Walking over to the door, I almost stumbled over Meowth. Hopping over to the door, I was seconds too late. Kukui let himself in and left me with a feeling of shame inside. It was short-lived, however, as soon as he mentioned that we were off to get my first Pokémon. It's a really exciting feeling when you realize that you're about to meet your partner for life. Gladly, I walked outside and followed Kukui up a steep ridge and around the corner as another trainer breathlessly ran up to him to ask for advice. I thought to myself that the Prof. seemed more important than he let on, seeing how modest he was most of the time. They finished their conversation with a greeting I hadn't seen used before, but I didn't think too much about it at the time. As Kukui was telling me I couldn't walk into the tall grass without a Pokémon, all I could think about was what my new Pokémon would be like. I hoped it would be friendly, otherwise it would be hard to get along with. We walked past a few trainers battling, one of which told me that we should do the same sometime.
Finally we arrived in Iki Town to meet the Kahuna. As I admired the wooden stage in the centre of the village, Kukui explained about Alola a bit more. He said that there were four islands in the region: Melemele, Akala, Ula'ula, and Poni. Each island had a guardian deity Pokémon, Melemele's being Tapu Koko. Each of the deities were protectors of the islands, keeping the people safe and happy.
Confused, Kukui looked around, stating that "everybody" was supposed so meet us there. I took this to mean the Kahuna, which made me utterly disappointed at the thought of having to wait even longer for a starter. Kukui muttered to himself that they might have been on Mahalo Trail, considering that that was where the ruins of Tapu Koko were. It was a logical theory, so the professor asked me to go find the island kahuna. With nothing but the information that he "looks like a kahuna", I marched off onto Mahalo Trail with determination.
