Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

Pokémon Ultra Sun (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ウルトラサン Pocket Monsters Ultra Sun) and Pokémon Ultra Moon (Japanese: ポケットモンスター ウルトラムーン Pocket Monsters Ultra Moon) are the second paired versions of Generation VII and feature an alternate storyline from Pokémon Sun and Moon. The games are available on the Nintendo 3DS.

The games were announced worldwide on June 6, 2017, at 11 pm JST through Nintendo Direct. The paired versions were released worldwide on November 17, 2017. All copies of the game are playable in nine languages: Japanese, English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese.

The games feature Pokémon that did not appear in Pokémon Sun and Moon, including, as a series first, entirely new Pokémon introduced in the midst of a generation.

Plot
The game begins with a video call made by Professor Kukui to the undefined. Professor Kukui helps create a for the player before the player and the mother move from Kanto to Alola. Meanwhile, at roughly the same time, a young girl is seen escaping what seems to be a lab with in her bag. As she gets sandwiched between the workers from the lab on one side and alien-looking people in strange uniforms on the other, the Pokémon teleports itself and the girl away from the lab and away from danger.

Three months later, the player, along with the mother and, are enjoying their new home on Melemele Island. While taking a stroll on, the player gets attacked by a wild , only for a , and  to suddenly arrive on the scene and scare it off. Professor Kukui soon joins the player and explains these Pokémon are supposed to be given out as starter Pokémon on behalf of the island kahuna Hala. Excited by what he just saw, he decides to give the player one of the three Pokémon right away. Before arriving to Iki Town, Professor Kukui and the player run into Hala's grandson Hau, who immediately takes a liking to the player. Of the two remaining starter Pokémon, Hau chooses the once that is weak to the player's starter and challenges the player to a battle.

As the player, Professor Kukui and Hau reach Iki Town, the kahuna is nowhere to be found, so Kukui sends the player to the Mahalo Trail in hopes of finding the kahuna. On the trail, the player spots the girl that escaped the lab and follows her to the Plank Bridge.

The Pokémon that the girl was holding escapes her bag as they reach the Plank Bridge, happy about the new environment it is in. Suddenly, a flock of attack the defenseless Pokémon, leaving the girl worrying and asking the player to save her friend Nebby. As she asks this, one of the Spearow rushes towards the player, making the chosen starter save the day again. Once the Spearow is dealt with, the player rushes in and guards Nebby from further harm before Nebby uses its power to destroy the bridge. Before the player and Nebby fall to their doom, flies through the Spearow and bring the pair back to safely. Thankful for rescuing Nebby, the girl gives the player a Sparkling Stone that appeared after Tapu Koko's departure.

The player and the girl then return to Iki Town and get greeted by Kukui. Kukui introduces the girl as his lab assistant, Lillie, before the kahuna, Hala, returns from resolving a problem on the island. After Lillie explains the encounter she and the player had with Tapu Koko, Hala gets touched by the moment. Kukui then gives the player a Pokédex and sends him/her to the mother to show off the new Pokémon. Before the player leaves, Hala notices the sparkling stone and asks if he could borrow it, to which the player obliges, before inviting the player to a festival the following day.

The next day, Kukui stops by the player's house again and takes him to so he can teach him/her how to catch Pokémon. Kukui then lets the player train before going to the festival. Before reaching the festival, the player runs into the alien-looking people who seem preoccupied by auras surrounding Iki Town. They briefly talk to the player before leaving.

At the festival, Hala and Kukui reveal that it is an event where Pokémon battles are held in honor of the Guardian Pokémon in Alola. Hau and the player battle once again in honor of Tapu Koko, and this time the entire town watches, including Lillie, the player's mother and Meowth. After Tapu Koko approves of the battling, Hala returns the sparkling stone, which is now converted into a Z-Ring. Hala explains the Z-Ring's powers and the Z-Crystals that can only be acquired by participating in the island challenge, where the player must travel to all four of Alola's islands to become the island challenge champion. Afterwards, the player then returns home to prepare for the next day.

The next day, Lillie visits the player and the two head to Kukui's lab. In the lab, Kukui upgrades the player's Pokédex into a Rotom Pokédex and explains more about the island challenge, which includes taking trials and getting recognized by each island kahuna. As the three leave the lab, the sky momentarily darkens. Kukui dismisses the event as an unforeseen eclipse.

