By this point in the Pokémon franchise, we know every new generation of games will introduce some design gimmick to differentiate itself from those that came before it. X & Y introduced Mega Evolutions, Sun and Moon introduced Alolan forms, and Sword & Shield looks all set to incorporate Dynamaxing and Gigamaxing into battle. But, as it turns out, those aren’t the only extra additions coming to the latest pair of games, as Nintendo has announced that brand new Galarian forms and evolutions of some classic Pokémon are headed our way as well.
This information comes from brand new official footage released earlier today, which revealed the first looks at regional redesigns for two previously existing Pokémon families: Galarian Weezing and Galarian forms of Zigzagoon and Linoone.
With the new looks comes new typing as well. Galarian Weezing will turn into a Psychic/Fairy-type, while Galarian Zigzagoon and its evolutionary branch will now be a Dark/Normal-type. In addition, the trailer also showed off a brand new secondary evolution for the Tiny Raccoon creature – Obstagoon, which looks like weasel hit the gym and doused itself in heavy metal make-up.
These regional exclusive designs/types are not unlike the Alolan forms first introduced in Generation VII, which saw classic ‘mons like Sandshrew and Vulpix take on silverly ice-type revamps while others like Marowak and Raichu were given island-resort style makeovers. Considering the new Galar region is said to be based on the UK, Weezing’s industrial smokestack top hats and the rock and roll retrofitting of Zigzagoon make a lot of sense.
Earlier this year, news broke that Sword & Shield would be the first Pokémon titles that wouldn’t have a global Pokédex, instead limiting the creatures one could collect to a selected few only available in the game. While this obviously didn’t sit well with most fans, we still don’t know for sure exactly how many monsters are going to be included this go-round, but the inclusion of multiple versions of fan-favorite classics seems to imply that there will be plenty of variation to go around. In any case, we’ll know for sure as we inch closer to the next generation of Pokémon games hitting shelves on November 15th.
