Right after returning home, we get a timeskip to "the next day". Secretly, what they're doing here is locking the time in place.
In both Sun and Moon, the Festival sequence is artificially locked during sunset hours, regardless of the time on the real time clock. RPGs that don't actually care about the time can do this for free, but it just so happens Alola is also the games making the most use of the real time clock...
Right, so now that it's sunset, what the hell are we doing in the festival?
Kukui, of course, enters the room long before we get to the door again.
...Seriously, man?
Like, this is an important part of being a Trainer in the world of Pokemon, but still. (Since Ultra Moon has synched back up with us in terms of what we have encountered, it is experiencing the same thing right now.)
Mum is also going to be at the festival, but she'll be taking the non-Pokemon-trainer route.
And also taking the time before the festival actually happens to get started on all this unpacking she keeps saying she's gonna do.
Time will tell whether she actually does.
We're going the east route up to Iki Town this time, which is the more substantial one.
And Kukui will not let us go west.
One thing that USUM has seen that we have not seen is tall grass, to encounter Pokemon. We are nearing the point of getting proper free rein, so Kukui is going to teach us the important part of wild encounters.
We can attempt to catch any wild Pokemon we encounter (well, OK, there are some encounters that you can't, but these will usually be signposted), and a caught Pokemon will be added to our team. We cannot be a true Pokemon Master without having a bit more to work with than Rowlet. Although many children and speedrunners alike usually make it to Champion that way.
Kukui is going to do what is, at this point, a Pokemon tradition, and a somewhat maligned one: The capture tutorial, a visual example of how catching Pokemon works.
This is actually the first wild encounter in the game in SM, although in most games, it is usually possible to get into random encounters before the tutorial.
Since we're actually seeing the Trainer during battle, Kukui has an animation for sending out his Rockruff. I think he uses this animation later, but still.
The tutorial will slowly demonstrate everything you have to do, with a big arrow pointing to "push the attack button to attack". This is probably the part that bothers most people. Even kids can figure this out a little bit quicker.
Especially this bit, where they go all the way into the Bag, stopping in every tab to make sure you know the correct button to push to throw a Poke Ball.
By the way, did you notice that button in the top-left corner of the standard screen, to throw a Poke Ball by pressing the Y Button? New feature to SM, nobody told Kukui.
When you throw a Poke Ball, it will contain the Pokemon, and then it will start to shake.
After it shakes three times, it will glow and the Pokemon will be officially caught.
Does anyone else feel like we only scratched the surface of the mechanics? Let's see how much more detail we can get without getting too deep into math (if you like numbers, try this):
- The HP term of the catch rate formula is proportional, and the extra bonus for remaining HP can be expressed linearly.
- The chance for catching a wild Pokemon can be directly increased by multiplier bonus for applying a status condition or using a different type of ball. Both are technically options around now in the Ultra games, but it's less likely you'll actually apply them until later.
- Each Pokemon has a set catch rate, which is its own multiplier bonus in the formula. Proportional to the other terms in the function, it is a very large bonus for the easier to catch species, which can make the harder ones a bit like pulling teeth.
- When you throw a Poke Ball, you have two options: Either the odds of success are 100% (only possible with bonus modifiers), or you go into a second bit. When the Poke Ball wobbles, each wobble represents the game rolling a random number against your capture chance, and if all four random numbers are smaller than your odds of success, you catch the Pokemon.
In practice, the only meaningful things you, the player, can do is lower a Pokemon's HP more, use status conditions and stronger Poke Balls, and hope the RNG is on your side. Overall, the system could stand to benefit from more control on the player's part, but few, if any, of the experiments that Pokemon has attempted have actually messed with this core RNG factor.
Expanding your team is always a good plan. Although you can only carry so many at a time.
Earlier catch tutorials mention status conditions in the text part, but never actually demonstrate using them. Kukui seems to have forgotten to mention it at all.
Kukui also mentions that your Mum may be used to fully restore your HP at any time. Nearly all player mothers have served this mechanical function, and it's mostly flavour, since it is not the only means of doing so.
Potions allow you to heal on the field, and mean you don't have to trudge all the way back to your house if you're deep in an area. I am not good about not trudging out, although this is largely because I do attempt to cycle teams and this can't be done on a route (yet- it was added in a later game).
He gives us some freebies of both mentioned objects, to get us started. After this, we're on our own.
(As a side note, after every time you get an object, the game mentions in which pocket they're putting it. Helpful at first, less helpful later on.)
We are now allowed to explore this area of Route 1, catch some Pokemon to get our team started, and get a feel for the gameplay loop before the festival. So then, let's see what Pokemon we get first out here...
...Figures. There are four possible encounters in the tall grass outside our house here, and the odds you will find a Pikipek are 30%- tied for the highest chance of the four.
(Awkwardly, my setup means I have to take time every time I want to capture a different screen. This shouldn't matter too often past the opening sequences, but it did give me this funny shot of Rowlet doing its "turn its head 180 degrees" idle animation waiting for a command.)
When you press the Y Button to throw a Poke Ball, you automatically skip to this screen, and have the option of choosing which ball you want to throw by tapping left and right. It will even default to the last ball you threw!
...Oh yeah, one feature about the early routes that got added in XY: On the first route where it is possible to catch Pokemon, the game quietly sets the odds of success at 100% for all attempted Poke Balls. Don't get used to it, but I won't turn down freebies.
