Pokemon Sun and Moon: Why the Newest Trailer Shows Great Changes for the Series

My brain. Is. Exploding. This year has been amazing for Pokemon fans all over the world, even those who just played gen 1 and have only nostalgia for the series. Between the re-release of Pokemon Red,  Blue, and Yellow and then the living dream that is Pokemon Go, not to mention the new Pokemon that looks suspiciously like a certain politician/ businessman 

this year has been a wild ride. Now, the new 7th gen games Sun and Moon and doing even more than their predecessors X and Y to change the game, er, series. And I think its doing it in a good way that makes complete sense for the series progression so far. See the trailer for all of the new info.

Yup. Mind. Blown.

Here's why these change are actually pretty ingenious.

1. Delta, er Alola, forms make sense (if you get the reference, kudos to you!).

In real world animal populations, population variation is a thing. Taking a brief look at our old buddy Charles Darwin shows us this.

Darwin's finches specialized themselves depending on their environment. Other species do this too, but for simplicity's sake I'm sticking to this one. Pokemon is obviously doing a lowkey nod to this with the Alola forms, with both Pikipek and Oricorio

The various Pokemon Professors have throughout the series mentioned evolution, distribution, and region exclusivity of Pokemon, so to me it makes complete sense that since Alola is an island chain, region-specific variation would occur, adapting to their new environments to survive, and I'm ecstatic that Pokemon is doing this. It makes so much sense and I look forward to seeing more. Plus, Exeggutor. The derpy coconut tree got derpy-er

2. Z- Moves may be replacing Mega Evolution. I personally didn't like Mega Evolution too much. It seemed unbalanced in both in-game and the meta. Plus, it was unfair in which mons actually got a mega. I'm happy that Z-moves seem much more equitable since you just need a z stone and a move of matching type to use one.

3. More riding Pokemon, maybe the end of HMs? The trailer shows riding a Sharpedo and breaking through rocks, so maybe the dreaded HMs will finally be removed. Plus, you can ride a Charizard. Enough said. Just let me ride a Samurott and I'll be happy. 

4. Tons of new Pokemon. I literally haven't disliked a single new Mon. Especially Mimikyu, that cute sad little sweetheart.

Check out the official website for more info on all the new additions.

5. Gym system is changed to the Rite of the Island Challenge. I know, I know, the Gym challenge is an essential part of the Pokemon series. But let's be real, it was getting a little stale. The series needed a change, and this Challenge looks like a unique take on it. Plus, how can we reasonably expect that EVERY region in the Pokemon world would have an 8 gym Pokemon League Challenge?

Hearkening back to the real world, it looks like Pokemon is going for a more realistic approach by making more regional variation. It made sense for Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and Hoenn to follow the formula, since they are all based on Japanese regions, but I felt that Kalos and Unova should have beet a bit more different, as they are based on France and U.S. respectively.

Also, it looks like the trials are the main difference here, the Grand Trials still feel like a "gym leader" battle to me, which will keep the feel of the previous Pokemon formula with a unique twist!

All in all, I like that the Pokemon Company is trying to keep the series fresh for the fans. These changes, while they seem crazy, are actually a natural progression for the series. As can be learned from other game series, if you don't switch it up, you die cough* Megaman and Sonic* cough.