Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are 2016 role-playing video games made by Game Freak and released by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. These games are the first in the seventh generation of the Pokémon video game series. They were first announced in February 2016 and released worldwide on November 18, 2016, to celebrate the franchise's 20th anniversary. Enhanced versions, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon, were released for the same consoles on November 17, 2017.
Development of the games began after the completion of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, with a focus on improving how Pokémon interact and form relationships. The games follow a young Pokémon Trainer’s journey through the Alola Region, which is inspired by Hawaii. The goal is to complete the island challenge, stop the plans of Team Skull and later the Aether Foundation, and challenge other Pokémon Trainers of increasing difficulty. Sun and Moon added 81 new Pokémon species and introduced features such as Alolan forms of older Pokémon, powerful moves called Z-Moves, alien creatures known as Ultra Beasts, updated battle and training systems, and improved 3D graphics. Although the two games are mostly separate, they share a similar story. While each game can be played alone, trading Pokémon between them is needed to complete the Pokédex. Pokémon can also be traded from other games, just like in earlier versions.
Critics gave the games mostly positive reviews, praising the changes from earlier Pokémon games and the gameplay. When released, the games became some of the fastest-selling Nintendo titles at the time. As of September 30, 2024, Sun and Moon have sold 16.33 million copies worldwide, making them the third most popular Nintendo 3DS games, after Mario Kart 7 and the previous titles Pokémon X and Y.
Gameplay
Pokémon Sun and Moon are role-playing video games with adventure features, set in the fictional Alola Region (inspired by Hawaii), shown from a third-person view above the action. The player controls a young Trainer who travels to catch and train creatures called Pokémon, and compete in battles against other Trainers. When a player's Pokémon defeats an opponent in turn-based battles, it earns experience, allowing it to grow stronger, improve its abilities, learn new moves, and sometimes evolve into a more powerful Pokémon. Players can capture wild Pokémon during random encounters by weakening them in battles and using Poké Balls to add them to their team. Players can also battle and trade Pokémon with others using the Nintendo 3DS' connectivity features. Some Pokémon are only found in Sun or Moon, and players are encouraged to trade with others to collect all Pokémon from both versions.
Pokémon Sun and Moon use fully three-dimensional (3D) graphics, like earlier games, allowing more interaction with the game world and more dynamic battle scenes. The character models in Sun and Moon have more realistic shapes compared to the chibi-style models used in Pokémon X and Y or Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Players can customize their Trainer's appearance by choosing gender, skin tone, and hair color at the start of the game and later earn outfits and accessories to change their look. New Pokémon species, such as the Starter Pokémon Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio, and the Legendary Pokémon Solgaleo and Lunala, are introduced in the game.
Pokémon Sun and Moon are the first games in the series available in Chinese (both Simplified and Traditional), along with English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese, and Korean, for a total of nine languages. The games include new versions of older Pokémon with updated types and appearances, called Alolan Forms. For example, Alolan Vulpix is an Ice type, and Alolan Ninetales is both Ice and Fairy types. Alolan Sandshrew and Sandslash are Ice and Steel types, while Alolan Meowth and Persian are Dark types. Some Pokémon evolutions now have dual types, such as Alolan Marowak (Fire and Ghost) and Alolan Raichu (Electric and Psychic). Players use a Rotom-possessed Pokédex on the bottom screen to view a map with markers for story goals.
Pokémon Sun and Moon introduce Z-Moves, powerful moves that can only be used once per battle. Hidden moves from older games, used for navigating terrain, are replaced by specialized Pokémon that can be summoned anytime. The "Poké Finder" feature in the Rotom Pokédex allows players to take photos of wild Pokémon, similar to Pokémon Snap. The games' clocks are set 12 hours apart, with Sun using the 3DS' time and Moon using time 12 hours ahead. Character customization, previously seen in X and Y, returns in Sun and Moon. A new "Pokémon Refresh" feature lets players care for and feed their Pokémon. Mega Evolution, a feature first introduced in X and Y, returns in Sun and Moon. The Battle Tree is a location where players can battle or team up with Trainers, including Red and Blue from the Kanto region. Players can trade or battle online. From the Festival Plaza, players can join "Global Missions," where people worldwide work toward shared goals, such as catching 100 million Pokémon together.
Pokémon caught in earlier games like X, Y, Omega Ruby, and Alpha Sapphire can be transferred to Sun and Moon. The games are compatible with Pokémon Bank, an online storage system from previous games. In a special announcement on February 26, 2016, Tsunekazu Ishihara from The Pokémon Company stated that Pokémon caught in Virtual Console versions of Red, Blue, and Yellow could be transferred to Sun and Moon via Pokémon Bank. Compatibility with Pokémon Bank was delayed and became available on January 24, 2017. A special toy called the Z-Ring, made by Tomy, was released to interact with Z-Moves in the games.