Before taking any trials, the player must attend the to learn the basics of battling. Luckily, the player is able to take on the teacher's assignments and the player is able to take Captain Ilima's trial in Verdant Cavern. After beating the teacher in battle, Ilima invites the player to Hau'oli City after the player trains some more.

When the player meets up with Ilima, two s appear, but they appear to be minor threats to Ilima. After a quick lesson from the player and Ilima, the Grunts flee and Ilima heals the player's Pokémon before challenging the player to a battle himself. After the battle, Ilima gets impressed by the player's team and allows the player to attempt his trial. On the way to Verdant Cavern, a drags the player to the Big Wave Beach as more Team Skull Grunts are causing trouble with other people. The Grunts get defeated by the player, and they announce to mess with Ilima's trial.

As the player makes it to Verdant Cavern, Ilima explains the rules of the trial and lets the player attempt it. Midway into the trial, the Grunts from earlier challenge the player again and get defeated. The Grunts bother a wild Pokémon in the area, unwittingly helping the player complete the next section of the trial. As the player almost completes the trial, /Totem  ambushes the player and challenges the player to a battle. Upon defeat of the Pokémon, the player completes the trial.

After hearing that Lillie has gone missing, the player heads to and into Melemele Meadow, where the player finds Lillie. Lillie again loses Nebby and the player has to go find it. The player finds a small opening and crawls inside, emerging in the Seaward Cave, where he/she finds Nebby in the company of the same alien-looking people, Dulse and Zossie/Phyco and Soliera, one of whom challenges the player to a battle. After dealing with them, the player returns to Lillie with Nebby in tow and they both leave the meadow to be greeted by Hau and Kukui. After hearing that Hau and the player passed their first trial, Kukui sends the player back to Iki Town for their grand trial with island kahuna Hala.

After defeating Hala, the player receives another Z-Crystal and is given a Ride Pager in order to ride Pokémon like in the Alola region. The player makes way to the next island, Akala Island, surfing on the back of a. On Akala Island, the player attends the trials of Lana, Kiawe, and Mallow before battling island kahuna Olivia. On Akala Island, the player once again encounters Team Skull and Dulse and Zossie/Phyco and Soliera as well as new people like a suspicious scientist from Unova called Colress, a neglected member of Team Skull named Gladion who owns a Pokémon called, and Hapu, a wanderer traveling the region with her. After defeating the island kahuna, Faba invites the player and Hau to Aether Paradise.

At Aether Paradise, the player and Hau meets the Aether Foundation President Lusamine and learn that the company is responsible for making Aether Paradise a sanctuary for abused Pokémon. In the middle of the meeting, a weird creature from another universe attacks the player and after a short battle retreats to its own world. That's when Dulse and Zossie/Phyco and Soliera enter the scene once again. Lusamine introduces them as the Ultra Recon Squad, and explains that she is working with them to protect Alola from an otherworldly Pokémon called. Lusamine then sends the player and Hau to Ula'ula Island to complete their island challenge.

On Ula'ula Island, the player prepares for the trials of Sophocles and Acerola. While taking these trials, the player learns about a under construction and is challenged to participate in it as soon as the player completes the island challenge. After completing the two trials, the player meets the Team Skull leader Guzma and visits their base at Po Town. After defeating the team in Po Town, Police officer Nanu and Acerola thank the player for rescuing a stolen and head to the Aether House.

Upon entering the house, Hau tells the player that Team Skull's Admin, Plumeria, kidnapped Lillie and Nebby. Gladion overhears the conversation, and demands Hau and the player to travel with him to the ferry terminal for their next destination. Before the trio leave, Nanu challenges the player as an island kahuna. Nanu gives the player another Z-Crystal and asks Gladion what he is depending on Team Skull for before departing. Gladion reveals to the player and Hau that they have to return to Aether Paradise to rescue Lillie and Nebby. Despite the crazy story, the player and Hau tag with Gladion to Aether Paradise.

