Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are just
over the horizon, and who better to fill you
in then us?
Flip that hat backwards and pop a rare candy,
because your trainer cred's about to level
up.
These are all the details you need to know
before you dish out your hard-earned Pokédollars
to become a true master.
Switch users and Pokemon fans can take a moment
to rejoice: The Pokemon Company has confirmed
that Pokemon Sword and Shield will both be
released Nov. 15.
This November release follows five whole years
of tradition: the Let's Go, Eevee and Let's
Go, Pikachu titles were released in November
of 2018 and Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon came
out in November of 2017.
Sun and Moon came out in November of 2016
and Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire came out
in November of 2014.
There is a notable difference this time around,
however: Pokemon trainers have two different
console variations to choose from for their
journey.
The Nintendo Switch Lite, an entirely handheld
version of the Switch console, dropped on
September 20th.
A little less pricey and a little more, well,
little, the Lite features a long-awaited standard
D-pad and some super cool colors.
The standard edition of the Lite comes in
gray, yellow, and turquoise, but for a limited
time a two-toned special edition model will
be available for Pokemon fans.
Gray with red and blue buttons, the special
Zacian and Zamazenta model features the two
legendary Pokemon facing each other on the
back of the console.
"And this year, a new Pokemon journey will
begin for all of you."
Back when Pokemon trainers were wrapping up
their adventures in the Alola region of Pokemon
Sun and Pokemon Moon, there was a pervasive
rumor going around.
Since the well-received release of the Nintendo
Switch, it was only a matter of time until
a brand new Pokemon game made its way onto
the new platform.
And it did, kind of, in the form of Pokken
Tournament, but fans were really sure that
another game set in Alola was on its way to
the Switch.
When Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon for the 3DS
were announced instead, people were really
pretty salty.
When would there be a mainline Pokemon game
for the Switch?
Not until now.
It took a couple more years than expected,
but Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield will
be the first in probably many mainline games
for the Switch.
Developer Game Freak confirmed that Ultra
Sun and Ultra Moon were the very last Pokemon
games for the 3DS, which had been the console
of choice for the last eight titles, but according
to Game Freak, the platform has been stretched
to its limit.
The future of Pokemon is on the Switch.
The Pokemon games allow their players to travel
the world.
Or at least they sort of do.
The first four games' regions were based on
different locations in Japan, like Kanto for
Red and Blue's, erm…Kanto region, which
was followed by Hokkaido for Pokemon Diamond,
Pearl, and Platinum's Sinnoh region.
Later regions are based on New York, France,
and Hawaii.
With Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield, fans
were instantly reminded of the United Kingdom
upon the reveal of the Galar region.
The Galar region looks to be a great island
filled with greenery, not unlike the real
life British isles.
The Pokemon Direct described it as expansive,
so get ready for a long journey toward becoming
a Pokemon master.
According to the Pokemon site,
"The people and Pokemon live together in this
region, and they've worked together to develop
the industries here."
From craggy, snow-covered mountains to steamy,
brick and metal cities, there are plenty of
places to explore on the Galar map.
The show stealer of the last generation of
Pokemon was the Alolan forms of old favorites:
these redesigns switched up the types and
appearances of Kanto classics like Raichu,
Vulpix, Sandslash, Meowth, and more.
Fans then wondered if there would be Galar
regional variants in this new generation to
better fit the British-esque climate of Galar.
A trailer answered everyone's punk-rock hopes
and dreams by unveiling some Galarian forms
packed into Sword and Shield.
To match the mischievous Team Yell, cute little
Zigzagoon has been reimagined as a hard rock
icon.
Rather than brown and tan, Zigzagoon and by
extension Linoone are now black and white
and punk all over with lolling tongues and
red eyes.
What's more is that Linoone can now evolve
into the bipedal Obstagoon, a Pokemon that
looks like it will be going on tour alongside
Ozzy Osborne.
Wheezing has also gotten the Galar treatment
and been transformed into a Poison/Fairy type.
