Regional variant

A regional variant (Japanese: リージョンフォーム Region Form) is a species of Pokémon found in a specific region that takes on a different form than it does in most other regions. These Pokémon have uniquely adapted to habitats that are different than those where its species naturally live in other parts of the. As such, many things may be different about them, from their appearance and way of living to even their type, moves,, base stats and height and weight. This is analogous to in regards to real world phenomena, where a population that is isolated from the rest of the species develop unique traits and eventually evolve into a new species.

Alola
In the Alola region, a species' regional variant is referred to as its Alola Form (Japanese: アローラのすがた Alola form). A Pokémon in its Alola Form is described as Alolan — for example, Exeggutor in its Alola Form is referred to as Alolan. Only Pokémon introduced in Generation I have Alola Forms.

In Alola, when Pokémon whose offspring has a regional variant, the offspring's form depends on its parents. If the female parent is the species' normal form (including in a Ditto pairing) and holds an Everstone, and if the offspring is in the same family as that parent, then the offspring will hatch as the normal form. In all other cases, the offspring will always hatch in its Alola Form.

In Pokémon Sun and Moon, if a Pokémon evolves from a species that does not have an Alola Form to one that does, such as, it will always evolve into its Alola Form and cannot evolve into its normal form. In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, the Pokémon will evolve into its Alola Form while in Alola itself, but can also evolve into its normal form while in Ultra Space.

While Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! take place in Kanto, players can import these Alolan forms from Pokémon GO or receive them in in-game trades.

In the Super Smash Bros. series
Alolan Raichu, Vulpix, and Exeggutor are set to appear as Pokémon that can appear from Poké Balls in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

In Pokémon GO
Alolan Pokémon first appeared in Pokémon GO on May 30, 2018, with the appearance of Alolan. With the exception of Alolan and Alolan, Alolan Pokémon are typically exclusive to special Eggs and Raid Battles. However, Alolan Exeggutor has reappeared in the on occasion since its initial debut, and Alolan  and Alolan  have also infrequently appeared in the wild.

In the anime
Alolan Pokémon have been present in the since the first episode. first learned about them in The Guardian's Challenge!, where discussed the difference between Alolan  and Exeggutor from other regions.

An Alolan nicknamed Pershie first appeared in ‪That's Why the Litten is a Scamp!, where it was shown antagonizing a. It reappeared in Dummy, You Shrunk the Kids!.

Multiple Alolan and  appeared in To Top a Totem!, where they were harassing a farmer on Melemele Island, stealing his crops. Hala tasked Ash with finding a solution to this problem that doesn't involve battling the pests. Instead, Ash chose to battle the Verdant Cavern Totem Pokémon,, and enlisted its help to scare the Rattata and Raticate away.

received a Pokémon Egg in Lillie's Egg-xhilarating Challenge!. It hatched into an Alolan she nicknamed Snowy in Racing to a Big Event!. After capturing it in the following episode, Lillie took her first steps towards overcoming her fear of touching Pokémon.

Racing to a Big Event! also featured the debut of Alolan and. Raichu appeared under the ownership of Nina, while multiple Muk appeared to eat the pancakes dropped during the race.

In Getting the Band Back Together!, an Alolan appeared under the ownership of 's old friend, DJ Leo. Their musical performance drew the adoration of a wild Alolan, who later joined as another member of their DJ group.

In A Team-on-Team Tussle!, fought a trio of s over a Darkinium Z protected by a Totem Alolan Raticate and Ally Alolan Rattata and Raticate. While Jessie and James are ultimately unsuccessful in defeating the Totem, is able to steal the Z-Crystal while it is distracted.

An Alolan debuted in Treasure Hunt, Akala Style!, where  attempted to catch it. After a short battle, the Alolan Geodude punched Ash's Poké Ball into his face with a and then ran away.

In A Crowning Moment of Truth!, while Ash and his classmates were visiting Wela Volcano Park for the Wela Fire Festival, the festivities were interrupted by a a wild Alolan Marowak, who stole the Wela Crown used in a ceremony. While and his  were defeated by it during their first challenge, they were able to defeat it in a rematch thanks to Turtonator's newly-learned. After being defeated, Marowak gave back the crown and asked to join Kiawe's party.

Alolan and  debuted in Getting a Jump on the Competition!. The Sandshrew appeared as wild Pokémon native to Mount Lanakila, while Ninetales appeared under the ownership of Cerah.

