Pokémon “Sword and Shield”: Everything We Know

Nintendo has announced the next generation of Pokémon games, which is finally coming to Nintendo Switch and is called Pokémon Sword and Shield. Using Nintendo’s preferred method of announcing new games, the Direct Presentations, the Pokémon Company has come up with a new and short trailer that gives a fresh look at the Pokémon games. With the game’s release date set to 2019, we can assume that there are only a few months left before we can keep our eyes on the Switch consoles.

The 2018 release, Pokémon Let’s Go: Pikachu and Eevee Games, seemed more of a reboot of the original red and blue titles for the Nintendo Gameboy. For many gamers, it bore no resemblance to the core Pokémon experience. With that in mind, Pokémon Sword and Shield is the first of the mainline games to hit Nintendo Switch, and of course, expectations are accordingly high. To be precise, these are the eighth generation of Pokémon games that are expected to be released in late 2019 and can be played on Nintendo Switch.

Pokémon Sword and Shield release date

The anticipation for Pokémon Sword and Shield will soon come to an end, because Pokémon Direct has confirmed the release date for the end of 2019. At least that’s what we learned from Pokémon’s official Twitter account last year. Following the company’s usual release, we can expect Sword and Shield to arrive in mid-November, which coincides with the holiday season.

Gamers’ expectations

Pokémon has already become one with the mobile game Pokémon Go, which is a huge hit, and the Detective Pikachu movie, which came out in May. The fans are already looking forward to the next big game to be released this year: Pokémon Sword and Shield. There are a lot of things in the game that people can get excited about, such as the group of Pokémon monsters in an updated form, also called Gen 8. It will be a new generation Pokémon game specially designed for Nintendo Switch.

The second big thing is that you don’t have to wait too long as Nintendo says it will be out before the end of this year. It can also mean we can get some exciting information at the annual E3 Show, the largest gaming trade show held in Los Angeles June 11-13. The Nintendo company will announce the big games on this show when the convention is to be followed. As we saw last year, the company focused on Super Smash Bros. But it also announced some other big games like Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Super Mario Party. We’re not sure yet if the company will reveal Sword and Shield at E3, and if it does, we will have something really interesting to do.

More than Let’s Go

Sword and Shield isn’t the first Pokémon game designed specifically for Switch, as it follows Pokémon Let’s Go: Pikachu and Let’s Go: Eevee, which are the redesigned versions of the well-known Pokémon Yellow from 1988. While the Let’s Go series was exciting, they were a far cry from the usual Pokémon games in the series. For example, there were no sudden encounters with Pokémon moving in front of you in a hurry. Instead, they stopped and hid behind the tall grass. Also, you couldn’t train Pokémon to fight wild Pokémon, you could only go into battle with other players’ Pokémon. You could gain more experience in Pokemon Go.
Pokémon Sword and Shield, however, remains true to the old style of play. The trailer shows the fearless Pokémon trainer suddenly encountering a Pikachu, which is a no-go style catch. That means the experience will be harder compared to the Let’s Go games. While the previous version was a delightful experience for the players, there was almost no challenge for the PokeMasters. However, one of the notable features of the Let’s Go games is missing from the Sword and Shield trailer of the rideable Pokémon that replace the flight skills and the bikes.

Pokémon Sword and Shield Trailer

Although the trailers don’t reveal much about the game, you get a first glimpse of the environment and the art style as depicted in the video without actually seeing the game.

You will take a first look at the three new starter Pokémon: the branch monkey Grookey, the fire rabbit Scorbunny and the sad-looking tadpole, also known as Sobble.

Switch news and rumors

E3 2019 is getting closer and closer and Nintendo has already confirmed the date and time of the Nintendo Direct stream. The video will go live on June 11 at 5 p.m. BST, 9 a.m. PT, and 12 p.m. ET. The company has also promised that it will bring back the Treehouse livestreams, which will go live every day of the show and will showcase the gameplay for the upcoming releases.
However, Nintendo has not yet published a fixed schedule for direct or treehouse streams. There’s no guarantee what we’ll see, but we can hope that Pokémon Sword and Shield will appear from behind the tall grass at some point.

Handheld mode

The Pokémon Let’s Go series games were developed in TV mode, but Nintendo President Suntaro Furukawa has stated that Pokémon Sword and Shield will emphasize the fun and excitement of playing Nintendo games in handheld mode.

Gym master

In “We Got This Covered,” a tweet from Nintendo America suggests Pokémon Sword and Shield will see gym masters instead of gym leaders. The tweet was followed by images showing the in-game stadiums, suggesting they will serve as gyms.

