Pokémon Ultra Sun and Pokémon Ultra Moon are 2017 role-playing video games created by Game Freak and released by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. These games are part of the seventh generation of the Pokémon series and are improved versions of Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, which were released the year before. The games were announced in June 2017 and became available worldwide on November 17, 2017. They were the last mainline Pokémon games for the Nintendo 3DS, as the series moved to the Nintendo Switch the following year.

Like earlier games in the series, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon follow the journey of a young Pokémon Trainer in the Alola Region, which is inspired by Hawaii. These games include a different storyline, new gameplay elements, characters, Pokémon, and Pokémon forms. They also feature new forms of the legendary Pokémon Necrozma as version mascots.

The games were generally well-received by critics, who praised the added features compared to Pokémon Sun and Moon. However, some reviewers noted that much of the story felt too similar to the earlier games. As of March 31, 2025, the games have sold a total of 9.26 million copies worldwide, making them the ninth-best-selling Nintendo 3DS titles of all time.

Gameplay

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are role-playing video games with adventure elements, similar to other games in the series. These games take place in a different version of the Alola Region, but the gameplay features and graphics are mostly the same as Pokémon Sun and Moon. The main changes include a new storyline that introduces the Ultra Recon Squad. Player character designs are also different but can still be customized. A feature called "Global Missions" returns, allowing players worldwide to work together toward shared goals.

The games introduce new Ultra Beasts: Stakataka, Blacephalon, Poipole, and its evolved form, Naganadel. There are also new forms for the legendary Pokémon Necrozma, called "Dusk Mane" and "Dawn Wings." These forms are obtained by absorbing the legendary Pokémon Solgaleo and Lunala, respectively. This is similar to how Kyurem evolved in the Black 2 and White 2 games. A new form of Lycanroc, called Dusk Lycanroc, is also added.

Players can now collect Totem Stickers by traveling across the Alola region. These stickers allow players to receive a larger version of a Pokémon. Three new activities are included: Mantine Surf, which lets players ride Mantine to travel across the seas and earn Battle Points; Alola Photo Club, which lets players take pictures of their character with Pokémon in different poses; and Ultra Warp Ride, which allows players to travel through Ultra Wormholes to encounter the original seven Ultra Beasts in their own worlds. This activity also lets players find legendary Pokémon from all previous games up to that point, up to three times, and increases the chance of encountering shiny Pokémon.

New Z-Moves are available for several Pokémon, including Solgaleo, Lunala, Lycanroc, Mimikyu, and Necrozma. The Rotom Pokédex has been upgraded with Roto-Loto, which gives players boosts similar to O-Powers from earlier games, and Z-Rotom Power, which lets players use up to two Z-Moves in a single battle.

Plot

The games focus on the Legendary Pokémon Necrozma, who becomes the main villain in these versions, replacing Lusamine as the primary antagonist. Like the Sun and Moon games, the story takes place in the Alola Region, which is inspired by Hawaii. While similar to the first games, these versions include new buildings and locations. Characters from Sun and Moon, such as Lusamine and her children, return with changes. A new group, the Ultra Recon Squad, is introduced, with different members in each game. Ultra Megalopolis, a large city where Necrozma has taken all its light, is located in Ultra Space and can be reached through the Ultra Wormholes.

Another group of villains, Team Rainbow Rocket, appears in the post-game story. This group includes bosses from previous games, such as Giovanni from Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, and Lysandre from Pokémon X and Y. Legendary Pokémon from earlier games also appear in the story.

The player character is named Elio or Selene, who moves with their mother from the Kanto Region to Melemele Island in Alola. As usual, the player has rivals: Hau, a friendly boy who travels with the player, and Gladion, Lusamine’s estranged son and Lillie’s older brother. During their journey in Alola, the player completes trials that involve battling powerful Pokémon called Totem Pokémon. They also meet groups such as Team Skull, led by Guzma; the Aether Foundation, led by Lusamine; and the Ultra Recon Squad, who come from Ultra Megalopolis, a city in another dimension where Necrozma has stolen its light. The story centers on multiple Legendary Pokémon, including Cosmog, nicknamed Nebby, which evolves into Solgaleo in Ultra Sun or Lunala in Ultra Moon, and Necrozma, who tries to take the light from Alola.

