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What we know so far about Pokémon Sun and Moon
Put down your mobile and get your 3DS ready for your next fully-fledged Pokémon adventure.
Pokémon Sun and Moon are on the way to 3DS
© Nintendo/Game Freak
After 20 years, Pokémon is still going incredibly strong. While Nintendo’s monster catching franchise is currently dominating mobile phones, there’s a brand new main line game coming to Nintendo 3DS handhelds in November under the guise of Pokémon Sun and Moon. Set on the Hawaiian-themed islands of Aloha, the latest adventure in the series takes the 3D format established in X and Y and gives you even better graphics, new game modes, new moves and of course, brand new Pokémon to catch.
That’s not all, as you’ll find new forms of existing classic monsters and even a connected bracelet you can wear that interacts with the game. If you can keep your mitts away from catching ‘mons on your phone, we’ve rounded up everything we know so far about the latest set of games in the series, all to help make you the very best that no one ever was on your 3DS.
So, where’s it set?
Each brand new Pokémon game has delivered us a brand new region to explore, with recent entries taking plenty of inspiration from real-life locations. Pokémon Black and White’s Unova region draws from New York, while X and Y’s Kalos locale is based on France, and Sun and Moon has a real world counterpart too. Called the Aloha region, the name itself gives you a hint, as the upcoming set of islands is based on Hawaii, and is set to give a different flavour to what you’ve experienced in the Pokémon games to date.
The region comprises of four main islands, and one artificial, and each island has its own unique environmental pressures that have caused many of its Pokémon to adapt, giving them Aloha Forms. In Aloha, the fire fox Vulpix has moved to snowy mountain peaks, and has adapted to the environment by becoming an Ice-type ‘mon, complete with a new look and Ice-type moves – and that’s not the only Pokémon too. The Grass-type tree Pokémon, Exeggutor, has become a meme of sorts due to its new Aloha Form that sees it become an extremely long-necked palm tree of sorts that also is a Dragon type. Weird, we know.
Compared to other regions too, Nintendo has stressed that the culture of Aloha is that humans and Pokémon are much more close, giving a rather carefree nature that lets you interact with ‘mon that aren’t your own. This manifests as a Poké Ride, where you’re able to fly and ride on critters, such as a Charizard, at any time to help you get to new places where you wouldn’t be able to by yourself. They don’t join your team, however, but you can call on them whenever you want to receive their help – could this be replacing the crucial HMs (Hidden Machines) like Fly or Cut we've seen in previous titles?
What’s the story?
The more things change, the more they stay the same, right? After 20 years of Pokémon titles where the main structure of the game hasn’t changed much – small town start, battle through the gyms, take down the bad guy and win the league – we’re expecting much of the same in Sun & Moon. Nintendo and Game Freak have been keeping mum on what exactly the new games have in store for the player in terms of storyline, but a few tidbits have shown off what and who you’ll find in your adventure.
Japanese manga and games magazine, CoroCoro, has revealed the bad guys you’ll be facing off against in Sun & Moon, and just like in previous titles, they also have a nefarious team name. Team Skull, much like Team Rocket before it, looks rather sinister and we’ve been given a peek at two of the notable figures in the organisation, with the boss named Guzma and one of his cohorts is a girl called Plumeri. These names are likely to change ahead of the Western launch, but it’s reassuring to know that, just like all the games prior, there’s a big bad group that’ll need to be put in their place via a classic Pokémon battle showdown.
Another element that’s likely to be a part of the storyline is the game’s new Z-Moves, which are powerful, devastating attacks that are unleashed by an in-game (and a physically, purchasable IRL) item called the Z-Ring. Much like how Mega Evolution and Mega Stones were central to the plot in X & Y, we reckon these bracelets and high-powered moves are going to be an integral part of the new games too, and as you need to collect various Z-Crystals throughout the land of Aloha, we bet they'll tie in closely too.
What Pokémon will I start with?
Just like previous Pokémon games, you’ll be given a starter ‘mon to begin your quest with, and their types match up just like before. This time, you’re treated to either the grass-type owl, Rowlet; the water-type sea lion Popplio; or the fire-kitten, Litten. We’re yet to see what they evolve into, but so far, these brand new starters have gone down incredibly well with Pokéfans.
