Acerola

Acerola
Species	Human
Affiliation	Pokémon League (Alola)
Hair color	Purple
Eye color	Grey
Height	4'9"
Base	Aether House, Ula'ula Island
Voiced by	Christine Marie Cabanos (2019)
Debut	Pokémon Sun/Moon

Acerola is a Pokémon trainer who appeared as an opponent in the eighth generation games of the Pokémon series, Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. She acts as one of the seven trial captains of the Alola region and also acts as an inaugural member of Alola's Elite Four. She specializes in Ghost-type Pokémon. As a trial captain, she acts as one of the two captains on Ula'ula Island and gives out the Ghost-type Z-Crystal, Ghostium-Z.

Background

Acerola was a cheery young girl who was descended from former Alolan royalty and ended up as an orphan. There were a number of books owned by her dad that were moved to the Malie Library while she lived at Aether House. Acerola was older than the other kids at Aether House and so took on the role of acting like a big sister to them. She both encouraged and protected them, and she generally had an outgoing personality that made her quick to befriend others. She was also chosen to act as one of the trial captains for Ula'ula Island by the island's kahuna, Nanu. The two of them had contrasting personalities, and Acerola had a knack of seeing through Nanu's grumpy demeanor to his nicer aspects. She also affectionately referred to him as her uncle. As trial captain, she held trials at the Abandoned Site that was formerly a Thrifty Megamart at Route 14. The location was haunted, and the trial involved using a modified camera to find and defeat the Totem Mimikyu hidden within the abandoned store.

Within the eighth generation games, Acerola first met with Elio/Selene and Lillie at the Malie Library. Acreola overheard them and found the book on Alola's myths that they were looking for, which had originally been one of her father's books. She considered Lillie to be much like a princess and later brought her on a shopping trip, after which she left her with Hapu. When Elio/Selene met her at Aether House, Acerola made it clear that she was a captain and invited them to take on her trial. Elio/Selene completed the trial, at which point Acerola gave them Ghostium-Z and demonstrated its accompanying pose. She also gave them Dusk Balls and granted them permission to catch Pokémon at the Abandoned Site. They returned to Aether House to find that Team Skull had stolen a Yungoos from one of the kids. Elio/Selene went to confront them at Po Town, and Acerola directed them towards someone who could help them to get there. Acerola arrived by Po Town after Elio/Selene had retrieved the Pokémon, but they then discovered that Lillie had been kidnapped by other Team Skull members while they were away from Aether House. Acerola stayed behind at Aether House this time to protect the kids in case Team Skull attacked again, while Elio/Selene went off and rescued Lillie.

Professor Kukui started up a Pokémon League for Alola and invited some trainers to act as its Elite Four. Nanu was one of those invited, but he chose to decline it due to his standoffish nature. Acerola ended up joining the Elite Four in her place and awaited challengers in the Ghost Chamber. Elio/Selene defeated her when becoming the Pokémon League champion, and she could be battled again when rechallenging the Elite Four. After Elio/Selene became champion for the first time, Acerola was seen attending the festivities held at Melemele Island. She could also be found at Aether House, where she accepted that things were out of her control, and so she tried to help the kids under her charge into superstrong trainers of their own.

Pokémon Roster

• Sableye (Sun/Moon)
• Banette (Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon)
• Drifblim
• Dhelmise
• Froslass
• Palossand

Although she does not own it, her trial utilizes a Totem Mimikyu.

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters EX, Acerola appeared as a playable trainer who was part of several sync pairs, which included variants of her in different outfits.

