Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon: The Possible Origins of Legendary Pokemon Necrozma

Today's Pokemon Direct announced Pokemon Ultra Sun and Pokemon Ultra Moon, to be released for Nintendo 3DS on November 17 this year. During the short trailer, we got a brief look at the new games and new versions of the two headline Legendary Pokemon, Solgaleo and Lunala. This promotional image of the two Legendary Pokemon was also released with the announcement.

Both Pokemon's new forms glow vibrantly beneath the addition of black, crystalized looking armor. There's an obvious resemblance of these parts with the third Legendary Pokemon of Pokemon Sun and Moon, Necrozma.

This Pokemon is difficult to catch, and only appears once all Ultra Beasts are caught. Looker, a member of the International Police in the Pokemon universe, mistakes Necrozma for an Ultra Beast at first, but it's revealed later to be a proper Legendary Pokemon. Necrozma's Pokedex entries read:
"Reminiscent of the Ultra Beasts, this life-form, apparently asleep underground, is thought to come from another world in ancient times. Light is apparently the source of its energy. It has an extraordinarily vicious disposition and is constantly firing off laser beams."
Though all three are said to come from another world, the description and attitude toward Necrozma are in stark contrast with Lunala and Solgaleo's seemingly benevolent nature. Both are thought of as emissaries with altars built in their honor, the Altar of the Moone and Altar of the Sunne. These Pokemon also evolve from Cosmog, one of which is Lillie's companion and protector throughout Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon. All three also share the Psychic-typing: Solgaleo, a Pyschic- and Steel type, and Lunala, a Psychic- and Ghost-type, with Necrozma a pure Pyschic-type Pokemon.
The concept of fusion isn't anything new. The third Legendary Pokemon from Pokemon Black and White, Ice- and Dragon-type Kyurem, received two new Formes in Pokemon Black 2 and White 2: Black Kyurem and White Kyurem.
To achieve these new forms, Kyurem fused with one of the headline Legendary Pokemon from Pokemon Black and White, Zekrom or Reshiram. Kyurem's Pokedex entry only teases it has "missing parts," but oddly enough, Kyurem's trophy from Super Smash Bros. for Wii U revealed more: "While this Dragon/Ice-type Pokemon is definitely a Pokemon, some believe it is what remained after Reshiram and Zekrom were split apart."
Solgaleo and Lunala's transformations differ in that they largely retain their appearance with the addition of components from Necrozma, while Kyurem is altered slightly with details pulled from Reshiram and Zekrom. Still, these generation five Legendary Pokemon may hint at Necrozma, Solgaleo, and Lunala's connection as well.

If we look into Necrozma more closely, we can extrapolate more than what's been officially revealed. On its model inside the Pokemon Sun and Moon games, we can find a clear symbol on its back that resembles a star, much how Solgaleo bears a sun symbol and Lunala a moon symbol, delegating these two as the "Sunne Pokemon" and "Moone Pokemon" respectively. Though Necrozma is officially categorized as a "Prism Pokemon," we can deliberate it's secretly a "Star Pokemon." Now that you've seen the star on Necrozma's back, take another peak at the new Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon's logos. It's incorporated into both the original Sun and Moon logos, the same markings that appear on Solgaleo and Lunala.
Now let's consider the Pokemon's name. "Necro" is a combining form word, originating from Greek, that relates to death and corpses. From this, Necrozma's design inspiration appears to be a dead star. When a star dies, it generally becomes a white dwarf, but theoretically when the leftover heat eventually radiates away, it will become a black dwarf.
So why is Necrozma classified as a Prism Pokemon? Check out this story from 2014, when scientists identified the coldest white dwarf ever detected, and said, "...this dim stellar corpse is so cold that its carbon has crystallized, effectively forming a diamond the size of Earth." To further implicate the theory of Necrozma's dead star origins and its connections to Solgaleo and Lunala, see that when a star dies it leaves behind remnants in the form of huge amounts dust.

Dead star remnant. Photo Courtesy: NASA Cosmog.

The dead supernova remnants bear close resemblance to Cosmog (cosmic smog?) heavily hinting that the two Cosmog that evolve into Solgaleo and Lunala are actually direct remnants from Necrozma.
All evidence points to Necrozma being a cold, dead, crystalized black star that left behind Cosmog as it died. The experience of dying and losing pieces of itself left it vicious and angry, prompting it to indiscriminately shoot laser beams at everything.
Will something nefarious happen in Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, where Necrozma takes over Solgaleo and Lunala? Will Solgaleo and Lunala simply reassimilate with Necrozma to become their original selves? Or, looking at the designs with all the aforementioned evidence in mine, are Solgaleo and Lunala just wearing the remains of the dead star?
We'll find out when Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon release later this year. Along with the new Legendary Formes, Pokemon Ultra Moon and Ultra Sun will feature a new story in Alola, possibly to shed more light on the Legendary Pokemon and the Ultra Beasts.
Still need to catch Necrozma, Cosmog, and the Ultra Beasts? See IGN's Pokemon Sun and Moon Wiki Guide.

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Casey DeFreitas is an Associate Editor at IGN and is going to name her new Solgaleo Liger Zero. Catch her on Twitter.