The new Pokémon games for Nintendo Switch probably got rid of your favorite Pokémon

Pokémon fans, beware: the newest games in the series won't have every Pokémon from the previous Pokémon games. 

While "Pokémon Sword" and "Pokémon Shield" will introduce dozens of brand-new Pokémon when the games are released November 15, about half of the classic Pokémon won't be included in the game at all. Up until now, Pokémon games allowed players to trade their old Pokémon into the latest titles, from the original "Pokémon Red and Blue" released on the Game Boy in 1998, to "Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon" released on the Nintendo 3DS in 2017.

Earlier this summer Pokémon developer Game Freak announced that "Pokemon Sword and Shield" would break this trend, with the creative team choosing to bring about half of the Pokémon roster into the new game. Producer Junichi Masuda said the decision was not easy, but the resources needed to bring roughly 1,000 Pokémon to the Switch were too demanding.

Instead, Game Freak chose about 400 new and old Pokémon to include in "Sword and Shield," and spent the rest of the development time building a fresh experience for Pokémon players.

'Pokémon Sword and Shield' New Pokémon: When and How They Evolve

Each generation of Pokémon games introduces a slew of new Pokémon. Sword and Shield brings trainers to the Galar region where they'll meet over 100 new monsters, including regional forms of older Pokémon.

While you journey through the new region, you'll encounter plenty of Pokémon, but, if you're wondering when and how they evolve, this guide has all the information you need.

Here's every new Pokémon in Sword and Shield and how to evolve them.

POKEMON SWORD AND SHIELD STARTER EVOLUTIONS

First up are the Starter Pokémon. Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble each have two evolutions, and what they evolve into can make a trainer's decision easier.

If you want to learn more about the evolutions, you can read up on them here.

Grookey -> Lv 16 -> Thwacky -> Lv 35 -> Rillaboom

Scorbunny -> Lv 16 -> Raboot -> Lv 35 - > Cinderace

Sobble -> Lv 16 -> Drizzile - > Lv 35 -> Intelleon

GALARIAN FORM EVOLUTIONS

Galarian forms are a huge part of the Sword and Shield games, and many of them evolve in different ways beyond traditional leveling up. Some need evolution stones, while others need trainers to be in certain areas.

If you want to learn more about all of the Galarian forms in Sword and Shield, you can read about them here.

Zigzagoon -> Lv 20 -> Linoone -> Lv 36 -> Obstagoon

Koffing -> Lv 35 -> Weezing

Ponyta -> Lv 38 -> Rapidash (Shield)

Farfetch'd -> Get three Critical Hits in one Battle -> Sirfetch'd (Sword)

Mr. Mime -> Lv 42 -> Mr. Rime

Yamask -> Have 49+ damage while walking under stone sculpture in Dusty Bowl (Wild Area) -> Runerigus

Corsola -> Lv 38 -> Cursola (Shield)

Darumaka -> Ice Stone -> Darmanitan (Sword)

Meowth -> Lv 28 -> Perrserker

Does not evolve

POKEMON SWORD AND SHIELD NEW EVOLUTIONS

And now we've come to the new Pokémon of the Galar region.

There are quite a few new Pokémon to find and catch in Sword and Shield, and with various new typing combinations and battle strategies to utilize, trainers will want to harness their power.

Here's all of the new Pokémon and how to evolve them if possible.

Gossifleur -> Lv 20 -> Eldegoss

Wooloo -> Lv 24 -> Dubwool

Chewtle -> Lv 22 -> Drednaw

Rookidee -> Lv 18 -> Corvisquire -> Lv 38 -> Corviknight

Skwovet -> Lv 24 -> Greedent

Nickit -> Lv 18 -> Thievul

Yamper -> Lv 25 -> Boltund

Blipbug -> LV 10 -> Dottler -> Lv 30 -> Orbeetle

Rolycoly -> Lv 18 -> Carkol -> Lv 34 -> Coalossal

Sizzlepede -> Lv 28 -> Centiskorch

Applin -> Tart Apple -> Flapple

Applin -> Sweet Apple -> Appletun

Silicobra -> 36 -> Sandaconda

Arrokuda -> Lv 26 -> Barraskewda

Toxel -> Lv 30 with Adamant, Brave, Docile, Hardy, Impish, Jolly, Hasty, Lax, Naive, Naughty, Rash, Quirky, Sassy Nature -> Toxitricity (Amped form)

