This may contain Spoilers for Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon. If you don't want to know any news about the upcoming games please don't read.
Ok so I know that I am really late with this news, but this is my first article and I thought I would make my first article about something that has been with me for a long time.
Pokémon Sun and Moon has been announced and it now has a release date for November 18th of this year, so I am here to give you all the news on it so far.
So let’s get caught up. GameFreak announced the new games on February 26th 2016. They released a trailer announcing the names of the games. It starts off by showing kids playing through the Pokémon games from Red and Blue to Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Then it goes through the names of the games with the dates beside them, it then says “In 2016” and it starts showing off concept designs along with a new Pokémon concept and finally it reveals the names Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon.
Then on May 10th 2016 a new trailer was posted to youtube revealing the new region as Alola. It also appeared that the character is a little taller than the previous ones. The details of the character and of the region look fantastic. Then the starters were revealed the Grass/Flying type Rowlet, the Fire type Litten, and the Water type Popplio. It then reveals what appeared to be your rival or friend. Then the piece de resistance the legendary Pokémon. The Pokémon website revealed the name of the legendary Pokémon, the Sun legendary Solgaleo and the Moon legendary Lunala.
On June 2nd 2016 another trailer was posted to youtube revealing Solgaleo as a Psychic/Steel type with the new ability “Full Metal Body” which negates any stat change, and its signature move Sunsteel Strike. It also reveals Lunala as a Psychic/Ghost type with the new ability Shadow Shield which allows the Pokémon to take less damage from an attack that lands when the Pokémon has full HP and its signature move Moongeist Beam. The trailer shows the Alola Region as several islands as many people speculated. It also shows that when you start your game you can pick what your character looks like, Just as it was in X&Y, leading people to believe maybe trainer customization is back. It reveals the new Professor, Professor Kukui, Kukui’s “mysterious” assistant Lillie, your friend Hau, and your Pokédex is possessed by a Rotom.
On June 11th 2016, another trailer was posted to youtube showing of Zygarde 10% form, it can use the moves Thousand Arrows and Thousand Waves. It also shows Zygarde 10% transforming into Zygarde complete form. It is currently unclear if this happens when Zygarde’s health is low or if it’s like Mega evolution. It also shows Zygarde complete forms Signature move Core Enforcer.
On June 14th 2016 during Nintendo’s Treehouse event at E3, new gameplay was shown. First when the character walks up to his family’s Meowth and talks to it, it has a new cry leading many people to believe maybe there are new Pokémon cries or it’s a special Meowth. The first Pokémon the trainer encounters is a Ledyba, when asked about it Junichi Masuda and Shigeru Ohmori said not only are there new Pokémon but old ones as well. The bottom screen is completely different you can now see which moves are effective, super effective, normal, or not effective. However this feature cannot be used unless you have fought the same Pokémon before. There is also a 2D version of your Pokémon and the opponents Pokémon on the bottom screen and when you click the Pokémon you can see any stat changes that happen. When you catch a new Pokémon it will register in your Pokédex, if the Pokémon has an evolution a Pokéball icon will appear showing you that this Pokémon evolves. New Pokémon has been revealed starting with Yungoos. Yungoos is the Loitering Pokémon it has the ability Strong Jaw or the new ability Stakeout. Stakeout allows a Pokémon’s moves to deal twice the normal damage to any Pokémon that switch in or enter the field mid-battle. Pikipek was revealed as well. Pikipek is the Woodpecker Pokémon with the ability Keen Eye or Skill Link, it is believed that Pikipek will be the Pidgey of Sun and Moon. Grubbin was the last Pokémon to be revealed. Grubbin is the Larva Pokémon and has the ability Swarm, it is believed that Grubbin will be the Caterpie of Sun and Moon. When you are in range or about to be in a trainer battle two black bars will appear at the top and bottom of the first screen making it more intense. When you actually commence in a trainer battle the black bars will turn into an exclamation mark and enter battle. In any battle your character will appear behind your Pokémon and make different actions which allows for a more in depth games, when you’re in a trainer battle the opponent will do the same. Pokéball items will glisten when you are close to them so it’s easier to spot. When you meet with Hau before the festival he has his starter next to him, which can mean two things, maybe this feature has returned, or maybe its hinting at this feature in a future game. When seeing Hala again he tells you that there are four islands that make up Alola and each island has its own “Guardian Pokémon”. It appears the name of the island you live on is called Melemele and the “Guardian Pokémon” of Melemele is named “Tapu Koko”. When Hala introduces Hau in battle he calls him the Grandson of the great Kahuna. In Hawaii Kahuna means a wise man or shaman, person in charge. Many people believe Hau is the Grandson of Hala, and Hala is the Great Kahuna. When introducing your character Hala calls you the one who met Tapu Koko. When Hala says this people begin to chatter and someone says “What a curious little thing Tapu Koko”.
The last thing to be shown at E3 was the battle royal. The battle royal allows up to four people and each person can choose three Pokémon or less. The battle will end when someone loses all their Pokémon, the way someone wins is the game will tally how many Pokémon you fainted and how many Pokémon you have remaining. If you get the most points you win. It appears that all the trainers have different clothes which could mean the return of trainer customization, but I guess we have to wait and see for confirmation.
Last but not least Magearna. Magearna is the Artificial Pokémon it is a Steel/Fairy type with the ability Soul Heart. Soul-Heart has the effect of raising Magearna’s Sp. Attack by 1 each time another Pokémon in the area faints. Magearna’s Signature move is called Fleur Cannon. If you use the new QR Scanner function in Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon to scan in the corresponding QR Code, you'll be able to obtain the Mythical Pokémon Magearna! Magearna will be a special ally that you can put to work on your behalf in the world of Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon.
That’s all the news so far, I can say for myself that I cannot wait this seems to be the best game yet, in my opinion. I am still having a hard time deciding which starter to choose, I kind of want to choose Popplio because everyone doubts him just like they doubted Froakie, and now Greninja won the favorite Pokémon contest. Let me know what starters you guys are going to choose and let me know if you are as excited as I am!
