio shapes the entire first half of the adventure, as in every main installment.

The rest of the archipelago hands out its rarities a little at a time. An Eevee Egg waits at Paniola Ranch, fossil Pokémon can be obtained in Konikoni City, and a Zygarde is rebuilt cell by cell, from fragments scattered across every corner of the islands. These are all side projects that open up during the Challenge.

The high point comes once the Island Challenge is complete. Elio catches Solgaleo at the Altar of the Sunne, or Lunala at the Altar of the Moone, depending on the version, and can go after Necrozma on Ten Carat Hill. The game's mascot isn't an end-of-journey trophy: you meet it at an altar, at the end of a ritual.

🌞 Celestial altar Pokémon and ritual legends: check out the legendaries.

What the Ultra Versions Change in His Story

The revisit doesn't just replay the same tune. Elio already has his starter Pokémon when he faces the Spearow on the bridge, a small detail that changes the tone of the opening scene. Further on, two brand-new threats join in: the Ultra Recon Squad, a team from Ultra Megalopolis, and Team Rainbow Rocket, risen from the ashes of Kanto's original gang.

The roster of creatures grows accordingly. Ultra Wormholes open the way to Ultra Beasts, and Ultra Megalopolis gives him a Poipole. These creatures from elsewhere aren't catches of convenience: they arrive along with the part of the story that explains them.

Necrozma goes from bonus to centerpiece this time around. Elio faces it in its ultimate form at the top of Megalo Tower, tries to catch it on Mount Lanakila, then fuses it with Solgaleo or Lunala — the version's Legendary, met this time as early as Mahalo Trail.

Beyond the Main Games: Mobile, Manga and a Single Animated Appearance

The mobile game Pokémon Masters added him in spring 2021 and offers him in several outfits. In his Sun and Moon clothes, he's paired by default with a Popplio that can evolve all the way to Primarina, with variants alongside Espeon and later Decidueye; his Ultra outfit shows him with a Stakataka, and his Neo Champion attire with a Shiny Dusk Mane Necrozma.

The manga gives him a double rather than a straight adaptation. His alter ego there is a courier from Cinnabar Island who takes on one lucrative job after another across Alola to raise the funds needed to build Poké Pelago. The silent hero becomes a character driven by a very concrete project.

On the animation side, the harvest fits in a single line. His only appearance in official animated media is the GOTCHA! music video, where he wears his Sun and Moon outfit; the anime's sixth series does dress Ash in a nearly identical outfit, but with reversed stripes, a red cap and a white shoe tongue.

Elio at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Elio in Pokémon?
  He's the playable male protagonist of Pokémon Sun and Moon, and later of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. An 11-year-old aspiring Trainer from Kanto, he moves to Alola with his mother and takes on the Island Challenge there.
• What's the difference between Elio and Selene?
  They're the two possible avatars for the same role: choosing Elio makes Selene disappear from the story, and vice versa. In the mobile game Pokémon Masters, they take part in the same side events, something no other pair of protagonists does.
• Why is Elio called that?
  Because the name of Alola's playable Trainer points to the sun in every language. The European version derives from Helios, the Greek god of the sun. He has also gone by Sun and Ray, and by Kai in unused internal data.
• Which Legendary Pokémon can Elio catch?
  Solgaleo at the Altar of the Sunne or Lunala at the Altar of the Moone, depending on the version, as well as Necrozma. In the Ultra versions, Necrozma is fought in its ultimate form before being fused with the version's Legendary.
• Does Elio appear in the anime?
  Only once, in the GOTCHA! music video, wearing his Sun and Moon outfit. To date, it's his only appearance in official animated media.

In short

Elio is as much a transitional hero as an Alolan one: his generation replaces eight Gyms with an Island Challenge, and badges with Z-Moves. Silent and customizable right down to his skin tone, he doesn't carry the stage through his personality but through what he's put through: an archipelago, a shady foundation, a rift into somewhere else. A player avatar who bears the name of the sun, and everything that comes with it.