Pokemon games tend to be big holiday releases, which means a lot of new projects and anniversaries coalesce around the same time. For example, Generation 4 remakes Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl release tomorrow, November 19, and this month marks the two-year anniversary of Pokemon Sword and Shield. It also happens to be the fifth anniversary of Pokemon Sun and Moon, the games that kicked off Generation 7.

Although Sun and Moon were the third pair of Pokemon games on the Nintendo 3DS (with a fourth still to come), they arguably felt the most unique. Generation 6 titles on the handheld included Pokemon X and Y, which were the series' first step into 3D and felt basic; as well as Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, remakes that radically shook up the source material compared to Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl but were ultimately retreading old ground.

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The Hawai'i-inspired Alola region was a breath of fresh air for the franchise, but where Sun and Moon surpassed their "alternate reality" sequels Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon was in more personal storytelling. Eschewing the Pokemon League Gym challenge structure gave players a unique journey through nature, and it all held together around a family drama that develops one of the more interesting villainous characters Pokemon has yet produced.

How Alola Differs From Other Pokemon Regions

Pokemon TCG Alolan Marowak Card Art

Pokemon regions have always been split into recurring biomes. Given the variety of Pokemon out there, it's to be expected players will come across caves full of Rock-types, deserts full of Ground-types, oceans full of Water-types, and so on. Pokemon X and Y's Kalos region (inspired by France) tested the waters on a larger region with enough segmented areas that there were three different sections in its Pokedex.

After that Sun and Moon went a step further, being set across a series of islands akin to the real-world Hawaiian archipelago - each featuring their own habitats and a Pokedex to match. Players journey across Melemele, Akala, Ula'ula, and Poni Island, interacting with pockets of civilization that were built to coexist with nature. Not only does each island have a guardian deity known as the Tapu whom Alolans aim to appease, Sun and Moon also introduced a Ride Pokemon mechanic that replaces restrictive HM moves with communal monsters that do everything from fly to push massive boulders.

Alola is a gorgeous tropical paradise, far beyond the subtropical land of Hoenn (inspired by real-world Kyushu, Japan), and the Pokemon living within it are fittingly designed. From the Water/Psychic-type Bruxish based on creatures like the reef triggerfish to the Fairy-type Comfey that weaves its own lei, almost every monster feels natural. However, the true genius of Game Freak's worldbuilding is Alola's focus on invasive species.

The protagonist - Elio or Selene - is a native of Kanto who moves to Melemele Island, and there are many Alolan Forms of Kantonian Pokemon originally brought to the region; including Grimer and Muk who were used to solve a garbage problem. Then there are Pokemon like the predatory Yungoos, said to have been imported to Alola so it could stave off Alolan Rattata. This is a clear reflection of real-world mongoose species being brought to Hawai'i in the 1880s so they could control rat populations in sugarcane fields, as described by the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). In both cases, this wreaked havoc on local ecosystems.

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Ultra Beasts and Lusamine's Decline

To talk of Sun and Moon's focus on invasive species without the Ultra Beasts would be a disservice. Ultra Beasts are Pokemon from other dimensions, most of whom have the equivalent strength of Legendaries in the prime universe but could be sorted into roles like "starters," such as Poipole for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon's Ultra Recon Squad. Alola's history tells of Ultra Beasts doing battle with the Tapu, and in the modern era it's found they came to Earth through "Ultra Wormholes," as described by Lusamine's ex-husband and Aether Foundation researcher Mohn.

The Aether Foundation is also like an invasive species, with its floating headquarters being the size of a fifth island. Lusamine is the president of the foundation and says her aim is to protect all Pokemon - including Ultra Beasts, as the player learns amid their Island Challenge when a beast named Nihilego invades. It turns out the president has a crazed obsession with "protecting" the Ultra Beasts, seemingly spurned by Mohn's disappearance while researching Ultra Wormholes.

During their journey players will meet Lillie, Professor Kukui's assistant; and Gladion, an enforcer for Team Skull. They come to learn both are Lusamine's children, equally impacted by growing up under an overbearing single parent. Gladion runs away having discovered a failed artificial Pokemon designed to mimic Arceus' type shifting so it can defeat the Ultra Beasts, named Type: Null. Lillie is left to deal with the seemingly abusive parentage on her own, and winds up unable to make simple decisions such as how to dress for herself until running away with the Ultra Beast Cosmog.

The children come to a head with their mother after she recaptures Lillie's Cosmog "Nebbie" and uses its power to summon Ultra Wormholes across Alola - benefitted by Team Skull Boss Guzma, whose organization of spurned ne'er-do-wells was funded by the Aether Foundation. Despite Lusamine disowning the siblings when they work against her, Gladion watches over her affairs while Lillie and the player make their way to Ultra Space so they can confront her.

Deep in Ultra Space, Lusamine merges with Nihilego (a creature that looks suspiciously like Lillie when dressed by her mother), and poisons herself with the beast's toxins. The experience ultimately wakes Lusamine up from her mania, but leaves her so weak that Lillie leaves for Kanto so they can seek treatment. In a vacuum, there are clues one could read into this family dispute as a metaphor for dealing with a parent's neurodegenerative disorder, as Lusamine loses herself and hurts those closest to her.

Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Demonstrate This Narrative's Strengths

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Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon did away with this interesting, nuanced story that impacts most of the main cast by gutting its climax. This universe sees Lusamine and Guzma cast out of Ultra Space by Necrozma, the third box Legendary who goes on to absorb the power of Solgaleo or Lunala in order to regain its strength and become a nigh-invincible dragon who can deplete the light of an entire universe. It's a more grandiose tale befitting other games in the series, akin to Platinum version dragging players into the Distortion World, but it loses Sun and Moon's best trait: heart.

Pokemon games are not known for their deep narratives, but the family story underpinning Sun and Moon is one of the strongest examples thanks to its relatable characters in a region deeply informed by real-life history. Others in the series have come close, such as the manipulation of N by Ghetsis in Black and White, but the strength of Lusamine's story is such that it even hurt Sword and Shield for also smokescreening Chairman Rose behind a lesser "villainous" organization. That's why it's worth remembering five years on as Game Freak aims to try something new with Pokemon Legends: Arceus.

Pokemon Sun and Moon are available now on Nintendo 3DS.

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Source: NPS