So I pretty much totally missed the window on talking about this particular trailer, since the Daily Titan and my homework has kept me more busy than I could possibly have imagined. Seriously, it’s a lot of work to balance all at once. I really didn’t want to skip over talking about it entirely however, as then something new will come out in just a few days and I’ll be very, very behind.
That means it’s time to skip all this complaining about life and get straight to the monkey business. As long as I don’t wither away from the strength of my own lousy puns first.
Like I said, I’m pretty behind on this, so I figure there’s no use going through the usual long-winded monologues I tend to evolve into whenever I’m talking about Pokémon. Or at least, I’m going to try not to ramble on, but I could either way. Let’s see how I do, shall we?
The theme of this trailer was version-exclusive Pokémon, at least for the new Pokémon that were revealed. The new features portion of it apply to both Sun and Moon… But I’ll get to that in a bit. First things first, it’s time to talk about the special simians we’ve been shown.
Images courtesy of Serebii.net
Yes that’s right, my Monkees reference in the title wasn’t totally out of the blue just because I enjoy the band, it actually had a point!
On the left we have Passimian, a Fighting-type Pokémon with a new ability called Receiver that allows it to inherit it’s partner’s ability when they faint in battle (Get it? Like it’s receiving a ball from it’s teammate, since it’s sports-themed? Clever there Game Freak). So, essentially, if you want to make your Passimian ultra powerful, just pair it up with a Slaking to inherit Truant, since that’s obviously what makes Slaking such a powerhouse!
All jokes aside, it is a pretty interesting ability, and I’m sure people are going to be experimenting with it quite a bit given all the new abilities already being introduced for Generation 7.
According to it’s official description on the Pokémon website, “Passimian live in troops of 20 to 30 individuals, all following a leader. This leader will take 10 of the individuals in the best condition to search for food. The troop’s teamwork is strong, and the boss of each troop decides what mark members will wear on their arms to distinguish the troops. The boss puts the troop members through training to improve their coordination with one another and their skill in handling Berries. Apparently this training is so hard that some Passimian end up running away. Lobbing Berries at foes is how Passimian attack. They sometimes work in coordination with others, passing Berries back and forth to bewilder their opponents. Passimian don’t just pitch hard Berries at opponents, either—they also have a technique that uses soft Berries to obscure their opponent’s ability to see. Passimian wants its Trainer to have the qualities of a leader as well. It watches a Trainer’s form closely when he or she throws Poké Balls, and will not listen to the orders of a Trainer with poor form.”
Now, on the right we have Oranguru, a Normal/Psychic-type Pokémon following in the footsteps of Meloetta that can have the abilities Inner Focus or Telepathy. However, you’re definitely going to want to get Oranguru with Telepathy, since it boasts a brand new attack called Instruct. Instruct allows your partner Pokémon in a doubles battle to use the last move it already used again the same turn. Seriously they basically spoil how everyone’s going to be using this orangutang in the trailer by having it instruct Wishiwashi to use surf twice in a row, it’s pretty neato.
According to it’s official description on the Pokémon website, “Oranguru live solitary lives deep in the forests and do not usually take much action. Instead, they position themselves high up in the trees to meditate. Long ago, people thought that Oranguru were humans who dwelled in the forest depths, so they called them “the people of the forests.” Oranguru is kind to the other Pokémon living in the forest, providing medicine for injured Pokémon and food for the hungry. Oranguru sometimes act on their own initiative and will use items that only humans normally use. From a Trainer’s perspective, they can be hard Pokémon to handle at times. Allegedly, there have been sightings of Oranguru using Poké Balls! The fan-like objects held by Oranguru are handmade by the Oranguru themselves. These fans appear to be made of layers of leaves bound together with Oranguru’s own fur.”
Following in that version exclusivity theme that these two have going for them, Passimian and Oranguru are essentially the perfect dichotomy from each other. One is more physical and the other is more special, one is a much larger beast while the other is slim and agile, one focuses on partner abilities while the other focuses on partner attacks… It’s honestly pretty sweet, and I like how they play off each other.
Passimian is exclusive to Pokémon Sun and Oranguru is exclusive to Pokémon Moon, which I’m honestly totally cool with. If anything, I would be more apt to use an Oranguru on my squad, since I already know I’m going to have a Fighting-type with Crabrawler. Then again, I’m also probably going to use a Wishiwashi, so I might be copying exactly what’s in the reveal trailer… Oh well.
Images courtesy of Serebii.net
Now then, while we’re on the subject of version exclusive Pokémon, here we have the return of the now named Lycanroc, the Wolf Pokémon and evolved form of Rockruff. Despite the Midnight form screaming at least a half Dark-typing, they’re both Rock-type Pokémon only. The Midday form has the abilities Keen Eye or Sand Rush and a new Rock-type priority attack called accelerock, while the Midnight form has the abilities Keen Eye or Vital Spirit and will at least know the move counter.
