And The Fandom Rejoiced / Pokémon Sun and Moon

---

Pokémon Sun and Moon

General

• The fact that Generation VII got announced so quickly is pretty good news on its own.
• You can not only transfer Pokémon from the Gen III-VI games via Pokébank, but you can also transfer Pokemon directly from Red, Blue, and Yellow (Virtual Console versions, mind you) with PokéBank as well!
  • Additionally, any Pokemon that comes from the Gen 1 games are guaranteed 3 maximum IVs along with their Hidden Abilities (if they have one) when they transfer. Although the "Hidden Ability" aspect may be disappointing to those who wanted to transfer their "No Guard" Machamp ^note In the Gen 1 games, Fissure was a TM move that could be learned by Machamp. "No Guard" guarantees any move to hit, even one-hit KO moves. This means that Fissure could've been 100% accurate. "Mind Reader Poliwrath", a tactic from Gen 2, is still possible, though. over, it still guarantees Pokemon like Drought/Drizzle Ninetales/Politoed, Chlorophyll Venusaur, and Multiscale Dragonite.
  • Guess what? Gold and Silver are getting Virtual Console re-releases and those are compatible with Poke Bank as well. This means that every Pokemon from every single generation can be transferred to Sun/Moon.
• After initial concerns that Alola looked too small, an Amazon preorder accidentally gave away the fact that Alola would consist of multiple islands. Confirmed in the June 2nd, 2016 trailer that Alola does indeed consist of multiple islands◊, making it a definite Shout-Out of Hawaii.
  • Also revealed in the trailer, for anyone who's a Rotom fan (or a washing machine, a lawnmower, ...), it can now merge with the player's Pokédex and communicate with the player, promoting it to a Fairy Companion.
• Remember when you battled trainers, and it just showed them during the beginning/end of battle? Now you can always see them!
• The different versions take advantage of the Sun/Moon opposition by offsetting Moon twelve hours from the 3DS' internal clock!^note  If you don't like it as a Moon player, you can just set your internal clock 12 hours ahead to realign the game time.
• The demo came out on October 18th, and in it the player uses a special Pokemon: a Greninja that can turn into Ash-Greninja, and you can send it to the full game!

Story

• For those who want some difference in plot from the simple 'beat 8 gyms' formula, Sun and Moon is doing something different in the form of trials.
• At the end of each trial is a boss battle against a Totem Pokémon, a giant Pokémon whose stats are immediately increased at the start of battle, and can summon other Pokémon to assist it.
• The evil team is Team Skull, with a street gang/pirate motif, like Team Aqua before it. Their boss is Guzma, who knows Prof. Kukui, the two having both failed to become trial captains and Guzma having taken the darker path from it, and their primary admin is Plumeria, a Ms. Fanservice who's stated to be a Cool Big Sis for the organization as a whole. Overall, their designs and those of the grunts have been met with pretty open arms.
• The addition of a second team of sorts in the game, the Aether Foundation! Fans quickly latched onto the idea that they may not be as altruistic as they seem, but also to the designs of their staff, especially Lusamine and Wicke.
• The Ultra Beasts are Eldritch Abominations.
• From a 9/7 Japanese Trailer... it's Samson Oak — cousin, Suspiciously Similar Substitute and "Alolan Form" of Professor Oak himself! And... Professor Burnet?!

