Nanu

Nanu クチナシ Kuchinashi
Artwork from Sun and Moon by Ken Sugimori
Age	Unknown
Gender	Male
Eye color	Red
Hair color	Gray
Hometown	Route 17
Region	Alola
Trainer class	Island Kahuna
Generation	VII, VIII, IX
Counterpart(s)	Nanu (Masters)
Games	Sun and Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Masters EX
English voice actor	Sean Chiplock (Masters EX)
Japanese voice actor	Kenjiro Tsuda (Masters EX)
Member of	Island challenge
Rank	Island kahuna
Kahuna of	Ula'ula Island
Z-Crystal	Darkinium Z
Specializes in	Dark-types
Member of	International Police (formerly)
Rank	Elite officer
Animated series	Pokémon the Series
Debut	Why Not Give Me a Z-Ring Sometime?
English voice actor	Michael McMillan
Japanese voice actor	Masaki Aizawa
Manga series	Pokémon Adventures
Debut	The Delivery of Rotom and the Girl

Nanu (Japanese: クチナシ Kuchinashi) is a character introduced in Pokémon Sun and Moon. He is the kahuna of Ula'ula Island. He specializes in Dark-type Pokémon. He grants the Ula'ula stamp to Trainers who defeat him.

In the core series games

Nanu is a police officer who first shows up to aid the player in getting into Po Town. After Team Skull is defeated by the player, he reveals that he is the kahuna of Ula'ula Island and challenges the player in Malie City for their island challenge grand trial. Upon defeat, he grants the player the Darkinium Z and wishes them well as they, along with Gladion and Hau, head to Aether Paradise to rescue Lillie.

When Professor Kukui forms the Alola Pokémon League, he offers Nanu a position in the Alola Elite Four. He turns down the offer, however, stating that he has no obligation to join, unlike when the guardian deity chose him to become the kahuna. As such, Acerola joins the Elite Four in his place.

In Pokémon Sun and Moon, Nanu later provides information on sightings of the Ultra Beasts around Ula'ula. He is also revealed to be a former member of the International Police and Looker's former superior. His codename was 000 (Japanese: 〇〇〇) . During his time with them, he is described as having been an elite officer, on par with Looker. Ten years prior to the events of Pokémon Sun and Moon, he participated in a three-person mission with Looker and an unnamed Faller to track down a Guzzlord, which ultimately cost the Faller her life. After this mission, he and Looker discovered Anabel on the shores of Poni Island.

In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, after Necrozma unleashes several Ultra Beasts around Alola, Nanu is briefly seen facing a Guzzlord at the Ruins of Abundance. Later, he also appears in Acerola's place at the Aether House during Mina's trial. In Ultra Moon, he challenges the player to a rematch, while in Ultra Sun, he is not in the mood for a battle due to having just been defeated by Hau. In both games, he then gives the player the Purple Petal, the final flower petal of the trial. In these games, it is also revealed that, after the death of Hapu's grandfather, the previous kahuna of Poni Island, Nanu had been responsible for holding the grand trials on Poni before Hapu was elected as the new kahuna by Tapu Fini. At one point, he is also seen giving a beginning Trainer his first partner Pokémon, with the choice being between three Alolan Meowth with different personalities.

Pokémon

Nanu's Pokémon are kept in Ultra Balls.

Pokémon Sun and Moon

Grand trial battle

Island Kahuna Nanu Malie City Sun and Moon Reward: $6,240

Types: Dark Ghost Ability: Keen Eye Held item: None Sableye♀ Lv.38 Power Gem Rock Special   --       Shadow Ball Ghost Special   --       Fake Out Normal Physical   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Types: Ground Dark Ability: Intimidate Held item: None Krokorok♂ Lv.38 Crunch Dark Physical   --       Assurance Dark Physical   --       Swagger Normal Status   --       Earthquake Ground Physical   --       Type: Dark Unknown Ability: Fur Coat Held item: Darkinium Z Persian♀ Lv.39 Power Gem Rock Special   --       Fake Out Normal Physical   --       Dark Pulse Dark Special   --       Curse Unknown Status   --

