Alola is the first Pokémon region inspired by an American archipelago: Hawaii. Its four islands echo the four main islands of the chain, right down to their official colors. Here is what Game Freak borrowed from the real world.
The name itself comes from aloha, the Hawaiian greeting, which also means love and kindness. In the game, the locals greet each other with a cheerful “Alola!”.
Hawaii has eight main islands; Alola keeps only four, plus one artificial island, Aether Paradise, with no real-world equivalent. Each island of Alola bears the Hawaiian name of a color, which is also the official color of the real island that inspired it.
