Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon / Fridge

This section is for Fridge entries regarding Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. For Fridge entries that applies to Gen VII individual species and Alola regional variants, go here. For Fridge entries that apply to Pokémon Sun and Moon, go here.

Fridge pages are Spoilers Off by default, so all entries have been folderized as a security measure. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned!

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Fridge Brilliance

Hau is the one to challenge you for champion instead of Kukui like the original game does, but in a Mythology Gag standpoint, it feels right to have Hau to challenge you instead, as a nod to the original games where you have to fight Blue to become Champion. Additional points that due to the Player Character's dialogue choices can make them be a jerk as much as Blue was in the original, it parallels to Blue and Red's final battle with you as Blue (depending on the choice of dialogue you made) and Hau as Red.
A minor one. Mohn's outfit is a white shirt with an orange scarf tie in the original games, which gets changed to green in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Green, in heraldry, symbolizes hope. In the original games, Mohn's situation is left ambiguous to whether he'll see Lusamine and his family again, while in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, in the post-game, Mohn, despite still being an amnesiac, is able to reunite with his family with a hope that they'd meet again. After all that happened to them after Mohn disappeared into the ultra warp hole, they're finding happiness again.
A Pokedex related one. It's mentioned that Zorua sometimes switch places with human children, right? Looks like we finally know where N Harmonia really came from.
- Also it disguises itself as children. And the only place you can find Zorua is a school. Guess they have found their natural habitat.
This game confirms that the place where Nihilego reside is called 'Ultra Deep Sea'. It's not a cave, it's a strange alien ocean where Nihilego are commonly found. Which explains why Lillie mentions that it's "hard to breathe" when you visit it in Sun and Moon — it's full of some sort of oxygenated liquid that, while breathable, the pressure of the ocean and difficulty in trying to breathe liquid makes it an uncomfortable experience.
The Ultra Recon Squad's greeting isn't a naive emulation of the Alolan greeting. It's a contrast of their different circumstances. Ultra Megalopolans no longer have any natural light sources, so instead of a rainbow their greeting emulates a video screen.
This game introduces several new Bug-type Totem Pokémon — in fact, between both versions of Alola, the only Alolan Bug-type who is not a Totem is Golisopod, who would make a terrible Totem due to its "Emergency Exit" ability. Maybe that is why Guzma never made it as a Captain.
In true Pokémon fashion, you get Zygarde post-game. But the game wants you to see it stirring, as there's a cutscene in the end credits of 50% Zygarde waking up in Resolution Cave. It also works because the player's next opponents are perhaps the most dangerous — Rainbow Rocket, who have the combined power to ruin the whole world. Of course, Zygarde would be on guard for such an event happening.
So why do some of the villains seem so blase at being defeated? They won in their timelines. So it's no real biggie — they can still go back to where they won.
- It's implied that most of the villains' "successes" ended with them dying (Maxie was inches away from falling into lava). Thus, this could in turn be a subtle Face Death with Dignity if they get sent right back to the point of their death.
When Lusamine goes to confront Necrozma, she brings Guzma along with her. At first, it might seem like she's just using him as an excuse to go after Necrozma after the main character proves she's not strong enough to fight it by herself, but it's actually a pretty sound tactical move. If you're fighting a powerful Psychic-type, why not bring one of the best Bug-type trainers in Alola?
