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What did you like about Sun&Moon?

This game gets pretty tough towards the end. I had considered not using the exp share but oh boy am I glad I did. The champion's pokemon were on par level wise with my team and 4 of my pokemon went down in the battle. I appreciated the fact that the game did get progressively tougher and more challenging. My team was really awesome when they took victory.
 
  • Ride Pokemon, of course, are super fun. I'd like Stoutland to be a bit faster when sniffing stuff out-I miss having my Dowsing Machine on while I run-but everything else is a dream. (Especially registering a ride Pokemon to the D-Pad-no more menus and dialogue boxes!)
  • Even though it's more limited, the character customization being there at all is always fun. I've already found a favorite tank top with that sweet Alolan Marowak design.
  • So many new moves and abilities! I keep wanting to get some monotype teams together, but I'm stopped by wanting to try a new one-"Let's combine Tapu Koko's Electric Surge with Raichu's Surge Surfer! No, wait, Salazzle's Corrosion with Toxapex's Merciless! Ahh, but what about Ribombee's Pollen Puff?"
  • I miss the minigames and decorations of Pokemon Amie, but Pokemon Refresh and Poke Pelago did a great job of building on it! And it's so nice to let my boxed Pokemon have some fun!
  • Ultra Space and the Ultra Beasts were super fun, I'm only saddened that we didn't get a little more in the quest post-game.
  • Lusamine is such a fun villain, and her fusion with Nihilego...
  • The main cast are all such fun to be around! (Gosh, Lillie's face when Kukui makes his "ahoy" joke just killed me)
  • But special mention has to go to seeing Lillie grow up and mature as a person-I felt really happy seeing her "trial"!
  • It's really neat to have different challengers as Champion! There's obviously some holes in-universe-shouldn't we be informed of them wanting to challenge us, instead of it being done whenever we feel like it?-but flaws are to expected of a first start. It's so fun to see each character on their own journey, and even get some surprises like that over-powered Youngster. (I sure hope we get more info about that Dragon-type rock star, though...)
  • Even though I missed having gym trainers to level up against, the trials were all really fun, and the Totem Pokemon were a great way to show off a new Pokemon's special powers!
  • Nebby! Having a special connection to a legendary is so nice, and Nebby was really fun even before the reveal!
When I first saw Oranguru, I went absolutely bonkers over it
Would you say you went...bananas?
 
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I've already said everything I love about this game, but there's one more thing. the birth of GET IN THE BAG, NEBBY. I love how this game gave us this meme. Lillie's duffel bag is actually a real thing being sold on Amazon and all the reviews are mentioning how it can't keep Nebby in the bag. Its so hilarious.
 
I liked how Lusamine said she has no children to Lillie. Lusamine is far better than Lillie as a character in my opinion.
 
lol I love that moment in ultra space when Lillie yells at her "you're a terrible mother!" And Lusamine just shrugs like "oh well."
Lusamine doesn't care and that made her a very good villain. I thought Lillie was a bit pointless to have in the game in my opinion. She has no pokemon and basically does nothing except carry Nebby throughout the game.
 
Lusamine doesn't care and that made her a very good villain. I thought Lillie was a bit pointless to have in the game in my opinion. She has no pokemon and basically does nothing except carry Nebby throughout the game.
See, I actually liked that about Lillie. Not everyone in the universe has to own Pokémon. In fact, I would have probably been annoyed if at some point Lillie wants to battle you with some little weakling Pokémon. She's a plot device, and a cute one at that. Her relation to Nebby is also what drives the story in parts, but I guess if you're not a fan of Cosmog as a Pokémon then that point is moot.

Aside from that, another thing I love about this game is the new IV checker. THANK YOU so much for letting us view it ourselves. It's so much easier, and I don't have to talk to a guy 5 times to see if my egg is perfect. Also, it shows the relative values of the stats that aren't perfect, which is nice.
 
Forgot to mention it in my first post, but along with having no gyms, I like that for the first time ever there was no Champion. It was a really interesting change up to have our final opponent be just a regular trainer, yet also one we've gotten to know over the story. And then we become the very first Champion of the region. That was such an amazing a special moment that actually made me feel like I'd made a major accomplishment.

Also, with that said, I like Kukui even more as a character because of this fact. He went through the effort of founding the first Pokemon League in Alola, but he didn't just say "Well, it's my league that I made, so I'm the first Champion". And I'm also assuming he didn't defeat the E4 at any point before the player just so he could say "Well I beat them all first, so I'm Champion". No, he sees the potential in the player (or whoever it could have been) and gives them the opportunity to earn the title first and foremost and I loved that.
 