At Aether Paradise, employees begin to attack the team as they believe they are intruders. They eventually reach Faba who, after a battle from the player, redirects the trio to the lower level of Aether Paradise, with the trio unaware that it is a trap in order to buy time. After learning of the trap, they head back up to find Faba, who brought reinforcements to battle them. Wicke then appears to them and says that Lillie might be with the President, but it would be hard to get to them. Faba then ambushes them again with more employees. The team defeat the employees and Faba again, resulting in Faba giving them access to the president's office.

The trio then spot Team Skull and Guzma in front of where they need to go. Gladion immediately takes on Guzma, while Hau and the player take out the Grunts. After taking out the Grunts, Guzma takes down Gladion and the player takes his place in battle. Guzma gets defeated by the player again and is forced to let the team move onward. The player then runs into Lusamine and Lillie. The player witnesses a darker side of Lusamine and learns that Nebby is being sacrificed to open an Ultra Wormhole to the place where Necrozma dwells. Lillie tries to reason with her mother, but fails to do so, resulting in the player going after Lusamine.

Gladion and Hau catch up to the player and Gladion tells his mother she is not ready to fight Necrozma on her own, but again, Lusamine ignores her children and opens the wormhole anyways. She challenges the player to prove her children she can handle any threat with her Pokémon, but even a loss is not enough to deter her, as she calls a similarly stubborn Guzma with her, and they both cross over. After the Ultra Wormhole closes, Lillie checks on Nebby, who has now transformed into a.

The next day, Gladion gives Lillie the Moon Flute/Sun Flute and helps the player and Lillie get to the final Island of Alola, Poni Island and recommends finding the island kahuna. The player and Lillie eventually find Hapu again, who reveals the island has no kahuna. The three then travel to the Ruins of Hope where grants Hapu the honor of becoming Poni Island's new kahuna after they both teamed up to battle an Ultra Beast. Hapu then talks about the Legendary Pokémon / and how there needs to be a ceremony at the Altar of the Sunne/Altar of the Moone involving two particular flutes. Lillie shows Hapu the flute Gladion gave her and are told the other flute is on Exeggutor Island. The player then heads to Exeggutor Island to obtain Lillie's flute counterpart.

After the player returns to Poni Island, he/she and Lillie head to the Altar. On the way to the Altar, they get ambushed by Team Skull. Team Skull battles the player in order to try and get them to talk about where Guzma disappeared to, but Plumeria puts a stop to the battling. Plumeria apologizes for her actions and lets them continue onwards in hopes of rescuing Guzma. Soon after, Dulse and Zossie/Phyco and Soliera catch up to the duo and challenge the player. They explain that now that Lusamine has proven to be untrustworthy, the player is their only chance to stop Necrozma. The player makes way through the Vast Poni Canyon, walking into an unmanned Trial in the process, and completing it.

The player and Lillie reach the Altar and both prepare to play their flutes and either wait until dawn or dusk to summon the Legendary Pokémon. After playing their flutes, an odd power in the Altar forms and takes Lillie's bag to the source of the power. Nebby is taken from the bag and evolves into Solgaleo/Lunala. Nebby prepares to take the player and Lillie to Ultra Space with its new power, but an Ultra Wormhole suddenly opens, and Guzma and Lusamine fall out of it, followed by a levitating Necrozma. Necrozma immediately spots Nebby and assaults it, ultimately besting it in a battle and merging with it. The player then fights the merged Necrozma, but despite losing, it manages to escape. All the while, other wormholes appear all over Alola, sending Ultra Beasts across the land. The light all over the region also disappears, and the archipelago is plunged into darkness.

Lusamine asks the Ultra Recon Squad for help. However, they brush her off, as they’re unwilling to forgive her for her recklessness. Instead, they give the player a uniform like their own and send him/her across dimensions to their world on the back of their own /. The player emerges in Ultra Megalopolis, ascends the Megalo Tower and faces Necrozma, now in its true form, a dragon made of light. After the battle, Necrozma disappears, as light returns to Alola. Returning to the Altar, the player learns that after Necrozma and Nebby landed in Alola, they unfused. Necrozma vanished, and Lusamine and Lillie are taking a severely weakened Nebby to Aether Paradise.

