It was late 2016. Most of us were busy tracking down the Tapus or trying to figure out if Lusamine was actually a villain or just deeply misunderstood. Then, there was this black, jagged thing in Ten Carat Hill. Pokemon Sun and Moon Necrozma felt like a weird afterthought back then. Honestly, if you played the original Sun or Moon, you probably just threw a Master Ball at it and called it a day. But there is so much more to this prism-like entity than the base games ever let on.
Necrozma is weird. It’s technically part of the "Light Trio" alongside Solgaleo and Lunala, but it feels like it belongs in a different franchise entirely. It’s jagged. It’s dark. It looks like it’s made of broken glass. When you first encounter it in the grass after the Elite Four, it doesn’t even get a special cutscene. It just... appears. That lack of fanfare is exactly why people underestimate it.
The Problem with Pokemon Sun and Moon Necrozma in the Originals
The biggest issue with Necrozma in the first Alola games is the lack of context. You get this massive lore dump about the Ultra Beasts. You learn about the Aether Foundation. Then, look, a level 75 Psychic-type is hanging out in a cave. Game Freak played it super close to the chest.
In the original Sun and Moon, Necrozma is just a remnant. It’s a shell. The Pokedex entries are actually kind of depressing if you read between the lines. It mentions that the creature is constantly in pain because it needs light to survive. Think about that for a second. A creature made of light that is literally starving for it. It’s not a "god" in the way Arceus is. It’s more like a cosmic parasite that ran out of fuel.
If you compare it to the box legends, Solgaleo and Lunala, Necrozma is the antithesis of everything Alola represents. Alola is vibrant, sunny, and full of life. Necrozma is a black hole. It’s an absence. In the original games, you don't even get to see its true power. You just get the "Prism" form. It’s essentially the weakened, "hollow" version of what it’s supposed to be.
Why the Psychic Typing Confused Everyone
For a long time, players were baffled by the pure Psychic typing. Every other major Alolan legend had a dual type. Solgaleo is Psychic/Steel. Lunala is Psychic/Ghost. Why was the "third" member of the trio so simple?
The answer lies in its biology. Necrozma isn't "complete" in Sun and Moon. It’s waiting. It’s a literal prism. A prism on its own doesn't have color; it only reveals the colors of the light passing through it. That’s the hint Game Freak dropped right under our noses. It took the sequels, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, to show us that the Psychic typing was just a foundation for the chaos it could actually cause.
The Alolan Lore You Might Have Missed
The "Blinding One." That’s what the ancient Alolans called it.
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Long before the player arrives, Necrozma was the source of all light in the Ultra Megalopolis. It shared its light. It was a benevolent, glowing god. But something happened. The inhabitants of that world got greedy, or maybe they just didn't understand what they were messing with. They tried to control that light. They ended up shattering Necrozma.
That’s why it looks like a pile of scrap metal.
When you see those black crystals, you aren't looking at its skin. You’re looking at its literal broken body. It lost its ability to produce light, which forced it to become a predator. This explains why it attacks Solgaleo and Lunala. It isn't trying to be "evil" in the traditional sense. It’s just hungry. It’s trying to reclaim the light that was stolen from it.
The Connection to the Ultra Beasts
Is Necrozma an Ultra Beast? The games are surprisingly cagey about this. Technically, in the code, it doesn't share the "Beast Boost" ability. It has "Prism Armor." However, it clearly originates from Ultra Space.
International Police members Looker and Anabel (who is a "Faller" herself) treat it with the same dread they reserve for the UBs. But Necrozma is higher on the food chain. If the Ultra Beasts are invasive species, Necrozma is the ecological disaster that created them. It’s a different class of entity entirely.
Competitive Viability in the Gen 7 Meta
In the actual Sun and Moon meta, Necrozma was... fine. Just fine.
Its base stats were solid but not world-breaking.
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- HP: 97
- Attack: 107
- Defense: 101
- Sp. Atk: 127
- Sp. Def: 89
- Speed: 79
It was a tanky Special Attacker that got outclassed by Mewtwo or even its own "children" Solgaleo and Lunala. Prism Armor is a great ability—it reduces damage from super-effective hits—but being a pure Psychic type meant it had too many common weaknesses like Dark, Ghost, and Bug.
