Well I’ll be damned if I’ve ever seen a cuter looking bunch of super-powered abominations in my entire life.
We’ll start things out with my personal favourite, Rowlet - the dapper little spheroid. A Grass/Flying type, Rowlet represents the first starter to include flying, which will eliminate the need for a Fly-compatible HM slave later in the game for some players. It’s also fucking wonderful. Look at him. Look. It’s an owl. An OWL. WITH A BOW TIE.
"Honestly, I’m elated by these starters. They capture the adorable personality of what a starter should be, and one of them is an owl."
Next up is Litten, as in ‘this kitten is FUCKING LIT MATE’. A pure Fire type starter is about as strange to the Pokemon series as a belt full of balls, so no surprises there. Fingers crossed it won’t go into Fire/Fighting as it evolves, though its dark-toned design suggests this won’t be the case. Fire/Dark? Me-ow.
Finally, we have Popplio, which is a seal. Popplio is described as being able to ‘blow water bubbles from its nose’ which is… well, I mean, I can do that come flu season, so. However, this could lead into a nice Water/Ice pairing, which would be another first for the starter line-up.
Honestly, I’m elated by these starters. They capture the adorable personality of what a starter should be, and one of them is an owl. No word on the evolutions as of yet, but based on these I have high hopes. Check out Pokemon’s official channel to see the trailer for yourself! It’s worth a look, as there’s previews of the game’s celestial legendaries as well as a whol host of environments from Sun and Moon’s new region, Alola - ostensibly a Hawaiian themed area full of all sorts of yet-to-be-seen new Pokemon.