Honestly, I still remember the collective "Wait, what?" from the fanbase when Game Freak announced these titles. Most of us expected a "Pokémon Stars" on the Switch. Instead, we got a refined, albeit familiar, return to Alola. People call them "director's cuts." That's mostly true. But it misses the point of why Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon actually matter in the grand scheme of the franchise. They were the end of an era. The last time a mainline Pokémon game felt truly dense with content before the transition to home consoles changed everything.
If you haven't touched Alola since 2017, you're forgetting how much changed. It wasn't just a few new monsters. They rewired the pacing. They added weird, dimension-hopping mini-games. They turned a breezy tropical vacation into a cosmic horror story featuring a light-devouring dragon from another dimension.
Is the story actually different this time?
The short answer is yes, but you have to wait for it. The original Sun and Moon were deeply personal. They were about Lillie, her mother Lusamine, and the trauma of a broken family. It was grounded. Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon throw a bit of that emotional weight out the window to make room for the Ultra Recon Squad. These are weird, blue-skinned people from Megaopolis who talk like robots and wear Daft Punk-style suits.
Initially, the changes feel cosmetic. You still pick your starter—Rowlet remains the correct choice, don't argue with me—and you still head off on the Island Challenge. But the presence of Necrozma looms much larger here. In the original games, Necrozma was an afterthought, a weird jagged thing you found in a crater post-game. Here? It’s the centerpiece.
By the time you reach the Altar of the Sunne or Moone, the narrative takes a sharp left turn. Lusamine is no longer the primary antagonist in the same way. She’s still a piece of work, but the threat of the "Blinding One" stealing all the light from the world takes precedence. It makes the stakes feel higher, though some fans argue it dilutes the character drama of the first versions.
The difficulty spike nobody warns you about
Pokémon games are usually easy. We know this. You over-level your starter, mash the A button, and become Champion in fifteen hours. But Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon contain what is arguably the hardest boss fight in the history of the series: Ultra Necrozma.
If you aren't prepared, this thing will wipe your entire team. It has a base stat total of 754. For context, that’s higher than Arceus, the literal god of Pokémon. It gets a massive "Aura" boost to all its stats at the start of the fight. It's fast. It hits like a freight train. I’ve seen veteran players lose to this thing five times in a row because they didn't have a Focus Sash or a Pokémon with Toxic. It’s a genuine "gear check" for your team.
✨ Don't miss: Minecraft Cool and Easy Houses: Why Most Players Build the Wrong Way
It's refreshing.
Then there's the Totem Pokémon. These aren't just big versions of regular monsters. They have specific strategies. Totem Ribombee has a specialized moveset and a partner Blissey that keeps it healthy. Totem Araquanid uses its Water Bubble ability to ruin your day. These fights require actual thought. You can't just brute force them with a Type advantage because the SOS calls bring in support Pokémon that cover the Totem's weaknesses. It’s brilliant game design that we haven't seen much of since.
Mantine Surfing and the death of grinding
Let’s talk about the best addition: Mantine Surf. In previous games, if you wanted the best moves—the "Move Tutor" moves—you had to grind for hours in a Battle Subway or a Battle Tower. It was a chore. It felt like work.
In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, you just go surfing.
You jump over waves, do flips like it’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and earn Beach Points (BP). It’s fast. It’s fun. It makes Alola feel like an actual place where people live and play. I spent three hours just trying to beat the high score on Ula'ula Island before I even realized I had enough BP to teach my Alolan Muk some new tricks.
The Ultra Wormhole: Shiny hunting for the rest of us
If you’re a shiny hunter, these games are your holy grail. The Ultra Warp Ride is a mini-game where you fly through space on the back of Solgaleo or Lunala. As you go further—thousands of light-years away—the odds of finding a Shiny Pokémon skyrocket.
🔗 Read more: Thinking game streaming: Why watching people solve puzzles is actually taking over Twitch
It’s not uncommon to find a Shiny Sigilyph or Floatzel with odds as high as 36%. That’s insane. It’s the most "generous" the series has ever been. For many of us, this was the first time we filled a box with those sparkling alternate colors. Plus, it’s the only way to catch almost every Legendary Pokémon from previous generations without needing an event distribution. Mewtwo, Rayquaza, Giratina—they’re all just sitting in holes in space waiting for you.
