Pokémon Sun/Moon (Part 5)

Pokémon Sun/Moon: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – Part 6

Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4

Aether Nightmare

That's fine, I'll just wipe out YOUR Pokémon in turn.

We’re dropped off at the artificial island’s dock and battle our way through the Foundation. The employees have a wide variety of Pokémon and are in general a much bigger threat – finally, some challenge. Nic joins Hau and Gladion to the elevator. One floor above, the team encounters Branch Chief Faba. The guy's sole Pokémon is defeated, easily, and Gladion strong-arms Faba into letting them go to the lower floors, where the conducted experiments might tear the fabric of reality apart. …Wait, what?

Of course, to get all of that information about Nebby, your
Trainer probably had to skim through tons of technobabble.

The Foundation knows about the intruders, so the trainers better act quick. The employees encountered on the lower floor talk about the organization developing new Pokéball types for non-Alolan Pokémon, and that Cosmog is the key to open Ultra Wormholes. Outside one lab, Gladion reveals that he stole Type: Null from the Foundation, where it was created to battle the Ultra Beasts. A binder reveals that the discoverer of Ultra Wormholes was Professor Mohn. Hey! It’s the Poké Pelago guy! In the same room, a computer says that Cosmog is an Ultra Beast – and that the “dangerous creatures” it threatens to bring to Alola whenever it teleports are more Beasts, but that it only ever does so when under serious stress. Which is exactly what Lusamine is trying to provoke. Oh no! The Foundation isn’t gonna be abusing lil’ Get-In-The-Effin-Bag Nebby The 1st on my watch!

A Ledian, at this point of the game, really?

Going downstairs was a trick, as this is a dead end. In another lab, Nic can read up on Type: Null's ability to change type using programs, since Ultra Beasts tend to have huge type weaknesses. A few floors above, after another battle, the team meets Wicke, who heals everyone’s parties and addresses Gladion as “young master”. Hmm… Farther, the group encounters Faba again, and double battles ensue. Lots of double battles in this place, really – all topped by one against Faba and an employee, who is quickly beaten, leaving the branch manager against two Pokémon. He didn’t think that through, did he?

Pokémon Sun/Moon (Part 4)

Pokémon Sun/Moon: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – Part 6

Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4

We can continue our trip across the third island.

Plaza, Scans, Etc.!

This park kinda looks like... you know the one....
Giant castle and all that...

I make a big deal about how Pokémon Sun and Moon feel empty, but the truth is, they only feel that way due to their Ultra versions blowing them out of the water in many aspects; but both sets of games still share most of their features. And, in fact, there’s a few that I’ve barely mentioned yet!

Well, I did use them a lot, yes. Not so much after I was done
with the game, though...

The Festival Plaza is S/M’s online multiplayer area (…well, it was until the Nintendo 3DS online connection was terminated, but you can still use this mode to connect with local 3DS owners). Battle friends! Trade Pokémon (either on Link Trade, using the Global Trade System, or Wonder Trade)! The place is helmed by Sophocles, and has a level-up system. You earn Festival Coins from visitors to your Plaza, which you can then spend at any of the shops around the Plaza. The Coins also function as “experience” of sorts, so the more of them you collect over time, the more your place levels up. There are little rewards to obtain through leveling up the Plaza, all the way to Rank 100 (but you can keep going all the way to Rank 999). You also earn Coins by playing the mini-games through the Festival Tickets given daily by the hula girl by the castle entrance.

At every new rank, you can report back to Sophocles and gain a new facility. There are seven types, all with their own level, from 1 to 5 stars – the more stars a facility has, the better the rewards are when you play them. You can participate to each of the seven facilities you have set up in your Plaza once a day. Past a certain level, you can even change your facilities based on suggestions from visitors! The facilities include:

In a 1-vs-1 battle, all Pokémon are set back to Level 50.
Or taken up to that Level, depends.

Pokémon Sun/Moon (Part 3)

Pokémon Sun/Moon: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – Part 6

Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4

Still going through Akala! Time to start the next trials.

Fire, Grass, and Dimensions

....Dude! Get out of the frame, I'm trying to take a picture
of the Marowak!

Salazzle is a cool Pokémon that has the same issue as
Vespiquen: Only female Salandit can evolve, and they're
rarer. Good luck ever getting a shiny Salazzle...

After the Battle Royal tutorial, the kids meet meet Kiawe, the next trial captain, shirtless with hair shaped like fire. He invites the trial-goers to Wela Volcano Park, where his challenge will take place. Bit of a trek, but it allows us to see more creatures from Alola, Fire-types this time. Kiawe waits at the top of the volcano, and his trial is… Dances! Nah, that would be too complicated. You’re shown two clips of Alolan Marowak dancing and must tell the difference. This leads to battles against an Alolan Marowak or, weirdly, a Hiker who photobombs the Heck outta this challenge. Okay, that one got a laugh out of me. The third round ends with the fight against the Totem, a Salazzle. With her defeat (this trial is funny but underwhelming, not gonna lie), Nic is given the Firium Z from Kiawe. We’re also given the Charizard Ride Pager, allowing us to Fly between Pokémon Centers we’ve visited, and thus between islands! With this, we head down the volcano and towards the next stop.

