Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

This article is about the sixth series of the Pokémon animated series. For other uses, see Sun and Moon (disambiguation).

Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon (Japanese: ポケットモンスター　サン＆ムーン Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon) is the sixth series of the Pokémon animated series in Asia (including Japan) and the seventh series of Pokémon the Series in the West. The series is based on the events of the Generation VII core series Pokémon games. It follows Pokémon the Series: XY and was succeeded by Pokémon Journeys: The Series. It ran from November 17, 2016 to November 3, 2019 in Japan and from May 12, 2017 to March 7, 2020 in the United States, although the first two episodes aired as a sneak peek in the United States on December 5, 2016.

In this series, Ash Ketchum travels to the tropical region of Alola, accompanied by his partner Pikachu and wearing a new set of clothes. Unlike in the five previous series, however, Ash doesn't travel through the region. Instead, he becomes a student at the Pokémon School on Melemele Island, where he meets his new classmates Lana, Lillie, Mallow, Sophocles, and Kiawe. After receiving a Z-Ring from the Legendary guardian deity Tapu Koko, Ash decides to take on the Alolan island challenge to obtain new Z-Crystals and master various Z-Moves. Later on in the series, the teacher of Ash's class, Professor Kukui, establishes the Alola League, which the class decides to attend, with the title of Alola's first-ever Champion awaiting whoever comes out on top. Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon is notable for not all of Ash's friends being present in every episode. Also, characters are usually seen keeping their Pokémon out of their Poké Balls in this series.

A new art style is implemented for the third series in a row, this time more drastically than the series that preceded it. With this new style, characters are drawn with a much softer, more rounded style. In addition, the series has a larger focus on humor, with exaggerated visual gags and slapstick being far more common compared to other series. Despite this, Sun & Moon also took a more mature approach to storytelling on several occasions. The subject of death was dealt with directly in multiple episodes, with some Pokémon being seen dying, as well as showing a main character dealing with the death of a parent (as opposed to the usual instance of absent parents almost never being mentioned). The show also had a large reduction in the amount of "characters of the day", with many apparent such characters reappearing commonly after their debuts.

Episodes in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon are numbered with the prefix SM on Bulbapedia. For a complete episode listing, see the list of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon episodes.

Blurb

New adventure for Ash and Pikachu has started!

This new adventure takes place in the Alola region, full of nature. What awaits Ash and Pikachu in Alola, surrounded by an endless expanse of blue sky and seas? New Pokémon, new frinds, and new experiences… An adventure filled with aell sorts of new things begins at last! Ash also has a new look. Stay tuned for new adventures!

Let’s go! Full power! On a great adventure!!

Arcs and seasons

Like Pokémon the Series: XY, when Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon came to be dubbed into English and other languages, it was localized as a whole. While it is still divided into three seasons, they share a common title.

The following table summarizes the Japanese titles, the English titles, and the Japanese and English opening themes used during the series.

Japan				United States
Title	Opening theme	First episode		Title	Opening theme	First episode
Pocket Monsters Sun & Moon	Alola!!	SM001		Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon	Under The Alolan Sun	SM001
	Aim to Be a Pokémon Master -20th Anniversary-	SM030		Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon—Ultra Adventures	Under The Alolan Moon	SM044
	Future Connection	SM061
	Your Adventure	SM091		Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends	The Challenge of Life	SM093

Movies

Main article: Pokémon movie → Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon

• Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!
• Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us
• Pokémon the Movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution

Home video releases

North American DVD releases

• List of English language Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon home video releases (Region 1)
• List of English language Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon—Ultra Adventures home video releases (Region 1)
• List of English language Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends home video releases (Region 1)

Australian DVD releases

• List of English language Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon home video releases (Region 4)
• List of English language Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon—Ultra Adventures home video releases (Region 4)
• List of English language Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends home video releases (Region 4)

Japanese DVD releases

• List of Japanese language Sun & Moon home video releases

Gallery

For more images, please see artwork from Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon on the Bulbagarden Archives.

Posters

• 
  First Japanese poster
• 
  Second Japanese poster
• 
  Third Japanese poster
• 
  First version of the fourth Japanese poster
• 
  Second version of the fourth Japanese poster
• 
  Fifth Japanese poster
• 
  Pokémon Asia poster
• 
  English poster for Pokémon the Series: Sun and Moon (Google Play)
• 
  English poster for Pokémon the Series: Sun and Moon
• 
  English poster for Pokémon the Series: Sun and Moon—Ultra Adventures
• 
  English poster for Pokémon the Series: Sun and Moon—Ultra Legends

Characters

Main characters

• 
  Ash
• 
  Lana
• 
  Kiawe
• 
  Lillie
• 
  Sophocles
• 
  Mallow
• 
  Rotom Pokédex
• 
  Team Rocket

Supporting characters

• 
  Professor Kukui
• 
  Samson Oak
• 
  Lusamine
• 
  Gladion
• 
  Misty
• 
  Brock
• 
  Professor Burnet
• 
  Faba
• 
  Wicke

