Sun and Moon - Theories and Speculation
Good evening everyone, I have some important news to share with all of you. Those who have not yet checked out my initial Sun and Moon summary should go do so now by clicking HERE!!! The linked post contains all important news from the English and Japanese trailers, and the initial direct reveal of Pokemon Sun and Moon. This blog entry will go into detail about the most relevant notes, theories and speculation concocted from the trailers and general information about the games! So strap in, cause we're about to do the full 360 on everything you didn't know!
Now that I've mentioned Rowlet, we should discuss him. As I previously mentioned, Rowlet will most likely be Grass / Ground due to the images from the official site that were hidden in the coding. This is also possible since every grass starter is based on something prehistoric, and prehistoric birds once lost their flight. However, while this is likely, it's far from confirmed. Other options for Rowlet could include staying Grass / Flying, or turning into a Grass/Fighting dual-type Pokemon. The official Pokemon website has stated that Rowlet can attack with both powerful kicks, and long range leaf attacks.. Rowlet is also confirmed to know a new move; Leafage. While nothing is confirmed, it's most likely a move that is the grass-type equivalent of Ember and Water Gun.
Litten, the fire-type starter, has the most possible number of evolutions. As previously stated, the most likely option is just a pure fire typing because of the images from the official Pokemon website. However, while nothing is confirmed, we can explore the other options. The most obvious typing could be Dark; simply because of it's color scheme. However, there's a few more bits of information that can lead to alternative suggestions. Firstly, Litten has markings on its head which could resemble either brimstone - therefore suggesting a rock secondary type - or the chemical element of Sulphur - which could suggest a Poison secondary type. Another thing that points to Poison typing is it's official description; which states that it licks itself and attacks with flaming hairballs because of the oily and flammable fur it possesses. Finally, I should also mention that it has been pointed out that the head markings may refer to it likely becoming a tiger as many cartoon tigers have the same type of markings on their heads. In Chinese mythology, Tigers often represent both the Sun and Fire, so there's even more evidence to Litten evolving into a tiger by its final stage of evolution.
As for Popplio, the water-starter. The official site's hidden images seem to suggest that Popplio will become Water and Fighting typed. Official information for Popplio claims that while it's not overly agile on land, it's more agile within the water and can swim at high speeds. However, on land, it can use bubbles created by its nose to hop around and perform tricks. This takes us to a possible theme of the starters; with Popplio obviously being a circus clown. In comparison, Rowlet could be the ringmaster or a magician, and Litten could be the tiger that jumps through blazing rings of fire, or just generally a fire-breather. Popplio shares it's classification - the Sea-Lion Pokemon - with Seel and Dewgong. So, if Popplio does not transform into a Fighting-type, then Ice is a possibility. Because of the clown elements, psychic and fairy typings could also apply due to the similarity with Mr. Mime.
Moving from one set of Pokemon to the next. Now, we have Solgaleo and Luna'ala. I covered them basically in full, in the prior blog entry, so I won't repeat that information here. However, there's something interesting to note. When Solgaleo is shown, the pillars at the back show the moon symbol on the left, and the sun symbol on the right. But when Luna'ala is shown, the pillars show the sun on the left, and the moon on the right. Solgaleo is also shown during daylight, and Luna'ala at night-time. This could just be for aesthetic reasons, but it's an important element to point out.
Above is an image from the Japanese trailer. You can see Kukui on the right, and the player character on the left. The woman standing there is likely to be your mother, as this seems to be your house. But there's something else in this picture... Meowth, that's right! While no official confirmation exists, this more than likely points towards older Pokemon being available throughout the main storyline of Pokemon Sun and Moon - after all, I'm sure GameFreak have learned their lesson from generation five and won't be repeating that any time soon.
So... we've discussed all the possible Pokemon... or have we? Well, not exactly. There is absolutely no confirmation for this whatsoever, but many believe that the Johto starters will be the next to get mega evolutions; after the Kanto megas appeared in Pokemon X and Y. More information on this will come later, but there's something else to note. In Super Training from generation six, many Pokemon can spawn either a sun or a moon stone. Does this mean, they will get a mega evolution this generation? No. Probably not. However, only one Pokemon can spawn both sun and moon stones; Hydreigon. Does this mean Hydreigon could have a mega evolution this gen? Possibly. You'll have to wait and see.
So what else is being speculated? As i mentioned above, the inclusion of Johto starters is a real possibility. The reason for that? Because many believe that, Alola will be to Kalos what Johto was to Kanto; a new game with a new story, that also revisits the previous generation. Perhaps, due to a third version not being produced - for the first time ever - during generation six? Perhaps due to all the loose ends regarding Zygarde? Perhaps due to the inclusion of the Sun-dials in Anistar City (Pokemon X and Y), and that one NPC saying that moon-dials also exist in a region far away. Perhaps due to the Strange Souvenir; which depicts a protector in a region far from Kalos. The only other important thing to note is the foreheads of both Solgaleo and Luna'ala; they represent a spacial theme. That theme can also be found in the design aesthetic of Kalosian gym leader, Olympia of Anistar City. So... will Kalos return? Only time will tell; but it's certainly a prominent theory at the moment!
