My honest opinion about Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

December 3rd, 2017

After a pretty long break, I am finally back at it. Of course you know - or at least suspect - that the new pair of Pokémon games, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, are to blame for my 'hiatus', unless you have been living under a rock for the past two weeks. Anyway, I guess it would be appropriate to give you my honest review of these games, just like I did with Pokémon Sun and Moon approximately a year ago. (Disclaimer: SPOILERS ALERT! Yeah, this article contains some spoilers, both major and minor, so anyone who hasn't played the games yet should proceed with caution.) I must admit that I didn't expect much of them at first, but Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon totally exceeded my expectations by a ridiculously large margin. I can never go back to playing Pokémon Sun and Moon casually and feel satisfied anymore; they just don't feel complete now, as there are so many new features and events in the new games that weren't present in their predecessors.

So, first things first: Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are enhanced versions of Pokémon Sun and Moon. They are not sequels, like Black 2 and White 2, and don't take place years after the events of Sun and Moon. Rather, the games take place at the same time as Sun and Moon, only in an alternate timeline in which Necrozma is the threat at hand instead of Lusamine and the Ultra Beasts. As a matter of fact, very early on in the game you get to make the acquaintance of the Ultra Recon Squad, a group of people from an alternate universe in which all of the light was stolen by Necrozma, whom they call 'the Blinding One'. Their people had managed to lock up Necrozma at the top of the highest tower in Ultra Megalopolis, Megalo Tower, using its light as a source of power. However, Necrozma grew frustrated and escaped through an Ultra Wormhole, which was the incentive for the Ultra Recon Squad to travel to Alola through Ultra Space and warn the region of the looming crisis.

Even though the events in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are largely the same as in Sun and Moon, it is the little changes that make the games feel fresher and more complete than their predecessors. For example, you now get to choose your starter Pokémon before you rescue Cosmog - more commonly known as Nebby - from the Spearow on Plank Bridge, after the starter Pokémon in question step in to rescue you from a Yungoos emerging from a patch of grass on Route 1, and you actually get to battle one of the Spearow. Some events in Sun and Moon now occur elsewhere, like your first encounter with Team Skull in Hau'oli City, as well as the battle with Hau in Malie City and the battle with Hapu as part of your Island Challenge (previously in Vast Poni Canyon before the Kommo-o trial, now on Exeggutor Island after you have defeated Kommo-o and completed a certain eighth trial I'll get back to later in this review) - and those are only a few. Random NPCs now await you at different places and use different Pokémon. The Island Challenge remains largely the same, although Game Freak improved on the trials and changed them up either a little or significantly, and there are some new Totem Pokémon for you to conquer, including some difficult ones in Totem Araquanid and Totem Togedemaru if you don't come prepared - and trust me, you don't. The characters haven't changed much, honestly; Gladion is as edgy as ever, Professor Kukui still thinks he's cool, Lillie continues to act like a damsel in distress, and Hau is still the happy-go-lucky motherfucker who tries to follow in his grandfather Hala's footsteps - although it has to be said he has become much stronger compared to Sun and Moon.

It isn't until far into the second half of the game that the storyline starts to really deviate from the one in Sun and Moon. Lusamine doesn't appear to be completely out of her mind; instead of using Nebby for her own personal gain and purposely creating Ultra Wormholes in order to claim the Ultra Beasts for herself, she wants to sacrifice Nebby to travel through Ultra Space and find and defeat Necrozma in order to save Alola from perpetual darkness. She isn't the crazy bitch she was a year ago and her actions make a whole lot more sense now, even though Game Freak still portray her as somewhat of a villain. She fails her own objective, however, and battling Necrozma is of course left to the player character. You first battle Dawn Wings or Dusk Mane Necrozma at the Altar of the Moone or Altar of the Sunne, respectively, but immediately afterwards you get to travel to Ultra Megalopolis using Ultra Warp Ride and battle Ultra Necrozma. And let me tell you, it is the hardest battle you will ever fight in a Pokémon game in your entire life. If you are not prepared - heck, it is fucking hard to actually be prepared for this thing - Ultra Necrozma will annihilate your entire team, even if your Pokémon are actually on par with it level-wise. The fact of the matter is that this Necrozma form has a base stat total of 754, including base 167 attack and special attack and base 129 speed, and surrounds itself with the same stat-boosting aura that activates when you encounter a Totem Pokémon. On top of that, it has a crazy diverse moveset in Photon Geyser, Smart Strike, Power Gem and Dragon Pulse.