New Pokémon

• The three Starters have all been well-received.
  • Round, adorable little Rowlet deserves a special mention, if the amount of fanart it's getting in comparison to the other two is any indication. Rowlet's final evolution is Decidueye, an awesome archer owl who breaks out of the Grass-Flying type of its previous evolutions and becomes a Grass-Ghost type, something that no one ever expected to happen.
  • Litten itself isn't any slouch either, as a lot of people have outright said that they would choose Litten as their starters. Also because, well, cats. Litten's final evolution is Incineroar, a hardcore tiger based on a heel wrestler. While its bipedal design has shunned some fans away, many have taken to its Fire-Dark type and its cool-yet-hilarious personality. The fact that it isn't another Fire/Fighting type despite its appearance has made more than a few people's days.
  • Popplio is an adorable little circus seal. There are people who want others to be a Fan of Underdog, just like Oshawott. Popplio's final evolution is Primarina, a beautiful Water-Fairy type whose signature move can both damage and heal the burns of its targets.
• Both of the Legendary Pokémon have been praised for having excellent designs.
• There's finally a Koala Pokémon in Komala!
• Many people quickly fell in love with Rockruff, the new Puppy Pokemon. It can evolve into either a wolf in Pokémon Sun, or a werewolf in Pokémon Moon!
• Pikipek is the regional bird and is indeed the Pokémon we saw in the announcement trailer.
• Yungoos is the regional Route 1 mammal, and is based on a mongoose.
• Grubbin is the regional Bug-type. Its evolutions Charjabug and Vikavolt look pretty cool, with the latter in particular being an awesome beetle!
• Tapu Koko is an actual Pokémon! It's also an Electric/Fairy type, with an ability that activates Electric Terrain when it's sent out!
• The four Island Guardians have amazing designs and are all powerful-but-adorable Pokémon who share the amazing Z-move "Guardian of Alola".
• Togedemaru is the regional Pikaclone, and it's so CUTE!
• There's an absolutely adorable Bee Fly Pokémon in the form of Cutiefly and its evolved form Ribombee, with a unique Bug/Fairy typing.
• Drampa is a Dragon with a unique Normal/Dragon typing. Sweet!
• Bruxish is a Triggerfish Pokemon with a new ability. What does it do? It makes all opponents' priority moves fail against it, including Gale Wings-boosted Brave Bird, and Extremespeed. Say goodbye, priority attackers!
• Salandit is a Poison/Fire type whose ability allows it to poison any Pokémon, including other Poison types and the previously untouchable Steel type.
• Who's Mimikyu? It's a Ghost/Fairy type that dresses up like Pikachu because it wants to be loved. It also has an ability that gives it a free substitute!
• Bewear is a Normal/Fighting type, and the first one that isn't a Legendary or a Mega Evolution. Its ability Fluffy halves damage from contact moves, which makes Bewear so durable it can survive Mega Rayquaza's Dragon Ascent. Its pre-evo is the adorable looking Stufful, and is also Normal/Fighting.
• Mudsdale is an awesome and huge Ground-type horse with an ability that boosts its Defense whenever it's hit by an attack!
• Comfey is an adorable Fairy-type lei with an ability that gives priority to healing moves!
• There's finally another Bug/Water type Pokémon in Wimpod! It evolves into Golisopod, a Mighty Glacier that can use First Impression, a priority move with 90 base power.
• Fomantis and Lurantis, seemingly based on the Orchid Mantis, are winning a lot of fans over with their pretty and powerful-looking designs.
• Sandygast and its evolution Palossand are sandcastle Ghost/Ground Pokemon.
• Wishiwashi is a pure Water type who can change from Single to School form, going from a small cute fish to a bigger, more intimidating fish made of several Wishiwashi.
• Morelull is an adorable Grass/Fairy creature.
• Pyukumuku is an adorable bunny/sea cucumber mix with the not-so-adorable ability Innards Out^note When KO-ed, does damage to the enemy equal to the amount of HP Pyukumuku had before the knockout blow.
• Type: Null evolves into Silvally, a Pokémon with the ability RKS System which effectively functions as Arceus' Multitype, as well as its own version of Judgement.
• Jangmo-o's evolutionary line is Dragon/Fighting, the first time this type combination was released, while retaining its abilities of Bulletproof and Soundproof.
• Bounsweet evolves into the adorable Steenee, then evolves into Tsareena, a Grass-type with the ability Queenly Majesty that negates all priority moves. Tsareena also possesses a very broad movepool for a pure (physical) Grass-type.
• With the Magearna event live, one may be wondering when it ends. Well... never. As long as the code is out there, you can get Magearna for Pokèmon Sun and Moon, even many, many years from now! This is very welcome news for players who miss out on Pokèmon distributions.

