Alola Form Rattata, New Z Moves, And An Early Purchase Bonus Revealed For ‘Pokemon Sun’ and ‘Pokemon Moon’

Nintendo’s 3DS focused Nintendo Direct presentation couldn’t have gone on without some new Pokemon news. As expected, the highly anticipated Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon got their share of the spotlight, with a new version of everyone’s favorite candy and stardust fodder, Rattata. Alongside some new moves and a bonus for early buyers, the reasons to get excited keep on piling up!

First, following the trend of giving the original 150 new forms, Rattata now comes as a dual type, adding Dark to its typical Normal typing. Standing in a bipedal stance and seemingly wearing armor, the things look as terrifying as you would expect a giant rat would. Coming equipped with either the Gluttony or Hustle, the Route 1 mainstay will either eat its equipped berry faster, or have increased attack at the expense of physical move accuracy. We can only assume that a new form will follow for its evolved form, Raticate, but we’ll have to wait a bit longer for official confirmation.

Next, you know those fancy Z-Moves that we’ve been talking about? The super attacks that are supposed to be type exclusive? Well, now we’ve learned that some Pokemon will now have Z-Moves exclusive to them. Showing off Alola Form Raichu’s Stoked Sparksurfer attack in the trailer below, (as if the surfing themes surrounding it weren’t strong enough), Pikachu’s evolved form will ride its tail through the sky, only to crash down for a devastating electric attack. While without its own Alola Form, Snorlax will squash opponents flat with its Pulverizing Pancake, bringing new meaning to the phrase, “throwing your weight around.”

Speaking of Snorlax, early purchasers will receive a special Munchlax. The pre-evolved version of Snorlax holds Snorlian-Z, a special item that allows it to tap into its most powerful move once evolved. You’ll have until January 11 to redeem it, so make sure you don’t sleep on it.

We must ask though, are Z-Moves completely replacing Mega Evolution? They work similarly by needing a hold item to activate, and the Alola forms seem to cover new versions of old Pokemon. Considering we haven’t heard a peep about Mega Evolving throughout the entire build towards the Sun and Moon release, will it make a return at all? We’ll surely know once we get closer to the game’s November 18 launch, but until then, let’s keep speculating!