Generation VII has continued to add positive reception to the Pokémon franchise’s enduring legacy, with 2016’s Sun & Moon becoming the highest pre-selling Nintendo titles.
However, as with every Pokémon trainer’s journey, there are always more regions to explore. Now that many fans are beginning to wrap up their time in the Alola region, the highly-anticipated Generation VIII is on the horizon for 2019 on the Nintendo Switch.
One of the great features of Pokémon games is their replay value. Even after conquering each region’s Pokémon League, this does not mean that trainers have completed their Pokédex, found every item, or conquered the games’ hidden challenges that are not part of the main storyline.
Just as it takes time to train one’s Pokémon to challenge the next trainer, it also takes time to discover everything that each game has to offer.
The Generation VII games are no exception.
However, while Sun & Moon gave players plenty of content to browse, the two follow-ups released the following year, Ultra Sun & Moon, brought an alternate storyline, new features, and, of course, new Pokémon.
Since the Ultra games increase the number of things to do in the Alola region, players may want to take another look at the games to see what they might have missed in order to truly experience everything that the games have to offer.
Here are the 20 Things Only Experts Know How To Do In Pokémon Ultra Sun & Moon.
20. Win The Surfing Pikachu
The iconic mouse-like Pokémon may be best known for hitting enemies with Thunderbolt, but some of them are also known for hitting the waves.
The move Surf can be taught to Pokémon with the use of a Technical Machine (TM), but a Pikachu found in the games already comes with it.
However, this Pikachu is not going to be found in the wild. Instead, it is won in a mini game.
Mantine Surf puts players on the back of a Mantine on different surfing courses and has them perform tricks to add to their overall score.
If the high score for each course is beaten, players can go to HeaHea City’s Surf Association office to claim their Pika-prize.
This is not the first surfing Pikachu to be found in the series, as one first appeared in Generation I’s Surfing Pikachu minigame, and most recently in a special Pokémon GO event.
19. Defeat Pokémon Master Red (Or Blue)
It looks like two members of Pokémon royalty decided to go on vacation to Alola. After becoming Alola Champion, travelling to the Battle Tree on Poni Island will bring players face-to-face with the now-grown-up iconic Generation I rival trainers.
Both trainers’ teams are also made up of Generation I Pokémon, which is sure to please fans of Red & Blue.
Red’s team is even led by all three fully-evolved Kanto starters and a powerful Pikachu. Players can only choose one to battle, but neither one is going to go down easily.
However, if a player is successful, they will gain access to the Battle Tree, where earning Battle Points (BPs) provides access to rare prizes and trainers can battle for some intense but satisfying training.
18. Earn Top Grade in Battle Agency
Located on Festival Plaza, the Battle Agency is one of the most unique and challenging battle facilities in the Alola region.
To qualify for battles, players must borrow Pokémon from other trainers.
As players win battles, they receive Festival Coins and increase their grade, which affects the level of both their borrowed Pokémon and opponents’ Pokémon.
When players reach grade 10, battle settings can appear that will affect the weather or battle field.
Boss battles also begin to appear, which earn the player a Gold Bottle Cap from the reception desk for every defeated boss.
The highest grade a player can reach is 50, but the path to earning it will certainly not be easy.
17. Solve All Four Charjabug Puzzles
Ultra Sun & Moon changed several elements of the previous two games, with one being the trial of Hokulani Observatory.
In the Ultra games, players must line up Charjabug using rotating panels, which Trial Captain Sophocles uses to power a Pokémon-calling invention.
After completing the trail, players can return to the observatory to solve a series of four progressively harder Charjabug puzzles. However, this time players will only have a maximum of four moves to solve each puzzle.
Once the puzzles are completed, the player will receive a PP Max, which raises the Power Points of a selected Pokémon move. While this may not compare to other challenge winnings, it does offer a nice break from battling and a good workout for the brain.
16. Unlock All Battle Styles
Generation VII introduced Battle Styles, which gives players the power to change the way their trainer throws their Poké Balls in battle, as well as the pose that they strike when the battle begins.
There are eight Battle Styles (besides the Normal Style that players start out with) in total: Elegant, Girlish, Idol, Left-Handed, Nihilist, Passionate, Reverent, and Smug.
A player’s style can be changed by speaking to an old man at the Outer Cape of Malie City.
However, only the Elegant Style is made available upon speaking to the man for the first time.
The others must be unlocked through various methods, such as beating the Master Rank in Battle Royal or getting 50 consecutive Battle Tree wins.
Nevertheless, it’s nice to have different styles to better fit a player’s personality.
15. Collect All Totem Stickers And Pokémon
One normally doesn’t associate sticker collecting with the Pokémon series (though that’s what fans also said about the Mario franchise and then Paper Mario: Sticker Star showed up).