Old Pokémon

• Zygarde's forms introduced in the anime will be in the games. If its health gets low enough in 10% Forme, its ability will cause it to enter Complete Forme, which gets an insane HP boost. The supplementary materials stating how that form was stronger than Xerneas and Yveltal are appearing to be true, a completely welcome change from how much they walled Zygarde's 50% Forme, even with its somewhat lackluster ability. And as people have correctly guessed, the Dummied Out moves Thousand Arrows and Thousand Waves are exclusive to Zygarde, as is a new move called Core Enforcer, which is Dragon-type.
• Munchlax has been revealed to be a event Pokemon that is received if you get Sun and Moon early. Sounds disappointing, until it's revealed that when it evolves, it becomes a Snorlax that gains its own exclusive Z-move, "Pulverizing Pancake"!
  • The event Munchlax knows Happy Hour and Hold Back upon obtaining, and will be holding a Snorlium Z for Snorlax's Z-Move. The event lasts until January 11th, 2017.
• Two of the new Z-Moves are exclusives for Pikachu and Eevee. Pikachu's, "Catastropika", involves basically pulling off an electrified Pulverizing Pinball, while Eevee's, "Extreme Evoboost", involves a double-boost to all stats.
• There are regional variants of older Pokémon! Their concept mirrors the variants seen way back in the Orange Island arc of the Anime, but they seem to draw inspiration from the Delta Species of the TGC with their new typings.
  • Exeggutor's new form becomes a Grass-Dragon type with the ability Frisk.
  • Vulpix is an Ice type and Ninetales an Ice/Fairy type with the ability Snow Cloak, and the Hidden Ability Snow Warning.
  • Sandshrew and Sandslash are Ice/Steel types, with the Hidden Ability Slush Rush that doubles their speed in hail.
  • Meowth and Marowak, Gen I Pokemon that haven't gotten many new changes since Red and Blue, received Alolan Forms. Alolan Meowth are Dark types while Marowak are Fire/Ghost types, and resemble fire twirlers.
  • Raichu is finally getting some love with an Alolan form! It's an adorable Electric/Psychic type with a new ability called Surge Surfer^note Doubles speed when Electric Terrain is active. Alolan Raichu also has its own Z-move, Stoked Spark Surfer, where it pretty much becomes an Electric Silver Surfer in the process.
  • The Alolan Rattata line is Dark/Normal type, a typing never used before.
  • The Alola Grimer line is Poison/Dark with the abilities Poison Touch and Gluttony.
  • The Alola Geodude line has a unique Rock/Electric type and a Hidden Ability called Galvanize that turns Normal-type moves into Electric type.

Game Mechanics

• Trainer Customization returns, and there's more skin variety in customization.
  • You can finally take off your hat. For the newer Pokémon fans, this will be the first ever time a Pokémon video game protagonist can be controlled while hatless; Pokémon X and Y showed the protagonists hatless as rivals or when getting their hair done, but it wasn't until now that they could be controlled without wearing anything on their heads.
• The game is fully assuming the 3D style, with unrestricted movement, larger areas, and more detailed overworld models. The battlefield design has also been improved. After X and Y/ORAS adapted the 2D style, this is going with a completely 3D direction.
• Players can now check how much a Pokémon's stats have been raised or lowered during battle.
• There's a new type of battle called Battle Royal, where four people battle each other at the same time in a free-for-all!
• Pokemon-Amie has a successor called Pokémon Refresh that allows players to groom their Pokémon and heal status effects after battle!
• There's a new mechanic called Z-Moves where once per battle, any Pokémon can perform an extremely powerful attack. Some Pokémon have their exclusive Z-Moves, and you can even perform Z-Moves with status moves, which gain additional effects like healing and stat boosts.
• IVs were once a frustrating mechanic of the games. Now, you can finally adjust them! Finally, Shiny Pokémon can be guaranteed to be useful (among other benefits)! While it doesn't help you in breeding, it does mean players can now have the Hidden Power of their choice without having to fight with less than perfect stats.
• While you can't check the exact EVs for your Pokémon, you can tell if they maxed out a stat or gained all the EVs they can get.
• The Poké Finder allows you to take photographs of Pokémon in the overworld. It may not be Pokémon Snap 2, but hey, we'll take it!
• Join Avenue returns in the form of Festival Plaza. You can use it to do things like raise your Pokémon's stats and get rare items.
• Find a piece of clothing with a design you like, but a color you don't? You can use the Festival Plaza to change its color.
• For those worried Mega Evolution was not coming back, fear not! Mega Evolution is confirmed for the game!
• The Poké Pelago allows the Pokémon in your PC boxes to help you find new Pokémon, get items, improve their stats, and level up.
  • In particular, the "treasure hunt" function can find Evolution Stones - a boon for people who had trouble with earning them in Super Training. They can also be used to find shards, which can be traded for bottle caps.
  • Essentially, the Poke Pelago is a combination of Super Training and the Dream World, only it's not online nor does it show signs of a 24 hour cooldown period each time you use it.
• You can save up to six different teams and import teams as QR codes for other people to rent. This saves time for people who don't have access to certain Pokémon/moves, want to use the same Pokémon in different teams without wasting time rearranging their PC Pokémon, or want to get a taste of what competitive battling is like.
• The Day Care doesn't increase your Pokémon's level anymore, meaning you don't have to worry about your Pokémon forgetting useful moves while they're breeding. For players who miss the auto-leveling, Isle Evelup in the Poke Pelago offers a similar service.
• The Battle Tree allows the player to both battle and team up with fan-favorite characters including Cynthia and Wally. And the Battle Legends happen to be Red and Blue!
• Those who got the event-exclusive Munchlax with the Snorlium-Z will have noticed that they get the option of naming their Munchlax upon reception, which is a much welcome surprise to anyone who likes to name the Pokémon they use in battle. Likewise, the Magearna event allowed you to nickname said Magearna.
• You can now check a Pokémon's status immediately upon catching it, allowing you to see its stats and nature. This is really useful if the Pokémon is a Legendary Pokémon, since catching them is usually followed by a lengthy cutscene. Even better, you can decide to add it to your team by sending another Pokémon to your PC.
• Instead of having to check your Pokémon's IVs one at a time by talking to a stat judge, you can simply check your Pokémon's IVs from the PC itself. What's more, it can indicate if a Pokémon has an IV of 31 (Best) or 0 (No good). Just make sure you hatch more than 20 eggs first before talking to the guy who allows you to do this.
• Fans of Ice-types were thrilled that the type got some new tools to play with, such as finally getting an ability that doubles speed in hail with Slush Rush, and a new move called Aurora Veil. What does it do? When it's hailing, the user can set up a barrier that halves all damage your team receives, making it Reflect and Light Screen in one move.

