What’s new in Pokemon Sun and Moon

Nintendo has recently released the latest entry into the famous Pokémon series, Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon. As with every generation of Pokémon, players got a list of new Pokémon features and a new region to explore that define this release of Pokémon. There are a lot of new features that both enhance old ones and make a lot of the old features easier to use. Let’s have a look what new content there is in Pokémon Sun and Moon that make them unique.

Pokémon Refresh is a huge part of this generation. Building from last generation’s Pokémon Amie, Refresh allows players to bond with their Pokémon by petting and feeding them to raise their affection level, and this opens possibilities for Pokémon to perform better in battle. The difference is that now once a battle is complete players get a chance to care for their Pokémons based on what happened to them in battle, healing status effects and raising affection rather quickly. Poke-Pelago was also added to expand the feeding mechanic. Pokémon now eat Poke-beans, and by building up four islands in Poke-Pelago’s simulator mini-game players obtain more beans to feed their Pokémons.

Next are Z-moves. Z-Moves function a lot like Mega Evolution from last gen in that they can only be used once per battle and require a specific item to be held by the Pokémon. Z-Moves, however, can be used by any Pokémon and are only good for one attack. The Z-Crystals that Pokémon hold to use Z-Moves are all based on a specific Type (ex. Fire, Water, Grass) and if a Pokémon knows a move of the corresponding type, they can use the Z-Crystal to unlock the Z-Move in battle. In a similar vein to Z-moves, this generation sees the removal of HMs and using Pokémon moves outside of battle to progress through the map. Now, players gain a list of Pokémon they can call on at any time to use their powers to traverse the world around them, removing the need for HM able Pokémon to take up slots in players’ party.

The final major change in Sun and Moon are the addition of Alola Forms and the change from gyms to trials. Forms are not a new feature, as we have seen various versions of the same Pokémon several times before, but in Alola there are Pokémon that evolve differently only in the Alola region. So we gained access to Alolan forms of several first generation Pokémon, complete with whole new visuals, typing and move sets. While trials have players going through a series of strange quests to fight a totem Pokémon or boss. Once all the trials for an island are complete a player fights the island head of Kahuna to increase level obedience and progress the game. With Kahunas and trials taking the main stage for game progression we no longer have to battle gyms to get to the Pokémon league, although the Elite Four is still present.

The latest installment really added a lot of new features, and these arenot a complete list of new features, the full list is a mile long. There were a lot of little improvements to the game that make playing even better. So, if you haven’t picked up Sun or Moon there are a lot of reasons to try them out!