In Alola only, the 100% catch rate only applies in the perma-sunset before the festival. I assume the technical reason is that there's a second part of Route 1 that opens up later that the game doesn't want to have the 100% rate, but can't otherwise disentangle from this part. This doesn't seem to have been intentional, and I believe it is the only game to have the bonus be impermanent.
Also starting in XY, catching a wild Pokemon grants equal experience to if you knocked it out. It was either/or in earlier games, but this isn't an entirely necessary bonus.
On catching a brand new species, you will now see it being added to your Pokedex, as well as opening by showing the page of evolutionary branches. From this, we can see that Pikipek, as is the series standard, has three evolutionary stages.
It also shows us the Pokedex page immediately, but there's not much to this other than a chance to see one of the entries.
Pikipek (Ultra Sun): It pecks at trees with its hard beak. You can get some idea of its mood or condition from the rhythm of its pecking.
And as for this Pikipek, it will actually be joining my party as what I plan to be an impermanent party member! So then, what's the deal with Pikipek?
Pikipek is a Normal/Flying type- the series was reluctant to distribute Flying without an attached type until SwSh- and the series loves to include a bird of some kind on the first route. Mostly, I assume, so it can use birds sitting on windowsills and the like to quickly establish new regions in trailer shots. While some birds establish more of a reputation than others, Pikipek sits in the middle of the pack, having a clearly defined niche, but failing to establish itself as much more than another of a glut of Normal/Flying choices. An occupational hazard of competing with Staraptor.
As you leave the first patch of tall grass (don't worry, we'll be back), we'll encounter our first example of a random Trainer.
Trainers will be obviously ready for battle in some way, and as you get close to them, a sound will play and the edges of the screen blacken slightly. These features are new to SM, and they exist to tell you "if you get any closer, you're going to enter a Trainer battle, now is your chance to consider if you're ready". Later on, when Trainers start moving or turning their heads, this chance might be taken away if you're not careful- but there'll usually be at least a chance.
Previously, a "!" bubble appeared over a Trainer's head and they stopped you to move closer. In this game, they no longer move, but you can tell you have been spotted when a louder chime (usually based on the spotting Trainer) plays, and the game will automatically move the camera in this fashion to show you where the spotting Trainer has come from.
This kid is mandatory- it is impossible to sneak around him, like it will be for later Trainers.
A truism of Pokemon battling, although it is rare that you will actually be looking at a Trainer when the battle is locked in.
Hilariously, with moving Trainers, it is possible to be looking at them but for them to not be looking at you, preventing a battle triggering. They eventually jettisoned this mechanic entirely and just made random Trainers only trigger if you talk to them.
Jimmy here is a Youngster, the series standard class for the first male Trainers you will encounter. They look different from game to game, but all Youngsters look identical. Their Japanese name is たんぱんこぞう, which roughly means "Shorts Kid"- if you know an old Pokemon joke about a kid who likes shorts because they are comfy and easy to wear, that was a Youngster in the original RBY.
Another classic, Youngster with a Rattata. Although a new region means a new look for the critter. We saw this back in Ultra Moon, but I do like the way it's first shown off here. Especially since a combination of mechanics means it is technically impossible to see Rattata earlier in the original SM.
No, this Rattata is not in the top percentage of Rattata. In fact, it has flat 0 IVs.
Sam gets his first chance to take action. Sam knows Peck, giving it a Flying move, and Growl, same as the starters. It doesn't have a Normal move yet.
Oh, that's nice and convenient!
I decided to have Sam open by Growling, but since they happen to be slower than Rattata, it was nice to get the miss. So then, what, exactly, did Growl just do?
A Pokemon's current stat modifiers are considered in thirteen "stages", with any move usually changing one or two stages per stat at a time. Growl lowers the opponent's physical Attack by one stage, meaning Rattata's future Tackles will be dealing less damage. While it is not necessary to know the exact modifier to a stat based on stat stages, for the same reason we don't really care about the exact number of this Rattata's Atk stat, I will tell you the following things:
- +2 stages is a x2 modifier, while +6 is a x4 modifier. Positive stages proceed relatively linearly on this scale.
- -2 stages is a x1/2 modifier, while -6 is a x1/4 modifier. The way it is calculated is that each stage proceeds in the fashion "2/3, 2/4, 2/5...", but this is harder to rule-of-thumb.
- All stat stages are wiped when the Pokemon is either switched out or the battle ends. They are temporary effects, but do not forget that switching is not a free action (in most cases).
Stat-changing moves are considered pretty terrible overall, but this is largely because they're terrible early. This Rattata will probably defeat me in four Tackles. By Growling, I have reduced him to, like... five Tackles? But I spent one of my own actions in this time actually using Growl instead of using Peck, and putting pressure on him. Stat stage changing moves aren't too worth the turns early on, but keep in mind they're multipliers and realise that they get much stronger when a single stage gives you much bigger swings...
Rattata has reacted to Growl by throwing out a Tail Whip, which reduces my Defence by one stage. I usually mentally consider "both sides are at the same stat stage" as being roughly equal to "neither side has stat stages in play", although I have not backed this up by actually running this through the formula.
...OK, that's moderately alarming, his next Tackle could do me in... although I have been getting in my Pecks...
Everything is fine! Critical hits are random bonus damage that pop up from time to time- the probability is 1/24 starting in SM (down from 1/16 in earlier games). They deal 1.5x damage, and as it happens, it is funny I'm talking about them at the same time as I'm mentioning stat stages: Critical hits ignore stat stages that would reduce their damage. There are ways to increase your critical hit chance, but for the most part, they exist as that quiet "if a Pokemon has raised its Defences too high, this'll let you break through" mechanic. As frustrating as they can be when they cause a KO on an attack that wasn't supposed to.
