We just got our first drop of Pokemon Sword and Shield news since E3, and hoo boy am I excited for this one!
If you haven’t seen the trailer, check it out:
So much is happening here! Just when we thought Pokemon could get any bigger (literally), this trailer was like “hold my beer.” Let’s start the video dissection!
New Pokemon
(The Pokemon Company)
Obviously the big thing that everyone cares for the most in a new mainline Pokemon game are the new Pokemon that we’ve never seen before! This time we got 4 (but actually 3) new Pokemon showed off (in order of the above image):
- Duraludon, the Alloy Pokemon, is a Steel/Dragon type.
- Yamper, the Puppy Pokemon, is a pure Electric type.
- Alcremie, the Cream Pokemon, is a pure Fairy type.
- Rolycoly, the Coal Pokemon, is a pure Rock type.
I say technically 3 because Yamper was shown off in the Pokemon Sword and Shield demo at E3, this year, but Yamper is a very good boy, so we’ll include him this time. Personally, I a huge fan of Yamper and Alcremie is pretty cute, but overall, I think I’m more in love with the designs we saw in the last trailer.
Gigantamaxing
(The Pokemon Company)
You though Dynamaxing was a huge addition to Pokemon? Holy heck, wait until you see Gigantamaxing! Not only will Pokemon grow ginormous, but Gigamaxing also changes the Pokemon’s physical appearance. Plus, each Gigantamaxed Pokemon has their own, unique G-Max move. Only specific Pokemon can Gigantamax, including Alcremie, Corviknight, and Drednaw.
Fun Fact: Gigantamaxed Alcremie is officially the largest Pokemon to exist so far. That’s one big cake.
Version Exclusives
(The Pokemon Company)
Every Pokemon game has exclusives! Oddish or Bellsprout? Zangoose or Seviper? Buzzwole or Pheromosa? It’s stuff like this that either helps Pokemon fans decide on which Pokemon game they’re gonna get, or, in my case, makes then decide to get both. Who needs money?
In Pokemon Sword and Shield, exclusives make an expected comeback. Pokemon actually tweeted the above graphic, indicating that Deino and Jangmo-o are exclusive to Pokemon Sword, and Larvitar and Goomy are exclusive to Pokemon Shield.
Of course, this isn’t the only version-exclusive item we saw from the massive info dump:
Certain towns will have different Gyms that you can challenge depending on whether you’re playing Pokémon Sword or Pokémon Shield!
In Pokémon Sword, you’ll face Bea.
In Pokémon Shield, you can challenge Allister.#PokemonSwordShield pic.twitter.com/Stu6w5iS0E
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) July 8, 2019
Looks like we’re getting version-exclusive Pokemon Gyms! In Pokemon Sword, you will fight against Bea, the Fighting-type Gym Leader, and in Pokemon Shield, you’ll battle Allister, the Ghost-type Gym Leader.
