Pokemon GOhas had some fun seasons lately, but the next one is really worth celebrating. Niantic’s mobilePokemonspinoff is finally adding Alolan Pokemon to the game in droves.Pokemon GOhas featured Alolan variants of Pokemon like Rattata and Exeggutor for many years, but Alola’s original Pokemon have been missing fromPokemon GOfor years. While the Season of Alola likely won’t add all of the region’s Pokemon at once, it’s still great to see the Alolan starters and other faces of the region make their way intoPokemon GO.As these basic Pokemon trickle in,Pokemon GOinevitably draws closer to Legendary and Mythical Pokemon joining the game.
Aside from Legendary and Mythical Pokemon, though,Pokemon GOalso has to address the question of the Ultra Beasts.Pokemon SunandMoonplayers likely remember the Alola region’s Ultra Beasts, a mysterious range of extradimensional creatures who bear a strong resemblance to Pokemon. The Ultra Beasts were responsible for some ofSunandMoon’s most unique encounters, and they still occupy a particularly strange place inPokemonlore. It seems likely that these creatures will make their way toPokemon GOeventually, but if they do, they deserve some special mechanics and story content that acknowledge their alien origins.
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Searching for the Ultra Beasts
Both the originalPokemon SunandMoonand the laterUltra SunandUltra Moonversions featured unique encounters with the Ultra Beasts. InSunandMoon, once the player becomes the Alolan Champion, Looker and Anabel ask forthe player’s help in finding Ultra Beaststhat remain in the Alola region. InUltra SunandUltra Moon, players can use Solgaleo and Lunala to travel to other dimensions, where they can encounter Ultra Beasts in their homelands. Each of these versions of Ultra Beast interactions resulted in highly unique encounters with some ofPokemon’s strangest monsters.
Pokemon GOisn’t equipped to replicate all of these experiences asa mobile AR game, butPokemon GOshould use some slightly similar elements to preserve the mystique of encountering Ultra Beasts. It’d be interesting to seePokemon GOadd a special variant of Raids where players must bring at least one Solgaleo or Lunala in order to travel into a wormhole and encounter an Ultra Beast. Players might unlock Beast Balls as an alternative to Premier Balls if they progress through an Ultra Beast-centric Special Research line, giving them greatly increased odds of catching Ultra Beasts after a Raid.
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A New Pokemon GO Story
Aside from unique mechanics,Pokemon GOshould bring in a special Ultra Beast storyline that allows players to study the origins of these strange creatures. For example, Looker could make hisPokemon GOdebut in an Ultra Beast storyline, askingPokemon GOplayers for their help inwrangling and studying the Ultra Beasts. Looker is a fan favoritePokemoncharacter, so many players would be thrilled to see Looker repeat his role inPokemon SunandMoon.Pokemon GO’s Professor Willow is a good quest giver for most Special Research, but the Ultra Beasts are so unique that he ought to share the spotlight with another character who has an established connection with these creatures.
Odds are good that Niantic will simply add the Ultra Beasts to Raids in the future, but that’d be a serious waste of their potential. The Ultra Beasts have a truly unique place in thePokemonworld, andPokemon GOneeds to preserve their special place as much as possible. Rare monsters likeLegendary and Mythical Pokemonalready sacrifice many of their unique contexts to appear inPokemon GO,but Niantic has enough experience withPokemonby now to get creative for the sake of Ultra Beasts. Adding toPokemon GO’s Raid roster is always great, but Ultra Beasts deserve something a little more special than that.
Pokemon GOis available now for Android and iOS devices.