I liked the difficulty of the game,not that it's ever hard but it catches you off guard a couple times thinking your just going into a story cut scene and all the sudden your battling a kahuna.

I enjoy the 4 tapu but wish we had some different types

Having the island challenge was a nice change of pace but we needed a better reward than z crystals.

As part of alolas culture giving out z crystals for winning challenges makes little sense since use of key stones is a relatively new discovery and there rarity,if the tapu hadn't given you one at the beginning of the game after saving you on the bridge you'd have spent your island challenge gaining z crystals you could never use....

Loved the new Mon and alola variants even if ninetails and sandslash gaining ice powers in a tropical climate make no sense.
 
When I first saw Alolan Dugtrio, I nearly fell off my chair laughing, as I'm reminded of this:

 
As part of alolas culture giving out z crystals for winning challenges makes little sense since use of key stones is a relatively new discovery and there rarity,if the tapu hadn't given you one at the beginning of the game after saving you on the bridge you'd have spent your island challenge gaining z crystals you could never use....
Z-Crystals don't use a Key Stone, they use a Z-Ring. (The Key Stone is given by Dexio in the post-game) They've pretty obviously been around for a while, and lots of characters have them-in addition to how every captain, kahuna, and league challenger can use Z-Moves, so can plenty of trainers in the Battle Tree and Battle Royal, and even some trainers just in various routes. They're quite common.
 
As part of alolas culture giving out z crystals for winning challenges makes little sense since use of key stones is a relatively new discovery and there rarity,if the tapu hadn't given you one at the beginning of the game after saving you on the bridge you'd have spent your island challenge gaining z crystals you could never use....

Key Stones aren't new; they've been in use in Kalos for at least four generations (though it's probably been more than seven, realistically).

Moreover, Z-Crystals aren't the same thing as Key Stones. Key Stones can be used with a Z-Ring in order to achieve Mega Evolution, but this isn't necessary as far as using Z-Crystals go (hence us not even receiving a Key Stone until the post-game). Hala says that the kahunas know how to fashion Z-Rings out of the sparkling stones that the tapu give out, and they have done this for a long time, because almost everybody who takes on the island challenge receives a Z-Ring. Additionally. Z-Crystals are very common - there's a trunk full of Buginium Z in Guzma's lair.

Loved the new Mon and alola variants even if ninetails and sandslash gaining ice powers in a tropical climate make no sense.

That "tropical climate" still has snow, on the top of Mount Lanakila. It was explained during the pre-release period that Vulpix and Sandshrew that were brought to Alola migrated to that mountain in order to avoid other Pokémon habitats/volcanic eruptions, respectively. And indeed, the only place you find them is on that mountain (or more rarely at the base of it).
 
Aaaaaaah my draft was erased oop. Let me start off from scratch, then add what I can later on.

  • The games are immersive and beautiful.
  • Gladion. Everything about him aside from his lack of screentime.
  • Lusamine was pretty cool.
  • Faba and Wicke were great. I especially feel a connection to Faba, since he reminds me of Rusty Venture.
  • Aether in general was awesome, and I hope they get more exploration in the future.
  • Aaaaah Burnet looks so great.
  • The experience system (from Gen V) really helps balance out the EXP.Share. I'd still like an EXP.Share and EXP.All in the game to add more freedom, but this was the next best thing.
  • The Kanto references didn't get too out of hand this time around, and a lot of them weren't obnoxious.
  • 5 4 3 2 1
  • Team Skull was hilarious.
  • Holy shit the music, best music since... Well, you all know what I'm going to say.
  • I love the idea of us not only being recognized as the Champion, but also getting to take on a gallery of challengers.
  • The Z-Moves are not a bad concept, and they didn't hurt the gameplay. I mostly used them as a way to quickly end battles or to make a big finisher. They're neato.
  • Mimikyu.
  • The concept of UBs are interesting, and I like the out-there designs of most of them.
  • Alola forms, as a concept, is cool. I hated the Sandshrew line, but Snowshrew's line is fantastic.
 
