Pokemon One-Shots and Headcanons

Pokemon Ultra Sun: My Thoughts and Final Team

I finally finished playing the main game and the Team Rainbow Rocket chapter of Pokemon Ultra Sun yesterday, and let me tell you, it was one of my favorite games I've ever played. Pokemon X still ranks slightly above it, but I enjoyed Ultra Sun a lot better than Sun, especially when it came to the Aether Foundation arc. This is a short explanation of my favorite parts of the game, my least favorite parts of the game, and my final team that I used to become the first ever-well, not counting all of you that finished the game before I did-Alola champion. 

Note: there will be spoilers, although I think most of you would have figured that out by now. 

What I liked: 

1. Hau

I liked the way Hau actually had some character development in Ultra Sun after he goes back home to do some extra training. In Pokemon Sun, he does the same, but when you face him again before the league, he still seems to be the same happy-go-lucky kid he was before he left. In Ultra Sun, you can clearly see (and have confirmation from none other than Gladion, who we all know REALLY looked down on Hau when he first met him) that he's actually taking battles seriously and not just doing it for fun. Not to say that battling shouldn't be enjoyable, of course, but...well, you get the point. 

2. Rotom Dex 

I know a lot of people think Rotom Dex is annoying, and I would have to agree, but let me tell you, some of those power-ups you get from the Roto Loto are dead useful. The XP power-up saved me a lot of time when I was preparing my team for the league. If I had to take a guess, I'd probably say that I only spent about half as much time leveling my team to the level I wanted them to be at for the elite four as I did in Pokemon Sun. The Roto Catch was also really useful as well, especially in the postgame when you can catch Zygarde. I only had to use five Ultra Balls this time versus the fifteen I had to use in Pokemon X. And no, that is not an exaggeration. 

3. Team Rainbow Rocket

I wouldn't say I'm one for nostalgia, but I have to admit that it was pretty cool seeing the game developers pay tribute to the previous villainous teams. It was also awesome to battle so many legendaries like Mewtwo, Kyogre, and Xerneas. 

4. The Aether foundation arc

I think the Aether foundation arc was much better written than it was in Pokemon Sun, particularly concerning Lillie, Gladion, and Lusamine's relationship, and that's saying something because I actually really enjoyed the way it was written in Sun. I liked that Lusamine didn't end up being the villain of the story again, since that would have just made it a ripoff of Pokemon Sun. The fact that Necrozma was the villain was kind of interesting, because you can't help but feel for it because it's suffering so much. 

What I didn't like: 

1. Totem Lurantis

Totem Lurantis literally took me over half an hour to beat, and I ended up having to use my full team. Seriously, did anyone else get completely fucked over by the Sunny Day/Solar Blade combination? It wouldn't have been so bad if I'd actually had a few decent Pokemon to use against it, but at the time I didn't have my Charizard and my entire team consisted of Brionne, Mudsdale, Salandit (male, so I couldn't evolve the stupid thing), Alolan Raichu, Hawlucha, and some Pokemon that did so little I don't even remember what it was anymore. Brionne was my strongest, but given that it was a water-type and only knew one super effective attack (Icy Wind), it didn't last all that long. Hawlucha and Salandit were both good matchups, but they were also at a lower level than Lurantis, not to mention Salandit's defense is complete crap. I think Lurantis was also a PP hack because there's no way it should have been able to use Synthesis as often as it did. 

2. The change in location for TM Scald

In Ultra Sun, you have to wait until Poni Island to get the TM for Scald. I didn't have any other water-type TM moves to teach Primarina until then, so my strongest water-type attack for a while was Bubblebeam. This isn't a horrible move, mind you, but it's significantly weaker than Scald and doesn't have any extra effects. 

3. Sophocles

Someone. Shut. Him. Up. 

This was my final team: 

Primarina (Scald, Icy Wind, Moonblast, Sparkling Aria)

Xuritree (Discharge, Electric Terrain, Power Whip, Hypnosis)

Tapu Lele (Extrasensory, Moonblast, Nature's Madness, Flatter)

Hawlucha (Brick Break, Fly, Aerial Ace, X-Scissor)

Charizard (Fly, Brutal Swing, Flamethrower, Heat Wave) 

Mudsdale (Earthquake, High Horsepower, Superpower, Heavy Slam)

I received Xuritree and Tapu Lele via wonder trading, but I had to wait until Poni Island to use them in battle. I traded Poipole for Charizard, and which means it's going to take me a while to complete the Pokedex, but it was worth it in the end. 

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the game. Comment what your teams were or what you liked about the game. Also, someone tell me how to navigate the Ultra Wormhole because I still have trouble with the controls.