Plot
The games take place on a tropical archipelago, a group of islands called the Alola Region. Joe Skrebels of IGN compared it to "Pokémon's take on Hawaii." During an interview at E3 2016, Shigeru Ohmori explained that Game Freak staff visited Hawaii to research the Sun and Moon games.
The main scientist in the Alola Region is Professor Kukui. His name comes from the kukui, also called the candlenut, which is Hawaii's state tree. This continues a pattern where Pokémon professors are named after trees. The villainous group in Alola is called Team Skull. The Aether Foundation is an organization that studies Ultra Beasts, strange creatures from another dimension. Although Professor Samuel Oak does not appear in Sun and Moon, his cousin, Samson Oak, takes his place.
The player begins their journey by traveling from the Kanto Region to Melemele Island in Alola with their mother. After meeting a young blonde girl named Lillie and helping her rescue her special Pokémon, Nebby, the player receives a Starter Pokémon from Professor Kukui. They then start the Island Challenge, a tradition that involves completing trials across Alola with a local boy named Hau. Unlike earlier games, the trials include battles with strong Pokémon and then battles with each island's Kahuna after completing the trials. During this journey, the player meets Team Skull, a group of people who quit the trials. Their leader is Guzma, and their enforcer is Gladion. The player also encounters the Aether Foundation, led by a blonde woman named Lusamine, who aims to protect Pokémon from dangers.
At the Aether Foundation's base, a floating structure called Aether Paradise, a mysterious creature called an Ultra Beast appears through a wormhole but disappears before it can be captured. Later, after defeating Team Skull at their base, Gladion reveals that Team Skull worked for the Aether Foundation and kidnapped Nebby to use its powers to summon Ultra Beasts. The player then battles through Aether Paradise with Hau and Gladion's help, eventually defeating Lusamine, who is revealed to be Gladion and Lillie's mother. Despite this, Lusamine and Guzma open an Ultra Wormhole, using Nebby's powers to transport them to Ultra Space, the Ultra Beasts' dimension. This causes Nebby to change into a cocoon-like form while Ultra Beasts are released onto Alola's islands, forcing the island Kahunas and guardian deities to fight them.
On the final island, the player and Lillie perform a ritual to evolve Nebby into its final form—Solgaleo or Lunala—depending on the game version—at the island's Altar. Using Nebby's new power, the player and Lillie travel to Ultra Space and find Lusamine, who allows an Ultra Beast to take control of her. The player battles her to protect themselves. After defeating Lusamine, the player returns to Alola and climbs Mount Lanakila to challenge the newly formed Alola League, defeating the Elite Four members. In the final match, the player defeats Professor Kukui to become the first Alola League Champion. In the credits, the player battles Melemele's guardian deity, Tapu Koko, after a celebration, with Lillie and Lusamine leaving Alola for Kanto the next day.
After the main story, the player is contacted by two members of the International Police: Anabel, who previously led the Battle Tower in Pokémon Emerald, and Looker, a detective who has appeared in many Pokémon games. The player helps them deal with wild Ultra Beasts released by Lusamine in a series of quests. After completing the final quest, Looker mentions seeing another Ultra Beast, but Anabel disagrees. If the player visits Ten Carat Hill, they will encounter Necrozma.
Development
Game director Shigeru Ohmori explained that the names "Sun" and "Moon" were chosen because they symbolize human relationships. Hawaii was selected as the setting for the game's region because it has clear nights and lots of sunshine. Development of the game began right after the completion of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and Ohmori continued in his role as game director. Since the games were released to celebrate the franchise's 20th anniversary, Sun and Moon were created from the beginning with more significant changes compared to earlier games. Ohmori also noted that the games focused on the Pokémon themselves, their characteristics, and how players interact with them.
The first Pokémon of the seventh generation to be designed was Jangmo-o. Ohmori mentioned that for the 20th anniversary, the team aimed to include many special surprises and added fun elements. Only Pokémon from the original Red and Blue games received Alolan forms, which Ohmori described as a special gift for longtime fans because these Pokémon are more familiar. Following trends from newer games, the designers of Sun and Moon focused on creating more dynamic, 3D Pokémon models based on those from X and Y.