Toxel -> Lv 30 with Bashful, Quiet, Bold Calm, Careful, Gentle, Lonely, Mild, Modest, Relaxed, Serious, Timid Nature -> Toxitricity (Low Key form)

Sinistea -> Cracked Pot -> Polteageist

Clobbopus -> Lv up knowing Taunt -> Grapploct

Hatenna -> Lv 32 -> Hattrem -> Lv 42 -> Hatterene

Impidimp -> Lv 32 -> Morgrem -> Lv 42 -> Grimmsnarl

Milcery -> Sweet item and spin -> Alcremie

Snom -> Level up with Happiness at 220 during night -> Frosmoth

Cufant -> Lv 34 -> Copperajah

Dreepy -> Lv 50 -> Drakloak -> Level Up with Dreepy in Party -> Dragpult

Does not evolve

Cramorant

Falinks

Pincurchin

Stonjourner (Sword)

Eiscue (Shield)

Indeedee

Morpeko

Dracozolt

Arctozolt

Dracovish

Arctovish

Duraludon

Pokémon Sword and Shield is available now on Nintendo Switch.

Which of the new Pokémon is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section.

'Pokémon Sword and Shield' TM Locations: Where to Find Every Attack in the Game

Pokémon learn various attacks by leveling up, but there's another way to teach your partners a move they may never otherwise have.

Technical Machines (TMs) are the method of teaching attacks to Pokémon. In the past, these items were found along your journey or gifted by NPCs or Gym Leaders.In some cases they were one-use only attacks.

For Pokémon Sword and Shield and Gen 8, there is a mixture of both unlimited and single-use TMs.

If that's a bit confusing, read on to learn more about these abilities and the location of all 100 TMs

Note: This list is still being compiled.

POKEMON SWORD AND SHIELD TM LOCATIONS

TM02 - Pay Day

Motostoke City in the lower level near the water

TM06 - Fly

From Taxi Man in Stow-and-Stop (house)

TM07 - Pin Missile

Route 4

TM10 - Magical Leaf

Defeat Milo (Grass Gym)

TM11 - Solar Beam

Turffield (needs Rotom Water Bike)

TM15 - Dig

Route 6

TM16 - Screech

Circhester Hotel Ionia (right building)

TM20 - Self-Destruct

Battle Tower Shop (100,000)

TM21 - Rest

Ballonlea

TM22 - Rock Slide

Route 9 (need Rotom Water Bike)

TM24 - Snore

Glimwood Tangle

TM26 - Scary Face

Galar Mine

TM27 - Icy Wind

Defeat Melony (Ice Gym)

TM28 - Giga Drain

Battle Tower Shop (100,000)

TM29 - Charm

Hammerlocke Vault

TM30 - Steel Wing

Route 6

TM31 - Attract

Route 5

TM36 - Whirlpool

Defeat Nessa (Water Gym)

TM37 - Beat Up

Route 3

TM38 - Will-O-Wisp

Defeat Kabu (Fire Gym)

TM40 - Swift

Gift from Hop after meeting him at the Wedgehurst Train Station

TM42 - Revenge

Talk to elderly woman in Ballorena home

TM43 - Brick Break

Route 8

TM44 - Imprison

Battle Tower Shop (100,000)

TM45 - Dive

Talk to Diver on Route 9 (need Rotom Water Bike)

TM47 - Fake Tears

Circhester Hotel Ionia (right building)

TM48 - Rock Tomb

Circhester (in one of the houses)

TM49 - Sand Tomb

Galar Mine 2

TM51 - Icicle Spear

Circhester (near the hot spring)

TM52 - Bounce

Battle Tower Shop (100,000)

TM53 - Mud Shot

Galar Mine 2 (need Rotom Water Bike)

TM54 - Rock Blast

Route 3 (through Galar mines)

TM56 - U-Turn

Glimwood Tangle

TM57 - Payback

Behind Professor Magnolia's House

TM59 - Fling

Battle Tower Shop (100,000)

TM65 - Shadow Claw

Wild Area (Lake of Outrage - need Rotom Water Bike)

