Pokemon Sword and Shield are coming to Switch soon, on November 15th in fact, and with their release the Galar region will be getting its time in the spotlight. The newly formed Galar Pokedex will be mostly the same across the two games, with each one bringing with them hundreds of Pokemon. Although like many other versions of the previous games, there will be content split between various versions. It’s a scheme to get gamers to buy the same game more than once, and it works stupidly well. Millions of gamers buy into the franchise every time a new game comes out on the main branch. And just like these games, Pokemon Sword and Shield will split their Pokedex across several games.
Some things had the fanbase a bit upset, like the reduction in the overall number of entries in the Pokedex. Some players were also kind of upset over the removal of Mega-Evolutions, All in all, it seems like this game, the first main game on consoles, could be the best one yet. Some fans also speculate that the Pokedex could be expanded over time with post-launch DLC, but this has not been confirmed in any way.
Here’s the breakdown of which version has which unique Pokemon:
| Pokemon Sword | Pokemon Shield |
|---|---|
| Farfetch’d | Ponyta |
| Sirfetch’d | Rapidash |
| Gothia | Solosis |
| Gothorita | Duosion |
| Gothitelle | Reuniclus |
| Deino | Larvitar |
| Zweilous | Pupitar |
| Hydreigon | Tyranitar |
| Turtonator | Drampa |
| Jangmo-o | Goomy |
| Hakamo-o | Slig |
| Kommo-o | Goodra |
| Mawile | Sableye |
| Rufflet | Vullaby |
| Braviary | Mandibuzz |
| Zacian | Zamazenta |
There is also something entirely new with these two Switch titles. The two new games will have a unique trainer battle in the Gyms of each version. There are 10 total Gym leaders in the two games, although players will only face 8 of them if they only play one of the two versions. Here’s the list of all the Gym Leaders in Sword and Shield, as well as the type they specialize and if they are a version exclusive.
- Milo: Grass Gym Leader
- Nessa: Water Gym Leader
- Kabu: Fire Gym Leader
- Bea: Fighting Gym Leader (Sword) /Allister: Ghost Gym Leader (Shield)
- Opal: Fairy Gym Leader
- Gordie: Rock Gym Leader (Sword)/Melony: Ice Gym Leader (Shield)
- Piers: Dark Leader
- Raihan: Dragon Leader