User blog:Jmcdavid/Pokemon Sun and Moon - My Thoughts

Okay, we have a new Generation of Pokemon coming out next month, so I'm going to say what I think about it, based on what has been revealed so far.

First up - the Alolan Forms. Some of the Pokemon from the first games are getting new forms, with new types.

Now, not particularly fond of the designs for Exeggutor or Meowth, and their typings aren't anything special, IMO (Exeggutor is Grass/Dragon and Meowth is pure Dark, FYI). But Sandshrew and Sandslash, with their new designs, look decent, although I'm not sure how viable an Ice/Steel type really is. Marowak looks pretty amazing, rocking that Fire/Ghost typing.. Not sure what to make of Raichu's new design and Electric/Psychic typing. And Vulpix, with its new Ice typing, looks pretty damn cute, while Ninetales, with the addition of Fairy to its typing, looks awesome!

Next up, the new Pokemon. Not going to cover all of them, just the Starters and Legendaries. So, Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio look decent, and I'm kind of interested to learn what they'll evolve into, and what signature moves they'll get when they're fully evolved. Solgaleo and Lunala look pretty freaking epic, not gonna lie. As for Magearna, which got to make its debut in the latest movie, not sure what to make of its design. But its ability, Soul Heart, raises its Special Attack by one stage whenever a Pokemon on the field is knocked out. That sounds pretty awesome.

Oh. Almost forgot about one. The Island Guardian Deity, Tapu Koko. Now, it and the Alolan Raichu seem like they would have pretty good synergy in a Double Battle, because Tapu Koko's Electric Surge ability essentially activates move Electric Terrain just by sending it out. And the Alolan Raichu has the ability Surge Surfer, which doubles its Speed when Electric Terrain is up. That arguably makes for a pretty awesome combo.

Last up, the new mechanic, Z-Moves. Now, there is one Z-Move for each type. And in order to activate them, a Pokemon needs to be holding the corresponding Z-Crystal, and know a move of the corresponding type. However, while they look awesome, it seems like they can only be activated once per battle, which arguably makes them a temporary solution to a permanent problem. So, kind of like Mega Evolution from Generation 6, but different in that after the turn you activate them, they're gone. Yeah, I kinda prefer Mega Evolution over this, to be honest. At least there, the Pokemon gets a new form that boosts its stats quite a bit, and it only goes away if the Pokemon is knocked out. Z-Moves have the same once-per-battle restriction, but seem like they'd only last one turn.

So overall, I'm fairly hopeful for this new generation...but at the same time, I kinda hope Mega Evolution is still possible.