**Were Pokemon Sun and Moon Really That BAD? — Transcript & Summary | SozAI** Source: https://sozai.app/transcript/pokemon-sun-moon-bad-review/ An in-depth review of Pokémon Sun and Moon, exploring story, gameplay changes, characters, and post-game content. ## Key Takeaways - Pokémon Sun and Moon significantly innovated the traditional Pokémon formula with new regional features. - The post-game content is one of the most robust and underrated aspects of these titles. - Villain groups offer a unique contrast, with Team Skull as comic relief and the Aether Foundation as a serious threat. - The Alola region’s design and atmosphere provide a refreshing and vibrant experience. - Z-Moves introduced a new battle mechanic but had some gameplay limitations. ## What the video covers - Pokémon Sun and Moon introduced major changes to the series, including replacing gyms with the island challenge in the Alola region. - The game features new starter Pokémon—Litten, Popplio, and Rowlet—with unique designs that grew on the reviewer over time. - Team Skull serves as the comic relief villain group, while the Aether Foundation offers a darker, more complex antagonist presence. - The story contrasts lighter themes with alien Ultra Beasts, differing from previous generations' darker world domination plots. - Post-game content is a highlight, featuring the Battle Tree, Ultra Beast hunts led by Looker, and additional storylines. - Z-Moves replaced Mega Evolutions during the main story, offering a new battle mechanic with some limitations. - The Alola region is praised for its tropical vibe, unique Pokémon designs, and refreshing setting. - The rival characters Hau and Gladion provide different dynamics, with Gladion having a more serious role. - The game’s story and characters received mixed opinions but are generally seen as a successful change of pace. - The video also includes a subscriber milestone announcement and giveaway promotion. ## Chapters 1. 00:00 Introduction and Alola Region Overview 2. 01:11 Starter Pokémon and Initial Impressions 3. 02:22 Villain Organizations: Team Skull and Aether Foundation 4. 03:33 Aether Foundation Story and Ultra Beasts 5. 04:45 Subscriber Milestone and Giveaway Announcement 6. 05:55 Post-Game Content and Battle Tree 7. 07:00 Z-Moves and Battle Mechanics 8. 08:11 Alola Region Design and Pokémon Diversity 9. 09:28 Game Tutorials and Character Customization Answers ## Questions about this video What makes Pokémon Sun and Moon different from previous Pokémon games? Pokémon Sun and Moon replaced traditional gyms with the island challenge, introduced the tropical Alola region, and featured new gameplay mechanics like Z-Moves. How is the story in Pokémon Sun and Moon unique? The story contrasts lighter themes with alien Ultra Beasts and features two villain groups with different tones, providing a fresh change from darker plots in previous generations. What post-game content does Pokémon Sun and Moon offer? The post-game includes a secondary story involving Ultra Beast hunts led by Looker, the Battle Tree challenge, and opportunities to catch island guardians, offering extensive content beyond the main story. ## Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown 00:00 Speaker A Pokémon Sun and Moon are extremely interesting games. They changed a lot about the Pokémon formula and have done things that no other games in the series have done. A lot of people love these games, and just as many think they're terrible. But how do they hold up today? Pokémon Sun and Moon released on November 18th, 2016 worldwide, except for Europe, where it released on November 23rd, 2016. Sorry, Europe. They take place in the new Alola region, a collection of tropical islands which is a paradise for Pokémon trainers from around the world. It's based off Hawaii, so you know this region is going to be interesting, to say the least. This is the first region to ditch the idea of Pokémon gyms. They don't currently exist. So instead, you go on the island challenge. It's a coming of age tradition on the islands, but instead of earning badges, you battle giant angry Pokémon and challenge local kahunas. Can we just go back to the gyms now, please? 00:11 Speaker A You start off by having just moved to Mele Mele Island from the Kanto region. You meet Professor Kukui, who is way too relaxed. I mean, this man is wearing a lab coat, but he's shirtless underneath it. That defeats the entire point of a lab coat. He eventually will let you pick a starter Pokémon between Litten, Popplio, and Rowlet. I know this might be divisive, but I really like these starters. At first, I did not at all, but they've really grown on me over time. I didn't like how they turned Litten into a bipedal cat. It had four legs to start and had two legs to finish, and I didn't really get that. But over time, every single starter in this generation has grown on me, especially Rowlet. Look at that little bow tie and tell me he's not one of the best Pokémon of all time. But before you can even pick your starter Pokémon, you meet Lillie. She's a mysterious trainer who is a bad bag that's definitely not full of secret alien Pokémon. She introduces you to Nebby, who's an adorable but alarmingly powerful little guy who you rescue from a bunch of wild Pokémon who want to eat his eyeballs. But once you pick your starter, you start the island challenge. You also meet your rival. Hau is not a