Pokémon fans were caught off-guard last week when Pokémon composer and director Junichi Masuda revealed there would be new information concerning "Pokemon Sun" and "Moon," the following week on May 10.
New #PokemonSunMoon information will be revealed on May 10th, around 21:00 JST! Stay tuned everybody!
— 増田順一@GAME FREAK inc. (@Junichi_Masuda) May 6, 2016
The promise of news was alluring, sure, but it was also met with a bit of skepticism. After all, just a month ago, Masuda appeared on a television Japanese television show to debut what many had assumed was going to be a new look at the next "Pokémon" games. Instead, he showed off the "Pokémon" 20th anniversary video that aired ahead of the franchise's birthday and then later joked that the games would include "over 10 new Pokémon."
May 10 has arrived, and the information certainly didn't disappoint. Today, the Pokémon Company revealed an all-new trailer displaying what fans had craved ever since Sun and Moon were revealed in February: verified information.
So what did we learn from the trailers? First off, we saw game play showing off the three starters in action and the region, seemingly based on Hawaii, named Alola. Furthermore, we saw the box art which has Solgaleo and Lunaala on the front. Last but not least, we finally have a solid release date: Nov., 18, 2016.
In addition, the official Pokémon website updated its page to reveal more information about the starters: Rowlet, the grass starter; Litten, the fire starter; and Popplio, the water starter. Many fans already knew what to expect from these starters thanks to a few trademarks which were uncovered on Twitter, but now they finally have a face to go with a name.
Rowlet, known as the Grass Quill Pokémon, is a grass/flying type that looks like an owl. Here's the entry on the website: "Rowlet can attack without making a sound! It flies silently through the skies, drawing near to its opponent without being noticed, and then lashing out with powerful kicks. It can also attack from a distance using the razor-sharp leaves that form part of its feathers."
The entries also reveal basic, battle-related information about the three. All three will come with the standard ability for starters which increases the power of a certain type of attack: Overgrow for grass, Blaze for fire and Torrent for water. Furthermore, they each will come with an attack of their own element to take advantage of STAB from the get-go: Leafage for Rowlet, Ember for Litten and Water Gun for Popplio.
Unfortunately, we only know their base forms, so what the three starters will look like once they evolve to their final stage is completely unknown.
So what's next for "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon" now that the starters have been revealed? More information about the battle system? New Mechanics? The legendary Pokémon? Only time will tell, and we may not have to wait too long, either, as CoroCoro is supposed to have information in this month's issue.
Check out another video that was released alongside the trailer below:
