‘Pokemon Sun’ And ‘Moon’: Solrock And Lunatone May Tie Into The Titles In A Game-Changing Way

Those following the Pokemon Sun and Moon hype train have been treated to a healthy amount of confirmed data as of late — the latest trailer for the games was just released yesterday on Pokemon’s YouTube channel, in fact — but perhaps even more intriguing than the official reveals are the juicy and, occasionally, well thought-out fan theories about the upcoming Pokemon titles. Some of the theories are more a result of fantasizing than of any logical thought, but some of them actually make a lot of sense and seem like they may very well come to be. One such theory involves the generation three Pokemon Solrock and Lunatone, as well as the recently-revealed generation seven Pokemon, Minior.

#???? #Pokémon #????20?? #Pokémon20 #Alola
Solrock is the Sun, Lunatone the Moon and Meteno is a Star :3 pic.twitter.com/8HeL75mx2y

— Trainer Red³ ? ? (@EntrenadorRojo3) August 9, 2016

Pokemon Sun and Moon followers will probably remember the period that came shortly after the May 10 confirmation of the names “Pokemon Sun” and “Pokemon Moon,” when many Pokemon fans, such as Reddit user Yaheh, were convinced that Solrock and Lunatone, two Pokemon who are literally a sun and a moon, respectively, would be given evolutions or some other highlighting feature in the new games. Later on, when the addition of Z-crystals and the exclusion of new mega evolutions in Pokemon Sun and Moon became widely accepted, the speculation surrounding Solrock and Lunatone died down. It seems like that may have been premature.

When Minior, a new Pokemon, was revealed in an official trailer on August 1, Pokemon fans responded very positively to its unique ability and clever name. Soon, though, some eagle-eyed Pokemon theorists like Pokemon-themed Youtube content creator TheOneIntegral began picking up on the fact that some of the things making Minior such a cool addition to Pokemon Sun and Moon‘s roster are the same things that suggest it holds a deeper secret.

First of all, just the Pokemon’s name says something. Like the names of many Pokemon, “Minior” can be looked at in several different ways to invoke different words. For example, “meteor,” invoking the Pokemon’s overall design theme, or “ore,” reflecting its primary rock typing. More interesting, though, are the words “mini” and, although it is a bit more of a stretch, “junior,” that can be found in the name. Both words — “mini” and “junior” — mean that the subject is a smaller version of something else. In other words, they practically scream that Minior is the pre-evolution of some larger and more fully-formed Pokemon.

It seems pretty much confirmed that Minior will evolve into some Pokemon, but why into Solrock and Lunatone specifically? The most obvious reason may be that they will be the only three Pokemon of the 800+ to be included in the Alola national Pokedex to be based on celestial bodies. The sun and the moon, which are represented by Solrock and Lunatone, are the two most visible and most definitive cosmic objects in the sky from our tragically earthbound perspective. Wouldn’t it make sense that a Pokemon based on a much smaller but still visible celestial object, a meteor, would evolve into them?

In addition, Minior shares a primary typing, rock, with Solrock and Lunatone. The Pokemon’s secondary typings are different — Minior is rock/flying while Solrock and Lunatone are both rock/psychic — but it is by no means unheard of for a Pokemon’s secondary typing to change when it evolves.

The biggest question that comes to mind when contemplating a Minior split evolution into Solrock and Lunatone is that of its ability. Gamefreak, the developers of the Pokemon main series games, gave Minior an ability called “Shields Down” that boosts its defensive capabilities when it still has half its HP and boosts offensive stats when its HP falls below half. The ability is totally unique, and many Pokemon fans praised it after it was announced. Would Gamefreak really take the ability away in favor of Solrock and Lunatone’s much more common “Levitate” ability when Minior evolves?

Minior is a meteor pokemon who is Rock/Flying. It's ability is Shields Down, where it has the protective shell- pic.twitter.com/Q3drNgOXvr

— BrawlFan1 (@BrawlFan1onTwit) August 1, 2016

The answer may simply be “yes.” Minior has a unique ability, and Gamefreak may be fine with letting it stay unique to the Pokemon’s basic form. On the other hand, it is possible that both Pokemon — Solrock and Lunatone — will get Alola forms with the ability “Shields Down.” Assuming they also retained their rock/psychic typing after undergoing the change, they would lose their immunity to ground, but it may be worth it to Pokemon fans excited for something new.

The best part of this prospective Minior evolution into Solrock and Lunatone — the Sun and Moon Pokemon — is that there are several methods of evolution that would fit perfectly. Maybe Minior could evolve into one of the two, depending on whether the Pokemon trainer uses the sun stone or moon stone — I don’t even have to tell you which stone corresponds to which evolution. Alternatively, the evolution could occur based on level-up, like with most Pokemon, but depend on whether Minior is evolved during the day or night. Or the two evolutions, like the evolutions of Rockruff, could be version exclusives. Again, you can guess which evolution corresponds to which Pokemon title.

Are you hopeful for a Minior evolution when Pokemon Sun and Moon are released on November 18? What do you think are the chances it will evolve into Solrock and Lunatone? Make yourself heard in the comments section below.

And as always, Train On, Pokemon fans!

[Featured image by Pokemon]