Pokemon Sword & Shield wraps up a lengthy lifetime on the Nintendo DS and 3DS after it. Moving to the Switch and taking advantage of the lessons learned from Pokemon Go & companion spinoff Let’s Go! the game is poised to embrace the sense of scale possible on the Switch.
We’ve learned a lot from the Nintendo E3 Direct and Treehouse Live streams, interviews with producer Junichi Masuda to back it all up. Some of these are possibly positives while there’s one or two out there that are causing big uproar for the fan base. Let’s get into it.
The big one: The national dex is dead
Game Freak’s major policy shift kills the catchphrase “Gotta Catch ‘Em All”. Sword & Shield will not implement an unknown amount of Pokemon from outside Galar and you won’t be able to transfer them into the game. This is because according to Masuda working with a limited pool of Pokemon will allow “much higher fidelity with higher quality animations”.
This isn’t the end of that policy according to comments made by Masuda in an interview. Translators around the internet are determining that Game Freak is more interested in a collection that fits the adventure of the specific game than implementing them all at once. The internet is obviously mad about it, so we’ll see how the game performs in sales and if Game Freak budges on this over time.
Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves out, Dynamax in
A cover feature of the sixth generation, select fan favorite pokemon like Charizard and Lucario got an extra evolution called Mega Evolution using items. To add to this cinematic buster moves named Z-Moves were implemented in the seventh generation. Not only are both gone, but we’re getting a more universal approach to it in the form of Dynamax transformation.
Dynamax is apparently a focus for the story of the game, but it basically lets you kaiju-mode your Pokemon for three turns. You can get powered up moves for the three turns and only one pokemon can Dynamax at a time in cooperative online play (more on that in a second).
I will find it weird in retrospect if Mega Evolutions don’t return to the franchise after becoming part of several Pokemon in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Also, Alolan form Pokemon haven’t been counted as cut content as of yet.
Max Raids are the new team format
To complete a more complete suite of online features via the Y-Comm interface, you’ll be able to take on raid bosses much like Pokemon Go. Max Raids pits your team of four trainers against a single powerful Dynamax pokemon. This enemy is always powered up but only one trainer can activate their Dynamax at a time.
Y-Comm is an LFG tool
It’s always been a bit tricky to get in with your friends in Pokemon. Leveraging Nintendo Switch Online you’ll be able to get a feed of requests via Y-Comm that appear at the side of your screen in your adventure. You can go back into your menu and immediately accept trades, link battles and join Max Raids.
Wild Area is the new overworld
While Pokemon veterans are familiar with towns being connected via Routes, you’ll instead be treated the open plains of the Wild Area when venturing between locations in the Galar region, The usual outfit of wild pokemon to catch is out there but also Pokemon Dens which will trigger the Max Raid battles which are a new format for the game.
The Wild Area is also getting a suite of quality of life features to make certain criteria easier to catch. You can take advantage of different weather types and use whistles to narrow down the types and rarity of Pokemon. The Wild Area is also structured by rising levels like in previous entries, so you’ll have to avoid certain places early on.
Pokemon HOME replaces Bank
A cloud service designed to keep your pokemon around between games on the Switch, Home is going to be specifically for the coming Switch-based generation. What you need to know is this: Transferring from Bank, Let’s Go!, and Pokemon GO are one-way only (bizarre that GO would be one way) while transferring from Sword & Shield to Home is two-way. Given the Nintendo 3DS is pronounced obsolete this year, it makes sense that 3DS games are not included but even the Switch spinoffs and insanely popular GO is one-way.
This would be higher up on the list of important changes, but given that Sword & Shield will exist in a vacuum without the full national pokedex it’s largely irrelevant until we see the next entries after Sword & Shield.
If you’re wonder what fan reaction is to this suite of changes, you should just check out the Pokemon subreddit for yourself.