Sam squeaks by with victory, thanks to that Rattata trying too hard to Tail Whip my defence down. You've gotta remember to actually, you know, hit me.
Genuinely, I was feeling tense at the end there. Practically, Oatchi would've walked over you if Sam lost, but I would consider losing Sam a loss anyway.
While Trainer Classes can be used as a predictor of what type of Pokemon you'll see, their main use internally is calculating prize money. Prize money is "Trainer Class" x "Level of their Pokemon". Youngsters have a 20 Poke bonus, it seems- USUM lowered it to 16.
I should hope to see you make it one day, kid.
Ah, there's our female equivalent to the Youngster, the Lass. In practically every way, Lasses are functionally identical to Youngsters, including sharing the same prize bonus and generally using similar Pokemon. While some classes are unisex, other classes give the two genders different names, and still other classes have no counterpart.
(By the way, yes, this means that in JP, their name is ミニスカート, naming them after their miniskirts).
Unlike Jimmy, it is possible to circumvent Aubrey by passing through the tall grass here. We'll battle her later, I just really want to get...
Here. The tall grass outside Iki Town has different Pokemon probabilities, and adds a chance of encountering another Pokemon I want longer-term for the team.
Unfortunately, it's a 5% encounter, and it should be noted that the odds of running away aren't 100%- they're based on Speed, so if you want to run more often, lead with something faster. It gets more likely the more times you try it, at least.
Picking up this Potion so it doesn't bother me the whole way...
Well, drat. That Yungoos proved a bit too quick and knocked poor Sam out.
When you are KOed in a wild battle, you are given a free opportunity to Run, but I'm not sure what its odds of success are- I do think they're good, but it can also fail.
...Well, fine. I was going to take a shortcut home to see Mum, but apparently not...
Healing at home fully restores a Pokemon's HP, PP, and gives you the warm fuzzies. It's also nice, quick and painless, too, minus actually taking the time to go there.
It is, however, currently the only way to undo a KO.
Once a day, resting at Mum's house in USUM will give you a Poke Ball 90% of the time. You can also roll a 5% chance for a Great Ball or Heal Ball (each have their own separate 5% chances). I actually got the Heal Ball, but I missed I was screencapping the wrong screen. Oh well... Heal Balls aren't great.
Trying to use this side of the west route up leads to a Tauros that is too rowdy to sneak past. Probably for the best we don't go this way.
There you are, you little rodent. Pichu is, of course, the baby form of that most recognisable of all Pokemon, Pikachu. It's been around since RBY, though, so why am I using it? Because three of the game's regional variants are only applied to evolutions, and Pichu is one of them. While I am technically using a classic Pokemon, it will eventually become new, and that's good enough for me.
Plus, Sam appreciates the boost.
Pichu is a three-stage evolutionary family, of which Pikachu is the second stage. Pichu is what is known as a "Baby Pokemon", which confers on it several exceptions to various mechanics. All but three Baby Pokemon are earlier evolutionary stages to classic Pokemon (in this case, Pichu was introduced in GSC), and almost all of the reasons to care are irritating. As of SV, I do not believe the distinction actually does anything anymore, and good riddance.
Pichu (Moon): Despite this Pokémon's cute appearance, those who want to live with one should prepare to be on the receiving end of its electric jolts.
Zapple, like many Electric types, has one and a half jobs: Be fast, and ideally, hit hard. Zapple's offensive power is in the high-middle of the pack among Electric types, meaning it's nobody's first choice, but it'll do in a pinch. Its Alolan modification gives it something quite effective to supplement its one job, but for the most part, there are two kinds of situations: "the kind where we use Zapple" and "the other kind".
Now that we have both of our new friends at hand, time to take a peek at them. As the smaller evolution to something that was originally designed to be an early encounter in itself, Pichu has tiny stats, and anything other than doing its one job is likely to result in injury. This is a problem, because Pichu evolves when it has high friendship, and every defeat puts it that much further away from that goal. Charm (which reduces the opponent's attack by 2 stages) is a good way of making that less likely, but really, we're going to have some rough patches until we're at least a Pikachu.
The Static Ability means anything that deals contact damage (most but not all physical attacks) have a chance of inflicting paralysis on the target. Paralysis is mainly an Electric type's status ailment, and many Electric moves inflict it (including Thundershock), but it wasn't until XY that Electric got the matching immunity to the status. It does trigger later, I'll explain paralysis a little bit more then.
And Sam's stats. Focusing on physical Attack and Speed, like all early birds, Sam is filling a job that many players have trusted in the past, with different birds. Starly may do it best, but Pikipek is the one we have.
Skill Link is a special Ability. Some moves have a chance of hitting between two and five times, and Skill Link makes it so these moves always hit five times. There is one Pokemon that uses this very effectively, but this is only a moderate boon to Pikipek. It's going to be a while until we even get multi-hit attacks: It's likely Sam will be out of rotation before it gets to use any to its full advantage!
As another mechanic to make mention of now, since Sam is an example: Some Pokemon, and in fact the majority of them, have two main Abilities, but they only get one of them, selected more or less at a coin flip on generation. Pikipek's other Ability is Keen Eye, which makes it immune to having its accuracy lowered, and also allows it to ignore enemies who have raised their evasion. If you've ever seen an early-game bird, odds are it had this.
