Pokémon Sun and Moon have no Gyms. You clear seven trials and four grand trials instead. Each trial ends with a Totem Pokémon you cannot catch, and beating it gives you a Z-Crystal. The Totems are Gumshoos (Sun) or Alolan Raticate (Moon) at Lv. 12, Wishiwashi at Lv. 20, Salazzle at Lv. 22, Lurantis at Lv. 24, Vikavolt at Lv. 29, Mimikyu at Lv. 33 and Kommo-o at Lv. 45. The kahunas’ strongest Pokémon are Hala’s Crabrawler (Lv. 15), Olivia’s Midnight Lycanroc (Lv. 27), Nanu’s Alolan Persian (Lv. 39) and Hapu’s Mudsdale (Lv. 48). On Poni Island you fight Hapu before the Vast Poni Canyon trial. Mina has no trial in these games.
This page covers retail Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon on 3DS, up to version 1.2. Nintendo’s notes for the 1.1 and 1.2 updates don’t mention any change to the trials. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are separate games with different Totems and an eighth trial, so a guide or video titled “all 8 trials” is about those games. Island Scan is a different feature: it uses the QR Scanner to call wild Pokémon (see the Island Scan guide).
Island challenge tracker
The tracker shows every trial and grand trial in story order for your version. Tick each one as you clear it. Your next fight opens on the right, with the opponent’s team, held items, the Pokémon it calls for help, and which of your move types hit hardest. Your progress is saved in this browser only. The table below has the same order.
| # | Island | Trial | Where | You fight | Lv. | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melemele | Ilima’s trial | Verdant Cavern | Totem Gumshoos (Sun) / Totem Alolan Raticate (Moon) | 12 | Normalium Z |
| 2 | Melemele | Hala’s grand trial | Iki Town | Kahuna Hala: Mankey, Makuhita, Crabrawler | 15 | Fightinium Z |
| 3 | Akala | Lana’s trial | Brooklet Hill | Totem Wishiwashi (School Form) | 20 | Waterium Z |
| 4 | Akala | Kiawe’s trial | Wela Volcano Park | Totem Salazzle | 22 | Firium Z |
| 5 | Akala | Mallow’s trial | Lush Jungle | Totem Lurantis | 24 | Grassium Z |
| 6 | Akala | Olivia’s grand trial | Ruins of Life | Kahuna Olivia: Nosepass, Boldore, Midnight Lycanroc | 27 | Rockium Z |
| 7 | Ula’ula | Sophocles’ trial | Hokulani Observatory | Molayne (before the trial), then Totem Vikavolt | 30 | Electrium Z |
| 8 | Ula’ula | Acerola’s trial | Thrifty Megamart (Abandoned Site) | Totem Mimikyu | 33 | Ghostium Z |
| 9 | Ula’ula | Nanu’s grand trial | Malie City (pier) | Kahuna Nanu: Sableye, Krokorok, Alolan Persian | 39 | Darkinium Z |
| 10 | Poni | Hapu’s grand trial | Vast Poni Canyon (entrance) | Kahuna Hapu: Alolan Dugtrio, Gastrodon, Flygon, Mudsdale | 48 | Groundium Z |
| 11 | Poni | Vast Poni Canyon trial (no captain) | Vast Poni Canyon | Totem Kommo-o | 45 | Dragonium Z |
Levels are for the strongest Pokémon in each fight, read from the Sun/Moon game data. Every Totem and every Pokémon it calls is shiny-locked and cannot be caught. Mina gives you the Fairium Z inside Vast Poni Canyon, but she does not run a trial in Sun and Moon.
If your trial is “not working”
- You can’t throw a Poké Ball or run: that is the trial lock. You cannot catch wild Pokémon or flee from battles inside a trial site until you finish it. Catch what you want before you step in, or after you beat the Totem.
- You left and your progress vanished: leaving a trial site resets that trial. Talk to the captain again to restart it. Nothing on the rest of the island is lost.
- You blacked out: you wake at the last Pokémon Center and can try again, and a failed trial never locks you out. Where you pick up depends on the trial: Kiawe’s resumes from the last dance, Sophocles’ from the last question, but Mallow’s has to be done again from the start.
- Mallow’s ingredients are gone or she won’t take them: leave Lush Jungle and come back, and the ingredients respawn.
