Pokemon Sun/Moon Release Date Confirmed, Starter Pokemon Revealed

The Pokemon Company has released a new video for Pokemon Sun and Moon, revealing the three starter Pokemon that players will be able to select in the 3DS title. Additionally, it has also confirmed the game will launch on November 18.

The three Pokemon are Rowlet, a flying grass type, Litten, a fire type, and Popplio, a water type. See them all in action in the trailer above.

In related Pokemon news, the National Championship will be shown across three Twitch channels, providing coverage of the Pokemon Trading Card National Championship, the Pokemon Video Game National Championship, and Pokken Tournament Championship. The dates, along with the Twitch channels, can be found below,

Event Dates

• 14–15 May: Liverpool, UK (Exhibition Centre Liverpool)
• 21–22 May: Kassel, Germany (Kongress Palais Kassel)
• 11–12 June: Milan, Italy (Mediolanum Forum, Assago MI)

Twitch Streams

• Pokémon TCG National Championships
• Pokémon VG National Championships
• Pokkén Tournament Championship Series

As previously announced, Sun and Moon will offer traditional and simplified Chinese as language options, which is a first for the series. Both games will also come with Pokemon Bank support, allowing players to move Pokemon wirelessly from Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow, as well as Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, X, and Y, to Sun and Moon. Further details on how this works are available here.

February 27 was the 20th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise's debut in Japan in 1996. To celebrate, Nintendo hosted a 24-hour animation livestream event on Twitch, along with releasing classic Pokemon games Red, Blue, and Yellow for the 3DS eShop.

The last Pokemon games in the series for 3DS were Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, which came out in November 2014.