Call the chimney sweep, because Wheezing's
new look sports two tall smokestacks and smoggy
mustaches as an homage to the Old Smoke itself,
London.
The same trailer unveiled new rivals, a hangry
Pokemon called Morpeko, and what's sure to
be a lot of exciting battles in store for
players.
A new region in a Pokemon game means a whole
new population of Pokemon to catch, befriend,
and battle.
Before they make their debut, the designs
of these coveted critters are some of Nintendo's
most closely held secrets.
The starters and their official designs were
brought to life in the Nintendo Direct announcement
trailer released in February 2019.
Trainers met a fire type rabbit, a grass type
monkey, and a water type lizard.
We first got to meet fire-footed Scorbunny,
"a Rabbit Pokémon that is always running
about, bursting with energy."
Then we saw shy Sobble, "a somewhat timid
Water Lizard Pokémon that shoots out attacks
as it hides itself in the water."
And finally Grookey, "a mischievous Chimp
Pokémon that is full of boundless curiosity."
As usual, they're all adorable.
These three new Pokemon will be hard to choose
from.
This difficult decision might later be made
easier when we see what kind of super-powered
bruisers these three cuties evolve into, but
for now we wanna catch 'em all.
Although Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee and Let's
Go, Pikachu were essentially remakes of Pokemon
Yellow, there were many features that differentiated
these titles from the mainline series.
Rather than picking an elementally based starter
Pokemon, players met either a Pikachu or an
Eevee, who would then learn special moves
and ardently avoid evolving.
The Let's Go games pulled some game mechanics
from the mobile Pokemon Go as well.
Rather than battling wild Pokemon, all players
had to do was toss some Pokeballs as the means
to catch them.
The footage we've seen of Pokemon Sword and
Shield so far appears to show that these titles
have gone back to basics.
When the player walks through tall grass,
they'll only see a few wild Pokemon before
they encounter them, with some hidden critters
popping up and surprising the player, while
in Let's Go, players could see all the Pokemon
walking around in the overworld.
Footage of Sword and Shield suggests that
we're back to battling wild Pokemon, weakening
them before capture.
This supports the classic kind of gameplay
that fans may have missed in the last few
entries in the series.
The Let's Go games did bring back a mainstay
that players have welcomed with open arms:
gyms.
Pokemon Sun and Moon had traded these familiar
tests of strength for trial captains.
In the Let's Go games, players fought against
some fan-favorite gym leaders including Brock
and Misty.
With Sword and Shield, gyms are once again
the way that trainers will have to test their
mettle, but they might not exactly be like
the gyms we know from past games.
The Nintendo Direct presentation from June
2019 specifically used the word "gym," but
the design of these challenges have been altered
in order to fit the giant Dynamax Pokemon.
Dotting the map are rounded structures that
have the distinct look of soccer stadiums.
While we don't think this means players will
have to participate in a Rocket League-esque
minigame to earn badges, we do think that
battles will take place in enormous stadiums
with an audience to motivate trainers.
Remember the days when Pokemon were just a
collection of pixels?
When Pikachus were a little more plump?
The graphics of the Pokemon games have certainly
evolved in the last 20-some years.
Pokemon X and Y made the jump to 3D, and ever
since, the games have continued to build the
distinctive look of the world.
Pokemon: Let's Go gave players a look at their
Pokemon on a bigger screen than ever before.
Pokemon Sword and Shield is expected to be
just as immersive because of the technology
of the Switch.
However, fans have already taken a closer
look at the all-new, and pretty amazing, graphics
of the Galar region.
It turns out that Sword and Shield has a different
look than Let's Go, despite coming out only
a year after, though the fact that Sword and
Shield are mainline entries in the series
is likely the reason for the total graphical
overhaul.
You know what's cool?
Pokemon battles.
You know what's even cooler?
When your Grookey is the size of a six-story
building.
There's something mysterious and exciting
about the Galar region, and they're called
Dynamax Pokemon.
