Lana Pokemon Guide: Nice Day For Fishing, Ain’t It?

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Emily Medlock, Resident Pokémon Go Expert

Emily is our resident Pokemon Go expert who still wanders streets aimlessly and get's in those steps to get her hands on new and exciting Pokemon walking amongst us in AR form. Outside of Pokemon, she loves mainstream RPGS and survival games, with Ark Survival Evolved being her main squeeze.

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A Lana Pokémon guide will leave you feeling as refreshed as a fisher on a Sunday morning. When I play a Pokémon game, it’s not easy to remember every NPC I meet, but I latched onto Lana immediately. It may have been her innocent nature, blue vibes, or fishing aesthetic that made me love her. All I know is that she deserves more attention than Pokémon Sun and Moon gave her, and I’m here to give it.

The Alolan Fisher We All Want To Befriend

• Gender: Female
• Age: 11 to 19
• Eye Color: Blue
• Hair Color: Blue
• Favorite Type: Water
• Hometown: Konikoni City
• Gen: VII

If you haven’t fished in a video game, then you may not be living your best life. There’s not much that is more relaxing than fishing – in video games and in real life. I believe this is the reason everyone loves Lana.

All About Lana

Lana is more than just her personality, looks, and what she likes to do; but I love getting to know everything about a character, including these details.

Personality

Lana is a loyal and dependable girl who may not be shy, but she is introverted. Because she is Captain, she makes it a point to be determined and to prove herself to her adversaries.

Appearance

Lana is a smaller young woman whose age isn’t disclosed, though she is definitely between 11 and 19, as this is the age range of her position at Akala Island. Lana has blue hair, eyes, and clothing. Lana’s love for fishing is shown with the blue fish on the chest of her swimsuit. She wears a swimsuit under her clothing, so she’s always ready to dive into the water with her Water Pokémon.

Hobbies

My favorite quirk of Lana’s is actually a hobby of hers. Lana loves to tell stories of things that have happened, and oftentimes, these stories are false. She doesn’t tell them just to fib, but as a game.

Aside from this tidbit, Lana loves to fish, battle, and take care of others. The “others” in question are her Pokémon and her family.

Lana’s Pokémon in the Games

Lana is seen with three different Pokémon (plus two which evolve from the original three) in the Pokémon games. Unlike in the anime, we don’t get to see the personal connections she has with each Pokémon.

Chinchou

• Type: Water/Electric
• Game: Sun and Moon
• Moves: Bubble Beam, Electro Ball, Thunder Wave
• Ability: Volt Absorb
• Level: 26

Shellder

• Type: Water
• Game: Sun and Moon
• Moves: Bubble Beam, Thunder Wave, Electro Ball
• Ability: Volt Absorb
• Level: 26

Araquanid

• Type: Water/Bug
• Game: Sun and Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
• Moves (S/M): Bug Bite, Bite, Bubble Beam
• Moves (US/UM): Liquidation, Leech Life, Crunch, Frost Breath
• Ability: Water Bubble
• Level: 27, 51, 60

Cloyster

• Type: Water/Ice
• Game: Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
• Moves: Spike Cannon, Icicle Crash, Spikes, Smart Strike
• Ability: Skill Link
• Level: 51, 60

Lanturn

• Type: Water/Electric
• Game: Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon
• Moves: Discharge, Hydro Pump, Thunder Wave, Icy Wind
• Ability: Volt Absorb
• Level: 51/60

Lana’s Pokémon in the Anime

My favorite part about Pokémon trainers’ Pokémon in the anime is getting to see the character development and emotional connections the two share. Lana has a few Pokémon connections that I can’t stop thinking about.

Popplio/Brionne/Primarina

Popplio is Lana’s main Pokémon. She is a wonderful singer and bubble-blower who shows kindness towards her trainer. Popplio was captured as a wild Pokémon by Team Skull before being saved by Lana.

They continued to bond from there, and Popplio eventually evolved into Brionne and Brionne into Primarina. Lana and Popplio’s relationship is one of my favorites in Sun and Moon.

Eevee (Sandy)

Sandy is Lana’s Eevee, who is very sweet and innocent. He’s extremely friendly and loves to swim with Brionne. Lana and Sandy met when she was holding Popplio and Sandy saw how close the two were. Sandy (just Eevee at the time) befriended Lana, following her around and becoming one of her partners. Though their bond isn’t exactly what Lana’s is with Popplio, Sandy is her second dearest Pokémon.

Lapras

Lapras is Lana’s primary Poké Ride, likely because she spends much of her time in the water. It was when she was on Lapras that she saved Popplio from Team Skull by having Lapras freeze the grunts with Ice Beam.

The beginning of the series even features Lana fishing off of her Lapras, which reminds me of when the feature (fishing off of a Pokémon using Surf) was introduced in-game in Gen III. 

Tauros

We don’t get to see how Lana got her Tauros, and she doesn’t use it often. It is another one of her Poké Rides we see in the first episode when she rode the Tauros to school.

Stoutland (for a class)

On Akala Island, the class that Lana was in each had to choose a partner Stoutland. Lana chose a stubborn one as her new Poké Ride. She took it on the class’s treasure hunt despite its unruliness. Whenever a wild Garbodor threatened to attack Lana, Stoutland stepped in to protect her, helping the two bond. Because of their bond and Stoutland’s instincts, Lana won the treasure hunt. 

Dragonair

Dragonair doesn’t get a lot of attention in the Sun & Moon anime, but it is Lana’s flying Poké Ride that we see throughout the series. We see Dragonair help defeat Ultra Beasts such as Celesteela, Blacephalon, and Xurkitree.

Lana’s History and Story

Lana really sticks out to me for some reason, so I delved into her story. Some of her most iconic connections and accomplishments are in the games, while others are in the anime.