Necrozma is also the first main antagonist in the core series to be a Pokémon itself and not a human. Go figure.

That is not where the deviation from Sun and Moon stops, however. After defeating Ultra Necrozma and safely returning to Alola, you have an eighth trial to clear that wasn't present in the 'original' games: Mina's fairy-type trial. After a battle with her, Mina urges you to visit all of the other Trial Captains and battle them so they can each give you a colored flower petal as a token of your growth as a Pokémon Trainer. After returning to Mina's house in Seafolk Village, you'll have to fight Totem Ribombee, which has all of its stats raised sharply by the flaring aura that activates when you encounter it. This thing also gets Quiver Dance, so it could become a serious hazard if you don't watch out. More reasons why Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon feel fresh are the frequent appearances of the Ultra Recon Squad, who change the story marginally every time you encounter them, as well as the many different sidequests triggering after certain events (including one on Hano Beach involving two smitten Pyukumuku called Mukeo and Mukiet, one at the Hau'oli police station involving three kleptomaniacal Hypno, and one in Konikoni City involving a gang of five Ditto impersonating other people). On the same note, a longer sidequest for you to complete is the collection of Totem Stickers that Ilima distributes all throughout Alola, with the exception of Aether Paradise. Collecting these stickers allows you to receive Totem-sized Pokémon from Samson Oak, even though these are merely aesthetic in change: they only have slight changes in height and weight and, unfortunately, don't have their signature stat-boosting aura surrounding them. Last but not least, there are now two areas that feel like a Victory Road of some sort: the first is Vast Poni Canyon, which was also the case in Sun and Moon, but Mount Lanakila actually got a serious upgrade compared to how the area looked like in Sun and Moon.

There are two things that I deem rather important changes as well, though, and the first is the overall difficulty of the games. Fights against the Trial Captains and the Kahunas - as well as people such as Lusamine and Guzma - seem to be much harder in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Ultra Necrozma is definitely going to be a Nuzlocke killer, and the Totem Pokémon are no pushovers, either. They seem to get improved stat boosts (e.g. +2 speed for Totem Alolan Marowak, +2 defense for Totem Togedemaru, +2 in all stats for Totem Ribombee), enjoy better environmental benefits (e.g. Totem Araquanid in the rain with the ability Water Bubble, or Totem Lurantis with a Power Herb-boosted Solar Blade and the support of a Comfey with the Triage ability, healing moves and Sunny Day) and call upon more annoying ally Pokémon throughout the battle (especially Totem Togedemaru, who calls upon a Skarmory with Stealth Rock, Tailwind and Torment). The other change is the addition of brand new Pokémon mid-generation. There are only a few, but it is the first time this has ever happened in the core series games, and I think it's a pretty big deal. Most of the new Pokémon are Ultra Beasts: Stakataka is a literal fortress - rock/steel type - and it is actually one of my favorites, Blacephalon is a fire/ghost clown that throws its head at other Pokémon and makes it explode like fireworks, and Poipole is used by the Ultra Recon Squad and can in fact be obtained during the main storyline immediately after defeating Ultra Necrozma. Teach it Dragon Pulse and it evolves into the awesome-looking Naganadel, a poison/dragon type that bears a striking resemblance to Mega Beedrill.

The last new Pokémon is actually unobtainable as of yet: the new mythical Pokémon Zeraora is an electric-type bipedal cat with some impressive speed and great attacking stats, but I reckon we won't be able to get this Pokémon until Game Freak and Nintendo distribute codes for it in order for us to download it via Mystery Gift. It's a shame, because I absolutely love its design; it almost feels like a Digimon.