It's possible to easily catch Necrozma with virtually any type of Pokéball when you find it in Mount Lanakilla after clearing Mina's trial — even a normal plain Pokéball. Meaning, at this point, Necrozma's catch rate is 255. While this seems anti-climatic to some players, think about it; it's already really weak when you found it, and even if you shared some strength to it through your Z-Ring, it's strong enough to fight, but it's too weak to fight back capture through a Pokéball. Necrozma's strength is not fully recovered, and in a way, Necrozma's injuries from your battle against it as Ultra Necrozma isn't completely healed. And with Necrozma's interest to the player's Z-Ring, Necrozma accepted capture either way so Necrozma could be healed in time by being next to you. With that in mind, this also means that Necrozma has considered the Player as someone worthy to command and train it.
Just as the Ultra Recon Squad members are not used to Pokémon battling, so they do stuff like put Nasty Plot onto a physical-attacking Poipole (and actually open with Nasty Plot), the Team Rainbow Rocket Grunts are not used to battling non-Kanto Pokémon. Use Pokémon originating in Kanto, and they'll fight like normal. Use later-generation Pokémon, and they'll do dumb things like use Normal-type attacks on Ghost Pokémon or Poison-type attacks on Steel Pokémon.
In the original Sun and Moon, you only go through seven trials. In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, you go through eight trials before you proceed to do the grand trial and head to Mount Lanakila for the league. Just like the previous generations where you go through eight gyms before proceeding to move onward for the Pokémon league.
While most trainers got a buff, if anything Team Skull got a nerf. They're still worthless and are an annoyance at best. This is actually Gameplay and Story Integration — In-Universe nobody takes them seriously.
The punks in the first game actually confused some people into thinking they were Team Skull Grunts at a glance. The ending shows the Team Skull grunts becoming punks.
Maxie and Archie can't use Primal Groudon/Kyogre when you battle them, not only because they come from the Gen 3 timeline (where Primal Reversion did not exist), but also because in those games, Maxie took the Blue Orb and Archie took the Red Orb; the orb they took would not have triggered Primal Reversion for their respective legendary.
- Their legendaries also don't have their signature moves (Precipice Blades for Groudon and Origin Pulse for Kyogre), further supporting the fact, as those moves didn't exist back in Gen 3.
- Archie has no idea how to deal with Primal Groudon if you use it against him. The non-Mega timeline lacked Primal Reversions, so he had no way of knowing about them, let alone that Desolate Land, Primal Groudon's ability, makes it immune to Water-type moves.
At first glance, Giovanni being the leader of all the Villainous Team Leaders seems like a wag to Genwunners, but actually, he would have the best capability to lead them all. Sure, in his game, his plans were tame compared to the other bosses, but he is also the best leader overall. Archie and Maxie are leaders of known fanatic/terrorist groups, Cyrus had to operate in the shadows, and Ghetsis and Lysandre were public faces, but had to hide the true intentions of their respective Teams. Giovanni not only led a known criminal group for years, but also functioned as a Gym Leader, a respected individual in the Pokémon world and thus one under intense public scrutiny. Yet it seems no one made the connection over the years that the leader of the Viridian Gym was also the head of Team Rocket. Giovanni is the only boss who can project a good public image and lead a group participating in criminal activities.
- In relation to this, he is also perhaps the most stable and reasonable of the villain team leaders, not subject to the odd logic/fanaticism of Maxie and Archie, the nihilism of Lysandre and Cyrus, the madness of Ghetsis, and so on. He's an ambitious criminal and charismatic leader, but one who is also quite willing to cut his losses when things don't go well, rather than throw a fit, kill himself, etc.
The sun is the brightest at day and the moon shines only at night. It fits the parallel of the Ultra Recon Squad's differing motivations in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, with some symbolism in it. In Ultra Sun, they want to stop Necrozma from taking Alola's light, like the sun that shines and provides energy to all. In Ultra Moon, they want to make use of Necrozma's power to restore the light of their world, like the moon shining in the dark.
