New Sword and Shield Info
So out of....pretty much nowhere today, we got a new Sword and Shield trailer! It showcased new Pokemon, new characters, and a new battle mechanic called Gigantamaxing.
One of the ones they officially revealed was Yamper, but Iâll skip over him since I talked about him before. Of the new ones, my favorite is Alcremie. Itâs a Fairy type with the ability Sweet Veil. Itâs known for producing a soothing, tasty cream which it can also use in battle
Then thereâs Rolycoly, a Rock-type Pokemon with the abilities Heatproof or Steam Engine, a new ability that raises the Pokemonâs Speed stat drastically when hit with a Fire or Water type move.
Finally, thereâs Duraludon, a Steel/Dragon type (Pretty col typing IMO I think itâs the first ever one?) with the abilities Light Metal or Heavy Metal.
They revealed something interesting today regarding the gym leaders. For, as far as I recall, the first time, the gym leaders you face will be different depending on what version of the games you get. In Sword, you go up against the Fighting type user Bea (WHO IS ADORABLE BTW) and in Shield you go up against the Ghost-type user Allister (Ironically enough, I named my Decidueye last gen Allister 0_0)
How the gym challenge and Championship Cup operates were discussed as well. They are all televised competitions with plenty of sponsors. In fact you need to have some kind of sponsor to be involved in the gym battles at all. In the gameâs story, Leon, the current Champion and local cool dude, sponsors you and Hop. Two characters introduced today were Chairman Rose, the head of a large, vague âcompanyâ in the Galar region who currently runs the competitions. He was the one who originally sponsored Leon to become the Champion.Â
Also introduced was Roseâs secretary Oleana, a calm, cool, collected woman who does most of the work around Roseâs company.
I donât know why but Iâm getting like....âsurprise twist villainâ vibes from these two...Maybe Iâve been watching too many Disney movies. But something about them being so heavily involved in Dynamaxing and also being âobvious corporateâ characters makes me think theyâre gonna be up to something shady but....I guess weâll see.
The new mechanic introduced today, called Gigantamaxing, is actually a little confusing. Gigantamaxing is something like Dynamaxing, but not all Pokemon can do it. Hell, not even all Pokemon of a SPECIFIC SPECIES can do it! Take Corvinknight for example. Corviknight is a Pokemon capable of Giganamaxing. BUT NOT ALL CORVIKNIGHTS CAN DO IT! Only special ones that you get from Max Raid Battles will be able to do it, and even then apparently the ones that can be captured are rare. In short, all Pokemon can Dynamax, only some species of Pokemon are able to Gigantamax, and only some members of those species are actually able to do it, and they are very hard to find. Got it? Good.
Once Gigantamaxed, the Pokemon will change size and appearance and their moves change to G-Max Moves. Corviknight, Drednaw, and Alcremie are the only Pokemon currently known to be able to Gigantamax. Corviknight has the Flying type G-Max Wind Rage move which deals damage and also removes field effects (Reflect, Light Screen, Spikes, ect.). Drednaw has the Water G-Max Stonesurge move which deals damage and puts sharp stones around your opponent (essentially dealing damage and setting up Stealth Rocks). Alcremie has the Fairy G-Max Finale move which heals Alcremieâs allies as well as deals damage to opponents. As stated before, their appearances change as well.
Exclusives and Pre-Order Bonuses
Finally, they revealed some Pokemon that will be in the games, but exclusive to one or the other. Larvitar and Goomy are exclusive to Shield, and Deino and Jangmo-o are exclusive to Sword. All of these Pokemon are found pretty late in their respective games. HOWEVER! If you pre-order the Double Pack, you will get a code for special items called Dynamax Crystals. By using those codes, you will be able to have access to Jangmo-o in Shield and Larviatar in Sword through Max Raid Battles. You will also be able to encounter them much earlier that usual.Â
There are also Plush keychains that you can get with a pre-order of either Sword or Shield.
Iâm really digging the designs of the Pokemon this gen so far. They have a kind of âoriginal 151âł feel to them. I couldnât describe what exactly that feel is so please donât ask xD But theyâve all been creative and fitting to their type. Iâm really liking the human characters too! Everyone is so gosh dang cute! I also love the idea of making the gym leaders different in the games too. I feel like it adds more weight to the increased price tag in purchasing both. They feel more like different games, and therefore gives the player more incentive to buy both.Â
I hope I am wrong about Rose and Oleana though. Itâd be pretty disappointing if I could guess their twist based only on the âCorporate = Badâ trope.Â
Gigantamaxing is...interesting albeit confusing. Iâm hoping the rarity of it keeps it from being too easily abused.
Thanks for reading all, see you around!
