Mallow (Pokemon)

Mallow
Species	Human
Hair color	Green
Eye color	Green
Height	5'3"
Base	Akala Island
Voiced by	Amber Connor (2019)
Debut	Pokémon Sun/Moon

Mallow is a Pokémon trainer who appeared as an opponent in Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. She is one of the seven trial captains of the Alola region and acts as one of the three captains for Akala Island. Specializing in Grass-type Pokémon, she holds the Grass-type Z-Crystal, Grassium Z.

Background

Mallow was a friendly and outgoing girl who was an aspiring chef. She resided at Konikoni Town on Akala Island, where she worked with her family (her father and older brother being shown) at the local restaurant. She dreamed of taking over the restaurant when she was older. Despite her skilll, she also had some eccentricities when it came to cooking, which could cause her friends to dread her cooking. Olivia chose her to act as one of Akala's three trial captains. The other two captains were Lana and Kiawe. Mallow befriended the two of them and was most often seen with Lana. She would have both of them bring her ingredients for her dishes. As captain, Mallow was entrusted to watch over Grassium Z and conducted trials at Lush Jungle. Her trials consisted of having challengers gather ingredients for one of her dishes in a Forage Bag that she provided, with the possibility of triggering battles with the jungle's wild Pokémon in the process. Once successfully prepared, the dish would lure in a Totem Pokémon (Lurantis).

Within all of the seventh generation games, Mallow was first seen at Heahea City when Elio/Selene and company first arrived at the island. She accompanied Olivia and introduced herself to the trainers. She could next be encountered at Paniola Ranch, where she would register Stoutland as a Ride Pokémon in Elio/Selene's Ride Pager for them. Mallow was ultimately the last of the three trial captains that Elio/Selene faced on Akala Island. Once they arrived at the Lush Jungle, Mallow had them gather ingredients for the trial. After the trainer completed the trial by defeating the Totem Pokémon, Mallow gave them Grassium Z and demonstrated its accompanying pose. She also gave them some Nest Balls to catch Pokémon in the area. There was still some food left over, so she made Lana and Kiawe try it in Sun/Moon, only for them to see that it was way too spicy for them. In the Ultra games, they had excuses to not eat the food, so she decided to bring it to Olivia instead.

There was also an additional scenario in which Mallow could be battled that could only occur in the Moon/Ultra Moon versions during the daytime. In that scenario, Elio/Selene would initially encounter her at her room in the restaurant at Konikoni City, and they would discuss a rematch. She would then be found at Lush Jungle, where she watched over her brother's Wimpod while gathering ingredients for the restaurant. After being beaten in battle, Mallow praised Elio/Selene's skill as a trainer and told them that they had the potential to be a kahuna one day. She also talked about her own aspirations of becoming a better chef than her father and older brother, and to take over the family restaurant one day.

In Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon, Mallow made an additional appearance during Mina's trial. As part of Mina's trial, petals of a Rainbow Flower were distributed among other captains, with Mallow receiving a Green Petal. As the second part of that quest, Mallow could be found with Lana at the Lush Jungle. There, Mallow was having Comfey use Aromatherapy to help her feel relaxed, and she was startled by Elio/Selene's arrival. The trainer who had to be battled depending on the version. In Ultra Sun, Mallow battled Elio/Selene while trying to prove that she was capable of relaxing. In Ultra Moon, Lana battled the trainer instead, under the pretense of getting the trainer to keep Mallow's Aromatherapy session a secret. Regardless of who was battled, both captains surrendered their petals to Elio/Selene following the battle, and they then offered to escort the trainer to Wela Volcano Park, where they could meet Kiawe for the next part of the trial.

After Elio/Selene became Alola's champion, Mallow was seen attending the festivities at Iki Town on Melemele Island. She could also appear as an opponent or partner at the Battle Tree in Moon/Ultra Moon only.

Pokémon

• Phantump/Trevenant
• Shiinotic
• Steenee/Tsareena; Tsareena uses Grassium Z, in the Ultra games only.

She only uses the pre-evolved forms of her Pokémon during the Moon battles; she uses the evolved forms in all possible Ultra Moon battles. At the Battle Trree, the pool of Pokémon she could potentially use includes Trevenant, Tsareena, Sceptile (possibly holding Sceptilite), Talonflame, Toucannon, Lurantis or Comfey (which could be holding Grassium Z).

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters EX, Mallow appeared with her Tsareena as a playable sync pair that could be unlocked at random through the game's Sync Pair Scout feature starting in January 2021. She initially appeared as an opponent during the "Rosa's Party" Story Event that originally ran in December 2019. In that event, Mallow sought to become the assistant of the renowned chef Siebold, but she arrived after he had decided to hire Rosa instead. Mallow instead asked for a battle and a cook-off in hopes of receiving his stamp of approval. After being defeated in battle, Mallow inspired him with a Z-Set dish that she made. Mallow was also seen running a Super Food Stall at the Battle Buffet during the "Battle Buffet Bash" Prestige Event. She was also featured in the "Trials on the Isle" Solo Event, in which the Akala captains ran new versions of their trials on Pasio. For Mallow's trial, she prepared a Super Mallow Special using ingredients provided by Gloria, Ramos and Whitney. After it was complete, three of the kahunas (Olivia, Hapu and Nanu showed up to sample it and had to be battled by the challenger.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In the Pokémon anime, Mallow was featured as one of the main characters during the Sun/Moon-based arc. She appeared as one of Ash's classmates who later became the Ultra Guardians for the sake of fending off Ultra Beasts, in place of the series not using the island captain title. The series also added more detail to her family life, including a backstory that included a deceased mother. In one episode, she was able to reunite with her mother's spirit through Tapu Fini's mist. She then met and befriended a Shaymin that accompanied her for the remainder of that series.
• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Mallow appeared during the Sun/Moon arc. She initially met Sun with Akala Island's other captains, and they tested him as part of the island challenge. But when Mallow took Sun to Lush Jungle, they were disrupted by a Xurkitree that was attacking Tapu Lele. For the rest of the arc, Mallow aided the other captains and the kahunas in their efforts to fight off Team Skull and the Ultra Beasts.

Trivia

• Mallow is named after a family of plants that includes cotton, as her Japanese name is Mao, which is taken from a word for Hawaiian cotton.
• The details of Mallow's dish from the trial differs depending on the version. In Sun/Moon, it is called a Mallow Special, and the player has to collect a Mago Berry, a Tiny Mushroom, a Revival Herb and a Miracle Seed for it. In the Ultra games, it is instead called the Super Mallow Special and requires a Mago Berry, Honey and a Big Root. In Pokémon Masters EX, the Super Mallow Special's ingredients alternately involve Packaged Curry, rare Berries and Moomoo Milk.
• In addition to Lana and Kiawe being wary of her cooking, Ilima also alludes to a special dish having given him a "frightful shock" once. Olivia is the one person known to find her cooking to be delicious, according to Mallow.
• She keeps her Pokémon in Ultra Balls.