Thanks to the Pokémon Direct, we now know what the next title in the mainline Pokémon
series will be.
For now, the setting will stay in Alola with the release of Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra
Moon which, according to Game Freak, is an alternate take on the world of Sun and Moon
featuring Pokémon that weren’t in the originals and new features.
But what does this actually mean?
Well, we don’t really have the answer, but that’s why we have the old Analysis Machine.
So let’s see what secrets and hidden details it can find.
We begin with the trainers who have seen a wardrobe change.
The male trainer, Sun, is now wearing a red hat though it still has the same symbol on
it that was on his original.
In addition, he now has an A-shirt and an actual pair of shorts that resemble swim trunks.
However, other scenes show that his legs are still covered down to where his capris went
in Sun & Moon thanks to black leggings.
We also get to see the new design for the female trainer, Moon, who is now wearing white
shorts, a flower-print shirt, and a new hat with a flower on it as well.
Her hairstyle has also changed to include a pair of pigtails.
But that’s not the only difference in this scene.
Behind the trainers is a little orange dresser containing a frame that seems have some signatures
on it.
This isn’t how it looked in Sun & Moon.
Instead, that dresser held a Pikachu doll and the dresser itself was orange instead
of blue.
Another odd color change for Sun is that his room was gray with blue curtains in the original
while in Ultra, his walls are now green with green curtains.
And of course, we can see that the Wii U at the TV has been replaced by a Switch.
Shame they didn’t get the neon version though.
What all this does is emphasize that not everything has stayed the same, even down to the smallest
object.
It’s almost as if the adventure has been remixed.
And we see even more evidence of this as soon as the Trainer steps outside.
Flowers now line the outside of your house, and it’s been painted as well being blue
rather than gray.
The garage door is also open with a car visible inside and a nearby Raichu surfboard.
It kind of makes it seem like you’ve lived here for a while rather than just moving to
Alola.
Could your mother have actually finished unpacking?
That would be a rather big change.
As the Trainer runs to the left, we see a Wingull fly in from over the house and follow
along to a degree meaning it’s likely on a set path to help breathe more life into
this world.
And there is definitely an emphasis on life.
Route 1 is much more vibrant than before with flowers blooming all around and the road a
darker color instead of appearing washed out.
Even the people around your house has changed.
Where before it was a boy and his Rockruff, now it’s a young man and an Alolan Meowth.
Again, every scene has been remixed in some way so far.
It even applies to the nearby Pokémon Center.
Before we could just see the outside of it.
Now that’s still the case, but there’s a lot less to see thanks to a new wall that’s
colored the same as the Center making it seem as if it’s part of the design.
But to what purpose?
Why would a wall be added?
Does it add some new functionality, or is the wall just part of the island now?
We really don’t know.
We’re then treated to some scenes that we didn’t recognize from the original Sun & Moon.
One showed the Trainer behind all three Starters as they smile happily.
It seems to be around Route 1 and Iki Town, but why are all three with you?
Could we possibly see them all in action before choosing one?
Or is this just a new cutscene to help you become attached?
It kinda leaves us perplexed.
And we get more scenes of Pokémon with Togedemaru, Mimikyu, and Lycanroc all in action giving
the sense that battles are quite dynamic.
But it’s also very possible that these are just certain moves in action though we don’t
recognize them.
Perhaps all three have received new Z-Moves?
Then again, the background isn’t the usual setting of a Z-Move so either they’ve been
changed or these are something completely different.
Another addition is this location that’s absolutely filled with Pikachu and contains
a waterfall in the background.
Nearby is a Trial Guide though we’re not sure what her specific role may be.
She doesn’t seem to be blocking the way to any place so she could either heal the
player or battle them.
It’s hard to say for sure.
And who knows, the Guides may have new roles as well.
But we’re given another look at what may be this same area in another scene.
Again, we see tons of Pikachu but there’s quite a bit more here too.
In the background we can see plenty of small holes reminiscent of the ones that had to
be looked in during the first Trial at the Verdant Cavern.
There’s also a Slowpoke in the background hanging out with the Pikachu.
And of course there’s the trailer that’s been made to look like Pikachu with yellow
barrels and old cardboard boxes nearby.
The door is also open meaning we can likely go inside, but to what purpose?
Could all of this be part of some new Trial?
Or could this be the same area as the Fossil Restoration Center?