According to their official descriptions off the Pokémon website ( 1 / 2 ), “When Rockruff is bathed in profuse amounts of solar energy, it evolves into its Midday Form. In the world of Pokémon Sun, Solgaleo’s influence causes Rockruff to evolve into this form. Lycanroc lives solo in mountains and deserts, not creating a pack. Each has its own territory, and they live without interfering with one another, which helps to avoid unnecessary fights. Lycanroc obeys its Trainer’s orders dutifully. In particular, if a Trainer accepted it during its more rebellious pre-Evolution period, Lycanroc will never ever betray that Trainer and will be the most loyal of partners. The Midday Form Lycanroc is known for speedy movements that leave its opponents bewildered. It dodges opponents’ strikes while attacking with the sharp rocks of its mane as it slips right past them. Midnight Form Lycanroc provokes its opponents by pressing in hard and inviting their attack. When an opponent falls for this tactic and attacks, Lycanroc counters with its forte: a single devastating blow that finishes off its foe! The stronger its opponent is, the more excited for battle Lycanroc becomes. It doesn’t mind getting hurt if it means victory in battle. Battles thrill it so much that its eyes glow. Contempt rises in this Pokémon for Trainers who give orders it doesn’t agree with or who try to force it to battle. On the other hand, it will feel a deep trust in a Trainer who can truly draw forth its power in battle!”
Now, I have to say, I’m very disappointed by the way these two were implemented. Granted, I saw it coming… But still. As someone who will be playing Pokémon Moon, I was really hoping I could get Midday form Lycanroc somehow, perhaps during the morning hours of the game. But no. I’ll be stuck with Midnight form Lycanroc unless I trade my partner Rockruff to my sister’s copy of Sun to evolve it. It’s just such an extra hassle, even if it’s worth the effort.
Seriously, check out my last post talking about these guys. Midnight form still reminds me of evil Shatner and I just despise it for honestly no good reason.
The latter end of the new trailer didn’t reveal all too much else as far as new Pokémon go, but it did show off some new(ish?) mechanics that will be in Pokémon Sun and Moon.
Images courtesy of Serebii.net
First, trainer customization is back! Yes after it’s brief but beloved stay in X and Y and the break period of ORAS with already established characters manning the helm, once again you will be able to get a totally individualized trainer in the Alola region. It really is a wonderful touch to have in Pokémon, even if I do agree it was unnecessary when we had Brendan and May as the headlining duo.
From the looks of it, there are going to be far more options to customize your trainer with as well, from clothing style and color to hair style and color to contact lens eye color and plenty of accessories. It should be great, and I can’t wait to figure out how I’m going to look when battling with friends – an especially important factor now that trainers actually stand behind their Pokémon during battle!
We also got a look into Pokémon Refresh, which essentially looks exactly like Pokémon Amie rebranded with a few new bells and whistles. With this feature, you’ll be able to pet and groom your Pokémon with things like brushes, feed them cute little candies and treats, wash and dry them and probably more. I do love seeing the 3D models of the Pokémon in a way you can interact with them, and I like to see that more options are being added for what you can do with the feature, but really that’s about all there is to say on the matter.
Well, actually, there is one last thing. Apparently, grooming your Pokémon will allow you to remove status ailments like Paralysis and Poison. I really, really like that idea, and I think it’s a cute way to add another little bit of bonding since you’ll be physically helping your Pokémon heal rather than just giving them a bit of medicine to do the trick.
Finally, this trailer gave us a look into two new Pokémon exclusive Z-moves: One for Pikachu and one for Eevee.
Images courtesy of Serebii.net
The second I heard about Pikachu’s Z-move, Catastropika, I admittedly groaned. Naturally Pikachu gets every new mechanic in each new generation of Pokémon because it’s the mascot, but the name by itself seemed just a little over the top.
Then I watched the animation. Seriously, I don’t think you’ll ever giggle harder than you will watching a trainer just chuck that little yellow mouse way off into the stratosphere. It’s kind of really satisfying in a way I’m not sure I can fully articulate.
Eevee’s Z-move was a lot more well-received right off the bat. Anything with Eevee in it is a plus, since the little guy is probably one of my favorite Pokémon ever. It doesn’t attack like about every other Z-move we’ve seen so far, instead it boosts all of Eevee’s stats sharply in one fell swoop. Whether that makes Eevee enough of a powerhouse to stand on it’s own in battle I don’t know, but I do hope it does.
Plus, the Z-move summons every other Eeveelution onto the screen all at once to provide their power to the little guy, and it’s wonderful. It honestly made me swoon a little the first time I saw it, not kidding.
That’s about all there is to say about this last update. It’s pretty late, but getting some of my thoughts out feels great all the same. Let me know what you think about the monkeys, or what you think about the new mechanics, Z-moves or the game version split for Lycanroc that just… Really bugs me.
Tell me in the comments below, and hopefully when the next bout of information drops (October 4th supposedly) I’ll have the chance to be a little more timely with it.
Work in Progress 