However, there are more to Alola’s collectable stickers than them being shiny (and sometimes hard to find). Depending on the amount collected, players can obtain new versions of Pokémon.
Totem Pokémon are like regular Pokémon but larger in height and weight, which can affect certain move mechanics.
Once 20 stickers are found, the player will be invited to meet with Samson Oak at HeaHea Beach to receive their first Totem Pokémon (a Gumshoos in Ultra Sun and Raticate in Ultra Moon).
From there, 80 more stickers can be found, which give players access to five more Totem Pokémon.
14. Acquire Judge Function For PC
Since Generation III, stats judges have been used to determine the range of individual values (IVs), which are used in figuring Pokémon stats.
Every time a player wanted to evaluate a new Pokémon, they had to travel back to the judge.
However, in Generation VII, a judge function can be acquired for a player’s PC that will evaluate Pokémon for them.
To get it, a player must hatch 20 eggs or more and get into the Hall of Fame.
After this, they can travel to the Battle Tree and meet up with the stats judge, who will reward them with the judge function.
When using it, a Pokémon’s IV is ranked from 0 to 31, with 0 being “No Good” and 31 being “Best.”
13. Catch Zygarde And Assemble It To Complete Forme
The Dragon/Ground Legendary Pokémon from X & Y has come to Alola, and its forms can be found on two separate islands.
After becoming Champion, trainers can travel to Resolution Cave in Poni Meadow. Zygarde’s 50% Forme can be captured in the lower level.
Next, players can go to Route 16’s Aether trailer and battle Dexio for the 10% Forme.
If defeated, Sina will then also provide players with 40 Zygarde Cells.
The Zygarde Machine must be used to reassemble the parts into one Zygarde. Once in battle, the Zygarde can use Power Construct when its HP is 50% or lower to transform into its Complete Forme.
12. Fully Upgrade Poké Finder
Many Pokémon fans will remember the Nintendo 64 title Pokémon Snap, which centered on taking photos of wild Pokémon.
The Alola region offers trainers something similar with the Poké Finder, which players receive after visiting the Tourist Center in Hau’oli City.
The photos can be entered into a comment system, which will award players points based on the quality of the photos.
As a player builds up points, they come closer to unlocking the next version of the Finder.
There are five versions in total, with Versions 2, 3, and 4 providing different zoom upgrades and Version 5 giving the player the ability to call the Pokémon they are photographing.
Version 5 can only be unlocked with 1,500,000 points, but players would do well to give it a shot anyway.
11. Conquer Battle Royal
For players looking for a more unpredictable style of Pokémon battling, look no further than Akala Island’s Battle Royal.
Located in a dome on the aptly-named Royal Avenue, this competition pits four trainers against each other in a free-for-all fight with three Pokémon each (but only one out on the arena at a time).
The pressure is on to KO other trainers’ Pokémon to earn points.
To end the match, one trainer’s Pokémon must all be eliminated. After this, the player with the highest number of points is declared the winner.
Winning matches will earn the player BPs, as well as unlock the next rank. A total of three additional ranks of increasing difficulty can be unlocked.
10. Collect All Trainer Passport Stamps
Another recurring feature in the Pokémon series is the Trainer Card, which display’s general information about the player, such as gameplay time, amount of money, and number of Pokémon seen.
In the Sun & Moon games, the card is changed to a passport. However, stamps take the place of trainer stars to show when a player has accomplished certain goals.
Of course, a stamp will be given to the player after officially becoming a Pokémon trainer, but the rest will not come as easy.
Some are obtained by completing Pokédexes, while others are for winning battles and completing trials. There is even one for fully upgrading the Poké Finder.
When all the stamps are collected, players are sure to have one colorful passport for their trainer to carry.
9. Find All Z-Crystals
Z-Crystals are used by trainers in Alola to upgrade their Pokémon moves to Z-Moves. A Pokémon holds a Z-Crystal while the trainer uses a Z-Ring to activate it.
While the moves can only be used once per battle, they are incredibly powerful and valuable to have.
There is a Z-Crystal for every Pokémon type, so there are plenty for trainers to collect.
While some are given to trainers upon completing trials, others require a bit more hunting to find.
For example, Pikanium Z (used to upgrade a Pikachu’s Volt Tackle) is found at Hano Grand Resort, while Eevium Z (which upgrades an Eevee’s Last Resort) requires the player to defeat eight Eevee trainers across multiple islands.
8. Obtain Shiny Charm
Shiny Pokémon are Pokémon with different coloration than is typical of their species. They are a rarity for trainers to encounter (with an encounter typically being around a 1 in 4,000 chance).
This makes the Shiny Charm, which increases the likelihood of encountering one, a valuable item for trainers to have.
In the Alola region, trainers must complete the Alola Pokédex before heading to the Game Freak building in HeaHea City.
There, the director will give you a Shiny Charm (and a special passport stamp).
