Elio/Selene

Elio/Selene
Species	Human
Hair color	Variable (Brown, Blonde, or Black)
Eye color	Variable (Brown, Blue or Black for Elio/Gray for Selene)
Age	11
Relatives	Mother, Father
Voiced by	Mike Dent (Elio, 2021) Christina McBridge (Selene, 2021)
Debut	Pokémon Sun/Moon

Elio and Selene are the officially designated names for the protagonist featured in the seventh generation games of the Pokémon series: Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Elio is the official name for the male version of the character, while Selene is the name for the female version. This trainer is known for being more customizable than previous player characters in the series.

Background

Elio/Selene originally lived in an unspecified part of Kanto with their parents, until their mother moved to Melemele Island within the Alola region when they were 11. There, Elio/Selene got to know their mother's old friend, Professor Kukui, and they got to choose one of three starter Pokémon offered by the island's kahuna, Hala: Rowlet, Litten or Popplio. In Sun/Moon, they received the Pokémon directly from Hala. In Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, the three Pokémon instead saved Elio/Selene from a wild Pokémon while Kukui was watching over them, and Kukui allowed Elio/Selene to pick their Pokémon early. Elio/Selene also met Lillie, who was working as one of Kukui's assistants and was protecting a mysterious Pokémon known as Cosmog, which she had dubbed Nebby. Elio/Selene acted to protect Cosmog from wild Pokémon in the middle of a rickety bridge. The bridge broke in the process, but they were saved by the timely intervention of the island's guardian, Tapu Koko. They also received a Shiny Stone from it, which was fashioned into a Z-Ring.

With that, it was decided that Elio/Selene should take part in the island challenge. The trainer traveled across the four islands of the Alola Region and took on the the trials given by the seven captains and four kahunas. Throughout their journey, Lillie usually traveled with them, and Elio/Selene had various encounters with Professor Kukui and the professor's other assistant Hau, who acted as the trainer's friendly rival. They also had a number of encounters with Team Skull and defeated various members to stop them from causing trouble, including battles with Plumeria and Guzma. They also battled Gladion, a Team Skull member who acted as a rival and ultimately turned out to be Lillie's brother. In the Ultra versions, the trainer also had run-ins with the Ultra Recon Squad, who were traveling Alola while trying to find a way to stop Necrozma. In all versions, members of Team Skull eventually kidnapped Lillie and took her to the Aether Foundation, where Lillie's mom Lusamine planned to force Nebby to open an Ultra Wormhole, even if it killed the Pokémon. Gladion brought Elio/Selene and Hau to the Aether Foundation for a rescue mission. Even though Elio/Selene defeated her in a battle, Lusamine was successful in opening the Wormhole and disappeared into it. Nebby survived, but was reduced to a dormant state. In order to help it, Elio/Selene gathered the Sun and Moon Flutes, and they then made their way to the Altar (of the Sun in Sun/Ultra Sun or of the Moone in Moon/Ultra Moon) on Poni Island. There, the ceremony was successful in reviving Nebby and causing it to evolve into a Legendary Pokémon: Solgaleo in Sun/Ultra Sun or Lunala in Moon/Ultra Moon.

The climactic events of their quest were different depending on the version. In Sun/Moon, Elio/Selene used the Legendary Pokémon to enter the Ultra Wormhole and found Lusamine while a Nihilego was latched onto her. After defeating her one more time, she was freed from Nihilego's thrall and was taken back home to recover. In Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, Lusamine and Guzma had been trying to defeat Necrozma, and they were cast out of the Ultra Wormhole after being defeated. Necrozma was drawn to Nebby in its Legendary form and fused with it. After Elio/Selene defeated it, Necrozma fled into Ultra Space. The trainer was able to borrow the Ultra Recon Squad's Pokémon (whichever Legendary Pokémon was not featured in that version - Lunala or Solgaleo) to travel through the Ultra Wormhole to Ultra Megapolis, where they were able to defeat Ultra Necrozma and freed Nebby. Lillie would later give Elio/Selene a chance to catch Nebby at Mahalo Trail.

Once Elio/Selene had completed all of the trials, they traveled to Mt. Lanakila to take on the region's Pokémon League that had just officially started. After defeating the Elite Four, their last opponent depended on the version. In Sun/Moon, Professor Kukui battled them in the absence of an official champion. In the Ultra games, Hau had beaten the Elite Four just before him, and the two battled to decided who would be champion. Ultimately, Elio/Selene triumped and was recognized as the first official Pokémon League Champion of the Alola region. Afterwards, they battle the Elite Four again and then take place in a Title Defense battle against another trainer who was challenging the Elite Four (partially randomized, some depending on the day). Elio/Selene's victory was celebrated at Melemele Island, and trainers attended from across Alola. In Sun/Moon, Elio/Selene went to the Ruins of Conflict during the celebration and got to battle Tapu Koko there. In all versions, they were then able to challenge and potentially catch all of the Tapu guardians.

Elio/Selene's actions after becoming champion also differed from game-to-game. In Sun/Moon, Elio/Selene was recruited by Looker and Anabel, in order to help the International Police to contain outbreaks of Ultra Beasts by containing them. In the process, they learned more about the Ultra Beasts and Anabel's past. In Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, they instead briefly helped the Ultra Recon Squad to find one Ultra Beast, before they were disrupted by Team Rainbow Rocket attacking and taking over the Aether Foundation. Elio/Selene then defeated Giovanni and the lieutenants from other worlds whom he had recruited into Team Rainbow Rocket, and they saved Lusamine from them.

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters EX, Elio and Selene have both been made available as playable sync trainers and can be recruited at at random through game's Sync Pair Scout feature, after being added in April 2021. They are each paired with one of the seventh generation starter Pokémon, who evolves through one-on-one battles held within Sync Pair Stories. Elio's sync partner is a Popplio, which can evolve into Brionne and Primarina through battles with Misty and Gladion, while Selene's sync partner is a Rowlet, which evolves into Dartix and Decidueye through respective battles with Rosa and Wallace. Unlike most of the protagonist characters represented in this game, it is difficult to discern which of the two is intended to be the protagonist character, as both of them mention having moved from Kanto to Alola, having a Mewoth at him and taking on the island challenge. The evidence seems to lean towards Elio being the protagonist, as he and Gladion seem to regard each other as rivals in their Sync Pair Story battle, and Elio is familiar with the Masked Royal, including knowing his identity, while Selene seems to know him more by reputation.

The two characters have often appeared as a pair in events. Both of them were featured in the Story Event "Trials on the Isle", where they teamed up with Scottie/Bettie and took part in Pasio versions of Lana, Kiawe and Mallow's island trials, which ultimately resulted in a quick battle against some of the kahunas. They also cheered for Lillie in her battle in the "Hearts United" Story Event, talked to Team Break members about Necrozma's appearance during the Story Event "The Light Devourer" and spectated Ash Ketchum's battles during the "Blazing Battle with Ash" Story Event. In the "Super Tour Guide Rosa" Costume Event, they supported Rosa in her role as tourism ambassador and suggested a tour plan based on Alola's island challenges with non-dangerous trials. Elio and Selene kept an eye on things with Lear to try to smooth over problems that arose, such as discovering how Leon had gotten lost with one Sightseer. The two of them also joined in on the apple pie-tasting in the "Chef's Heartful Delivery" Story Event. During the Story Event "Galar's Poké Ball Enthusiast", Elio investigated Ball Guy's odd behavior alongside Ethan and Victor and defeated them in a battle. After Ball Guy's issues were resolved, Ball Guy and Masked Royal had a battle together, with Elio and Selene spectating and encouraging them. The four of them proceeded to take a picture together. Elio and Selene proceeed to appear during the Alola chapter of the Villain Arc, in which they initially helped with preparations for an Alola-style festival that was being put on by the Aether Foundation, and they later helped to contain an outbreak of Ultra Beasts by battling some in Pasio's ruins.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, they were featured as protagonists of the Sun/Moon/Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon arc, in which they were known as Sun and Moon (in keeping with that manga's tradition of naming protagonists directly after the versions). Sun has part of the protagonist's backstory, hailing from Kanto, but he comes to Alola at the request of his late great grandfather. He acts as a courier and seeks to raise a huge amount of money to buy back the island that Faba had purchased from his great grandfather for the Aether Foundation, as Sun wanted to fulfill his great grandfather's dreams of forming the Poké Pelago. As for Moon, she was a pharmacist who hailed from the Sinnoh region and previously worked with Platinum. Both of them end up caught up in the events that ensue in Alola involving Team Skull, Aether and the Ultra Beasts. Sun's starter Pokémon is Litten, while Moon's (which she receives later on) is Rowlet, both of which evolve into their respective final forms.
• The second episode of Pokémon Evolutions depicted events from Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon involving Lillie, Nebby and Lusamine up to the formation of Dawn Wings Necrozma. The female protagonist appears in a non-speaking role and with her physical features (particularly her eyes) obscured. The episode ends with her standing by Lillie's side and preparing to release a Pokémon to fight Dawn Wings Necrozma.

Trivia

• Like all Pokémon protagonists from the main games, their name is ultimately chosen from the player. The official English names are derived from the Greek gods of the sun and moon: Helios and Selene, respectively. Their Japanese names are You and Mizuki, which are similarly derived from Japanese names for the sun and moon.
• This character makes the first protagonist whose appearance can be customized. There are four deigns available for each gender, with a total of eight designs. These designs differ in terms of skin tone as well as the color of their hair and eyes.
• Elio and Selene also mark the first instance since the gender system was fully implemented in the third generation where the gendered character not chosen does not appear as a separate character.
• In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, one of the Pokémon Trainer's alternate female costumes has a color scheme that seems to be based on Selene's appearance, including tanned skin. Additionally, Selene's Casual Cap is worn by Pikachu in one of its alternate costumes.