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Pokémon Sun & Moon's November 18 Date, Starter Pokémon Revealed in Video

posted on by Egan Loo
Hawaii-inspired "Alola region" & live-action Japanese intro video also shown

The Pokémon Company announced the release dates and the three Starter Pokémon in the Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon Nintendo 3DS games in a video on Tuesday. The game will debut in Japan and North America on November 18, followed by Europe on November 23.

The three Starter Pokémon are:

Grass-type Rowlet (Mokuroh in Japan)

CATEGORY Grass Quill Pokémon
HEIGHT 1'00"
WEIGHT 3.3 lbs.
TYPE Grass/Flying
ABILITY Overgrow

Rowlet can attack without making a sound! It flies silently through the skies, drawing near to its opponent without being noticed, and then lashing out with powerful kicks. It can also attack from a distance using the razor-sharp leaves that form part of its feathers.

Its visual abilities are impressive. The darkness of night is no obstacle to Rowlet! It can twist its neck nearly 180° from front to back so it can see directly behind itself. It has a habit of turning its head in battle to face its Trainer and receive instructions.

The move Leafage attacks an opponent by striking it with leaves. Rowlet knows this move from the moment it becomes your partner!

Fire-type Litten (Nyabby)

CATEGORY Fire Cat Pokémon
HEIGHT 1'04"
WEIGHT 9.5 lbs.
TYPE Fire
ABILITY Blaze

Logical but also passionate, Litten always remains coolheaded and doesn't show its emotions on the surface.

Litten can attack with flaming hairballs! Its fur is rich in oils and immensely flammable. Litten grooms itself by licking its fur, and then uses the collected fur as fuel for fireball attacks!

When the time comes for Litten to shed its old fur, it all burns up in a glorious blaze.

The move Ember attacks an opponent by firing a small flame at it. Litten knows this move from the moment it becomes your partner!

Water-type Popplio (Ashimari)

CATEGORY Sea Lion Pokémon
HEIGHT 1'04"
WEIGHT 16.5 lbs.
TYPE Water
ABILITY Torrent

Popplio's swimming speed is known to exceed 25 mph. It's better at moving in the water than on land. Still, when it's on land, it takes advantage of the elasticity of its balloons to perform acrobatic stunts and jumps.

Popplio can snort out balloons made of water! Watch it spin water balloons into a playful battle strategy!

Both frivolous and hard-working, Popplio can easily get carried away—unleashing enough power in battle to make quite a spectacle! But Popplio's determined spirit means it can usually be found practicing hard on its balloon skills.

The Water Gun move attacks an opponent by firing a jet of water. Popplio knows this move from the moment it becomes your partner!

The video reveals the Alola region with a Hawaii-inspired setting.

The Pokémon Company also posted a live-action Japanese short about Shōhei, a Japanese elementary schoolboy who has just moved to Hawaii. Despite a shaky handle on English, he gains courage from Pokémon to interact with his classmates and make friends. The tagline of the video is, "Let's Surpass Ourselves."

The games will be available on the Nintendo 3DS worldwide in Japanese, English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Korean, and — unlike in the previous generation — Chinese (Traditional and Simplified). Players can choose their preferred language when they launch each game.

2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the Pokémon game franchise.


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