Where the new games really shine, though, is the post-game content. There's a bona fide Team Rainbow Rocket Episode, in which Giovanni finally returns and brings along the leaders of all past villainous teams as his admins. He first takes over Festival Plaza, but the takeover is short-lived as you help Sophocles gain control of Festival Plaza again by using borrowed Pokémon from the Battle Agency. The real trouble starts when Giovanni assumes control of Aether Paradise with the inside help of Faba and turns Lusamine's mansion into an eerie, infrared-looking castle. What follows is a nostalgia trip and a redemption arc for Guzma as he actually helps you clear the entire area. You even get to battle Maxie, Archie, Cyrus, Ghetsis and Lysandre, and they even have their respective generation box-art legendaries on their teams. Giovanni even has a Mega Mewtwo X or Y, depending on which game you are playing, and it is so strong it can obliterate your entire team if you don't have a counter for it. It is such an awesome post-game episode, and the castle really takes you back to 1998 and 2000, with all of its impostor-detecting Meowth statues as well as warp panels, spin tiles and color puzzles.

Of course, there are some features I don't understand or just simply don't care about. The first is the Alola Photo Club, in which you can strike fancy poses with your Pokémon and catch them on camera, but I got tired of it almost immediately; even the Poké Finder feature of the Rotom Pokédex is more enjoyable than the Alola Photo Club. Do people actually like this? Mantine Surfing looks and sounds pretty cool, but to my dismay I learned I'm not very good at it and I have to say that I abandoned it pretty quickly. Festival Plaza makes its return, but it is as terrible as ever and I only entered it to do a couple of Wonder Trades. Seriously, the only good thing that happens to it is Sophocles's refusal to change the infrared lay-out after Team Rainbow Rocket's brief takeover. Ultra Warp Ride can be used to hunt for legendaries and UBs, but Ultra Space is just... fucking confusing. It is pretty difficult to travel through, and I found it hard to steer with the 3DS motion controls and reach my number one destination - Celesteela's home turf - although I have to say using the circle pad to steer is only slightly better. Also, I don't understand the trillion-and-one tutorials Game Freak force you to suffer through. We understood it when we played through Sun and Moon, and it was absolutely unnecessary to include them in their successors. And last but not least: I am ambivalent about the improved Rotom Pokédex, as I like the increased interaction with Rotom and I think the Roto Loto is a pretty good way to bring back O-Powers in some way (the Roto Boost came in handy on Primarina in my battle against Ultra Necrozma), but once Rotom starts loving you too much, it just won't shut the hell up and show me the goddamn map of the Alola region.

I'm so petty.

Fortunately, the three best features from Sun and Moon - Pokémon Refresh, Poké Pelago and Trainer customization - are also present in the new games, and you can dress up your player character in spiffy new outfits, including - and I'm not kidding here - an honest-to-goodness Kommo-o armor.

Despite the negativity in the previous paragraph, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon take everything from Pokémon Sun and Moon and improve on it, changing and adding a whole lot of things to make themselves much more fluent and coherent. In my review of Sun and Moon I mentioned that they're easily my favorite Pokémon games ever, but now that the novelty of the graphics, control system and gameplay features has worn off a little, Gen. V has taken up the spot as my favorite Pokémon generation again. Now that Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon have joined the party, however, Gen. VII easily comes second, which is not surprising considering the fact that I have warmed up to the concepts of UBs and Z-Moves in the past year. My top 7 Pokémon generations now looks as follows:

1. Gen. V (Black, White, Black 2 and White 2)
2. Gen. VII (Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon)
3. Gen. II (Gold, Silver and Crystal)
4. Gen. IV (Diamond, Pearl and Platinum)
5. Gen. VI (X and Y)
6. Gen. III (Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald)
7. Gen. I (Red, Blue and Yellow)

I am going to have a lot of fun playing these games in the years to come, because they have a very high replay value. It's going to be hard composing teams of Pokémon I have never used, because there are very few Pokémon left that I like and have never put on a team, but at least I managed to compose some pretty good-looking teams for my recent Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon playthroughs. My team in Ultra Moon consisted of Incineroar, Vikavolt, Lycanroc Dusk Forme, Shiinotic, Palossand and Bruxish, of which I have already used Incineroar twice and Vikavolt once before; my team in Ultra Sun consisted of Primarina, Alolan Raichu, Crabominable, Mudsdale, Lurantis and Turtonator, of which I have only used Alolan Raichu once in the past. Admittedly, I was reluctant to pick Popplio at the beginning of my Ultra Sun playthrough, because I don't care for it and I absolutely hate its middle stage Brionne, but I fell in love with Primarina and its exclusive Z-Move called Oceanic Operetta big time.

