‘Pokémon Sun And Moon’: Meet Grass/Fairy, Psychic/Fairy And Water/Fairy Alola Guardians Ahead Of Nintendo 3DS Games' Release

Tapu Koko has long been revealed to be the guardian deity of Melemele Island. Since there are four natural islands in the Alola region, it is not surprising for The Pokémon Company to officially introduce the other guardians of the other three islands. Last Thursday, a new trailer for “Pokémon Sun and Moon” was released, and it introduced three new Land Spirit Pokémon that serve as Alola guardians. Get to know more about them ahead of the Nintendo 3DS-exclusive games’ release.

Tapu Bulu

Tapu Bulu is a Land Spirit Pokémon that guards the Ula’ula Island. It is a Grass/Fairy-type that stands tall at 6 feet and 03 inches. As a Land Spirit, it has the power to control the growth of vegetation. It is described as a placid creature that is seldom active. The locals of the Ula’ula even think that it is a docile guardian, and there are also those that claim this Spirit Pokémon is simply lazy.

Tapu Bulu is one that is not fond of engaging in battles. In fact, it seems to prevent the occurrence of one by letting everyone know of its presence. It creates a loud ringing noise using its tail to inform everyone that it is present. When it does engage in battles, it is unforgiving and ruthless to its opponents, especially the evildoers. Word has it that it swung trees like giant clubs when thieves broke into its ruins.

As a guardian of the Alola region, Tapu Bulu is indeed a powerful creature. It has wooden horns that can change shape and size. In its official description on the “Pokémon Sun and Moon” website, its horns are said to come in handy during battles. In addition to its horns, it also has a powerful attack called Nature’s Madness, that involves the showcase of the nature’s rage. This attack halves Tapu Bulu’s target’s HP.

Unique to Tapu Bulu is the Ability called Grassy Surge. This Ability turns the ground into Grassy Terrain and in the process it also boosts the power of Grass-type moves of certain Pokémon and even restores their HP by a little. Grassy Surge is also known to reduce the damage due to Earthquake, Bulldoze and Magnitude moves by half.

Tapu Lele

Tapu Lele is the guardian deity of the Akala Island. It is also a Land Spirit Pokémon. It is Psychic/Fairy when it comes to typing, and it is significantly smaller than Tapu Bulu at 3 feet and 11 inches. Despite its small frame, it has a special place in the minds of the locals because a legend that claims Tapu Lele was the one who ended the war between the different islands of the Alola region. The legend says it scattered its scales and soothed the tired warriors. Details about the war have yet to become official.

It is not impossible for the legend to be purely factual, since Tapu Lele’s scales do heal illnesses and injuries. When it scatters its glowing scales, the weak bodies of certain creatures are stimulated and healed. It is important to take note, however, that making contact with too many scales is very dangerous. Scales bring changes to the body, so making contact with a lot of scales will bring in a lot of changes and, oftentimes, these changes cannot be controlled by the body. The Pokémon Company says that though Tapu Lele is quite innocent when it scatters its scales for Pokémon and humans alike, it is undeniable that this act also has cruelty in it because it brings others to ruin.

This "Pokémon Sun and Moon" guardian prioritizes the idea of not losing a battle than beating its opponents. This is because it’s not all the time that it has enough strength to win the battle, especially at times when its stored energy inside its shell is not enough. When this happens, it stalls defeat by inflicting status conditions on to its rivals. It also makes use of certain strategies. It has the same special move as the other guardians called Nature’s Madness that halves the HP points of its opponents. In addition, it has the Psychic Surge Ability that turns the battlefield into a Psychic Terrain that boosts the moves of Psychic-type Pokémon and protects them from the moves of their rivals.

Tapu Fini

Tapu Fini is the last Land Spirit Pokémon in “Pokémon Sun and Moon." It is a Water/Fairy-type that stands taller than Tapu Lele at 4 feet and 03 inches. It is the guardian of Poni Island that is located in the southwestern part of the Alola region. It is known to be the source of an extraordinary type of water that purifies the mind and body. However, this guardian is very elusive, and it does not like to appear in the presence of humans.

Since Tapu Fini’s water is quite special, it only gives it to those who can prove they are worthy of having it. It creates fogs to distract those who wish to obtain the purifying water, and only those who can pass through the fogs are capable of obtaining the special type of water. However, Tapu Fini knows that not everyone in “Pokémon Sun and Moon’s” Alola region have good intentions in obtaining the puriifying water. This is the reason why Tapu Fini does not like to appear to people, for it knows that some of them have evil intentions.

Since it is a Water/Fairy-type, this guardian attacks using water. It protects itself during battles by producing a thick fog that puts other Pokémon in a trance. In their half-conscious state the affected creatures are compelled to destroy themselves. It is also known that Tapu Fini has a listless expression while unleashing its moves because of its exhausting powers. Just like the other guardians, Tapu Fini is also capable of attacking with Nature’s Madness, which halves the opponent’s HP. Finally, it has an Ability known as Misty Surge that creates a Misty Terrain in the battlefield. The Misty Terrain reduces the damage caused by Dragon-type moves by half and protects affected Pokémon from status conditions and even confusion.

Which guardian are you excited to see in "Pokémon Sun and Moon"? Sound off in the comments below.