Pokemon Ultra Moon Rainbow Rocket 2: The Tides of Battle

The red really makes the place look evil in a way that Lusamine's cold, white mansion did not. The song tries a little harder than the Mansion needed to, though.

Our first stop is the only room that could be found in SM- Lusamine's bedroom. The mirror remains frustratingly inert.

So do I, but far less pleasant ones.

...The only thing behind there is Lusamine's trophy room, and I'm sure you haven't been in there since this adventure started.

And I'm... actually, I'm not sure whether or not I want there to be a second way in. Either way, looks like there'll be more of the mansion to explore...

Pokemon Ultra Moon Rainbow Rocket 1: Hostile Takeover

When last we left Ailey, she had just caught herself a pair of Stakataka and was hurried home. This update takes place shortly after the start of the postgame, and thus, she doesn't yet have things like her Mega Stones and the Choice items. Fortunately, her team doesn't mean squat.

Mum, stop fooling yourself. If you haven't justified it yet, you might need actual help to get that motivation.

Oh, another one of those weirdly tiny ? bubbles. Seems someone's knocking on the door.

Huh. Sophocles. Not who I was expecting to see.

Pokemon Alola Bonus: Ultra Beasts

Noah gets three boss fights, and fittingly, I found reason to use all three of the non-Melia Megas.

Pokemon Sun Ultra Beasts 2: Gaslighting the Girlboss

I believed we finished up last time with catching the two UB03 Lightings?

Pokemon Sun Postgame 1: Man of Many Languages

Bethany and Noah's post-game plots will largely take place with these motels, and are fairly blatantly an excuse to give them rare things. There are some bosses, though... admittedly, only one that isn't a Type Expert.

This is the first time that most players will see Gen VII Anabel. Since we've already bumped into her in USUM, the surprise factor goes down a little, but we still haven't seen the explanation for who this lady is.

It turns out they take their sweet time explaining this one.

I'm not sure I like you knowing my name. Although I am a public figure now, I suppose...

Pokemon Alola Bonus: Red and Blue

We're going to have a series of tough fights ahead of us, starting off with a brand new one.

Pokemon Sun Poni Gauntlet: Red, Blue, and Yellow

Next stop is the area past Poni Plains, that which Ray and Ailey cannot access until they've sorted out the Blacephalon and Stakataka.

Speaking of, we still need to get those guys out of our way there, huh?

We saw the first part of this dialogue last time, when Ray tried to get past. This is the same for Ailey, who has not yet talked to them.

Anabel is planning on participating in the Battle Tree, which does make itself apparent mechanically. In the Battle Tree, we can encounter many nostalgia NPCs, including most of the ones who have appeared in the story thus far, plus a few new ones. One thing that's rather cute- Anabel won't appear in SM's Battle Tree until they actually meet her.

Ray's dialogue actually picks up here, which is a little strange, but it beats the alternatives.

Looker decides he's got one more present for us, this time going with one of those fancy items that Pokemon adds and just kinda... hopes people figure out the use case for.

...Actually, come to think of it, we have seen it before: Bethany got one from Ace Trainer Makana back on Route 3. Ailey instead got the Roost TM there. The Red Card is good for stopping sweeps cold, but you really have to know what you're doing with it.

We'll learn why Nanu cares about Anabel over in SM. Although I really would prefer it if disappointing a retiree wasn't the reason you were so concerned about your female boss.

This is a little bit of an unfortunate thought to follow his last one, particularly as understanding the context requires some understanding of Looker's history. Back in his first appearance in Pokemon Platinum, Looker was shown apprehending Team Galactic with the aid of a Croagunk. Although Looker has been a common sight in Pokemon since, his Croagunk has not joined him. Looker has also hinted at, and possibly confirmed here, that said Croagunk is no longer around to appear. Hopefully he's just on a farm upstate and not, you know... on a farm upstate.

Anyway, Poni Coast. This is a really barren area in the original SM, containing only one Double Battle, a few items, and two possible Dugtrio visible encounters. USUM upped the Trainer Battle count, but mostly, this place just tends to be a place to grind for drops from the Tauros rocks. If you really want that sort of thing.