terrible rival, but he's not that great either. He's a friendly rival who's trying to compete against you to be the first person to complete the island challenge. But considering that, Hau is just as laid-back as the professor. I could say that he needs anything more than what he is. He lacks anything that gives me the drive to want to beat him. He's fine, but overall, I don't dislike him, but he's not very memorable. There's also Team Skull, who's this region's villain organization that is really lackluster. I understand they're supposed to be this way because of the culture of the region and how they're in the pocket of another organization, but they just look and act like absolute fools. They are really, really dumb, and it's frustrating because unlike a lot of other villain organizations, they're not menacing; they're just frustrating. That being said, I will say that I like that they're a change of pace from the other organizations. They didn't try and make another Team Galactic or Team Plasma. They really tried to make something that was one of a kind here. They're led by Guzma, and he's fine. I wouldn't say that he's interesting, but he does have some cool Pokémon. There's also Gladion, who's Team Skull's enforcer, who's more so a second rival than anything else. I would say he's most similar to Hugh from Pokémon Black and White 2. He's an edgy rival who has his own motivations, but he's got a lot more going on than trying to get back a cat, like trying to destroy the entire Aether Foundation. Now, everything I said was wrong about Team Skull is right in the Aether Foundation. On the surface, there are a bunch of Pokémon scientists who want to save endangered Pokémon, but of course, they're not all that nice. They really want to capture Ultra Beasts, which are interdimensional Pokémon that are wildly strong. Their leader is Lusamine, who's the Aether Foundation president, who is somehow both a Pokémon lover and clinically insane. They end up opening a wormhole, and out pops an Ultra Beast. This is the first time anyone has seen an Ultra Beast, and instead of deciding never to do this again, they decide they want to control them. This causes more and more issues as time goes on, and Lusamine becomes driven by the need to control the Ultra Beast and become insanely powerful. They end up capturing Nebby and try and use him to control the Ultra Beasts, and you have to break into the Aether Foundation's base to get him back. Of course, like any villain in a Pokémon game, Lusamine has gone completely insane. Instead of admitting defeat and admitting she's wrong, she decides to summon an Ultra Beast and merge with it. Oh, why would she do that? And becomes either Sigilyph or Lunala, depending on the version of the game you have. You travel to Ultra Space for the final showdown against Lusamine, who is now fully fused with an Ultra Beast. After saving her, you return to Alola just in time to ascend Mount Lanakila, and you get to face the ultimate challenge, becoming the first ever champion of the Alola region. After facing off against the Elite Four and the surprise champion, you're crowned the first ever Alola champion. And of course, there was loads more to do once you beat the main story. And of course, there's so much more I didn't cover during the story synopsis, so I really recommend checking out this or Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon to get the full story. And there was also an incredible post-game story. But before we get into that, I just want to say thank you for 5,000 subscribers. I never thought that I would get here, and it's all thanks to you guys. I'm about to do my huge 5,000 subscriber giveaway, so make sure you subscribe, drop a like, and comment on this video to make sure you're eligible to win. Pokémon Sun and Moon have a unique story, and some people think it's a good thing and others not so much. I really like the story. I think it was a good change of pace considering gens 4, 5, and 6 had a much darker story about world domination and war. Having to deal with alien Pokémon changes it up a bit, and I think the dynamic between Team Skull and the Aether Foundation was great too because they were so wildly different. It was a great contrast. Team Skull served as more of a comic relief than anything else, which was a good idea because having another story about the end of the world would have been beating a dead horse. But in my opinion, where this game really shined was the post-game. It had its own secondary story about the international police led by Looker, who have you capture Ultra Beasts who are running loose around Alola, which not only offered a unique story in the postgame similar to the Delta episode, it also was a fun way to explore the entire region again and see what was going on after the calamity that had happened. And after rounding up all of the Ultra Beasts, you get a fight with Necrozma, a Pokémon that is definitely not going to cause more trouble in the next games. But there was even more than the additional story. There was your Battle Tree, which was beating waves of additional trainers, catching the island guardians, and so much more. With all of these things to do in the post-game, I think that's the most underrated aspect of these titles. A lot of the modern Pokémon games don't have a lot to do after you beat the story, but this had a solid amount of content to keep you playing long after you beat the game. And of course, this released during the gimmick era of Pokémon. After the incredible success of Mega Evolutions, for some reason, the Pokémon Company decided not to continue making new ones and instead opted for the new gimmick, Z-Moves. Now, after you beat the game, you could still use Mega Evolutions, but during the main story, all you had access to was the new Z-Move mechanic. Z-Moves were extremely powerful forms of Pokémon moves that did loads of damage. By giving your Pokémon a Z-Crystal to hold, once per battle, they could use an extremely strong form of their standard moves. Of course. 