Pivoting over to Pokemon Refresh, let's play with Pichu some. This is played out on the touch screen, and there are two main ways to play with your Pokemon:
Give it scritchies-
Or feed it. While there is a hunger mechanic, it's mostly cosmetic, and doesn't mean Pichu incurs penalties for not being fed. It's just a choice for flavour, pun not intended (especially since beans don't actually have flavours in this game).
Funnily enough, delaying showing this off until Pichu even gave me a chance to show off a mechanic that none of the starters have: Some parts of Pokemon aren't healthy to touch, and if you do attempt to apply scritchies to them, the game will buzz you off them. There's no damage for the player to incur, though- it's treated more like touching a hot stove.
Pichu, as established in many of its dex entries, isn't good at storing all the electricity it generates. As a result, the electric sacs that are the two red spots on its cheeks will freely discharge electricity on contact. With that said, it's worth noting that Pikachu will also zap you if you touch the electric sacs, despite being able to hold its electricity just fine.
There's another mechanic to scritchies worth commenting on: every Pokemon has a favourite spot to be pet and a least favourite. I usually just stick to head pats, but tickling them in the favourite spot gives you the hearts faster, while petting them in their unhappy place may result in them batting you away.
Petting and feeding a Pokemon will make little hearts spawn, until they stop and start giving music notes. You have to let a little time pass before you can get the hearts again. What's going on here is that this is an internal stat, separate from friendship called Affection- as your Affection gets higher, you get various bonuses in battle, ranging from dispelling status ailments for free, surviving attacks with one HP, and avoiding attacks entirely. While this is a little unfair, since the opposing AI doesn't get these benefits, the only one I really care about is the first one: With just a little bit of petting, around two session's worth, you get a 1.2x EXP multiplier. This'll be helpful to keep up with using more than just six Pokemon at a time.
Right, housekeeping done, it's time to go hunting for all the other Pokemon in the route! There are seven possible encounters in the Iki Town grass, four of which are the same ones as the ones nearer our house, and I'd like to catch 'em all while the catch rate is 100%.
...You're kidding me, another Pichu? The Static ability has another effect: If you have the Static Pokemon in the first slot in your party, there's a 50% chance that a wild encounter will be forced to be an Electric type (if one exists on the table). The result? A deluge of Pichus now we've got one.
There we go, that's better. 30% encounter rate in both grasses, Yungoos is the Alolan version of the classic Normal rodent (of which Rattata was the progenitor). Similarly to Pikipek, this means that it is filling a role that many Pokemon before it have filled, and while it does it well, the role itself somewhat demands not being too good. Many of these early Normals fail to impress, and while Yungoos is one of the better ones, it is still a relatively terrible choice compared to literally anything else.
Abilities are Stakeout (if a Pokemon switches, doubles damage) and Strong Jaw (improves the power of moves that deal damage by biting). Strong Jaw is better in the main story, but Stakeout is its claim to fame in competitive battles.
It's EXP, and it's also got some other benefits later.
Yungoos (Sun): With its sharp fangs, it will bite anything. It did not originally live in Alola but was imported from another region.
Lore-wise, Yungoos is based on the mongoose, a real animal that was introduced to Hawai'ian islands to deal with a rat infestation- and similarly, the story goes that Yungoos was imported to Alola to deal with the Rattata infestation. Both Hawai'i and Alola suffered the same fate: Yungoos and Rattata hunt at different times of day, the introduction of the new species did nothing to solve their problem, and gave them another infestation of a foreign species causing havoc on the local wildlife to deal with. Australia has dealt with the same thing, in rabbits and cane toads, and I can say with 120% certainty: Don't do this. It never ends well. Mother Nature works slowly for a reason, and human introduction is the opposite of slow.
Yungoos (Moon): It wanders around in a never-ending search for food. At dusk, it collapses from exhaustion and falls asleep on the spot.
As alluded to, Yungoos are diurnal, meaning it is impossible to find them at night time. Their encounter slot is filled by Rattata at night time, but during the pre-festival sunset, it is always day time as far as Yungoos/Rattata spawns, even in Moon.
You can't automatically send a Pokemon to the Box if you have free space in your party, so I'll be carting around this guy and two others for a while. Mentally, their space in the party is empty.
It would have been so nice to have caught you...
Grubbin (Moon): They often gather near places frequented by electric Pokémon in order to avoid being attacked by bird Pokémon.
I went with Sam leading, to have actual chances of success. Grubbin is a 10% spawn only in the Iki grass, and is the representative to the "early Bug" archetype of the series. Despite this, however, it acts nothing like an early Bug- it doesn't evolve early, and its stats are balanced like a legitimate Bug type. It has a powerful Special Attack stat, but is also titanically slow- bulky enough to survive the hit it's dealing, and it'll be a good hit, but do be careful of that. Unfortunately, its late evolution is so late that I can't realistically use it.
Grubbin has only one Ability, Swarm (increases the power of Bug-type moves when under 1/3 HP). It turns into different Abilities when it evolves, and we'll have a good chance to see Grubbin in action on the other side of the battlefield later.
Well, someone knows which stats it uses.
Metapod (Moon): Its shell is hard, but it's still just a bug shell. It's been known to break, so intense battles with it should be avoided.
Oh, that's unique. Metapod has a 10% chance of being found in the Iki grass, and it's the evolved form of a different Pokemon that can also be found here. Since Grubbin is being interesting, as far as Bug types go, Caterpie is doing the classic job of being an early Bug type and having early evolutions in a form a child can understand.
