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
My personal opinion: since they aren’t Pokemon I don’t think Ultra Beasts will be catchable, but I think they will be obtainable in some way.
Perhaps Rotomdex can scan them to study them?
Maybe if you best it in battle you can call on it for assistance like with latios and latias in OR and AS.
I think this is likely, or at least possible. Some fans have proposed such a theory: Ultra Beasts are in truth pokemon-human hybrids, created by the Aether Foundation for some purposes. Pokeballs are specifically designed to capture pokemon and pokemon ONLY (i.e., as shown, pokeballs can’t be used to capture humans). Therefore, Ultra Beasts, being part human, cannot be captured by pokeballs.
The story will involve the Ultra Beasts, out of resentment for being experimental subjects, turning on humans and therefore acting as the main threat in the story. At the end, the main protagonist will defeat them. Then everyone will have a “let’s be friend” moment, while Solgaleo or Lunaala use their mystic power to “purify” the Ultra Beasts, turning them into complete Pokemon, by when they become capturable.
In fact, the Chinese rumor listed the UBs alongside the other pokemons in their Pokemon list. Some have suggested that this means each UB will get a Pokemon counterpart/form.
Just my speculation, tho…
I don’t think they’ll be catchable in the same sense of Pokemon but maybe in something to study them in?
i feel we are going to battle them. maybe they are the final bosses of the game
Yeah like they play their part during the story but if you really want to test your mettle you can battle them post game.
I hope they function as a real threat like something you really have to train against in order to beat them. That way I feel like they’ll live up to their name/title.
These guys have me super hype, especially if it means a really interesting story! :’) I still hope they’re uncatchable eldritch horrors lmao
Considering Type:Null’s backstory and how UB-02 are shown fighting Tapu-Koko the two could be linked together. And if you subscribe to the Lillie/Lusamine/Gladion family theory it could be said that they broke apart after the creation of the Ultra Beasts for various reasons.
whatever they are i personally want to fight them
The ending of that fight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4MqTCIDKhU
Am I the only one who thinks that Gladion doesn’t resemble UB02? The other resemblances I see, but Gladion’s is a stretch. Plus why would such important characters only have UBs in one version?
Think team aqua and team magma. Each version with a different villain team.
But that’s not the same case. Team Magma and Team Aqua were two entirely different teams, simply switching out their roles in the story. That doesn’t work here. We know that team skull is the main villains here, and we’re assuming Aether is evil as well. However think hard about this. Why would the leader of one evil team be connected to one aether beast, while its someone who’s considered a lacky in another game? Why wouldn’t it be Lusamine in sun? What scenario could be crafted that Lusamine would be pushed aside, despite being the leader of what we think is the main evil team, only for her little brother/son to take center stage as the true evil. It really doesn’t work well when you stop and think about it.
Not pushed aside, but maybe in Pokemon sun it’s like lusamine friend gladion foe, vice versa for moon. And I believe the UBs revealed so far are not the final bosses. The plots looks deeper this time.
But again that doesn’t seem likely at all. Remember that Gladion’s using a pokemon that was likely created by the Aether foundation, thus making him a former member, but now follows a team that wants to spread chaos. You could argue that he’s a double agent, but given every thing we’ve scene it seems pretty clear that he’s not a fan of the Aether foundation. As well that would feel really hollow if Lusamine, the big bad we’re all expecting, suddenly decided to bow out and let one of her henchmen be the big boss battle instead of her, or something based around her.
Don’t get me wrong. It can be done, but the more I think about it, the more clunky it feels and it doesn’t seem satisfying. Heck people also seem very quickly to forget that absorption and Beauty are technically the same ultra beast. Remember their both 02. So that really kind of comes across as strange if the same beast was based off of two different people. Wouldn’t it be more likely that maybe 02 somehow absorbs the power of the box legendary, and thus transforms into one of these forms? Again, just speculating, but it just seems weird to me that people are so quickly assuming that in a game where we immediately assume that the guys who are all about loving pokemon and dressed in white; that we would immediately take Ultra beasts at face value and not really try to think that their appearance could be a decoy.
