Pokémon Sun and Moon - Iki Town, Ruins of Conflict, Melemele Kahuna and your first Pokémon
A complete walkthrough for your first steps in Alola.
Forgoing the traditional Pokémon beginning - oh, and there will be lots of traditions forgone in Sun and Moon just to warn you - there is no 'starter town', with the player instead starting in a charming house sandwiched between Melemele Island's main hub Hau'oli City, the traditional Iki Town, and Professor Kukui's lab.
The first place you'll be heading is Iki Town, to find the Melemele Island Kukui and get your first Pokémon to start the Island Challenge!
Opening Scenes - Beginning your adventure
Your quest begins with a video call from Professor Kukui, with you still fresh off the plane from Kanto, as he welcomes you to the region. Things seem pretty chirpy where you are, but meanwhile, a young girl with a rare Pokémon is in trouble...
Three months later, you're now at your home with your Mum, woken up by your pet Meowth in the traditional starting bedroom you've grown so accustomed to, where a globe points out just how far away Alola is from your old home of Kanto. Kukui soon arrives, and points out he took on your old region's Indigo League once upon a time, and it sounds like he struggled...
But anyway! Now that you're eleven, and in need of some help getting acclimatised to your new home, what better time is it to start your very own Island Challenge? You're off to meet the island's Kahuna, over in nearby Iki Town, to get your first Pokémon!
Iki Town - Following Kukui and meeting the Kahuna
At this point, there's nowhere to go but follow Kukui up the path, and through the essentiall empty Route 1. You'll come back here later to explore properly, so for now just follow Kukui and drink in his advice. Note that ledge to the left though - eventually you'll be able to circle back here from somewhere else.
After showing you a glimpse of a couple Pokémon trainers doing their thing in the nearby long grass, Kukui takes you into Iki town, home to Melemele Island's Kahuna. This is where people of Melemele Island come to worship the Pokémon that watches over their island, called Tapu Koko.
But nobody's here? Maybe they're at Mahalo Trail, which is up by the ruins of Tapu Koko... head up there to go find the Kahuna. As you leave though, you see a girl, with something in her bag. Looks like the girl who was in trouble in that cinematic earlier!
Ruins of Conflict, Kahuna Hala, and your first Pokémon
On the way to the Ruins, the girl appears again, this time attempting to cross a rickety bridge up ahead. Her Pokémon is set upon by a flock of Spearow and, when you head over to protect it, the Pokémon lets out a panicked burst of energy that sends you tumbling towards the water below.
| Item | Where to find | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sparkling Stone | Found on the ground by Nebby, after helping at the bridge. | |
| Pokédex | From Kukui after choosing starter |
Fortunately for you and the mysterious Pokémon, the island guardian Tapu Koko has sensed you're in need of help and comes to your rescue. Back on firm ground, the mysterious Pokémon, nicknamed Nebby, spots something on the ground, and the girl, ignoring your request for her name, hands it over to you - a Sparkling Stone.
Back in town, it turns out this girl wasn't the Kahuna, but is instead Kukui's assistant, Lillie. The Kahuna does at last turn up, too - his name's Hala, and seeing as Tapu Koko seemed to like you, he lets you choose your first Pokémon, too!
This choice is a big one. The starter you choose and it's various benefits and flaws can pretty significantly affect your progress, partocularly the balance of your team, and so we've put together a comprehensive guide on the starter Pokémon Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio to help you through the ins and outs of just that.
Now, it's time to head back to your Mum to show off - but a trainer rocks up! His name's Hau, a fellow yungster starting his Island Challenge, too. You can choose whether to battle right away, but there's no reason why not to - take him on!
| Trainers | Pokémon | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Hau | Popplio (if you chose Rowlet) Rowlet (if you chose Litten) Litten (if you chose Popplio) | Lvl. 5 |
Need more tips? Use our Pokémon Sun and Moon Walkthrough and guide for the main story, our competitive training guide for info on IVs, EV training, Hyper Training and bottle cap farming, and breeding explained, our choice of the best Pokémon Sun and Moon starter from Rowlet, Litten and Popplio, as well as an in-progress list of where to find Zygarde Cells and Cores and our guide to the Battle Tree and both Battling and Trading in the Festival Plaza. We also have a list of QR codes list, Z Crystal locations, Mega Stone locations, Eevium Z Eevee User locations for Extreme Evoboost, evolutions for Alolan Forms and other new Sun and Moon Pokémon and fast way to increase a Pokémon's Happiness, plus how to transfer across Ash-Greninja from the Sun and Moon Demo, where to catch the Tapu Guardians, how to catch the Ultra Beasts, and how to download the Munchlax Mystery Gift.
After defeating Hau - easy enough, as you'll have a super-effive move to use - your Sparkling Stone starts to shine, and the Kahuna Hala asks to borrow it for the day. Come back tomorrow to the festival and he'll give it back. For now, it's time to head home and see Mum, before you get to explore Route 1 and more.