8 Things You Missed In The Pokémon Sun And Moon Trailer

We’ve beamed the new Pokémon Sun and Moon trailer straight into our eyeballs so many times that we have now lost count.

But in our excitement, we have taken time to spot several things that many viewers may not have noticed even on multiple viewings. These are listed out below, so you can see whether you spotted them too.

If there’s anything that you have spotted which we have missed, let us know!

1. The Live-Action Japanese Trailer Echoes Pokémon Sun And Moon’s Premise

While western fans were treated to a straight-up gameplay trailer, The Pokémon Company filmed a live-action counterpart for Japan.

This traces the events that will open Pokémon Sun and Moon, which, in this first video, follows the journey of a young Japanese boy called Shohei as he faces a daunting moment in life when he moves to Hawaii with his mum. Afraid of his unfamiliar surroundings, he eventually makes new friends by discovering a shared passion for Pokémon.

That is reflected by your character in Pokémon Sun and Moon, who, in the English trailer, we also see is welcomed by your cousin Kukui to the new Alola region – which The Pokémon Company confirms has been inspired by Hawaii’s sunny shores.

2. We May Already Know Four Gym Leaders In Pokémon Sun And Moon

There is a scene in the Japanese trailer where Shohei is nervously introducing himself to his new classmates. Across the top of the whiteboard are cutouts of eight characters that have been purposefully positioned off-camera.

However, we can still see the names of the first, third, fifth and seventh characters – Caitlin, Pablo, Hoku and Ed – which, speculatively, could be an early tease of the Alola region’s Gym Leaders.

There is also a poster from a lesson about “Figuring Out Perspective,” which could be in reference to a more dynamic camera being present in the upcoming Nintendo 3DS exclusives.

3. Professor Hala Will Give You Your Starter Pokémon In Pokémon Sun And Moon

The character remained unnamed in the English trailer, but eagle-eyed fans that watched the Japanese version will have spotted the wise character who presents the Starter Pokémon having been referred to as Hala. We can assume from past games in the series that, given his role, this is the Alola region’s Pokémon Professor.

Incidentally, Hala is the Hawaiian name for the ‘pandanus tectorious,’ a spiny tree that grows in coastal regions which sprouts flowers and fruit.

4. You Will Communicate With Characters By Video And Photos Are Back In Pokémon Sun And Moon

In the Japanese trailer, we see the player communicating over video with their cousin Kukui. We’re only given a quick wave, but it provides us with a chance to take a look at another in-game screen.

What is interesting to note are the icons on the right-hand side, where we can clearly see a video camera, camera and spanner. Dismissing the spanner as a settings menu, we can speculate that Pokémon Sun and Moon will let players take snaps on their travels – ideal given the holiday destination that we will be adventuring across!

Comparatively, Pokémon X and Y tied such photographic instances to Photo Spots, while such opportunities were only seen when participating in a Pokémon Contest Spectacular in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

5. Pokémon Trainers Will Appear During Battles In Pokémon Sun And Moon

An exciting change that we spotted is that the Pokémon trainer character models will now appear for a battle’s duration. Within the few that are shown, we see the player’s character remain in view to encourage their Pokémon, while their opponent is similarly doing the same in the distance.

With so little gameplay footage shown so far, it is unclear as to whether this will simply be for key battles – such as against a rival, Gym Leaders and the Elite Four – or if it will include all trainers that litter the many paths that you will wander. We’re guessing not at this point, given the amount that Game Freak would have to animate.

6. Trainer Customisation Is Back In Pokémon Sun And Moon

Trainer Customisation was first introduced in Pokémon Battle Revolution, but later made its way into the mainline series in Pokémon X and Y. But where the Kalos region was bustling with Boutiques to shop for clothes in and a Salon to style your hair, such features were notably absent in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

It is therefore great to see that they are back in Pokémon Sun and Moon, with the Japanese trailer showing different hats, hair styles and skin tones for players to choose between when starting their adventure.

7. … And It May Include Clothes!

Those early customisation options appear to carry further across the experience. While the male Pokémon Trainer is mainly shown to wear a striped blue-and-white top, a discrepancy between the trailers shows one scene in which it is instead coloured black-and-white.

That could potentially be a mistake, but it could also be an indication that players will be able to choose between different clothing items – either when starting the game, or by buying new items on their journey across Alola.

8. Past Pokémon Generations Will Make An Appearance In Pokémon Sun And Moon

We may be entering “the next era of Pokémon games,” but, now that the seventh generation awaits us, that doesn’t mean that Game Freak has forgotten about the six that came before it.

At the close of the Japanese trailer, we can catch a glimpse at an early scene where the player is talking to their mum – with their cousin Kukui appearing just off-camera. More importantly, we can clearly see Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon, with its back to us.

We don’t know whether that means that it is simply the family pet that joined the family’s move to Alola, or if it acts as a wider tease to the fact that other generations can be caught in the region.