Gladion,Lilille and Lusamine all share common features like: Blonde hair, weird hairstyle, green eyes, pale caucasian skin and mysteriousness. I believe they are from the rich that bred Meowth and that they are related. There is no doubt that Lilille resembles UB1 and Lusamine resembling Beauty but the only reason people would not think that Absorption is Gladion is the physical appearance which really doesn’t matter since the color scheme matches gladion’ attire perfectly.
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thought like this.
I feel like if the UB’s are meant to resemble certain characters then they don’t necessarily have to look like them but rather represent core aspects of the person. I feel UB-02 expansion represents Gladions strength.
and those little spikes on glad’s coat match up
Yep
Many they are in both versions but one is more prominent also isn’t it canon that all the duel games take place in parallel universes?
I’ve gotta agree with you there. Really Gladion is only connected if you really look at his clothes and a vague sense of his personality, which is a big stretch. Heck Lillie’s even a bit of a stretch given 01’s basically just a sun hat with long hair, which we’ve scene multiple characters bare over the series and could be a complete red herring. And even then you could simply bring up that Lusamine, being the assumed big bad, but being locked to only moon rules out that she really is connected to Beauty and that her appearance is yet another red herring.
Then again I’m the guy who would go as far as to guess that the Ultra Beasts are Alternate universe version’s of the legendary poekmon, as it would explain a few things like the abundance of solar/lunar energy, or why the riddler leaker hinted that their some connection between 01 and the Aristotle pokemon. But who really knows.
Between the three UBS revealed so far comparing Gladion to UB02 Absorption is definitely the greatest stretch, but when you read their info, their focus on strength, and look at their designs you can begin to see it.
That being said, if they revealed Absorption before Beauty and UB01, and we didn’t see the clear similarities between Lusamine, Lillie and the other UBs, I don’t think anyone would’ve made the connection.
One per version because it’s different time frames within the game. Moon is 12 hours ahead of Sun so events would happen differently. You’d encounter different people if the time of day is different.
I’m still somewhat convinced that Marshadow could be related to these guys, yet I’m probably wrong as always..
I’d buy into that!
I almost certainly doubt they’ll be catchable- the website clearly doesn’t treat them as Pokemon, and if they’re part human then imagine the outrage.
It would be borning if UB2 is Fairy or Fight/Dark catchable pokemon I hope you are right.
I don’t even think their going to have a type.
I think we should kill them!!!
I don’t think you will be able to obtain the Ultra Beast. I think they just be bosses for the player to face! Also, I think all Ultra Beast would resemble important people. So far:
UB-01 : Lillie
UB-02 (Bea.) : Lusamine
UB-02 (Exp.) : Gladion
I compared UB-02 Expansion to Gladion and others we refuted the connection. I think they looks similar to each other. I cannot wait for more UB information.
I, for one, accept our new Ultra Beast over lords
Screw that i think we should kill them
watch ub-02 expansion smash a rhyperior into bits and pieces. rip.
Oh please Rhyperior with fight it horn to horn!
All hail the one true God– The giant cockroach in the sky. So, if you’ll all excuse me, I’m going out onto the sidewalk, I’m dropping to my knees, and pledging my eternal soul to the thing that literally fights the f*cking weather god
star’s clearly lost it
BURN THEM ALL
Giant cockroach in the sky, please forgive all that we’ve done. We’re sorry for our increased levels of emissions and our racism and, of course, the Amber Alerts I keep ignoring on my phone.
*loads you onto this conveniently placed catapult*
The cockroach loves this! They love it when we don’t kill Star!
nag nag nag T_T
*Chops the release rope*
(I’m not sure if people are getting the Rick and Morty reference or if they are just really confused right now)
I’ll show you what i got
Thanks Mr. Earthen
Should I call a shrink?
Yes
We’ll shrink to microscopic size, enter her brain AND DESTROY FROM WITHIN!!!!