The threat of Necrozma is gone, but the player still has one trial to pass in order to complete the island challenge. He/she meets the final Trial Captain, Mina, whose trial involves challenging the other Captains to a Pokémon battle. During the trip around the region, the player notices that Sophocles is saying goodbye to his cousin Molayne and that Acerola is nowhere to be found, having left her place in Mina's trial to Nanu. The player completes the trial, after which Hapu invites the player to the Exeggutor Island for the final Grand Trial. After Hapu is bested, the player's island challenge is officially complete. The only thing left to do is challenge the new in Mount Lanakila on Ula'ula Island and become Alola's first ever.

While making way through Mount Lanakila, the player comes across a huge crater with, in the middle of it, a weakened Necrozma. The player gives it some of the light from his/her Z-Ring and catches it. Then, Colress, who has been watching the battle, arrives, congratulates the player for befriending the beast, and gives him/her the machines he built for triggering Necrozma's form changes by merging with Solgaleo and Lunala.

When the player reaches the Pokémon League, Professor Kukui greets the player and gives him the choice to battle any of the four members of the Alola League in whatever choice the player decides. The members include former Trial Captain Molayne who uses the Steel type, island kahuna Olivia who uses the Rock type, Trial Captain Acerola, who uses the Ghost type, and Kahili, a former island challenge champion and golfer who uses the Flying type. After the player defeats the Elite Four, he/she prepares to take a seat in the Champion's chair before Professor Kukui surprises the player with a final challenge, coming from none other than Hau. After winning the battle, the player becomes the first Alola League Champion and is invited back to a big festival in Iki Town to celebrate the big accomplishment.

During the following days, Guzma and Plumeria disband Team Skull. Gladion leaves the region by boat to train overseas, and is surprised to see his mother Lusamine wave him goodbye from the Hau'oli Marina.

After the end credits, Hau and the Ultra Recon Squad meet the player outside of his/her house, congratulate him/her on becoming the Champion, and invite him/her along to Poni Island, where Ultra Beasts are still on the loose. On the way to Poni Grove, the player and Hau meet Wicke, who gives the player. The player and Hau arrive at Poni Grove to help the Ultra Recon Squad capture or  using the provided Beast Balls. One specimen caught by Hau is given to the Ultra Recon Squad and the Aether Foundation for research while the other two are caught by the player to keep. After the crisis is over, the Ultra Recon Squad thank the player and Hau, and leave. The player returns home to rest.

Episode Rainbow Rocket
After the search for /, the player takes a break at their house. Sophocles suddenly comes in, saying someone took over the Festival Plaza, and both he and the player immediately teleport there. The player then sees a Team Rainbow Rocket-themed Festival Plaza castle and fights a Team Rainbow Rocket grunt.

Blurb
New Secrets Await Discovery in Alola... LET'S GO!

Aesthetic changes

 * All HUDs and menus have received graphical updates.
 * Animations leading to battles flash in colors of the rainbow.
 * Trainers' models are now continuously animated when they lose.
 * Trainers' models now have a lead-in animation for Double Battles before throwing their Poké Balls, instead of staying in place.
 * Some locations feature visible wild Pokémon wandering in the background, such as and  on,  on ,  in Diglett's Cave, or  at the end of Poni Gauntlet.
 * The Trainer battle theme has been remixed for regular Trainers. Its original version is played while fighting against Trial Captains.

Location changes

 * The four islands now have beaches where Mantine Surf can be played. While Big Wave Beach on Melemele Island and Heahea Beach on Akala Island are entirely new locations, Ula'ula Beach is a repurposed Secluded Shore, and a part of Poni Wilds has been cut off for Poni Beach.
 * Big Wave Beach also gives access to Sandy Cave, another new location.
 * Alola Photo Clubs have been added to Hau'oli City and Konikoni City where vacant lots used to be. Hau'oli City also has a completely new design.
 * A previously vacant lot in Heahea City and a previously empty island on now house branches of the Surf Association.
 * A previously vacant lot in Royal Avenue now houses a branch of the Pokémon Fan Club.
 * A previously vacant lot in Malie City now houses the.
 * The interior appearance of the player's house has been completely changed.
 * and Mahalo Trail have more colorful vegetation. In addition, an additional patch of grass located on the previously grassless path to Iki Town has been added to Route 1.
 * The camera places itself in a different angle when the player traverses the northern part of.
 * Seaward Cave features a more icy design and no longer requires Tauros Charge.
 * Kala'e Bay has been expanded.
 * The path to the Flyinium Z through Ten Carat Hill no longer requires using Machamp Shove.
 * The third floor of the Tide Song Hotel in Heahea City can now be explored.
 * A new area, Pikachu Valley, can be accessed from.
 * Lana's trial site now occupies the entirety of Brooklet Hill, and not just the Totem's Den.
 * Dividing Peak Tunnel between and  is now a distinct location.
 * Lush Jungle features different vegetation in some parts.
 * Hokulani Observatory has a new room, where the updated trial takes place.
 * Some of the sea surrounding Poni Breaker Coast can now be surfed on.
 * A part of Exeggutor Island can no longer be reached by foot, requiring a lift from a helpful . It also features more colorful vegetation.
 * Mount Lanakila has been greatly expanded, now housing numerous Trainers, making it similar to Victory Roads from previous games.
 * A new cave, Plains Grotto, can be accessed from Poni Plains.