- Additionally, day time is generally considered to be a time where children are mostly active and the night is when children usually sleep. Reflecting to how Dulse and Zossie, the younger duo of the Ultra Recon Squad, play a role in the main scenario of Ultra Sun, but not in Ultra Moon. The same applies vice versa with Phyco and Soliera who play a role in the story of Ultra Moon, but not in Ultra Sun.
Why is Po Town full of Totem Stickers when it seems unlikely that Nanu, Acerola, or any other Trial Captain/Kahuna would put them there? Because, as was mentioned when they first appeared on Melemele Island, Team Skull like finding and stealing Totem Stickers — but they don't throw them away, they put them in Po Town, maybe as trophies or to lure in trainers.
Totem Wishiwashi is the only unobtainable Totem Pokémon because it's not really bigger than any other Wishiwashi by itself; Wishiwashi in general grow bigger by gathering many others into School Form.
When Necrozma steals the light around Poni Island, it seems a bit weird that no one pays attention to this. Considering that at the start of the game, you witnessed a minor solar/lunar eclipse which made the area go dark for a while, probably meaning that the residents of Poni Island think that the sudden blackout is just another eclipse.
During your fight with Ultra Necrozma, it does not use Light That Burns The Sky. The reason may be discerned from when you finally see it being used: Ultra Necrozma absorbs light from its surrounding to create that nuke-like attack to the point of reducing the entire scenery into pitch black. So the reason why Necrozma cannot use Light That Burns The Sky in Ultra Megalopolis is not necessarily because of the lack of Ultranecronium-Z you use to execute that move, but rather because there is pretty much not enough light left in Ultra Megalopolis for Necrozma to convert into pure power.
Lusamine's Pokémon collection and anger at her children still makes sense despite her personality shift — she's still devastated by Mohn's disappearance, so she hangs onto the Pokémon so they won't leave her. And she's angry at her children because losing one of her loved ones was enough — then both her children ran away.
Because most of the beginning dialogue of the game that foreshadows her Abusive Parents actions is exactly the same as in Sun and Moon, and then the reveal that she didn't treat them as badly as in Sun and Moon may come as an Ass Pull for some people because it leaves the question of why Lillie and Gladion were so angsty. But considering that the disappearance of Mohn came to the forefront of the main story, they now have other things to be angsty about besides their mother's parenting. Because realistically, seeing your sole parent become bad at parenting was enough, but having lost your loved one to an Ultra Wormhole, thus causing your sole parent's bad parenting… you'd have other things to be so angsty about.
Perhaps the Key Stone is comparable with the Z-Ring or Z-Power Ring because Dusk Mane/Dawn Wing Necrozma undergoes a transformation similar to Mega Evolution to become Ultra Necrozma.
The Ruins of Conflict are the only ruins with no stone puzzle. Why? Well, Tapu Koko loves a fight, after all — therefore it made its ruins completely accessible so challengers can easily get to it.
Ghetsis's reaction upon Colress's presence implies they knew each other before the events of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. Furthermore, Colress reveals devices of his that let him turn invisible or teleport (when he took Lillie out of Ghetsis's reach). That being said, he's not the first (former) Team Plasma member to display these abilities, the first ones being the Shadow Triad. Putting everything together, Colress may have been the one to provide the Shadow Triad with their unexplained ability to appear and disappear from sight whenever they wanted.
Lusamine accepts the fact that Mohn completely lost his memory about his family and Aether Foundation, along with not pressing the issue further; this might not only be for his own good, but hers also. If Mohn ever got aware about his wife's abusive behavior towards their children (however downplayed it is compared to the vanilla Sun and Moon) after his disappearance and the grievance his children suffered because of it, he will almost certainly never forgive her, no matter whatever excuse she comes out with.