- The road is still blocked: Trial Guides stand at the next route until you have that trial’s Z-Crystal The story also holds you on an island until its kahuna’s grand trial is done, so check the walkthrough for the next step.
- Traded Pokémon won’t listen: obedience comes from grand trial stamps in your Trainer Passport. With no stamps they obey up to Lv. 20. After Hala it’s Lv. 35, after Olivia Lv. 50, after Nanu Lv. 65 and after Hapu Lv. 80. Once you’re Champion, they obey at any level.
Sun and Moon vs Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
Most wrong answers online come from Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon pages. If you are playing the original Sun or Moon, these are the rows that do not apply to you:
| Trial | Sun and Moon | Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon |
|---|---|---|
| Lana | Totem Wishiwashi | Totem Araquanid |
| Kiawe | Totem Salazzle (the Alolan Marowak are the dance battle, Lv. 18) | Totem Alolan Marowak |
| Sophocles | Totem Vikavolt | Totem Togedemaru |
| Mina | No trial. She gives you the Fairium Z in the canyon | An eighth trial with Totem Ribombee |
| Hapu | Grand trial at the canyon entrance, before the Kommo-o trial | After the canyon and Mina’s trial, on Exeggutor Island |
| Total | 7 trials, 4 grand trials | 8 trials, 4 grand trials |
Ilima, Mallow, Acerola and the canyon keep the same Totem in Ultra, but some of the Pokémon they call are different. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are separate cartridges, not an update, and you can’t move a save between them. More differences are in Sun vs Ultra Sun.
How Totem battles work
A Totem is a larger version of a normal Pokémon. Its aura raises one or more of its stats as the battle starts, and these boosts are normal stat stages, so Haze, Clear Smog and critical hits work on them as usual. It calls an ally Pokémon, so a battle is often two-on-one. Some Totems can call again after an ally faints, but the number is limited for others: each of Vikavolt’s two Charjabug can only be called once. Knock out a support ally first if it is healing or setting up weather, like Alomomola or Castform. Each Totem also holds an item, listed in the tracker. Lurantis is the one that wipes teams. Its Power Herb lets one Solar Blade skip the charging turn, and once Castform sets up Sunny Day, Solar Blade needs no charging turn at all.
You can’t catch a Totem or its allies, and none of them can be shiny. The Totem-sized Pokémon you can own come from Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, not these games.
One line per fight
- Gumshoos / Alolan Raticate: Fighting moves. Alolan Raticate takes 4× from them.
- Hala: Flying, Psychic or Fairy. His Crabrawler holds the Fightinium Z.
- Wishiwashi: Grass or Electric. Its School Form breaks up into tiny Solo Form once its HP is low.
- Salazzle: Ground does 4×. It knows Toxic, and its Corrosion lets it poison Steel and Poison types too, so bring Antidotes.
- Lurantis: Fire or Flying, and take out Castform first.
- Olivia: Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground or Steel. Nosepass and Boldore have Sturdy.
- Vikavolt: Rock. Ground moves miss because of Levitate, and its Occa Berry halves the first Fire hit.
- Mimikyu: Ghost or Steel. Its Disguise blocks the first hit, so open with something weak.
- Nanu: Fighting, Bug or Fairy. Sableye is only weak to Fairy.
- Hapu: Water, Grass or Ice. Flygon has Levitate.
- Kommo-o: Fairy does 4×. Its ally Scizor takes 4× from Fire.
Each Totem’s moves, Ability, aura and allies are listed in Pokémon Sun’s Totem Pokémon. For the full route between trials, the rival battles and the Ride Pokémon, use the Sun and Moon walkthrough. To choose a starter that handles the kahunas, see the Alola starters.
Quick answers
- How many island trials are in Pokémon Sun and Moon? Seven trials and four grand trials. Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon have eight trials.
- Can you catch Totem Pokémon? No. Totems and their allies can’t be caught and are shiny-locked.
- Does Mina have a trial in Sun and Moon? No. Her Fairy trial exists only in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
- Is Kiawe’s Totem Salazzle or Alolan Marowak? Salazzle in Sun and Moon. Alolan Marowak is the Totem in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
- Is Hapu before or after Vast Poni Canyon? Before, at the canyon entrance.
- What happens if I leave or fail a trial? That trial restarts. You don’t lose anything else.