Pokémon Sun and Moon demo guide - How to unlock Ash-Greninja and transfer to the full game (2023)

The Pokémon Sun and Moon demo - available to download from the 3DS eShop mid-morning on October 18 - will give players a small taste of the full game's many new mechanics, from Z-Moves, to the Pokémon Snap-style camera and island Trials, and reward you with some goodies in the process.

Once you've finished the 30 minute or so teaser, you'll unlock Ash-Greninja - a special edition Pokémon similar to the one belonging to Ash in the anime - to transfer into the full game, alongside additional items through some optional bonus challenges.

Pokémon Sun and Moon demo guide: How to unlock Ash-Greninja in the full game

To unlock Ash-Greninja, you have to complete the main story of the demo. Here's a complete walkthrough of what's required.

After the opening cutscene where your receive your Ash-Greninja, leave City Hall and fight the Team Skull Grunts outside (your Water Shuriken should make light work of the rival Yungoos).

Once done, head north to the Pokémon Centre, where Hau will give you a Super Potion and introduction to Professor Kukui. Agree to his Trial, and head to the north of the edge of the town, and speak to the man to travel to Ten Carat Hill.

In Ten Carat Hill, battle your way through the patches of tall grass and lone trailer to the cave in the north, where Professor Kukui is waiting. He will task you with finding four Pokémon with a Poké Finder as part of a trial.

To take a picture, move to a spot where you sense the Pokémon and investigate, then move the viewpoint with either the 3DS console or Circle Pad, and take a snap with the R or A buttons at the right time. You'll then have to defeat the Pokémon in battle.

Here are the Trial Pokémon locations:

• First Jangmo-o - Wall directly left of Professor.
• Second Jangmo-o - Head down path left of Professor, then take the fork in the road up. It's on the upper wall just after the fork.
• First Hakamo-o - Stay on this upper path and go left, being careful not to drop down the ledge. It's at the wall at the end.
• Totem Hakamo-o - Leave the cave in the north west and head north.

Though Kukui's Pikachu will be in your party, Greninja's Night Slash and Aerial Ace are effective against the two Jangmo-o's, while Aerial Slash comes in handy against Hakamo-o. In the Totem battle, Rockfluff also shows up, but use Water Shuriken to quickly take care of it.

Once the battle is over, you'll receive a Z-Ring and Z-Crystal 'Electirum Z' for Pikachu as a reward.

You then have to face Team Skull Admin Plumeria in a final battle. Make use of your new Z-Move with Pikachu to easily win the battle, completing the demo. Congratulations!

By restarting the demo, you have the chance to send your Ash-Greninja to the full version of the game. There is, however, more challenges to complete and items to unlock before Sun and Moon releases...

Other items to transfer from the Pokémon Sun and Moon demo to the full version

When the Trial is over, you can reload the demo to continue exploring Hau'oli City and Ten Carat Hill to take part in additional challenges (some of which require the newly-unlocked Ride Pager item to dash through giant rocks) rewarding you with additional items you can take into the full version upon release.

Here's every secret we know about so far:

• At the end of the main road where the Pokémon Centre is based is a row of Slowpokes blocking the road. Talk to the women on the left to warp you to the Mahalo Trail. Smash through the rocks to the top of the path where you'll receive 3x Stardusts to take into the full game.
• In Ten Carat Hill, fight the three Pokémon Trainers throughout (one between the two patches of grass, one on the upper right path between the smashable rocks, and one at the very end by the cave you might have fought on the way to the Trial) to activate a fight with Ace Trainer Sheri near the very start of the area. Defeat her Jangmo-o and Pikachu (the latter of which we'd recommend using a Super Potion before facing with its powerful electric attacks) using the Water Shuriken move to receive a Star Piece.
• In Ten Carat Hill, there is a rock directly on the right you can smash through with the ridable Tauros to access the Pokémon Catching Challenge. Catch as many Pokémon as you can with the Pokéballs you've given to get rewards. After three we received a Nugget, and then went all the way to 19 and got nothing at all, so that might be all there is to find - but will update if there's something more. (And no, you don't keep caught Pokémon!)

Throughout Hau'oli City, there are residents who you can interact with a certain number of days to receive additional objects. Below is every known resident and the dates you should return to them:

• 1 day, October 18th (10x Pretty Wings): Visit the guy outside the Pokémon Centre the day after you play it. "Not today, not the day after tomorrow. It's gotta be tomorrow. Got it?"
• 5 days, October 23rd (No item, in-game cutscene): Woman outside City Hall. "I'm meeting up [in 5 days] with a guy who helped me out when I sprained my ankle the other day."
• 12 days, October 30th (1x Balm Mushroom): Speak to the man inside City Hall. "Guess how many days until my sweet li'l Pikachu's birthday? Just 12! I wonder if someone will help me celebrate."
• 18 days, November 5th (No item, in-game cutscene) Policeman in the Marina. "According to my informants, there's a shady deal going down right here in a matter of days - 18 to be exact. I wonder if I'll be able to handle it by myself...'
• 24 days, November 11th (1x Comet Shard) Lady in the Ferry Station. "I have to sail away on a ship in 24 days."