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

General

• What's that? Didn't think we'd get any new installments of the main series in 2017? Well, guess again!
• The story is a full on reboot of the original story. Before this, Pokemon Omega Ruby Alpha Sapphire were the closest thing the series ever got to this, and even that was more due to the combination of Author's Saving Throw regarding the motivations and characterization of the villains, incorporation of Mega Evolution - which was introduced in the same generation - to the plot, as well as the addition of the Delta Episode post-game story than anything else.
• Necrozma finally gets elaborated on:
  • First, the title itself more-or-less confirms suspicions that Necrozma is an Ultra Beast of sorts.
• Solagaleo and Lunala get new otherworldly forms, just in case those who played the original version forgotten that they are considered Ultra Beasts for a reason and not just for being capable of opening a portal to the Ultra Space. Like the title alone doesn't imply that this timeline's Solgaleo/Lunala won't be embracing their Ultra Beast roots.
• Are those new hairstyles?!
• Lycanroc gets a new third "Dusk" Form, which is the Midday form with aspects of the Midnight form. It even has a third ability upon evolving, Tough Claws, which increases the power of direct contact moves by 33.3%.
• After being outclassed by its predecessors for so long, Kommo-o gets a new toy: its very own Z-Move called Clangorous Soulblaze. It not only hits both opponents, it also acts as an Ancient Power/Ominous Wind/Silver Wind for Kommo-o in exchange of being usable only once per battle, instead of a Luck-Based Mission.
  • This needs to be elaborated upon: Clangorous Soulblaze makes Kommo-o nigh unstoppable. Outside of Fairy-type moves, Kommo-o defenses mean that it can shrug off almost any hit from almost any other Pokemon. In return, it will fire off an extremely powerful STAB special move running off its Base-100 Special Attack, not only fainting anything not specifically designed to tank it, but boosting its mediocre speed to respectable levels, as well as boosting those already powerful defenses, AND boosting its attacking stats.
• As some might have expected, Kahili and Ryuki are back and could very likely have a bigger role, as they are seemingly shown to be interacting with the player much earlier, perhaps even during the main story.
• If it STILL weren't obvious enough already that it is related to the Cosmic Duo, a new screenshot of the game shows the player character facing Necrozma at the Altar of the Sunne\Moone.
• An Alolan Vulpix is seen most likely waking up in a shot of the trailer, but if you look at your right, you can see a glimpse of the female Aether Foundation Employee attending to it.
• The player is seen followed by a Rockruff with a ♪ over its head, subtly implied to be the same one that is acquired by the event (meaning that it is a part of your party). This made certain people excited as it might mean that Pokemon following the trainer has returned.
• The Alola Photo Club allows you to take photos of your trainer alongside your Pokemon.
• For the first time in a generation, new Pokémon species are being introduced in the middle of a generation. There are 4 new Pokémon introduced in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, with 3 new Ultra Beasts: UB Burst/Blacephalon and UB Assembly/Stakataka, exclusive to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon respectively. The 3rd one is called UB Adhesive/Poiple, a pure Poison type, AND it can evolve into Naganadel, a Poison/Dragon type, by learning Dragon Pulse, making it the first, and only Ultra Beast able to evolve. The 4th and final Pokémon in the Alola Pokédex is a Mythical Pokémon named Zeraora, a pure Electric-Type.
• A new poster◊ for the games appeared, which got people excited for the following reasons:
  • It is beautifully drawn;
  • It features Lillie holding a Poké Ball, implying that she might actually become a Trainer, join the battle, and more importantly (especially to the those who played the originals), the might be possible to battle.
  • In what is one of the most blatant Epileptic Trees fertilizers in the franchise, the poster also features four masked figures (yes, the ones above the fully-evolved starters): a seemingly male figure with a Badass Armfold, a little girl, an adult female and another figure behind the woman and the girl.