So, what else either returns or changes from generation six to generation seven? The above screenshot can be found in the Japanese trailer. This shows that, at the very least, you can pick your hair color, eye color and race - upping the options from six to eight this generation. Does this confirm character customization? Not quite, however another shot from one of the trailers shows the player wearing a slightly different color scheme on his outfit. Now, that, confirms character customization! Another thing to note about character customization could be the implementation of the Ash-Greninja feature. Pokken Tournament includes a new item; known as a synergy stone, which allows the Pokemon and the trainer to connect. So is it possible, that instead of a "fusion" mechanic, the synergy stone will allow a pokemon to gain the appearance of its trainer through a strong bond, rather than merging together. Could we see an Ash-like outfit, and Greninja being able to synergize with his trainer to take the Ash-Greninja form? Nothing but pure speculation, but a good one nonetheless.
As you can see in the screenshot above, and very clearly from the trailer; the chibi=modelling in the overworld that appears in generation six, no longer returns in this generation. Instead the character models; even those of the NPCs, seem a lot more lifelike and well proportioned. Another thing that can be seen in the trailer is that, while the trainer is running, we see him running from side-view and can see amazing winding details on the background which was not present in the prior generation. In addition, we see the female trainer going down a slope at an angle. All of this points to grid-type movement being removed. Finally, during the battle screens we see that the trainers will stand behind the Pokemon; and that sometimes, other individuals will spectate the battles. The battle circle, underneath the Pokemon, is also removed; but it didn't appear during the Shauna-rival battle in Pokemon X and Y, so there's no official confirmation of it being removed yet.
Meet our hottie-hot-hottie of an Alolian. Honey, if Ohana means family, you can populate mine anytime. Woo lord. Um... yeah. This guy's name is... well we don't know his name. And his role is... yeah, we don't know that either. However, we can speculate! We can see him use the starter weak to ours in a battle; so, many people believe that he is a rival to ourselves; however not the main rival. The main rival could possibly be the female / male player character - obviously dependant on what gender you pick. Some also believe him to be the grandson of, the likely Professor, Hala. As for his name; the Japanese trailer shows a boy travelling to Hawaii and meeting a boy there who portrays the same traits as this guy. His name was Hoku; so for now, we'll call him Hoku. Another interesting note about Hoku is the name origin; in Hawaiian, it means "night of the full moon" but can also translate to "star".
The following screenshot may not look like much at first, but then you look at the wall. There are eight people shown on the wall; and four names are underneath them. They are Caitlin, Pablo, Hoku and Ed. Now, at first, the speculation was that these were four of the eight gym leaders. However, that no longer makes much sense if Hoku is the rival. What has also been pointed out is that Caitlin is the name of an Elite Four member from Unova. What's interesting about Caitlin is that she was once the leader of the Battle Castle in Pokemon Platinum, HeartGold and SoulSilver, and then became an elite four member in the Unova games. At one point during these games, she states "will I be a Champion somewhere next? You never know!" Could this hint towards Caitlin returning as the champion two generations later? Possibly, but then who are Piablo and Ed? The other theory is that these three are the kids who are sitting with Hoku drinking Moomoo Milk at the school lunch table in the Japanese trailer. This may or may not lead to multiple friends / rivals in Sun and Moon again. Easter eggs usually exist for a reason, so while this could lead to nothing, it's more likely that this will indeed relate to something important.
I'm almost out of information. But there's one last thing to touch on; the region itself. The Alola region. The map above is almost identical to the Oahu island; one of the eight belonging to Hawaii. This island also contains Honolulu and Pearl Harbor - the big city on the west - and Diamond Head Volcano - the giant crater at the south. From extensive research, most people can only spot two Pokemon Centers on the island. A whole region with two Pokemon centres? Something else to note is that the screenshot from the direct showed a building which could resemble a water-type gym; but it's nowhere to be seen here. What does this mean? It's obvious. Alola is not complete here. It's likely - actually, it's so obvious that it's basically confirmed - that we will travel to the other islands. Hawaii contains eight islands, and while we might not travel to the smaller ones, we'll definitely travel to a few more than just the Oahu one. Expect to see more of this in upcoming months.
I hope you all learned something about the upcoming Pokemon Sun and Moon games here today. A reminder that new information will be posted on the official website on June 2nd at 22:00 JST. That's 13:00 UTC, 14:00 BST, 15:00 CEST, 09:00 EDT, 06:00 PDT and 23:00 AEST. There could also be a video involved; as evidenced by a rough translation of a tweet from the Japanese Pokemon Twitter account. Do you have any theories or speculations about Sun and Moon that wasn't mentioned here? Comment below and let me know!
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