Mallow (anime)

Mallow (Japanese: マオ Mao) is a student at the Pokémon School on Melemele Island and one of . She debuted in Alola to New Adventure!.
==History==
===Pre-series===
Mallow grew up in Hau'oli City in the Alola region with her parents and older brother, Ulu, as her father, Abe, ran a restaurant known as the family restaurant. However, Mallow didn't get to see her brother too often as he left to go on a cooking .
As a toddler, Mallow had a walk with her mother in a forest on Melemele Island after her mother had just gotten out of a hospital for an unspecified illness. During the walk, they encountered a , which Mallow found very cute. As such, her mother her and gave the Fruit Pokémon to her as both a and her first Pokémon. Instantly, Mallow and became friends and partners. However, her mother was soon forced to return to the hospital. Mallow eventually grew tired of her mother's endless apologies about her condition and yelled that she hated her, before running away. Soon after, Mallow's mother passed away due to her illness.
Sometime later, Mallow met and befriended her after they had an adventure in a forest and met a resident , which was eventually nicknamed Grandpa Forest. Years later, Mallow received a cookbook from Ulu with recipes of various dishes, which he found from old manuscripts while traveling. Eventually, Mallow enrolled at the Pokémon School with Lana where they became friends with their classmates, and . Mallow also knew Ilima before he graduated from the Pokémon School and left to study in the Kalos region. Later, Mallow befriended another classmate named .
===Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon===
Mallow debuted in Alola to New Adventure!, where she was seen riding a Poké Ride with her classmates Lana and at the Pokémon School. She accidentally ran over when he stumbled upon the school and, mistaking him for a new student, introduced him as such to her principal, Samson Oak. After the misunderstanding was cleared up, she decided to show Ash around the campus, introducing him to her teacher, , along the way. She then witnessed Ash join in a scuffle against some s, and was amazed by his and 's battle skills. Shortly after the battle, Ash saw the guardian deity in the sky, but it flew off before Mallow and the other students could see it.
In A Seasoned Search!, she revealed that her top goal was to make the Aina's Kitchen the best in the world. In order to accomplish this, she had to recreate a special recipe to attract more customers, but the key ingredient, Yellow Nectar, was out of season. After unsuccessfully using Pikachu's as a substitute, she set off in search of an to help find the Yellow Nectar. During a fight with , who tried to steal the Yellow Nectar, Bounsweet evolved into , and she successfully recreated the secret recipe.
In Mallow and the Forest Teacher!, Mallow had enough of being overworked by her father at the Kitchen, and ran away. She tripped on a rock and fell down a hill, injuring her knee. She was later found by an , who helped her recover. Later, when captured her Steenee, Oranguru helped save her just as Abe and her friends arrived. As Abe recognized the Oranguru from his past, Mallow reconciled with him and returned home.
From Family Determination! to 10,000,000 Reasons to Fight!, Mallow was among those who helped and in their mission to rescue their mother Lusamine after Lusamine was kidnapped by the Ultra Beast . In Ultra Deep Sea, her Steenee, along with Ash's Litten and , and Lana and Sophocles's , fought and overcame Lusamine's , , and , which were under Nihilego's control. The battle ended when Ash and Pikachu performed to defeat Nihilego, freeing Lusamine from its grasp.
In The Professors' New Adventure!, Mallow attended the wedding of Professor Kukui and . During the post-nuptials, Lusamine asked Mallow and her classmates to join the Ultra Guardians, a task force dedicated to dealing with any upcoming Ultra Beast incidents, which they accepted.
As a part of the Ultra Guardians, Mallow and her Pokémon have been critical to the success of the group's missions. In A Mission of Ultra Urgency!, Mallow and her classmates were given their first task, capturing a that emerged from an Ultra Wormhole onto Melemele Island and began causing havoc.
In Sours for the Sweet!, Mallow prepared to enter the Alola Bread Festival with her father. Due to Abe's back problems, he couldn't enter, but Mallow was saved by the arrival of her brother, Ulu. Together, they entered the competition, but an incident led to Ulu accidentally losing the Berries they were going to use to a Snorlax. With the assistance of her friends and Steenee, Mallow successfully made sweet bread without the Berries, successfully winning the competition. However, by that point, Ulu had left to go on another journey.