I didn't notice until I ran (something that happens annoyingly often to me), but this Metapod is also "underlevelled"- no Caterpie the player can raise will evolve sooner than level 7. They throw a few of these around, but mostly they're curiosities more than practical. I'd also recommend catching this Pokemon as a Caterpie.
On my way back to Mum's house for the non-Pichu tall grass, I also grabbed this Poke Ball from behind Lass Aubrey.
There's the effect of Static triggering in battle, on a Pikipek I couldn't run from. When an Ability with a special efffect triggers, there's a blue (your Ability) or red (their Ability) to highlight why the effect is happening. Paralysis gives the opponent a coin flip's chance of failing to attack for being too numb, as well as halving the Speed stat. The latter effect is a nerf from tradition- it used to be a quarter of your Speed. Makes it a little harder for paralysis to stop a speedy Pokemon in its tracks, although it can still do the trick.
Caterpie (Ultra Moon): Its body is soft and weak. In nature, its perpetual fate is to be seen by others as food.
Found the other one. 10% in the Iki grass and 20% closer to home, Caterpie is the series' first example of an early Bug type. It evolves at level 7 into a cocoon and then again at level 10 into a butterfly, meaning its in its final stage before most Pokemon have evolved once. As such, its stats are balanced so it's good but not unbeatable early on, leaving it easy prey for what comes later. Despite being codified as series tradition, there aren't actually that many of them- Johto reused Kanto's, Hoenn gave us Wurmple for Sinnoh to recycle, and then Unova decided to make Bug a real type. Kalos has one for old time's sake (although it's actually kinda good), and while Unova's, Galar's, and Grubbin itself look like three-stage bugs, they sure don't behave like them.
Caterpie has a really awesome Ability called Shield Dust, which blocks damaging moves from dealing bonus effects. Unfortunately, it loses it for Shed Skin (has a chance of removing status ailments) and Compound Eyes (increases accuracy, increases odds of finding a wild Pokemon with a held item) later.
Cute little note, but on this page, any stages you have seen already are depicted in shadow. Helps to establish "yes, this is what you're looking for."
Ledyba (Sun): They are timid and grow uneasy when not in a swarm with others of their kind. The pattern on their backs differs slightly from one to another.
Last, and absolutely the least, is Ledyba. 15% in Iki grass and 20% near home, Ledyba is a Bug/Flying type, and even for a type that already has bad results and a worse reputation, this guy has nothing to work with. It has high Special Defence and access to the screen moves for team support, but it has neither the moves nor the offensive stats to do anything once it has those erected. Doomed to be eternal team support, and barely even decent at that. Note that, like Yungoos, it is also diurnal, and its encounter slot is replaced by something else at night.
Its Abilities are Swarm and Early Bird (halves the duration of the Sleep status). Neither helps it.
As the seventh Pokemon to be caught, this is the screen that displays when organising your party. You can choose what to do with it as well as see the Summaries of it and what you have, to make sure you're making the right call. Ledyba's going into the Box and will never come out unless I want to evolve it. That makes the last of the Pokemon I intend to catch on Route 1, not counting the nocturnals...
Um... hi, Buneary? A 10% spawn in grass with Pichu in it and a 30% otherwise, the Ultra games added Buneary completely- it was impossible to obtain Buneary anywhere in Alola in SM. There's a sizable chunk of such critters- 100 total, but this of course counts Buneary in both stages, so the actual number of new choices is lower. I feel like a lot of people, when discussing the number of "new Pokemon" added, forget this little detail.
Buneary (Ultra Moon): The reason it keeps one ear rolled up is so it can launch a swift counterattack if it's attacked by an enemy.
Buneary is a pure Normal type introduced in DPPt, and it's a fast physical attacker (with a somewhat worryingly low actual physical attack stat) themed around friendship. Most Pokemon come with a base friendship value of 70, but Buneary is special and comes with a value of 0, similar to Legendaries, as well as naturally learning the move Frustration, which grows more powerful the less the user likes its Trainer. If you can get its friendship all the way up to 220, it evolves and learns the "grows more powerful the more its user likes its Trainer" move Return. While it is not the only Pokemon that evolves via friendship (Pichu does too, as well as many Baby Pokemon and Johto evolutions to Kanto Pokemon), it's the only one that manages to make it come off as a tsundere thing.
Funnily enough, Pokemon #024 in Alola Pokedex order in SM is Pichu.
Ultra Moon's playthrough is using these Pokemon unavailable to SM as its theme, and who better to be the first addition than the first of its kind?
Usagi is filled with a bunch of moves, many of which aren't helpful to it (especially Splash, which does nothing for now, but also Foresight doesn't do that much good). As a Normal type, however, it gets a 1.5x damage bonus for using the Normal type move Pound thanks to the Same-Type Attack Bonus (STAB). This means it can often hit anything pretty hard, regardless of weakness- although using a weakness is usually the better strategy. Buneary is good because it handles everything decently, while Litten is excellent on Grass types and terrible on Water types.
Its choices in Ability are Run Away, which guarantees escape from wild encounters, and Klutz, which means it cannot use any hold items it is given. One of these effects is positive. Any questions?
With everything caught, it's time to say hi to the Trainers, focusing mainly on Bethany's team. The reason I waited was mostly because I want to let Zapple and Sam do the work, rather than relying on Oatchi. Relying on Oatchi's just not good dandori.
Uh... huh. I think that sentence needed a comma, but I have no idea where.