In the climax, Lusamine uses Nebby to create a wormhole to Ultra Megalopolis, where she and Guzma fight Necrozma to help the Ultra Recon Squad. They fail and are sent back to their world, with Necrozma following them. Necrozma defeats Nebby, now a Solgaleo or Lunala, and absorbs it, gaining a new form. Necrozma then releases the Ultra Beasts onto Alola and fights the player. After defeating Necrozma, the player travels through Ultra Space with the opposite Legendary Pokémon—Lunala in Ultra Sun or Solgaleo in Ultra Moon—to reach Ultra Megalopolis. There, the player battles Necrozma in its true form, Ultra Necrozma, to save Nebby and restore light to Alola. After completing these trials, the player battles a new Elite Four and defeats Hau to become the first Alola League Champion.

In the post-game, the player faces Team Rainbow Rocket, a group from another world based on Team Rocket from earlier games. This group takes over the Aether Foundation’s headquarters and captures Lusamine. The player teams up with Guzma, Lillie, and Colress, a former Team Plasma leader, to fight past villains, including Maxie and Archie from Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald; Cyrus from Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum; Ghetsis from Black, White, Black 2, and White 2; and Lysandre from X and Y. The final battle is against Giovanni, who leads Team Rainbow Rocket and has a Mewtwo. After defeating Giovanni, he disappears, wondering where to unleash his next evil plan. The player can then explore the Ultra Wormholes, the worlds of the Ultra Beasts, and catch them using Beast Balls. After catching Necrozma at Mount Lanakila, Colress gives the player the N-Solarizer or N-Lunarizer, which allows Necrozma to join or separate from Solgaleo or Lunala. Finally, the Ultra Recon Squad tells the player to defeat or catch Blacephalon in Ultra Sun or Stakataka in Ultra Moon.

Development

Shigeru Ohmori, a producer for the game, said that Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were developed by younger staff members, while more experienced staff worked on future Pokémon games for the Nintendo Switch. However, some experienced members, like Shigeki Morimoto, were also part of the team. Ohmori added that Game Freak considered Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon the final project of their work with the 3DS system. The team that made Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon had about 80 members, which was about half the size of the team for Pokémon Sun and Moon. Even though the script for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon was twice as long as the one for Pokémon Sun and Moon. In a different interview, Ohmori explained that the idea to create Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon came later during the development of Pokémon Sun and Moon. The games were planned to use the popularity of the Pokémon series after the success of the mobile game Pokémon Go. Kazumasa Iwao, the game director, was responsible for the battle systems in Pokémon Sun and Moon.

In the post-game content, the games include a tribute to former Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata, noting his role in creating Pokémon Gold and Silver. The games received their first update in December 2017 to fix some problems.

Promotion and release

Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were announced in a Pokémon Direct on June 6, 2017. At first, the Pokémon website had a mistake showing the games’ release date for the Nintendo Switch as "TBA." Later, The Pokémon Company corrected this, stating the games were only available for the Nintendo 3DS.

Like the previous game, the files for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were shared online before their official release. This allowed people to copy the game without permission and others to find new information not announced before, such as a new form for Necrozma, a new Ultra Beast, a new mythical Pokémon, and more.

Less than a week before the game’s release, Pokémon Go updated its app. This update let players change their in-game avatars to look like characters from Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. This was the first time the app helped promote a main series game.

Reception

Before the games were released, both Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were among the most exciting titles for the Nintendo 3DS in 2017, according to Nielsen. According to Metacritic, a website that collects reviews, the games received "generally favorable" feedback. Another review site, OpenCritic, reported that 87% of critics recommended the games, calling them strongly approved. Casey Defreitas of IGN noted the games had "smart improvements," while Kallie Plagge of GameSpot said the games made enough changes to stand out from earlier versions, even though they shared similarities with Sun and Moon. Allegra Frank of Polygon pointed out that most of the gameplay was the same as the previous game, with changes only appearing later in the experience.

After release, the two games sold 1.2 million physical copies in Japan within the first three days—excluding digital sales on the Nintendo eShop. By the end of 2017, the games had sold over 2 million copies in Japan alone, making them the best-selling video games in the country that year. Sales of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon helped the Pokémon franchise reach more than 300 million copies sold worldwide. According to Amazon, the games were the seventh-best-selling video games in 2017. However, their rankings dropped to 25th for Ultra Sun and 28th for Ultra Moon when other video game-related products and console versions were included. As of March 31, 2025, the games had sold a combined total of 9.26 million units worldwide, making them the ninth-best-selling Nintendo 3DS titles of all time.

The games were nominated for the "People's Choice" award at the Italian Video Game Awards and won the "Excellence Prize" at the Famitsu Awards.