Pokémon Sun and Moon: A Journey into the Seventh Generation

CJLO's Lazy Sunday Series

It should never be taken critically from people outside the Pokémon fandom when fans start tearing apart the designs for newly revealed Pokémon. It happens quite literally every generation. It's part of the adjustment process. As time goes on, we slowly get used to the sentient trash bags, keys, snow cones, triangle dragons and multi-headed hot-mess barnacles. Maybe less so that last one. Nonetheless, every gen has its oddballs and it's smash hits. Expect Gen 7 to be no different. 

June 30th marked the first wave of reveals along with a three-minute trailer showing them off in battle. These new little monsters were:

• Tapu Koko, the Fairy/Electric type
• Charjabug, the Bug/Electric type whom I've chosen to dub The Little Green Toaster Who Could
• Charjabug's evolution, Vikavolt, the flying polygon that keeps the same typing
• Falcor, I mean, Drampa, the Normal/Dragon type (players can now have their own Neverending Story)
• Bruxish, the Water/Psychic type fish who is a perfect example of why we shouldn't test cosmetics on animals
• Cutiefly, the Bug/Fairy type, and
• Togedemaru, the Electric/Steel lovechild of Pikachu and Sonic the Hedgehog.

About a week later, another Pokémon received a solo reveal: Salandit the Fire/Poison salamander with the ability to poison any type of Pokémon, including previously immune Poison and Steel types.

And just recently, more leaked images from Corocoro magazine showed Kiteruguma, a Normal/Fighting type. Despite its cartoony appearance, its Pokedex entry states that this oversized red-panda is so strong that it can break anything in two and raising one can put a trainer’s life in danger.

More importantly, it revealed Mimikkyu, A Ghost/Fairy type resembling a terribly bootlegged Pikachu. I say this one is the most important because of the Pokémon's back-story and how it has been received by fans since its reveal.

According to a translation of its Pokedex entry, Mimikkyu is a Ghost/Fairy that hates sunlight and prefers dark places. As such, it has made itself a Pikachu costume to shield itself from the sun. A Pikachu costume that is based on merch that was popular 20 years ago. Fans have taken to concluding that this poor little Ghost just wants to be loved, and being too scary or shy as it is, has chosen to cosplay one of the most beloved Pokémon of all time. There are now tons of little comic strips online of this costumed cutie trying to warm up to trainers and befriending Pikachus and just being plain adorable. For a Pokémon with possibly one of the saddest and loneliest little back-stories, it has quickly become a favourite among the fans, myself included.

Now, it's fairly clear who my favourites, could-care-less, and what-am-I-looking-at picks are. But a main concern I have for all of them is which evolve and which are just one-shot deals? In the trailers a lot of the new Pokémon are shown in battle at level 50, and the only confirmed evolution is Charjabugs. It's by all means possible that Alola is full of Pokémon that don't evolve, it's already clear that it has a preference for Fairy types, but I'm kind of hoping that Pokémon is trying to keep the evolutions a secret until the release of the game in November. Cutiefly and Togedemaru definitely deserve evolutions, and an evolution for my cosplay child would probably send fans over the edge in excitement. 

As for updates to the gameplay itself, a video was released on the Japanese Pokémon YouTube account on July 12th that hinted at a few new things...

Firstly, there will be a feature in which trainers can groom their Pokémon, possibly to increase their happiness. Whether or not this is a feature of Pokémon Amie is yet to be seen.

Secondly, the bracelet that I pointed out in my last article is shown to interact with your Pokémon, the starters specifically so far. What it does exactly is not clear, but Grass, Fire and Water Symbols do appear over your starter when activated. Perhaps it is a Pokémon-specific power-up or added ability?

Thirdly, footage shows trainers being able to ride Tauros, Stoutland, Lapras and Sharpedo on land and water in-world respectively. This seems to be an upgrade from riding the Rhyhorns in the last gen, and hopefully means you can ride Pokémon in your team and not just those in the overworld. 

For now, that is what fans have to work with until the next update. Only four more months until the game release, can you hold out?

--Catlin Spencer is a long-time volunteer and news director at CJLO with experience in writing, hosting, producing, and training under her belt. A lover of satire, cartoons and video games, Catlin is a huge dork who is always one line away from making a really bad pun.

--Visit the CJLO Magazine every Lazy Sunday for our specialty columns, reviews, and features! Root-de-doo-de-doo, a-root-de-doot-de doy di, a-root-de doot de dum, a-ree-de-dee-de-doo dee - doo doo... Lazy Sunday afternoon... got no mind to worry...