Love it or hate it, Game Freak has decided to push the soft reset button for Pokémon Sword and Shield‘s narrative. Instead of criminal organizations dealing in trafficked Pokémon or lunatics hellbent on triggering world-ending disasters, the premise of this year’s entries in the iconic franchise is charmingly simple.
You’re a talented Pokémon Trainer who wants nothing more than to defeat the Galar region’s Champion in battle and claim the crown for yourself. That’s it. The absence of a high-stakes plot for this year’s Switch exclusives will be a turn off for many longtime fans, no doubt, but the developer’s back to basics approach is a refreshing change of pace that much better reflects the pure joy of catching and battling weird and wonderful creatures.
There are, of course, themes of climate change and environmental destruction present throughout Sword and Shield‘s narrative, the conclusion of which could have major implications on the series’ overarching narrative. Eternatus, the Legendary Pokémon responsible for Galar’s Dynamax phenomenon and the source of its energy, is a far cry from your ordinary ‘Mon. In fact, upon capture, its Pokédex entry reveals its origins as being not from this Earth.
It, alongside the likes of Staryu, its evolution and Deoxys belongs to a group of Pokémon from outer space, all of which draw their power from a centralized core. Could it be that every spacefaring Pokémon up to this point hails from the same place? If so, where, and what’s their purpose for coming to our planet? Who knows, but these are questions that Game Freak will have to answer, sooner or later.
Is Eternatus’ integral role in Sword and Shield‘s subplot the first steps toward hinting of a Pokémon space invasion, or is this simply the case of a studio using recurring themes? Let us know what you think – and feel free to provide your own theories – in the usual place below!
Pokémon Sword and Shield are out now for Nintendo Switch.
