As you step into the guest room at the Route 2 motel, you’ll find Anabel there waiting for you. Eventually a surprising guest appears to provide more information about the UB in Melemele Island. This time, the UB is different depending on the version you’re playing.

UB02 Absorption/Beauty¶

If you’re playing Pokemon Sun, UB02 Absorption will be roaming around Melemele Meadow. Meanwhile, those playing Pokemon Moon will instead find UB02 Beauty lurking in the Verdant Cavern. From here, the mission flow is the same as before.

So make your way to Melemele Meadow (Sun) or Verdant Cavern (Moon) and run around the meadow grass or cave interior until the UB ambushes you. However, instead of the one UB, you’ll need to catch 2 of the UBs in Sun and 4 of the UBs in Moon.

To get you going, Looker will give you another 10 Beast Balls . At any time during the mission, you can chat to Looker in the motel room to reconfirm the identity and location of the UBs found in this mission. In addition, if you’ve run out of Beast Balls, he’ll give you more.

The other thing you’ll be told is that you can speak to Wicke back at Aether Paradise’s Secret Lab B if you want to read the full report on the UBs you captured, which right now is just Nihilego. It’s not crucial, so you can always visit her once you’ve caught them all.

Ultra Beast¶

This is the UB that fought against Tapu Koko back when the Ultra Wormholes opened all over Alola.

If you’re playing Sun, you’ll encounter the muscular titan Buzzwole . This UB has massive Attack and Defence and good HP, making it a veritable powerhouse. At the start of the battle, its Defence will be increased by 2 stages, making it even tougher to take down.

In terms of moves, it has a variety of strong Fighting-type moves, most notably Dynamic Punch, which causes confusion if it hits, and Counter, which returns double the damage if hit by a physical attack. Additionally, it has the Bug-type Lunge to deal damage and lower Attack.

To stand up against this beastly bug, you’ll want Pokemon that resist Bug and Fighting, such as Ghost-types. Buff your Defence using your Pokemon’s moves or an X Defence if you need to. Try to use special attackers as well to not get punished by Counter.

Meanwhile, Moon players will encounter Pheromosa , the elegant speed demon. This UB boasts phenomenal Speed and good offensive stats, making it an extremely dangerous threat. However it has the defences of a wet paper bag. At the start, it will receive a big Speed boost.

Move-wise, it has the fairly weak Triple Kick and the much stronger Bug Buzz. Like Buzzwole, it has Lunge, a Bug-type attack that deals good damage and at the same time lowers the opponent’s Attack. Finally, it has Me First, to use your Pokemon’s moves before they do.

You actually don’t need to worry about surviving Pheromosa’s assault or trying to weak it, because it has an extremely high catch rate. In fact, you can catch it with a Beast Ball even at full HP. If for some reason you want to catch it with a non-Beast Ball, send a Ghost-type.

Even though there are twice the number of Pheromosas, because of Pheromosa’s high catch rate, it’s very likely you’ll catch all of the Pheromosas before the Buzzwoles. In any case, after you’ve caught all the UBs, report back to Looker in the motel guest room.

Lo and behold, before you get a proper chance to celebrate, it’s off to hunt for the next UB. Akala Island is once again where the UB has been sighted. Therefore, you’ll be asked to head back to the guest room in the Route 8 motel, where you first agreed to join the UB Taskforce.

Inside, you’ll find Looker and yet another surprising guest.

UB03 Lighting¶

Since you haven’t had a chance to go toe-to-toe (well, unless you skipped ahead to the Poni Gauntlet), you’ll be challenge to a battle here and now. If you need time to prepare, just say the word. Otherwise, it’s time to show off your skills as the Champion!

Captain Mina¶

As far as we can tell, Mina uses the same team as in Poni Gauntlet, but none of her Pokemon have a Z-Crystal, making this a slightly easier bout.

Her first Pokemon Klefki is simply there to set up Reflect and Light Screen, which halve physical damage and special damage respectively for a few turns. It has high defensive stats, but next to no offensive presence. Smash it with super-effective Fire or Ground moves where possible.

Shiinotic has decent Special Attack and defensive stats, but terrible Speed. It can use Spore to send your Pokemon to sleep and Moonlight to restore HP. To avoid succumbing to the mushroom pixie, use Poison-type moves to deal 4x damage or stick with powerful Fire, Flying or Ice-type moves.

Granbull boasts stellar Attack and it has a wide range of attacks to take advantage of this, including Fairy, Dark, Ground and Rock-type moves. On top of that, it has Intimidate to reduce Attack. However its other stats are mediocre, so a bulky super-effective Pokemon should do fine.

Wigglytuff is pretty much a punching bag with high HP and poor other stats, save its decent Special Attack. Besides its STAB moves, it has Fire and Ice-type moves as well. Nothing a good Poison-type or even a Steel-type can’t handle though.

Finally, Mina has a Ribombee, which has exceptional Speed and decent Special Attack, but again its other stats aren’t worth bragging about. In addition to its STAB moves, it has Psychic and Grass-type moves. Swat with your Fire, Rock or Steel-types if you can.

Having proved your worth a second time, it’s time to focus on the matter in hand. In other words, the UB. You’ll receive another batch of 10 Beast Balls from Looker to aid you in your mission. Once again, if you somehow run out, just ask him kindly for some more.

According to Looker, the UB–codenamed Lighting–can be found in the Lush Jungle or Memorial Hill. Make your way to either location, the run circles in the tall grass until you hear the UB encounter theme start to play. As before, you’re dealing with multiple UBs–two of them, in this case.

Ultra Beast¶

The UBs from here on are ones you’ll not have seen during the main story.

UB03 Lighting–or Xurkitree to be precise–is a pure Electric-type with monstrous Special Attack. At the start of the fight, it will receive a big Special Attack boost from its aura. Yikes!

In terms of moves, it has the Electric-type Discharge and Electric Terrain to further boost its Electric-based damage to literally shocking levels. Additionally, it can use Power Whip, a strong if inaccurate Grass-type move, and Hypnosis to annoy.

Needless to say, this UB hits like an electrifying truck. To make matters worse, Ground-types–which are, of course, immune to Electric attacks–aren’t completely safe due to Power Whip. Your choices for Pokemon are thus very limited.

One Pokemon that comes to mind is Zygarde, especially in its 50% Forme, as it’s a bulky Ground-type that takes neutral damage from Power Whip. Electric-types with Lightning Rod may also work, but they need to be durable to withstand Power Whip.

The other thing to note is that Xurkitree cannot be paralysed since it’s an Electric-type. Also, while Electric Terrain is in effect, it cannot be sent to sleep–and neither can your Pokemon, which can be a boon. Chances are you’ll have to make do with simply reducing its HP.

Successfully ensnare both of the Xurkitrees and you’re good to report back to Looker.

After which, you’ll soon be informed of yet another UB sighting. Wow, these things sure are coming out of the woodwork, huh? While you’re on a roll, head to the guest room of the motel on Route 13 of Ula’ula Island. You can get there by gliding to Tapu Village, then heading east.