Galar is the region

Sword and Shield will take place in the new region, also known as Galar. According to official Nintendo art, Galar looks huge, and the trailer gives us a glimpse of how beautiful the sights in this region will be. However, from what we saw on the trailers, it seems the region is loosely based in the UK. The seven Pokémon regions in the previous games were also based on the actual areas and cities. While Kanto, Sinnohh, Hoenn and Johto from the Gen 1-4 regions come from different parts of Japan, the Pokémon team has also explored the international regions for the new games. For example, Unova had the feel of New York City in Pokémon Black and White, and Kalos in Pokémon X and Y was based in Alola and France. Similarly, the beach town of Hawaii was shown in Pokémon Sun and Moon.
According to the launch trailer, the scenes depicted in the game are clearly British, with the fields reminding players of the countryside of England and the buildings resembling English mansions. The northernmost city in the UK also has a clock tower, a river that bisects the Thames and a ferris wheel. At the moment we can assume that the housing market in the city is prohibitive.

New beginning

Even though Pokémon in red and blue went through a lot of changes from 1996, there is one component that hasn’t changed because you can still choose between grass, fire, or water starter Pokémon. In Sword and Shield you will meet Sobble, Grookey and Scorbunny. The profiles of the two have already been shown in the trailer.

While Scorbunny is a white rabbit with red ears and feet and is a two-legged rabbit, it has the power of fire in it and can develop into a type of fight similar to the Blaziken from Gen 3. Sobble, on the other hand, is a Water-type Pokémon that has the ability to hide. The little guy looks completely confident, but when it comes to the Pokémon universe, it could be tough. Finally, there is the grass-type Pokémon, which is lame. Grookey, the green monkey, terrifies Sobble by hitting a rock with his stick, much like an annoying monkey warrior beating a war drum. Even if we know different Pokémons from the previous games, these three characters are Gen8 creatures that we are seeing for the first time.

Other experiences

You will enjoy the Gameboy experience while playing these games on the TV, but they are much more adapted to the handheld experience of the Switch, according to the President of Nintendo.

Twin training

According to the “Sword and Shield” trailer, several trains are on display, which is believed to reflect the aesthetic of Britain, the place where the railroad was invented. However, some fans speculate that the trains could provide a fast means of transportation or a connection to another region after the game.

Legendary stuff

Another instance or reference to Britain comes in the form of the geoglyph, which is shown in many pictures, and while it can mean a lot of things, it could mean nothing at all, or it could have something to do with the iconic sword and shield .

Fans obsessed with the characters

After the announcement of the games, fans went online to express their feelings. Sobble, the sad name, has already become a fan favorite, and people have started saying that this character’s later evolutions will be even more tearful. Similarly, Scorbunny’s energy has captured the hearts of fans as well. Grookey is still a mysterious character, and fans are still wondering how his evolution will be on Nintendo’s route.
As we’ve already discussed, Pokémon Sword and Shield goes to the basics and in the trailer shown you can see the player peeking through tall grass, it’s a far cry from the wild Pokémon they’ve come across so far. The trainer’s customization comes from Pokémon X and Y, which allowed players to change hair and skin color, as well as the color of their eyes. The same feature can be expected to be in Sword and Shield, but from what we saw about the trainers in the trailer, there seems to be a bit of confusion. From the red sweater and jeans together with the male trainer’s woolen hat and the female trainer’s pink dress and gray sweater, it seems that the characters could be Scottish.

New graphics

In the past, Pokémon was nothing more than a collection of pixels. However, the graphics of “Sword and Shield” have evolved a lot and the look is immersive thanks to the new technology on the Switch. Fans have already had a look at the amazing graphics of the Galar region.

Planned return

Pikachu will appear in the Galar region, and there are around 800 Pokémon that will make their journey to the UK region. We met the popular Minccino from Gen 5, who fights the wild Pikachu, the two-headed Zweilous, the Dark and Dragon-type Pokémon. Hoothoot and Tyranitar from Gen 2 can also be seen, as well as Flygon and Wailmer from Gen 3. With the release of more and more trailers, we can expect even more characters from the previous series to be featured in the game.
After all, Pokémon Sword and Shield kept the look of the 3D animation style, but that’s for better or worse what we’re going to get in the game. We can’t go much beyond what we’ve seen in the game’s trailers and follow our instincts from what we’ve seen in the past games, but wait for E3 in June 2019 for more information.