• You can surf to islands again, on a Mantine. AND DO FLIPS! Also possibly encounter Pokemon like in OR AS Soaring.
• 400+ Pokemon this time! To everyone who felt like the games didn't have enough Pokemon, you get 100 more options, among them the Inkay, Larvesta, Zorua, Noibat, Mareep, Houndour, Manectric, and Tropius families - and that's before you take into consideration Pokémon not in the Alola Dex found through other methods such as Island Scan.
• The trials are becoming more fleshed out, according to the late September 2017 trailer. Sophocles' trial no longer takes place entirely in a darkened room and features cutscenes involving a robotic Vikavolt, Mallow's trial features more exploration as the player tracks down multiple Sudowoodo to find an ingredient, and Mina now has her own trial, in which she battles the player a la Ilima. Her trial grounds appear to be her house rather than a special landmark To be fair, there aren't any more landmarks on Poni Island for her to set up her trial anyway..
• The story trailer released in early October has a number of new things in it.
  • NEW Cutscenes! A ton of Ultra Beast confrontation scenes, including Xurkitree! And Nanu vs Guzzlord!
  • You get to RIDE Solgaleo/Lunala in what appears to be ULTRA SPACE!
  • The biggest problem people had with these games was they are the third version of some games and there was no explanation for what was different; now we know the differences are likely to be even more than past third versions.
• The new trailer shows that you fight the Ultra Beasts in their HOME TURF!
• There is a new (potentially) villainous team.
• More information about the Ultra Beasts:
  • Each species seems to exist in a separate Ultra Space (explaining why there were only Nihilego in the part of the Ultra Space that was shown in the original). Buzzwole ironically appears in a volcanic area.
  • UB Burst has the rare Fire/Ghost type combination and its Secret Art Mind Blown (no, really) deals heavy damage, albeit with a recoil.
  • UB Assembly is a Rock/Steel type.
  • UB Adhesive, the new Ultra Beast revealed in the trailer has easily gained a lot of positive attention. Being both a Creepy Cute Critter and a pure Poison type - given that until now only Nihilego was the closest thing the type had to an Olympus Mons representative, and even then Nihilego only has Poison as its secondary typing - it quickly won over many fans.
• Even the Rotom Dex gets in on the action:
  • If you form a strong enough bond with it, it functions like the O-Powers from Gen VI, which allows one to hatch eggs and gain EXP points faster, among other things.
  • Rotom Dex can even allow you to preform an extra Z-Move in battle, if one Z-move isn't strong enough for you.
• Solgaleo and Lunala (as well as Necrozma's corresponding forms) get unique new Z-Moves that involve tossing their opponents into Ultra Space and hitting them with supercharged variants of their signature moves.
• While riding on Solgaleo or Lunala in Ultra Space, it will be possible to encounter other legendary Pokemon!
• Though the capacity is unknown, Team Rocket is finally back.
  • So are Maxie, Archie, Cyrus, Ghetsis and Lysandre. With Ghetsis capturing Lillie in the Japanese trailer.
• Much like Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon allows you to capture and obtain Legendaries from all the previous games.
  • The trailer also shows both Mega-evolutions of Mewtwo, which most likely signifies that Megastones not available to Sun and Moon besides gift codes will be available here.
• A new sidequest allows you to obtain the Totem Pokemon for yourself. Which Pokemon you can have depends on the version of the game.
• The Island Scan feature allows you to catch different Pokemon from Sun and Moon, including starters from Kanto, Hoenn and Kalos.
• The new Japanese trailer not only more or less confirms that Giovanni will control Mewtwo, but at least Ghetsis, Archie and Maxie will control Zekrom, Kyogre and Groudon respectively as well.
• The new Japanese trailer featuring Mimikyu's very own Z-Move.
• The interview with game developers clears quite a few things about Team Rainbow Rocket, notably:
  • Team Rainbow Rocket is relegated to post-game (meaning that only Necrozma/Ultra Recon Squad appear in the main story).
  • Confirms that all villains came from alternate universes via Ultra Wormholes where they completed their plans.
  • Confirms that you'll fight them with Guzma.

---