Everything you need to know about Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon!

Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are both out now in the UK on Nintendo 3DS!

There is so much so try out, including loads of brand-new features!

To help you get to grips with the two games, we’ve put together this guide of almost everything you need to know about Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon!

Click here to get Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon!

Where does Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon take place?

Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon take place on an archipelago of tropical islands—four nature-filled islands and one man-made island. The Alola region is known as a resort area that attracts tourists from all over the world.

Alola is surrounded by the sea and has a diverse ecology made up of Pokémon that are native to the region along with Pokémon that have more recently arrived in Alola from other regions. In Alola, humans and Pokémon coexist in a very close relationship and a culture has developed that is different from that in other regions.

Are the Pokémon different on Alola?

Some Pokémon have adapted to the distinctive microclimates of the Alola region and have taken on different forms than they have in other regions. These Pokémon are called regional variants. After taking root in the Alola region, they live like native Pokémon. These regional variant Pokémon can have different appearances and types, and their way of living can also differ from that of the forms previously known.

What are trials?

One aspect of the unique Alola culture is the island challenge, an adventurous rite that involves traveling through each of the four islands. This event helps young people grow into fine Pokémon Trainers. As the main character of Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, each player is destined to attempt this island challenge. To complete the island challenge, young trial-goers must overcome the trials on each of the four islands. These trials are not limited to battling with Pokémon. They take a variety of forms including finding items or completing tests of knowledge.

At the end of each trial, a mighty Pokémon known as a Totem Pokémon will be waiting. A Totem Pokémon is much larger than others of its species, and its body is enveloped in a special aura. When Totem Pokémon battle, they summon ally Pokémon to join them. With the support of these allies, the Totem Pokémon become more powerful. Pokémon other than Totem Pokémon also sometimes call on allies to aid them.

The final trial on each island is called the grand trial where Pokémon battle against the kahuna who leads that island. If a trial-goer succeeds in clearing this grand trial, they will be publicly recognized as having cleared all of the island’s trials and can move on to the next island.

What are Captains?

Each trial has a captain whose role is to provide guidance to trial-goers. All of the captains are Trainers who undertook trials in their own island challenge several years earlier.

Lana is a captain who is an expert with Water-type Pokémon. She is dedicated to her family and is a reliable older sister who watches over her younger sisters. Captain Mallow is an expert with Grass-type Pokémon. She loves cooking, but it seems that sometimes her taste is a bit particular. Specializing in Electric-type Pokémon, Captain Sophocles is good with mechanics and has invented various machines. Captain Kiawe’s expertise is in Fire-type Pokémon, and together with his Marowak, he studies the traditional dances that have been passed down in the Alola region.

What is an island kahuna?

Each of Alola’s four islands has a leader, called the island kahuna, who governs the island. Kahunas are chosen by the Pokémon known as guardian deities, which are also found on each island. Hala is the kahuna of Melemele Island, where the main character has just moved to, and he is also the rival character Hau’s grandfather. Hala’s skill is renowned in the Alola region. He gives the player their first partner Pokémon and expects great things from them.

Who is the Pokémon professor?

Professor Kukui is the Alola region’s Pokémon professor. The professor is passionate about his research into Pokémon moves and has sometimes taken direct hits from Pokémon if there was something to be learned from it. Sporting a white lab coat, Professor Kukui has his own unique style.

Lillie is a mysterious girl who assists the professor. This young girl is about the same age as the player’s character and is Professor Kukui’s assistant. She’s not fond of making Pokémon fight in battles, but she loves reading and has read a great number of books. Lillie will play an important role in the story of Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon.

Can I design my own character?

The popular character-customisation feature makes a return in Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon. Personalise your character’s clothing, hairstyle and eye colour as you venture through the Alola region. Now, you can even dye your fashions to change their colour and make sure you pull off your favourite look whilst out adventuring.

What is different about the Pokédex?

The Pokédex is a convenient tool that records information about the Pokémon that players see and catch during their adventure. In Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, Professor Kukui provides a special Pokédex known as the Rotom Pokédex. It is inhabited by Rotom, a Pokémon with the power to reside in various electronic appliances. The Rotom Pokédex does much more than record Pokémon info—it has its own personality. Besides showing the player’s current location and their next destination, the Rotom Pokédex also provides advice on where to go next, based on the conversations players have with other characters.

In Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, a QR Scanner function allows players to see information about Pokémon when they scan QR Code patterns. By scanning in special QR Code patterns, fans can register Pokémon of the Alola region to their Pokédex and find out where they live. If they scan in the QR Code for a Pokémon that they haven’t yet caught, players can check its habitat and search it out.

What are Ultra Beasts?

