With less than two months until Pokémon Sun & Moon are released, Ultra Beasts have been the latest thing to shake up even the most casual theorists in the Pokémon fandom. They’re unlike anything that’s been shown in the Pokémon universe so far; but what exactly are they? Here’s what we know:
Revealed in a recent trailer, Ultra Beasts are mysterious beings that are posing a threat to humans and Pokémon alike in the Alola Region with their incredible powers. And for whatever reason, the Aether Foundation is conducting research on them. Other than that, we can gather that they follow a design theme of real-world pests. UB-01 has a distinctly jellyfish-like design, the real creature routinely causing crazy amounts of damage to the fishing industry and clogging up power plant vents when they swim in blooms. UB-02 Beauty as the silverfish or cockroach – quite possibly the quintessential household pests – and UB-02 Absorption as the mosquito that sucks blood and spread diseases everywhere it goes. Despite knowing so little we can be sure of one thing: Ultra Beasts are not Pokémon. The way the official site describes Ultra Beasts (UBs) as something separate from humans and Pokémon entirely. The way they were revealed without a typing, ability or classification like every other Pokémon ever points to it. And even their name points to it too; if they were Pokémon, wouldn’t they just be called Ultra Pokémon? Every single official categorization of Pokémon (e.g. Totem Pokémon, Mythical Pokémon) has it in the name, but these guys are just referred to as “Beasts”. The fact that the Pokémon Company even decided to call them “Beasts” is interesting – it’s a very neutral term. Calling them “monsters” would’ve implied a more negative connotation, whereas maybe “creatures” would’ve maybe implied a more positive implication. Could their name suggest that they are indeed neutral, and are being controlled or persuaded by another power?
Coincidentally (or maybe, uncoincidentally) the Aether Foundation was revealed in the same trailer showing that their purpose as a foundation is to help any Pokémon that Team Skull brought harm to, and to research these mysterious UBs. And it’s really no wonder the AF is so intrigued by these creatures, there’s something so different about them; something that sets them apart from other designs we’ve seen in Pokémon. It’s almost like they’re slightly…human? It’s certainly no secret that the UBs each resemble an already revealed character in Pokémon Sun & Moon. Lille and UB-01 resemble one another, Lusamine and UB-02 Beauty’s looks parallel each other – even striking the same pose in their official artwork – and you can argue that UB-02 Absorption matches Gladion’s color scheme and his focus on strength. But why do they look so much alike? They are so many possibilities: Are these characters and UBs one and the same? Were the UBs somehow made using human DNA with the help of the AF (it’s worth mentioning that the official French name for UBs is Ultra Chimeras)? Are they Lillie, Lusamne and Gladion’s alternate universe counterpart from another world? As the list goes on and on the theories get more and more Farfetch’d!
We certainly have more questions than answers, but what do you think? How are the Ultra Beasts related to the Aether Foundation, if at all? Why do Lille, Lusamine and Gladion bare such an uncanny resemblance to the revealed UBS? And will the other UBs share design aspects with other characters in Sun & Moon – if so, who?
Regardless if we get these answers before or after the game’s release, one thing’s for sure – the world of Pokémon is in for a huge change.
//ozymandis