00:25 Speaker A Tropical Islands which is a paradise for Pokémon trainers from around the world it's based off Hawaii so you know this region is going to be interesting to say the least this is the first region to ditch the idea of Pokémon gyms they 00:35 Speaker A don't currently exist so instead you go on the island challenge it's a Coming of Age tradition on the islands but instead of earning badges you battle giant angry Pokémon and challenge local kahunas can we just go back to the gyms now please 00:48 Speaker A you start off by having just moved to mele Mele Island from the Kanto region you meet Professor cucki who is way too relaxed I mean this man is wearing a lab coat but he's shirtless underneath it that defeats the entire point of a lab 01:00 Speaker A coat he eventually will let you pick a starter Pokémon between Lon poo and rowlet I know this might be divisive but I really like these starters at first I did not at all but they've really grown on me over time I didn't like how they 01:11 Speaker A turned Lon into a bip pedal cat it had four legs to start and had two legs to finish and I didn't really get that but over time every single starter in this generation has grown on me especially rowlet look at that little bow tie and 01:23 Speaker A tell me he's not one of the best Pokémon of all time but before you can even pick your starter Pokémon you meet Lily she's a mysterious trainer who is aad bag that's definitely not full of secret alien Pokémon she introduces you to 01:34 Speaker A nebie who's an adorable but alarmingly powerful little guy who you rescue from a bunch of wild Pokémon who want to eat his eyeballs but once you pick your starter you start the island challenge you also meet your rival how he's not a 01:45 Speaker A terrible rival but he's not that great either he's a friendly rival who's trying to compete against you to be the first person to complete the island challenge but considering that how is just as laid-back as the professor I 01:55 Speaker A could say that he needs anything more than what he is he lacks anything that gives me the drive to want to beat him he's fine but overall I don't dislike him but he's not very memorable there's also team skull who's this Region's 02:07 Speaker A villain organization that is really lackluster and I understand they're supposed to be this way because of the culture of the region and how they're in the pocket of another organization but they just look and act like absolute fools they are really really dumb and 02:22 Speaker A it's frustrating because unlike a lot of other villain organizations they're not menacing they're just frustrating that being said I will say that I lik that there a change of pace from the other organizations they didn't try and make 02:34 Speaker A another Team Galactic or Team Plasma they really tried to make something that was oneof a kind here they're led by guzma and he's fine I wouldn't say that he's interesting but he does have some cool Pokemon there's also gladion whose 02:45 Speaker A team skulls enforcer who's more so a second rival than anything else I would say he's most similar to Hugh from Pokemon Black and White to he's an edgy rival who has his own motivations but he's got a lot more going on than trying 02:57 Speaker A to get back a cat like trying to destroy the entire Aether Foundation now everything I said was wrong about team skull is right in the Aether foundation on the surface there are a bunch of Pokémon scientists who want to save 03:08 Speaker A endangered Pokémon but of course they're not all that nice they really want to capture Ultra beasts which are interdimensional Pokémon that are wildly strong their leader is Lucine who's the Aether Foundation president who is somehow both a Pokemon lover and 03:21 Speaker A clinically insane they end up opening a wormhole and out pops a Ultra Beast this is the first time anyone has seen an ultra beast and instead of deciding never to do this again they decide they want to control them this causes more 03:33 Speaker A and more issues as time goes on and Lucine becomes driven by the need to control the ultra beast and become insanely powerful they end up capturing nebby and try and use him to control the ultra beasts and you have to break into 03:45 Speaker A the Aether foundation's base to get him back of course like any villain in a Pokemon game Lucine has gone completely insane instead of admitting defeat and admitting she's wrong she decides to summon an ultra beast and merge with it 03:57 Speaker A oh why would she do that and becomes either sgalio or lunala depending on the version of the game you have and you travel to ultra space for the final showdown against Lucine who is now fully fused with an ultra Beast after saving 04:11 Speaker A her you