It's not uncommon for Pokemon games to have a few characters who stand out in any given mainline release, such as Professor Oak and Giovanni from Pokemon Red and Blue. Generation 7 was one of the most charismatic titles in the Pokemon franchise thanks to the beautiful Alola region's locations and characters, as well as Pokemon. Pokemon Sun and Moon also introduced players to regional variants, making some Pokemon look and have different typings than in their home region, with an example being Alolan Vulpix's Ice-type compared to Kantonian Vulpix's Fire-type.
While Pokemon Sun and Moon were successful games, something about their story felt off to some players: how Lillie and Nebby don't get to stay together. Lillie is one of the first characters who players meet in Pokemon Sun and Moon, and in an early cutscene she is seen trying to escape Aether Paradise - one of the five islands that make the archipelago of Alola. When she is about to be stopped, a Pokemon in her bag teleports them both away. That Pokemon is later revealed to be a Cosmog Lillie nicknames Nebby, but the game's story makes it so players end up catching Nebby as the Legendary Solgaleo or Lunala (depending on whether they're playing Sun or Moon).
How Pokemon Masters EX Improves Lillie's Story From Sun and Moon
Lillie's mother is Lusamine, the head of the Aether Foundation who is trying to open Ultra Wormholes with the help of Team Skull, and she intended to harness Cosmog's energy despite it causing pain to the Ultra Beast. Following the events of the story, Nebby evolves into Cosmoem first, and then it finally turns into the box Legendary for Pokemon Sun or Moon. Players are able to then catch the Pokemon and even give it a new nickname, completely ignoring the fact that it was Lillie who really looked after Cosmog the whole time.
Some players like to name their Solgaleo or Lunala Nebby to honor Lillie's affection, but while she doesn't really like Pokemon battles, she should have been the one to catch Nebby. This is something that stuck with many fans, seeing it as an unfair turn of events that denied Lillie the joy of caring for a Pokemon simply because players had to get a chance to catch Solgaleo or Lunala. To make things worse, Pokemon Legendary battles are not really challenging, and often consist of throwing a bunch of Poke Balls at the creatures until they are finally caught.
Even though Pokemon Masters EX is not a mainline Pokemon game, it did fix this issue by featuring Lillie as a character and giving her three different Sync Pairs as of this writing: one with Clefairy, one with Ribombee, and one with Lunala. The fact that Lillie finally gets to be with a Lunala is very wholesome, and it's made even more so because her Sync Pair story states Lillie's Cosmog was given to her by the trainer with whom she entrusted Nebby to.
This means that players likely gave Lillie the Cosmog they can catch at the Lake of the Moone or the Lake of the Sunne as a king returning gesture for Lillie's trust in them. While it's not the original Nebby that Lillie gets to train and have as a companion, her Pokemon Sun and Moon story is more meaningful when combined with the lore from Pokemon Masters EX. Ultimately, this also shows that non-mainline games can be a great way to fix any mistakes in each new Generation without having to officially retcon the series' lore.
Pokemon Sun and Moon are available now for Nintendo 3DS.