Elementman-Novapoke
Well-Known Member
Ok So, since it says theres more than four trial captains im gonna say that theres probably one for each type, and completing the trial gives us the z crystal for that type, i say this also becuase you can kind of map most of the revealed trail captains to that one island next to melemele
you have the only really volcanic plains area that matches with the bg of Kiawes area
you have wooded areas for Mallow,
in the trailer you can see waterfalls and white rock like the corner of the island for Lanas trial
Sophacles is the only one im not sure about becuz he seems to be mostly inside but it still works
It kind of makes since for the "main" pokemon types (grass fire water, the starter types, and electric which is usually grouped in) to be right after the first island, so it introduces us to the game first so after were comfortable it ships us off and lets us get to know these new powerful mechanics all at once on the next island. Gyms are probably still going to be implemented becuase although puzzles are cool, battling is still at the heart of the pokemon franchise.
Quoted and emboldened (in parts) because I think this is a great idea that seems to have been largely ignored (I often wonder if user rank / post count affects how much attention a user's post is given. Even in a subconscious way. But that's for another place and time...).
There could indeed be a Trial Captain for each type (the completionist in me hopes so), and that is how we get the Z Gems (or whatever we're calling them). Having the Starter Types, plus Electric, would make sense to be the Z Moves we get first. That way, the first time we would use a Z Move would probably be with our Starter - which would make sense from a storyline perspective; our Starters are 'supposed' to be our first partner, the one we bond with most, etc - or an Electric type, aka Pikachu. Because GF and TPC knows that Pikachu is a must. Or has made it a must. Whatever.
The different islands have different sizes and biomes. The larger islands could certainly hold more Trials, and if we come to larger islands later on in the game, this would also serve as an appropriate difficulty curve / would ramp us up toward endgame stuff quite nicely.
The Official Site claims, 'To complete the island challenge, young trial-goers must overcome the trials in store on each of the four islands' - and here, the plurality could be deceptive. If it was only one trial per island, 'young trial-goers must overcome the trial in store on each of the four islands' or '...must overcome the trial on each island' could have been used instead.
Additionally, 'Lurantis is the Totem Pokémon of Lush Jungle, the site of an Akala Island trial' (also from the OS). The use of the indefinite article here ('an') implies that there will be more than one trial on Akala Island, at least.
Furthermore, although we see the Gumshoos Totem in a rocky area / up by a mountain or volcano, I don't think it's been said anywhere that it's the Totem that pertains to Kiawe's trial, has it? Perhaps it's the Totem for a Normal type specialist (plz Whitney no)?
And finally (although I probably could go on), if we were only getting these four, why would they all be revealed at the same time, and this late on? Why weren't they revealed with their corresponding Kahunas too? I'm sure this can't be the end.
FWIW, my understanding of the Trial would be:
The Quest-y / Quiz-y bit -> Totem 'Mon -> Battle Trial Captain (because why mention they're type specialists / the completionist in me would like this).
Repeat for as many Trials / Trial Captains there are for the island. -> Battle the Kahuna.
Well, the backpacker in Kalos did state that Alola has a Champion, so I'm sure there is one. Not sure where it would go, though.
What if this was a cheeky reference to how amazing the playable character is? As in, the NPC comments on how great we are once we've completed the challenge(s), placing SuMo somewhere before XY?