Pokémon Sun And Moon just got 'one of the best' free expansions ever
Pokémon’s seventh generation wasn’t as underrated as the sixth, though it was becoming abundantly clear that something needed to change.
Pokémon X And Y came and went with barely any impact whatsoever, despite giving us one of the series’ coolest mechanics ever. Perhaps the lack of a third game was what killed it in the end, or perhaps fans were just getting bored.
A similar story was told with Pokémon Sun And Moon, being quite a forgettable adventure in our opinion and wasn’t expanded well with the follow-ups Ultra Sun And Ultra Moon.
That all changes with the Pokémon Expansion Mod however; a fan-made add-on that makes these easily forgotten titles excited again.
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Created by Aqua, it adds a wide-variety of new Pokémon to the game, such as those found in Galar and Paldea, in addition to some of the Hisuian forms of ‘mon found in Pokémon Legends Arceus.
It’s impressive enough on paper, but the work the modders have put into the models needs a special shoutout. Pokémon from Galar and Paldea are obviously designed with the Nintendo Switch in mind, so to bring them to Ultra Sun And Moon they’ve needed to be tweaked for 3DS hardware. Some of these ‘downgraded’ forms actually look better than what you’d find on Switch, somehow.
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Another cool addition are some new Mega Evolutions introduced in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Mega-Evolution was added as a post-game unlock to Sun and Moon for players who beat the main story, so this mod just adds more options for your party.
It’s been promptly shared to online communities, like Gael_173 who posted it to Reddit calling it “one of the best Pokémon mods out there.”
At the time of writing work on the mod isn’t yet finished. Its page on GameBanana says it’s at 80% completion and the mod’s original creator Aqua has stepped away to allow others to finish it themselves.
You can still play it now though if you’d like to, but be warned the installation method is reportedly very complicated. Those who’ve successfully installed it are calling for a better guide.
For now it might be best to wait until it’s finished. It’s definitely one to keep on your radar though.
Pokémon masters are spoilt for choice with all these expansion mods
The above mod is just one popular expansion being shared throughout the community, and there’s plenty more where it came from.
In the last few months we’ve seen mods that make the Gen 1 games 3D, mods that combine Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon Emerald into one massive game, and fan-made Pokémon Diamond And Pearl remasters leagues ahead of the official remakes.
There’s plenty to enjoy, and now’s as good of a time as any to start giving them a go. Pokémon Winds And Waves isn’t due until sometime in 2027 so you’ve got plenty of time.
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