Gameplay changes

 * For the first time in the series, five new Pokémon were introduced for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, bringing the known total from 802 to 807.
 * 101 Pokémon have been added to the Alola Pokédex, bringing it to a total of 403 entries.
 * New forms have been introduced for several Pokémon:
 * The, obtainable via a QR Code.
 * The event-exclusive, distributed as a special  which has to be evolved from 5 PM to 5:59 PM/5 AM to 5:59 AM in in-game time.
 * for, of which two are seen during the main adventure.
 * New Z-Moves for certain Pokémon have also been introduced:
 * for
 * for
 * for
 * for and Dusk Mane
 * for and Dawn Wings Necrozma
 * for Ultra Necrozma
 * The Rotom Pokédex has been improved with added features:
 * It can grow closer to the player over the course of their journey, eventually picking a nickname for its owner.
 * As its affection towards the player grows, it also unlocks the possibility of obtaining boosting items similar to O-Powers through the Roto Loto or to use Z-Moves more than once per battle.
 * It will comment on seeing a Pokémon for the first time, but only if the player can catch it in the same battle.
 * The Alola Photo Club has been introduced, which allows players to take photos with the Pokémon in their party. These photos can then be edited with stickers, posted to the Pokémon Global Link, or saved to the 3DS's SD card. The player also has the option of doing an impromptu photo shoot after a Pokémon in their party evolves.
 * Two mini-games have been introduced, each one being mandatory to try out once during the main adventure:
 * Mantine Surf is a new Poké Ride and minigame accessible from Big Wave Beach on Melemele Island, Heahea Beach on Akala Island, Ula'ula Beach (formerly Secluded Shore) on Ula'ula Island, and Poni Beach on Poni Island. The minigame, in addition to transporting players to other islands, allows them to earn Battle Points by executing tricks off the ocean waves and earning points.
 * Ultra Warp Ride allows the player to traverse Ultra Space on the back of a or, allowing them to explore the Ultra Space Wilds to find non-regional Pokémon and visit the homeworlds of Ultra Beasts. By absorbing energy, they can travel more  through space, increasing their chance of finding rarer, even  Pokémon.  This also includes the chance of encountering all the past Legendary Pokémon (excluding ), though many are version-exclusive, or require trade to encounter the third member of their set.
 * The Zygarde Cube sidequest has been mostly removed, as the player now only needs to capture a 50% Forme Zygarde in Resolution Cave during the postgame, and meet and battle Dexio and Sina on to get another Zygarde in its 10% Forme and a Zygarde Cube with 40 cells, allowing them to combine both Zygarde and cells into a  Zygarde immediately afterwards.
 * In the place of Zygarde Cells and Cores, the player can collect Totem Stickers scattered throughout the four islands of Alola by its captains. Upon hitting certain milestones, the player can receive Pokémon the size of Totem Pokémon from Samson Oak at Heahea Beach. These Pokémon, with the exception of, vary by game.