Second battle

Island Kahuna Nanu Seafolk Village Sun and Moon Reward: $10,080

Types: Dark Ghost Ability: Keen Eye Held item: None Sableye♀ Lv.63 Power Gem Rock Special   --       Shadow Ball Ghost Special   --       Dark Pulse Dark Special   --       Toxic Poison Status   --       Types: Ground Dark Ability: Intimidate Held item: None Krookodile♂ Lv.63 Crunch Dark Physical   --       Aerial Ace Flying Physical   --       Dragon Claw Dragon Physical   --       Earthquake Ground Physical   --       Types: Dark Flying Ability: Insomnia Held item: None Honchkrow♂ Lv.63 Aerial Ace Flying Physical   --       Sucker Punch Dark Physical   --       Psychic Psychic Special   --       Snarl Dark Special   --       Type: Dark Unknown Ability: Super Luck Held item: None Absol♂ Lv.63 Psycho Cut Psychic Physical   --       Sucker Punch Dark Physical   --       Aerial Ace Flying Physical   --       Night Slash Dark Physical   --       Type: Dark Unknown Ability: Fur Coat Held item: Darkinium Z Persian♀ Lv.63 Power Gem Rock Special   --       Fake Out Normal Physical   --       Dark Pulse Dark Special   --       Thunderbolt Electric Special   --

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

Grand trial battle

Island Kahuna Nanu Malie City Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Reward: $7,040

Types: Dark Ghost Ability: Keen Eye Held item: None Sableye♀ Lv.43 Power Gem Rock Special   --       Shadow Ball Ghost Special   --       Fake Out Normal Physical   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Types: Ground Dark Ability: Intimidate Held item: None Krokorok♂ Lv.43 Crunch Dark Physical   --       Assurance Dark Physical   --       Swagger Normal Status   --       Earthquake Ground Physical   --       Type: Dark Unknown Ability: Fur Coat Held item: Darkinium Z Persian♀ Lv.44 Power Gem Rock Special   --       Fake Out Normal Physical   --       Dark Pulse Dark Special   --       Curse Unknown Status   --

Mina's trial^UM

Island Kahuna Nanu Aether House Ultra Moon Reward: $8,480

Types: Dark Ghost Ability: Keen Eye Held item: None Sableye♀ Lv.52 Power Gem Rock Special   --       Shadow Ball Ghost Special   --       Dark Pulse Dark Special   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Type: Dark Unknown Ability: Super Luck Held item: None Absol♂ Lv.52 Night Slash Dark Physical   --       Psycho Cut Psychic Physical   --       Sucker Punch Dark Physical   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Type: Dark Unknown Ability: Fur Coat Held item: Darkinium Z Persian♀ Lv.53 Power Gem Rock Special   --       Fake Out Normal Physical   --       Dark Pulse Dark Special   --       Curse Unknown Status   --

In the spin-off games

Pokémon Masters EX

Main article: Nanu (Masters)

Nanu forms a sync pair with Alolan Persian in Pokémon Masters EX. Nanu joins the player after completing the fifteenth chapter of the PML Arc.

Dex	Trainer		NDex	Pokémon		Type	Weakness	Role	EX role	Base potential	Availability
#061		Nanu	#0053		Persian♀ Alola Form	Dark	Bug			★★★★	Story Chapter 15

Quotes

Main article: Nanu/Quotes

In the anime

Main series

Nanu in the anime

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

Nanu debuted in Why Not Give Me a Z-Ring Sometime?, where Team Rocket hoped to get a Z-Ring from him at the recommendation of Giovanni. However, he initially refused to give one to them, even claiming that the island kahuna was away at the time. Later, when Acerola had been kidnapped by a Gengar nicknamed Greedy Rapooh and Team Rocket helped save her, Nanu reconsidered and gave them a Z-Power Ring, which they used in conjunction with their Darkinium Z to activate Black Hole Eclipse and defeat Rapooh.

In Tough Guy Trials!, Nanu received a phone call from Giovanni, who was surprised to learn Nanu had become both a police officer and an island kahuna. He asked Nanu to tell him about the Pokémon the people of Alola call "the Blinding One", but the call was interrupted by the arrival of Ash, who came to challenge Nanu in a grand trial. Believing that Ash wasn't ready to challenge him, Nanu lied, claiming that he was a different person, and he had Ash play with his Alolan Meowth while he went somewhere else. Later, after realizing his kendama had gone missing, Nanu visited Acerola to retrieve it. Acerola forced Nanu to let Ash have a battle with him, which he begrudgingly accepted. During the battle, Ash's Lycanroc went berserk after its fur got dirty, allowing Nanu's Krookodile to swiftly defeat it. When Nanu told Ash that he should just return to Melemele Island, Ash refused and instead decided to remain on Ula'ula and train for a rematch.

