NEW POKEMON ANALYSIS!!! · 10:09pm Aug 1st, 2016
A new Pokemon trailer just dropped today, so of course I'm gonna cover it. And we'll be covering ALL of it! All the new features, all the new Pokemon, all the ways Sun and Moon are going to break the metagame, everything.
SO LET'S JUST JUMP RIGHT INTO IT THEN!!! HERE WE GO!!!
NEW POKEMON
Alolan Exeggutor
Type: Grass/Dragon
Class: Coconut Pokemon
Ability: Frisk
Analysis:
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is a real thing that is happening in our world right now. And holy mother of shit, I love this new "subspecies" of Exeggutor! I was seriously not expecting something like this to happen at all! Mind you, that's good because GameFreak still has a few tricks up their sleeves, but yeah. Anyway, a Grass/Dragon-type Pokemon is here, and believe it or not it's actually an Exeggutor. Isn't that awesome?! Not to mention I love its design; so derpy and dumb-looking, but that Dragon/Grass typing is gonna be brutal, I'll just say that right now. And at last it looks like a palm tree, so Exeggutor fits right at home in this lineup. Its ability also changes, turning from Chlorophyll to Frisk. Not the best choice, but I can see why GameFreak wanted to numb the OP Dragon/Grass-type.
Alolan Vulpix
Type: Ice
Class: Fox Pokemon
Ability: Snow Cloak
Analysis:
OH MY GOD ITS SO FUCKING CUTE!!! But in all seriousness, this was definitely one evolution line I wasn't expecting. Vulpix has always been seen as a Fire-type, so turning it into an Ice-type is a little strange, but I can see how it could work. What I'm concerned about is how GameFreak will handle these new subspecies of Pokemon. Will Pokemon traded from past generations turn into these, or can you have two different kinds of Vulpix at the same time. I'm hoping for the latter since I don't really want to get rid of Vulpix's Fire-type and Flamethrower move, but if the former happens I won't be too mad. Why? Because I love this little snow princess! AH! SHE'S SO CUTE!!!
Alolan Ninetales
Type: Ice/Fairy
Class: Fox Pokemon
Ability: Snow Cloak
Analysis:
Majestic as motherfucking-fucker-fuck! What I'm curious about is how GameFreak will handle Vulpix's evolution into Ninetales with this variant. Will it still be with a fire stone or something completely different? The answers will come around soon, but for now we get this... beautiful creature. Right off the bat, I noticed its ability and brand new typing. Its ability, Snow Cloak, could work in its favor since Ninetales is already a fairly fast Pokemon. Having a boosted evasion in hail would make for quite the competitive turnabout. Then, it's typing. Ice/Fairy-type?! The first Ice/Fairy-type is a Ninetales. Believe me, if you told that to a younger version of yourself playing Red and Blue, they'd go "Nah, that's crazy!" followed by "And what the fuck is a Fairy-type?!". No, trust me, they will.
Alolan Sandshrew
Type: Ice/Steel
Class: Mouse Pokemon
Ability: Snow Cloak
Analysis:
Kind of defeats the purpose of Sandshrew, but I digress; still an awesome new subspecies for the ranks. We already covered how Snow Cloak could benefit these new variants, but Sandshrew and Sandslash here especially need it. But more than ever they needed the Ice/Steel-typing without a doubt in my mind. Before all this, Sandshrew was kinda just... eh. But now with the new typing and ability, we could be seeing some really good stuff coming from them! Needless to say, I'm hooked!
Alolan Sandslash
Type: Ice/Steel
Class: Mouse Pokemon
Ability: Snow Cloak
Analysis:
I don't know about you guys, but I think someone at GameFreak REALLY likes Snow Cloak. Just a gut feeling, y'know? Not much else to talk about when it comes to Alolan Sandslash, since most of the stuff I talked about was in Sandshrew's analysis. Oh wait, tell a lie, I did in fact read up on the official Pokemon Sun and Moon website and I found out that this Sandslash is actually slower than the regular Sandslash. This means that there is a very high chance that subspecies will have different stats that their regular counterparts, so that's pretty cool. Still will those stat changes be for better or for worse?
Oricorio
Type: Fire/Flying (Baile Style), Electric/Flying (Pom-Pom Style), Psychic/Flying (Pa'u Style), Ghost/Flying (Sensu Style)
Class: Dancing Pokemon
Ability: Dancer
Analysis:
We have a lot to cover for these girls! Oricorio is a different kind of Pokemon that changes either depending on which of the four islands its currently on or which island you found it on, the former being changeable and the latter being permanent. All of them share the same ability and new move, Dancer and Revelation Dance respectively. Dancer copies the opponents "Dance" moves like Quiver Dance and uses it on themselves for a free turn. Nice! Relvelation Dance changes type depending on what type Oricorio might be, much like Techno Blast. And if you're wondering, I love each and every one of these new forms. Baile Style is my favorite because of her classy design and eyeshadow, Pom-Pom Style is my second favorite because of her excellent typing and bouncy personality, Sensu Style is my third favorite because I'm totally down with the geisha girl thing she has going on, and Pa'u Style is my least favorite because, though I still love her, she just looks a little lackluster. I'll just stick with Xatu if I need a Psychic/Flying-type. But without a doubt, I'm getting one of these girls on my team!