A wild Alolan appeared in Acting True to Form!, where it came to Team Rocket looking for a worthy master. It manipulated Jessie and James into turning against by showing off its abilities, and also earned their favor when they realized it could use their Darkinium Z. When  and Matori contacted the trio for a report on their activities, the Alolan Meowth became intrigued by them. To this end, it slipped away, stole Meowth's savings, and flew to Kanto to reach, where Matori made it her assistant due to its craftiness.

An Alolan appeared in a flashback in Turning Heads and Training Hard!, under the ownership of Tupp.

More Alolan Sandshrew appeared in Not Caving Under Pressure! in the caverns underneath Mount Lanakila. Lillie befriended a particularly large Sandshrew, and helped it reclaim its territory from an aggressive. After the battle, Sophocles's Charjabug found an Ice Stone, which the Sandshrew promptly used to evolve into. Sandslash rewarded Lillie with an Icium Z as a token of gratitude.

An Alolan and Muk appeared in A Young Royal Flame Ignites!, under the ownership of members of the Revengers, a heel wrestler group.

Alolan Geodude and appeared in SM095 at Wela Volcano Park, having been driven out by Rock Hunters attempting to mine the caves in the area for the food the Pokémon eat. The hunters were attacked by their leader, an Alolan Golem, who began attacking indiscriminately. Thanks to the Ultra Guardians', however, Ash, Kiawe, and Sophocles were able to calm the group of Alolan Pokémon and stop the magnetic interference coming from the Park. The leader Golem later joined a trio of s who volunteered to help with future patrols of Wela Volcano Park.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
One of 's first known Pokémon is an Alolan he nicknamed Cent. He first appeared in The Grand Entrance and Delivery Boy Sun. Sun's great-grandfather also owned three Alolan Meowth.

Nanu's Alolan appeared in Pokémon Move Specialist Professor Kukui. It battled Olivia's.

Alolan, Meowth, , and appeared in The Decision and the Tournament of Six.

owns an Alolan Grimer which first appeared in The Party Crasher and Guzma the Destroyer.

Kiawe's Alolan appeared in Going Ashore and Neighboring Akala Island, where it battled Cent.

An Alolan Grimer appeared in PASM13.

Ilima's Alolan Rattata appeared in PASM16. An Alolan belonging to a  appeared in a flashback in the same chapter.

Molayne's Alolan appeared in PASM19.

An Alolan Raticate belonging to an first appeared in the.

An Alolan Meowth belonging to the Aether Foundation first appeared in a flashback in the.

Similar concepts
Prior to Generation VII, there were already certain Pokémon that had variations depending on their native geographical area, but, unlike regional variants, these Pokémon do not appear to have adapted to ; rather, their differences are purely aesthetic, with their type, moves,, height, and weight remaining the same.
 * The Generation I for  state that there are six variations of its face-like hood markings that differ between areas. Eight designs are known, but only three have appeared in the core series games (with a fourth in ). In Pokémon Adventures, Arbok gains a special ability depending on its pattern.
 * In Sinnoh, and  have different appearances on each side of Mt. Coronet. East Sea Shellos and Gastrodon only appear east of Mt. Coronet, whereas West Sea Shellos and Gastrodon only appear on the west side.
 * 's Pokédex entry in says that the pattern on its back varies from region to region. While it has the same appearance in all Generation IV games (due to using the same sprites), the "face" from Generation V onward appears wider.
 * , which was introduced in Generation VI, has a different appearance depending on where the game it was created in is from in the real world.
 * In the episode Poké Ball Peril, a number of alternately colored Pokémon were seen on Valencia Island, including, , , , , , and . Professor Ivy, the Pokémon Professor of the Orange Archipelago, studies these variations.
 * The episode Fly Me to the Moon featured native to Pudgy Pidgey Isle that were too heavy to fly due to an abundance of food and a lack of predators.
 * In the Pokémon Adventures round Off Course with Corsola, mentioned that Kanto and Johto share many of the same Pokémon, but their colors and patterns are different between regions.

Trivia

 * When a Pokémon undergoes evolution into a regional variant, the background in the evolution animation is green, as opposed to the blue background for all other Pokémon. Conversely, when a Pokémon Egg hatches into a regional variant, the background is blue instead of yellow. Additionally, a different arrangement of the evolution music is played in both of these situations.
 * All non-Alolan Pokémon that can evolve into an Alola Form have a signature move.