Tonight's Nintendo Direct opened with a new Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon showcase - quickly followed by a new trailer covering new features and further details on things that we've already known.
First of all, it's been officially confirmed that the creatures appearing on the covers of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon - which looked like Solgaleo and Lunala wearing bits of Necrozma like fashionable hats - are in fact new forms of Necrozma itself, which (true to its light-absorbing/refracting/projecting nature) seizes the poor things, absorbs them and projects their likeness at some point during the story. These new forms are now officially confirmed to be named "Necrozma Dusk Mane" (the Solgaleo-derived form) and "Necrozma Dawn Wings" (the Lunala-derived form) and keep the signature moves of their components (Sunsteel Strike and Moongeist Beam).
It has also been confirmed that the Special Rockruff that you receive as a pre-order bonus comes with different movesets between Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (Fire Fang in Ultra Sun, Thunder Fang in Ultra Moon - along with Tackle, Bite and Happy Hour in both versions), holds a focus band and has Own Tempo as its ability. As stated before - it alone can evolve into Dusk Form Lycanroc, and only into Dusk Form Lycanroc. This month's CoroCoro leak further confirms that these particular Rockruffs evolve into Dusk Lycanroc between 17:00 and 17:59, starting Level 25.
But regardless of whether or not you can get your hands on the Dorito Dog - any form of Lycanroc can use the new Lycanroc-exclusive Z-move, Splintered Stormshards, which is powered up from Stone Edge and has the additional effect of breaking Terrain moves and abilities, removing their effect from the battlefield.
Lastly, two new Ultra Beasts have been revealed, with the codenames Assembly (Ultra Moon Exclusive) and Burst (Ultra Sun Exclusive) - and they look even weirder than the other Ultra Beasts revealed so far, which is saying quite a bit, to be perfectly honest. At this time, nothing is known about what these creatures are capable of, what their types are or who thought Burst's design was a good idea - but there you have it.
And there's the trailer:
The Nintendo Direct also revealed the presence of several new locations in Alola (including a beach where surfers gather and a valley of Pikachu), several new outfits and the fact that the scenario in which you receive your starter in these versions is also different - and appears to involve a battle against a wild Yungoos. It also revealed a new, Pokeball-themed New Nintendo 2DS XL that is to be released on November 3rd in North America ahead of the November 17th release of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
Lastly, the Nintendo Direct revealed that purchasing the 3DS Virtual Console re-releases of Gold and Silver - from its launch day on September 22nd 2017 and until a year later on September 21st, 2018 - you will receive a special code that will allow you to receive a Level 30 Celebi - with the moves Heal Bell, Ancient Power, Safeguard and Future Sight - in Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
Excited? Indifferent? Pondering whether Kyurem is going to sue somebody? As ever, tell us what you think.
First of all, it's been officially confirmed that the creatures appearing on the covers of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon - which looked like Solgaleo and Lunala wearing bits of Necrozma like fashionable hats - are in fact new forms of Necrozma itself, which (true to its light-absorbing/refracting/projecting nature) seizes the poor things, absorbs them and projects their likeness at some point during the story. These new forms are now officially confirmed to be named "Necrozma Dusk Mane" (the Solgaleo-derived form) and "Necrozma Dawn Wings" (the Lunala-derived form) and keep the signature moves of their components (Sunsteel Strike and Moongeist Beam).
It has also been confirmed that the Special Rockruff that you receive as a pre-order bonus comes with different movesets between Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (Fire Fang in Ultra Sun, Thunder Fang in Ultra Moon - along with Tackle, Bite and Happy Hour in both versions), holds a focus band and has Own Tempo as its ability. As stated before - it alone can evolve into Dusk Form Lycanroc, and only into Dusk Form Lycanroc. This month's CoroCoro leak further confirms that these particular Rockruffs evolve into Dusk Lycanroc between 17:00 and 17:59, starting Level 25.
But regardless of whether or not you can get your hands on the Dorito Dog - any form of Lycanroc can use the new Lycanroc-exclusive Z-move, Splintered Stormshards, which is powered up from Stone Edge and has the additional effect of breaking Terrain moves and abilities, removing their effect from the battlefield.
Lastly, two new Ultra Beasts have been revealed, with the codenames Assembly (Ultra Moon Exclusive) and Burst (Ultra Sun Exclusive) - and they look even weirder than the other Ultra Beasts revealed so far, which is saying quite a bit, to be perfectly honest. At this time, nothing is known about what these creatures are capable of, what their types are or who thought Burst's design was a good idea - but there you have it.
And there's the trailer:
The Nintendo Direct also revealed the presence of several new locations in Alola (including a beach where surfers gather and a valley of Pikachu), several new outfits and the fact that the scenario in which you receive your starter in these versions is also different - and appears to involve a battle against a wild Yungoos. It also revealed a new, Pokeball-themed New Nintendo 2DS XL that is to be released on November 3rd in North America ahead of the November 17th release of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
Lastly, the Nintendo Direct revealed that purchasing the 3DS Virtual Console re-releases of Gold and Silver - from its launch day on September 22nd 2017 and until a year later on September 21st, 2018 - you will receive a special code that will allow you to receive a Level 30 Celebi - with the moves Heal Bell, Ancient Power, Safeguard and Future Sight - in Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
Excited? Indifferent? Pondering whether Kyurem is going to sue somebody? As ever, tell us what you think.