Please do my brain is f*cked
its your grey matter
That’s one way to put it
*pulls out knife that I hid a few day ago*
Right behind ya Weavile be on gaurd
Guard is what I meant
Here’s a temporary brain while I perform the surgery: (refresh)
http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/3/3e/114Tangela.png/250px-114Tangela.png
Aww so cute
*plops down in empty skull*
Wonder what Star will act like with Tangela up there
Like a Tangela
I’d rather cleanse then destroy Star’s brain
we are on two different wavelengths
Wait… would she live if we destroy it?
you ever tried living without your brain?
Hmmm…… Nope never done it my friends mostly live without brains and so does most of my school
No. But considering she’s a headless chicken, probably.
Let’s take the risk
Nah. I vote I eat her. My last meal was 2 weekends ago. I HAVE THE RUMBLIES… THAT ONLY FLESH CAN SATISFY
Hmm in that case let’s give Earthens body up he wanted to get rid of it anyway
Eww.. That’s like eating soggy bread
You can munch on her, but I’ll need a photograph of before and after the murder for evidence (and what she looked like before death
Ok… Munch is… a weird… oddly… you know… kind of word…
Ok so uhh… Gobble no that sounds worse… Gulp still bad… Eat is all I’ve got
Yeah
You might want to save some for Earthen I’m not finished with my Peanuts *Crunch* *Crunch*
*hides knife and peanuts*
Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I misread peanuts
Who here thinks S/M will have the best story of any Pokemon Game? We the right plot development and motives, it could effortlessly defeat B/W in terms of story!
It will easily defeat B/W. 53 days left till Sun and Moon!
So long as they don’t screw it up in a way we didn’t think possible.
They have a way of doing that.
No idea, but judging by all these story elements they are showcasing it might surpass BW’s story. Yet there is some doubt in it too.
http://m.imgur.com/a/FPfBn
that psyduck omg please
Yes! I’d coat it in glass so it doesn’t ever rot and I could keep it as a doll
*Crunches*
tastes like blood…….
But… you’re not made of flesh tho…
well there are instances where my mortal body exists
i usually have the stone body my consciousness inhabits to do my evil/heroic deeds while if it gets totaled my mind flies back to wherever i left my smelly fat body
You must abandon your smelly fat body.
I’m still in a mortal body but I’m immortal
unfortunately i need that thing
my Earth Elemental bodies are somewhat short life and prolonged removence from my real body takes a toll on the mind and spirit
LET ME AT EM!!!
That rice is adorable!!
Very cute. Probably tastes gross though
I must conduct my research towards them
*3 days later*
Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!! They are not possible to study I tried battling them but now my Sneasel troop is in the ER.
What is that creature in your avatar? it looks like a Digimon
It’s the rejected Pokemon from Gen.2 Kurusu it was the original water starter
I just want to note that the graphics of the cutscene on the topic image are (is?) gorgeous. It’s a huge step up from XY.
So can the father not transfer abilities when breeding? It can only be the mother?
Male+Ditto=can pass
Female+Ditto=can pass
Male+Female=only female can pass
And Father must have egg move as well
That’s fucking dumb, pardon my french. I just bred a 6IV gible and of course it was a girl and didn’t have its HA. UGH. So now I can’t even use this one to help me breed another 6IV one faster.
I feel your pain because I have a useless shed skin 6 IV Female Dratini.
I guess what I could do is take the HA out of the equation for now, breed the 5 IV and 6IV together until I get a 6IV male, and then put the 5IV female with the HA in with him and start over..
Or just keep breeding what you have, eventually you should get one, it will likely take just as much time.
Meh, I already switched em.
RotomDex will short circuit when you try to scan them.
I tried their strength and my troop is healing they tried a valiant effort and we wiped clean
No. It will tell you their Power is Over 9000!
Trainer being extremely shocked: What, 9000?! That’s impossible!
I’ve gotta go, cya 🙂
Goodnight
Ok I’ve been mentioning a troop so I’m going to tell you what my troop is
Leader-Me
Head Commander- Weavile
Army- A troop of about 30 Sneasel
Aerial Squad- Like 10 Murkrow
Water Team- Many Corphish and Crawdaunt
Your army needs a shield from Dazzling Gleam
Well I had the idea of underGround squads and tree teams of Composed of Steelix’s and Ambipom’s
You know what never occurred to me? Could the origin of Murkrow’s name not only be Murk/y + Crow but also Murder + Crow? Maybe it’s also a coincidence
I think maybe Gladion isn’t UB-02 Expansion, seeing as UB-02 Expansion is UB-02 Beauty’s counterpart. I think if Lusamine is going to be UB-02 Beauty, than we would need to be introduced to a character that is like Lusamine’s counterpart (which I do not think is Gladion.)