Always try new things; they may just surprise you.

Robbin,
a.k.a. The Shiny Luxray

So what do I think about Pokémon Sun and Moon?

December 18th, 2016

That's right, bitches, I'm back! But before I continue reviewing Pokémon - my review of Shroomish and Breloom should be up tomorrow, or at least the day after that - I'm gonna devote an entire article on a review of Pokémon Sun and Moon. And I can safely tell you that THEY'RE FUCKING AWESOME!!! (Disclaimer: SPOILERS ALERT! Yeah, this article contains some spoilers, both major and minor, so anyone who hasn't played the games yet should proceed with caution.) I wasn't even this excited when I played through Pokémon X and Y, as its story wasn't as compelling as Black and White's - and, by extension, Black 2 and White 2's - and I didn't completely feel like embarking on a whole new adventure. Black and White and their sequels did give me that feeling, however, and thus they have remained my favorite Pokémon games, even after Gen. VI.

Until now, that is, because Sun and Moon have so many features that felt familiar yet fresh - or just fresh altogether - that they give you the experience of starting something new. The age-old concept of Gyms, for example, isn't present in Gen. VII and has been replaced by the Island Challenge. This is a rite of passage for burgeoning Pokémon Trainers in the Alola region, in which Trial Captains give you certain tasks to complete, Totem Pokémon with buffed stats provide some real challenge in order for you to pass your trials and Kahunas form the final obstacle for you to proceed to the next island, which give the games a fresh feeling. Grid-based movement is done away with entirely and you can now freely move in every direction using the circle pad, including when you make use of the Ride Pokémon that have replaced HMs (no more HM slaves, yay!). Furthermore, the characters in Sun and Moon have so much more personality than characters in previous games and you grow attached to them very quickly, especially Lillie and Gladion; I almost cried when Lillie left for Kanto, and I'm a grown man of 26, goddammit! There are so many cutscenes that it's as if the characters have a lot more involvement in the storyline, which almost makes the game feel like a long anime - and I love that. Speaking of the storyline: it evokes so many feelings, emotions and what-the-fuck reactions that it's just not funny anymore. Lastly, the overworld and battle backgrounds just look downright stunning, and it was an immense pleasure wandering through Alola two times in a row (I bought both games).

Of course, not an unimportant contribution to Sun and Moon's success are the Pokémon that are introduced in these games. They have better designs, have better or more interesting gimmicks, are better in the competitive scene and are more abundantly found all over the new region than the Pokémon introduced in X and Y - although I have to admit that the Gen. VII Pokémon are quite slow on the whole. That sometimes became a little bit cumbersome in both of my playthroughs, because only five of the twelve Pokémon on both games' teams have a high speed stat, two of which are Alola Formes of Pokémon that already existed and weren't slow in the first place (for those who want to know my full teams: my team in Sun consisted of Incineroar, Toucannon, Vikavolt, Lycanroc Midday Forme, Dhelmise and Alolan Ninetales, whereas my Moon team consisted of Decidueye, Alolan Raichu, Ribombee, Wishiwashi, Salazzle and Bewear). And these Alola Formes are an interesting bunch, to say the least. They're also called 'regional variants' and are a different take on a couple of Gen. I Pokémon. I've taken a neutral approach towards most of them, although I came to love and hate a few. I absolutely fell in love with Alolan Raichu and Alolan Vulpix and Ninetales, whereas I hate what they did to one of my favorite Pokémon, Persian. Ugh. I'll review all regional variants prior to the original Alola-based Pokémon when I'm done reviewing the Kalos-based Pokémon, which is quite a while from now, but I can say that most of them are as good or interesting as or only a little bit better than their regular counterparts.

By the way, I just have to mention that Alolan Dugtrio and its so-called fabulous hair are by far the dumbest things to have been introduced in Sun and Moon, but Dugtrio is a pretty dumb Pokémon to begin with, so it's not a big loss.