In All They Want to Do is Dance Dance!, Mallow and Steenee started practicing for a Pokémon dance in class. When the day of the dance came, Mallow and the others were captured by Team Rocket, except for Steenee, who was doing some last-minute practicing. Mallow witnessed Steenee learn and subsequently evolve into Tsareena. Thanks to Tsareena, the group was freed and Team Rocket was sent blasting off.
In Filling the Light with Darkness!, mysterious dark clouds appeared over the Alola region, causing all of the adults in Alola to lose their energy and motivation. The next day, Mallow and her classmates embarked on their fifth mission, to investigate the situation at the Altar of the Sunne. Shortly after arriving, Lusamine revealed that Gladion would be joining them as a new member. In order to disperse the clouds, Lana, Kiawe, Ash, and Gladion combined their Z-Power to fuel a device that successfully made the clouds disappear, but they uncovered a hidden Ultra Wormhole in the process. Afterwards, Lusamine took the Ultra Guardians into the ruins, where she showed them a mural depicting the "". Before they could translate the mural, the Ultra Guardians were forced to return outside, where they found the wormhole increasing in size. At that moment, a emerged from the wormhole with a chasing after it. The group was eventually able to solve the unfolding crisis in Securing the Future!, where they, their Pokémon, Lunala, 's friends, and everyone else back in Alola shared their Z-Power with Necrozma, causing it to release Nebby. After Ash and Gladion used Nebby and Lunala to replenish Necrozma's strength to revert it to its , it restored Poipole's home world back to its original state. Afterwards, the Ultra Guardians, Nebby, and Lunala traveled back to Alola through the Ultra Wormhole.
In That's Some Spicy Island Research!, Mallow and her classmates arrived on Poni Island for their individual research projects for school. Her research project was to focused on how to make dishes with Poni Island radishes. In Run, Heroes, Run!, Mallow succeeded in making the radish-based dishes. She eventually brought them to Hapu for her to taste.
In Memories in the Mist!, Mallow became depressed after learning of 's ability to reunite people with the souls of the deceased. After being comforted by Lana, Mallow admitted she didn't want to see her mother, as she felt guilty about declaring her hatred of her shortly before she passed away. Later, at Hapu's house, Tapu Fini filled the area with mist, causing Mallow to get separated from the others. Mallow was visited by the spirit of her mother, and promptly apologized to her for her past actions. After the mist cleared and her mother's spirit faded away, Mallow encountered a , which had been attracted to the feelings of gratitude Mallow expressed during her apology, and decided to take it in until it was time for it to fly off.
In A Recipe for Success!, Mallow visited Oranguru at its forest café to get some Big Mushrooms for her family's restaurant. After learning that Pokémon visited the café in addition to humans, Mallow decided to help Oranguru serve customers and lessen its workload. One of the customers was , who she fed with a burger made from Poni Island radishes. Tapu Koko enjoyed its meal and gave Mallow a Grassium Z as a reward before leaving. As she reflected on her day, she decided to make Aina's Kitchen a restaurant for both humans and Pokémon. As thanks for helping it, Oranguru gave Mallow the Big Mushrooms she wanted, as well as a worn-out Z-Ring. Later, Mallow returned home and had her new Z-Ring repaired by Olivia, making her the final member of Professor Kukui's class to receive a Z-Ring.
In Battle Royal 151!, Mallow was among the 151 Trainers taking part in the Battle Royal preliminary round of the Manalo Conference. Using Shaymin, Mallow was among the 16 Trainers still standing at the end of the round. The match-ups for the next round revealed that she would be battling Lana.
In Battling Besties!, Mallow faced Lana in the first round of the Manalo Conference. Despite having the type advantage, Mallow struggled against Lana, and it came to the point where she tried to forfeit, but Tsareena refused to be recalled and wanted to continue battling on her side. Lana encouraged Mallow to keep on battling as well, and as Mallow looked at Tsareena, she remembered all of the times they had spent together. This restored her confidence, and she decided to respect her partner's choice to continue battling. Soon after, they were able to successfully execute a , which was countered by Lana's Primarina's . Then, after stumbling from exhaustion, Tsareena was defeated by Primarina's , eliminating Mallow from the tournament.