TM70 - Trick Room

Battle Tower Shop (50,000)

TM71 - Wonder Room

Battle Tower Shop (50,000)

TM72 - Magic Room

Battle Tower Shop (50,000)

TM73 - Cross Poison

Wild Area (Dusty Bowl)

TM74 - Venoshock

Stow-and-Stop (Rooftop)

TM77 - Hex

Defeat Allister (Ghost gym)

TM79 - Retaliate

Gift from Sonia after defeating Nessa's Gym

TM81 - Bulldoze

Wild Area (Giant's Seat)

TM83 - Razor Shell

Battle Tower Shop (100,000)

TM85 - Snarl

Defeat Piers (Dark Gym)

TM86 - Phantom Force

Slumbering Weald

TM87 - Draining Kiss

Defeat Opal (Fairy gym)

TM92 - Mystical Fire

Battle Tower Shop (100,000)

TM93 - Eerie Impulse

Battle Tower (outside)

TM95 - Air Slash

Wild Area (Axew's Eye) - Need Rotom Water Bike

TM96 - Smart Strike

Route 8

TM97 - Brutal Swing

Outside of Milo's Gym

TM99 - Breaking Swipe

Defeat Raihan (Dragon Gym)

TRs AND WHAT THEY ARE

TRs are rare old moves that break after one use. This is similar to how Technical Machines were used in the first few generations of the Pokémon games.

These moves are sometimes given by NPCs, but most of them can be bought from trainers in the Wild Area for watts. Watts are material that can be found when catching Pokémon in the wild with a yellow aura or from the Max Raid Wells.

Here's the list of TRs found in Sword and Shield.

TR01 - Body Slam (3000 watts)

TR04 - Surf (5000 watts)

TR05 - Ice Beam (Max Raid Battle with Snover)

TR06 - Blizzard (8000 watts)

TR07 - Low Kick (3000 watts)

TR08 - Thunderbolt (5000 watts)

TR11 - Psychic (5000 watts)

TR13 - Focus Energy (Gift from man outside of record shop in Motostoke City)

TR15 - Fire Blast (8000 watts)

TR21 - Reversal (2000 watts)

TR25 - Psyshock (3000 watts)

TR28 - Megahorn (8000 watts)

TR30 - Encore (2000 watts)

TR32 - Crunch (3000 Watts)

TR34 - Future Sight (3000 watts)

TR35 - Uproar (3000 watts)

TR39 - Superpower (8000 watts)

TR44 - Cosmic Power (2000 watts)

TR48 - Bulk Up (2000 watts)

TR49 - Calm Mind (2000 watts)

TR50 - Leaf Blade (5000 Watts)

TR52 - Gyro Ball (Drop from Max Raid Battle with Klang)

TR53 - Close Combat (8000 watts)

TR56 - Aura Sphere (3000 watts)

TR58 - Dark Pulse (3000 watts)

TR63 - Power Gem (3000 watts)

TR67 - Earth Power (5000 watts)

TR57 - Poison Jab (Drop from Max Raid Battle with Skorupi)

TR70 - Flash Cannon (Drop from Max Raid Battle with Klang)

TR72 - Power Whip (8000 watts)

TR74 - Iron Head (5000 watts)

TR75 - Stone Edge (8000 watts)

TR76 - Stealth Rock (3000 watts)

TR78 - Sludge Wave (5000 watts)

TR81 - Foul Play (3000 watts)

TR85 - Work Up (Max Raid Battle with Snover)

TR90 - Play Rough (5000 watts)

TR92 - Dazzling Gleam (3000 watts)

TR99 - Body Press (3000 watts)

Pokémon Sword and Shield is available now for Nintendo Switch.

What do you think of TRs being implemented in these games? Let us know your favorite TM in Sword and Shield below.

Pokemon Sword & Shield Review - Polteageist And Crumpets

With each new Pokemon game comes a new set of Pokemon, mechanics, and a region to discover, and Sword and Shield are no exception. The vibrant Galar region is a consistent delight to explore, incentivizing and rewarding collecting and battling in equal measure, and grandiose battles add an exciting dimension to the familiar Gym formula to deliver an engaging adventure beginning to end. But most notably, Sword and Shield cut down on the tedious and protracted elements from previous games in favor of amplifying what makes Pokemon great in the first place. This is the most balanced a Pokemon game has felt in a long time, and with that, Sword and Shield mark the best new generation of Pokemon games in years.

The games waste no time in getting you a starter Pokemon and off on your way to becoming the Champion. You can even skip some of the hand-holding you'd get in previous games, including the "how to catch Pokemon" tutorial, which hasn't been done since 2001's Pokemon Crystal; if you simply catch some Pokemon right away, the character who would have taught you acknowledges that you're already good to go instead. You can reach the new Wild Area, an open-world expanse filled with all kinds of Pokemon of all levels, within an hour or so of starting your adventure.

And the Wild Area is the show-stopping feature of this generation. Pokemon roam the fields and lakes, changing with the day's weather. They pop up as you walk by, and you can even identify Pokemon out of your direct line of vision by their cries. It's all too easy to set out for one destination only to be distracted by a Pokemon you haven't caught yet, an item glittering on the ground in the distance, or even an evolved form of a Pokemon that you didn't realize you could catch in the wild. There's constantly something new to do or discover, and it's there to engage you right out of the gate.

Both in the Wild Area and outside of it, the Galar region is stunning. Locales from industrial city centers to rolling hills in shades of green and gold are vivid and beautiful, and small details, like Wooloo playing in a field, add a lot of charm. The United Kingdom-inspired motif includes both crumbling medieval castles and booming football-inspired stadiums, punk musicians and posh snobs--though Galar is still surprising to explore, not adhering so close to theme as to be totally predictable. I even found myself pushing ahead to the next town hoping to find a boutique with new clothes and accessories, on top of everything else waiting to be discovered in each locale, because the UK-inspired plaids and streetwear looks are cute.

You're given much more freedom to explore than in previous generations. Sword and Shield go even further than Sun and Moon did in banishing HMs for good; you can fast travel to locations you've visited before from anywhere outside starting quite early in the game, and you have a bike that can later convert to a water vehicle to replace Surf. All other roadblocks, like trees in your path you need to Cut or large stones you need to move with Strength, are relics of the past. There are still hooligans that will artificially block your path at certain points in the story, but the actual hurdles to movement are completely gone.

Random encounters are also gone, and instead, you see Pokemon roaming all of Galar--even in the traditional routes and caves--which helps distinguish one area from the next. There are some Pokemon that remain hidden in the tall grass, denoted by an exclamation point, but you have to run toward the rustling grass to actually initiate the fight, so you're never caught totally by surprise. Some Pokemon can only be found this way; this further encourages you to explore each locale thoroughly while making return trips painless, free of constant interruptions by wild Pokemon or stopping to use Repels to keep them away.

For wild Pokemon, battles are true to the established formula, but for big battles, Sword and Shield strip out Mega Evolution and Z-moves in favor of a new battle mechanic, Dynamaxing, which is sort of a combination of the two and can only be activated in certain locations. A Dynamaxed Pokemon grows to a massive size and is stronger overall, and its moves convert to superpowered ones based on type. It's much more bombastic than Mega Evolution or even Z-moves, but functionally, it's simpler--and that's refreshing. After years of using both Mega Evolution and Z-moves in high-level battles, Dynamaxing is a welcome reset that also feels like a natural evolution of the increasingly high-octane battle mechanics of recent games. Any Pokemon can Dynamax, too; you're just limited by location rather than an item, so it's a more flexible way to battle that works for relaxed and competitive battles alike.

Dynamaxing is a fixture of the new Max Raids, in which you and three other people or NPCs take on a giant Pokemon at certain locations in the Wild Area. Raid Pokemon can vary from run-of-the-mill, easy-to-catch Pokemon to ones that are incredibly hard to find in the wild, but regardless, the rewards are fantastic; completing a raid, even if the Pokemon escapes and you fail to catch it, nets you tons of rare and important items. Plus, the Pokemon you get from raids are guaranteed to have some perfect stats, so even duplicate Pokemon are worth catching again.

At the lower levels, the raids are pretty easy, and you'll likely have no trouble taking them on with only NPCs in tow. But the four- and five-star raids are challenging to the point where I couldn't even complete some of them without the help of other human players. This is a welcome level of difficulty in the post-game, and communicating locally to get a raid group together is seamless--all you have to do is put out a call for raid partners (or people to trade or battle with in general), and nearby players will get a notification and have the option to join you from the social menu. It's a great alternative to traditional competitive play after you've beaten the game, and while it does feed into competitive battling in both the item rewards and the caliber of Pokemon you're catching, it's satisfying just to overcome the challenge with friends.

The new Pokemon themselves are fantastic as a set. Quite a few of them seem geared for competitive play, with abilities and moves that inspire interesting strategies. Galarian Weezing, for example, has an ability that neutralizes opponents' abilities; because many battle strategies involve use of abilities like Intimidate or Sand Stream to set up the battlefield to your advantage, Weezing could be a serious threat. There are also the aesthetically-inclined Pokemon, like the incredibly goth Corviknight or the adorable electric corgi Yamper, to inspire collectors. Throughout my journey, I was consistently delighted to discover each new Gen 8 Pokemon and the Galarian forms of older ones.

The starters, sadly, are among the worst of the new Pokemon; while they're cute at first, their final evolutions are all not great. Each fits the British theme in a clever way and has a unique move to go with it, but on a purely visual level, all three are awkward with no clear winner among them. I still feel guilty confining my starter to the Pokemon Box, but it at least freed up a spot in my party to try out the new Pokemon I do like.

The Pokedex features a healthy mix of old Pokemon from each previous generation as well. There are certainly surprising omissions, but like with the new Pokemon, the list includes both fun Pokemon and competitive ones, plus an even spread of types. Sword and Shield might not have every Pokemon in existence, but what's here is balanced exquisitely for battle, cuteness factor, and type. And because there are items that give Pokemon experience points now--and because you can access your Pokemon boxes almost anywhere--you can easily change up your team on the fly without having to stop and grind just to get a new Pokemon caught up in level. I experimented with different Pokemon more during Shield's main story than I ever did in a previous Pokemon game, and it made me appreciate the Gen 8 Pokemon even more.

It also makes for a more digestible experience. The Wild Area is expansive, and because the available Pokemon change with the weather, it can look very different from one day to the next. There are enough Pokemon to keep things dynamic and surprising as you explore each day, but with some consistency across each biome so you know at least what kinds of Pokemon to expect. Even after 55 hours, there are still Pokemon I have no idea how to find, and uncovering the Wild Area's secrets bit by bit has been a treat.

If anything, the constant draw of the Wild Area made the pacing of the story a bit choppy. I wandered and explored for five hours before challenging my first Gym, then defeated the next two in quick succession before breaking again to revisit the Wild Area. That said, I also was never too over- or underpowered for each Gym, and I was eager to explore in between them regardless. You can also do more in the Wild Area than just battle and catch Pokemon--you can camp out and make curry with your Pokemon, and that ended up being a lovely distraction. Making curry and playing with my Pokemon was a great way to break up longer excursions, plus a convenient way to heal everybody at once, and it's really just an adorable way to spend a few minutes.

The Gyms themselves are a refinement on the longstanding formula in which you would have to go through a maze or solve a little puzzle to reach the Gym Leader. Similarly, each has a Gym Challenge, but they vary from herding Wooloo to competing with NPC trainers to catch a Pokemon, and this keeps things from getting stale. Dynamaxing combines with anime-style drama to make the Gym battles themselves appropriately exciting, too, as your opponents tend to put on quite the show when they enter the stadium. While the Gym and other story battles are largely pretty simple, some of the later ones do take more thought (and a few revives, in my case).

For competitive battles, small but significant quality-of-life tweaks greatly reduce the remaining barriers to entry. There are now items that allow you to change a Pokemon's nature, which was the main missing piece in getting Pokemon battle-ready without hours and hours of tedious breeding and soft-resetting. You can also leave two Pokemon of the same species in the Daycare together, and one can pass Egg Moves to the other, meaning you don't have to re-breed a Pokemon just because you forgot to put one Egg Move on it or changed your strategy a bit. The post-game Battle Tower also includes rental teams right off the bat to introduce you to some basic strategies, which also means you can start climbing the ranks without scrambling to prepare a slipshod team of your own first. All of this gets you battling at a competitive level much more quickly than was possible before, which is the whole point.

