Like many kids born in the 1990s, I remember the huge Pokemon craze that lasted through most of the first decade of the 2000's. The amazing tv shows, the beautifully made cards, and of course, the plethora of toys. One of the biggest lures were the games. Unfortunately, I missed out on the first two generations of games and didn't get to play my first Pokemon game until Leaf Green came out.

Back then things were so simple. Set out on your journey to be the Pokemon master, catch as many Pokemon as you can, beat a few gyms, and take down Team Rocket. You couldn't complete your Pokedex without a friend though because there were Pokemon you couldn't get unless you traded with a friend who had Fire Red, a game that was nearly an exact copy of Leaf Green but with a few Pokemon that are exclusive to each.

My next Pokemon game, Pearl, wasn't too much different, just a different location, new Pokemon, and a brand new feature called the Global Trade Station, which allowed you to trade Pokemon with people all over the world! This made completing the Pokedex possible for me. And let me tell you, completing your Pokedex is one of the most rewarding feelings ever.

That was way back in 2008. Since then several new generations of Pokemon have been released, and due to high school, no money, and no friends who cared to play, I didn't follow any of them. That is, until about a month ago, when my best friend, his wife, and I decided to get the newest Pokemon games for the 3DS, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

Now I'm going to start off with mentioning that I have no idea what the difference (if any) between "Sun" and "Moon," and "Ultra Sun" and "Ultra Moon" is. But what I do know is how different it is from Leaf Green and Pearl. First of all, as to be expected, the location is different. This new region seems to resemble Hawaii. In fact, the natives greet you by saying "Alola!" which is no doubt a reference to the Hawaiian "Aloha!"

Secondly, as is also to be expected, there's TONS of new Pokemon! Back in the day, I prided myself in being able to recite the original 151 Pokemon. I could also at least recognize and remember the name of the first 350 Pokemon. Now there are over 800 different species of Pokemon.

This is mind-blowing to me! It was hard to collect the 400 Pokemon in Pearl version, completing the entire Pokedex in Ultra Moon is going to be ridiculous! In addition to new Pokemon, some of the old Pokemon have changed! For example, in the original 150 Pokemon, there was this cute red fire-type fox named Vulpix.

Well, now it's white and an Ice-Type! In addition to Vulpix, they've changed 13 other Pokemon to give them new types and appearances!

The biggest difference is also the most surprising. Your Pokemon adventure was always the same in the past. Go challenge the gyms until you beat all eight, challenge the Elite 4, and become the Pokemon League Champion. Now, instead of gyms, there are island challenges. The island challenges are all unique little tasks, similar to gym puzzles, that lead up to a boss fight with a giant 'totem' Pokemon.