Things To Avoid In Pokemon Sun And Moon

Pokemon Sun and Moon offer you the perfect getaway in the form of an adventure across the Alolan Islands. This new region is full of interesting Pokemon, unique locations, and a variety of colorful characters to meet, so it can be a bit overwhelming for newcomers. There are about a million things you can do wrong when starting up Pokemon Sun and Moon, so we've taken it upon ourselves to give you some tips on what not to do while adventuring in Alola. Follow these helpful hints and you'll be on your way to becoming the biggest kahuna of them all — at least in these parts.

It might seem tempting to get a shiny starting Pokemon, but keep in mind that getting one to spawn is a 1-in-4,000 chance. The odds are clearly not in your favor, so you have to think really hard about whether or not you want to waste hours of your life just to get a white Litten or a slightly bluer Popplio. You have to endure three minutes of dialogue, starting from the point when you can save your game before the "choose your starter" sequence begins, up to the nicknaming screen that actually reveals whether or not you have a shiny. In the time it takes you to get a shiny starter, you could just progress the game so you can catch a Ditto and grab a friend to try to breed shiny starters anyway.

We know you're able to tell when a Trainer will challenge you to a battle once they lock eyes with you, all thanks to the dimming of the screen when a nearby Trainer is looking to brawl. We also know that it's tempting to just find a path around these Trainers in order to continue your progress in the story without interruption. Trust us when we say it's worth it to fight each and every Trainer battle that comes you way. Not only will your Pokemon get much-needed experience, but you'll also build up a good amount of cash and snag a few items here and there. It's also good to get these battles out of the way, just in case you need to backtrack, so you can freely walk down paths instead of choosing between Pokemon encounters in the long grass and the fight-hungry Trainers.

Variety is most definitely the spice of life, and with all the new Pokemon you can catch in the Alola region, you really shouldn't be sticking to the same team. It might be tempting to keep your original six Pokemon, especially since they might be your strongest, but consider putting in other pocket monsters and playing around with your team composition.

Because you get the Exp. Share item early on in the game, it's relatively easy to bring a new, lower-level Pokemon up to speed with the rest of your team after a few battles, since it'll get half the experience your active Pokemon earns. This handy Pokemon Team Planner, built by Redditor richi3f, can help you build a team and see what its strengths and weaknesses could be, so be sure to utilize it while diversifying your composition.

It's always a good idea to grind a bit before you take on the many different Trials and challenge Captains, which are Pokemon Sun and Moon's replacements for Gyms and Gym Leaders. It's not a very good idea to grind so much that you end up raising a Pokemon (especially traded Pokemon that get boosted experience) to a level that makes it so they don't obey you. You'll end up in a Grand Trial battle, wondering why your Alakazam or your Alolan Ninetales ignores your orders and then gets beat into a pulp. Train your team to the proper levels and then complete the Grand Trials that reward you with stamps on your Trainer Passport that allows higher-level Pokemon to follow your commands. Here's a guide to the Grand Trials for each island, just to let you gauge what levels your Pokemon should be before taking on the challenges.

One of the coolest features in Pokemon Sun and Moon is the ability to customize your character's appearance, from the clothes they wear to the hairstyles they rock. Not only can you purchase things like aviators, tank tops, designer bags, and footwear, but you can also go to salons for a cut-and-color, making your character look truly unique. You might want to find the nearest boutique upon entering a new city or town, but it can be very easy to go through your funds really quickly buying items to customize your Trainer. In the early game, save your Pokemon Dollars for important things like Pokeballs, Revives, Super Potions, and maybe the occasional Escape Rope or two. You'll have more than enough cash to transform your character into an island hipster dreamboat with thick-framed glasses later on!

Your Ride Pager is there for a reason, so don't walk around like a rube when you can be charging your way through areas in half the time with your Tauros. As you continue the story, you'll get access to more Ride Pokemon with different abilities, some of which can even net you more items, like the Stoutland and its Search skill that can sniff out hidden objects. It's easy to forget that you have these Ride Pokemon at your service until an obstacle is in your way, but be sure to use them and to use them often, especially because they can get you to hidden areas with cool items to collect. Use your Ride Pager enough and you'll forget all about Bikes even existing in past Pokemon titles.

This seems like a no-brainer, but plenty of people forget to save their games every so often. This, of course, can result in losing precious progress, either in the story or in training up Pokemon. Thankfully, the game saves after you trade Pokemon with someone, so you don't have to worry about losing a new friend, but there could be worse scenarios. Given that the game is on a portable console, you're always in danger of losing battery life in the middle of an important battle or Trial, so it would be devastating to lose so much progress because you didn't think to take a few seconds and save the game.

Pokemon Refresh is sort of like the follow-up to Pokemon Amie, allowing you to build up your Pokemon's affection and bond with them. Every so often, you'll see a "Care" option on the touchscreen of your device after a battle. Pressing "Y" will lead you to the Pokemon Refresh screen and task you with either cleaning up your Pokemon or getting rid of their status ailments, like paralysis or poison.

That's right, folks — you don't need items to clear status effects from your Pokemon because the option is built into Pokemon Refresh. Not only that, but you can feed them Poke Beans and pet them to raise their affection toward you. Once you max out their affection, they'll be able to do cool things in battle like dodge attacks in response to your "shouts," shake off status effects so you don't worry, and even wish for your praise after they land critical hits. It pays to bond with your Pokemon.

Your Pokemon's move list is what gives it flavor in battle and can be crucial to winning matches, especially if you're a competitive player. With that said, don't just keep deleting old moves every time your Pokemon levels up and tries to learn a new skill. The new skills might seem cool and you'll probably want to see how they perform in battles, but be wary of what might be more useful to you. Study up on Types and see if your Pokemon's move lists are up to snuff, able to stand up to most of the 18 Types in the game. This way, your team will be like a Swiss Army knife, ready to take on all comers with a variety of moves that can be effective, no matter the Type(s) of your Pokemon.

If you notice some swirling green or pink lights anywhere in the world, you should go up to them and investigate. These are Zygarde Cells and Cores, which make up the Pokemon, Zygarde. It's easy to overlook them or not take the time to sniff them out in new areas, but it's a good idea to collect as many of these as you go so that you can create the 10 percent and 50 percent Formes, eventually collecting 100/100 elements to create the 100 percent Forme. It might be a bit confusing, but if you've ever wanted a Pokemon that kind of looks like a Decepticon, there's a guide for that.