Fridge Horror

In the timeline this version of Ghetsis came from, he won. He also has the legendary dragon of Unova in his possession. This begs the question: What happened to that timeline's N?
- Not only that, but assuming that Ghetsis didn't get mindwiped, he now knows about the other regions with more powerful Pokémon, Z-Moves, and Mega Evolution. Team RR, as well as the player, have given him more footholds to maintain and gain even more power...
- Lysandre was even worse. He possibly destroyed his universe, leaving only Team Flare and himself as the survivors. Worst of all, unlike the other universes who have a chance of salvation, there are practically no life forms, humans, Pokémon, or plants, left in Lysandre's world apart from Team Flare, making him the only villain to come from a world with a hopeless Downer Ending. Heck, without a functioning ecosystem, even Team Flare likely won't last very long. Unless the weapon made them incapable of dying, which might be even worse.
  - Spare a thought for that reality's versions of AZ and Eternal Flower Floette, who are both immortal and therefore may well have survived the second activation of the Ultimate Weapon. Their guilt must be overwhelming: AZ because he created the thing that destroyed all life, and Floette because her resurrection ultimately doomed everyone else. And even worse, they can never escape that guilt, because they can't die.
The Rainbow Rocket villains except Giovanni are sent back to their own worlds, meaning they can continue where they left off.
- In a bittersweet sense, at least the people in these worlds (except Lysandre's) can still defeat them and undo their mistakes; the worlds where Archie and Maxie come from still have Rayquaza to stop Kyogre/Groudon, and who's to say that Ghetsis only took control of Unova, and that various champions will convince their own regions to wage war on Unova and free it from dictatorship. And maybe Sinnoh was left intact, and Cyrus entered a different dimension created by Dialga/Palkia.
- Cyrus more or less failed. When you first fight him, he says that a massive shadow (most likely Giratina) consumed him while he was remaking the world, and it is established that he cannot use the full power necessary to remake the world with a captured Dialga or Palkia due to power limiters within Poké Balls (which is why he used the Red Chain).
- Archie's and Maxie's dialogue implies their plans also got them ultimately killed, and Lysandre's claim of being "swallowed by a bright light" might mean that his weapon didn't discriminate (there was really no reason given why it would). His Pokémon still being alive also brings into question whether it even worked in the first place. No such luck for Ghetsis though.
  - Maxie and Archie realized their mistake at the end of their storylines in the original games. Their teams called them and said that their plan has Gone Horribly Right and that they were in danger because of it. Their 'victory' here would be a timeline where the protagonist wasn't around to fix their mistake.
- Given how casually Giovanni teleports away at the end and how he seemingly nabbed several of the Leaders mere seconds before death, he could very easily just go back and grab them all again.
- It's also never said how long they were in the Ultra Universe; it's quite possible in their original worlds the population had enough time to recover. In Ghetsis's case, however, he didn't exactly get away scott free:
  1. His defeat by the protagonist gave him his original Villainous Breakdown, which is sure to make him less in control once he returns back in his world, which Colress speculates as a possibility.
  2. His knowledge of other dimensions and his lust for power isn't a good mix. It's quite clear he was planning on upgrading to a dimensional conqueror "Man behind the Man" using Giovanni as a puppet. So even if he gets back to Unova with his power intact, he lives with the knowledge that there are other worlds he doesn't control, and that is sure to enrage him and possibly set up his future defeat.
  3. Lastly, his Pokémon are all fainted in addition to all the other Team leaders, so all it takes is for one Trainer to stop them once they return, assuming they aren't teleported to safe territory.
So is there a universe where Cipher went totally unopposed? Did team Dim Sun conquer Almia? Did Purple Eyes kill off all of humanity? To say nothing of the horrible things that could happen in the Mystery Dungeon games. That Bad Future in Explorers might be just one of many.
Necrozma was originally a Pokémon whose light was stolen by ancient people. Due to lacking the light, Necrozma is forced to hop from dimension to dimension, draining the light from it before going to another universe to drain. Meaning Necrozma unwillingly caused several mass-extinctions, dooming civilizations and rendering universes into a Big Freeze type event. In other words, Dark Fantasy and Cosmic Horror Story.
- Albeit only one world is known to have lost its light (when Necrozma invaded Alola it was repelled, and at some point afterward it was imprisoned by the people of Ultra Megalopolis), and said world (Ultra Megalopolis) survived (apparently when Necrozma steals light, it doesn't literally steal all light and warmth; in the games, light is spoken of often in a more metaphorical sense).
When you enter Ultra Ruin, Guzzlord's territory, talking to the one NPC, you learn that this alternate world was ravaged instead by a devastating power plant meltdown, and Guzzlord is simply cleaning up the mess humanity left it. One does have to wonder what kind of power source was being used to result in such a disaster that the people of that world even tried to sweep that power plant's existence under the rug.
- That one guy gives you some info that provides a few clues of the scope of disaster. One, his grandfather was alive during the time of disaster. Two, despite being an adult, he only knows the color blue from the TV screen that shows how the city was long ago. Take these two together, and one most likely scenario is nothing less than a nuclear winter that has blanketed the planet for decades to the point that someone grows all the way into adulthood without ever seeing the sky.
Listen closely to the remix of Lysandre's theme. In the original, you can hear a gun cocking near the start, and there is wailing throughout the theme. In the Rainbow Rocket version, there's no gun cocking and no wailing... because this Lysandre has already used his weapon, and there's no one left to wail.
By the end of the game, the protagonist has both unrestricted access to the Ultra Deep Sea, and little to no clue how truly dangerous Nihilego are, and as anyone who's played the original Sun and Moon knows, that's a recipe for disaster.
- Yet at the same time, unlike Lusamine, the protagonist had the Ultra Recon Squad who are aware of Ultra Beasts in general and would have likely warned the protagonist about them.

Fridge / Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

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Fridge pages are Spoilers Off by default, so all entries have been folderized as a security measure. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned!