Some Pokémon species have uniquely adapted to the microclimates of the Alola region, becoming what is known as a regional variant of their species. Zygarde's other forms, Zygarde Cell and Core, will also make non-playable appearances. Pokémon Sun and Moon will be the first core series games where players can use Zygarde's 10% and Complete Formes, as well as Greninja's Ash-Greninja form. The QR scanner can also be used to receive event Pokémon, such as Magearna.

Players can scan QR codes corresponding to each Pokémon in the Pokédex, allowing them to register them as Pokémon they have seen. The Pokédex also acts as a real-time map on the bottom screen on the player's Nintendo 3DS, showing the player's location, places of interest, and recommended destinations based on conversations made with NPCs. Through the Pokédex, Rotom can speak human languages. The player's Pokédex is a special model that can be inhabited by a Rotom, called the Rotom Pokédex. All copies of the game are playable in nine languages: Japanese, English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. The paired versions will be released worldwide on November 18, 2016, except in Europe where they will be released on November 23, 2016.

The games were announced worldwide on the 20th Anniversary of the release of Pokémon Red and Green, February 27, 2016, at 12 am JST by Tsunekazu Ishihara through Nintendo Direct. The games will be released on the Nintendo 3DS. Pokémon Sun (Japanese: ポケットモンスターサン Pocket Monsters Sun) and Pokémon Moon (Japanese: ポケットモンスタームーン Pocket Monsters Moon) are the primary paired versions of Generation VII and are set in the Alola region.

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