A Caterpie. This is going to lean on the easier side.
As an example, Shield Dust means that, no matter how many times it tries, Zapple is categorically incapable of inflicting paralysis with Thunder Shock.
Ow, that's Pichu's lack of Defence at work. I'm sure I was at full health...
Zapple took Shield Dust personally.
And it also gets the chance to whip its tail back and forth. This won't help it, since it won't learn physical moves for a while, but it's something to consider, using it with Zapple and then switching to Oatchi.
Another Refresh mechanic, this one's new to Alola rather than being borrowed from XY like the others- sometimes, after a battle, a Pokemon gets dirty, and you can clean it up for that extra Affection. It's mainly cosmetic, but for one thing.
...Excuse me, what? Apparently Lasses do have a higher payout than Youngsters in this game- Aubrey should have an identical payout to Jimmy otherwise!
Anyway, dirty. There are four kinds of grooming one can do, plus the special one:
- Combing allows you to get knots out of a Pokemon that's been using offensive moves. Only furry and feathery Pokemon can get knotty.
- Brushing allows you to wipe away the dirt from moves like Sand Attack, Bulldoze and sandstorms.
- Towelling allows you to mop up mud from moves like Mud Slap and Sludge Wave.
- Drying allows you to mop up a Pokemon that's been doused by Water moves. Many Water types never need drying
The special thing you can do is swabbing- this will cure a Pokemon of any of the status ailments like paralyse, serving as a free out-of-battle way to deal with them. Sure, doesn't help in battle, but it beats using an item or hoofing it back to safety.
Zapple was knotty. The little icons that appear to represent dirt are the same no matter which Pokemon you are.
...That answers one question, but fails to answer so many more.
It's a little hard to spot, but there's a little corner you can walk in here. I missed it thanks to a screen-switching thing, though.
It's just an Antidote, which cures the Poison status. Good luck using it. It's not even in USUM.
...The spectrum?
These signs give you little advice- mainly the main things to learn, although XY added Advanced Tips for obscure interactions.
This, on the other hand, is stuff we already know even if it wasn't for me going into detail.
Oh... sure thing, kiddo!
Preschoolers are a new Trainer class to BW, but one the series got attached to and included in XY and SM. Honestly, not surprising- it's not even the first example of a kid with Pokemon they ever used, but it did give them a class that can do it no matter where they happen to be. Preschoolers are and always have been unisex.
Right, let's see how long this lets me get away from Tackle...
Not long. Meep.
Fortunately, however, the Yungoos had the exact same problem as the Rattata.
Forgetting to actually hit me.
Yeah, sorry about that, kiddo. You did give me pause, at least.
With some effort, maybe. Not for a few years, though- get some legs that can go places.
USUM shakes up the Trainers, although the significance will vary from route to route. Lass Aubrey is made the initial encounter, using a Buneary (and thankfully losing the weird "my Pokemon is my sister" comment), while Youngster Jimmy uses her Caterpie and Preschooler Oliver inheriting Jimmy's Rattata. Most changes will be adding the new species or touching up the difficulty, but these are I think because they could.
Cures Paralysis. This is one we'll have use for right now, but not likely.
Before we get to attend the festival in USUM, we have to stop and visit these two suspicious guys hanging around outside.
You can't even go into that far grass before entering their encounter zone.
These two should look rather familiar to an astute viewer, and that should raise several questions. Not helping things is this... moderately ominous encounter theme.
This is, of course, the guy with the moustache speaking. Not that you needed me to tell you the woman in the back was the one on top of things.
...Knowing what they're talking about, it's amazing how wrong this assumption is. To be fair, they do have some way to go before they know what's going on around here, but still.
...Guys, it's sunset. It gets brighter.
(Or maybe they were already around for brighter places and that's what bothers them.
Moustache: "I hate the light."
Woman: "Our plan is to acquire the light, remember?"
Moustache: "Still hate it."
There are a number of reasons for that timeframe, and I don't like any of them.
These two comment on how we, too, are foreigners to the Alola region. Although considering just where these guys come from, I think trying to call us in any way similar is stretching the truth to breaking point.
And on that note, they wander off. This will not be the last we see of them.
Ultra Sun's encounters with ??? and ??? are all replaced by ??? and ???, the sort of man who knows what's what and a young girl who feels more trainee than proper member of the team. Yes, the four of them have names, but I'll let them introduce themselves when they feel like not being mysterious. Because their character dynamics are different, their conversations are different, but I imagine you don't lose anything from it.
Man: So this… is what they call a festival! It does look like the people are having fun... Not that they should! As though this was any time to celebrate.
Trainee: You don't have to try so hard to act like you're not interested, you know? Maybe a festival isn't so bad sometimes. The aura measurements are pretty high, too!
Man: Are they? It is only thanks to the Blinding One that Alola is overflowing with such brilliance. Though the Blinding One is left in such a state now, so dark and enfeebled...
Trainee: We've just gotta make sure the Blinding One can shine like it used to again, right! So let's get started by having a look around!
Man: You…are likewise new to the shores of Alola. A fellow traveler from a distant land…
Never mind, their motives are entirely different. Ultra Moon's duo are afraid of the Blinding One, while Ultra Sun's are trying to restore it. Yes, these four characters serve the same cause.
With those guys out of the way, time to attend this festival.
We even get an appropriate theme to go with the festival.
Hi to you too, Hala.
He has a point, but still, that was great timing.
