Pokémon Sun and Moon

Pokémon Sun and Moon
Developer(s)	Game Freak
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release Date(s)
3DS	NA: November 18, 2016 JP: November 18, 2016 EU: November 23, 2016 AU: November 18, 2016 KO: November 18, 2016
3DS	NA: November 18, 2016 JP: November 18, 2016 EU: November 23, 2016 AU: November 18, 2016 KO: November 18, 2016
Platform(s)
Genre(s)	Role-playing
Rating(s)
ESRB	03
PEGI	02

Pokémon Sun and Moon are the first games of the seventh generation of the Pokémon series, releasing on the 3DS. The game takes place in the Alola region. It was announced in a Nintendo Direct on the 20th anniversary of the original Pokémon Red and Green.

Gameplay

The game is like most Pokémon games. There are some notably changes. Trainers are now visible in battles and the commands are organized differently with sprites of the battling Pokémon in the center of the screen showing the status of the respective Pokémon by tapping them.

Additionally, there is a new battle type, called Battle Royal. It is a free-for-all battle with 4 players that bring 3 Pokémon. The battle ends when the first trainer loses all their Pokémon.

New Pokémon

Rowlet	Popplio	Litten
GrassFlying	Water	Fire

Z- Moves

Z-Moves are special powerful attacks that happen once per battle and change depending on the power and type of moves. Z-Moves require the player to equip the respective Pokémon with the appropriate Z-Crystal and attack of the same type.

Customization

Returning from Pokémon X and Y is the customization including an additional skin tone option. There is many more options to alter the player's appearance including more types of clothing and changing haircuts.

Plot

The game takes place in the Alola Region. The region's professor, Kukui, introduces the player to the region with Hala presenting the Pokémon to the player. There is also a friendly rival, Hau, and Kukui's assistant, Lillie.

Demo

A demo for the game released on October 18, a month before the game's release. It contains a cutoff section of the game redesigned as a demo where the player gets Ash-Greninja, completes a Trial and faces off with Team Skull. After the demo is complete, a few additional options are available including a Poké Ride Tauros. Further events can be encountered in the days before the game launches they are

• 1 Day: Man next to Pokémon Center gives the player 10 Pretty Wings
• 5 Days: Meeting someone in town
• 12 Days: Celebrating an old man's Pikachu's birthday in City Hall
• 18 Days: Some sort of shady deal at the dock
• 24 Days: Seeing off a lady at the port

Development

The game was confirmed to be in development in a Pokémon Nintendo Direct on February 26, 2016. There was numerous developmental art shown including a 3D model of a bird Pokémon and art for vehicles and hotels.

On May 10, the first gameplay was revealed along with the starters and various bits of information about them. The two legendaries were shown but not explained.

The June 2 trailer revealed the region as well as detailed the legendaries, Solgaleo and Lunala. It also showed some of the supporting cast and the new Pokédex which is inhabited by a Rotom.

During E3 2016, Junichi Masuda and Shigeru Ohmori showcased the beginning of the game, revealing the new Pokémon, Yungoos, Pikipek and Grubbin. Additionally, buffs and status changes can be seen by tapping the Pokémon on the lower screen and a new Battle Royal mode for free-for-all battles. CoroCoro also revealed two new Pokémon, Nekkoala and Iwanko.

Trivia

• This is the first entry in the series to support 9 different languages; the two new ones are traditional and simplified Chinese.
• The game's titles were accidentally leaked through a trademark listing the day before the reveal. Additionally, the game's legendaries had their names leaked through some copyrights.