Although Pokémon Go was successful, the developers said it did not influence the creation of Sun and Moon. However, the game helped increase awareness of the franchise, and the team worked on ways to connect the app with the main series. Ohmori explained that during development, the team "completely redesigned the system" and pushed the 3DS hardware to its full potential. With a team of about 120 people, the games took around three years to make, a time frame similar to other new-generation games. Later, Kazumasa Iwao, who designed the battle systems for Sun and Moon, became the director for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
According to composer Junichi Masuda, who co-produced the game, the music in Sun and Moon was inspired by traditional Hawaiian styles. While the music uses rhythms from Hawaiian traditions, the melodies are completely different and still give a tropical island feel. On November 30, 2016, a four-disk soundtrack called Pokémon Sun and Moon Super Music Complete, containing 169 songs (160 from the games and 9 special tracks), was released in Japan. An international version, Pokémon Sun & Pokémon Moon: Super Music Collection, was also released on iTunes on the same date.
Promotion and release
On 25 February 2016, the existence of two new Pokémon games was discovered when Nintendo’s brand names for them appeared on a website called the European Union Intellectual Property Office. IGN suggested that the introduction of a new Pokémon, Magearna, might signal the games’ official announcement. The games were officially revealed the next day during a Nintendo Direct presentation that celebrated the Pokémon franchise’s 20th anniversary. The games supported nine languages. On 10 May, more details were shared in a new trailer, including new Pokémon, box art, and release dates. Pokémon Sun and Moon were released in Japan, North America, and Australia on 18 November 2016, and in Europe on 23 November 2016. A comic based on the games was published with an edition of CoroCoro Comic on 15 September 2016. Early buyers received a special Munchlax holding Snorlium Z, which allowed it to use a Z-Move unique to Snorlax, Munchlax’s evolution, through a wireless event. A Japanese trailer was shared on 8 September 2016. A Pokémon Sun and Moon-themed New Nintendo 3DS XL was released on 28 October 2016.
Similar to Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, a special demo was released on 18 October 2016. During Nintendo’s Financial Briefing on 27 October 2016, the company reported the demo had been downloaded over 3.5 million times, making it the most popular and fastest-selling 3DS demo in history. Pokémon Sun and Moon were the most pre-ordered games in Nintendo’s history. According to Nielsen Game Rank, they were the most anticipated 3DS games in 2016.
Before their release, the games’ files were leaked online, allowing people to access the full game, including online features, before its official launch. Nintendo took action against users who accessed the online features, banning them from using the games’ online functions and other 3DS online services, such as the Nintendo eShop and Miiverse, even if they later played the official version.
Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon are improved versions of Pokémon Sun and Moon developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. They were announced on 6 June 2017 during a Pokémon-themed Nintendo Direct presentation and released worldwide on 17 November 2017. These games include an alternate storyline set in the same world as Sun and Moon, as well as new Pokémon and locations not found in the original games.
Reception
Pokémon Sun and Moon received a score of 87 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 84 reviews, showing that most reviews were positive. Another review site, OpenCritic, reported that 95% of critics recommended the games, calling the reception "mighty." These games ranked as the 5th and 6th highest-rated 3DS games in 2016 and the 19th and 20th best 3DS games of all time. Critics praised the change from the gym system, with some calling it an important step for the series' future.
Japanese magazine Famitsu gave the games a score of 38 out of 40. IGN reviewer Kallie Plagge rated the games 9 out of 10, saying they "changed the game's format to create an engaging adventure that improved on earlier games." She also praised the simpler battle system and other features. Alex Donaldson of VG247 said the story was more interesting than previous Pokémon games. Alex Olney of Nintendo Life called the plot the most detailed and ambitious in the series and said the games were the best Pokémon games ever made. He also praised the natural design of the Alola region and the balance of new features with familiar elements. Chris Tapsell of Eurogamer called the games "the best generation in more than a decade" and gave them an "essential" rating.
However, Tapsell noted that the early parts of the games had too many tutorials. Jeremy Parish of USGamer said Z-Moves were not as exciting as they could be, despite the game being the most engaging in the series for a long time. Allegra Frank of Polygon criticized the games for being too linear and having limited content beyond the main story, though she called the journey with Pokémon the most memorable in years.
According to Nintendo of America, Sun and Moon were the fastest-selling games in Nintendo's history at the time. As of March 31, 2023, the games sold 16.30 million copies, making them the third-best-selling 3DS games, behind Mario Kart 7 and Pokémon X and Y. During a GameStop earnings call, Sun and Moon had the most pre-orders for any video game in the past five years. They were GameStop's best-selling game in 2016, selling more than Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare.
On their first day of release, the games sold 10 million copies worldwide. In Japan, they sold over 1.9 million copies in the first three days. In Europe, the games were Nintendo's biggest launch ever, selling 368,000 copies in the United Kingdom and 450,000 in France within a week. Sales in Europe reached 2 million copies within the following week. In North America, the games sold over 3.7 million copies in less than two weeks and reached 4.5 million by mid-January.