return to alola just in time to ascend Mount lanakila and you get to face the ultimate Challenge becoming the first ever champion of the alola region after facing off against the elite 4 and the surprise Champion you're crowned the 04:24 Speaker A first ever alola champion and of course there was loads more to do once you beat the main story and of course there's so much more I didn't cover during the story synopsis so I really recommend checking out this or Ultras sun and ultr 04:36 Speaker A moon to get the full story and there was also an incredible post game story but before we get into that I just want to say thank you for 5,000 subscribers I never thought that I would get here and 04:45 Speaker A it's all thanks to you guys I'm about to do my huge 5,000 subscriber giveaway so make sure you subscribe drop a like and comment on this video to make sure you're eligible to win Pokémon sun and moon have a unique story and some people 04:57 Speaker A think it's a good thing and others not so much I really like the story I think it was a good change of pace considering jens's 4 5 and six had a much darker story about world domination and War 05:08 Speaker A having to deal with alien Pokémon changes it up a bit and I think the dynamic between team skull and the Aether Foundation was great too because they were so wildly different it was a great contrast team skull served as more 05:19 Speaker A of a comic relief than anything else which was a good idea because having another story about the end of the world would have been beating a dead horse but in my opinion where this game really shined was the post game it had its own 05:31 Speaker A secondary story about the international police led by looker who have you capture Ultra beasts who are running loose around alola which not only offered a unique story in the postgame similar to the Delta episode it also was a fun way to explore the entire region 05:44 Speaker A again and see what was going on after the Calamity that had happened and after rounding up all of the ultra Beast you get a fight necma a Pokemon that is definitely not going to cause more trouble in the next games but there was 05:55 Speaker A even more than the additional story there was your battle tree which was beating waves of additional trainers catching the island Guardians and so much more with all of these things to do in the post game I think that's the most 06:05 Speaker A underrated aspect of these titles a lot of the modern Pokémon games don't have a lot to do after you beat the story but this had a solid amount of content to keep you playing long after you beat the 06:15 Speaker A game and of course this released during the gimmick era of Pokémon after the incredible success of mega evolutions for some reason the Pokémon company decided not to continue making new ones and instead opted for the new gimmick Z 06:27 Speaker A moves now after you beat the game you could still use Mega EV utions but during the main story all you had access to was the new Z move mechanic Z moves were extremely powerful forms of Pokémon moves that did loads of damage by giving 06:39 Speaker A your Pokemon a z Crystal to hold once per battle they could use an extremely strong form of their standard moves of course your Pokemon trainer would have to hit a little dance first but for the time these were a unique idea that added 06:50 Speaker A a little bit of spice to the game now I can't say these hold up all that well I can't think of a single person who says that they miss Z moves but overall they were fine in order to use a z move we 07:00 Speaker A would have to give a Pokémon a z Crystal which took up their item slot which means you can't use other items in conjunction with Z moves if you want to use a super powerful electric type move you need the right crystal for it and 07:10 Speaker A your Pokemon needs to have the same type move as the crystal you give them in order to use these moves any Pokemon could use these moves which I thought was a nice touch but certain Pokemon had unique Z moves which gave him a 07:21 Speaker A Competitive Edge and as much as I like the idea of giving certain Pokémon their own unique Z moves similar to how there weren't enough Mega Evolutions there weren't enough Pok P that had their own unique moves which ended up being really 07:33 Speaker A disappointing Mega Evolutions were the perfect gimmick and I know that hindsight is 2020 but getting rid of something that was so incredible for something that is just lackluster doesn't make sense I'm really glad they decided to keep Mega Evolutions in the 07:46 Speaker A game to some capacity but the fact that no new Pokémon were given Mega Evolutions is crazy to me they had the perfect gimmick and they got rid of it for something that just doesn't work as well but overall Z moves are fine I 07:58 Speaker A don't think there anything that is to write home about but I also don't think that they're bad by any means but if there is one thing that sun and moon absolutely nailed it's the setting alola is overall one of the best regions in 08:11 Speaker A Pokémon from the Aesthetics to the way it's laid out this region really shines now it's not the most memorable but every time I go back and play this game it is an absolute breath of fresh air it's all about tropical Vibes vibrant 08:24 Speaker A beaches and Pokémon sunbathing while you're on your adventure the shift in