There are a ridiculous number of legendaries present in the Pokémon series. Over 50 of the characters have this title at this moment. Pokémon Sun and Moon boosted that number significantly by not only having the four Guardians, but also the Cosmog line, Silvally, and Necrozma. That isn’t even getting into the number of Ultra Beasts introduced in this seventh generation. It is staggering. Now that Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are here, it is easier to gather all of these characters together. Having so many special Pokémon is more manageable. Someone can even get away with not using the Pokémon Bank to accrue them all.
The Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon standard legendary Pokémon are all fairly easy to acquire. As you go through the game, you will be presented with opportunities to befriend all of these important characters either during or after completing the adventure. Cosmog and its evolutionary line are adjacent to your party as time goes by, eventually joining. You even get a spare to share. Necrozma comes up in the story before beating it. The Guardians, Tapu Bulu, Tapu Fini, Tapu Koko, and Tapu Lele, become immediately available after beating the game. You get chances to visit their shrines and battle them. The same goes for Silvally. All of the characters introduced here are readily available.
But what is helpful is how easy it is to earn legendary Pokémon from other games. You start on your way to Zygarde as you play the game, first by finding a 50% form, then getting the chance to get a complete one after fighting Dexio after beating the game. Once you have a Lunala or Solgaleo, you can Ultra Warp Ride to different wormholes to find unusual Pokémon. That includes legendaries from other games. Blue, green, red, and yellow wormholes are available. (There are also rainbow wormholes, but those are for finding shiny Pokémon.) Different ones have different special Pokémon inside of them.
Should you venture in, you might get lucky and have an opportunity to acquire someone special. Some are limited to different versions, of course. There are instances where a character like Rayquaza will require you to have both Groudon and Kyogre in your party. Which can involve trading, since in this example Groudon is only in Pokémon Ultra Sun yellow wormholes and Kyogre is only in Pokémon Ultra Moon blue wormholes. These explorations, experimentations, and interactions add more value to the games and make it less necessary to turn to older installments.
The way Totem Pokémon are handled in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon also makes these entries more special. From the very outset of the adventure, you are introduced to Totem Stickers. These are items you can find both indoors and out that can be traded to Samson Oak for the Totem Pokémon you see in the games’ trials. There are 100 of these stickers and, depending on the plateau you reach, you can get version-exclusive characters that are far larger than the normal versions of such characters. Since I have Pokémon Ultra Moon, I received Raticate at 20 stickers, Araquanid at 40, Salazzle at 50, Togedemaru at 70, and will be able to get Mimikyu at 80 and Kommo-o at 100. It is a nice reward for being thorough and makes these trial characters seem both notable and obtainable.
You still have to work for legendary Pokémon in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Sure, there are a few instances where you just get a character. But for the most part, you are working for all of these special characters. You are seeking them out and being rewarded for your curiosity. And it is nice that all of these things are right here in front of us, in one game, instead of forcing people to turn to multiple installments and the Pokémon Bank to complete things.
Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are available for the Nintendo 3DS.
