For information on the Pokémon series in the United States, see. The games are available on the. The games were announced worldwide on June 6, 2017, at 11 pm JST through. The paired versions were released worldwide on November 17, 2017. All copies of the game are playable in nine languages: Japanese, English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. The games feature Pokémon that did not appear in Pokémon Sun and Moon, including, as a series first, entirely new Pokémon introduced in the midst of a. The game begins with a video call made by to the. Professor Kukui helps create a for the player before the player and the mother move from to. Meanwhile, at roughly the same time, is seen escaping what seems to be a lab with in her bag. As she gets sandwiched between the workers from the lab on one side and on the other, the Pokémon teleports itself and the girl away from the lab and away from danger. Three months later, the player, along with the mother and , are enjoying their new home on. While taking a stroll on , the player gets attacked by a wild , only for a , and to suddenly arrive on the scene and scare it off. Professor Kukui soon joins the player and explains these Pokémon are supposed to be given out as on behalf of the. Excited by what he just saw, he decides to give the player one of the three Pokémon right away. Before arriving to , Professor Kukui and the player run into Hala's grandson , who immediately takes a liking to the player. Of the two remaining starter Pokémon, Hau chooses the once that is weak to the player's starter and challenges the player to a battle. As the player, Professor Kukui and Hau reach Iki Town, the kahuna is nowhere to be found, so Kukui sends the player to the in hopes of finding the kahuna. On the trail, the player spots the girl that escaped the lab and follows her to the Plank Bridge. The Pokémon that the girl was holding escapes her bag as they reach the Plank Bridge, happy about the new environment it is in. Suddenly, a flock of attack the defenseless Pokémon, leaving the girl worrying and asking the player to save her friend. As she asks this, one of the Spearow rushes towards the player, making the chosen starter save the day again. Once the Spearow is dealt with, the player rushes in and guards Nebby from further ha