But Pikachu has nothing to do with fossils so he would’ve had to move, and we don’t
think that’s likely.
Instead, this place seems completely new so while we’re not completely confident, we
do think it’s possible that it is part of a Trial which could mean new Trial Captains.
But the biggest aspect of all this is Solgaleo and Lunala themselves as they’ve both received
a new form, bringing to mind Pokémon Black & White 2 and Kyurem’s ability to fuse.
That seems to be what’s going on here except somehow the two Legendaries are merging with
Necrozma based on several factors.
Both have black pieces attached to them that grants extra limbs while giving the appearance
of armor, and those pieces definitely resemble Necrozma.
But we wonder if this is some kind of corruption of Solgaleo and Lunala.
Both have a piece over their face and glowing eyes that could indicate some form of control.
Necrozma’s Pokédex entries mention how it’s reminiscent of the Ultra Beasts and
light is the source of its energy.
Perhaps it attaches itself to the Legendaries in order to siphon off their light.
After all, there is a scene where Solgaleo’s new form seems to be stepping down which is
likely part of a cutscene taking place at the Altar of the Sunne.
Maybe when Solgaleo appears, Necrozma is there to immediately attack.
But that’s just one idea.
A bigger question is why a symbol that greatly resembles the Island Challenge amulet appear
on both Solgaleo and Lunala’s head?
It’s not exactly the same though as the amulet only contains the colors yellow, red,
pink, and purple while the symbol has no pink and adds dark blue, light blue, green, and
orange.
This may seem like a huge jump in logic to some of you, but we wonder if this could indicate
that new islands have appeared in Alola that simply were not there in the original game.
If you recall from our analyses of Sun & Moon, each island in Alola was named after a color
in Hawaiian.
Yellow was Melemele, red was Ula’ula, purple was Poni, and pink was Akala.
However, with pink apparently gone, could that island have been destroyed by the active
volcano on that island?
Or more specifically, split into smaller islands, hence the removal of pink and addition of
dark blue, light blue, green, and orange.
We’ve seen changes to islands before in Gold and Silver and the volcanic eruption
that had happened at Cinnabar Island.
We might be seeing another here.
So in that case, based on this naming convention, Akala Island would instead be several smaller
islands.
Dark blue would be Uli’uli Island, light blue is Polu Island, green would be Oma’oma’o
Island, and orange is Lenalena Island.
And there’s even more evidence to this.
Look at the symbol.
Where pink was, and it was rather large comparatively, the four new colors are now there in a much
smaller capacity.
We could be looking at a pretty massive change to the Alolan map.
It’s a fascinating theory, but it leads to a bigger question, why would this new symbol
be found on Necrozma if it is representative of the new amulet?
What’s the connection?
Well, as many of you have pointed out, there may not be one.
Instead, that triangle of colors may just be part of Necrozma as we can see that those
same colors appear beneath its eyes or that Necrozma is called the Prism Pokémon.
The light from Solgaleo and Lunala could be creating this prism.
But it still feels odd to us that they’re arranged in such a pattern when they’re
so separated in its original form.
Our theory could be wrong but nonetheless we’re very curious about what this all means.
Okay, we’re almost done here, but there’s two more things we wanted to point out.
The first is the Z-Ring that the Trainer is wearing.
It’s now colored black instead of white.
Could this be Necrozma’s influence as well?
Or is it more a stylistic choice?
Well, considering how prevalent Necrozma seems to be, it could be the former.
After all, the symbol that appears in the middle of the Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon logos
is the same as the one on the back of Necrozma’s head.
And the Japanese logos contain that same prism of colors that we mentioned before.
Necrozma is definitely going to be a big deal.
Finally, there’s a cute Easter Egg during the Virtual Console release trailer for Gold
and Silver.
In the scene that recreates the Ruins of the Alph, there are Unown letters spelling out
“Ultra Sun Moon” all over.
It’s not part of the actual game of course, but it’s neat way to subtly push this new
game.
And there’s a lot to be intrigued about when it comes to Pokémon Ultra Sun & Ultra
Moon.
There’s already quite a few differences between it and the original games.
But to what purpose?
Why is this an alternate take rather than a sequel?
After all, despite some slight design changes, the Trainers are still very much the same.
We’ll just have to wait for the Pokémon Company to provide more details.
But that’s everything we could find in this reveal trailer.
Of course, if we missed anything, let us know in the comments.
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