...He jokes, but yeah, we can't really see many people hanging around. They're all in the part of town we can't go to.
Hau's waiting up there, and yes, talking to him will trigger story sequences.
Over here, these two- the woman and her kid- talk about the ceremony, mentioning that of course Tapu Koko likes seeing people get into battles.
And also Tapu Koko apparently has a protective streak and will fight anyone who mistreats Pokemon. Gotta pick fights with somebody.
Literally every other NPC in Iki Town fails to acknowledge the festival. It would be less jarring if Hala didn't make a big deal about how the turnout is trying their best to lean hard into the celebrations.
Sorry, Hau, I was going on a Pokemon hunt.
I'm afraid not. I was hoping that was intentional and not the lot of you forgetting. I guess being Hau has its disadvantages.
Was anybody informed ahead of time as to the content and purpose of our role in the festival? Moreover, is anyone considering actually telling me what I'll be doing? Because it sure doesn't sound like it.
Yes, Nebby, we know you're in there.
...That sounds like something we can do. Why not, you know... mention that? It requires little preparation from us and means we're not spending the whole build-up worrying.
Another match between us and Hau. This time, though, things will be different. Hau'll put us on our toes!
Contrary to most people, Lillie sees battles as a place where Pokemon get hurt. When you see where she's from, you understand why she'd have this opinion, but it does give her a kind of "Team Plasma" bit to her that the story is neither prepared to discuss nor interested in debating. Which does leave her opinion that "Pokemon battles are inherently harmful" is seldom openly challenged...
Hala scolds us for having injured Pokemon, mostly as justification for the free heal. We were told to explore while we walked here, Hala. Not my fault Iki doesn't have a Centre.
If you happen to say no here, you are kicked out of the cutscene (so you can save), and thus Kukui, Lillie and Hau get dialogue:
Kukui: The moves a Pokemon uses are filled with their Trainer's desire to win, you know?
Lillie: So you've also become a Pokemon Trainer now... Haven't you, Bethany? A Trainer who fights together with Pokemon...
Hau: I'm so excited for this battle that I think I might seriously explode!
This battle gets a bit of nice build-up, mostly to hammer home that this is for its significance to the culture more than just an excuse to have us fight something.
And even a nice, cute prayer to Tapu Koko as they prepare the offering.
And there's that in-game confirmation Hau's Hala's grandson. Someone who was definitely going to be here as a matter of course.
And as for his opponent... us. An untested new Trainer that has nevertheless earned Tapu Koko's approval, and is thus also likely fast-tracked to be involved in the next battle.
The onlookers are rather surprised to see the new girl being thrown in as part of the ceremony, although they manage to accept it as just "Tapu Koko doing Tapu Koko things."
Told you Mum's here watching. The Pokemon she calls out is your lead- for my other runs, this wasn't my starter, but this run wanted to lead with Oatchi.
Yes, Hau. I hope this battle is fun for you. Because it won't be fair.
Time for the second battle with Hau, and like a good rival, he's caught his second Pokemon. If you haven't caught and prepared a second Pokemon of your own, you're going to be in some trouble- especially if you picked Popplio. We have a team of six, but as mentioned, I plan to proceed as if losing all three of Oatchi, Zapple and Sam is a loss condition. The other three are for moral support.
Samesies! A lot of Alolan boss fights are going to be using Alolan Pokemon prominently, because that is just a sensible thing to do as a Pokemon designer. As a result, expect some of my team choices to match the opponent's. There just aren't enough Alolan families to avoid using things the other guys thought were good.
Oatchi leads, as previously alluded to, and while the Flying type is weak to Pichu's Electric moves, Grass resists- so Rowlet doesn't counter Pichu as decisively as he would if he were pure Grass, but it does feel right. Especially since Sam has no such defences and Zapple is going to be a pain for us both.
Another feature new to SM that we'll take the time to observe are those little labels on our offensive moves that tell us what kind of damage they'll do. We only see these indicators because we have already seen Pichu before (...ha), and they're a nice QoL for remembering exactly what you need to be doing to deal with them. I know Pokemon that change types mid-line confuse me, for not remembering which stages change types, and there are some weird little combinations and obscure resistances I still haven't memorised (Rock/Grass is weak to, like... Bug? Steel?).
For some reason, this one kicked up a storm on its introduction among the fanbase. I don't see as much vitriol for it anymore, but mostly because the fanbase has... bigger issues with the series.
Pichu may decide to waste its time with Tail Whip. Unless Hau's starter is Rowlet, this is generally terrible on every level, since the only physical moves he can have are Tackle and Leafage. You can whip your tail until the Miltank come home, it's not going to make Water Gun do any more damage. There is actually no equivalent move to Tail Whip for Special Defence.
In addition to the other reasons to use Leafage over Tackle, Leafage is also a physical move that does not do contact damage (we're throwing leaves at Pichu instead of slapping it with our wing). No Static for us.
Call that a buzz?
So long. Now then, next Pokemon...
Who else?
I use the free switch to send in Zapple, so she can get some EXP.
Electric is also super effective on Water, but crucially, it doesn't resist Water in turn.
Also, Popplio has the Special Defence that Thunder Shock is still going to take some time to work its magic.
Time poor Zapple just does not have.
Sorry, dear. I guess we have to rely on Oatchi.
That is something that comes in handy. Oatchi is still a problem-solver for Hau, it seems.
Hsu did not deserve to be beaten so effectively.
