To help commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Pokemon series, the developers wanted to look at trainers and Pokemon as living things and express that in a better way. When coming up with ideas for Pokemon Sun & Moon, they created a theme for the game based around the concept of life, with both the sun & moon both being important to all life on earth. A place that came to mind to reflect this was Hawaii, an area with lots of sunshine, clear nights, and an abundance of life.