I also like the brand new Pokédex entries for already existing Pokémon. They're either a lot more interesting or savage and provide some pretty good insight on the natural habitat of some Pokémon.

[Beginning of long-ass summary of exciting new Pokédex entries.]
Corsola is far worse off in the Alola region, for example, because it is terribly overhunted by Pokémon called Mareanie and Toxapex for the delicious branches on its head. Toxapex's Sun entry even says it leaves a trail of Corsola bits scattered in its wake. That is savage. But Corsola is not the only Pokémon that should suddenly fear for its life: weeping Cubone attract Mandibuzz, who keep a keen eye out for it and its evolution Marowak in order to feed on them and adorn themselves with their bones to attract nonexistent males. Also, Metapod now risks spilling its innards out when it moves too much, which I thought would be solely Pyukumuku's trait, and many Pikachu were almost used as slaves in a goddamn power plant. Pokémon are often useful sources for all kinds of equipment, it seems, because excavation of tombs of ancient hunting tribes has turned up many spears tipped with spikes that had fallen off the shells of Cloyster, and warriors in times long past used the 'feathers' that had fallen off from Skarmory's wings as swords. Spinarak and Ariados's threads of silk are still used for their own weaving by the people of Alola, most of which include strong fishing nets. I like Spinarak a whole lot less now that I know that it waits on heedless Cutiefly to fly into its web, by the way. Awww, my adorable little Cutiefly... :'(

Anyway, moving on to some more interesting new Pokédex entries (yes, I'm planning on catching up a little, although entries for Pokémon I have yet to review are not included here). While we knew from Gold and Silver that the tails of Slowpoke are a delicacy, this wasn't mentioned in its Pokédex entries until now: cooking in Alola involves drying Slowpoke tails and then simmering them into a salty stew. Gengar was already a Pokémon to watch out for, but now it is known that it was once human and takes the lives of other humans because it desperately wishes for a traveling companion. Brrr, creepy. Also creepy is Magnezone, who seems to be receiving signals of unknown origin and transmits signals of unknown purpose. Additionally, there have been many mistaken reports of UFO sightings whenever this Pokémon flies through the sky. Primeape can now die as a result of staying mad all the time, although its face looks peaceful in death. That is quite lurid, but also a little sad. And when it comes to Drowzee, we already knew it finds fun dreams the tastiest thing ever, but it shows befriended people the most delicious dreams it's ever eaten, which I find really disturbing.

Even more terrifying are the frantic people who go out of their way to find, train or depend on certain Pokémon for one thing or another, even though they know these Pokémon are dangerous, or who have just too much time on their hands. For example, people who suffer from insomnia consider Hypno their savior, while it is known to feast on their dreams and even for abducting people; and because Mismagius have been known to cast spells on people to make them fall in love, some people search for this Pokémon as if their lives depend on it. The red gem on Golduck's head is said to grant supernatural powers to those who possess it, causing Golduck to have been quite overhunted in the past. And some people are so spellbound by the length of Goldeen's horn and the beauty of its fins that they train nothing but Goldeen. Seaking's fandom is even devided into two groups that do not get along well: the one group are horn enthusiasts and the other group are fin enthusiasts. Even a mythical Pokémon like Dratini doesn't escape the whims of humanity: boots made from the shed skin of a Dratini are apparently a super luxury item, and there once was a fisherman who pulled one up after a 10-hour struggle, but at least it could confirm its existence. Damn, some people really need to get a life.

The natural habitat and behaviors of some Pokémon also play a big role in their Pokédex entries. Surskit, a waterstrider, is often seen fighting over food with a new bug/water Pokémon called Dewpider, while Elekid and Togedemaru brawl over each other's electricity (a pretty even match) and the controlled mushroom that is called a Parasect often finds itself in fights over territory with that ugly new mushroom Pokémon called Shiinotic. Yeah, fairies aren't all pretty. Some Pokémon's biological structure even give it a certain distinction: the younger a Leafeon is, the more it smells like fresh grass, and its fragrance takes on the odor of fallen leaves the older it becomes. Magmortar can launch fireballs of over 3,600°F from its cannon-like arms, but when it fires off a barrage of fireballs, its arm begins to melt. And while we all know the swirl on Poliwag's belly is actually its intestines showing through, it is quite easy to determine whether Poliwag is affected by some kind of disease, as this swirl is tinged white when it's ill.