Are you 100% sure?
I think its the father….. Old…. Frail…. Than the mosquito strong and agressive….
The cockroach looks like the girl… But i the girl says she wants to help pokemon and stuff… But shes evil…. Just like the father……
The “black sheep” being the to that relates to lily….
Going to bed Good Night
Idk… I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t care about them. Id much rather get to know the region and such. I don’t hate them, and think they are designed well, but gosh… there’s too many other exciting things happening in this game…
I dislike the UBs (ok, specifically just the one UB) but I agree that the region is far more interesting.
I’ve been compiling an analysis of the map of Alola, identifying which areas have been shown in trailers and which have hardly been mentioned to show how much there is we don’t know.
For a start, we don’t know the name of any towns, just the name of two locations (Lush Jungle and Verdant Cave)
lillie lusamine and gladion have both green eyes and blonde hair……..
there’s our newish recruit! how are you enjoying the company of the junglers?
thank you 🙂 its fun and i like joining the discussion instead of just reading about it!
hi sorry i didn’t get back to you sooner. i don’t log on much. i’m doing well thanks
hi
i mostly lurk around here
First of all, article was really well written!
I love this article, first off. Also I’d like to point out that as much as we have been introduced to a lot of info for sun and moon, it feels like we know very little about the story (at least for me). I really hope they don’t pull an X and Y tho.
I honestly don’t even mind if the game is easy like Gen 6 games, just give me a good plot. Some good post-game activities. PLZ. Anyways, I also hope they fix the fact that you get the exp. share right at the beginning of the game. Cuz that’s broken. If not that, then just good plot would be nice.
P.S. Where’d Chico go haven’t seen him in a while?
I did a run recently with the EXP Share turned off, and the game actually becomes a lot more challenging without grinding. Of course once you get access to the Battle Chateau and Restaurants, the grinding becomes a lot easier.
I just want them to change back EXP Share to the way it was in previous gens
I haven’t used the EXP Share since Emerald
Ultra Beasts reminds me of those Elementum things in Miscrits:
i) They look weird
ii)They probably can’t be captured
iii)They’re probably bosses
iv)Really mysterious
v)They are not Pokemon
vi)They’re designs are way too complex
I think we will be able to catch the UB’s. My person hypothesis is that they are pokemon from an alternate Pokearth. Also, Pokemon is still a kid’s game and I’m sure kids would be upset or just plain confused if they were presented with something that looked like a pokemon but you couldn’t catch. A lot of older fans probably wouldn’t like that either.
I definitely do not think that they are people in disguises or even have human forms because UB-02 was shown going into battle with Tapu Koko and Pokemon isn’t that edgy.
People also speculate that Sun and Moon might tie into DPP’s story (because some gen 4 characters are rumored to be in the game). If this is true my hypothesis would make sense because Cyrus successfully created a new universe and he just banished himself to it at the end of the main story. But this is all speculation and we won’t know until Nintendo tells us
Some people just dont know when to quit ???
?? sorry i diasgree with you about a game i guess
Beings from either an alternate reality, or from another planet in the multiverse able to travel to the Pokemon world due to rifts in spacetime. They wont be catchable and serve as high difficulty bosses.
#exterminatetheultrabeasts
UB-02 Beauty is definitely a copepod
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copepod
Im hoping ultra beasts are like really strong Boss Monsters, with either no to little type effectiveness to them, ex fire would deal like 1.1x dmg, and it would take your entire team to defeat them and ineffectiveness to moves liek des bond or per song wouldmake for a fun battle. Also praying they dont do away with mega evos 🙁
I wonder if a 6 Max IV Level 100 Arceus could beat 1 or a 6 MAX IV Unbound level 100 Hoopa