A year after Sun and Moon, in November 2017, Game Freak returned to Alola with Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Same archipelago, same characters, but a story rewritten around Necrozma and a lot of extra content. Is it still worth playing the originals?
💎A different story
In Sun and Moon, the heart of the story is Lillie’s family and Lusamine’s obsession with the Ultra Beasts. In the Ultra versions, Necrozma takes center stage: it devours Alola’s light, fuses with Solgaleo or Lunala, and the Ultra Recon Squad, coming from Ultra Megalopolis, helps you fight it. Lusamine, Guzma and Team Skull have different roles, and some events change location.
➕What the Ultra versions add
- Ultra Warp Ride: riding Solgaleo or Lunala, you travel through Ultra Wormholes to catch legendary Pokémon from earlier generations.
- New Pokémon: Poipole and Naganadel, Stakataka, Blacephalon, and Lycanroc in its Dusk Form.
- New Totem Pokémon and reworked Trials, including a real Trial for Mina.
- Totem Stickers, which replace the Zygarde Cell hunt and give you Totem-sized Pokémon.
- Mantine Surf, a gliding mini-game between the islands, and a photo studio.
- Team Rainbow Rocket, in a post-League episode that brings together the series’ former team bosses.
📋What Sun and Moon keep for themselves
- A tighter story, centered on Lillie, her mother and her brother, often considered more moving.
- The Zygarde Cell hunt, exclusive to these versions.
- A faster pace: the main adventure wraps up a little sooner.
🤔Which one to choose?
If you want the most complete content, the Ultra versions win by a wide margin. If you want to discover the story of Alola as it was first imagined, Sun and Moon remain an excellent choice, and this mini-site walks you through it step by step. All four games can trade with each other.
Also read: our Sun and Moon review and Playing today.