• In her default outfit, she was paired with Palossand, and they could be recruited by playing through Chapter 17 of the Main Story's PML Arc.
• Fall 2020: Acerola wears a Halloween-themed outfit, with her top and hood being a costume of the Pokémon she's paired with, Mimikyu. This variant could be recruited at random through the Sync Pair Scout during limited time periods, starting in October 2020.
• Banette was made available as an alternate sync partner for Acerola in her default outfit and was unlocked by reaching Friendship Level 100 with Acerola at the Trainer Lodge, after she was added to the mode in May 2023.
• Sygna Suit: Paired with Tapu Bulu, Acerola wears a dress that's reminiscent of Tapu Bulu's appearance. Available during limited time periods starting in May 2023.

She has also sometimes used Drifblim when fought as an opponent.

In Chapter 17 of the PML Arc, Acerola had formed a team of Ghost-type users for the Pokémon Masters League with Agatha and Phoebe. In that chapter, Scottie/Bettie's team defeated them as part of the tournament. With Agatha's encouragement, Acerola then joined Scottie/Bettie's team in order to gain more experience as a trainer. She also played a role in Chapter 21, where she helped Calem against Team Break and refused to abandon him when he tried to do things on his own. During the story arc's ending in Chapter 30, she referred to Calem as "Little Bro" and convinced Hapu to follow suit. Outside of the Main Story, she was also featured in the "Fight or Fright" Story Event in her Mimikyu costume, where she took part in the Halloween-like 'fight or fright' tradition. She also took on Agatha, Morty and Shauntal in a friendly battle in order to take part in the Midnight Parade, a nighttime march through town of Ghost-type users. In the Neo Champion Event "Leaders of a New Era", Alder called Acerola in to help train Calem to compete in the Neo Champion Stadium. She also observed all of the Meowth that had been drawn to Nanu in the "Meow Meow Meow" Special Event and related what she had learned about Galarian Meowth from Allister. During the Main Story's Villain Arc, Acerola formed a sync bond with Tapu Bulu after she scolded the tapu for attacking Sophocles. Olivia then got her and Lana traditional outfits that acted as Sygna Suits for their respective Tapus. Acerola and Lana teamed up with Hau and Mina, the other two trainers who had synced with tapus, and together they fought to calm down the Ultra Beasts and to defeat the alliance of Team Rocket and rogue Aether Foundation members. Acerola also appeared as an opponent for the Alola Challenge of the Champion Stadium mode, reflecting her role as a member of the Elite Four.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In the Pokémon anime, Acerola appeared in multiple episodes of the Sun/Moon-based series. This series did not use trial captains, but Acerola was still shown to spend time with Nanu and pushed him to follow his obligations as a kahuna. She was first featured in one episode that had her as the protagonist (with Ash only appearing at the end of the episode), where she helped to deal with the Greedy Rapooh, a Totem Gengar that had been sealed away, but ultimately became one of Acerola's Pokémon. She also helped Ash with his trials on Ula'ula Island, including making sure that Nanu cooperated with accepting his challenge. She also visited the Pokémon School in a later episode and helped to make a haunted house for the students. Towards the end of the series, she took part in the Manalo Conference and lost to Kiawe.
• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Acerola appeared during the Sun/Moon arc. She discovered Sun and Lillie when they washed up on her island, and after they recuperated, she had Sun take on her trial. Throughout the rest of the arc, she helped the other trial captains and the kahunas in a clash against Team Skull and the Ultra Beasts.

Trivia

• She is named after a type of evergeen shrub or small tree, with her name being the same in both Japanese and English.
• Her Pokémon are kept in Ultra Balls.
• Acerola is the trial captain to act as an Elite Four member. After defeating her in a rematch, Acerola will express being unsure if she prefers being a trial captain or an Elite Four member.
• In the Ultra games, a false apparition of Acerola also appears within the Abandoned Site and attempts to urge Elio/Selene to leave. After taking its picture, the apparition disappears, and this unlocks the door to the room where the Totem Mimikyu awaits.
• In the Ultra games, Acerola had also received a Purple Petal for Mina's trial. However, she is the only trial captain to not actually be encountered as part of that trial. Instead, the player gets it from Nanu, as Acerola had apparently left several of the petals with him.