Good Evening, Little Eclipses
 

As the sun and the moon crossover, there's no better time to recap the events of the past week involving the newest set of Pokemon games; Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. There have been three different "trailers" revealed over the weekend; all with different information (and a lot of hidden secrets) that you may not have noticed. Firstly, let's look at the biggest trailer:

The above trailer was released first on the Friday. The trailer goes by incredibly fast but let's look more in depth into it. First of all you are seen getting your starter Pokemon on Route 1. Similarly to Pokemon Platinum, this is a different location than the original game. Next, we see a Rockruff that appears to follow the trainer. However, there is as of yet, no confirmation that following Pokemon returns. It may return for Rockruff only, or for a select group, or this could just be a Rockruff in the overworld being tested for the future, or to add to the atmosphere of the game. We also do see three Exeggutor shown at Exeggutor Island which are a lot more dramatic than in the original releases; so it may purely be an atmospheric choice. 

Next up we see Kahili - the Elite Four member - in a cave of some sort. She appears to be doing a pose for a Z-Ring. Perhaps she is teaching us the Flynium-Z and giving us the crystal with a more active role during the game... or maybe an exclusive Z-Move for a Flying-type Pokemon; Toucanium-Z perhaps? Afterwards, we see this dude. His name is Ryuki. For those who don't know who he is, you could battle him during your Title Defense of the League in Sun and Moon. He's a Dragon-type trainer. This is the same dialogue he uses in Sun and Moon but the location is new... but it also isn't....

If you don't recognise the above image, you're not a Pokemon fan; pure and simple. The above image obviously shows the inside of the Vermilion City Gym from the original Pokemon Red and Blue games. What's interesting is that the building that Ryuki is in, has trash cans lined along the floor like the Kanto Gym and also seems to have the same layout, trainer design and even the windows. This was the first hidden detail that was picked up from the trailer. Does this mean we're going to Vermilion? It could, but I'd say it's unlikely (and what would a Dragon-type trainer be doing in an Electric-type gym?). It's certainly a homage to Surge's gym but whether he returns, and what the purpose of the building is... we'll have to wait and see. 

Next, we're shown a few small differences as well as the full New-Alola Map. Firstly, in some sort of Aether-style camper, we see an Alolan Vulpix in some kind of cutscene. We also run past an area that we'll go into more detail with later, and we're given confirmation on the Lycanroc Dusk Form's typing and ability. In addition, we see the new trainer designs of the main characters. But the above map is a focal point; in addition to the glaringly obvious purple portal above Poni Island, there are a lot of small changes from the original Alola Map; with new beaches, new buildings and the like popping up. But let's look at one area in a bit more detail...

Let's talk about the above location. Obviously, it's some kind of forest. At first glance, we might skip over it in the trailer and not think of the significance; or just come to the early conclusion that it could be Mimikyu's totem location this time around. However, there's actually something pretty significant here. Look at the highlighted area of the tree. Do you see anything? No? Look closer. Still nothing?..

How about now? It looks like Kartana; the Ultra Beast. Perhaps this is Ultra Space and this is it's location. Either that, or perhaps they invaded Earth. At first, I thought that it's just a collection of pixels; but the extended bladed arms and the orange shoulder pads are truly hard to mistake. It also seems like the flowers that are sprawled around are in the shape of Kartana too; possibly blooming before they become fully grown? We won't know until the future, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on. 

The above trailer is the Japanese equivalent of the English trailer we've just discusses. However, there is one major difference. The Z-ring is much differently colored and shaped to the original in Sun and Moon. The Pokemon website also states that Z-Moves will provide more variety, and there'll also be new Z-Moves added into Ultra Sun and Moon. The first of these was revealed at Worlds on Friday during the opening ceremony. It is for Kommo-O; Clangorous Soulblaze; a Dragon-type Z-Move that seems to be activated by Clanging Scales. It hits both targets in a double-battle, and afterwards provides a +1 boost to all stats. You can watch the Z-Move in action below:

So we're done now right? Not even close. Next up is a new feature that has been added. It wasn't revealed by GameFreak themselves but by GameInformer who have done a lot of videos on GameFreak recently, and this was one of the small features they were allowed to show. In the building that the player character ran past in the first trailer, the new feature is available. It's called Alola's Photo Club. It allows you to take and upload pictures of you with your Pokemon. It's basically Pokemon Musical / Dress-Up from the Gen 5 games with extra additions. Maybe it's not something that we'll spend much time in, but I'm sure the younger generation will enjoy it very much. You can watch the interview and the footage below:

Finally, there's one last thing to discuss. The Pokemon website shows the player character confronting Necrozma at the Altar of the Moone / Sunne where you battled Lunala or Solgaleo in the original games. It definitely seems that Necrozma has a massive purpose for this game; perhaps even the cause of the portal on Poni Island and the reason for Solgaleo and Lunala getting covered in armor. You will notice at the end of the first two trailers, that when the box arts are shown, this is also seen behind it:

When you combine the edges of the box arts, you also get the same image. It seems like a face of something. There's tons of speculation but the one with the most weight is that it's a form for Necrozma; possibly a pure-light form, and the original Necrozma was stuck in his prism armor; and this is the purest form of Necrozma. I honestly really like this idea, and I hope we see it happen - perhaps after the above confrontation with Armored Necrozma. Alternatively, there's been suggestions of formes for Deoxys or Arceus. But with Pokemon, you never know, so we'll just need to wait and see! 

Ultra Sun and Moon will be released on November 17th. If you're as hyped as I am, leave a like below and comment. It's also important to note that Gamescom is around the corner (either Wednesday or Thursday) and we've had information here in all three prior games of the 3DS era, so we may get a small reveal. If we don't, then keep an eye out around early September, because reveal season is well underway! See ya next time!