Pokemon Sun and Moon: A Journey into the Seventh Generation

CJLO's Lazy Sunday Series

Earlier this year, Pokémon released the English titles for the newest version of the series: Sun and Moon. Needless to say, fans went crazy. Speculations and theories about what wonders awaited players in the new titles shot up in every corner of the Internet. From concept art of possible new starters, to ideas for new types, to hopes that the map would include the ability to travel to previous regions. Whether or not some of these speculations are true is yet to be seen, but Pokémon has been dropping teasers for the release of the game coming this November.

While news of the title registrations came forth in February, it wasn't until May that fans got to see the first trailer for the new games. With it came a whole wealth of information, even though some may say otherwise. In it, players learned that the game would have a complete 3D overworld, something that was only exclusive to certain areas in recent releases. Fans also got a glimpse at the new battle screen, where both Pokémon and trainers would be present, including a redesigned HP bar. The region was also given a name: players would be exploring the very Orange Islands-esque landscape of the Alola region, Hawaiian themed. Other information included the ability to customize your character from a wider variety of skin tones, what other characters such as the rival/companion and professor looked like, and the box art showed which new legendaries were to be encountered- this automatically split the fans into sanctions of who would be buying Sun and who would be buying Moon.

Most importantly, the starters were revealed. Players will have the choice of beginning their journey with either Rowlet, the Grass-Flying owl Pokémon, Litten, the Fire cat Pokémon, or Popplio, the Water seal Pokémon.

Super attentive fans however, and sneaky ones, were able to find out even more.

During the trailer, some pointed out that a new unrevealed Pokémon could be seen in the overworld. While many speculated that it could be a new deer or dog—or even hybrid—type of Pokémon, it was recently revealed this June in Corocoro magazine that the Pokémon is a Rock type dog going by the name Iwanko in Japan. It was leaked alongside a koala Pokémon with the curious and OP ability of Definite Sleep, which prevents it from being afflicted with any other status other than sleep.

Shortly after the release of the May trailer, a YouYuber by the username pdwinnall posted a video regarding something he had come across on the official Japanese Pokémon Sun and Moon website that could reveal the final evolution typings for the games starters. In it, he explains how he found uploaded but not yet used images for type icons by inspecting the resources of the starter pages and searching for icon file names based on what was, and was not, there. Specifically, the icons for fire, flying, water, and grass were in the icon folder and were labelled as icon1, icon2, and so on. However, for some reason there was no icon3 file. In opening a new tab and changing one of the icon folder names to icon3, he was able to find an image for a Ground type icon, and icon6 came up as Fighting. Respectively, he hypothesized that Litten will evolve into a Fire/Ground type, Popplio will evolve into a Water/Fighting type, and Rowlet will remain Grass/Flying. By and by, all good hypotheses, as players have been subjected to more than enough Fire/Fighting starters over the years.

Then, on June 2nd, the second trailer hit the net. With it came a new plethora of information. The official names of the legendaries were announced—although they had already been translated by fans from the official Japanese website—as Solgaleo for Sun version and Lunala for Moon. Their abilities and typing were also revealed, with Solgaleo being Steel/Psychic with Full Metal Body and Lunala being Ghost/Psychic with Shadow Shield. I was not the only one who found these typing choices as slightly ironic; seeing as the Pokémon representing the Sun was not only not a Fire type, but in fact weak to fire, and the Moon Pokémon was four times as weak to Dark. I like to refer to this as Lugia-syndrome, where a Pokémon like Lugia, who was written to live under the sea and should have been a Water type in all respects, ends up having a typing that has nothing to do with its alignment to its story, nor its counter-part.

Putting the axe aside from the grinder for a moment though, the other information in the trailer was fairly interesting, as it elaborated on what was seen in the first.

For the first time, players were shown a world map of the Alola region, showing multiple islands. This helped quell certain fears that the map was going to be restricted to one small island.

Players were also formally introduced to the professor that would be sending them on their journey, Professor Kukui, as well as his "mysterious assistant", Lillie. My money is riding on her being the bad guy all along. The rival/companion was also given a name, Hau. And as an added bonus, player's Pokédexes come with a little surprise this generation: they're inhabited by a Rotom. Fans will remember the Ghost/Electric type being introduced in Generation IV, and having the ability to possess certain electrical appliances in order to gain different typings. This gen, the Pokédex will only work when combined with a Rotom, who will act as a companion on your journey. Whether or not players will be able to battle using Rotom is unknown, but not very likely. It's most probably a cute little gimmick.

E3's launch meant a third Pokémon trailer, two in one month: Nintendo is really spoiling its fans! With it came the reveal of three basic Pokémon for the games: the Bug, the Bird and the Boring. I mean Normal. The Bug type is Grubbin, a teeny tiny grub Pokémon with an affinity for power plants. I smell a Bug/Electric evolution. The bird is the Flying/Normal type woodpecker, Pikipek, who likes to attack enemies by shooting seeds at them with bullet-like speed. Bullet Seed, anyone? And the Normal type is the angriest looking weasel I've ever seen, Yungoos, whose Pokédex entry states is always, ALWAYS hungry. It's also interesting that its entry specifically states that Yungoos is not a native Pokémon to the Alola region, and that it was brought in to curb the population of another Pokémon. Quirky factoid, or set-up for the next Gen?

The trailer also showcased battle information for the mythical Pokémon Magearna, Steel/Fairy, and a new battle option for trainers: the four-way free-for-all Battle Royale, where four trainers can battle each other at the same time. This is bound to destroy more friendships than Magic the Gathering and Monopoly combined.

The trailers aren't the only source of information, however. A quick exploration of the North American Pokémon Sun and Moon website reveals some neat little tidbits. For example, apparently Sun and Moon will have the ability to scan QR codes, which will allow players to register Pokémon straight to their Rotomdex. They will also be able to share registered entries with friends. Solgaleo and Lunala's special abilities are also explained on the website. Solgaleos Full Metal Body allows for it to be unaffected by an opponent's stat lowering move or ability and Lunalas Shadow Shield means it will take less damage from an attack when it is at full health.

Then there's the page on the Rotomdex. It all seems unassuming enough, explaining how the new Pokédex helps record your adventure with the help of the little Ghost Pokémon, until you look at the picture at the top of the page. It shows the male player character and the Rotomdex out on the road, with the player pointing out into the distance. Nothing special. Except for the bracelet the player is wearing. In the last generation, players were able to take their Pokémon's evolution one step further with the Megaevolution stone and bracelet. Could this be Alola's Megaevolution bracelet? Or could this be the rumoured fusion bracelet? Only time will tell as we await the next update from Pokémon.

--Catlin Spencer is a long-time volunteer and news director at CJLO with experience in writing, hosting, producing, and training under her belt. A lover of satire, cartoons and video games, Catlin is a huge dork who is always one line away from making a really bad pun.

--Visit the CJLO Magazine every Lazy Sunday for our specialty columns, reviews, and features! Root-de-doo-de-doo, a-root-de-doot-de doy di, a-root-de doot de dum, a-ree-de-dee-de-doo dee - doo doo... Lazy Sunday afternoon... got no mind to worry...