Pokemon Sun and Moon Game Hype

Nov. 18. Pokèmon fans everywhere know the date. This is the date Nintendo’s Pokèmon Sun and Pokèmon Moon will be released. Certain readers may wish to proceed with caution in case spoilers are revealed.

From the start, most people can agree even the chosen title of the game is enough to get excited about. A demo of the game was already released in October that allows players to receive Ash-Greninja, a pokèmon only seen in Pokèmon’s anime show. After completing the demo adventure, players can then can download this rare version of Greninja into their version of Sun or Moon.

In the beginning, many players questioned whether or not they would have the ability to customize their character. The option will be available through a feature called Festival Plaza. Similar to Pokèmon Black Two and Pokèmon White Two’s Join Aveune feature, your Festival Plaza rank will increase to offer more benefits. However ranking up is now done by receiving Festival Coins.

There will be different places to shop, also sharing the same attributes as Join Avenue. One type of shop included is the Goody shop where gamers can purchase items for great deals. Another type of store, the Bouncy house allows you to train your pokèmon to a different level. All of these features run on the currency of festival coins.

This is where the customization option comes into play. Through festival coins, players can purchase clothes for their avatar and even dye the garments at the Dye house. There will also be more physical customization options in the game.

Players now can change their avatar’s hairstyle and hair color. Through contact lenses, players can enjoy the newly added features to eye customization — unnatural eyes colors such as burgundy and violet.

Feeling excited yet? Festival Plaza offers the opportunity to connect with players around the globe to trade and battle.When your Festival Plaza’s rank is high enough, you can host missions to complete goals with other players through wireless means or over the internet.

Pokèmon Amie returns under a new name: Pokèmon Refresh. Players will again be able to interact with their pokèmon by petting them with the stylus. Instead of Pokèpuffs, players now feed pokemon the Aloha region’s heart-shaped Pokèbeans. Another new feature has also been added  — Pokèmon grooming.

After a battle is won, Pokèmon get can dirty. With Pokèmon Refresh, gamers can bathe, brush and dry their pokèmon. Now, gamers can also heal their Pokèmon from the poison and paralysis status.

The name origin of Pokèmon Refresh probably originated from the Pokèmon battle move refresh, which can be learned by Latios, Latias, eevee and a small variety of other Pokèmon. This move cures the burn, poison or paralysis status.

As the game is coming out this friday, I have been faced with a very large problem myself — which version do I go with? The awesome over-sized kitten, Solangelo, or the epic bat with night-sky speckled wings, Lunala? Still, the legendaries are not the main factors in my choice or any gamer’s choice. Certain Pokèmon can only appear in either Sun or Moon.

Pokèmon only found in Sun include Alola versions of Vulpix and its final form Ninetails, Passiminain and Rockruff’s “midday form” of the pokemon Lycanroc, which stands on four legs similar to a normal wolf. Bagon, Cranidos, Gible, Rufflet, Tirtouga and Turtunator will also be exclusive to Sun.

Pokèmon Moon’s exclusive list of pokèmon include Lunala, Oranguru, Archen, Goomy, and Rotom. Vullaby, Petilil, Shieldon and Rockruff’s “midnight form” of the Pokèmon Lycanroc — which appears as the first werewolf pokèmon — will also be in Moon. The Alola Sandshrew and its evolution Sandslash will also be exclusive to Moon as well as Drampa.

By now I am sure that the term “Alola form” is already widely distributed by fans watching the trailers with open mouths and wide eyes. As released from Nintendo, due to the different climates, Pokèmon have adapted to their environments in different ways. As an example, both Sandshrew and Vulpix are now ice types.

There are several pokèmon that have been released to have Alola forms. Meowth is now a dark type, predictably. Marowak is a fire and ghost type designed after the Hawaiian fire dancers.

Raichu becomes a psychic type with its design based on a surfer. I find it cute because not only have its eyes changed to blue, but it also rides its tail like a surfboard.

This leads me to believe that this idea may have originated from Pokèmon episode 67. In this episode, a special Pikachu with blue eyes called Puka was able to sense the ocean’s waves. This ability is similar to the psychic type that Raichu becomes in the new game.

Grimer and Muk’s form design definitely captures attention. Unlike many of the Pokèmon with Aloha forms, their type remains the same they both have residual toxins that have hardened and crystallized into teeth. Not to mention the rainbow sludge is new.

One thing I have not allowed GameFreak to have me forget is the rumored Pokèmon Z. This would be another game in a legendary trio set. The legendary Zygarde was to set as a Pokèmon stronger than both Xerneas and Yveltal combined.

While information on the release of this game is still to be announced, one thing that is known is that Zygarde will be making an appearance in Sun and Moon. However, in order to get this legendary, Pokèmon trainers may have to work a bit harder than only beating the game. *Hint, hint.*

Mega evolution has not further developed, which was a huge disappointment for me. Unlike in the previous Pokèmon X and Y versions, players will not hunt down these special stones. Instead, they must be received from in-game characters or obtained from special shops.

One of the most exciting part of any game is beating up the bad guys and saving the day. Maybe that is the reason why I enjoy battling team Rocket, Plasma, Galactic, Aqua and Manga. In Sun and Moon, the villains appear as team Skull. Their design is a combination of skeletal, punk and rapper-like fashions along with their hilarious moves and slang.

As many already know, Sun and Moon will not have gyms. Instead, players will travel from island to island to defeat the Trial Captains. I found this to be interesting as Pokèmon is finally offering players the chance to move away from the traditional story.

I have crafted my own theory between the amine Orange League and this new game. In the anime series, Ash travels to the Kanato’s region’s Orange Islands to defeat each member of the Orange League. Just as the new game’s Trial Captains are scattered on different islands throughout the game, each Orange League member was on a different island.

Not to mention Pokèmon design colors have been altered once before Alohan forms. This was learned in the anime. Episode In the Pink featured a special island with pink Pokèmon due to a regular diet of pink fruit that grew exclusively to the island.

Whether you pick the fire-type starter Litten, the water-type Popplio or the grass-type Rowlet as your partner, the fact still remains that Sun and Moon will be your next big adventure into the world of Pokèmon.