Guardian deities

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The guardian deities (Japanese: 守り神 guardian deity) are Legendary Pokémon in the Alola region who protect the islands where they live. Each of the four main islands in Alola has a guardian deity: Tapu Koko on Melemele Island, Tapu Lele on Akala Island, Tapu Bulu on Ula'ula Island, and Tapu Fini on Poni Island. The Island Kahunas are each chosen by their island's guardian deity.

They are also referred to as the tapu (Japanese: カプ kapu), the guardians (Japanese: 守り神 guardian deity), the sacred guardians (Japanese: 守り神 guardian deity), the island guardians (Japanese: 島の守り神 island's guardian deity), the spirit guardians (Japanese: 守り神 guardian deity), the land spirits (Japanese: とちがみポケモン Land Spirit Pokémon), or the guardian tapu (Japanese: 島の守り神　カプ island's guardian deity kapu).

The guardian deities are known to take part in battles to decide who is the strongest of them all, and this inspired humans to create the Battle Royal format. They share the signature move Nature's Madness and its corresponding Z-Move Guardian of Alola.

Similar movesets

Lv.	Tapu Koko  Electric  Fairy	Tapu Lele  Psychic  Fairy	Tapu Bulu  Grass  Fairy	Tapu Fini  Water  Fairy
1	Electric Terrain	Psychic Terrain	Grassy Terrain	Misty Terrain
	Brave Bird	Aromatic Mist	Wood Hammer	Moonblast
	Power Swap	Aromatherapy	Superpower	Heal Pulse
	Mean Look
	Quick Attack	Draining Kiss	Disable	Haze
	False Swipe	Astonish	Whirlwind	Mist
	Withdraw
	Thunder Shock	Confusion	Leafage	Water Gun
8	Spark	Psywave	Horn Attack	Water Pulse
14	Shock Wave	Psybeam	Giga Drain	Whirlpool
20	Screech	Sweet Scent	Scary Face	Soak
26	Charge	Skill Swap	Leech Seed	Refresh
32	Wild Charge	Psyshock	Horn Leech	Brine
38	Mirror Move	Tickle	Rototiller	Defog
43	Nature's Madness
48	Discharge	Extrasensory	Zen Headbutt	Muddy Water
53	Agility	Flatter	Megahorn	Aqua Ring
58	Electro Ball	Moonblast	Skull Bash	Hydro Pump
Moves in bold get STAB. Moves in italics do no damage.

Base stat comparison

Pokémon	Tapu Koko	Tapu Lele	Tapu Bulu	Tapu Fini
HP	70	70	70	70
Attack	115	85	130	75
Defense	85	75	115	115
Sp. Attack	95	130	85	95
Sp. Defense	75	115	95	130
Speed	130	95	75	85
Total	570	570	570	570

In the games

Pokémon Sun and Moon

Among the guardian deities, Tapu Koko plays the largest role within the games' storyline, appearing before the player picks their starter Pokémon to save them after they fall from a broken bridge with Nebby in tow. Tapu Koko, in recognition of the player's bravery, gives the player a Sparkling Stone, which is later refined by Hala into a Z-Ring. Tapu Koko later appears to defend Melemele Island against the then-unidentified Ultra Beast Buzzwole^S/Pheromosa^M alongside Hala. After becoming Champion, the player and Lillie visit Tapu Koko at the Ruins of Conflict to give thanks to it, after which the player battles it.

Tapu Fini, while not physically seen, plays a small role in the story as well, granting Hapu the title of Island Kahuna after her grandfather, the previous Kahuna, passed away.

The player can battle and catch the other guardian deities after the credits roll.

In the anime

The contents of this section have been suggested to be split into Guardian deities (anime). Please discuss it on the talk page for this section.

The guardian deities of Alola

Tapu Koko first appeared in Alola to New Adventure!, where it gave Ash a Z-Ring. In the next episode, it challenged Ash and Pikachu to a battle, where it taught them how to use the Z-Move Gigavolt Havoc before fleeing. In Trial and Tribulation!, it briefly appears to return Ash's Electrium Z after his battle with Hala. In A Guardian Rematch!, it has a rematch with Ash in front of the students at the Pokemon School, and rescues both him and Pikachu after they fall off a cliff during the battle.

Tapu Lele made its first appearance in Partner Promises!, where it was briefly spotted by Ash at nighttime and healed a scratch he suffered while rescuing a Wimpod trapped in a cave.

In SM044, the four guardian deities were all alerted to the creation of Cosmog.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Tapu Koko first appeared in the Sun & Moon arc, attacking Sun and Moon. After a short battle it escapes, leaving behind a Sparkling Stone. The other guardians are later mentioned during the Kahunas meeting about the recent sightings of the guardian deities. Afterwards, Tapu Koko saves Moon at Mahalo Trail, when Nebby breaks the bridge as Moon is defending it from Spearow.

Trivia

• The guardian deities are the only Pokémon to have an interpunct in their Japanese names.

In other languages

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 守護神 Sáuwuhsàhn Mandarin 守護神 / 守护神 Shǒuhùshén Czech Pokémon strážcem Danish Øens vagt Guardian Pokémon Øvagt Åndevagt Dutch Eilandbeschermer Beschermgod Finnish Suojelija French Pokémon Gardien Divinité gardienne Pokémon protecteur German Schutzpatron Hungarian Védőistene Italian Pokémon protettore Korean 수호신 Suhosin Norwegian Øyernes vakt Øvakt Polish Boski strażnik Portuguese Brazil Guardião da ilha Portugal Divindade guardiã Russian Божественный хранитель Bozhestvennyy khranitel' Дух хранитель Dukh khranitel' Spanish Espíritu guardián Swedish Öväktare Guradian Pokémon Spirit guradian

This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.