Why people still complain about the intro
I have to be honest. The first two hours are rough. Alola is notorious for its "hand-holding." There are tutorials for everything. You walk ten feet, a cutscene starts. You walk another ten feet, Rotom Dex starts vibrating to tell you something you already knew.
It’s the biggest barrier to entry. If you can get past Melemele Island, the game opens up. But that first island is a slog. It’s the primary reason why some people prefer the older, faster-paced games like Emerald or Platinum. Game Freak was trying to make the game accessible to kids, but they ended up making it a bit tedious for everyone else.
The Rainbow Rocket Post-Game
Once you become the Champion, the game doesn't just end. You get the Episode RR arc. This is pure fanservice in the best way possible. Giovanni returns, and he brings every major villain from the past twenty years with him. Maxie, Archie, Cyrus, Ghetsis, Lysandre.
And here is the kicker: they all use their respective Legendary Pokémon against you.
Battling Cyrus and his Palkia/Dialga or Ghetsis and his Zekrom/Reshiram feels like a final exam. It’s a celebration of the series' history. It’s also incredibly nostalgic to hear the remixed battle themes for each villain played through the 3DS speakers. It felt like a goodbye to the handheld era.
💡 You might also like: Why 4 in a row online 2 player Games Still Hook Us After 50 Years
How to actually enjoy your replay in 2026
If you’re picking this up now, don't just rush through. The joy of Alola is in the details.
- Turn off the Exp. Share. Seriously. The game is balanced around it, but if you want that "old school" difficulty, keeping it off forces you to actually know your team.
- Talk to the NPCs. There’s a weirdly dark side to Alola. There are quests involving haunted schools and Pokémon that have passed away. It’s much moodier than people give it credit for.
- Collect the Totem Stickers. They’re hidden everywhere—on the sides of buildings, under docks, in trash cans. Collecting them lets you get "Totem-sized" Pokémon of your own. There is something deeply satisfying about sending out a Raticate that’s three times the size of a normal one.
The Alolan Form legacy
We can't talk about Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon without mentioning the Alolan Forms. This was the debut of regional variants, a trend that continued into Galar, Hisui, and Paldea. Seeing a Dragon-type Exeggutor with a neck that reaches the top of the screen or a Fire-type Marowak was a revelation. It breathed life into the Kanto Pokédex without just adding more Mega Evolutions.
It made sense ecologically, too. Why wouldn't a Vulpix living on a snowy mountain become an Ice-type? It grounded the world of Pokémon in a sort of "biological" reality that made the Alola region feel more cohesive than almost any other region.
Final Verdict on the Alola Finale
Are these games perfect? No. The Rotom Dex is annoying, and the tutorial phase is way too long. But the sheer volume of things to do—from the Battle Tree to the Ultra Wormholes to the photo club—is staggering.
They represent the peak of the 3DS era. They pushed that little handheld to its absolute limit, sometimes to the point where the frame rate would chug during double battles. But that was because Game Freak was trying to cram every bit of personality they could into those cartridges.
If you want a challenge, a deep story, and the best way to catch Legendaries, you need to go back to Alola.
Next Steps for Your Journey:
- Check your 3DS battery. These games drain power fast due to the heavy 3D rendering; ensure you have a stable charger before starting long sessions in the Ultra Wormhole.
- Plan your team around Ultra Necrozma. You will need a Pokémon with the "Sturdy" ability or a Focus Sash to survive at least one hit and land a status move like Toxic or Thunder Wave.
- Prioritize Mantine Surfing early. Do not wait until the post-game to do this. The BP you earn can be spent on powerful moves like Drain Punch or Iron Head that will make the mid-game much smoother.
- Transfer your favorites. If you have older Pokémon in Pokémon Bank, move them up now while the service is still functional to complete your Pokédex and unlock the Shiny Charm.