In A Battle Hand-Off!, Nanu was revisited by the trio, who was looking for Ash. He sent them to the Thrifty Megamart, and later sent Ash there as well in a ploy to delay the grand trial. However, when Ash returned, Nanu was shocked to learn he defeated the trio, leaving him with no choice but to accept Ash's challenge for a grand trial.

In the next episode, Nanu battled Ash for his Ula'ula Island grand trial, but only allowed him to use one Pokémon against his three. Under these conditions, Ash chose to use Lycanroc. During the battle, Nanu noticed that Lycanroc's red-eyed state boosted its power while Ash continued to mistake the occurrence for another rage attack. Nanu attempted to use this to his advantage by taunting Ash and questioning his skills as a Trainer. Ash, however, saw through the distraction tactic and eventually managed to clear the grand trial, partially thanks to Tapu Bulu healing Lycanroc with a Sitrus Berry in between the second and third rounds. After being defeated, Nanu considered giving Ash a Darkinium Z, but quickly changed his mind and gave him a Lycanium Z instead.

In Full Moon and Many Arms!, Nanu and Acerola were seen praying at the Ruins of Abundance while they waited for the Manalo Festival to begin. In Securing the Future!, Nanu joined the rest of Alola in restoring Necrozma to its true form by lending it some of his Z-Power.

In The Dealer of Destruction!, Nanu, his fellow kahunas, and Lusamine helped Professor Kukui unveil the upcoming Alola League to the public. In Battle Royal 151!, Nanu appeared alongside his fellow kahunas, acting as a referee during the Battle Royal round of the Manalo Conference. In The Battlefield of Truth and Love!, Nanu refereed the third pair of first-round matches: one between Sophocles and Mina, and the other being between Jessie and James.

In Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Strategy!, Nanu observed the battle between Gladion and James before refereeing the battle between Ash and Hau. In Battling on the Wing!, he continued to referee the battle. When Rowlet appeared to be defeated by Decidueye, he was about to declare Hau the winner when Hala pointed out that Rowlet was only sleeping. Hala then overruled Nanu's decision, allowing the battle to continue.

After observing the first semifinals battle in The Road to The Semifinals! and The Final Four!, Nanu refereed the second one between Ash and Guzma in Getting Down to The Ire! and The Wisdom Not to Run!. Then, in Final Rivals! and Enter the Champion!, he watched the finals battle between Ash and Gladion in the stands. After the final battle ended, Nanu attended the award ceremony for the winner, only for it to be interrupted when a Guzzlord arrived at the stadium through an Ultra Wormhole.

In Z-Move Showdown!, Nanu and the other island kahunas joined forces to battle Guzzlord. The guardian deities later came to their assistance, using their powers to keep Guzzlord in place long enough for Nanu and the others to fire off their Z-Moves. The combined attacks launched Guzzlord back into the wormhole it came out of, successfully sending it back into Ultra Space.

In Exhibition Unmasked!, Fiery Surprises!, and From Z to Shining Z!, Nanu watched the exhibition match between Ash and Professor Kukui.

Nanu appeared in a fantasy in Dreams of the Sun and Moon!.

In Thank You, Alola! The Journey Continues!, Nanu was seen having a grand trial battle against Hau, using his Persian against Hau's Decidueye.

Character

Despite his island kahuna title, Nanu prefers to relax and distract himself with his kendama. He finds the responsibility exhausting, often complaining about it and lying in order to get himself out of any situation in which he must commit to his duties. However, when forced into battle, Nanu enjoys bringing out the passion in a challenger through anger. During their grand trial, Ash quickly learned that Nanu's underhanded tactics like berating comments were just part of his battle strategy.

He is also an old acquaintance of Giovanni, though the exact nature of their connection remains unclear.

Pokémon

On hand

Krookodile

Debut	Tough Guy Trials!
Voice actors
Japanese	Toru Sakurai
English	Marc Thompson

Krookodile is Nanu's first known Pokémon. It was first used during Nanu's first battle against Ash and his Lycanroc. During the battle, Nanu had Krookodile deliberately anger Lycanroc, who eventually went berserk after its fur was dirtied by Krookodile's Mud-Slap. Lycanroc proceeded to attack wildly until it was defeated by Krookodile's Crunch.

