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 VII and has been replaced by the Island Challenge.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
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