Here's a reminder that most Charizard are 5'07'' on average,
so I wonder if they just have bigger ones on standby for
taller people to fly on.

They seem pretty legit!

Route 8 has a few things of note, such as a small camp for the Aether Foundation, whose employees dress in white and say their goal is to help Pokémon. They look trustworthy! Hm. Dunno why I said that. Our protagonist is approached by a scientist with a long wild strand of hair – Colress, formerly of Team Plasma, happy to observe and study the adventures of other young Trainers. He drops a hint that he’s already seen Mega Evolution in Kalos. Colress is the first person to mention Poké Pelago, a mode available after the Fire-type trial. Past that is the Fossil Restoration Center, whose owner wants to make a park for fossil Pokémon. A… Jurassic Park, if you will. Visiting the motel reveals that Gladion rented a room for two years and “lives” there, when he’s not busy with Team Skull.

Pokémon Sun/Moon (Part 2)

Pokémon Sun/Moon: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – Part 6

Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon : Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4

Are we finally going to our first trial?

Verdant Cavern

The epitome of posturing to look tough, but being pitiful
instead. And at the amount of posturing these idiots do...

At Hau'oli's pier we meet Ilima, but we’re interrupted by members of the local criminals: Team Skull! These guys sport bandanas and wear clothes that makes them look like, well, skulls. They throw their hands around as if they couldn’t settle on a single gang sign, so they’re just tossing them all at once. Full disclosure, most encounters with them are minor and not worth mentioning every single time. Occasionally, they serve to introduce other NPCs (such as Faba or Hapu), but that's about it – so I won't go over every single appearance. These reviews are long enough as is!

Ilima fights one, Nic fights the other. The defeated grunts flee like cowards. As thanks, Ilima heals the Trainer’s Pokémon. After which, he challenges the trainer to a battle, and upon defeat, invites him to Verdant Cavern for the island trial.

Ohh, ohh, ohh, Ilima's Smeargle is gonna paint at me.

Inspect Dens to lure out Yungoos (or Rattata), battle them,
access the Totem. Get unlikely help from the Skull losers.

Nic travels up Route 2, passing by a motel and the Hau’oli Cemetery, then finally, the cavern's entrance. Ilima explains the trial: Nic must defeat three Pokémon that will jump out of their dens, then collect the Z-Crystal on the pedestal at the end. Careful, though; a Totem Pokémon, larger and tougher than the others, may be guarding it. This first trial needs to show how different it can be from the gym battles we’ve seen in every other Generation. The solution? Have a bit of everything. Battle wild Pokémon (which you’re not allowed to catch during the trial, but you can return afterwards), explore or investigate areas, complete quests, answer trivia questions. Most trials end with a fight against a Totem Pokémon and you obtain a type-specific Z-Crystal as a reward; Nic gets a Normalium Z here, but he has to battle a large Gumshoos (in Sun) or Alolan Raticate (in Moon) for it. Totem Pokémon have an aura providing stat boosts to make them into “bosses” at the end of these trials. Totem Pokémon will always call allies.

Almost 10 years later, I still freaking hate this thing's
design. I just do.

Pokémon Sun/Moon (Part 1)

Pokémon Sun/Moon: Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4 – Part 5 – Part 6

Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon : Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3 – Part 4

Even the tone seems to differ between these two sets.

For this blog’s 12th anniversary, I will be doing something special. This is going to be two game reviews, and you can already tell what the concept will be. Yep! I’m doing a Pokémon Special! Full coverage of Generation 7’s Pokémon Sun/Moon and their updated rereleases, Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon. Two sets of games so intrinsically linked that I couldn’t review them apart. There’s just too much going on across four games.

Sun/Moon and Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon (S/M & US/UM) are weird beasts in the Pokémon mainline series. We’ve seen similar stuff before, but not to that extent; games that are remade within the same Generation, with a different plot, wider pool of Pokémon, and more stuff to check for. Even previous remakes I covered (FireRed/Leafgreen and HeartGold/SoulSilver) were separated from their originals by one Gen, and had plenty of changes due to the transformations the franchise had seen in that time. (Also, those remakes are considered good. Same can’t be said for the Gen 4 remakes, from what I heard!)

It's also different from the situation of  Pokémon Black/White and Black 2/White 2. In that case, the latter were sequels to the former, not the same story with changes. Game Freak has never done that again; but, in all fairness, it did allow for B2/W2 to correct some of the more glaring issues of the original B/W. I can’t help but think that this may have helped inspire Gen 7's Ultra versions.

Also, wat a pretty setting it is for the adventure.

A major aspect of Pokémon Sun and Moon, released on November 18th, 2016 in North America, is that desire of change from Game Freak. A wish to experiment with a formula which, let’s be honest, had gotten stale. Leave home with your starter, go through eight Gyms, beat up the evil gang, defeat the Elite 4. Well! In Alola, based on the islands of Hawaii, you don’t fight Gym Leaders; instead, you partake in an Island Challenge made of several Trials, which generally involves battling, but may add more. Totem Pokémon are introduced, and perhaps more importantly, this is the first Generation to have Regional Variants of past Pokémon families.

That was a whole lot of getting ahead of myself, wasn’t it? How about we jump in? (For the record, I played Pokémon Sun, but I’ll mention Pokémon Moon wherever relevant.)