Letter 4: Of Shopping and Stages

Dear Serena,

You would probably love the shopping in Alola--in addition to the obligatory souvenirs one must get from an Alolan vacation (I did get you a flowery shirt and a ukulele for Bonnie--comes with a case and a lesson book) there's some other stores you won't find anywhere else.

Everyone that I've traveled with has their own unique shopping style Myself--I'm probably one of those weird guys that actually LIKES shopping (Brock would also be one of these). I tend to follow your approach--visit every store, but don't buy until you're absolutely sure you've found the best deal.

Brock takes a more tactical approach to shopping--know what you want before you go, and keep an eye out for a deal. (making a list or doing appropriate research before you go) This means he will spend hours before the shopping trip reading reviews and comparing prices and features before leaving for the store--but he has been pleasantly surprised by a cheap brand or impulse buy.

Misty's no impulse buyer by any means, but she has been known to have us carrying home a ton of packages. Luckily, she knows the budget if we give her one, and sticks to it.

Being frequent visitors to the Hau'oli Galleria, Hikina and Mahina are very relaxed shoppers--come in, look around, maybe buy something, but mostly window shop.

A few highlights from our shopping trip:

--Popoki going bonkers for catnip Rattatas in the Pokemon supply store
--Trying Alolan shave ice for the first time (I got Oran, Misty tried Blue Alola, and Brock got a citrus rainbow (a mix of Oran, Nomel, and Meli)
--Mele entertaining some kids with her bubble blowing skills
--Meeting up with Hau and Lillie (luckily Nebby behaved himself and stayed in Lillie's bag the whole time
--My reuniting with Kirisame (he had somehow stowed away in Misty's bags), and Brock reuniting with Tarina (Lillie had picked her up from the airport--and had already gotten quite a fan club thanks to her red mage-like attire--even when it's 90 degrees out, she will not take off her red mage's cap and red cloak--She did have a Pichu-sized Alolan shirt on underneath the cloak.

She immediately wanted an Alolan shave ice, so back to the shave ice shop we went. Mahina recommended she try the LOA flavor (Lilikoi-Oran-Aguav)--she thought it too sweet, but enjoyable nontheless.

Then a hula dancing show started on the center stage in the central plaza, so we watched that for a while. Mahina was more than happy to answer Tarina's questions, and Hikina pitched in when Mahina didn't know an answer. (she was floored to learn that guys do the hula just as often as girls--and that while hula is the most recognized Alolan dance, there are other kinds as well.)

Tarina was getting bored with the show after a few numbers, so we decided to head over to the toy store. Brock reminded her that she was only getting one thing per location we stopped at, so even though she was floored at the size of the toy store, nothing was really worth buying that she couldn't find just as easily at home.

About then, we found the music store. Hikina was happy to tell us what to look for in buying a ukulele, so finding one for Bonnie was easy as pie.

Our other big event for the day was performing for the Trainer's School--Principal Emily is really nice, and not too shabby a trainer--Popoki had no trouble taking down her Magnemite and Alolan Meowth.

The show went over very well--we led off with "The Language of Pokemon", then I led "The Legend of Susanoo", Brock told "The Legend of Lake Akai", and Misty had everyone laughing with "The Great Feast"--we did humor Tarina with some adventurous tales (any version of a Moltres story will do, as well as tales about epic quests.)

Needless to say, Tarina was out like a light when we made it back to the hotel tonight--Popoki seems to like her--he is standing guard over her little bed so no one wakes her up. Since we didn't get to see the entire mall in one trip, we'll be headed back there tomorrow, plus some time on the beach.

Until then,
Ash