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 falls apart and the group is surrounded by Nihilego, but Solgaleo roars and teleports everyone out of Ultra Space.

On Turn 1? Against a Legendary, no way it's gonna-
Wait, it worked?

Hapu was investigating the Altar of the Sunne, so she sees the group appear. The fainted Lusamine is put on Mudsdale’s back and taken back to Aether’s boat, back to Paradise. (She isn’t seen later, but Solgaleo even knocked out of her the Nihilego toxins that made her insane, so she'll recover.) Nebby decides he wants to keep traveling with the group for now, and so Nic can battle and catch him.

Lillie entrusts Nebby in her friend’s care, before she leaves to care for her mother. Another surprise guest in the area: Nanu, who tells Nic that he has just one thing left to do in his island challenge. A different take on tradition: Originally, island challenges ended with a fight against all four kahunas in a row. Well, Kukui’s Elite 4 is ready, and awaits at the top of Mount Lanakila.

In the playthrough I'm using, since Orange chose Litten the
Fire-type starter, Silvally's spikes glow blue as it is equipped
with the Water Memory.

At the base of the previously-restricted area, Nic encounters Gladion, who thanks him for everything he has done but can offer no other reward than the best battle he can give. (I saved the President of Aether, I’d say a million Pokédollars would be nice too.) Gladion’s team shows how he changed through the story. Three of his four Pokémon evolved through friendship: Crobat, Lucario… and Type: Null, which unlocked its full potential as Silvally. This one can use the type-changing Memories designed by Aether, and will be equipped with the one strong against your starter (ex. Fire-type if you chose Rowlet). A great battle, which Nic wins. Gladion isn’t mad; he’s proud, really. He confirms that Lillie is taking care of their mom, then says with a smile that he’d better keep getting strong if he wants to beat Nic someday.

“Victory Road” and Elite 4

Rough weather. Not rough climbing, though.

Mount Lanakila is the closest thing to a “Victory Road” Alola has. But it's surprisingly relaxed! Maybe it's intended as a breather? The mountain has no puzzles to solve, and the whole thing is almost linear. There’s side-paths with stuff to find, but not much. Most species here can already be found in Tapu Village. The place is the only location where you can evolve a Crabrawler, and where you can find an Ice Rock to evolve an Eevee into Glaceon.

There’s one Trainer in the final line to the E4; Hau, who challenges Nic. He still has only four Pokémon, even though he should have come with a full six. He takes his new defeat a little bitterly, but his happy demeanor returns and he even gives Nic some Max Revives. Alright, time for the Elite Four. We’re greeted at the entrance by Kukui, welcoming his very first Trainer. He reminisces about his own road as a trainer before letting Nic through.

"Seriously? You're bringing out the Legendary Pokémon
of Alola against me??" - Hau, once again outmatched.

Nothing too bad. That's just a bird, after all.

E4 happens as usual: You cannot leave until you’ve defeated all four Trainers (or lose trying), but you can choose the order in which you battle them. Two kahunas return: Hala and Olivia, using much more complete teams than when you last saw them. Nanu was too lazy to join; he instead recommended Acerola, who fills up the third spot. The fourth is Kahili, a previous island challenger who specializes in Flying-types. All four will prove challenging on your first run through. So many tricks to prepare against – you better be ready.

A new challenger approaches...

Look at how confident Prof Kukui is. But confident of
himself, or of his protégé?

With all four defeated, Nic accesses the final room, with a throne as proof of his role as Champion of Alola. But no, this isn’t over; guess who walks up. No, not Hau. It’s Prof. Kukui, with a strong team whose final member is the third starter that wasn’t chosen (ex. Picked Rowlet? He has Incineroar). He is the final boss, so he’s tough alright. But hey, if you’re ready, you can beat him. And so, your status as Pokémon Champion of Alola is officialized. Congrats!

A party on Melemele is held in Nic’s honor. The trial captains, kahunas, and several other major characters attend. After the night has fallen, while the party goes strong, Lillie suggests she and Nic go to the Ruins of Conflict. The bridge has been repaired. They head into the ruins Tapu Koko appears to Nic for a battle. You can catch the Tapu, which is Level 60. If it faints, it returns after you’ve re-beaten the Elite 4.

That electric current cannot stop me! I surf on currents!

Postgame

Good luck on your Pokémon journey, Lillie! You better
come back as Champion of Kanto!

The next morning, Hau runs into Nic’s home in a panic. Lillie is leaving! At the pier, they see her with Prof. Kukui. She feels she has some more development to go through, and decided to go on a Pokémon adventure in Kanto. Sad but happy farewells all around. Cue the game’s credits. Well, time for the postgame and see what's left to do!

First: Finish the Pokédex! During one quest, you return to Aether Paradise and get a Type: Null of your own. You can also receive a Porygon at the Aether House. You can also get a second Cosmog on the other altar, on Ula'ula, and all four Tapus can be caught. Hunt down every Zygarde piece, checking every nook and cranny of the four islands (and Aether) until Route 15's lab can recreate the Pokémon's Complete Forme.

Ah yes, the Pokémon version of "4 o'clock at the bike rack".

Many events net species-specific Z-Crystals. You can duel seven Eevee trainers in the Thrifty Megamart and receive an Eevium Z. You get a Tapunium after fighting Tapu Koko. In terms of battles: Guzma can be found in his childhood home, Route 2, and every trial captain can be re-fought as well (though some are version-specific).

Thanks! And see ya later for Zygarde.

A chunk of Poni was left unexplored; now that Nic is Champion, he can return to the Ancient Poni Path, where he meets Dexio and Sina. They talk about Zygarde, then mention Mega Evolution. Dexio battles Nic, even mega-evolving his Alakazam. By beating Dexio, we’re given a Key Stone and an Alakazite. Where are the other Mega Stonest? At the Battle Tree. It's past the remainder of Poni Grove, Plains, Coast, and Gauntlet. Wild Pokémon levels are above 50, while Pokémon owned by Trainers reach above 60.

The adventure is far from over!

Oh hey, I didn't know we had Pokémon royalty visiting Alola.

At last, the Battle Tree, Sun/Moon's Battle Frontier-type area with special battles. You can partake in a Single Battle (using a team of three Pokémon), Double Battle (with a team of four), or a Multi Battle where a Trainer joins you and you fight two others. At every 10 battles, you encounter a special Trainer, which you can then scout and add as a possible ally in Multi Battles. The bosses of the area are Red and Blue, the Trainers of Gen 1 (one of whom you also fight at the Tree's entrance). Other Trainers you can meet includes Colress, Anabel, Cynthia, Grimsley, Guzma, Wally…

The Battle Tree store takes payment in Battle Points, and is where you can purchase special items, including those provoking evolution (Reaper Cloth, King’s Rock, etc.). The rightmost attendant sells the Mega Stones! …Only for species in the Alola Dex! (You also earn the Kanto starters' Stones from beating Red.)

And yes, Lillie can join you in Double Battles.

Is it really gonna be enough? Who knows how many of these
unwanted visitors have landed in Alola...

When you leave your house after becoming Champion, you’re given an Enigmatic Card and told to show up to the motel on Akala. Looker and Anabel await there, and hire Nic to deal with… unwanted guests across Alola. They’re investigating Ultra Wormholes and the things that came out of them, which hunt down humans that went through wormholes. Looker and Anabel work with the Aether Foundation, which designed the Beast Balls. Normal Pokéballs have a 0.1X catch rate modifier on Ultra Beasts, aside from the guaranteed-catch Master Ball. Beast Balls are useless against normal Pokémon, but have a 5X modifier against UBs.

Reminder that Xurkitree are apparently 12 feet tall.

This quest takes Nic across the islands, hunting down these intrusive species. Nihilego is in Diglett’s Tunnel or at Wela Volcano Park. Buzzwole is in Melemele Meadow (Sun), Pheromosa  in Verdant Cavern (Moon); you can catch more than one of both, so you can trade one for the other. Two Xurkitree in Lush Jungle or Memorial Hill. The second game-specific duo: Kartana on Route 17 (Sun); Celesteela in Haina Desert (Moon); both can be found in Malie Garden. Finally, Guzzlord can be caught at Resolution Cave, on Poni. Once the threat is gone, you can find a final Legendary Pokémon at Ten Carat Hill: Necrozma.

OK, forget about the previous big 'un, Guzzlord is even
worse, at 18 feet tall. That's stupid big.

I really dislike Gumshoos's design for... reasons... but the
only reason why I hate Crabominable's look, is that I think
it's just really freaking fugly.

What remains? Battling the upgraded Elite Four, of course! The real thing of interest is at the end. You’re already the Champion – battling the E4 is a formality so that you can access your throne again. But! Instead of fighting Kukui, you’ll defend your title against folks coming to claim it. The first challenger will be Hau; after which, you face a myriad of new opponents. You can end up fighting Kukui again, or Faba. Known faces may come up, like Hapu, Molayne or Sophocles. Even Plumeria may show up! Gladion can be battled here, and so can be Ryuki, a mysterious dragon-type user. The last challenger you can encounter is Tristan, the very first Youngster you met all the way back on Route 1.

    Hey kid, congrats on making it this far, I'm proud of ya. But I do have to defend my title.

This concept means that you need to have a team that can fight anything, since you have no idea who will show up. It’s amazing, I love it, and wished later Gens kept doing it.

Final thoughts

I spent far more time playing the Ultra versions rather than these ones; I see those as more complete, and still think so. However, the single year between the releases of both sets of games would inevitably lead to unfavorable comparisons. But revisiting this game to write all this has led me to a different opinion overall. I thought I would return to an empty game, but no. It’s missing a few things, but it has enough content to satisfy players and then some.

Looks like I can already beat up the Totem, I'll worry
about the non-Totem afterwards.

I believe that in games with a narrative, the story must have been designed early during development. So I make it a point to review the story, because it tends to show how these mechanics play together towards a cohesive whole. It’s especially true of Pokémon, where the base story has changed so little in twenty years that the Alolan adventure is the first true departure from the classic formula.

The island challenge has its moments, I'll at least give it that.

Is the island challenge better? …not here. Sure, it offers more variety in how the encounters are presented, and said encounters involve more than just fighting multiple Trainers before getting to a Gym Leader. And there are lots of ways in which these challenges are brought forward (like the one using the Poké Finder). However, no matter which gameplay elements get involved, the encounters always boil down to fighting two wild Pokémon, and then the Totem, which calls for help. Sure, there can be other stuff on the way, but it always boils down to that. Many “challenges” aren’t all that great, when they exist at all. The sound trivia is the lamest of the bunch, while one trial captain's only challenge was just getting to her! There were creative ideas and I appreciate the change, but otherwise, it doesn’t feel like a swap for something better. I do like the idea of the grand trials, and Title Defense is my favorite idea when it comes to the “final boss”.

Hey, if you knew to steal worthwhile Pokémon instead of
just a Yungoos, I'd be more impressed.

The story against the local criminal Team is one of the best! Team Skull is pitiful, they are encountered too often, and the only major crime we’ve seen them do is take over a town – they've failed at everything else. They appear laughable, and end up being tragic. The real villains are the Aether Foundation, whose goals endanger Alola. Of all the criminal leaders, Lusamine holds a special position as a fake philanthropist turning out to be insane (allegedly due to extradimensional toxins). I don’t think another Pokémon game out there tackles the topic of family abuse (a trait implied in Guzma’s backstory). The climax of this plotline is memorable. So much of Pokémon Sun and Moon shines through its secondary characters and major NPCs. Lusamine is only crazy in S/M, and those story differences are one incentive to play these games, even with US/UM's existence. Heroes-wise, Hau, Lillie and Gladion are great characters, very well developed, something that was missing from your teammates in Gen 6.

Oh, you'll hate that woman by the time of the final battle
against her... and her weird fusioned squid form.

Not really, no. I think I'd rather go back to the Poké
Pelago instead.

Gen 7 is packed with features, whether it’s the Poké Finder (a Proto-New Pokémon Snap, lacking in features to really be great), the Festival Plaza (which was a lot better when the 3DS’s Wi-Fi Connection was active), Battle Royals, and Poké Pelago (which puts in one place several common features that can massively help progress). I think the SOS Battles are a fantastic idea with lots of possibilities to build upon; it has always been one of my favorite aspects of these games and I wished they made a return in later Gens.

The Rotom Dex will always point you towards the next thing to do in the story, or towards one of the possible postgame events. It starts out being enjoyable, but its artificial nature eventually comes through and it really doesn’t have enough options to feel like a “companion”. It becomes annoying once you realize how limited it is.

Oh lawd he comin'! He smelled some good food!

Z-Moves don’t require as much setup as Mega or Gigantamax forms do, ands can be used by all species; but it means they’re limited to battle use. The biggest issue with Z-Moves: When used right, they'll guarantee your victory against most opponents, provided you use them at the right moment, cutting through the intended difficulty. 

Various smaller points: For some reason, way too many of the Gen’s new Pokémon are stupid slow. Hell, several species LOSE speed when evolving. I'm fine with all regional variants in this Gen being of Gen 1 creatures; the intention was to give this new concept a proper test drive before expanding to later Gens, as proven by the Galar games.

*SIGH*

The Poké Rides are definitely one of the highlight of these
games, alongside the first few Regional variants.

The constant, multi-hour tutorial railroading on Melemele, and all the roadblocks forcing a specific path through the island challenge. The Poké Ride works great, replacing classic HMs; so great that later Gens do it too. Pokémon Refresh is fun, though some of its features not returning from Gen 6 are missed. Finally, I can’t drop that topic, a regional Dex of only 300 Pokémon is weak, considering the franchise had 800 species at that point and many areas could have done with more species.

With Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon’s release, a lot of Pokémon fans, myself included, did not feel the need to return to Sun/Moon. The originals have most of the features, but aside from a different story, quite a few things aren't as fine-tuned as they could have been. These are not bad games; but they live in the shadow of their follow-ups. Honestly, if Sun or Moon is all you can find, they’re still pretty good. But in which ways do US/UM overshadow them? We’re about to find out, starting this Friday. See you then!