Cactusverse Bio: Mа̄healani
Name: Mа̄healani Kapule
Alias: Marsha (to Kantonians/Tourists who can’t pronounce her name)
Moniker: The First Champion of Alola
Birthplace: Koni-Koni City, Akala Island, Alola
Place She Grew Up: Vermillion City, Kanto
Likes: Singing, studying culture, Malasadas, Cheerleading
Dislikes: tourists, the International Police
Fears: Ultra Beasts, seeing her culture erased
Favorite Place to Shop: Olivia’s Stone Store
Favorite Colors: pink and orange
Battle Quote: “As long as I’m alive, the light and beauty of Alola will never fade!”
(art by RGreyWind on Twitter)
Pokemon (all nicknamed after precious/semi-precious gems)
Alolan Raichu: Topaz
Primarina: Pearl
Mudsdale: Carnelian
Midday Lycanroc: Amber
Alolan Marowak: Obsidian
Bewear: Opal
Lurantis: Peridot
Alolan Persian: Amethyst
Kommo-o: Ruby
Alolan Sandslash: Diamond
Crabominable: Turquoise
Solgaleo: Coral
Born to the famous Scratch Cat Trainer and a decorated military colonel in the vibrant coastal city of Konikoni City, Mа̄healani Kapule was destined to be a passionate person, especially considering she was the middle child and the only daughter of her parents' three children.. As a toddler she became enamored by the stories of the Tapu and hearing her father talk about his Island Challenge and was eagerly looking forward to the day she’d be able to travel the 4 islands of Alola on her own journey.
So the news that the whole family would be relocating to Vermillion City, Kanto was disappointing to the young Mа̄healani. So much so that she actually ran away from her family before being found by the Akala Island kahuna. With bitter resignation, Mа̄healani moved to Kanto. Surrounded by kids who could not pronounce her given name, she began to go by the name Marsha. In her mind, if you’re unwilling to say her name correctly, you don’t deserve to say it at all. Living in Kanto meant she’d hear the story of Red ousting Team Rocket from the region and defeating his former childhood friend for the mantle of Indigo League Champion…and the scores of children claiming they’d be the next Red.
Well Mа̄healani had no desire to do any of that. She just wanted to travel to Alola in the Island Challenge…not even to finish it just see all four islands. No evil teams, no rivals, no claims for champion. That’s all she prayed to the Tapu.
The Tapu (or maybe Arceus) had other plans…
While growing up in Kanto, Mа̄healani would eventually meet her first partner, a gentle Pichu in the care of Vermillion City’s Gym Leader and friend of her father, Lt. Surge. The two would become inseparable and proved to become a formidable pair in the Battle 101 classes. However where as many of her Kantonian classmates went out to challenge the Indigo Gym Challenge, she chose to focus on cheerleading and sparring with her brothers
Eventually the day came…her father was honorably discharged from the military and the family could go back to Alola. Just around her 17th birthday, just in time for her to get to do the island challenge, starting from MeleMele Island. Just a nice peaceful uneventful coming of age journey right? Just meeting the grandson of the Kahuna, a fellow Malasada appreciator named Hau, and getting the chance to get another Pokemon, a Popplio she’d name Pearl
Well it would’ve been had she not met Lillie and Nebby. If you asked Mа̄healani, going across that rickety bridge to save a tiny living floating cloud was both the best and worst thing to happen in her life. But she lived by her dad’s motto of “Never leave a Soldier behind” even if it meant nearly falling to your own death. Thank Tapu Koko for actually choosing to save her.
Her actual island challenge itself was rather uneventful. Most of the challenges proved to be little match to her keen eye for battling (except the Totem Lurantis, never ask Mа̄healani what happened there). The Kahunas fell one by one to the power of her Z-moves and the bonds between her Pokemon. Team Skull? Annoying pests, but enlightening and she’d much rather deal with fellow Alolans done dirty by their traditions than whatever the hell Team Rocket was up to. And Guzma was fun to fight (and by fight she means with her own fists and kicks). He even promised to teach her how to drive (to the horror of every Alolan citizen).
But Lillie…and Gladion. The more she got caught up in their family drama the more she side-eyed the adults around her. What was at first thinly-veiled annoyance at Lillie following her around with no initiative to catch Pokemon became genuine concern as she learned about Lusamine and her parenting methods. Which then became ire at Kukui and the kahunas because why were they making her, a teen, take care of Lillie when it was clear there was a level of harm going on that needed adult interference.
Well she did knock Lusamine’s lights out, not that that really helped. Teaching Lillie how to do martial arts, however.
The first trip to Ultra Space dealing with Nihilego and MotherBeast Lusamine would be the stuff of Mа̄healani’s nightmares for decades to come. She swore she’d never enter Ultra Space again. Handing Nebby (now a Lunala) back to Lillie, Mа̄healani once again ran away hiding on Exeggutor Island for a week before eventually trekking up to Mount Lanakilia to confront Kukui and the kahunas at the newly established Alola League
(art by GhostBlobbu on Twitter)
The next year was peppered with title defense challenges, trips to the Battle Tree to fight the two trainers in Alola who could actually occasionally take out her team, and heading up to Wela Volcano to dance with Kiawe as she tried to shake off the trauma of her journey.
But then Lillie and Nebby came back...and with it more trouble in the form of the Ultra Recon Squad. Mа̄healani and Lillie’s reunion was tense, punctuated by Nebby dragging them to the Poni Altar and creating an egg for Mа̄healani. An egg that would hatch into a Cosmog that would become Nebby’s counterpart, a Solgaleo. As the threat of Necrozma loomed over the region, Mа̄healani was faced with all of Alola looking towards her to help defend them against the threat. A task Mа̄healani wasn’t super up for. But at least this time she had help from the plucky slightly awkward International Police Robot, Valen and Hau who had gotten much stronger.
And as if Arceus themself, seemed to hate the poor young adult, yet another crisis in the form of Team Rainbow Rocket befell her home region. Once again everyone looked to the still reigning first champion for help, and at her wits end, Mа̄healani decided to take a page out of Guzma’s playbook and fought the grunts (and Ghetsis and Giovanni) with her fists over her own Pokemon.
At last peace seemed to reign over Alola once more, and with it her last title defense. Hau, having been hardened through tagging along with Mа̄healani and the Aether children, finally got his first win over his rival. With her reign now over she was free from the expectations of being the savior she never wanted to be. She could live a quiet life, helping Kiawe build a dance studio to pass on Alola’s tradition of dancing, to quietly travel the island region taking pictures of the natural scenery and the culture to preserve it from the ever encroaching tourist traps and resorts popping up one after another. Her friendship with Lillie and Gladion improved as she no longer felt an obligation to help them.
Does she still battle from time to time? Absolutely, someone has to keep Red and Blue in check. But truthfully, she preferred eating malasadas and cuddling with her Pokemon to battling