Lana on Brooklet Hill (Games)

In Sun and Moon, you first meet Lana on Brooklet Hill. She is Captain of the Island Challenge there. She asks you to investigate strange things happening in the water using your newly-acquired Lapras.

At the challenge’s end, you will encounter a School Form Wishiwashi (Sun and Moon) or an Araquanid (Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon). Lana then appears later on during Mallow’s challenge.

Lana’s Fishing Adventures (Anime)

Lana is often depicted with a fishing rod. She was asked by Professor Kukui to teach her classmates to fish in the anime. Her love for fishing comes from her father, who she often fishes with when she is at home. Whenever Lana played baseball with her friends, she held the bat like a fishing rod the first time, letting us know where her heart and mind were. I still conclude that this fishing quirk is the reason people love Lana.

Pokémon School of Melemele Island (Anime)

In the anime, Lana is a student on Melemele Island. She is Ash’s old schoolmate who spends most of her time on the island, which is the main setting for the Sun & Moon series.

Lana and Her Sisters (Both)

Lana has two sisters – Harper and Sarah. They reside in her hometown of Konikoni City in the game and will ask for a double battle after the new Champion is declared. As cute as they are in the games, they play a bigger role in the anime.

In the anime, they are typical little sister characters, playing with Pikachu, teasing Lana, and attending Lana’s performances with delight. Lana plays the annoyed big sister who loves her baby sisters dearly.

Lana and the Ultra Guardians (Anime)

Lana is a member of the Ultra Guardians, an anime-exclusive group that protects Pokémon and is led by the Aether Foundation. Their main job, aside from keeping Pokémon safe, is to catch Ultra Beasts. When on patrol, Lana uses a Dragonair to fly around, wears a cyan blue color, and has a Waterium Z. She, along with the other Ultra Guardians, spends the better part of the series tracking down Ultra Beasts.

Lana Gets the Attention She Deserves in the Manga

Some characters are anime-exclusive or game-exclusive, but Lana reaches across all depictions. She gets a different personality in the Pokémon manga, Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Adventures. She appears in Sun’s journey, where she makes him prove himself by defeating School Form Wishiwashi. Because Sun had already made friends with Wishiwashi, he didn’t want to fight it.

This makes Lana angry. Her skepticism and anger separate her from the Lana we know from the anime. Although both Lanas get angry, it seems to define her personality in the manga. The manga is where Lana’s battle mode is introduced. Although she can be shy in the manga, too, her battle mode seems to shine through more often when she isn’t in battle than in other adaptations.

How Lana Treats Others

When it comes down to it, this is the only thing I judge in anime/video game characters. She treats all of her friends well, but her sweetness shines through when she interacts with her Pokémon.

Here are some of my favorite moments that show Lana’s heart.

The Ghost Incident

In the episode “A Haunted House for Everyone!”, Lana tells her friends that her sisters want to go to a haunted house. As they discuss where to find one, a floating Mimiyku floats by Ash. The Mimikyu, known as Mimikins, has a trainer named Acerola, who brings some books to the school. Acerola hears about the conversation and decides that they should make a haunted house.

The gang creates a fun haunted house for the girls, but when real Ghost Pokémon show up, and strange things are afoot, Lana’s concern for her sisters grows. Watching her chase them through the dream world put me on the edge of my seat. 

Mallow’s Mom

When Mallow – Lana’s best friend – was young, her mother was very ill. Mallow’s mom spent time with her when she could but was often in the hospital instead, which made Mallow angry. She took out her aggression by yelling at her mother. At one point, she told her mother that she hated her, and soon after, her mother died. Lana is the only person that Mallow will talk to about her mother. 

Lana comforts her and helps ease Mallow’s guilt for getting angry with her mother. When I saw the scene with their conversation about the trauma, I cried like a baby.

Lana Vs. Mallow

During the League, Mallow and Lana were forced to battle each other. Lana didn’t want to do this, but she promised to give her all, and so she did, but Mallow was going to forfeit. When Lana saw this, she encouraged Mallow to keep going and do her best to defeat her. Lana eventually won, but not until using a perfected Z-Move from Tsareena that Lana helped her with. 

Misty’s Lure

During a Kanto arc, Lana meets Misty. Lana greatly admires Misty and the way she handles her Water Pokémon. The two meet up again when Misty and Brock visit the island. This time, Misty leaves her with a Misty lure that Misty gives her as thanks for inviting her and Brock to visit. The reason I love this connection is that they are both water trainers, yet there is no jealousy in their relationship. 

Sandy’s Connection

I know I already talked about how Sandy and Lana met, but I want to mention that she didn’t have to “catch” him. Although she did throw a Dive Ball (for legal reasons), Sandy chose her. All Lana did was ask the Eevee if he wanted to join them, and he agreed. From there, she threw the Dive Ball, named him Sandy, and that was it. Sandy saw something special in Lana.

Teaching the Class

At one point in the series, Professor Kukui asks Lana to teach the class for a day, as Kukui wants the class to learn how to fish. This makes sense considering they live on an island. When Mallow calls her a fishing master, she blushes, letting us know she isn’t the least bit arrogant about her skills. She even shares her fishing rod with Ash, who doesn’t have one.

FAQs

Lana in the Pokémon World

Lana doesn’t play a huge role in the Pokémon world as a whole. In most seasons of Pokémon, there are around three main characters. But in Sun & Moon, the Ultra Guardians give us six main characters. Lana is just another one of the Ultra Guardians. I love the array of main characters because it gives kids more characters to choose a favorite from that get the attention they deserve.

Lana represents a lightheartedness that this world needs more of. She isn’t the typical innocent child trope, but rather a big sister type that keeps things light without losing an ounce of empathy.