Pokemon Sun and Moon trailer reveals Pokemon Snap throwback

We have yet another Pokemon Sun and Moon trailer today, unveiling even more details about the upcoming pair of games. Like most of the trailers that have come before, this trailer is revealing a handful of new Pokemon, while at the same time giving us additional information on the Alola region and showing off some new gameplay mechanics. Pokemon Snap fans may want to keep reading.

That's because this new trailer shows off a mode reminiscent of the classic Nintendo 64 game. Called Poke Finder, this new feature allows players to snap pictures of Pokemon at various locations around the Alola region – based on Nintendo's description and the brief glimpse we get in the trailer, it seems like these spots will function similarly to the picture spots found in X and Y. Players will have the quality of their pictures evaluated, just like in Pokemon Snap, and as they take more pictures, they'll unlock new features for the Poke Finder.

We're getting a look at only a few new Pokemon this time around, with the trailer first showing off Type: Null, a synthetic Pokemon that was "constructed to synthesize the strengths of various Pokémon." Next up is the dragon-type Jangmo-o, and then finally, we're introduced to the rather chubby Alolan form of Raticate, which boasts dark/normal dual-typing just like the recently revealed Alolan Rattata.

This trailer also reveals the Aether Foundation, a group of researchers dedicated to helping and caring for Pokemon that have been injured. Their work is based out of Aether Paradise, the man-made island in the Alolan archipelago, and Nintendo's release says the team is working on researching Ultra Beasts by the time players encounter them. Ultra Beasts are apparently powerful enough to pose a threat to both humans and Pokemon, and the trailer gives us a brief look at one of them, named UB-01.

Finally, it appears that some kind of day/night cycle will be returning in Pokemon Sun and Moon, with Nintendo announcing that the games will take place 12 hours apart. While the events in Sun will sync up with your 3DS clock, the events in Moon play out with a 12-hour difference. This changes a few of the mechanics in the game, with different Pokemon appearing on each route depending on the time of day, and the Totem Pokemon during the Alolan trials will be different based on the version being played.

While there weren't many new Pokemon revealed in this new sampling of gameplay footage, we did get a lot more information on the story and mechanics than we usually do. It really seems like Nintendo is changing up the tried-and-true Pokemon formula with this release, but the extent of that shake up won't be clear until the games actually launch. Pokemon Sun and Moon launch for Nintendo 3DS on November 18.