And have you ever heard of ghosts and piles of sludge that are on the verge of extinction? Well, regular Muk is apparently going extinct because of environmental improvements, as is Haunter, because it fears light and large cities are being kept brightly lit at night. Not on the verge of extinction at all is Magikarp, who is actually quite fertile and exists in such multitudes that many people had quickly grown sick and tired of seeing it. Game Freak don't shy away from some superstition either, as regular Vulpix spews flames that seem to resemble the spirits of the deceased and most people mistakenly think this fire is a ghost, and legend has it that Ninetales was formed when nine saints coalesced into one. Also, Pokémon wouldn't be Pokémon without a bit of inconsistency: regular Diglett's Sun entry mentions that farmers can find it quite a pest because it chews on plant roots underground, whereas its Moon entry says many farmers cherish and nurture Diglett because its droppings enrich the soil it lives in. And, not unimportantly, Exeggcute's Pokédex entries have gone back to calling them eggs instead of seeds of some sort. The people at Game Freak should make up their fucking minds, goddamn...

By the way, shout-out to Porygon's Pokédex entry, which states that roughly 20 years ago it was artificially created by using the latest technology of the time, in order for it to convert its body into digital data and enter cyberspace. That's a nice way of mentioning Pokémon's 20th anniversary!
[End of long-ass summary of exciting new Pokédex entries.]

I apologize for that long summary, but I wanted to catch up on Pokémon I've already reviewed and this was the perfect place and opportunity to do just that. Megas now also have their own distinctive Pokédex entries, but those were getting a bit too much and they're pretty predictable anyway; they mainly elaborate on the Pokémon they Mega-evolve from and they're honestly not really all that interesting.

There are more exciting things to be discovered in Pokémon Sun and Moon, however, among which the amazing buffs some Pokémon got. Some of the most notable are Masquerain, with +20 base points in both speed and special attack, and Pelipper (ugh) and Torkoal, who now have access to Drizzle and Drought, respectively. NPCs now give you substantial amounts of cash if you finish the fairly easy sidequests they have for you, like catching a certain Pokémon and showing them its Pokédex entry afterwards. Playing through the games is now easier than ever and getting lost is damn near impossible, as the map of the Alola region moves along on the Rotom Pokédex as you go (it's visible on the bottom screen of your 3DS) and your destination is marked with a red flag on a round, white background.

The three most important features are - in my opinion - Pokémon Refresh, Poké Pelago and the return of Trainer customization. Refresh is pretty much Pokémon-Amie, but it has been improved heavily and now allows you to patch up your Pokémon after battles, including a medicine set to get rid of status conditions like poison, burn and paralysis. I spent so much time playing with my Pokémon that they all had max affection by the time I invaded Aether Paradise. Additionally, Poké Pelago provides you not only with a way to obtain Poké Beans you can feed your Pokémon in Refresh, but also with places where you can excavate rare items and farm berries without them withering. Handy! I never used Amie or berry farms prior to Sun and Moon, but Game Freak heavily improved and facilitated these features and actually made me use them frequently, which is no mean feat. Lastly, Trainer customization is back and everybody's excited about it. There are more clothes for your player character to wear, but most of them are a zillion variations on a couple of different things. Still, you can make your player character look significantly different than the standard set of clothes it's wearing at the beginning of the game, and I love buying clothes (in-game and in real life), so it's a win-win situation.

