Generation VII

The seventh generation of Pokémon was announced with the reveal of Pokémon Sun and Moon on February 27, 2016, the Pokémon 20th Anniversary. These are the first pair of games in the generation and were released worldwide on November 18, 2016, except in Europe where they were released on November 23, 2016.

The second pair of games in this generation, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, were revealed in a Pokémon Direct held on June 6, 2017. The games take place in Alola once again, but with a new story and includes Pokémon that cannot be found in Sun and Moon. The games were released worldwide on November 17, 2017.

The third and final pair of games, Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, were revealed at the Pokémon 2018 Video Game Press Conference held on May 29, 2018. The games take place in Kanto and are inspired by Pokémon Yellow. The games were released worldwide on November 16, 2018.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Pokémon Sun and Moon occurs two years after the events of Black 2 and White 2 and X and Y. Various characters from previous generations such as: Sina, Dexio, Looker, Anabel, Colress, Red, and Blue make appearances, with many of them looking significantly older than in previous games.

During the postgame missions in Sun and Moon, it is revealed that Anabel fell into an Ultra Wormhole prior to the events of Sun and Moon and became a Faller, which are individuals who have passed through Ultra Wormholes, and is hinted to be the same Anabel that appeared in Pokémon Emerald's Battle Tower, however, she suffers from retrograde amnesia. Professor Burnet who originated from the side game, Pokémon Dream Radar, is revealed to be living in Alola and is researching the phenomena surrounding Ultra Wormholes.

Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are set in an alternate universe similar, but slightly different, to Sun and Moon. The events of Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon follow those of the first games, but slightly diverge in its details. Some of the worlds that the player may visit through the Ultra Warp Ride are hinted at being alternate versions of Alola, such as: the Ultra Space Wilds, and the Ultra Ruin, the latter being a world that is thoroughly hinted at being a destroyed Hau'oli City from an alternate dimension. In Episode RR, Team Rainbow Rocket takes over the Festival Plaza and Aether Paradise in hopes of taking over other worlds using the Ultra Wormhole technology developed by the Aether Foundation. Team Rainbow Rocket is later revealed to be composed of the villainous team leaders from previous generations, with Team Aqua and Team Magma's leaders, Archie and Maxie, appearing as they did in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. It is also revealed that each of the villainous team leaders are from alternate universes where they were able to successfully achieve their plans; further cementing the concept of alternate universes. Colress plays a major role in Episode RR by sending all of the villainous leaders back to their original dimensions; when Ghetsis is being confronted, he and Colress recognize each other, despite being from alternate dimensions, showing that Colress had involvements with Team Plasma in both universes.

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! seems to take place in an alternate universe from Pokémon Red and Blue and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen as Team Rocket was never disbanded, and Red and Blue have already defeated the Indigo League and are now renowned Pokémon Trainers. Because of this, the player characters are now composed of Chase and Elaine with Blue's role as rival being replaced by Trace.

Since Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! are remakes of Pokémon Yellow, characters from the anime like Jessie and James make appearances and similar events from the anime occur. The games seem to occur less than five years before Sun and Moon, as Mina, albeit slightly younger, makes an appearance in Vermilion City. Despite this, the overall continuity between these games and those that precede them is not clear.

• The addition of 81 new Pokémon, bringing the total to 802.
• The addition of 98 new moves, bringing the total to 719.
• The addition of 41 new Abilities, bringing the total to 232.
• A new region to explore, the Alola region, based on Hawaii.
• The return of different overworld music depending on the time of day, which was originally introduced in Generation IV.
• A new villainous team, Team Skull.
• Eighteen Generation I Pokémon have a form unique to Alola known as a regional form; this aspect of Generation VII is based on selective pressures which occur in the real world.
• The addition of the Rotom Pokédex, a special Pokédex inhabited by a Rotom that doubles as a real-time map on the bottom screen of the Nintendo 3DS.
• The 3D models used for characters on the overworld are refined, and Trainers can be seen behind their Pokémon during battle, similar to Pokémon Colosseum, XD: Gale of Darkness, and Battle Revolution.
• Certain NPC trainers may keep their Pokémon in Poké Balls other than the standard Poké Ball.
• It is now possible to see stat changes during a battle.
• A new battle mechanic, Z-Moves, powerful moves that Pokémon can learn and perform once per battle.
• The addition of the island challenge, a traditional rite in the Alola region involving trials guided by Trial Captains, battling Totem Pokémon, and battles with Island Kahunas.
• The introduction of Greninja's Ash-Greninja form and Zygarde's four alternate forms, previously shown in the XY&Z arc of the anime's Pokémon the Series: XY.
• Six new Pikachu forms based on Ash's Pikachu.
• Two new battle modes:
  • A battle that takes part between four Trainers called a Battle Royal, where each participating Trainer aims to defeat each other. The battle ends when all of one Trainer's Pokémon are knocked out, with the winner being the Trainer who has the highest combined number of knockouts and number of remaining Pokémon.
  • A battle where wild Pokémon can summon allies to assist them called an SOS Battle.
• The new QR Scanner allows players to register Pokémon in their Pokédex and receive event Pokémon.
• The addition of Poké Rides, which allow players to summon Pokémon that they can ride to access otherwise inaccessible areas.
• The addition of Hyper Training, a system that allows players to exchange special Bottle Caps to maximize the IVs of their Level 100 Pokémon.
• The introduction of the Zygarde Cube, an item that allows the player to collect Zygarde Cells and Cores scattered across the region to assemble their own Zygarde.
• The addition of the Festival Plaza, a hub accessible from the menu that allows the player to interact with other players locally or via the internet, as well as access various shops similarly to Join Avenue.
• The addition of the Poké Pelago, an option accessible from the menu that allows the player to send Pokémon that are stored in a PC Box to various islands, allowing them to gather items, discover wild Pokémon, and even raise their levels and statistics.
• The player can now replace one of their party Pokémon with a newly caught Pokémon without having to use a PC.
• One new variant of Poké Ball, the Beast Ball, retaining the twenty-six found in previous games.
• The introduction of a new Evolution stone, the Ice Stone.
• During a Pokémon battle, the bottom screen now displays a move's type effectiveness once the player has encountered the Pokémon again.
• During a wild battle, the player can now press the Y button to automatically bring up a Bag submenu consisting only of different types of Poké Balls.