In Enter the Champion!, Mallow attended the award ceremony for Ash's victory in the Manalo Conference, only for it to be interrupted when a arrived at the stadium through a wormhole. In Z-Move Showdown!, Mallow helped evacuate innocent civilians to safety. When a second, appeared in the shopping area, Mallow, Lillie, Lana, and Sophocles helped Kiawe, Gladion, and Hau battle it. By combining their Z-Moves into one giant attack, Mallow and the others managed to successfully knock the Shiny Guzzlord back into Ultra Space.
In Dreams of the Sun and Moon!, with the Alola League over, Mallow and her classmates returned to their usual routine at the Pokémon School. When asked what she planned on doing for the upcoming vacation, Mallow revealed that she planned on renewing Aina's Kitchen so it could accommodate both people and Pokémon. She later invited everyone to a party at her family restaurant, where she allowed her friends' Pokémon to taste-test the new Pokémon menu.
In Thank You, Alola! The Journey Continues!, Lillie revealed she would be leaving on a journey with Gladion and Lusamine to find her missing father, Mohn, with the help of the she awakened. The next day, Mallow and the others said farewell to Lillie, taking one last photo with her before she and her family left on a cruise ship. As he flew back home, Ash was greeted by his classmates and Alolan Pokémon, who flew by in their Ultra Guardians uniforms to give him one final farewell. Sometime after the others left for their vacations, Mallow was greeted by Ulu, who had finished his cooking journey. With the Gracideas Ulu brought with him, Shaymin changed into its . Mallow bid farewell to Shaymin, thanking it for the time it spent with her before it flew away with three other Sky Forme Shaymin.
===Pokémon Journeys: The Series===
In That New Old Gang of Mine!, Mallow helped organize a welcome party for Ash and Goh when they came to visit Alola. She later joined her classmates in watching a battle between Goh and Kiawe.
In Helping the Hometown Hero!, Mallow attended a party to celebrate the return of Lillie and her family to Alola after they found Mohn, reuniting with Lillie, Ash, and Goh and meeting Chloe. The next day, Mallow watched a Battle Royal match between Ash, Kiawe, Gladion, and Professor Kukui.
In Paring Pokémon While Parrying! and Partners in Time!, Mallow was seen watching Ash's Masters Eight Tournament match against at the Pokémon School.
==Character==
Mallow is an upbeat and friendly girl who gets along well with her classmates at the Pokémon School. She admits herself to be so energetic that she sometimes misses important details and jumps to the wrong conclusions. She has a firm sense of right and wrong, such as her distaste for Team Skull's bullying of other students. Much like , , and , she is also a talented cook for both people and Pokémon, and as such is a self-proclaimed poster girl at her family's restaurant, Aina's Kitchen.
Mallow is shown to be very good friends with . This was demonstrated in Lillie's Egg-xhilarating Challenge!, when she completed her chores early and headed over to see how she was getting on with the ; in Getting to Know You!, when she dragged along to see how she and Snowy were getting along; and in Lulled to La-La Land!, when she defended Lillie after accused her of being the culprit for making everyone hungry.
Mallow is also supportive of her best friend . This was demonstrated in They Might Not Be Giants!, when she showed up to watch how 's balloons were doing and explained to Rotom why Lana was acting the way she was whenever she was separated from Popplio. This was seen again in Balloons, Brionne, and Belligerence!, when she showed up to watch how her and Popplio perform .
Mallow is a fan of Pokémon, as evident in Alola, Kanto!, when she excitedly greeted a and two and called them cute. Mallow has shown to be secretive of what had happened to her mother, as shown in Alolan Open House!, where she lied about both of her parents being busy and in Night of a Thousand Poses! where she talked about Sima, when her other classmates talked about their own mothers. In Memories in the Mist!, it was revealed that she harbors deep regret for snapping at her mother shortly before she passed away from an illness. Mallow only likes to speak to Lana about her mother's death. At the end of the episode, Mallow overcomes her guilt when she is briefly reunited with her mother's spirit in 's mist.