Mudbray
Type: Ground
Class: Donkey Pokemon
Ability: Own Tempo/Stamina
Analysis:
Our very first donkey Pokemon! In truth, I kinda knew Mudsdale would have some sort of pre-evolution, but I didn't expect a donkey to evolve into a Clydesdale horse. That having been said, Mudbray looks kind of lackluster. Not to say it isn't good, since it still has the ability Stamina and that's awesome in anyone's books, but its design is just lackluster. There's nothing that really sticks out for me. In all honesty, if GameFreak revealed Mudbray first and THEN Mudsdale, maybe Mudbray would get a little bit more love from me. But for now, I'll just stick with some of the other Pokemon.
Minior
Type: Rock/Flying
Class: Meteor Pokemon
Ability: Shields Down
Analysis:
The sun, the moon, and the shooting stars. This game has it all! At last we get something akin to a meteor Pokemon, and I'm glad it looks like this to be quite honest with you. While Rock/Flying isn't anything we haven't seen before, it's still a good type and it'd be nice to see a Rock/Flying type that ISN'T an ancient Pokemon. Am I missing one? Probably. The best thing about Minior is its ability, Shields Down. Not only does this lower defense but raise speed, but it reveals Minior's core which can be one of four colors; yellow, orange, red and blue. Other than cosmetics and that one speed up, I can't see Minior being of that much use. However, notice the word "Mini" in its name. This thing WILL evolve, meaning its ability could be greatly improved upon.
Gumshoos
Type: Normal
Class:Trump PokemonStakeout Pokemon
Ability: Stakeout/Strong Jaw
Analysis:
Yungoos has finally evolved into a democrat! Next thing you know, it'll turn out that Gumshoos is actually a defensive wall! Okay, okay, all jokes aside, I can see Gumshoos being a good Pokemon. Not entirely outstanding mind you, but still very good. Both Stakeout and Strong Jaw are great abilities to have, though I can still see Gumshoos being that one early game HM slave that no one likes, if HMs are even still a thing in Alola. But we'll get to that later. For now, I and many others can't deny Gumshoos looks WAY too much like Donald Trump. It's like GameFreak knows what's up or something like that!
Fomantis
Type: Grass
Class: Sickle Grass Pokemon
Ability: Leaf Guard
Analysis:
As someone who absolutely loves scythes, seeing something as cute as this with sickles for hands is absolutely incredible and I want one on my team NOW! UGH!! So many good-looking Pokemon to have on my team and I only have six slots to fill! Goddammit, maybe my friend was right about having an all-Alola battle one day... Hmm? Oh, sorry, nothing. Just a bet I had with one of my real-life friends, nothing bad. Anyway, like I said, I want this thing on my team now! Leaf Guard is a great ability if used correctly on the right Pokemon, and it's nice to have a Grass-type Pokemon that isn't a dumb plum and can actually fight back without needing to run away all the time. And the best part about cute and strong Pokemon is that my sister will always have one on her team, meaning I can fight her without worrying about defeating her too quickly. Yay!
Lurantis
Type: Grass
Class: Bloom Sickle Pokemon
Ability: Leaf Guard
Analysis:
After too much disappointment from GameFreak, we FINALLY have a good-looking reaper-like Pokemon in the form of Lurantis. Now this is a Pokemon I without a doubt want on my team simply because of how awesome it looks. It's not too different from Fomantis besides the fact it's stronger and stuff, but now Lurantis has access to a new move known as Solar Blade, which looks exactly like a Monado attack. If there are a such thing as male Lurantis, I'm naming mine Shulk and calling Solar Blade... Back Slash. Shut up, I can so totally do it! I also really like Lurantis's design, what with its long and deadly sickle hands, and its STRIPED PANTS!! AW HELL YEAH!!! Seriously, those striped pants are probably the best thing about Lurantis in my opinion. Screw the new attack, screw the ability and concept, I'm in for those pants, baby!
If one could look closer into the concept art of all the new variant Pokemon, one could see a different kind of Tauros, definitely not shiny but more akin to a subspecies. Not sure if this is legit, but I'm probably the first person in all of the world to notice a different colored Tauros in the trailer shot. Just look closely and you'll see yourself.