However, if a player doesn’t have a Shiny Charm but still wants a better chance of finding Shiny Pokémon, they could try the Ultra Warp Ride, a mini game that takes trainers through wormholes to travel to the worlds of Ultra Beasts in Ultra Space.
7. Collect All Alola Photo Club Backgrounds
If players would like the opportunity to take pictures of their trainers alongside their Pokémon, the Alola Photo Club can help them out.
With two locations in Hau’oli and KoniKoni City, the club lets players position their trainer and Pokémon before six quick shots are taken to ensure that players get the perfect picture.
Players can then save them to customize later with frames and stickers.
A variety of options can be used to set up a photo (depending on the mode), with one of the coolest being backgrounds.
These display different areas of Alola, and most can be unlocked by visiting said areas.
However, some are a bit trickier to get, with some involving bringing a Pokémon from one of the other five regions as a photo partner.
6. Unlock All Battle Tree Items
Having to defeat Red and Blue just to gain access to a battle facility means it must be quite the challenge for trainers (perhaps like the Salty Spitoon of the Pokémon world).
Poni Island’s Battle Tree certainly is, with multiple opponents available for players to challenge and special prizes to win.
Items, such as bottle caps, berries, and rare candy can be won by having a certain number of consecutive wins.
However, Mega Stones can also be won by defeating a Battle Legend (who may look familiar to players).
BPs won in Mantine Surf or Battle Royal can be traded for even more Mega Stones and other various items through one of the attendants.
5. Find All 100 TMs
TMs and HMs (Hidden Machines) have been around since Generation I, giving players the ability to teach their Pokémon moves they would not normally be able to learn. However, seeing as how HMs have frustrated players for a long time on their near-inability to be forgotten by their Pokémon, Sun & Moon was kind enough to get rid of them.
However, for those who still want the moves Fly, Waterfall, and Surf, they have now been turned into TMs.
There are 100 to collect in the game, with some found, some bought, and some won in Pokémon battles.
There may already be a lot of collectables in the Alola region, but having several TMs in one’s inventory can certainly be handy.
4. Reach Level 100 At Festival Plaza
Players may notice after Lillie shows them Hau’oli City’s Pokémon Center that a new option can be selected on the game’s main menu: Festival Plaza.
This area allows players to connect with visitors online for battling and training, as well as explore various facilities.
Trading, interacting with guests, and completing missions will give players Festival Coins, which can be used at the Plaza’s shops. The more coins a player amasses, the higher their Festival Plaza rank.
Having a higher rank unlocks additional options, which can help the player customize the Plaza.
Upon reaching Rank 20, players may even change the name of the Plaza if they wish.
However, certain features are only unlocked if the player has become Alola Champion.
3. Collect All Outfits
Pokémon trainers have always dressed in style, but sometimes it’s nice to try on different outfits. There is a wide selection of outfits for trainers to wear, with a wide variety of tops, bottoms, glasses, shoes, socks, hats, bags, and other accessories.
Most items can be bought in Apparel Shops (which also contain special areas where players can alter their trainers’ hair color and style).
However, a few must be sought out or rewarded to the trainer for completing a certain task (such as placing Ilima’s Normalium Z on a pedestal in Verdant Cavern to get the Trial Guide Cap and Tee).
For a trainer to have the time and money to collect all outfits, they’d better be one big fashion lover.
2. Find Cosmog
Sun & Moon mascots Solgaleo or Lunala certainly don’t resemble their original form, the cloud-like Legendary Psychic Pokémon Cosmog.
However, they’re still very much connected. In fact, if trainers wish to catch a Cosmog, they’re going to need to set up a family reunion after becoming Champion.
Depending on the version of the game that players have, trainers must travel to the Altar of the Sunne (or Moone) during the night (or day in Moon) with Solgaleo (or Lunala) in their party.
After travelling through the Ultra Wormhole in the altar to the Reverse World, players will find Cosmog at the Lake of the Sunne (or Moone).
However, players need not worry about a battle, as the Pokémon will choose to join them.
1. Defeat Team Rainbow Rocket
Everyone loves seeing villains team up to face the hero. In Ultra Sun & Moon, this idea is taken to an extreme level, as all of the previous games’ villains join forces as Team Rainbow Rocket to use Ultra Wormholes to conquer other worlds.
This event is unlocked after the player becomes Alola Champion.
After returning home from searching for Blacephalon (or Stakataka in Ultra Moon), the player is brought to by Sophocles to Festival Plaza, where Team RR has taken over.
However, the majority of battles are fought in Lusamine’s mansion at Aether Paradise.
Fighting off all team leaders will certainly make for an exciting adventure and a great way to put one’s Alola Champion title to the test.
Can you think of any other secret things that trainers should do in Pokémon Ultra Sun & Moon? Sound off in the comments!
