As we get closer to the November launch of the Pokémon Sword & Shield games, more and more is being revealed by Nintendo as well as the developers at Game Freak. Two weeks ago, a short video with additional gameplay and characters was shown. Nintendo has also continued to update the official website and tweet out daily information.
Just this week, Director of development at Game Freak, Shigeru Ohmori, tweeted out a video which gives fans a sneak peek at one of the towns in the region of Galar.
In case you may have missed some or all of the latest news, here’s a brief look at the most recent reveals for these upcoming titles.
Gym Leaders
Bea
Bea is a fighting type expert who battles with precision and very little emotion.
Allister
Allister is a specialist in ghost type Pokémon who’s come to fame at a young age and hides his identity by wearing a mask.
Your Rivals
Bede
Bede is a fellow Trainer who is determined, like you, to become a champion. This prideful battler not only has an endorsement from the Galar Pokémon League chairman, but seems to have a hidden agenda as well.
Marnie
This stylish Trainer with a huge fanbase has her own reasons for wanting to become champion. Her calculated and competitive nature serve her well in battle and make her tough to beat.
Team Yell
Team Yell is a new set of troublemakers who will do everything they can to distract you from your goal of succeeding as champion. These grunts who are fierce fans of Marnie, will interrupt battles, take over hotel lobbies, prevent challengers from accessing necessary transportation, and loudly cheer on their favorite Trainer whenever she’s your opponent.
Poké Jobs
Trainers can enlist their Pokémon to help fulfill job postings for corporations and universities. It will be up to you to decide which monster has the right qualifications for the job as well as how long he/she will need to stay.
Each Pokémon sent to do a job will receive rewards such as Experience points.
The more jobs your monsters do, the more likely you’ll also receive needed rewards such as rare items.
Pokémon
Morpeko
– Electric/Dark type
– Can change its appearance
– Signature move, Aura Wheel, can be electric or dark
– Appearance/move type changes depending on hunger level
Ability: Hunger Switch (new)
Rolycoly
– Rock type
– Can illuminate dark areas with its eye
– Travels well over rough terrain
– Its Steam Engine ability receives a speed boost when hit with water or fire
Abilities: Steam Engine (new)/Heatproof
Duraludon
– Steel/Dragon type
– Lives in caves/mountainous areas
– Is a rival to Tyranitar
– Weak to corrosion
Abilities: Light Metal/Heavy Metal
Alcremie
– Fairy type
– Can distract or blind opponents with its cream
– Its soothing cream causes an opponent to lose the will to fight
Ability: Sweet Veil
Galarian Forms of Pokémon
With a new region, comes new forms of already familiar Pokémon. Here are a couple of examples.
Weezing (Poison/Fairy)
Zigzagoon, Linoone, & Obstagoon (Dark/Normal)
Hidden Abilities
When fighting in Max Raid Battles, Trainers will sometimes have the opportunity to capture Pokémon with rare, hidden abilities. One such example is the Corviknight’s Mirror Armor ability, which deflects the stat lowering effects of an opponent’s moves.
Dynamaxing/Gigantamaxing
During Max Raid Battles, one Trainer can change his/her monster into an enormous fighter with powerful moves for 3 turns, using the Dynamax and Gigantamax features.
Dynamaxing can be done to any Pokémon in the game and will produce special Max moves when used.
Gigantamaxing will only work with certain Pokémon and, when used, will trigger special, G-Max moves and change not only the size, but the appearance of the monster.
Rental Teams
Rental Teams will be a new on-line feature that allows Trainers to try out the battle teams of fellow players. You can rent up to 5 teams at a time. You can also share your own battle ready line-up for others to use.
Ranked Battles
Ranked Battles are for those looking to become the highest ranked Trainer in the world. Pit your team of fighters against others on-line and see who is truly the best.
- Fight against similarly ranked players
- Earn points based on the outcome of each battle
- Make your way to the top tier
- Fulfill certain criteria (i.e. battle multiple times in a row) to receive special items
- Utilize/Fight against Dynamax Pokémon in battle
Casual Battles
Casual Battles are for those who enjoy a good battle every now and then, but don’t really care about who wins/loses. Unlike Ranked Battles, casual fights allow the use of Legendary and Mythical monsters.
Official Competitions
Official competitions are special in-game battles with their own set of rules/regulations, which allow players to see how they can place amongst other participants.
If a player does well enough, he/she might find themselves qualifying for the Pokémon Sword & Shield World Championships.
Friendly Competitions
Friendly Competitions are unofficial battles hosted by players. Join in competitions set-up by fellow Trainers or create/host your own challenge. Whoever hosts gets to set the rules.
The Pokémon Sword & Shield titles will release on the Nintendo Switch, November 15th. Pre-orders for each game as well as a special double pack are available currently at most retail stores.
A special Switch Lite console inspired by the titles will be releasing on November 8th. Pre-orders are available currently at Best Buy & Target.
Read more about the Pokémon Sword & Shield games in our previous coverage here and here.
See trailers, videos, and more on Nintendo’s official PS&S site.
Watch the recently released video showcasing one of the towns of the Galar region, from Game Freak Director Shigeru Ohmori, on the Nintendo UK YouTube channel.
Sources: Nintendo, Game Freak
