#and also I played ruby and sapphire originally so it’s like kind of a refresher

[wishingprince]

Someone I follow is liveblogging Pokémon Black or White and since I have zero attention span and a 100% grappling for beautiful anime boys I started playing Pokemon Black because Kestin said I would be obsessed with N (true) so now I’m playing and also avoiding my dash because I have a weird magical ability to remain spoiler free unless I seek shit out so.

[mrauthor3ds]

Things I hope to see in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon

Time for early wishlists! Assuming that Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon are indeed sequels to Sun/Moon, what kind of things would I like to see in them...

1: Lusamine and Nihilego’s redemption arc

I’m sure a lot of us hope to see that Lusamine is making an effort to atone for her insane actions in Sun/Moon. Perhaps it can also give us more insight on when and how she lost it. But I also hope to see that specific Nihilego redeem itself, too.

I’m of the belief that that Nihilego, the one that was hanging out next to her in Ultra Space and was supposedly in that Beast Ball, is the same on that appeared at Aether Paradise twice, and could be the one that applied its neurotoxin to Lusamine long before the story began (judging by how long Gladion stayed at Route 8′s motel, I’d say about 2-3 years prior).

And keep in mind, after Nebby got Lusamine and Nihilego to de-fuse, Nihilego went back into the Beast Ball, and likely got brought back to Alola with her. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lusamine was tasked with making sure Nihilego doesn’t try to cause more trouble, and maybe eventually, that Nihilego will truly become an ally to us.

2: Mohn gets a role in the story

We’ve seen Mohn managing Poké Pelago, yes. We also hear the name as that of the leading professor on Ultra Space studies. And there’s way too many in-your-face hints that he’s the husband of Lusamine who got unexpectedly pulled into Ultra Space and was never seen again. Given what tends to happen to Fallers - people who have gone through Ultra Wormholes - as we see with Anabel, it’s easy to guess that Mohn suffered amnesia when he reappeared where Poké Pelago is now.

So I’m sure a lot of people wanted to know why we can’t just bring him to Gladion and Lillie to resolve things sooner. Well, perhaps Mohn can make an appearance in USUM’s story and maybe clear that up. Maybe he’ll remember scant tidbits about his time in Ultra Space, which can provide some help to us.

And who knows, maybe his wife and children might not be able to fully restore his memory, but they can be happy that he’s still himself in spirit. I know that’s not quite the happy ending that most people would want, but I think that would still be happy enough, and it would give a subtle but important lesson in the process.

3: A different Team Skull

And by that, I don’t mean make the Trial Captains of Sun/Moon be its members. We’re talking if this is a sequel. No, I mean a completely different Team Skull, with slightly different duds and perhaps a more serious mission. They can still retain the goofy quirks of the previous Team Skull, but with a SERIOUS MISSION.

...Likely involving Necrozma. After all, one of the reasons everyone suspected the Aether Foundation in Sun/Moon is because their white/gold color scheme goes with Solgaleo and Lunala. Well, Team Skull had an emphasis on black, which is clearly Necrozma’s primary color. Also, the “necro“ in its name can relate to the skull of Team Skull (death and all). So...yeah.

But who would lead this Team Skull? Well, one Punk Girl in the trailer park near Tapu Village tells that Team Skull was originally founded by a disgraced kahuna, but was deposed by the wrath of the tapu. This is likely long before Guzma rebuilt the gang. Perhaps that disgraced kahuna can make himself known here in USUM.

I’m sure the previous Team Skull of Sun/Moon won’t be happy to hear about a Team Skull appearing. Guzma and Plumeria especially might not be happy about this. You know, it can be sort of like the new Team Plasma of Black2/White2, but under a different management altogether.

4: An Ice-type specialist

One of the fascinating things about Alola is that there’s a specialist for just about every type. The Trial Captains cover Normal, Water, Fire, Grass, Electric, Ghost, and Fairy, the kahunas have Fighting, Rock, Dark, and Ground, Kahili has Flying, Molayne has Steel, Guzma has Bug, Plumeria has Poison, Faba has Psychic, and Ryuki has Dragon.

...But no Ice-type?

Okay, I know Sina has Ice-type Pokémon, but she’s only battled in the Battle Tree. That and Dexio is another Psychic specialist, so I’ll have to count them as complete outsiders (though Ryuki might also count as an outsider).

Point is, there’s a lot of things in Sun/Moon that beg for an Ice user to appear in these games that clearly put focus on Necrozma. For instance...

Post-championship, an Aether employee in Secret Lab A will comment on how Pokémon moves were used for cryostasis on the Pokémon in Lusamine’s “collection“. This makes me wonder...the possibility of a high-ranking Aether member, alongside Faba and Wicke, who specialized in Ice-types and was ordered at some point to deep-freeze all those Pokémon, as well as the three Type: Null...and afterward s/he left.

