Ever since “Pokémon Sun” and “Pokémon Moon” were announced by The Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara this February, the distribution of the Pokémon for the two 3DS-exclusive games has remained a big mystery. The official U.S. website of “Pokémon Sun and Moon” does not even mention that there will be a different set of Pokémon for each RPG.

However, looking at The Pokémon Company’s official Japanese website, it is stated there that the two video games will come with different sets of Pokémon. Specifically, the Japanese marketing and licensing firm states on the main Web page that the Pokémon that will appear in “Pokémon Sun” will be mostly different from the ones that will appear in “Pokémon Moon.” Of course, this is not surprising since Game Freak and Nintendo have made it clear from the get-go that these are two different games.

To state the obvious, the two RPGs are led by two different titular legendary Pokémon. For “Pokémon Sun,” it is none other than the Psychic/Steel-type Pokémon named Solgaleo, who as per the official “Pokémon Sun and Moon” U.S. website is the emissary of the sun. On the other hand, “Pokémon Moon” is headed by the emissary of the moon, the Psychic/Ghost-type Pokémon named Lunala.

While the two legendary Pokémon will only appear in their respective title games, the three starter Pokémon will be part of both versions of the upcoming Pokémon franchise installments. Therefore, it does not matter if one is playing “Pokémon Sun” or “Pokémon Moon,” since everyone is bound to start the games by choosing one starter Pokémon among Rowlet, Litten and Popplio.

Now, because there are two different video games that will be launched on Nov. 18, it is not uncommon for excited gamers to want to know how the rest of the newly revealed Pokémon and the Alola forms will be divided into the two Pokémon titles. Thus far, nothing has been said about the distribution of the confirmed Pokémon, since The Pokémon Company is mainly busy dropping teasers, introducing new characters and announcing new features of the upcoming games.

Interestingly, in our search for answers on how Game Freak would most likely split the pocket monsters into the two versions, we have stumbled upon what seems to be the most reasonable theory on the distribution of the Pokémon and Alola forms. And this theory is plausible because it came from the multiple times we replayed all of the “Pokémon Sun and Moon” teaser clips released by The Pokémon Company via its official YouTube channel.

In a nutshell, we are speculating that the different Pokémon will be divided into the “Pokémon Sun” and “Pokémon Moon” depending on how they are introduced in the teaser clips. To explain clearly, let us start by acknowledging that all of the teasers have a common denominator, and it is the fact that the background for these teasers is divided into two — the left side is for “Pokémon Sun,” while the right side is for “Pokémon Moon.” It may not have been too obvious at first, but whenever a Pokémon or an Alola form is introduced, its silhouette is actually placed on one side, perhaps to indicate which title the specific Pokémon is going to be part of.

For pre-evolved forms and evolved forms, this pattern could mean that each form would naturally be present in one of the two games. Hence, it is still possible that both forms would be present in either “Pokémon Sun” and “Pokémon Moon” as long as the player wills it and successfully evolves the specific Pokémon. It's either that or the pattern does not apply to both forms, since they would pretty much be present in both titles.

It is also worth noting that when the three starter Pokémon were introduced in a teaser clip, they were presented in a way that all of them would appear in the middle, as if to indicate that they are present in both titles. Furthermore, there are a number of Pokémon introduced in the same manner, suggesting that they, too, are likely to appear in both games.

If this pattern is to be seen as the major clue on how the new Pokémon and Alola forms are going to be split into the two games, then here are our proposed lists of the pocket monsters that will be included in “Pokémon Sun,” “Pokémon Moon” and in both “Pokémon Sun and Moon.”

“Pokémon Sun”

  • Charjabug
  • Comfey
  • Mimikyu
  • Exeggutor
  • Vulpix*
  • Sandshrew*
  • Oricorio (Baile Style)
  • Oricorio (Pom-Pom Style)
  • Minior
  • Mudbray
  • Morelull
  • Marowak*
  • Sandygast
  • Stufful

“Pokémon Moon”

  • Vikavolt
  • Mudsdale
  • Bewear
  • Ninetales*
  • Sandslash*
  • Salandit
  • Oricorio (Pa’u Style)
  • Oricorio (Sensu Style)
  • Gumshoos
  • Meowth*
  • Raichu*
  • Turtonator
  • Crabrawler
  • Palossand

“Pokémon Sun and Moon”

  • Pikipek
  • Yungoos
  • Grubbin
  • Drampa
  • Bruxish
  • Cutiefly
  • Togedemaru
  • Zygarde (All four forms)
  • Wimpod
  • Bounsweet
  • Fomantis
  • Lurantis
  • Wishiwashi (Solo)
  • Wishiwashi (School)
  • Pyukumuku
  • Magearna**
  • Tapu Koko**
  • Rockruff***
  • Komala***

*Alola form

**Very likely to appear in both games

***Unknown because this Pokémon was not properly introduced in any of the teaser clips

For players who are worried that they will not get the chance to play with all of the new Pokémon and Alola forms, The Pokémon Company has stated on its Japanese website that gamers will have the capacity to transfer Pokémon from one gaming software to another. Perhaps this is what Ishihara was referring to back in February, when he said that the Pokémon Bank app will allow players to virtually transfer their pocket monsters between games. At the time, he even confirmed that the app will support most of the previously released Pokémon games.

"Beginning with the Game Boy Advance games, we made it possible for you to take the Pokémon you caught and bring them over to the next generation of games, even if they were on different hardware. However, we were never able to solve the communication issues with the Game Boy and it was not possible to bring Pokémon from the Game Boy games over to games on other hardware,” Ishihara was quoted as saying by Polygon at the time.

What do you think of our lists? Do you have your own theory on how the different Pokémon will be distributed into the two video games? Share it in the comments section and tune in for more updates and news about "Pokémon Sun and Moon."

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