Pokémon Sword And Shield May Feature A Partner Pokémon System

Rarely are publishers responsible for prematurely leaking details for their own games ahead of schedule, but it does happen. In Nintendo’s case, one such slip-up may have just occurred, as a Tweet concerning the recently announced Pokémon Sword And Shield has appeared to have upped and vanished without a trace.

Clearly intended to be nothing more than a taster of what’s to come for the pair of Switch games, Nintendo of America’s Tweet in question – which you can find below – seemingly alludes to two features that are so-far unconfirmed.

First on the suspicion list is the mention of “Gym Masters.” As per Game Freak’s initial Direct presentation, we already have confirmation that Gym Leaders will be returning following a short hiatus in Pokémon Sun and Moon, but what of these so-called Masters? It could be the case, of course, that Nintendo simply mislabelled the term in its address to Pokémon fans, but it nonetheless has triggered an onset of speculative musing that Game Freak could be planning some form of an overhaul to the iconic feature. Time will tell, I’m sure.

As for the other hotly-debated portion of Nintendo’s apparent gaffe, the term partner Pokémon leaves far less room for interpretation. While not the first games in the series to do so, last year’s Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! marked the reintroduction of a beloved mechanic – allowing Trainers to have specific ‘Mons follow them in the overworld. Given the enormously positive response those remakes garnered, it’d be a no-brainer for Game Freak to carry over some of their best bits for Sword and Shield.

As usual, none of these suspicions can be labelled accurate or official until Nintendo and/or Game Freak says otherwise, but there’s plenty more Pokémon Sword and Shield news to dissect, including the leak of a brand new bug-type Pokémon.