Of course, I could be nothing but positive about Sun and Moon, but the games are not without their flaws. It sucks ass that I can't choose my hairstyle and hair color before I give the hairdresser a substantial amount of Poké cash, although that's a minor annoyance. More irritating is the lag that occurs during Totem and Double battles; I can endure it for as long as the battle lasts, but not when there are a couple of Double battles in a row, for example. It is rumored that the lag only occurs on the old 3DS, which I use, but I don't think the New Nintendo 3DS is flawless, either. At least it's something Game Freak should look into. Also, I still don't know how I feel about the Ultra Beasts. Mega evolutions are one thing, because they're just more powerful versions of Pokémon that already existed and were a perfect way for Game Freak to experiment with crazy Pokémon designs at the time, but Ultra Beasts are just a little bit too weird for my taste. Coming from another world/dimension, they don't really feel like Pokémon and don't really fit in with the rest, even though they are registered in the Pokédex as such and have the same features normal Pokémon have as well: base stat totals, types, moves, natures, and abilities - although all of them have Beast Boost, an ability exclusive only to UBs. I liked doing the UB post-game content, but I still don't know how I feel about their extreme and otherworldly designs.

Having said that, it should be mentioned that Celesteela is by far my favorite Ultra Beast. Because, y'know, steel is still the best and most awesome type present in the games.

One more thing I have mixed feelings about is the presence of Z-Moves, extremely powerful moves that can be activated if a Pokémon knows a move of a certain type and is holding the corresponding Z-Crystal. For example, if Machamp knows Brick Break and is holding the Fightinium Z, it can unleash the powerful All-Out Pummeling. There is a Z-Move for each and every type, but the power of these moves depends on the move the Pokémon extracts its Z-Power from, meaning a Gigavolt Havoc coming from a Volt Tackle deals more damage than one coming from a Spark. Additionally, a Z-Move will always be physical if a physical move is selected (e.g. Solar Blade) and will always be special if a special move is selected (e.g. Solar Beam), making perfect use of a certain Pokémon's strengths. A Z-Move can only be used once during the entirety of the battle, which means you shouldn't give all of the Pokémon on your team a Z-Crystal. My problem with these Z-Moves is that they are too powerful and make the game too easy when you're using them frequently, which is why I limited myself to letting only one Pokémon on my team hold a Z-Crystal (Steelium Z on Dhelmise in Pokémon Sun and Aloraichium Z on Alolan Raichu in Pokémon Moon). Indeed, one could argue that I'm not obliged to give my Pokémon a Z-Crystal, and that would be true; even when a Pokémon is holding a crystal, it is not mandatory to select the corresponding Z-Move. However, the animations of these Z-Moves look absolutely stunning and are a true visual treat, even though they tend to run for a longer time than normal moves do, which didn't particularly bother me. All in all, I think Z-Moves just take some getting used to.

Despite my doubts about UBs and Z-Moves, though, Sun and Moon were just outright AMAZING! Like I said at the beginning of this article, they're easily my favorite Pokémon games ever, and my top 7 Pokémon generations now looks as follows:

1. Gen. VII (Sun and Moon)
2. Gen. V (Black, White, Black 2 and White 2)
3. Gen. II (Gold, Silver and Crystal)
4. Gen. IV (Diamond, Pearl and Platinum)
5. Gen. III (Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald)
6. Gen. VI (X and Y)
7. Gen. I (Red, Blue and Yellow)

Trust me, I'm going to have a lot of fun playing Pokémon Sun over and over and over again, every time with different team members. Pokémon Sun and Moon are beautiful games and are a major improvement on X, Y, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Game Freak went out of their way to make these games damn near perfect, including the new Pokémon. Whereas the Kalos Pokémon mainly left me a bit underwhelmed, the brand new Alola Pokémon left me largely overwhelmed. The designs of the new Pokémon vary from gimmicky (Minior) and cute (Cutiefly and Ribombee!!!) to friggin' terrifying (Sandygast and Palossand) and downright cool (Type: Null and Silvally), and I want to try as many new Pokémon as I can in order for me to get familiar with them, because there are so many good and interesting ones. Maybe I'll attempt another Nuzlocke, even though they're pretty much the bane of my existence; I can't stand it when a Pokémon faints, let alone when I can't make use of it anymore after that. I'm sad that the feeling of novelty of these games will wear off soon, but Sun and Moon will lose nothing of their magic. They're quite possibly the best Pokémon games that have ever been made, at least until the new generation of Pokémon is released, which won't be for another three or four years.

Robbin,
a.k.a. The Shiny Luxray