Pokémon Sun and Moon
Seventh-generation Pokémon games set in the Alola region.
Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are 2016 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. They are the first installments in the seventh generation of the Pokémon video game series, released worldwide on 18 November 2016 to commemorate the franchise's 20th anniversary. The games introduced 81 new Pokémon species, Alolan forms, Z-Moves, Ultra Beasts, and improved polygonal 3D graphics, and were the first entries available in Chinese.
- release_date
- 18 November 2016
- developer
- Game Freak
- publisher
- The Pokémon Company and Nintendo
- platform
- Nintendo 3DS
- generation
- Seventh
- sales
- 16.33 million copies worldwide as of September 30, 2024
- languages
- Nine (English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese)
Lore & Background
Pokémon Sun and Moon follow a young Trainer's journey around the Alola Region, based on Hawaii, with the objective of completing the island challenge and preventing the schemes of Team Skull and later the Aether Foundation. The games introduced Alolan forms—variants of older Pokémon with new typings and appearances—and Z-Moves, powerful moves usable once per battle. Hidden moves were replaced by specialized Pokémon that can be summoned at will, and the Rotom Pokédex provides a mini-map with story objectives.
Reader's Guide
The games received generally positive reviews from critics, who welcomed the change from the formula used by prior Pokémon games and praised the gameplay. Upon release, they became some of the fastest-selling games in Nintendo's history. As of September 30, 2024, Sun and Moon have sold 16.33 million copies worldwide, making them the third-best-selling Nintendo 3DS titles after Mario Kart 7 and Pokémon X and Y. The games are largely independent but require trading between versions to complete the Pokédex. Compatibility with Pokémon Bank was delayed and became available on 24 January 2017. A pair of enhanced versions, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, were released on 17 November 2017.
Did You Know?
- The games' clocks are set 12 hours apart: Sun operates on the 3DS' time, Moon operates 12 hours ahead.
- Alolan Vulpix and Ninetales are Ice and dual Ice/Fairy types, unlike their Fire-type counterparts in other regions.
- The games were the first in the series to be available in Chinese, both Simplified and Traditional.
- A peripheral Z-Ring toy by Tomy synchronizes with the use of Z-Moves in the games.
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