 * Altar of the Sunne and Altar of the Moone can be directly flown to using Charizard Glide, instead of requiring the player to fly to Vast Poni Canyon and walk up the stairs.
 * Many Pokémon have acquired the ability to learn new moves and expand and improve their movesets; for example, can now learn  by leveling up and  can now learn  through breeding.
 * Location-based evolutions can be triggered during the player's first visit to Ula'ula Island:
 * The special magnetic field used to evolve, , and is now also present on Blush Mountain.
 * The base of Mount Lanakila is open from the start, allowing the player to evolve.
 * Unless the player uses an Adrenaline Orb, wild Pokémon will only call for help once. This does not apply to Totem Pokémon.
 * ,, and can evolve into their non-Alolan forms if the evolution is triggered in Ultra Space.
 * Ultra Beasts introduced in Pokémon Sun and Moon can be repeatedly caught. To accomodate for this, Beast Balls are now available for purchase in Aether Paradise.
 * 's catch rate has been increased from 3 to 255.
 * Most of the trials have been updated, and a new one has been added:
 * Lana, Kiawe, Mallow, and Sophocles have new tasks for the player to complete before fighting the Totem Pokémon.
 * The species of the Totem Pokémon met at the end of Lana, Kiawe, and Sophocles' trials have been changed.
 * Except for Totem /, Totem Pokémon call on different allies, making use of different strategies.
 * Mina now has her own trial as well, bringing the number of trials from seven to eight.
 * All of the Mega Stones that were only collected by special events in the original games are now available as prizes at the Battle Tree.
 * Most of the Pokémon found from Island Scan were replaced with new non-regional Pokémon that were not found in the original games.
 * The Pokémon that were part of the Island Scan in the original games have a different special move in their moveset when found in either of these games.
 * The location where the player could pick up the Pikanium Z as well as the Move Tutor for teaching  is now located outside of Hano Grand Resort instead of at Konikoni City.
 * The Snorlium Z, Mewnium Z, Marshadium Z, and Diancite can now be acquired through normal gameplay.
 * More Move Tutors have been added to teach Pokémon moves in exchange for Battle Points with one of them located on each island.
 * Due to the expansion of the Alola Dex, the other Fossil Pokémon are now included and just like with the Sinnoh and Unova Fossils, their Fossils can also be purchased once at Konikoni City depending on the version. Furthermore, all of the above mentioned Fossils are no longer limited to one game, as any of them have a very rare chance of being obtained at Poké Pelago's Isle Aphun regardless of version.
 * During the post-game, is now given at Ancient Poni Path at the exit to Poni Grove by Wicke, instead of by Gladion at Aether Paradise.
 * The list of possible Trainers encountered at the Title Defense battles has been slightly altered, replacing Faba and Molayne with Lusamine and Guzma.
 * A number of TMs have been moved to new locations.
 * In routes where fishing is available, bubbles indicating more interesting encounter rates don't always appear on the same fishing spot, and can appear on multiple spots at once.