-The environments of Alola are really beautiful.
-The story is a definite step up from XY and is pretty solid on its own.
-Most of the characters are likeable, the Trial Captains follow Gen V's example and are more involved in their world, Kukui's easily the most involved Professor and is very likeable on his own, and the main characters (both friendly and antagonistic) are very enjoyable.
-Team Skull is so much fun, they up play their buffoonery to charming levels and they actually have a decent backstory to why they act the way they do.
-The Music is excellent, it's honestly a contender for one of my favorite tracks in the series.
-A lot of the Pokémon designs are very nice, but special mention goes to the UBs for having such creative and unique designs and concepts.
-PokePelago is fun to mess around with from time to time.
-I'm glad they finally got rid of the HMs, the Ride Pokémon idea is a great alternatives to it.
-Same with the Trial System to Gyms, especially since Trials have a lot more ties to the story and culture of the region compared to the latter.
-The Totem Pokémon battles are pretty likeable with some employing very clever strategies that can blindside you if you aren't careful.
-The difficultly is a nice improvement, with one of the biggest helper in this regard being them bringing back Gen V's EXP system, which helped curb the Exp. Share's high gains for the main portion of the game.
-A lot of the little flourishes such as Bagon being more common below the cliff and the UBs and certain Pokémon sharing the same soundin their cries are nice touches to make the world and Pokémon feel more connected and lively.
-The Title Defense Challenge is a very cool idea, it has a couple issues, but I'm glad they actually did implement this idea into the games and have us functionally serve as the Champion.
 
Things I liked in this game:

-The annoying TM's finally removed
-The awesome music
-Character Customization starting to become a series staple
-EV-trained opponents in the storyline - this part makes battling many of the advanced trainers a lot more interesting compared to past games.
-Defending your champion title makes much more sense
-The beautiful, scaled out overworld
-The trainers in the battling background
-Apricorn Balls coming back
-A decent plot

And this last part is what I like the most:
The fact that there is no true conflict - implied or otherwise - between the box Legendaries.
Ie: that Solgaleo and Lunala are just interdimensional gender counterparts. This is a very nice breath of fresh air compared to the last 4 generations. v_v
 
Alright so now that I got my mammoth post of story praise out of the way, let me go over which mechanical-or-other changes I liked.

Spoiler wrapped because wow-ee, that's a big post.

- Okay, I lied. I have one more story point that I forgot to cover. The fact that our Starter also has to choose us - amazing. It's a seriously brilliant twist on the usual formula.

- HM removal. Now, honestly, I thought they'd whittled down the HM requirements to a totally reasonable point in BW, B2W2, and XY (ORAS was a bit stupid about them though). But seeing what a game without them is like... I just can't believe it. It's perfect. I feel so much freer when it comes to constructing my team, and the Ride Pokémon themselves are all quite charming (I thought the Machamp one was particularly clever). In fact, just being able to actually ride on Pokémon in the overworld (on land, anyway - we'd seen it with the sea and the sky before) is pretty awesome to see.

- The UI is probably my favorite of all. Well, it's at least my second-favorite after Gen V's. I like that the "Fight" option in the battle menu are on the right side rather than the center (symbolically, I like that it sort of de-emphasizes offense as the go-to strategy), and I love that the moves are now listed as a single stack of four rather than two stacks of two on either side (I was always very OCD about how I would arrange moves, and the new arrangement is much easier to work with). I also really appreciate the increased visibility for things like stat buffs/drops, turns remaining for weather/stuff like Taunt, in-battle reference for status condition effects, and everything else afforded by the new central battle menu interface. It's hard to believe that this is all new - in hindsight, it's like, "Why was this stuff ever invisible?" On top of that, I'm also a fan of being able to see the type advantage of moves.

- The PC has reached its apotheosis. I don't think it can get any better than this. (Well, more wallpapers would be nice.) Also wonderful is the option to send newly-captured Pokémon to your PC or add them to your party. Again, it's the kind of thing I look at and say, "That makes so much sense! Why is this a NEW development!?"

- I like having the Town Map visible on the bottom screen via Rotom Dex (which was a pretty clever idea in itself - really, they've done a great job in general of implementing old Pokémon into the Alolan lifestyle), although I do think there's room for improvement there. What I think would be ideal would be a wedding of the Rotom Dex and the PokéNav Plus, perhaps with a couple of additional utility features from the Pokétch.

- The Trials are wonderful. They've got so much more character than most of the Gyms in the series thus far. They're fun as hell, and challenging where it counts (I've said before that I'm not really looking for a challenge when it comes to Pokémon, but I do like when there is one). The structure of them is pretty cool too - locking us in until it's finished (Why wasn't this a thing before now? Why wasn't this a thing before now? Why wasn't--- I swear, the amount of things in SM that have made me ask this is ridiculous.), and giving us Poké Balls as a reward to encourage us to revisit the Trial site and catch what's there is super cool.