Oatchi learns his first new move! Level 8 gives him Peck, a move we have seen on Sam before- a move around equal in power to Tackle, but with the Flying type. This means it can be super-effective, as well as having STAB for Oatchi.
Zapple appreciated the participation trophy.
Indeed it is, my friend. You put up more of a fight against Noah, Ray and Ailey, but Oatchi can take Pichu and Popplio.
It was promising, but I think I'd rather wait for a battle with a bit more strategy and push-and-pull to say that.
Good. So did I, but also it's easier to say that when Oatchi smash.
Tapu Koko sees the same promise I do- these two are going to be good later. Or, perhaps, one of them is going to be good. Maybe not the one the people of Iki think it is.
Hala returns the Sparkling Stone to us, as promised, and has turned it into a Z-Ring. This will allow us to use Alola's Special Mechanic, but we can't actually use it until we get a second piece, which will not happen until we beat the first major boss.
For some reason, it's a Z-Power Ring in USUM. These are considered different items even by Bulbapedia, but for the life of me I can't tell what the difference is other than perhaps "explaining the new available choices USUM adds."
Z-Power! The game won't be explaining Z-Power until we can actually use it, so I'm not either, but I'm interested in why it's called "Z" in particular.
Sparkling Stones still require being received from the Tapu, but the way Alola seems to work implies most kids wind up with one somehow. Presumably, receiving it from the Tapu directly is the rare thing.
You need only a single Z-Crystal to draw out Z-Power. However, multiple Z-Crystals grant multiple options for how.
(Also, early adopters of SM received a Pokemon that had access to Z-Power before the main story can do so. It was a classic Pokemon, so I'll show it off in Moon.)
Please do not say I have a mission when Lillie is standing right there. The odds my mission is to deal with Nebby is approaching "very high".
Hala reckons the best thing to do, if Tapu Koko wants us to do something impressive, is make ourselves stronger by completing the Island Challenge, and if our mission comes up, we'll be more ready than we would be otherwise.
The fifth island is a separate thing. The Island Challenge possibly always goes in the order we do, but maybe people living on different islands start on their home island and move on from there.
...The what? Unlike other regions' Pokemon Leagues, this isn't an actual position, merely a title, and yet Kukui addresses it as if it were a The. Despite the fact that this would make the lore much more neat and tidy, it took Pokemon until Scarlet and Violet to consider the idea of making "League Champion" a title rather than solely a position.
And here's where we get to something that makes my coverage that much more confusing: Kukui actually explains what the Island Challenge is now in USUM, complete with giving us the little amulet that denotes we're a participant. In the interests of sticking to SM's pacing, I'll throw the USUM stuff for it in there, but do note that slight change.
With that announcement, Hau and Hala head home to "right next door", while we start our walk back down Route 1.
...Hey wait, how often is this festival? It might be this is Lillie's first time attending one. She's only been here since after the opening sequence.
...Nebby can fly. I'm not 100% sure he was in danger after it used its power.
I certainly was, though. To say I owe it plenty is no small exaggeration.
If you say "Oh yeah?", Lillie gives a bit more of an indignant tone as she reminds you why you ought. It's kinda weird to think of Noah being ungrateful...
Until tomorrow, Lillie. Until tomorrow.
In USUM, her parting remark feels more suited to the situation, instead commenting on how nice it is to be part of Alola rather than sorta building up to immediately bonding with Ailey. While I do kinda like the personal angle, I don't think SM has earned that line yet.
USUM also adds another scene where we introduce the ???s. Like the one outside, I don't even think they're named yet. There is only so much foreshadowing to drop before you start looking for what's casting it.
Whatever it was our battle with Hau was, it also tripped up their radars. Although it remains unclear what they're seeking is something to be coveted or something to be shared- and I would much rather it be one than the other.
Definitely has to do with Z-Power, though. So, something they'll get more interested in the more Z-Crystals we get.
We just got sent on a challenge to collect as many as possible.
Thoughts that get alarming quickly. Envious of what?
...Yeah, uh... not burying that lede at all.
I'm sure I'm supposed to be "stopping you", but I'm not sure what exactly one does to do that. I assume it might entail stopping the Island Challenge, which... no.
Man: That was a most mysterious event... A festival to celebrate drawing forth one's full power...
Trainee: You looked like you were enjoying the show. Did you want to take part in the battles, too?
Man: Don't be silly... We are here to investigate and learn.
Man: Even with all of our technology, we cannot control the Blinding One's light... Thus we are left with no choice but to try to stop it by force! And yet it seems that the humans of this Alola can wield powerful auras.
Trainee: Yeah, what'd they call that thing? A Z-Power Ring? Its aura readings were off the chart! Do you think that's why they can control auras like that? Alola is definitely an amazing place! Let's go check the next site!
The two of you are clearly interpreting your plans differently, and I don't know how well those differences intersect. They both clearly have the same long-term goal and both their plans would work towards that, but Moon's duo (rather unsurprisingly) has the more concrete plan for how to get there.
...What.
...Did you want me to come back later?
Yes, yes she did.
I don't want to know what I walked in on, as long as I don't walk in on it again.
...Granted, yes, but there's only so many people in Iki I can battle at my skill level. I need more than Oatchi, Zapple and Sam before "battle all night" is an option I can take.
Right after that last joke, I don't really want to interpret that as her trying to get us out of the house, but I have the strangest feeling it is. But hey, yeah, I am kinda interested in the island challenge idea, thanks for asking.
And that's the end of the festival, and this update.
Next time: So what is an Island Challenge, anyway?
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