Its been a long road to get here but in just a few short weeks, Pokémon Sword and Shield will finally touchdown on Nintendo Switch.
As always, the imminent arrival of a new Generation has been preceded by a huge number of leaks (some true; most not) and theories in regards to the features and species’ players will encounter during their journey, though the time for speculation is almost at an end. In the months since their initial announcement, developer Game Freak has steadily unveiled more of its plans to majorly innovate on the series’ ageing formula, an initiative that includes the likes of overhauled battle mechanics and an area dedicated entirely to multiplayer.
And that’s not even mentioning the until-now undiscovered Pokémon themselves that call Sword and Shield‘s Galar region home. Inundated with reveals and announcements as Pokéfans have been as of late, you’d be forgiven for having perhaps missed a new ‘Mon or two. That being the case, The Pokémon Company has recently released a new trailer that aims to refresh your memory, which you can view above.
Just 19 new Pokédex entries have so far been confirmed, then, and while Game Freak undoubtedly still has many, many more to show, that figure doesn’t take into account the various alternative and regional variants. Both Galarian forms and Gigantamax Pokémon give existing Pocket Monsters such as Weezing, Charizard and Butterfree a whole-new look and abilities, to the extent that each, for all intents and purposes, can be considered a pseudo new addition in their own right.
Not everyone is convinced, however. The practice of giving critters from Generations past a new look began back in 2016 with Sun & Moon‘s Alolan forms and some fans have taken umbrage with Game Freak over its perceived pandering to nostalgia.
True or false? We’ll let you decide. Let us know which side of the argument you fall on, and what impact (if any) the abundance of redesigns has had on your decision to pick up Pokémon Sword and Shield, via the comments below!