scenery felt fresh and I really love how this region looks the idea of a tropical island paradise for Pokémon works so well and having multiple Islands to 08:37 Speaker A explore really set this region apart now it wasn't perfect there were locations that felt kind of dull and passed over but overall the alola region is one of the most underappreciated regions in the entire series they easily could have 08:49 Speaker A just had this be a ho in round two where they over utilized water but having four separate islands that all had their own unique feel just felt fresh and it kept you engaged the entire time you were playing and of course another huge 09:02 Speaker A change to the format was the regional Pokémon not only did we get a full new set of Pokémon for the Pokedex we also got a huge set of regional Pokémon forms this took some of the older Pokémon and 09:13 Speaker A gave them completely new designs with new abilities and typing Pokemon like Raichu Muk and exeggutor all got new Styles and it works so well and is one of the best things that has ever happened to Pokémon why is it so big 09:28 Speaker A that's what she said stop stop it animals in the real world will look different depending on where their climate is so it just makes sense that Pokémon are the same way the new designs connected really well to the region and 09:39 Speaker A started something that has become a really great Trend in all the other games that have followed honestly I don't know how we survive for this long without this giant tree another breath of fresh air was the fact that they 09:49 Speaker A removed the HM system from the game which was long overdue instead of having to teach cut or rock smash to your Pokémon and having them take up a slot in your move pool you can now just call up another Pokémon to come and help you 10:02 Speaker A out and deal with the problem and it just makes sense having HMS be required is something that feels outdated in the older titles and I understand at the time it was needed by calling in other Pokémon to come and assist you they can 10:14 Speaker A still bar you from accessing other areas but this time they don't require you to keep a bof around with you that only knows hm moves actually I've changed my mind let me keep it much as this game is 10:24 Speaker A done right there's also things that it did not do well once you boot this game up for the first time you're in for a solid hour and a half of tutorials for the first chunk of this game you were 10:34 Speaker A dragged through so many unskippable tutorials it was like it was the first time they had ever made a Pokémon game and they had to teach you everything from the start I understand when a new Pokémon game comes out there's going to 10:44 Speaker A be a lot of people who pick this up for the first time but there needs to be a way to get through these tutorials at least a little bit faster another thing that drove me absolutely crazy was the 10:53 Speaker A new SOS battles in theory it's fine a wild Pokémon can call for help mid battle and get support from a friend it made things a little more Dynamic and it makes sense that someone would call for backup if they were getting jumped by a 11:04 Speaker A trainer's Pokémon but in game it usually means you're trying to catch a Pokemon and suddenly it's calling for backup every single turn which prevents you from Catching it it had its perks for shiny hunting but at the same time if 11:16 Speaker A you were trying to catch a Pokemon for the first time for your playthrough and it calls for backup 47 times I want to shave my head there should have been a limit on how many times these things can 11:25 Speaker A call for backup at least in the early game but as far as things they did well bringing back character customization from X and Y just made sense you could change your skin tone your clothes and your hairstyle which made it so you 11:37 Speaker A could actually look like the trainer you wanted to or not that's fine too any RPG game should allow you to customize your character it just makes sense and it allows people to actually build a connection with the character they're 11:48 Speaker A playing and overall Pokémon sun and moon were definitely different titles But as time goes on more and more people are appreciating how good they were the games are not that bad they just really get overshadow Shadow by the other games 12:00 Speaker A that were released on the 3DS which makes sense to a point the enhanced versions are just better forms of this game which make these somewhat pointless Ultra sun and Ultra moon are just better titles overall which is a good thing but 12:12 Speaker A it also means a lot of people will write these off as bad games which is really far from the truth if you haven't given these a try yet I recommend it even if Ultra sun and Ultra moon are a better 12:22 Speaker A experience and as always thank you for watching I hope that you and your family have an incredible rest of your day and if you like anything that you saw here please consider subscribing Topics: Pokémon Sun and Moon Alola region Pokémon starters Team Skull Aether Foundation Ultra Beasts Z-Moves post-game content Pokémon review Pokémon gameplay changes --- This is the markdown twin of https://sozai.app/transcript/pokemon-sun-moon-bad-review/ — the same content, without the markup. 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