Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon

Pokémon is one of very few brands whose fan base spreads across generations. Yes, it’s aimed mainly at children, but it’s also for those who grew up playing the likes of Pokémon Red, Blue or Yellow. This means that developers Game Freak had a huge challenge on their hands, making a game that appeals to fans both young and old. Sun and Moon are the latest additions to the franchise: two separate games with different Pokémon to catch.

Island Trials

Gone are the days of sluggish, slow gameplay with extended periods wandering around in long grass battling Caterpies. Within the first hour of playing Sun and Moon, you’re introduced to a multitude of Pokémon and, depending on your skill, you may have conquered your first Island Trial. The change in pace keeps players engaged, and the constant introduction of activities and side quests means there’s lots to do in Alola, even once the main story of travelling around capturing Pokémon has been completed.

Island Trials are new to the Alolan world of Pokémon Sun and Moon, and replace the hugely popular Gym mechanic of past Pokémon games. In Alola, you must take on the trial captains dotted across the islands, each with their own trials. These usually involve a myriad of Pokémon battles, but can also involve observation and recognition skills. Think of the Island Trials as being like the puzzle at the entrance of gyms in older Pokémon games, but much more intricate and well-developed. Each one tests a different skill, and may also tie in with the ‘type’ of Pokémon that the trial captain prefers.

However, unlike with traditional gyms, it’s not the trial captain that you battle. Once you’ve passed the trial, you must then take on the Totem Pokémon, which are much stronger than average Pokémon and are blanketed in an aura that gives them an edge in battle – they can have heightened defence, attack and more, but the specific characteristics depend on the creature you’re battling.

A new feature is the ability for wild Pokémon to call for backup, or an ‘ally’ to help. While this can happen in standard wild battles, you can bet your Rare Candy that it’ll happen in every Totem battle, which poses an extra threat. When an ally appears, the battle becomes two versus one, making the challenge greater, and much more rewarding when you defeat your enemies.

Your reward will take the form of Z-Crystals, which help Pokémon of a specific type unleash powerful attacks that bond trainer and Pokémon, although these are limited to one per match and the power/move itself depends on which Pokémon is performing it. As you progress through the game you’ll find a number of different Z-Crystals, both from Island Trials and by randomly interacting with NPCs, providing your Pokémon with a trick up their sleeves for those extra-tough opponents. It’s not ridiculously overpowered though, so you’ll still have to think strategically about timing and possible effects it can have on the enemy.

Battle dynamics

As you may have guessed, the dynamic of battles can change quickly in Pokémon Sun and Moon. Yes, the majority of battles will still be in the standard one-on-one style, but the wild Pokémon’s ability to call for backup can change the tide of any battle. While logic dictates that the trainer should then summon a second Pokémon themselves, you’re forced to take on two foes with a single Pokémon. There’s also a two versus two mode, though this is only the case when facing two enemies. This change in the battle dynamic forces the player to think more tactically than in previous games.

The introduction of different battle modes is only a part of the overhaul in Pokémon Sun and Moon though, as Game Freak has also added a number of smaller, well-needed features. If you’re up against a Pokémon you’ve previously battled, you’ll find notes next to each of your attacks that let you know how effective it will be. This is handy as it means you don’t

need to memorise the strengths and weaknesses of the vast library of different creatures, and makes battling easier for casual players.

Pokémon can also physically change during a match to reflect what’s happening. If you’re up against a Pokémon with a shell, for example, there’s every possibility that the shell will break off once you’ve damaged it enough. You’ll also be able to add a newly caught Pokémon straight to your party, instead of them being automatically sent to a box. These are only small changes, but will be welcomed by fans of the series.

Battle Royale

While two versus one battles are an exciting part of Pokémon Sun and Moon, they are child’s play compared to Battle Royale matches. This is a new feature that enables a dynamic never explored in Pokémon games before: four trainers against one another, with no set teams. The rules of the game are simple: each trainer gets to battle with three Pokémon, and the aim is to get the most points. You can earn these by knocking out another Pokémon and keeping your Pokémon alive, with the game carrying on until one trainer has no Pokémon left. At this point, the points are tallied up and the winner is revealed.

On the face of it this seems simple, but it’s not. There’s a lot to consider. Will, for example, your attack wipe out your opponent, or will it weaken them only for an opponent to come in and steal the point? All these outcomes need to be considered.

Pokémon Refresh

Refresh tries to increase the bond between you and your Pokémon. This can be accessed via the quick menu, but you’ll find that most of the time, Pokémon will let you know if they want to be praised.

As you can imagine, throughout a Pokémon battle your little buddy will become dirty, scratched and maybe even poisoned. Now you can remove all status effects, clean them up and even give them a little stroke to say well done following a battle. Pokémon that are friendly towards their trainer will go above and beyond in battle, sticking it out at 1hp when hit with a move that should’ve knocked them out them, as well as dodging more attacks and landing more critical hits. It does feel a bit laborious at first, but it’s one of our favourite features.

Pokédex

The new Pokémon introduced provide seasoned players with a new sense of curiosity and wonder, as there are many new creatures to discover across Alola. It also makes battling them more interesting, as you need to experiment with the roster of different move types available to you to find their strengths and weaknesses. For us, the best part is the Alolan variants of classic Pokémon: Dugtrio has had a haircut, Muk has had a change in colour and Alolan Raticate is more desirable than in previous games.

These are only a handful of the variants you’ll come across in the storyline, encouraging users to stray from the main game and explore the incredibly detailed and varied environments to find the rarest Pokémon possible. Despite featuring many side quests and activities, the focus of the game is still on catching them all. Splitting the Pokèdex across the various regions makes it much easier to keep track of which Pokémon you’ve caught, and makes catching them all a little less daunting to say the least.

Other improvements

Just as in Pokémon X and Y, there’s a huge focus on player customisation – especially with the enhanced online capabilities of Sun and Moon. Stores are located across the Alola region, with each offering a particular style of clothing and/ or hair. Some items of clothing are rarer than others and can cost more than $100,000 in-game, allowing gamers to stand out from the crowd and be represented in-game more than with previous games. You can tailor your player’s clothes to look just like you, or you can go wild and be a fashionista Pokémon trainer – much like the rest of the game, it’s up to you what you choose to do.

There’s also the Festival Plaza, a new place for trainers far to come together to trade, battle and more. In essence, it’s a portal for online gameplay. The Plaza itself can be upgraded by being courteous to your guests and helping them where possible. In return, your Plaza rank will increase and you’ll get a bunch of Festival Coins to spend on the various stalls available. Depending on rank, you’ll be able to dye items of clothing, train your Pokémon and more. It’s a bit of a side thought for us as it’s only accessible via the quick menu in-game, but we’re interested to see how it develops.

Verdict

We love Sun and Moon. They fix the various issues we’ve had with the Pokémon series until now, along with improving it in ways we’d not even imagined. The games cross borders and are as entertaining and fun to play for children as they are for adults, especially those that grew up playing the original Pokémon games. It’s fun to see new variants of old classics, and with an environment more interactive and alive than ever before, we could lose hours wandering around the islands of Alola.