You’d usually see it running a Calm Mind set or maybe a Trick Room build because its speed was in that awkward "too slow to sweep, too fast for some rooms" tier. But everything changed when Ultra Necrozma hit the scene later. If we’re strictly talking about the original Pokemon Sun and Moon Necrozma, it was a niche pick. A "wait and see" Pokemon.
The Design Philosophy of a Shattered God
The visual design of Necrozma is a masterclass in "show, don't tell."
Look at the "head." It’s actually the back of a hand. If you flip the model, you can see that Necrozma is essentially a pair of giant arms and a torso that are trying to pull themselves back together. It’s a creature defined by its incompleteness.
Most Pokemon designs are symmetrical and sleek. Necrozma is purposefully ugly. It’s meant to look like it doesn't belong in the 3DS engine. The way it moves is jittery. It doesn't hover gracefully; it glitches through the air. This reinforces the idea that it is an alien entity, something that shouldn't exist in the natural world of Pokemon.
The Prism Armor Gimmick
Prism Armor is one of the coolest abilities conceptually. It’s basically a refined version of "Filter" or "Solid Rock." Because Necrozma is made of crystalline material, it refracts incoming attacks.
Even if you hit it with a Shadow Ball, the "light" of that attack gets bent and weakened. This makes it surprisingly hard to one-shot. In a casual playthrough of Sun or Moon, you can basically use it as a wall against almost anything the Elite Four throws at you. Just don't expect it to outspeed a Gengar.
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How to Actually Catch It Without Tearing Your Hair Out
If you’re going back to play the 2016 originals, catching Necrozma is a bit of a grind.
First, you have to finish the entire Ultra Beast quest line. That means catching Nihilego, Buzzwole/Pheromosa, Xurkitree, Kartana/Celesteela, and Guzzlord. Once Looker tells you he saw a "black shadow" over Melemele Island, that’s your cue.
Go to Ten Carat Hill. Go to the Farthest Hollow.
You need a Pokemon around level 75 at the front of your party. Use a Max Repel. Since Necrozma is level 75, it’s the only thing that will spawn while the Repel is active.
It has a catch rate of 3. That is the lowest possible catch rate in the game. It’s the same as Beldum or the box legendaries. Bring a lot of Dusk Balls or Timer Balls. Honestly, I’ve seen people burn through 40+ balls just trying to get it to stay in the capsule. It’s stubborn.
Moving Toward the Ultra Era
While the original Pokemon Sun and Moon Necrozma was a bit of a mystery box, it set the stage for one of the best "Third Version" expansions in the series history. We wouldn't have the terror of the Ultra Necrozma boss fight without the foundation laid here.
The story of Necrozma is a story about loss. It lost its light, its home, and its physical form. When you catch it in Sun or Moon, you aren't catching a monster; you're catching a piece of history.
Actionable Tips for Players Today
If you're revisiting Alola or using Pokemon Home to bring Necrozma into modern games like Scarlet and Violet, keep these things in mind:
- Check the Nature: If you aren't using Mints, aim for Modest or Quiet. Necrozma’s best assets are its Special Attack and its ability to take a hit.
- Don't ignore Stealth Rock: In the Gen 7 games, Necrozma was a surprisingly decent hazard setter.
- The Signature Move: Photon Geyser is incredible. It compares the user's Attack and Special Attack and deals damage based on whichever is higher. This makes Necrozma versatile, even if you decide to go for a physical build.
- Refinement over Raw Power: In the original Sun and Moon, use its bulk. Give it a Leftovers or a Sitrus Berry and let Prism Armor do the heavy lifting while you set up with Calm Mind.
Necrozma remains a fascinating anomaly. It is the only legendary that truly feels like it hates being in the game world. It’s a broken, hungry thing that reminds us that Ultra Space is a lot more dangerous than the colorful Alolan beaches suggest. Whether you're a lore hunter or a competitive player, ignoring the "Blinding One" is a mistake. It’s the dark heart of Alola for a reason.