Pokémon Sun and Moon as different as night and day

The Pokémon Company and Nintendo have dropped another game trailer revealing what differences we can expect in Pokémon  Sun and Moon. With four new Pokémon, new gameplay mechanics, and two new exclusive ‘Z Moves’, this trailer has plenty to cover:

The first new Pokémon to join the Alolan roster is Passimian; a fighting type Pokémon who attacks their foes by throwing berries. Living together in troops of 20, or so, this Pokémon works in teams to train and improve itself, all the while working together and following the leader of the pack. Its ability ‘Receiver’ allows it to inherit the ability of an ally who faints in battle. This Pokémon will only be available in Pokémon Sun.

Next we have Oranguru, a Normal/Psychic type Pokémon who live in solitary in the Alolan forest deeps and were, in fact, once known as ‘the people of the forests’. Oranguru are nurturing and kind to all other Pokémon in the forest, and have been found to provide care for those who are injured and offer food to those in need of sustenance. It can exclusively learn a new move, Instruct, which can make its selected target use its most recent move immediately once more. This Pokémon will only appear in Pokémon Moon.

The previously revealed Rockruff can evolve into two different forms depending on whether you are playing Sun or Moon, Lycanroc Midday Form or Midnight Form. Lycanroc Midday Form is a result of Rockruff being bathed in copious amount of solar energy, and Solgaleo’s influence on the Alola region. Lycanroc is a pure rock type Pokémon, boasting speed and manoeuvrability few of its other Rock counterparts sorely lack. A very loyal Pokémon, Lycanroc is easily able to dodge opponents’ attacks and counter using the sharp rocks formed from its mane. This Sun variation of Lycanroc is exclusively able to learn Accelerock, a swift rock type attack guaranteed to strike its opponent first.

In Pokémon Moon, Rockruff is bathed constantly in Lunar rays, and thanks to the influence of Lunala is able to evolve into Lycanroc Midnight Form. With its appearance more along that of a werewolf, Lycanroc Midnight Form revels in battling strong opponents, having little care for its own condition while fighting, it’s eye’s glow red with the thrill of battle. Despite its sinister look, this Moon variation of Lycanroc is fiercely loyal; and its true power is drawn from those who train it right.

On to two new Z-Moves. Two of Pokémon’s cuter mascots, both Pikachu and Eevee will receive their very own exclusive attacks. Pikachu’s Z-Move, ‘Catastopika’ is a super-powered attack in which Pikachu draws on the strength of its trainer to envelop itself in high-voltage electric energy and charge its opponents down, showing no mercy. Eevee’s Z-Move, ‘Extreme Evoboost’, is an attack that gathers all eight of the Eeveelutions to bestow their power unto Eevee, granting it a stat boost of 2 to Attack, Defence, Special Attack, Special Defence and Speed, turning the Pokémon into a more formidable opponent.

Character customisation, one of my favourite features of X and Y, makes a return to Sun and Moon. This allows players to; once again create more personalised characters through fashion, hair style, and eye colour customisation. A new mechanic being added to this already popular feature is the option to dye your characters clothing to suit your own taste; again something I’m certainly looking forward to testing out.

A new, albeit very familiar game mechanic, Pokémon Refresh allows players to take a more hands on approach to caring for their Pokémon. Refresh gives players the chance to groom, clean, feed and even cure negative statuses (poison and paralysis) of Pokémon after battle. Similar to that of Pokémon-Amie. Trainers who take care of their team and build strong bonds with their Pokémon, will be rewarded with in-battle bonuses, including Pokémon who sometimes will automatically evade attacks or hold on to 1HP to avoid fainting. Making sure to take special care of your Pokémon will guarantee that you have the best team possible to progress through Alola in your adventures.

With so much info to go with, Pokémon Sun and Moon looks like they’re going to be another fantastic addition to the handheld family. Due for release on November 18.  Take a look here for more of our coverage of Pokémon Sun and Moon, and  let us know what you think about all the exciting new information in the comments section below!