Antagonists

• 
  Giovanni
• 
  Matori

Staff

Notes

Trivia

• This is the only series of Pokémon the Series in which:
  • Ash's outfit doesn't consist of a jacket or hoodie.
  • Ash keeps his Pokédex outside of his pocket.
  • Ash doesn't have a Gym Leader as a traveling companion.
  • Ash doesn't catch a Water-type Pokémon.
  • All of the Pokémon Ash catches were befriended rather than battled.
  • All of his friends knew each other prior to the series.
  • Ash does not catch all of his first partner Pokémon consecutively (of the series in which he catches more than one).
  • None of Ash's traveling companions from the preceding series appear in either the main series or special episodes.
  • Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny are not distributed by city, with only one Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny per island instead.
  • Other main characters besides Ash, members of a villainous team, and a Pokémon Professor participate as competitors in a regional League Conference.
  • Ash is the winner of a League Conference.
  • One of Ash's Pokémon evolves off-screen after being caught.
  • All of Ash's Pokémon he had on hand besides Pikachu are left somewhere other than Professor Oak's Lab.
  • Neither Jessie nor James use a Grass-type Pokémon.
  • Neither Jessie nor James own a temporary Pokémon.
  • The series doesn't end with Ash either heading to a new region or arriving back in Pallet Town.
  • None of Ash's Pokémon are seen activating Abilities since their introduction in Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire.
• This is the only series in which none of the English opening songs have received full versions.
  • This is also the only series in which every Pokémon introduced in the concurrent generation has debuted in the main series.
• Out of all the series, this has the most:
  • Human protagonists, with a total of six.
  • Walking Pokémon, with a total of eight.
  • Recurring wild Pokémon, with a total of 28.
• This is the first series:
  • Where Ash's outfit does not include gloves.
  • Where Ash wears shorts instead of long pants in his standard outfit.
  • Where Ash does not challenge Gyms for Badges.
  • Where Ash does not catch the regional bird Pokémon.
  • Where Ash has walking Pokémon other than Pikachu.
  • Where Ash's friends do not appear in every episode during their time as main characters.
  • Where none of its movies (I Choose You!, The Power of Us, and Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution) take place in the same timeline or region as that of the animated series, use its opening themes, or introduce any Pokémon from a future generation.
  • Where Ash has returned to Kanto in the middle of a regional journey.
  • To feature in-person appearances in the main series by Misty and Jigglypuff since Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, and Brock since Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl.
  • To have an episode banned in the English dub since the original series.
  • To contain more episodes than the previous series.
  • Not to have a segment hosted by Professor Oak.
  • In which a first partner Pokémon owned by one of Ash's friends (Lana's Primarina) fully evolves before any of the first partner Pokémon owned by Ash from the same region.
  • In which all of Ash's friends own a walking Pokémon.
  • In which all of Ash's rivals are based on characters from the core series games.
  • In which one of Ash's friends is also considered to be one of his rivals.
  • To not have any special episodes during the series or after the finale since Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire.
  • Since Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire where episodes have a frame rate of 24 frames per second.
• This is the last series:
  • To feature Unshō Ishizuka prior to his death in August 2018.
  • To have Shinji Miyazaki as the composer for the background music.
  • To be dubbed by DuArt Media Services.
  • To air on Traditional Television in the United States.
    • As such, it is also the only series to air on Disney XD.
  • In which Pokémon Eggs feature designs that match the Pokémon they contain.
  • In which Ash competes in a Pokémon League Conference.
  • That has the major focus on only one region.
  • Where Jessie catches a new Pokémon of her own.
• Much like Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire, one of Misty's reappearance arcs takes place in Kanto and one in the region that is the series' current setting.
• Two of Ash's Pokémon captures in this series marked three notable firsts for his team (not counting temporary captures):
  • He caught his first gender unknown Pokémon with his Poipole.
  • He caught his first Steel-type Pokémon with his Meltan.
  • He caught his first Mythical Pokémon, also his Meltan.
• Ash took longer to catch a full team of six Pokémon in this series than any other. He caught his sixth Pokémon when his previously released Naganadel, then a Poipole, rejoined his team in Exhibition Unmasked!.
• This series has the least characters of the day out of any completed series to date.
• Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon shares a few similarities with Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl:
  • Ash catches the Grass- and Fire-type first partner Pokémon of the region the series takes place in, while the region's Water-type first partner Pokémon is instead caught by one of his female friends.
  • One of the first partner Pokémon is based on a bird and is ultimately prevented from evolving due to it obtaining an Everstone.
  • One of the main characters obtained a Pokémon Egg beside Ash himself.
• This is the only series in which Masaaki Iwane is never credited as the sole animation director for any episode that he is a part of.

In other languages

External links

• Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon at the Pokémon official site for Asia
• Official site (Japanese)

Related articles

This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.