In collecting, battling, and exploring, Sword and Shield cut out the bloat and focus on what makes these pillars of the Pokemon games so captivating in the first place. You're not held back by overly complicated back-end systems or hoops to jump through; from the outset, you can start wandering the Galar region, seeing its new Pokemon, and trying out its new battle strategies with very little in your way. This leaves you free to enjoy what Pokemon is all about, and that makes for an incredibly strong showing for the series' proper debut on Switch.

Pokemon Sword And Shield Release Day Deal: Get $10 Off At Launch

Pokemon fans, the time has come--we're just days away from the release of Pokemon Sword and Shield, the first main-series Pokemon games to launch on a home console and one of Nintendo's most highly anticipated releases for Nintendo Switch. The games will be available this Friday, November 15, and there's still time to secure your copy early and get the game's numerous pre-order bonuses.

Nintendo fans don't usually expect to save money on a first-party Switch game when it first releases, particularly if it's one of Nintendo's most popular franchises, like Pokemon. But this year, Pokemon fans are in luck, as Sword and Shield will be on sale for $49.94 ($10 off) at Walmart stores on launch day. This offer is in-stores only, meaning you'll need to actually drive to your local Walmart and make the purchase.

This offer was spotted by deals site Cheap Ass Gamer. According to the below photo, the double pack (which contains both games) will also be on sale, selling for $99.98 instead of $120. These discounts are basically unheard of for a new Pokemon game and we doubt Black Friday will offer anything better, so if you're planning to get Pokemon for yourself or someone on your Christmas list, this is likely the best offer you'll find.

A word of caution: The earlier you can make it to the store, the better, as stock may sell out quickly depending on your Walmart location.

This is only the latest in a growing list of games that received release day discounts at Walmart this year, including Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Astral Chain, and Luigi's Mansion 3.

On the topic of Pokemon deals, you can also save nearly 50% on the collector's edition of the Pokemon Sword and Shield: Official Galar Region Strategy Guide right now at Amazon. Normally sold for $40, the 400-page collector's edition is currently on sale for $24.78, and it includes a special black hardcover featuring the game's legendaries and a Joy-Con controller skin decal.

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Pokémon Sword and Shield : The Kotaku Review

Roughly 10 hours into Pokémon Shield, I stepped into a stadium packed with screaming fans to face off against ghost-type gym leader Allister, a shy and awkward mask-wearing kid. I reliably made it through three of the four Pokémon on his team before getting my shit completely wrecked by his last monster. Even without Dynamaxing, that monster was destroying every Pokémon on my team. I tried to brute force it by overleveling. No dice. I changed up my team, grinding some more to bring them up to speed. Still not working. It was after my third time losing that I realized Allister was using a particular set of moves to increase the monster's attack power to astronomical levels. I had to change up my strategy. For the first time in my adult life, I was seriously thinking about strategy in a Pokémon game, and I had a blast doing it.

The trickiest thing about Pokémon is trying to figure out who it's for. After 20 years, the behemoth series has accrued many masters to serve: kids, competitive players, and grown-ups who just want to pet a Pikachu. As such, Sword and Shield have already been divisive for months before release. Ever since it was announced that it would not be possible to import every Pokémon into this generation's games, there has been a subset of fans who have primed themselves to hate this game. It's easy to focus on this loud group decrying "Dexit," the moniker they've given the cut roster of monsters. But that's not the only story of what it means to be a Pokémon fan right now.

Since Red and Blue released for the GameBoy in 1998, Pokémon has been a phenomenon. For many people my age, Pokémon is a relic of childhood, a tangible piece of nostalgia that miraculously keeps reappearing. So I want this review to clear some things up. I won't currently address all of the complaints due to restrictions on spoilers, but I can say, unequivocally: Pokémon Sword and Shield are good games.

I agree! Hello. I'm Tim Rogers. Nintendo's video content embargo restrictions prevent me from agreeing with Gita as thoroughly as I'd like to. Please watch this video anyway, in which I tell you if there's Brexit or not (there's not), if trainers can finally punch wild Pokémon (they can't), and whether or not you can eat a Wooloo (not sure).

