STACK #145 Nov 2016

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GAMES FEATURE

Dark side of the moon

called Poké Finder. You can use it to take pics

of Pokémon; the more you use it,

the better features you get. Possibly the most appealing addition to the Pokémon games in this generation is Poké Ride – yeah, you can take your Pokémon out for a cruise. Whether you’re taking to the skies on the back of your Charizard, or shredding up the seas on a Sharpedo, there are now even more ways to traverse the Pokémon world. With a Safari Zone's worth of new Pokémon

2016 marks 20 years of Pokémon.With the release of Pokémon GO earlier in the year, nostalgia is at an all-time high – what better time to release two new core Pokémon titles?

Future . You won’t be alone, however – an organisation known as the Aether Foundation will help you out, vying to protect all Pokémon from harm. As if dealing with the baddies wasn’t enough, if you truly wanna be the very best, you’re going to have to tackle Alola’s Island Challenges. Each of the four naturally occurring islands will host a bunch of different tasks, from battling Pokémon to finding items and everything in between, with a Totem Pokémon at the end for you to battle. You’ll then have to take on each island’s Kahuna, and besting them will lead you onto the next island and its challenges. If training Pokémon is what you’ve come to Sun and Moon to do, there are a whole bunch of new ways to improve your pocket brawlers. Sun and Moon introduces Hyper Training; even if your Pokémon have already hit the level 100 cap, you can still boost their stats, which will come in handy to blindside trainers online. Pokemon Sun and Moon also implement Z-Moves – ridiculously powerful, type-specific (and sometimes even Pokémon-specific)

to discover, capture and befriend, Pokémon Sun and Moon are the next step in your Pokémon journey.

• Pokémon Sun/Moon is out now

P okémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are the two most recent additions to the Pokémon franchise. The new titles are set in the island archipelago of Alola – Nintendo’s reimagining of Hawaii. Alola is comprised of five islands – four naturally- occurring and one man-made. Set 12 hours apart from one another, the new islands contain new forms of pre-existing Pokémon, so keep an eye out for some old favourites with a haircut. The new games introduce a new generation of the little pocket monsters, so catching ‘em all just got even more difficult, and will, of course, feature version exclusives. At least 55 new Pokémon in total have been officially revealed at the time of writing, with more to come before release no doubt. Most people will – understandably – be looking forward to seeing the new starters and legendaries. This year, you’ll be looking at choosing between the cute, purry Litten (Fire), the bubbly Popplio (Water), and the flightful, fluffy Rowlett (Grass/Flying). The two new legendaries – Solgaleo for Sun and Lunala for Moon – look out of this world, and there are also a couple of “Ultra Beasts” introduced in these games that could pose a threat to humans and Pokémon alike. One of them even takes an alternate form depending on which game you’ve got. Additionally, like the Jesse, James and Meowth of the past, these two games will bring with them a new team of baddies after your Pokémon – Team Skull, whose leader actually looks a lot like Doc from Back to the

moves that can only be used once a battle. There are even version-exclusive Z-Moves. Mega Evolution also returns, so look forward to enjoying ridiculous forms of new Pokémon. You’ll even have a new

Some of the strangest Alolan Pokemon forms

Exeggutor

way to care for your Pokémon, with Sun and Moon introducing Pokémon Refresh – think of it as a kind

of Nintendogs for Pokémon. They’re also bringing back Pokémon Snap – there’s a new feature in these games

Raichu

Marowak

Dugtrio

NOVEMBER 2016

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