All over Alola, rumours speak of creatures that possess mighty powers and pose a threat to humans and Pokémon. They’re called Ultra Beasts, and there are said to be multiple Ultra Beasts in existence. It seems that the Aether Foundation is conducting research on these Ultra Beasts, referring to each of them by a code name. UB-01 is an Ultra Beast that has a body composed of a glass-like substance. It constantly changes shape, and its movements resemble that of a young girl. Whilst evidence of something like a survival instinct can be observed in UB-01, no one knows whether it has a will of its own or any emotions at all.

What is the Poké Finder?

This brand-new feature allows players to take pictures of the Pokémon they find. It’s loaded into the Rotom Dex and, when used in certain spots scattered throughout the Alola region, you can snap pictures of Pokémon. The pictures you take will be evaluated, and as you take better pictures, more features—like the ability to zoom—become available.

What is the main difference between Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon?

The two worlds of Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are 12 hours apart and are tied to the actual time in real life. Pokémon Sun operates on the same time as your Nintendo 3DS system, but time in the world of Pokémon Moon is shifted by 12 hours. Some Totem Pokémon which appear in the trials throughout the game will also be different in each version. Players will encounter different Pokémon on the same route depending on whether it is day or night, which means players will have different experiences according to their chosen version of the game.

What are Z-moves?

Z-Moves are special moves that a Pokémon can use when it’s holding a Z-Crystal that corresponds to its move’s type. Their effects vary greatly depending on whether they’re based on attack moves or status moves. Z-Moves based on attack moves have far greater power than standard moves, but how powerful they will be seems to depend on the power of the original move that a Z-Move is based on. Since Z-Moves are full-powered attacks, they also seem to be impossible to fully ward off with moves like Protect and Detect—they still do some damage. When you use your Z-Power based on a status move, it will be powered up with additional effects. These effects come in many varieties, including raising your own Pokémon’s stats, healing the next Pokémon to switch in and more!

What is Zygarde?

Whilst exploring Alola in Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, players will encounter Dexio and Sina. These two originally appeared in Pokémon X and Pokémon Y as the professor’s assistants. They will give you an item called the Zygarde Cube and ask you to collect Zygarde Cores and Zygarde Cells which can be found all around Alola. If you collect enough, the path to finding Zygarde may become clearer!

What are the starter Pokémon?

The starter Pokémon are all-new: Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio.

Name: Rowlet

Category: Grass Quill Pokémon
Height: 1 ’00 “
Weight: 3.3 lbs.
Type: Grass/Flying
Starting Move: Leafage

The first of the potential partners is the highly adaptable Grass Quill Pokémon, Rowlet. This Pokémon can fly silently through the skies, sneaking up on its opponent without being noticed. It can attack its opponents using powerful kicks, and it can also attack from a distance using the razor-sharp leaves that form part of its feathers. Rowlet can survey its environment and turn its neck nearly 180 degrees from front to back, so it can see directly behind itself. When in battle, Rowlet turns its head to face its Trainer when waiting for instructions.

Name: Litten

Category: Fire Cat Pokémon
Height: 1 ’04 “
Weight: 9.5 lbs.
Type: Fire
Starting Move: Ember

The cool-headed Fire Cat Pokémon, Litten, is the next choice for a first-partner Pokémon. Litten’s fur is rich in oils and is immensely flammable. It constantly grooms itself by licking its coat, collecting loose fur into balls. It then ignites these hairballs to create fireball attacks. When the time comes for Litten to molt, it burns off all of its fur in one glorious blaze.

Name: Popplio

Category: Sea Lion Pokémon
Height: 1 ’04 “
Weight: 16.5 lbs.
Type: Water
Starting Move: Water Gun

The third possibility is the acrobatic Sea Lion Pokémon, Popplio. Popplio can create balloons made of water from its nose and utilize them to create a variety of different strategies and attacks in battle. This Pokémon is better at moving in the water than on land, and can swim at speeds over 25 mph. On land, it uses the elasticity of the balloons it creates to perform jumps and acrobatic stunts.

What about Pokémon I’ve already caught?

The Nintendo 3DS downloadable software Pokémon Bank, an application that enables players to put Pokémon they’ve been on past adventures with into internet-based storage boxes, will be receiving an update in January 2017. This update will give the Pokémon Bank application compatibility with Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon and include a new National Pokédex feature. The Pokédex feature reads saved data from any compatible titles you connect to Pokémon Bank and collects information about all the Pokémon you have caught. You can then check out all of this information in the Pokémon Bank application and even see Pokémon that don’t natively appear in the Alola region.

Poké Transporter will also be updated to make the Virtual Console versions of Pokémon Red, Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Yellow compatible with Pokémon Bank. This means that Pokémon that players have caught in the VC-original Kanto games will be able to be transferred across into Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon.