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POKÉMON SUN AND MOON VERSIONS

Developer : Game Freak Price : £ 32 Platform : 3DS Release date : 18 November , 2016

anniversary for Pokémon wouldn ' t mean much if it didn ' t go out with a bang . So we celebrate Pokémon Sun and Moon bringing the most revolutionary changes for some time . They should satisfy long time fans as well as newcomers to the series .

But some things never change - and that ’ s not always a good thing . Changes you would expect include those to the battle system , the inclusion of trials and mounts , and the Hawaiian theme . However , The Pokémon Company still haven ' t found a way to make the story engaging .

You and your mom move to the warm and colorful island of Alola . You must travel to the four islands and defeat the mighty Kahuna trainers at each island .

Defeating the Kahunas is done entirely different from the previous Pokémon gym leaders . Your previous reward would be a gym badge that

proved your skills as a trainer , allowing you to travel to your next destination . Now your trainer must complete a series of trials ( usually three ) before facing the Kahuna .

These consist of different tasks such as clearing out a cave of Digletts before facing the trial boss , berry gathering with your Pokémon mount Stoutland , experiencing your very own Old Man and the Sea with your buddy Lapras and hunting down the biggest fish and other various of mini-puzzles .

After finishing these smaller tasks , you go up against a Totem Pokémon . Usually they

are just the evolved form of the other Pokémon you were fighting . These trials , albeit not challenging , were refreshing after the previous Pokémon gym formula .

After defeating the Kahuna you don ' t receive a badge , but instead a ' Z-crystal '. Z-moves work almost the same as TM discs .

Any Pokémon can obtain Z-moves as long as their type matches the Z-power . If , you obtain a fire Z-move , only Pokémon with fire moves can learn the fire Z-move .

Of course , there ' s always a catch . Z-move moves can only be cast once per battle .

Pokemon Sun and Moon

For reasons of varying effectiveness , I hardly used Z-moves . Sure they looked cool with their epic animation but unfortunately I found them to not do much damage .

Along your trails you ' ll get snippets of the storyline , which it should be no surprise to anyone is a bit of a yawn . Even worse than the story is Team Skull . These quirky wannabe thugs , dressed predominantly in pink and black are running around Alola island doing the usual - interfering with other trainers ’ travels , stealing Pokémon and causing general mischief .

On the positive side , you have characters like Hau , as warm and cheerful as Alola itself . He is you best friend , also completing his trials and therefore follows you along your journey . Then there ' s Lillie , the mysterious girl you encounter from the beginning . Although

not a trainer , her goal is to help a Pokémon called Nebby back to his home . No Pokémon game would be complete without a professor , and this time it ' s professor Kukui who gives you your first Pokémon and tags along on your journey .

As a Pokémon trainer who only started with Pokémon X , type matchups took me a long time to work out . Some of it was logical . Water beats fire , fire beats grass , ground beats electric , but what is psychic good against ? Or ice , fairy , bug , flying ? What happens when your Pokémon is both types ?

Now Pokémon Sun and Moon has made it easier on everyone . Your Pokémon ' s moves now show their effectiveness during a battle .

This little cheat sheet makes it easier for you to know which Pokémon to use , but there ' s a catch - it only works if you ' ve en-