- Z-Crystals are a good replacement for the TM rewards we'd normally get from Gyms. On that note, I like how they handled Z-Moves. They don't seem absurdly OP like certain Mega Evolutions, and I've found them pretty fun to use. They're far better at doing what they wanted Megas to do - that is, to be saved until a critical moment in battle. With Megas, who isn't going to have their Pokémon Mega Evolved within the first couple of turns? With Z-Moves, I feel like you have to be more careful and considerate of the timing. The Z-Ring also has a cooler aesthetic than the Mega Ring/Bracelet. And sue me, I like the dances. I like elementally-themed stuff, okay?

- The lore behind all of the Z-Stuff is more unified and more interesting than the lore behind Mega Evolution. I love how the UB auras, Z-Moves, and Totem Pokémon all derive from the same source - normally I'd be hesitant to link several key concepts to the same thing like that, but in this case it feels very tidy, and makes internal sense. Although in fairness, it's entirely possible that the next games could come along and screw it up like ORAS did with Mega Evolution. But at least we're off to a better start with that stuff than we were with XY - at least the Starters of this region get their own Z-Moves, sheesh. And there are misc. Trainers around the region who actually use Z-Moves! Thank god! I hated how Mega Evolution was restricted to a small handful of major boss characters.

- The Alola region is quite lovely. What I loved about Unova was how densely packed it was and how diverse the landscape could be despite being so urbanized (and indeed, it still remains my favorite), and what I loved about Kalos was the beautiful architecture and the sense that there was a long history there. Alola brings a new flavor, feeling very open and close to nature. It's a region of life and energy and warmth. As I mentioned in my other post, even the high-tech, titanic structure that is the Aether Paradise feels like it belongs, since their goals are to do with Pokémon conservation. Oh, and I have to give special mention to the cries of wild Pokémon in the overworld. Great for immersion.

- The Alola Forms. Oddly, I'm not as bothered by them being limited to Gen I Pokémon as I thought I'd be. I suppose, because it's only the concept's first outing, and as a treat for long-time players/a capitalization on Go hype/a VC tie-in, it does make some sense for them to be Gen I-only. And using some of the oldest and most familiar designs is punchier. Plus, I read in an interview recently that they'd still be open to using the concept of regional variants if they felt it would fit a future game, so I find that encouraging. At any rate, I'm very happy with all of the Alola Forms that we got - they're all very vibrant and fun. If anything, I'm only upset because there were a few other Gen I Pokémon, like Rapidash and Dewgong, that I was hoping to see get Alola Forms!

- I don't think I could possibly be happier with the UBs' designs. They delivered.

- There's some post-game areas to explore! It's not much - certainly nothing like what Platinum, BW, and B2W2 offered, but hell, I'll take it over the nothing of XY and the tiny islands of ORAS in a heartbeat.

- Poké Pelago. It feels awesome to know that the Pokémon in my PC boxes are off relaxing and having fun, and getting some cool stuff out of it.

- The Poké Finder. Is it simplistic? Yes, but I as one of the few fans of Gen V's Musicals, I've found that I actually like that in my side-activities. I don't like having a whole other complicated list of stats and techniques to keep up with.

- Champion title defense. A masterstroke of fanservice that doesn't feel forced, and makes it much more fun to rebattle the Elite Four. Although it is a little irritating that the challengers still won't use teams of six. Veteran Shaun could do it, and he was some nobody in a cave! Come on!

- I quite like the little Pokédex missions that certain NPCs will pay you for. All the more reason to actually go out and catch stuff.

- I enjoyed the Zygarde Cell collection quest, though they probably could have given a clearer answer for why Zygarde was in Alola. I don't care about that too much, but I also don't think it would have killed them to just give us a definitive reason rather than beating around the bush. I assume it's there because of the UBs, but they don't even hint at that specifically. I still think it was a better use of Zygarde than a Z game would have been, though.

- These games' fishing mechanic is probably my favorite.

- I like that Trainers can spot us from afar now (as well as the shadowy "warning" we get). It feels like there's actually space in the overworld for our Pokémon to battle. Plus they were pretty clever with some of them, like th Swimmer lady who bends over and sees you through her legs, or the Karate guy doing sit-ups.