Krookodile reappeared in Guiding an Awakening!, where it was the first Pokémon Nanu used in his grand trial battle against Ash and Lycanroc, and sought to pull off a similar strategy to the first battle. However, this time, Lycanroc wasn't phased and was able to defeat the Intimidation Pokémon, delivering the finishing blow with a Rock Throw.

Krookodile's known moves are Sand Tomb, Mud-Slap, Counter, and Crunch, and its Ability is Intimidate.

Sableye

Debut	Guiding an Awakening!
Voice actors
Japanese	Kaito Ishikawa
English	Bill Rogers

Sableye is Nanu's second known Pokémon. It was the second Pokémon he used against Ash and his Lycanroc in Ash's grand trial battle. It used Mean Look to immobilize Lycanroc and inflict damage while Lycanroc could not counter it, but ended up being defeated by the Wolf Pokémon's Stone Edge.

Sableye's known moves are Shadow Ball, Shadow Sneak, Shadow Claw, and Mean Look.

Persian

Debut	Guiding an Awakening!
Voice actors
Japanese	Fumiko Takekuma
English	Laurie Hymes

Alolan Persian is Nanu's third known Pokémon. It is larger than most Alolan Persian, with Rotom comparing it to a Totem Pokémon. It was the final Pokémon he used against Ash and his Lycanroc in Ash's grand trial battle and used a mixture of ranged and close quarters attacks to counter Lycanroc. However, after having its Z-Move countered, it ended up being defeated by the Wolf Pokémon's Accelerock, winning the battle for Ash.

Persian reappeared in Securing the Future!, where it joined the rest of Alola in showering Necrozma with Z-Power by using its Z-Move so it could return to its true form.

In Z-Move Showdown!, Nanu used Persian alongside the other kahunas' Pokémon to battle a Guzzlord and successfully managed to send it back in its Ultra Wormhole using their combined Z-Moves.

In Thank You, Alola! The Journey Continues!, Persian was seen facing Hau and his Decidueye in a grand trial battle.

Persian's known moves are Power Gem, Dark Pulse, and Night Slash.
Persian can also perform the Z-Move Black Hole Eclipse.

At home

Meowth (multiple)

Debut	Why Not Give Me a Z-Ring Sometime?
Voice actors
Japanese
English	Pete Zarustica

Multiple Alolan Meowth reside at Nanu's house. They first appeared in Why Not Give Me a Z-Ring Sometime?, where they robbed Team Rocket of their food. They reappeared in Tough Guy Trials!, where Nanu made Ash play with them while he went off somewhere else.

In Securing the Future!, several of them joined the rest of Alola in showering Necrozma with light so it could return to its true form.

Meowth's only known move is Scratch.

Voice actors

Language Voice actor Japanese 相沢まさき Masaki Aizawa English Michael McMillan Finnish Vesa Hämes (SM073-SM088) Aku Laitinen (SM115-present) European French Jean-François Rossion Polish Adam Szyszkowski Brazilian Portuguese Mario Jorge Spanish Latin America Jesús Cortés Spain Juan Lombardero

GOTCHA!

Nanu briefly appeared in GOTCHA!.

In the manga

Nanu in Pokémon Adventures

Pokémon Adventures

Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon arc

Nanu debuted in The Delivery of Rotom and the Girl. He was first seen with Hala and Olivia at Malie Garden, where they discussed the sightings of the guardian deities around Alola. They speculated that the normally reclusive guardians appearing before people was a sign that they were angered by something.

In Pokémon Move Specialist Professor Kukui, Nanu and Olivia battled each other to test a stage for an upcoming festival in Iki Town. Nanu teased Olivia about her romance troubles, which angered her into using a Z-Move. Nanu tried retaliating with his own, but both were stopped by Hala. The three decided the festival would be used to test Alolan youths by having they battle each other. The strongest participants would travel around Alola's four islands, imitating the island challenge, in order to calm the guardian deities' rage.

In Thieving and Boss Crabominable, Nanu, Hala, and Olivia met at Hala's house, where they decided to name Hapu the next kahuna of Poni Island. Nanu and Olivia decided to head to their respective islands to help the Trial Captains fend off the Ultra Beasts that appeared in Alola. Before they could leave, a Kartana and Buzzwole burst into the building and attacked. Hala decided to fight the two beasts alone and told Nanu and Olivia to go defend their islands. By the time Nanu made it to Ula'ula, the Celesteela and Guzzlord that had been attacking the island were already defeated by Gladion. After being told that Tapu Bulu never showed up to help, Nanu suspected that it and the other guardian deities must be up to something.

