After the battle, Hala began seeing off guests, having taught John the Fighting-Z and Ice-Z moves. The Fighting-type Z-move is called "All-Out Pummeling," while the Ice-type Z-move is "Subzero Slammer." John had carefully observed and learned both techniques.
In theory, anyone with enough physical strength could use these moves in battle, as long as they weren't too embarrassed by the poses. Using them in the Gameboy game was one thing, but employing them in real life? No way! The socially-conscious John would never risk such embarrassment. Especially considering his growing popularity—any battle he participated in would surely be recorded, and he didn't want such footage becoming a permanent stain on his reputation!
Hala's generosity exceeded John's expectations. In the game, Hala only gave out one Fighting-Z, but now he had also gifted an Ice-Z. John had been worried about collecting all 18 types of Z-Crystals during his island tour, but this eased his concerns. Perhaps the Kahunas of the other three islands would be equally generous with their Z-Crystals.
After carefully storing both the Fighting-Z and Ice-Z, John departed from Iki Town. He summoned his Flygon to fly to Hau'oli City, from where he could Surf to Akala Island.
Unlike Melemele Island with its bustling metropolis, Akala Island featured three cities, all smaller than Hau'oli City. However, Akala's large volcano provided hot springs and rich Fire-type Pokémon resources, making it an extremely popular tourist destination among the four islands of Alola.
Upon arriving at Akala Island, John first encountered Heahea City, the gateway to the island. He headed straight to the Pokémon Center to heal his team and register his progress. Then he immediately began searching for Totem stickers.
This time, John spent a full two hours hunting. Despite Heahea City being smaller than Hau'oli City, the Totem stickers were placed in far more devious locations. Some examples included one under a satellite antenna on the western side outside the Space Laboratory, and another behind a chair on the balcony of the first room on the third floor of the Tideview Hotel.
These tricky placements made John want to curse the game designers, yet he couldn't deny the satisfaction he felt upon discovering each one. Still, he worried about accidentally missing some and having to search the entire city again.
After thoroughly combing Heahea City, John collected 11 new stickers, bringing his total to 28—well above the threshold of 20 needed to claim his first Totem Pokémon!
John immediately rushed to find Professor Oak's "Alola form"—or rather, Samson Oak. While Kanto's Professor Oak was named Samuel Oak, the Alola Region's Professor Oak was his cousin. John had spotted him earlier during his sticker hunt on Heahea Beach.
John hurried to exchange his stickers for a Totem Pokémon.
"Oh ho ho~!" Professor Oak exclaimed. "Are there still young trainers searching for my Totem stickers scattered throughout the Alola Region?"
"Let me see how many you've collected," he continued, examining John's collection. "A total of... 28 stickers?! Excellent! You've met my first requirement. As a reward, I'll give you a Totem Pokémon unique to the Alola Region."
"Please choose among these three Pokémon!" Professor Oak suddenly produced three Pokéballs and placed them before John.
The moment reminded John of when he first received his Torchic from Professor Birch. Back then, he could reset the game by shutting it down without saving to try for better starter stats. But now, like with Pokémon trades and dungeon runs, the game automatically saved once John completed an action—similar to switching from single-player to online gaming.
The same applied to selecting a Poké Ball now; once chosen, the game would automatically save.
John recalled that in the original game, there wasn't an option to choose your first Totem Pokémon—the first one given was generally mediocre. He reached out to check the three Pokeballs...
They contained: Gumshoos, Alolan Raticate, and Alolan Meowth.
Well, John thought wryly, his earlier assessment was correct—the first Totem Pokémon options were indeed underwhelming. He could only see which Pokémon was inside each ball, not their specific attributes, so he had to choose based solely on the Pokémon themselves.
Among these unimpressive options, Gumshoos seemed the best choice. John would have considered Meowth, but the Alolan form—along with Alolan Persian—was disappointingly ugly. Otherwise, he might have raised a Persian just for fun, experiencing what it was like to be like Team Rocket's Giovanni!
He selected Gumshoos, and its attributes immediately appeared before him:
[Gumshoos (Normal-Type) (Totem)]
[Ability: Adaptability (increases same-type attack bonus from 50% to 100%)]
[Individual Values: HP (31), Attack (31), Special Attack (13), Defense (31), Special Defense (18), Speed (21)]
[Moves: Sand Attack, Tackle, Leer, Payback, Work Up, Bite, Mud Slap]
Three perfect IVs in HP, Attack, and Defense—not bad! Gumshoos's base Attack stat of 110 combined with its perfect individual value of 31 was promising. And with the Adaptability ability, its Normal-type moves would pack a serious punch!
"I'll have to raise the price when I sell this Pokémon," John thought while rubbing his chin.
After pocketing Gumshoos, John wasn't discouraged by the mediocre first Totem Pokémon. His goal remained collecting all 100 Totem stickers to eventually receive the dragon Pseudo-Legendary Totem Pokémon from Professor Oak. Judging from how things were progressing, he suspected there might be more choices available down the line.