Mallow has shown to have a way of knowing what her family and friends need, and would help them in any way she can; in addition, she is also protective of her friends and Pokémon. Mallow has a tendency to lose her composure when pushed into a corner, often doubting herself. However, Mallow would pick herself back up through the help of her friends. This is shown when making a meal for Tapu Koko while working at Oranguru's place in A Recipe for Success! and perfecting with Tsareena during her battle with Lana at the Manalo Conference in Battling Besties!.
==Pokémon==
Like , Mallow mostly specialized in Pokémon. Mallow also has her Pokémon help in her cooking and at her families restaurant. Her is both her only and strongest Pokémon. However, Mallow took the Mythical Pokémon under her care and became her second Pokémon until it changed into its Sky Forme and fly away. Although she has shown to have skills in Pokémon battles, Mallow doesn't have a lot of experience like most of her classmates do.
This listing is of Mallow's known in :
===On hand===
♀
===Released===
		
===Ride Pokémon===
===Temporary===
===Befriended===
==Achievements==
===Alola trials===
This listing is of the Mallow has cleared in the Alola region:
* Oranguru's place trial (A Recipe for Success!; received the Grassium Z)
===Pokémon League===
Mallow has competed in the following Pokémon League Conferences:
* Manalo Conference - Top 16 (Battling Besties!)
===Pokémon competitions===
Mallow has competed in the following :
* Pokémon Pancake Race - Disqualified (Racing to a Big Event!)
* Alola Bread Festival - Winner (with Ulu; Sours for the Sweet!)
* Kantonian Gym - Second floor (Aiming for the Top Floor!)
==Voice actress==
==Artwork==
 	
Official artwork from	Artwork from "After the story"https://twitter.com/anipoke_PR/status/1591672205040943105
==Trivia==
* Mallow's schoolbag is based on the Forage Bag, an item her game counterpart hands out in Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon.
* Mallow is the first Trainer in the animated series to use a wild Pokémon in a Pokémon League Conference, as well as the first main character to use a Mythical Pokémon in a Pokémon League Conference.
* With Bounsweet being caught by her mother and Shaymin as an unofficial capture, Mallow is the only main character who owned Pokémon but was never seen catching one in her debut series.
* Mallow is the first main character to receive a new English voice actor since the voice actor switch from 4Kids Entertainment to Pokemon USA.
* Mallow is the only main character with a confirmed dead parent.
* Mallow is the last of to obtain a Z-Crystal and a Z-Ring.
* In promotional material for the Manalo Conference, Mallow was given the title of (Japanese: 華麗なるバトルの料理人 Brilliant battle cook).
==Names==
Language 	Name 	Origin
Japanese 	マオ Mao 	From maʻo (Hawaiian for )
English, Dutch 	Mallow 	From , a family of plants that includes cotton
French 	Barbara 	From (extra-long staple cotton)
German 	Maho 	Similar to Japanese name
Italian 	Ibis 	From
Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese	Lulú 	Possibly from / (, referring to cotton fiber)
Korean 	마오 Mao 	Transliteration of Japanese name
Chinese () 	瑪奧 / 玛奥 Mǎ'ào 	Transliteration of Japanese name
Chinese () 	瑪奧 Máh'ou 	Transliteration of Japanese name
Russian 	Маллоу Mallou 	Transcription of English name
Thai 	มาโอะ Mao 	Same as Japanese name
Turkish 	Mallow 	Same as English name
==References==
==Related articles==
* Mallow
* 
* Images on the Bulbagarden Archives
Category:Ash's friends
Category:Grass-type Trainers
Category:Ultra Guardians
Category:Trainers with Mythical Pokémon
Category:Trainers with Z-Rings
Category:Animation characters
de:Maho#Im Anime
es:Mallow/Lulú
fr:Barbara/Pokémon, la série
it:Ibis (serie animata)
ja:マオ (アニメ)
zh:瑪奧（動畫）