[DISCUSSION] Top 5 Little Details in Sun & Moon!

[0kamii]

Hey, everybody! It's 0kamii, and today I want to spread some love for the little things...

When Pokémon Sun and Moon were first announced and news of all the different features being added/removed from the franchise came in, many people were stoked to see how it would effect the way we play the games. Naturally, a lot of these features, like Poké Ride and Poké Pelago, actually proved to be quite useful. However other features, like Battle Royal and the dumb BP grinding at the Battle Tree, didn't go over so well. What joins all of these features however is that they were all heavily advertised during pre-release. Only once the games come out did astute viewers, like you and I, spot some of the smaller things that Nintendo implimented into the game. Details that would have otherwise gone unnoticed, were it not for me noticing, and then telling you...right now...

Today, I present:

Top 5 Little Details in Sun & Moon!

5) Moving Backgrounds in Battle

 

Moving battle animations are nothing new to the Pokémon franchise. I'm fairly certain they've been around since Gen 3, but only now in the most recent generation have more detailed backgrounds come into focus. The image above, taken from the Sun and Moon demo, isn't moving, but if you go back and watch the footage from any PokéTuber that covered the subject, you'll see that the clouds move. The tree palms also sway in the breeze. And while that's not much, I definitely think it adds to the atmosphere of Alola. And I hope it's a feature that makes a return in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

 

4) Elimination of the PC Options Menu

 

Remember this awful screen? Yeah, apologies for the sloppy screenshot, but my 3DS doesn't have a capture card. But anyway, when you boot up the PC in the Gen 7 games, this screen no longer appears. Rotom checks your Dex for you, the trainer PR feature was removed, and the Hall of Fame is recorded on Mount Lanakila. Besides that whole, "Withdraw, Deposit, Move" pokémon feature, no one used it. We all moved 'Move' to the top and just smashed the A button. Luckily, this screen no longer appears in the Gen 7 PC, saving us all from that 2-second frustration.

 

3) Lusamine's Angry Pokémon

 

Here's a detail that went largely unnoticed until people started recording the game and posting the footage onto YouTube. As it turns out, the second time you battle Lusamine in Ultra Space, all of her pokémon have a distinctly angry expression, except Bewear. I don't know why this detail is so satisfying, but when I played through my Sun version for a second time, I laughed at this detailed and found a simple pleasure in this sneaky little Easter egg. Thanks Nintendo, you got me there.

 

2) Trainers Behind Pokémon

 

As a trainer of Gen 3, I can proudly say that trainers being behind their pokémon as already been seen in the Orre side series games. However, that was largely due to graphic limits in the main series games. In the handheld versions however, to see trainers behind there pokémon after almost a decade of it just not being possible really shows how far the series has come, and it's definitely one of my favorite little details in Gen 7. However, there's still one simple detail that makes me even happier!

 

1) NPCs Use Different Poké Balls

 

I don't care what y'all say. When I noticed that NPCs used balls other than the standard Poké Ball, I squealed! It was such a tiny detail that most people probably would have otherwise missed, and as a matter of fact, this was the little detail that inspired this entire post! I just love seeing NPCs throw their mons out in Ultra Balls, Beast Balls, Great Balls, Timer Balls, Net Balls, et cetera. It's such a small detail, but I can't get over how much more real it makes the Pokémon World to me! For six generations we've had trainers that just all magically seem to catch all their Metagross, Tyranitar, Aerodactyl, Haxorus, and Registeel in Poké Balls. Well, not anymore. And I couldn't be happier!

In my opinion, these are some of the best unsung details included in Sun and Moon. And when the sequels are released, I'll be sure to scope the games for more of the little things. Because let's be real, the little things are what matter most. And I think my partner would agree. I love you, Flaine. Also, in case you missed my last post, I posted a [RATE MY TEAM] over in the competitive forums. All suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Battle onwards, friends!

- 0kamii