Pokemon Sword and Shield has a lot of Switch gamers and Pokemon fans excited, as the new mainline game in the legendary franchise has tons of new features and a lot to look forward to. With the most recent trailer, fans got a deeper look at the world of this new title, the Galar region, and those that inhabit it.
And of course, since the newest entry takes place in an entirely new region, the Pokedex is entirely different. Some hardcore fans were pretty angry about the massive reduction in roster size, but the developer did offer a decent explanation about the difficulty of creating too many 3D models and animation sets. Some players were also kind of upset over the removal of Mega-Evolutions, but at least this new Switch title is getting something better.
And with this new Pokedex, some older Pokemon will be brought forward as well. The Galar region does offer a bunch of new mechanics as well. Many of these Pokemonn will have unique Galarian variants, much like the Alolan Pokemon from Pokemon Sun and Moon. And then there’s the new Dynamax and Gigantamax systems for use in battle. These ultra-powerful new forms balloon a Pokemon to a huge size and are a tactical resource to be used in team battles, offering some new competitive options.
Check out the full trailer down below. Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield release on November 15 exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
And it’s not just new Pokemon or evolutions being added to the game either. Pokemon Sword and Shield will have at least two new rival characters for the player to face off against. The two new challengers, listed and Marnie and Bede, will compete with the player to be the true Pokemon Champion. Another big part of these new conflicts is of course a new team of ruffians and thieves, Team Yell.
Team Yell are very much the punk rock version of Team Rocket, being much more edgy and than earlier enemy factions in these titles. Team Yell is basically a bunch of groupies for Marnie, expect them to cheat or otherwise help her win at any cost.
And one final new feature is the new Poké Jobs system. Various corporations and entities in the Galar region will post requests at terminals in Pokemon Centers, and the player can take these on. Trainers can send out specific Pokemon from their stable to earn unique rewards on these missions. I can’t help but think of the Exploring in Monster Rancher games with this feature.