Similar to Mega Evolution, Pokemon get temporarily
oversized and overpowered through this mysterious
force.
The temporary transformation makes them big,
with special "Max" moves.
This makes for rather tremendous gym battles;
gyms are specifically built with Dynamax Pokemon
in mind, and there are few other areas in
the games that will support Dynamax transformations.
That said, throughout the map are areas marked
in red.
These beacons draw in trainers who want to
band together in order to take on a Dynamax
Pokemon and try their luck at catching it.
Sound familiar?
Players of Pokemon Go will recognize this
formula as your everyday raid battle.
In Pokemon Sword and Shield, these are called
Max Raid Battles, wherein real players can
team up to bring down a big bad wild Pokemon.
Although Pokemon Sword and Shield don't deviate
entirely from the usual formula, they have
added new mechanics made possible through
the power of the Nintendo Switch.
You know all that open world goodness Nintendo
graciously gave us with The Legend of Zelda:
Breath of the Wild?
The new games feature a little taste of what
it would be like to run free, unconstrained
by set paths and predetermined routes.
Forget the Safari Zone.
The world is your Cloyster: in the Wild Area,
players are free to wander and encounter wild
Pokemon.
Players are able to control the camera themselves
to seek out items, other trainers, and, of
course, the Pokemon who are also free to roam
around.
The types of Pokemon that appear depends on
the weather, which changes day to day.
The Wild Area connects several towns together,
the landscape gradually changing.
Players can experience everything from snowfall
to sandstorms as they explore the open world.
When trainers wander in the vast Wild Area,
what do they do when it starts getting dark?
Apparently set up camp.
As an all-new mechanic similar to Pokemon-Amie,
players of Pokemon Sword and Shield can camp
out under the stars with their Pokemon team.
During this time they can pet and play with
their Pokemon and make some curry, a staple
of Japanese and Indian cuisine, also very
popular in the United Kingdom, which Galar
is based on, to share.
"Pokemon camp is also a great place to cook
up a dish that is very popular in the Galar
region: Curry on rice."
In addition to this adorable new feature,
the September Nintendo Direct revealed that
players will be able to be as stylish as they
like: Sword and Shield feature unparalleled
customization for the player's avatar, allowing
them to dye their hair, try on wide-ranging
outfits, and even change their eye color with
never before seen color options.
We were also blessed by the presence of a
new fan-favorite ghost type: Polteageist.
Yes, it's a ghost in a teapot, and yes, we
love it dearly.
Cramorant, a bird Pokemon who attacks by hacking
up fish at its enemies, was also introduced,
and while he was not nearly as adored as Polteageist,
we're super stoked at the idea of projectile
vomiting fish at our bitter rivals.
Thanks to the Nintendo Direct preceding E3
2019, we finally learned what the sword and
shield in the titles are: the legendary Pokemon
Zacian and Zamazenta.
They are two fierce, armored wolves decked
out in blue, red, and gold.
They seem to have a somewhat antagonistic
relationship, or maybe they were just engaged
in a friendly battle when we saw them in the
trailer.
Zacian wields a sword in its mouth, lacking
any apparent thumbs.
Internet jokers quickly riffed on this idea
almost immediately, comparing the otherwise
regal Pokemon to dogs with knives and the
Dark Souls boss Great Grey Wolf Sif [SIHF].
Zamazenta doesn't hold a shield so much as
it is a shield: the Pokemon is covered in
golden plating that snaps together at the
first sign of danger.
Zacian is described as having the ability
to cut through anything while Zamazenta can
force back any blow.
We're still waiting on word of what third
legendary, as is traditional with mainline
Pokemon games, would stand opposed to them.
According to the official Pokemon site, not
even the people of the Galar region are aware
of these two knightly wolves' existence…which,
let's be honest, is kinda hard to believe!
How do you miss this?
Not everything about Sword and Shield is all
rainbows and Ho-ohs.