In Adventure in the Dark Dimension, the island kahunas and Trial Captains were revealed to have spent six months on Exeggutor Island training to prepare for another clash with the Ultra Beasts. After their training was finished, Sophocles and Molayne took everyone to Mount Lanakila, where a wormhole had opened up earlier. Shortly after they arrived, their ship was attacked by a group of Aether Foundation Employees and their Ultra Beasts. While the others battled the beasts and won, Nanu went further up the mountain, where he witnessed Zygarde battling Necrozma.

Pokémon

Persian

Debut	Pokémon Move Specialist Professor Kukui

This Alolan Persian is Nanu's only known Pokémon. It was first used to battle against Olivia's Lycanroc to test the stage made for an Iki Town festival.

Persian's known moves are Nasty Plot and Dark Pulse.
Persian can also perform the Z-Move Black Hole Eclipse*.

In the TCG

Full Art print of Nanu

Main article: Nanu (Team Up 150)

Nanu was introduced as a Supporter card in the Pokémon Trading Card Game during the English Sun & Moon Series (the Japanese SM Era). It was first released in the Japanese Dark Order subset before debuting in English in the Team Up expansion, with artwork by Ken Sugimori. This was reprinted as one of the SM-P Promotional cards in Japan. It was also released as a Full Art card in the same Japanese and English expansion, with artwork by Hitoshi Ariga. It allows the player to switch out one of their Pokémon for a Basic Pokémon in the discard pile.

Gallery

Artwork

Concept art from Sun and Moon	Ending screenshot from Sun and Moon

Sprites and models

High-poly model from Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon	VS model from Sun and Moon	VS model from Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon	VS sprite from Ultra Moon
Overworld model from Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon

Trivia

• Despite Acerola referring to Nanu as "uncle", they are not related, as stated on page 174 of the Pokémon Sun & Pokémon Moon: The Official Strategy Guide. "Uncle" and "Aunty" are often used as a label of endearment and closeness of a person of non-familial ties in Hawaii.
• Nanu is the first notable Dark-type specialist to appear in the anime.

Names

Language	Name	Origin
Japanese	クチナシ Kuchinashi	From 梔子 kuchinashi (gardenia) and 口無し kuchinashi (something unspoken) or 無し nashi (without)
English	Nanu	From nānū (names for several species of gardenia such as the forest gardenia and the Oahu gardenia) and possibly none
German	Yasu	From Gardenia jasminoides
Spanish	Denio	From gardenia
French	Danh	From danh-danh (gardenia)
Italian	Augusto	From Gardenia augusta (synonym of Gardenia jasminoides)
Korean	나누 Nanu	From his English name
Chinese (Mandarin)	默丹 Mòdān	From 木丹 mùdān / muhkdāan (gardenia) and 默 mò / mahk (silent), which contains the character 黑 hēi / hāk (black)
Chinese (Cantonese)	默丹 Mahkdāan
Brazilian Portuguese	Neves	Similar to his English name

000

Language	Name	Origin
Japanese	Ｎｏ．０００	From ０ 0 (zero, possibly relating to the 無し nashi in his name) or 〇〇〇 (marumaru symbols, which are commonly used as placeholder in names)
English	000	Same as Japanese name
German	Nummer 000	Same as Japanese name
Spanish, Italian	Agente 000	Same as Japanese name
French	Agent Hand	Anagram of Danh (Nanu)
Korean	넘버000 Number ０００	Same as Japanese name
Chinese (Mandarin)	代號０００ / 代号０００ Dàihào 000	Same as Japanese name
Chinese (Cantonese)	代號０００ Doihhouh 000	Same as Japanese name

Related articles

International Police
Members			Collaborators
Chief	Officer	Former
Anabel (Masters)	Looker (Adventures • Masters)	Nanu (Masters)	Emma (Masters)	Paulo
Other members
Tedesco • Blake • Magician • Koya

Trial Captains and island kahunas of the Alola region

Verdant Cavern

Ilima

Brooklet Hill

Lana

Wela Volcano Park

Kiawe

Lush Jungle

Mallow

Hokulani Observatory

Sophocles

Thrifty Megamart

Acerola

Seafolk Village

Mina

Melemele Island

Hala

Akala Island

Olivia

Ula'ula Island

Nanu

Poni Island

Hapu

This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.