Storyline changes

 * The player obtains their first Pokémon on from Professor Kukui instead of Iki Town, and does so before saving Lilie.
 * Hau is first fought before arriving in Iki Town, instead of before leaving it.
 * While saving Nebby, the player fights one of the wild before taking their first step on the bridge.
 * The player receives the island challenge amulet from Hala during the festival instead of obtaining it from Professor Kukui the next day.
 * The first encounter with the two s takes place in Hau'oli City itself, rather than at the Marina.
 * Instead of being led to by a, the player is led to Big Wave Beach by a , where the second battle against Team Skull takes place.
 * Instead of wandering in Melemele Meadow, Nebby hides in Seaward Cave.
 * The player and Hau travel from Melemele Island to Akala Island using Mantine Surf instead of hitching a ride on Professor Kukui's boat.
 * Adding to the Ride Pager does not automatically unlock access to Poké Pelago, the player has to meet Mohn on  first.
 * Hau forces the player to visit Festival Plaza upon meeting him on.
 * Molayne does not challenge the player to a battle before Sophocles' trial. Instead, Molayne would give the player the Steelium Z upon meeting him, whereas in the original games, he would give the player the Steelium Z upon completing Sophocles' trial.
 * Bits of dialogue were added between Hau and Guzma, in which they sometimes discuss the purpose and the satisfaction found in the island challenge and battling Pokémon in general.
 * An additional cutscene plays during Acerola's trial, where the character sees an apparition in the shape of Acerola, begging them to leave the site.
 * The player and Lillie are welcomed to Poni Island by Mina instead of the chief of Seafolk Village, though the latter still takes the player to Exeggutor Island.
 * The player visits Exeggutor Island alone, and has to fight three pestering the Exeggutor residing there, one of which then helps the player reach the Sun Flute/Moon Flute.
 * An additional storyline involving and the Ultra Recon Squad starts early in the game and converges with Lusamine's storyline when the player reaches Aether Paradise.
 * After the player and Lillie leave Professor Kukui's lab, the sky darkens for a few seconds. Professor Kukui dismisses the phenomenon as a solar (if seen during the day) or lunar (if seen during the night) eclipse, and considers it a good omen.
 * The player frequently runs into Dulse and Zossie/Phyco and Soliera. On occasion, Dulse/Soliera challenges them to a Pokémon battle.
 * Lusamine's motivations are changed from being obsessed with Ultra Beasts to wanting to save the world from Necrozma by any means necessary. In both cases, she is willing to harm Nebby in order to open up an Ultra Wormhole(s) to achieve her goal. Her first battle against the player happens under the same circumstances, but she does not fight the player a second time.
 * Instead of directly catching Nebby when it evolves into /, the player witnesses Necrozma fighting Nebby and merging with it. The player then fights the merged Necrozma and chases it across dimensions all the way to Megalo Tower in Ultra Megalopolis for a final battle.
 * After these events, a weakened Necrozma can be found and captured in Mount Lanakila. Nebby can be captured at Mahalo Trail.
 * Hapu is now fought on Exeggutor Island after all of the trials have been completed.
 * Due to this change, the player cannot return to the Exeggutor Island after collecting the Sun Flute/Moon Flute until Hapu's grand trial becomes available. Additionally, completing the grand trial is also necessary for the player to fly there directly.
 * Molayne replaces Hala as a member of the Elite Four.
 * Hala can still be rematched during the post-game in Iki Town. Defeating Hala will allow him to give the player the Z-Crystals for the final evolutions of the other two Alola starters, a role Hau did at the beginning of the post-game in the original games.
 * Hau does not challenge the player before their challenge, appearing as the final challenger instead.
 * The player is no longer forced to fight before the end credits.
 * The quest involving Looker and investigating Ultra Beasts is replaced with a brief search for /, followed by Episode RR, a larger quest involving Team Rainbow Rocket.
 * Gladion leaves Alola to train overseas in Johto and Kanto, unlike the original games where Lillie and Lusamine were the ones to leave the region at the end of the main story. He later returns to Alola to rematch the player.

Pokémon

 * See Category:Generation VII Pokémon

Game-exclusive Pokémon
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-sized Pokémon
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Compatibility
On November 20, 2017, an update for Pokémon Bank was released that allows it to interact with Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. In addition to regular storage, the update allows Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon to receive Pokémon from the Generation VI games, as well as the Virtual Console releases of the Generation I and games through the Poké Transporter in a similar method used to transfer from Generation V.

Reception
Gaming magazine gave Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon a score of 36 out of 40. rated the games an "Amazing" 9.0/10. Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon hold a rating of 84.43% and 82.96%, respectively, on.

Sales
In the fiscal year of their release, they sold 7.51 million units. As of September 30, 2018, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon have sold 7.96 million copies worldwide.

Japanese sales
Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon sold 667,439 individual units on their first week on the Japanese market, being 335,454 from Pokémon Ultra Sun and 331,986 from Pokémon Ultra Moon, with a of 66.30% and 66.98% respectively. By December 30, 2018, the end of their 59th week, they had sold 1,796,584 copies.

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Veteran Trainer's Dual Pack sold 247,782 units on its first week, with a of 84.37%. By December 31, 2017, the end of its 7th week, it had sold 324,944 copies. Combining all releases, the games sold 2,446,472 units.

Trivia

 * These are the final core series games released for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, and subsequently, the final ones released for a dedicated handheld console.
 * All the new Pokémon introduced in these games are weak against Ground attacks.
 * These are the only games in which several Pokémon share identical Pokédex entries, in this case, , and in Ultra Sun and , , and  in Ultra Moon.
 * N is the only core series introduced as of this point to not appear in these games.
 * When the boxarts of Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are put together, a silhouette clearly representing Ultra Necrozma can also be seen.