Nintendo held a quick 20 min Pokémon Direct this morning, and with it pulled back the curtain on a lot of new features for the first main line games on the Switch. The game will be moving to the Galar region where there are new Pokémon to find that will be depending on the weather and time of day. During the direct, the introduced sheep, flowering, and bite Pokémon . They also did show off an evolutionary form of the flowering Pokémon .
Here’s some of the new things that Pokémon Sword and Shield will be bringing to the Switch:
New Starter Pokémon:
Grookey: The stick it holds is from a tree in forest that the Grookey live in. It’s ability is called Overgrown.
Scorbunny: Uses its legs to run/jump around it opponents and when it runs, the soles of its feet become extremely hot. It’s ability is called Blaze.
Sobble: When Sobble touches water, its body blends into its surroundings. It is timid, and when it feels threatened, it will start to cry which in turn causes everyone nearby to cry as well. It’s ability is called Torrent.
New Legendary Pokémon:
Zacian on the left (Sword) / Zamazenta on the right (Shield)
Other New Features:
Dynamax: This causes the Pokémon to power up and become extremely large in size. It can be used once per battle and will only last for 3 turns.
Max Raid Battles: These are battles that consist of up to 4 Pokémon trainers, whether they are local or online. Players will fight a special Pokémon that will stay in Dynamax mode the whole. One player in the party will be able to use Dynamax mode on their Pokémon, but again, it will only last 3 turns. If players manage to defeat this special Pokémon, they will have the ability to attempt to capture it. If the capture is successfully, there will be a special animation for the capture scene.
Final take:
When the game launches on 11/15/2019, there will be standalone physical and digital versions. For those that want both, there is a dual pack that will be sold for $119.99, which truth be told, is the same price as buying them each individually. Depending on your local game store’s preorder bonuses, it may be advantages to just get them separately. With E3 starting in less than a week, I am sure Nintendo will have more about both games during their Nintendo Direct at E3. We will also be live from the show floor at the Nintendo booth, so keep an eye on our social media channels for details!