Each new region has a brand new in-game Pokédex too to help you record all the Pokémon you’ll encounter on your journey, and that’s the same here, only it’s a bit more lively. The Pokémon Rotom lives inside of it, giving it a bit of personality too, and it’ll also give you hints and tips too. The Rotom ‘dex will show your current location and your next destination, and it’ll give you advice on where to go next, based on chats you’ve had with other characters. There’s also a QR Scanner function that lets you see a host of info about new ‘mon when you scan a QR pattern. You can find out where some critters live, if you haven’t caught them yet, and you can share QR codes with friends too, letting you register those ‘mon in each Pokédex.
How many Pokémon are there now?
So far, Nintendo have officially revealed over 30 unique, brand new Pokémon, and that’s not counting their various different forms, such as the avian Oricorio which can change its ‘style’ and type by sipping the nectar of certain flowers in the game. Of course, the current 30-something roster of brand new critters is set to expand, and a current unconfirmed rumour points to there being just over 100 new monsters in total that will appear in the game, totting up the Pokédex from the current 721 to well over 820.
That’s a whole lot of ‘mon if you want to catch ‘em all, but handily, thanks to 3DS app, Pokémon Bank, you can move forward all your current critters to date into Sun & Moon. The cloud-based storage system currently only lets you transfer Pokémon between Pokémon X and Y and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, but if you have the digital versions of Red, Blue or Yellow on your 3DS, you can transfer any of those first-gen critters over to the latest titles when that launches. That comes at a slight price though, as using Pokémon Bank will cost you a small amount every year, but that could be well worth the cost of having your trusty Blastoise or dominating Mewtwo in your arsenal come November.
What’s the deal with the hero?
Again, a new Pokémon game means there’s a brand new hero for you to play as, and you’re able to customise your avatar even more than before. Pokémon X and Y introduced plenty of customisation options for your character, but you have even more at your disposal in Sun and Moon: you can play as a boy or a girl, and you can choose your skin and hair colour too. X and Y let you play around with your outfit too, and that’s set to be the case in Sun and Moon as well – you’ll have way more clothing options to choose from, letting you truly make your trainer unique.
X and Y introduced a cast of characters you’d encounter and travel around with, and while it hasn’t been stated yet for Sun and Moon, there are a couple of people to note down right now. The Aloha region’s Professor Oak analogue, Professor Kukui, has an assistant called Lillie, who’s said to be rather ‘mysterious’ – for what reason, we’re not sure yet – while your character’s best friend, Hau, looks to be a rival of sorts, although he does pick the starter that has a type weakness to yours.
Sun and Moon will let you customise your character
© Nintendo/Game Freak
What else can we do in Aloha?
With a few islands for you to explore, catching Pokémon isn’t the only thing you’ll be doing throughout your journey: there are plenty of side-quests of sorts that you can take part in to help boost your ‘mon, or trials to compete in to let you advance from island to island. Hyper Training is one of the such activities you can do, which lets you take your Pokémon’s power to a whole new level by increasing individual strengths. If you have a level 100 Pokémon, you can increase its strength even more by visiting Mr Hyper, a new character in the region, who loves Bottle Caps. Throw him some Bottle Caps and you can start to take your most powerful ‘mons to the next level.
You can also take part in island challenges, which act as a rite of passage for trainers in the region, with the goal for you to become the island challenge champion – these look like they’ll replace the classic gyms of old. The challenges consist of a number of trials on each of the four main islands, and they’re not just battles either – you might have to go on a treasure hunt of sort, or prove your knowledge in a quiz – and they’ll surely be testing.
At the end of each trial, you’ll need to face a Totem Pokémon – a larger and more powerful version of a regular Pokémon – in an SOS Battle that can call on allies to assist it, such as a huge Gumshoos able to call in wild Yungoos to attack. Once you’ve beat it, you’ll have to go through a grand trial afterwards in which you’ll have to battle the Island Kahuna – so far, the closest thing to a Gym Leader we’ve seen – which will require you to tap into your finest skills as a trainer. It looks to be a massive departure for the series, and it could be for the better are you ready to become an island champ?
There are also Battle Royals for you to participate in, which is a new format to the series, that like the name suggests, is not just a one-on-one fight. Battle Royals in Sun and Moon will have you fight against three other players in a four-way battle in a furious melee that’ll need a lot of strategic thinking, as you only have three Pokémon at your disposal here and you’ll have to try and predict who will attack who in your attempt for victory.
When is it out again?
There’s not long to wait before you’ll be able to play the latest entry in the Pokémon series: Sun and Moon are both slated to hit in November on Nintendo 3DS handhelds – and they’re not exclusive to the more recent New Nintendo 3DS consoles, either. Nintendo looks to be trickling out more and more information as we lead up to release, so stay tuned for more info on Sun & Moon as we hear it.
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