Some are saying that Nintendo managed to crash
its hype train via the revelation that not
every Pokemon will be able to make it to the
Galar region.
While yes, fans are definitely excited for
the brand new batch of Pokemon that the games
have to offer, they're still attached to their
old favorites.
All games previously have allowed for various
ways to import previous generations of Pokemon
into the newer games, but Pokemon Sword and
Shield might just break with this tradition,
much to the ire of veteran players who can't
get enough of the originals.
Producer Junichi Masuda broke hearts when
he said that only Pokemon from the Galar region
will be available in Sword and Shield.
Why?
Well, animating nearly 800 Pokemon would put
an undue strain on designers.
Still, fans are miffed, upset that their favorite
Pokemon might be excluded from the newest
incarnation of the game.
Briefly the hashtag #bringbacknationaldex
made their anger known on Twitter.
Galar is kind of sort of based on Britain,
and upon realizing this, everyone and their
grandmother immediately assumed that somewhere
in these new games would be a Corgi.
The Queen of England has an impressive collection
of the adorable little dogs, so it would follow
that the Welsh breed would be adapted for
the world of Pokemon.
Well, wouldn't you know it?
A seemingly credible leak posted before the
first Nintendo Direct mentioned a Corgi Pokemon
named Pamper.
That turned out to be a little off the mark,
but it was pretty close.
Yamper is an electric type Pokemon that looks
strikingly like a fluffy-butt Corgi.
Players were delighted to discover this good
boy during the E3 demo of the games.
Sure, Yamper might have won the affection
of fans far and wide, but it's not the only
new Pokemon to melt our cold, cold hearts.
Wooloo still seems to command the hearts of
prospective players with its round, cute design,
and as more Galar Pokemon appear, there are
sure to be new contenders for the internet's
favorite new Pokemon.
Each new game comes with new friends and enemies
to befriend and battle.
The neighbor kid is always conveniently the
same age as the player, ready to set out on
their own adventure at the exact same moment
that the main character is.
What a coincidence.
In the new games, Hop is the player's frenemy
to the end.
His older brother Leon is the undefeated champ
of the whole Galar region, something of a
celebrity and sure to be a difficult opponent
when the player finally faces him down.
The Pokemon professor this time around is
Professor Magnolia, who looks like she would
appreciate a herd of Yampers herself.
She and her granddaughter Sonia study the
Dynamax phenomenon.
Sonia also clearly studies fashion, with her
manicured nails and heart-shaped hair barrettes.
The real show stealer so far, however, has
been Nessa, the water type gym leader.
As soon as she appeared, fan artists went
to work.
She has cerulean blue eyes and stripes of
aquamarine in her hair, as befitting a water
type trainer.
The fandom seems to have wholeheartedly embraced
her, along with, of course, the other new
friends waiting for them in Pokemon Sword
and Shield.
Another recent trailer has proven that the
new games will be bigger than ever.
Game Freak is going all in on the Dynamax
phenomenon and has revealed a further discovery
in the world of Pokemon: Gigantamaxing.
In battle, Pokemon can become bigger than
ever, and this comes with its own transformation.
In the trailer, a newly debuted Fairy-type
Pokemon Alcremie went from a dollop of whipped
cream to a multi-layer cake that would make
even the most jaded baker balk.
Gigantamaxing and its added animations might
account for the concerns that designers cited
as the reason behind the apparent exclusion
of the entire Pokedex.
Veteran fans are still rankled that their
favorite Pokemon may not be able to come along
with them to the Galar region where Pokemon
can get Gigantamax-ed and attack with a special
G-Move.
Fans were reassured by the Gigantamax trailer
that old favorites Tyranitar, Goomy, and Mimikyu
were making a return.
The Pokemon Company revealed some new faces
alongside Alcremie as well: the Pokemon Rolycoly
and Duraludon and gym leaders Bea and Allister.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more SVG videos about your favorite
games are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the
bell so you don't miss a single one.
