New Pokemon Sun And Moon Trailer And A GX Cards Showdown

If you've been anxiously since the last Pokemon Sun and Moon reveal, you'll be pleased to hear that a new trailer has arrived. Shown at the opening ceremonies for the 2016 Pokemon World Championships in San Francisco, this new trailer doesn't give us any details about new Sun and Moon features, although it does show off four new Alola region Pokemon. Fair warning: one of them is a sandcastle.

Kicking off the trailer is the fighting-type Crabrawler, a crustacean that loves to – you guessed it – fight, or more specifically, box. Next up is Sandygast, a dual-type ghost/ground Pokemon that actually sounds horrific despite the fact that it appears to be just a pile of sand, as its "tunnel-like mouth can suck the vitality from people and Pokemon."

Sandygast evolves into Palossand, which is the aforementioned sandcastle. As it turns out, the sandcastle is just a disguise it uses to ambush unsuspecting small Pokemon and drain their life force. Both Sandygast and Palossand feature the new ability Water Compaction, which raises their defense by two stages when they're hit with water-type attacks. Finally, we come to Stufful, the adorable normal/fighting type Pokemon that eventually evolves into the previously revealed Bewear.

In addition to these new Alola Pokemon, Nintendo also announced that the Pokemon TCG will be getting a Sun and Moon series in early 2017, bringing new Pokemon-GX cards with it. Think of Pokemon-GX as super-powered Pokemon cards, as each one will feature a special GX attack that can be used once per game on top of normal attacks and abilities.

Pokemon-GX cards are meant to be change the dynamics of Pokemon TCG matches, with their strong attacks and high HP pools helping players at a disadvantage to turn the tides in their favor. Nintendo says that extra power comes at a cost, though, as players will be able to draw two prize cards when they knock out a GX Pokemon. The first Pokemon-GX cards revealed are Solgaleo and Lunala, the respective version mascots for Pokemon Sun and Moon.