Again, it seems that Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon will be putting focus on Necrozma. In Refresh, when you pet the horn above Necrozma’s face, your hand will freeze. But it’s not Ice-type? Still, that gives me another theory. What if that same Aether member who was told to freeze those Pokémon defected to this new Team Skull, which is trying to harness Necrozma’s power for...something? Wouldn’t be the first time the new team got an Ice user while harnessing the power of a cold legendary Pokémon - I speak of course of Zinzolin in New Team Plasma (BW2 again).

Either way, in Aether or in Team Skull, I really hope that s/he has some prominent blue on the outfit.

5: Hau as the new Melemele kahuna

I know, I’ll be taking a lot of cues from Black2/White2 for this. But what if Hau finally succeeds Hala as the new kahuna of Melemele Island by this time? This is of course a similar vein to how the rival Cheren became the first Gym Leader you face in the sequel.

Not sure if he’d have a single type specialty, or if he’ll be anything like Blue (as the Viridian City Gym Leader in Gold/Silver) and use a few Pokémon of completely different types. You know, like say...Flareon, Vaporeon, and Leafeon.

6: Don’t replace the island challenge with Gyms!

Seriously, I doubt that Alola is going to just give up the island challenge altogether in favor of the classic Gym formula. I mean, come on! The island challenge is one of the things that made Sun/Moon so unique to the series!

Yes, I know. Alola has a Pokémon League now. But that doesn’t mean it has to use Gyms just like all the other regions. It can still work its traditional island challenge into it.

So in short, keep the island challenge. Make new trials for this time around, sure. Maybe see some new kahunas as well (likely just replacing Hala and Olivia, since they’re Elite Four members now).

7: New Alolan variants

I know some people were bummed to only see variants for Gen-1 Pokémon. Well, this can be a chance to add Alolan variants from other generations! Might probably be just Gen-2 ones, though. Since the Gen-1 games came to Virtual Console leading up to Sun/Moon, I believe that Gold/Silver on VC will lead up to Gen-2 variants.

Wouldn’t be new. After all, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire added a lot more Mega Evolutions. So...

What would you think? Lately, I’ve been toying with the idea of a Fire/Ice-type Girafarig, so it can get a new duality to play around with. Or maybe a Grass/Fire-type Sunflora, as a result of getting so much sun in Alola.

Anyway, I feel we should look at the Pokémon that currently can’t be found within Sun/Moon for ideas on new variants, especially since Masuda said that we’d see Pokémon in USUM that can’t be found in Sun/Moon.

8: More signature moves

This can be a chance to give some Pokémon their own new signature moves, like Mimikyu. For such a standout Pokémon, it doesn’t have an exclusive move that it can call its own. Maybe a Ghost- or Fairy-type mimicry of Pikachu’s famed Electric attacks? And Nihilego stands out even among the Ultra Beasts, but it doesn’t have its own unique move. This can be a chance to truly give Pokémon like them their turn in the bigger spotlight.

Along with this, I also hope to see a few more unique Z-Crystals. You know what I mean, right? The Z-Crystals that give exclusive Z-Moves to certain Pokémon. What Pokémon do you think deserve their own special Z-Moves? Silvally? Nihilego? Lemme know.

9: More clarification on the Ultra Beasts

The reports that Wicke provides on the Ultra Beasts in the post-game do give a few neat details on how SUPER WEIRD they are. But I hope we see EVEN MORE information on the Ultra Beasts, like how they came to be. Perhaps Lusamine and Mohn can give more insight?

10: Visit Ultra Space

Yup. Being able to access pockets of Ultra Space during your journey. Perhaps you can meet Pokémon that have hidden abilities in there, similar to the Hidden Grottos in Black2/White2. Well, that and be part of the main story.

11: Story battles with special twists

So we know that Totem Pokémon, and Fused Lusamine’s team, get stat boosts right at the start of the battles, which can set them apart from normal battles. But apparently, that’s not good enough for SOME people. Perhaps there can be other twists in some story battles, like against the antagonists. For instance, that suggested Ice-type specialist could do something that neutralizes Ice-type’s weaknesses during some battles. Or, someone could make it possible for all of his/her Pokémon to use their Z-Moves, rather than just one. Or someone whose Pokémon are all Mega Evolved. You know?

12: Difficulty toggle

So clearing Black2/White2 will let you access different difficulties. Easy Mode to reduce opponents’ levels, and Challenge Mode to raise their levels. Perhaps something like that can be enabled for Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon...though preferably without needing some keys.

And...that’s all I can think of at the moment. What about you? What features - whether story or gameplay - to do you hope to see in Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon?