Kiawe

Kiawe
Species	Human
Hair color	Brown and Red
Eye color	Brown
Height	5'10"
Base	Akala Island
Voiced by	Unknown (2021)
Debut	Pokémon Sun/Moon

Kiawe is a Pokémon trainer who appeared as an opponent in Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. He is one of the seven trial captains of the Alola region and acts as one of the three captains of Akala Island. He specializes in Fire-type Pokémon and guards the Fire-type Z-Crystal, Firium Z.

Background

Kiawe was a passionate young man who lived in a house at Paniola Town on Akala Island with his parents. He studied ancient traditional dances that had been passed down in Alola for generations, and he was often known to practice them with Alolan Marowak. He dreamed of becoming a professional fire dancer, and so he took on part-time jobs in order to save up money to travel abroad. Kiawe was eventually chosen by Olivia to act as one of the three trial captains of Akala Island, with the other two being Lana and Mallow. Kiawe would sometimes be roped into helping Mallow with her recipes, even if he felt that she could get out of hand with her cooking. He also befriended a Hiker named David, who liked to dance with him. As a trial captain, Kiawe held trials at the peak of Wela Volcano Park. His trial was based on observation, in which his Marowak performed a dance twice in a row and then asked the challenger to identify the difference between the two dances. There would be several rounds of this, and there was only an actual difference in the dancing within the first round, as in later rounds, the difference came in the form of interlopers entering the dance (first Hiker David and then the Totem Pokémon).

During the events of Sun/Moon and Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, Kiawe first appeared at Royal Avenue's Battle Royal. After witnessing a Battle Royal that involved Elio/Selene, Kiawe was impressed by their skill and encouraged them to undertake his trial at Wela Volcano Park. Kiawe then returned to that area, where Elio/Selene completed his trial. Kiawe awarded them with Firium Z and taught them its accompanying pose. He also registered Charizard to Elio/Selene's Ride Pager for them and gave them some Quick Balls. Afterwards, Kiawe went to the Lush Jungle during Mallow's trial and provided ingredients for her recipe in the form of a Thick Club and a Rare Bone. After the trial was complete, Kiawe and Lana were convinced to eat Mallow's resulting meal in Sun/Moon, only to find that it was way too spicy. In the Ultra games, Kiawe got out of eating it by claiming that he had just eaten a Berry.

There was also another scenario involving Kiawe that was exclusive to Sun and Ultra Sun. In that scenario, which could be triggered at the nighttime, Elio/Selene could initially find Kiawe as he was leaving home to work his part-time job at the Thrifty Megamart, and they could then encounter him while he was being laid off from that job. He then challenged Elio/Selene to a battle and confided in them about his troubles after being defeated. Doing so helped him to feel better. That scenario could take place at any point after defeating in Olivia in Sun, but it could only occur after Elio/Selene became champion in Ultra Sun.

In Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, Kiawe could also be faced during Mina's trial. For Mina's trial, petals of a Rainbow Flower were dispersed to the other island captains, with Kiawe receiving a Red Petal. Kiawe was the third captain who had to be faced as part of the trial. After Elio/Selene defeated both Kiawe and Hiker David in subsequent battles, Kiawe gave them the Red Petal and offered to take them to Mount Hakulani, where the next captain would be found. Kiawe also revealed that he was considering Hiker David to succeed him as captain, but Hiker David did not seem interested in the position, as he only liked dancing.

In all versions, Kiawe attended the festivities that occurred at Iki Town on Melemele Island after Elio/Selene became the champion. There, he put on a dance, and he was also shown to have eventually fallen asleep on stage in Sun/Moon. He could also appear as an opponent or partner at the Battle Tree.

Pokémon Roster

Kiawe uses the following Pokémon in battle:

• Growlithe/Arcanine: He uses Growlithe in the possible Sun battle only, and it is Arcanine instead in the Ultra versions. At the Battle Tree, it could possibly hold Fightium Z.
• Fletchinder/Talonflame: He uses Fletchinder only in the possible Sun battle, and it is Talonflame instead in the Ultra versions.
• Marowak: This Pokémon uses Firium Z.

At the Battle Tree, the Pokémon he uses could include any of the above (fully evolved) Pokémon as well as possibly Salazzle (which could be holding Firium Z) and/or Kangaskhan (which could have Kangaskhanite). He also dances with a pair of Alolan Marowak and works with Wela Volcano Park's Totem Pokémon (Salazzle in Sun/Moon or Alolan Marowak in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon).

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters EX, Kiawe and his Marowak appeared as a playable sync pair that could be unlocked at random through the game's Sync Pair Scout feature after being added in June 2021. An alternate sync pair of Kiawe and Arcanine was made available during limited time periods, starting in July 2023. Prior to being added, he was featured in the "Trials on the Isle" Story Event, where he and the other Akala captains hosted new versions of their trials on Pasio. This trial involved three Pokémon dancing, and after spotting the difference in the dance, the challenger had to battle the Pokémon's owners: Blaine, Fantina and a Hiker. He also appeared during the "Town Square Street Fair" Solo Event, where he took part in a dancing competition against Fantina, who declared him the winner. Kiawe also supported Mallow in a baking competition in the "Chef's Heartful Delivery" Street Fair and collaborated with the other two trial captains on a dish called the Akala Trio Special in "Trainer Files: Akala Passion". Kiawe also appeared in the Alola chapter of the Villain Arc, in which he fought alongside Lana, Sophocles and Acerola against members of Team Rocket and rogue Aether Foundation members.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In the Pokémon anime series, Kiawe was featured as one of the main characters during the Sun/Moon-based series. He was one of Ash's classmates who later became part of the Ultra Guardians, as the anime did not use the island captain title. Kiawe was depicted as being serious-minded, but with a tendency to get competitive and dramatically emotional. His family was fleshed out, and he was shown to help out on their ranch by making deliveries with his Charizard. He also had a Z-Ring and Firium Z that he inherited from his grandfather, who was a past kahuna. Kiawe dreamed of becoming a kahuna like him, and at the end of the series, he was training under Olivia in pursuit of that goal. He made a reappearance when Ash and Goh visited Alola in an episode of the Pokémon Journeys series. He attempted to test Goh as Ash's new rival, only to find that Goh was not aiming to be a rival of Ash's. In later episodes, he took part in a Battle Royal (where he defeated Gladion and lost to Kukui) and watched Ash's battle with Leon on television.
• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, he appeared during the Sun/Moon arc. Early in the arc, he and the other Akala Island captains met up with Sun, and Kiawe battled him to test if he was worthy of taking on the island challenge. Kiawe quickly befriended him and was shown attending to his part-time job. Over the course of the arc, Kiawe ended up helping the other captains and the kahuna in battles against Team Skull and later the Ultra Beasts. Kiawe's Z-Ring was broken by Gladion's Type: Null, but Olivia later fixed it for him. At the end of the arc, he worked as a courier in Sun's delivery service to make more money.

Trivia

• Kiawe is named after a species of mesquite tree that produces long-lasting firewood. His Japanese name is Kaki, which refers to both the Japanese name for an Asian persimmon and a Japanese for "fire".
• He keeps his Pokémon in Ultra Balls.
• In Pokémon Masters EX, he mentions that had entrusted Lana and her family with his Magmar.