‘Pokémon Sun And Moon’: 5 Things Fans Can Expect From Gamescom 2016 Live Stream

“Pokémon Sun and Moon” will have a live stream at Gamescom 2016 this Thursday, though Nintendo will not hold a press conference at Europe’s biggest gaming and entertainment trade fair, as per PC Advisor. The live stream will feature the gameplay of the upcoming Nintendo 3DS RPGs, and it will go online on Aug. 18 at 4 p.m. U.K. time or 11 a.m. U.S. time on Twitch. Ahead of the “Pokémon Sun and Moon” gameplay live stream, here are the five things that are expected to make an appearance in the live broadcast.

1. New Pokémon

For some time now, “Pokémon Sun and Moon” developers have been dropping announcements about the inclusion of new Pokémon into the two upcoming Game Freak and The Pokémon Company releases. Bewear, Bounsweet, Comfey, Mudsdale, Mimikyu, Wimpod, Oricorio, Minior, Gumshoos, Fomantis, Laurantis, Mudbray, Wishiwashi, Pyukumuku and Morelull are all expected to make their debut in the upcoming Pokémon game series installments. Thus, it is just right for players to expect the appearance of any of these Pokémon. Hopefully, fans would get to see Wishiwashi’s school form in action, since this creature is regarded as the demon of the sea and is said to be a ferocious Pokémon that can unite with its fellow Wishiwashi to make a huge battle formation. It would also be great to see Mudsdale’s legs in action since this Ground type Pokémon is said to have incredible stamina and power that it can destroy a car with just a single kick.

2. Alola Region

If there’s one thing that many players are interested about “Pokémon Sun and Moon,” it would most likely be the introduction of the Alola Region comprising four natural islands and one man-made island, according to My Nintendo News. This archipelago of tropical islands is known to be a tourist attraction, and since it is the setting of “Pokémon Sun and Moon,” players should expect surprises to lurk anywhere in the resort areas. What makes the Alola Region interesting is the island challenge that await each Pokémon trainer. This challenge requires one to travel the four islands that are filled with trials. These trials are not at all limited to just battling with pocket monsters. They have various forms, like tests of knowledge (possibly about the islands and the new Pokémon) and even simple item-locating tasks. The final task in each island is for the Pokémon trainer to battle against the island leader known as the kahuna. Only when the trainer has defeated the kahuna that he or she is able to move on to the next. Of course, let us not forget the presence of the Totem Pokémon that players should also battle against at the end of every trial before they could meet the kahuna face-to-face. We are optimistic that either the Totem Pokémon or kahuna battles will be featured in the “Pokémon Sun and Moon” Gamescom 2016 live stream.

3. Alola Forms

Since both “Pokémon Sun” and “Pokémon Moon” are set in the Alola Region, Nintendo has been teasing about the existence of region-specific Pokémon called Alola forms. The latest trailer for the games even feature Alola Marowak, Alola Meowth and Alola Raichu. Based on the trailer and the leaked details about these three Alola forms, they will have modified appearances from their original forms and they also have exciting storylines on how they came to be. Previously, the Alolan forms of Exeggutor, Vulpix, Ninetales, Sandshrew and Sandslash were revealed. New Pokémon Oricorio even has four Alola forms — Baile, Pom-Pom, Pa’u and Sensu — one for every island. It would be great to see some of these Alola forms in action. Like how does Alolan Ninetales attack with ice missiles?

4. Z-Move

Another previously highlighted feature that expectant “Pokémon Sun and Moon” players are talking about is the Z-Move. This new element makes every battle exciting. What it does is enable a Pokémon to release a very powerful move during a battle. However, this is a bit tricky to use. A Z-Move can only be activated when the Trainer and the Pokémon when they will it together. Also, performing a Z-Move requires a Z-Ring and a Z-Crystal. When the Pokémon has the same variety of Z-Crystal as its trainer, their desire to release their full power will resonate with each other. We are excited to see whether this will be featured in the gameplay live stream. An earlier trailer, already showed Pikachu and a couple more Pokémon doing the Z-Move, so it would be great to see other Pokémon doing their special Z-Move as well.

5. Team Skull

Finally, fans also looking forward to see more of Team Skull, the villainous group in the Alola Region. Led by Guzma and Plumeria, Team Skull causes all sorts of trouble to the people of Alola and their Pokémon. The members of the group are called Team Skull Grunts, and all of them do not have black Skull Tanks at the start of the game because the Skull Tanks are not for free, so for one to be officially part of the team, he or she must buy one. Perhaps fans are going to see Team Skull interrupting a Pokémon trial or stealing other player’s Pokémon this Thursday.

Are you excited for the “Pokémon Sun and Moon” live stream at Gamescom 2016 this Thursday? Don’t miss the event to see an in-depth look at the gameplay of the RPGs. Again, the live stream is scheduled to happen tomorrow at 4 p.m. U.K. time or 11 a.m. U.S. time. Game Freak’s Shigeki Morimoto is going to be the one to show off the gameplay of the games live at Gamescom 2016, according to VG247. “Pokémon Sun" and "Pokémon Moon” are slated to be released in the U.S. on Nov. 18 and in the U.K. on Nov. 23. Ahead of their official release, tune in to Twitch this Thursday to watch the gameplay live stream.