If you're struggling with the above, try restarting your system or trying again an hour or so later to see if it unlocks, as how the game works out these days exactly is uncertain; changing the 3DS clock doesn't change their phases, and the first unlock didn't occur despite playing it 24 hours after we started our demo playthrough (one day before release). Either way, returning on the above days should be your best bet to receive the additional items.

How to transfer Ash-Greninja and other items to the full version of Pokémon Sun and Moon

Once you've completed the demo's main story, and have the full version of the game in your 3DS, reload the demo and enter the Pokémon Center, then chat to Professor Kukui on the right. Select the 'Send to full version', then select the unlocked item to send it to the full game.

Then, load up your copy of Pokémon Sun or Moon and head into a Pokémon Center there. Collecting your Greninja and items works in much the same way as Mystery Gift collection from previous games - there'll be a delivery person standing just to the left of the Pokémon Center counter, in Sun and Moon this'll be a man dressed in an orange t-shirt. Talk to him, and he'll hand you your stuff! It's as simple as that.

There's a small but important caveat though; if the 3DS has both a card-based and download version of the game, the card-based version will be prioritised out of the two. Bear that in mind!

Need more tips? Use our Pokémon Sun and Moon Walkthrough and guide for the main story, our competitive training guide for info on IVs, EV training, Hyper Training and bottle cap farming, and breeding explained, our choice of the best Pokémon Sun and Moon starter from Rowlet, Litten and Popplio, as well as an in-progress list of where to find Zygarde Cells and Cores and our guide to the Battle Tree and both Battling and Trading in the Festival Plaza. We also have a list of QR codes list, Z Crystal locations, Mega Stone locations, Eevium Z Eevee User locations for Extreme Evoboost, evolutions for Alolan Forms and other new Sun and Moon Pokémon and fast way to increase a Pokémon's Happiness, plus how to transfer across Ash-Greninja from the Sun and Moon Demo, where to catch the Tapu Guardians, how to catch the Ultra Beasts, and how to download the Munchlax Mystery Gift.

Other things to note about the Pokémon Sun and Moon demo:

• Upon release, the demo has been datamined to reveal the game's complete Pokedex, new Alolan forms and more. Spoilers within!
• Aside from select moments (such as the Trial and Pokémon Catching Challenge), you cannot catch any additional Pokémon beyond your starting Greninja.
• Other Pokémon in the game we encountered in the wild and battle are Rockruff, Pikipek, Pikachu, Yungoos, Jangmo-o and Hakamo-o.
• It is reportedly possible to encounter Shiny creatures in the wild. Shame you can't catch and keep them, eh?
• Despite accumulating money through winning Trainer battles, there's seemingly nowhere to spend your cash.
• You cannot choose to manually save, but the demo will do so after completing the Trial and unlocking any transferable items.
• The Greninja's ability, Battle Bond, allows it to transform into Ash-Greninja if you cause another Pokémon to faint, and causes its Water Shuriken move more powerful - perfect for the several Trainer battles you come across. Make use of it!
• Once you've completed the game, tap the lower screen (outside of the eShop and video buttons) to make the Poké Radar animate.
• It's possible to pirouette by spinning the Circle Pad round and round (as seen here), something we'll be doing non-stop in the final game too.
• It's possible to encounter wild creatures in both the City, by entering gates that take you to small patches of tall grass. In theory, you could probably level up your Ash-Greninja before you transfer it - assuming it'll take into account any leveling and not just the starting stats seen below!
• The starting stats of the Ash-Greninja you'll be taking into the full game are as follows (note the Nature and Characteristic could be randomised for each demo, so let us know if you receive anything different!):

Name: Greninja
Type: Water Dark
Trainer: Ash
Level: 36
HP: 105
Attack: 96
Defence: 60
Speed: 126
Special Defense: 63
Special Attack: 101
Moves: Water Shuriken (Water), Aerial Ace (Flying), Double Team (Normal), Night Slash (Dark)
Ability: Battle Bond ("Defeating an opposing Pokémon strengths the Pokémon's bond with its Trainer, and it becomes Ash-Greninja. Water Shuriken becomes more powerful.")
Nature: Hardy
Note: Apparently a fateful encounter.
Characteristic: Alert to sound
Ribbon: Souvenir Ribbon - A Ribbon for cherishing a special memory.