Though I keep returning with each installment, my interest in Pokémon has waned. Too little has been improved in its user interfaces, and certain mechanics, like the methods for evolving or obtaining certain Pokémon, have remained needlessly obtuse, to say nothing of the time-consuming and highly specific methods necessary to train Pokémon for competitive play. The plots and characters are often rote to the point that even children must feel condescended to. The recent games are disappointingly easy. Yet as I lament squandered opportunities for the series to grow, I admit that I'm always hopeful for what I always seek in games: a sense of wonder. A Pokémon game hasn't truly made me feel that way since I booted up Red, met Professor Oak, and embarked on my adventure. For the first time since I was a 7-year-old falling in love with her Charmander, Sword and Shield gave me that sense of wonder.

I was awestruck when I ventured into the Wild Area, a new feature for Sword and Shield. There, Pokémon roam on the overworld, occasionally chasing after you as you pass by. There are Pokémon at a much, much higher level than the monsters that surround them—and your own team. There is a chance that if you go out into the Wild Area, you will just see all your monsters faint as they're swiped at by a gigantic, terrifying raven. It's how I imagined the Pokémon world as a kid: teeming with life and an undertone of danger. Though there is a level cap on the Pokémon you can catch that corresponds to your gym badge, it's in place to prevent you from catching one of these monsters and cheesing through parts of the game—which makes sense, since you'd never encounter wild Pokémon this much stronger than you in previous games.

Many of the features that make the game more accessible are optional. In fact, other than the EXP. Share (which you unfortunately can't turn off but isn't disruptive to the difficulty), you don't even have to touch any of the things that make the game easier for people who are lazy, are busy, or are currently children. Though you can access your Pokémon storage boxes at most times, I elected to never use it because it felt like too much of a shortcut for me. I'm sure other people will gladly take advantage of it. Items like Feathers, which change your Pokémon's base stats, or Mints, which change your Pokémon's nature, are never foisted upon you if you don't want them. There are also new ways to bring your Pokémon up to speed that don't involve grinding. Poké Jobs, where different companies request Pokémon of a certain type, like asking for bug type 'mons to help make fabric, yield a ton of experience points and also some items or cash.

My favorite way to level up Pokémon quickly, though, was Max Raid Battles. In those, you play with three other real people or computer characters to defeat a huge, ultra-powerful version of a Pokémon. If you defeat them, you have a chance to catch them, and you'll also gain berries, TRs (one-use technical machines), and candies that give experience points. They started off pretty easy, but they scale up in difficulty the more that you do them. While the servers to play with others weren't available while I was playing, I imagine that coordinating with real life players will be necessary once you've reached the more difficult raids.

Part of that is because Dynamaxing isn't just a "press this button to win" mechanic, as I'd feared it'd be. That's how I felt about Z-Moves in Sun and Moon. Modern games have been marred by mechanics that felt slapped on and completely neutered the difficulty. Dynamax Pokémon are very powerful, but there have been times that even with a type advantage, even when I was overleveled, my opponent could still break through my strategy and make me think on my feet.

In battle, every time there's a change to stats for your Pokémon or an opponent's, it will be denoted in the info panel, which you can open by hitting Y. It'll also show the status effects in play, the weather, and what these things do. The way that Sword and Shield is eager to show you as much information as it possibly can allowed me to more clearly see how its systems work in concert. I got far more invested in not just raising my Pokémon but seeing what they could do in battle.

The game's preoccupation with sports culture and fandom amplified these feelings. Gym Battles now take place in massive public arenas, where the crowd reacts to your wins and losses. The stunning upsets and last-minute saves are reflected by this simulated audience. Sometimes, I imagined my former colleagues at Deadspin blogging about my journey as it unfolded, the story of my rise documented in the same way that the Toronto Raptors' performance in the NBA playoffs made a legend of Kawhi Leonard. The game repeatedly emphasizes that a rival to challenge you is what turns a competitor into a champion, and it's got the gameplay to back that up—the series of youngsters that make up your rivals have their own stories and serve as fun counterpoints to your own adventure. They reminded me of sports movie archetypes: the eager go-getter, the overserious competitor. Hell, I'd just watch a movie about Bede, the arrogant and brash trainer that you cross p aths with during your journey, who has a narrative arc similar to Adonis Creed's in Creed (though it's mostly portrayed off screen).

