The characters
Throughout Alola, Ash has met friends and foes alike. Use the menu to be sent to a specific character or keep scrolling to read them all.
Please note that this is not an extensive list of characters which appear in Alola. Only prominent characters have been featured in this list. The full list of characters can be found on the wiki.
The list will also not feature any cameos from past regions, only characters new to Ash's journey.
Professor Kukui and Professor Burnet
Professor Kukui is the professor of the Alola region and specialises in Pokemon attacks. He is a teacher at the Pokemon school on Melemele Island. He also has an alter-ego named "The Masked Royal". Kukui allows Ash to stay in his house with him while in the Alola region.
Professor Burnet specialises in Pokemon relationships and other dimentions. She also became Kukui's wife midway through the series. From there, she moved in with Kukui and became a motherly figure for Ash, giving him helpful advice when he needs it.
Once Ash completed his journey around Alola and returned to Kanto, he entrusted his Alolan Pokemon with the Professors. It was also found that Burnet had got pregnant.
Lana
Lana is one of Professor Kukui's students and a friend of Ash. She specialises in water type Pokemon, and enjoys water activities. She first meets Ash while fishing, and again when he enrolled in the school. When the Ultra Guardians were formed, she accepted the request to join.
After the events of the Alola league, Lana would continue studying at the Pokemon school, while spending the holidays to search for her missing father.
Kiawe
Kiawe is one of Professor Kukui's students and a friend of Ash. He specialises in fire type Pokemon. Out of everyone in the class, he is the most skilled trainer with the ability to use Z-Moves since the start of the series. Kiawe accepted to join the Ultra Guardians when invited.
After the Alola league, Kiawe would spend his holidays training under the guidance of Olivia so that he could complete his Island Challenge and one day become the Island Kahuna.
Lillie, Lusamine, and Gladion
Lillie is another of Professor Kukui's students. At first, she was afraid to touch Pokemon due to a traumatic event. However, overtime she learnt to be able to touch them once more thanks to Ash and his friends. Lillie was also a part of the Ultra Guardians when they were formed.
Lusamine is Lillie's mother, and the President of the Aether Foundation. The Aether Foundation aims to shelter Pokemon and keep them safe from any threats. After an event which fused an Ultra Beast and Lusamine together, she set up a task force called the Ultra Guardians to help return the Ultra Beasts to their dimention.
Gladion is Lusamine's son and Lillie's older brother. He was first distant from the rest of his family due to the trauma that Lillie went through when they were infants. However, as Lillie overcame her trauma, Gladion eventually rebuilt his bond with his family. Gladion is also Ash's main rival throughout Alola, testing his ability to use Z-Moves. During the Alola league, Ash battled Gladion for the rights to first place, where Ash came out on top.
After the Alola league, it was found that Lillie, Lusamine and Gladion had discovered the location of their missing father. They left Alola in an attempt to reunite with him.
Sophocles
Sophocles is another one of Professor Kukui's students and a friend of Ash. He specialises in electric type Pokemon and has a rivalry with Horacio. Thanks to his technical mind, he has created a number of helpful inventions. He is also a member of the Ultra Guardians.
At the end of the Alola league, Sophocles and his cousin, Molayne, went to the Hoenn region to visit the space centre there as a vacation.
Mallow
Mallow is a student of Professor Kukui's classes and a friend of Ash. She specialises in grass type Pokemon, and her excellence in cooking. Her older brother, Ulu, is on his own journey to find delicious recipies for their father's restaurant. When asked to join the Ultra Guardians, Mallow accepted the offer.
At the conclusion of the Alola league, Mallow and her brother continued working at her father's restaurant to make it a place for both people and Pokemon to enjoy.
Hau
Hau debuted midway through the series after returning to Alola from a long trip with his father. He encounters Ash when one of his attacks accidently hit him. From there, the two became good rivals. Hau aims to complete his Island Challenge to improve his battle style.
Ash battled against Hau in the Alola league and lost, coming in the Top 8. However, he didn't let his loss keep him down as he continued his Island Challenge after the end of the Alola league.
Team Skull
Team Skull are less of a villainous team and more a gang of hooligans who steal other's Pokemon to cause chaos and to support themselves. Most of their members are made up of those who failed the Island Challenge. Throughout the series, they can be seen harrassing various characters, only to be chased away by Ash and his friends.
The leader of Team Skull is Guzma, an old friend of Kukui's who had rejected the need for Z-Moves.
When Ash defeated Guzma during the Alola league, he considered his reputation to be tarnished and was on the cusp of disbanding Team Skull. However, his admins and grunts were so fired up from watching him battle, that they wanted Guzma to teach them how to battle like that. After the league, Team Skull can be seen training up with Guzma.
