Gameplay Journal An Ultra Journey through Alola... at night!

Hey gamers! I bought Ultra Moon right before the 3DS eShop closed and I've been waiting to download it (I needed a new SD card since there wasn't enough space on my current one). Now I'm all set to play it finally! 5 years late

I played Sun back in 2016, but I've never actually played through USUM. I don't remember the SM plot all too well, and I have no idea what's different about the plot for USUM. A long-winded way of saying, I'm going into this almost completely blind. (So please don't spoil) Because it's my first playthrough, I won't be doing any challenges. This is just a regular old playthrough. (I will be nicknaming every Pokémon though.)

I picked Rowlet in Sun, so I decided to shake things up and pick Popplio this time. I would've picked Litten if competitive didn't ruin Incineroar for me

Spoiler: Popplio acquired!

This one ended up being a female, so I named her Selene. It sounds elegant and fitting for a Primarina, and the name reminds me of the moon. (Now that I think about it, isn't the female protag's name in USUM also Selene??)

I was getting super picky for what I wanted on my team. Either I was trying to avoid what I had on my team in Sun (Slowpoke, Magnemite) or I just didn't want it on my team (Yungoos, Wingull, etc.) but this is what I have so far:

Spoiler: The crew so far!

I don't think I want to keep the Alolan Grimer, but I probably will be keeping the Buneary and Alolan Meowth.

I stopped playing for now after getting through the Trainer School battles and making it to Hau'oli City. I stopped by the apparel shop and the salon to change my character's look to look more like me.

Spoiler: Fit check!

This is a purple shirt, trust me. It just looks blue in the picture.

Thoughts so far:
- I realize now that the apparel shops in Sun and Ultra Sun sell clothes in pink, red, orange, yellow, and brown, and in Moon and Ultra Moon sell green, blue, navy blue, purple, and gray. That's a fun little touch with the warm colors in the Sun games and the cool colors in the Moon games. Tbh I like the cool colors way better. Purple is my favorite color, after all.
- The times of day in UM are different from what they are in Sun. I was playing in the afternoon and it was nighttime in the game. Normally in Sun at this time, it would be daytime. I don't foresee myself playing this early in the morning, so it seems like it'll always be nighttime in-game when I play.
- I know all the jokes about the Alola games being loaded with cutscenes, but holy crap I didn't realize HOW MANY cutscenes there were. (It's been years since I played through Sun.)
- I think they were called the Ultra Recon Squad? They were there for a few seconds. I have no idea who they are, but I take it they're part of the new plot in USUM. They probably have something to do with Necrozma??
- I'm having a lot of fun so far! I haven't played a new Pokémon game since Sun back in 2016, so it's exciting to start from the beginning in a new game.

Spoiler: Stopping point 1!

You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get the trainer card photo with the eyes closed. I tried to get it mid-blink for at least 5 minutes but I don't think it's possible. Closed eyes it is.

Random fun fact: this is the first time I've had my name set as Rad! I usually had it set as my deadname...

I will try my best to keep updating this thread! No promises though-

 

Entry #2!

Spoiler: Recap from last time

- I started my journey with Popplio.
- I slowly built up a team consisting of Selene (Popplio), Huggy (Buneary), Melonballer (Alolan Meowth), and SludgeBoss (Alolan Grimer).
- I made it through the Trainer School battles.
- I stopped at Hau'oli City after making some character customizations.

Spoiler: Some information I forgot from last time

- I know I said I didn't want to have the same team as I did in Sun, but I never actually specified what my team was. It was Decidueye, Toucannon, Magnezone, Snorlax, Ribombee, and Slowbro. So we will be avoiding those mons on my team this time around.
- I was slightly miffed about my Popplio because it ended up with a Brave nature, but I didn't want to reset because it was a female. So we'll be rolling with the least ideal nature for her.

This time I started playing at around 6 PM-ish in my time, so it was actually "day time" in game for once. We started off in Hau'oli City, where we had the first encounter with Team Skull. I forgot how goofy they were. Then I made my way over to what I'm assuming was a new area added into USUM, because I didn't remember this in Sun. It's the Mantine surfing area. I've heard of the Mantine surfing, but I have no idea what it is. I'll have to check on that later.

Anyway my main goal today was clearing the first trial.

Spoiler: Trial 1 START!

Verdant Cavern was actually really pretty. I don't remember the last time I was there.

This trial was a breeze because I caught a Makuhita (FightNight) and had just it spam Arm Thrust. Very straightforward, especially since Alolan Rattata and Raticate are 4x weak to it.

Spoiler: First trial CLEARED!

FightNight was definitely MVP. I don't think I even used any other team member lol

I remember back in Sun that the totem Pokémon was Gumshoos, but I've read that in the Moon games that it's Alolan Raticate. I guess it was kinda funny to find them in the daytime, since the Alolan rats only appear at night.

The wildest thing happened during today's run. FightNight was in a battle with a Murkrow (?) and there was some ridiculous luck. I had her use Focus Energy, then Arm Thrust. The first hit was a critical hit, the next hit was a crit, then the next one was a crit, then the next one was a crit. It hit 4 times and each one was a crit. I was shocked. I've looked into the likelihood of this happening:
- After a Focus Energy, most attacks have a 50% chance of being a critical hit. So with 4 hits, that makes it a 6.25% chance of all 4 being crits.
- Arm Thrust has a 15% chance of hitting 4 times in a row in gen V and onwards. And with the 6.25% chance, that makes it a 0.9375% chance of Arm Thrust hitting 4 times and all of them being crits (assuming my math is correct, which I'm pretty sure it is).

I think my team is finally starting to come together. Again, I'm trying to avoid the same team. It's nice to use some new mons for a change.

Spoiler: The team so far!

I caught the Noibat on my way out of the Verdant Cavern. I didn't even know you could find them there... must be a new addition in USUM. Sadly I kicked Huggy (Buneary) off the team. It's just been a bit hard to use her I guess. Not sure if I want to keep Mime Jr. or Alolan Grimer but I'll keep them there for now.

That was a good enough stopping point for me. I suppose I could've gone from the start to the end of the first trial all in one sitting, but I didn't want to sit and play for that long.

Spoiler: Stopping point 2!