Ever since Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue, we have had version exclusive Pokemon in either of the two games released for a certain generation. Red or Blue had Electabuzz or Magmar, respectively; Gold or Silver had Mantine or Skarmory. Ruby or Sapphire had Mawile or Sableye, while Diamond and Pearl had Stunky/Skuntank or Glameow/Purugly. Black or White had Vullaby/Mandibuzz or Rufflet/Braviary, while X or Y had Swirlix/Slurpuff or Spritzee/Aromatisse. With this in mind, it would be safe to assume Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon has version exclusives as well. And they do.
Passimian, the Teamwork Pokemon, is a Pokemon Sun exclusive, while Oranguru, the Sage Pokemon, is a Pokemon Moon exclusive. If you have not read my other posts about version exclusive Pokemon, then please do not pick one game over the other due to what I say about these Pokemon.
Passimian is a pure Fighting type Pokemon with the new ability Receiver. This ability, unfortunately, is useless in a one-on-one match. In a double or triple battle, however, this ability can be used. However, although it can be used for your advantage, it can also be used to your opponent’s advantage. What Receiver does is give Passimian the ability of any fainted ally. This would be useful if your ally had an ability like Moxie or Speed Boost, but it would be pointless if you got a useless ability such as Honey Gather or Run Away, or even harmful to you if you got an ability such as Truant or Defeatist. This ability has potential if any other Pokemon can have it. Passimian, however, due to its typing, cannot use this ability well. If there was an ability to cover its weaknesses of Flying, Psychic, and Fairy, then this ability would be much more useful.
Oranguru, on the other hand, is a Normal/Psychic type, just like Girafarig. It is similar to Passimian because they are both mainly useful in double or triple battles. However, Oranguru has more flexibility when it comes to usefulness in one-on-one matches. Oranguru can either have the ability Inner Focus or Telepathy. If you plan on using an Oranguru for double or triple battles, be sure to get one with Telepathy. Otherwise, just get one with Inner Focus. I don’t know how much of a problem flinching will be in the Alola region, but it’s always nice to have immunity to it. How is Oranguru good for double or triple battles? Well, it has a new move Instruct that allows its ally to use the same move it just did. For those of you who played Golden Sun or Golden Sun Dark Dawn, its basically like using Kite except it works that turn instead of the next turn. Having telepathy means your ally can use moves such as Surf or Earthquake without harming you twice.
That’s not all of the version exclusives though. These next ones, though, are unique. You remember Rockruff, right? Well, the evolution’s form is actually dependent on the version you’re playing. Lycanroc is the evolution, but it has a Midday form or Midnight form with a possibly different ability. It can either have Keen Eye or Sand Rush in its Midday form or Keen Eye or Vital Spirit in its Midnight form.
If you liked customizing your character in Pokemon X and Pokemon Y, congratulations, because it’s back in Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon. Also, if you liked Pokemon Amie, that’s sort of back as well, except now it’s called Pokemon Refresh.
If you like Pikachu and Eevee, they have exclusive Z-Moves. Pikachu’s Z-Move is called Catastropika, and it most likely deals Electric type damage. Eevee’s Z-Move is called Extreme Evoboost, and it doesn’t actually deal damage. Instead, it gives Eevee a sharp boost in its Speed, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, and Special Defense.
Who do you like better: Passimian or Oranguru?
Gamer Fan Spot 