- The cafés are a nice little way to relax. Plus, I mean, the hospital that I work at irl has a coffee shop built in - so the way I see it, of course Pokémon Centers would, too. Great for the workers and for the Trainers who come through late at night. Again, it's great immersion.

- I'd say it's nice to see the Apricorn Balls back, but um... only one of each?

- I'm happy that customization is back, even though the options leave a lot to be desired. Limited customization is still better than nothing.

- I'm going to be the contrarian on these last two points and say that I heartily support both the low number of new Pokémon (as I did with XY), as well as the decision to move the National Dex to the Pokémon Bank (yet again, I find myself blown away by how much sense this makes).

- The soundtrack is amazing, but by this point, saying that Pokémon music is fantastic feels like saying the sky is usually blue.

And this last part is what I like the most:
The fact that there is no true conflict - implied or otherwise - between the box Legendaries.
Ie: that Solgaleo and Lunala are just interdimensional gender counterparts. This is a very nice breath of fresh air compared to the last 4 generations. v_v

I don't think there was ever any implied conflict between Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina aside from in the films, which as we know kinda do their own thing. Really, it doesn't seem like those three interact much at all, and even if they do, it'd be best for them to get along.
 
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I liked so much more about this game than I disliked about it.

1. NO HMS! This was probably my number-one favorite thing. Such a relief. I hated those things. Gens V and VI improved the mechanic, but I never would have thought that VII would do away with them entirely. I'm so happy about this. I hope they never come back, even for remakes.
2. The new Pokemon. I don't know, they just seemed cuter than than previous generations. Maybe I've grown less picky. But I was so happy with their designs.
3. Hau, Lille, Gladion, and Plumeria are all adorable.
4. Team Skull.
5. The Aether Foundation. Damn. Like many people, I predicted they would be antagonists, but I didn't think that Team Skull would be working for them! I found Guzma's devotion to Lusamine to be rather sweet, even if she was just using him. Oh, and I loved that Lusamine wasn't a "femme fatale" who just seduced Guzma or something dumb like that.
6. The Ultra Beasts. Holy damn, those are some of the coolest Pokemon I've ever seen. So much more awesome than Legendaries.
7. The music, especially the Aether Foundation battle music. I love the use of the violins!
8. The trials! They were so much fun, and a breath of fresh air! I loved how each one was a little different. I was kind of sad when they were all over.
9. Pokemon Refresh. It was so worth it to see how happy my Pokemon got. I like how every Pokemon's "Thank you!" animation and cry is different.
10. THE RETURN OF DEXIO AND SINA. I loved those two in X/Y. I'm so happy to see them again!
11. The return of Colress! I love his new outfit!
12. You can now see the trainers of Pokemon during the battle. They all have their own animations and defeat portraits!
13. The starter Pokemon choosing you! It was adorable, heartwarming, and completely unexpected! (Glad they can't reject you, though, haha!)
14. I really liked how the game explicitly stated that the guardians were worshiped, and how people spoke of them being "capricious." I felt like it added some humanity to the series.

I'm just so grateful for Pokemon Sun and Moon. I love Pokemon.
 
Already named some things in the OP, but here's some more:

- The island challenge. Though the trials themselves leave something to be desired, I still very much prefer this idea over the gyms. With gyms it was just 'you should beat the gyms cause well they're there so why not' but the island challenge is just so much more integrated into the story. Because of the island challenge amulet, people recognising you as a 'trial-goer', trial guides hanging around to help you, and there being blockades for trial-goers until they've finished a certain trial. It just feels so much more real and a logical thing to do in this world.

- Team Skull. Just met the grunts at the bus stop on Route 10. Confirmed best evil team ever.

- The 'register this Pokémon in your pokédex' quests, cause I've always felt that the series just had too few 'actual' side-quests like this.

- Poké Pelago. I often have multiple days in which I just don't have time to play. Being able to raise friendship, hatch Eggs, and EV-train during that time is just amazing. Also love
the treasure hunting, as you often only get one of each evolutionary stone in the game and getting them via Super Training was such a drag.

- Lurantis.
 
The swear filter has been improved. It's more context-sensitive this time; you can now name your Pokemon "Basement," but not "semen." I think you can also name your Pokemon "Viola" now, too. "Lesbian" is also unbanned this time. They also caught a few more words they didn't filter from the XY days. I'm glad they actually improved this, instead of just taking it straight from Gen VI and not tweaking it.

I also like how lowercase l looks exactly like an uppercase I in the game's font, because I've been using that to bypass the swear filter.
 
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