Post
Pokemon Sun and Moon replaced gyms with island trials and pushed the series toward a softer, more character-led rhythm.
Pokemon Sun and Moon launched in 2016 on Nintendo 3DS. It replaced gyms with island trials and pushed the series toward a softer, more character-led rhythm. It sits on the canon-defining RPG backbone that decides regions, monsters, battle systems, and the assumptions every other Pokemon project eventually reacts to.
Example
Its 2016 release on Nintendo 3DS immediately became part of the benchmark fans used to judge its whole generation.
Why it matters
Mainline Pokemon releases are the load-bearing beams of the franchise. If you want to understand why the rest of Pokemon looks the way it does, these are the games that set the rules.
Related concepts