NEW GAMEPLAY
Poke-Ride
With the new Poke-Ride feature in Sun and Moon, you'll be able to call upon all sorts of Pokemon to help you in your adventure. You're given a call device and allowed to call in a Pokemon to ride around in for transportation, be it surfing on water, flying to another part of the region, or smashing through rocks with whatever thick skull it may have.
This is why I mentioned the absence of HMs. With this new feature, HMs will be useless (with the exception of Surf which is already an awesome and powerful move). Does this mean HMs will finally disappear like they should have years ago? In all honestly, it could very well do! GameFreak has heard our cries and is making an alternative around HMs that doesn't require you waste a slot in your Pokemon's moveset that you can't even interchange whenever you'd like. Of course, having HMs you could swap in and out would have also sufficed, but never seeing them again would also be good in many people's opinions.
Except Surf. I think we can all agree that's awesome.
Z-Moves
Pokemon Z confirmed!
In all seriousness, this is a great replacement for Mega Evolutions! In a world filled with over-the-top Mega Evolutions that DESTROYED the metagame, we have these new Z moves that work only once in a battle and are sure to defeat your foes quickly. Having just one move you have to worry about is leagues better than a single Mega Pokemon that lingers until you beat it... somehow. Each type has its own Z-Move, and already the main four have been confirmed with badass-sounding names... mostly: Gigavolt Havoc, Bloom Doom, Inferno Overdrive and Hydro Vortex.
Inferno Overdrive is my favorite.
It just sounds badass.
NO GYM LEADERS?
Yes, Alola's League is WAY different from other leagues. Instead of the usual Gym Leaders, we get Trial Masters. They work roughly the same only there are no Pokemon gyms to speak of and you gotta track them down in different locations of the Alola. Each master is located on their respective island. This makes it feel like they're more of a boss battle than just "that one gym battle" or whatever. After you defeat the Trial Masters, you have the chance to battle the Kahuna of that island. The first Kahuna you fight? None other than Hala, grandfather of Hau! You also must defeat a "Totem Pokemon", which is a normal Pokemon empowered by the legendary Pokemon of that island. Rinse and repeat until you get to the end of the game!
I gotta say, I actually like this change! It's something new and exciting, and while some elements of gym battles are still there, the overall concept is different. Nice changes GameFreak! You finally heard our cries and did something new with Pokemon! I don't know how long it's gonna last, but hey; it was fun while it lasted, right?
The new Trial Masters are (from left to right): Mallow, the Grass-type specialist; Lana, the Water-type specialist; Kiawe, the Fire-type specialist. There's also an Electric-type specialist, but he's dumb and rude, so he doesn't count. Out of all of them, I love the first three! Except the Electric-type one. Because I already told you he's dumb.
I'm also aware of this:
What does this mean, you ask? This means those Chinese "leaks" we saw a while back? Yeah, they might me right. If that's the case... I might have to change which starter I pick... Goodbye, Litten. You were cool for a while, and then you became another fucking Fire/Fighting-type. God fucking dammit... But hey, at least Rowlet's and Popplio's evolutions look cool!
Anyway, tell me what you think of all this in the comments below!
In any case, have a great day and I look forward to seeing what you guys have to say! Which is your favorite Pokemon of the new guys? Who's your favorite Trial Master? And finally, do you think there'll be an evil team in Alola?
Until then!
I guess it's okay to now call Sandshrew something new.
...
Snowshrew.
:V
That's all folks.
4126688
No no, that's perfect.
I'm so hyped for Sun and Moon to come out!
As soon as I saw that Alolan Vulpix this was me,
data.whicdn.com/images/53588726/large.gif
That is a must have on my team, no exceptions.
4127180
I'm still loving that mantis Pokemon, to be quite honest. But yeah, Vulpix is pretty cute!
4126937
What Pokemon fan isn't?
Hey, looks like Exeggutor went on a diet! And as soon as I saw that Vulpix, I found an ice type I actually like besides Glaceon!
I seriously have no plan what to say about this 5min Pokémadness. The new forms were a huge surprise and they look awesome. And then the new ones: a cool dancing bird, a little donkey, a meteor, the incarnation of every Trump-joke ever (this totem is probably a huuuge wall
), and an anime plant (the only thing missing in Solar Blade are huge japanese letters). Not much to say about Poke-rides. Z-moves will probably break the metagame. Again. And the concept with the trials is interesting and innovative. 
)
Now I'm even more hyped for sun/moon (why does europe have to wait
Oh, and now that the leaks are probably real: I WAS RIGHT WITH POPPLIO!!!
4127455
Really? You don't like Ice-types all that much?
4127640
The dancing bird and the anime plant are my favorite.
4127845 Oddly enough, not really.
4127847
I'll probably take both into my team
And Ninetails or Sandslash
And Trumpmon as HMslave just for the irony (if they still exist)