The seventh generation focuses on themes of nature, alternate dimensions, tradition, and relationships. First and foremost, Z-Moves are said to be the physical manifestation of the bond between Trainer and Pokémon, in a similar vein to Mega Evolution. The storylines of the Alolan games also focus various characters whose motives and story arcs revolve around family- or relationship-based issues. The Aether Foundation is an organization that wishes to heal and protect Pokémon from threats such as Team Skull or predatory Pokémon like Mareanie. In fact, the Alolan Pokédex is filled with more examples of Pokémon predator-prey relationships than usual. In an interview with Junichi Masuda and Shigeru Ohmori, Sun and Moon were named with the idea of the revolutions of the sun and the moon in mind, and how they influence life on the Earth, as a way to "celebrate life" and express Pokémon as living creatures. In the same interview, they mention the revolutions of the celestial bodies as being an interesting metaphor for relationships.

• Generation VII is the only generation in which:
  • Bicycles do not appear.
  • Mythical Pokémon that are part of an evolutionary family were introduced.
  • There are three different sets of paired core series games released.
  • Not all core series games are released exclusively on the same system.
  • The player's home in the original games is located on a route and not in a city or town.
  • A female character and a Pokémon serves as main antagonists of core series games, with Lusamine and Necrozma fulfilling such roles in Pokémon Sun and Moon and Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, respectively.
• Generation VII is the only generation to not introduce:
  • A Pokémon with gender differences.
    • It did, however, introduce a gender difference for an existing Pokémon, Eevee, for the first time since Generation IV.
  • A notable Ice-type expert.
    • However, Sina, who was introduced in Pokémon X and Y but couldn't be battled in Generation VI, is revealed to be an Ice-type expert in Generation VII.
  • A new Gym Leader.
  • A Pokémon in the Human-Like Egg Group.
• Generation VII has introduced the most:
  • Legendary Pokémon, with eleven, as well as the most Mythical Pokémon, with five.
  • Genderless Pokémon, with a total of 29.
  • Amount of core series games, having a total of six; this surpasses the previous record of five held by Generations III and IV.
• Generation VII is the first generation to:
  • Introduce brand-new species of Pokémon later on in the generation that were not present when the generation began.
  • Not introduce a Pokémon that evolves through trading.
  • Introduce Legendary Pokémon that are part of an evolutionary family.
  • Remove HMs, field moves and the Dowsing Machine, which were replaced with the PokéRide feature in Pokémon Sun and Moon and Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and the Secret Technique, Partner Pokémon, and walking Pokémon in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!
  • Have its core series games released in every year of the generation in all territories.
  • Have aesthetic differences appear on the startup and title screens due to in-game actions, being the gender of the mascot Pokémon and their current outfit.
  • Have a core series game that does not include every Pokémon introduced in previous generations, as of Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.
  • Have all core series games only feature a regional Pokédex since Generation III. The National Dex is instead found on Pokémon Bank.
  • Not have Pokédex entries of every Pokémon known at the time in its core series games.
  • Introduce starter Pokémon whose Egg cycle is shorter than the others.
• Generation VII is the last generation to include compatibility in a single game with all the Pokémon species previously available up to that point.
• Generation VII is the shortest generation in Japan, falling only 10 days short of being three years long.
• Generation VII is the only generation to remake a previous generation that had already been remade in another previous generation.