Pokémon Ultra Sun/Ultra 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

The game doesn't feel changed that much, for a big chunk
of its playtime, but everything about the Ultras' promotion
hints at something more epic, more grandiose.

One year after Pokémon Sun and Moon, Game Freak brought out what can be classified as “Updated rereleases” of those games. They’re not sequels, since they tell a very similar story with the same characters. But they’re not remasters, since they differ significantly at points. They're remakes in the pure Pokémon tradition, since remakes of older Pokémon games include a lot of new content to acknowledge changes in the franchise since. But was there a need for remakes of games from just a year prior?

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were released on North America on November 17th, 2017. I guess I can cover their “story” and how it changes. Since I already covered the plot of Sun and Moon in depth, I will skim identical parts, and discuss what differs.

Make sure you’ve read through my coverage of Pokémon Sun/Moon beforehand! (For this one, I'll be covering Ultra Sun.)

(rainbow hand wave) Alola!

Following character creation sequence, we see a repeat of Lillie escaping from the Aether Foundation thanks to Cosmog. Cut to three months later and our Trainer, let’s call him Nic again, has settled on Melemele Island with his mother. Not many differences, aside from him owning a Switch instead of a Wii U. I see we already have the superior game!

Pokémon Sun/Moon (Part 6)

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

Ultra Space

A whole bunch of these things? Well, I probably carry one
or two Ground-type moves...

Guzma was traumatized by his encounters with the legions of Ultra Beast jellyfish in this area, but Lillie courageously carries on alongside Nic to search for Lusamine. She appears out of nowhere, and yep – she’s lost her mind, treating Nihilego like the only thing she needs. They argue with her, but she’s too far gone, claiming she lost all interest in Lillie as soon as she started growing into a separate person. Lusamine releases the Nihilego she caught in a weird Pokéball, and it merges with her, creating some weird abomination, and then she challenges Nic to a battle.

Say what you want about previous Team Leaders, they were
never crazy enough to fuse with an alien Pokémon!

I don't think I trust this bear.

She’s the climactic boss of the Villainous Team story alright. Her team is the same, except its members are Level 50, and each gains an aura like a Totem Pokémon’s, boosting one of their stats. She’s tough, but at least none of her Pokémon wield Z-Crystals.

Defeated and enraged, Lusamine attacks her own daughter, but Solgaleo intervenes and blasts her with a ray that re-splits the President and Nihilego, which returns to its ball. Lillie runs to her weakened mom, who finally sees her daughter’s change for the better before fainting. The place starts falling apart and the group is surrounded by Nihilego, but Solgaleo roars and teleports everyone out of Ultra Space.

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.