Outside of battle, you can camp with your Pokémon, play with them, and cook curry for them. Playing with Pokémon isn't hugely engaging, but it's amusing to watch my Sobble pounce on a feather cat toy, or to play fetch with my Wooloo. Cooking is a cute mini-game and has real utility in game play. In order to make Curry, you combine berries and other ingredients you can buy or earn through Poké Jobs. This heals your Pokémon and provides them with experience points, making it a good way to save potions or revives for when you really need them. There are so many ways to approach Sword and Shield that people can play it however they want.

Back of the box quote

"More than the sum of its parts."

type of game

Wunderkammer

liked

Made me feel like I did the first time I played Pokémon Red, all those years ago.

disliked

Occasional handholding, lackluster graphics, ramshackle plot, probably missing someone's favorite Pokémon.

release date

November 15, 2019

There are legitimate critiques to make about Pokémon Sword and Shield. The game is challenging, sure, but it never kept me up at night. The plot is pretty lackluster; for example, nothing reaches the narrative heights of Black and White. The environments outside of cities and towns not exactly awe-inspiring, and anyone hoping for a very specific Pokémon in this game from previous entries will more likely than not be disappointed. There are times that the game holds your hand that will feel irritating if you're an adult, especially in its earliest hours. Yet after the credits rolled, I couldn't stop myself from reopening my save file. I wanted more adventure.

The magic of Pokémon is that it lets you tap into a sense of wonder that becomes more and more difficult to access as an adult. Sword and Shield do that more successfully than any Pokémon release has in years. It won't be everything to everyone, and it will not make everyone happy. I'm not sure it needs to. It's a portal to a new world. And it definitely has something for Pokémon's core audience: everyone in the entire world.

Pokémon Sword and Shield’s limited Pokédex is the new series standard

Pokémon Sword and Shield’s limited Pokédex is a conscious design choice that will continue in new and future Pokémon games, as stated by producer Junichi Masuda (via VG247).

Game Freak has gotten a lot of flak for not including all of the legacy Pokémon in the Generation 8 games. Like, a lot. People have created the hashtag ‘#bringbackthenationaldex’ and have even termed the decision ‘Dexit’ to riff off the Galar region’s real life inspiration. This is a novel move for the Pokémon RPG series and it’s understandable that the fan base is divided. Previous games would use a regional and a national Pokédex; the regional dex was specific to the game’s region, and the national dex would include every Pokémon found, and could be completed by trading from other games.

Masuda was interviewed by InsideGamer and stated that this limited dex decision would be a new standard for the Pokémon RPGs. ‘We currently have no plans to make the Pokémon that are missing from the Galar Pokedex available in-game,’ he clarified. ‘This is an approach that we want to continue with in future Pokémon games.’ So what happens when players want to bring their beloved Blaziken and precious Piloswine to Sword and Shield?

‘The Pokémon Home app is currently in development, in which players can collect their various Pokémon, and only Pokémon in the Galar Pokédex can be transferred from there to Sword and Shield,’ Masuda continued, so Blaziken is out but Piloswine is in. Pokémon Home is an app that keeps all of a player’s Pokémon in one online place. The 3DS Pokémon Bank app, Pokémon Go, Pokémon Let's Go games, and Pokémon Sword and Shield are all compatible with Pokémon Home. ‘But the way of playing is actually not very different from before with Pokémon Bank: up until now you have always only been able to meet Pokémon from a certain region,’ the producer argued. 

‘We encourage people to use Pokémon Home to collect their Pokémon from old games. From there they might be able to take them to other games in the future. So take good care of your old Pokémon, because perhaps you can travel with them again in the future,’ he concluded. The fact that the national dex is not a feature in Sword and Shield is a valid point of discussion, but it’s important to recognise that this is the first core Pokémon game on a console. As a result, Game Freak has contended with the advantages and disadvantages of unique hardware. The developer has changed things but it has also added things that will make Sword and Shield a standalone experience, like an autosave, Nature candies, and minigames.

Pokémon Sword and Shield will launch on November 15 for the Nintendo Switch.