It has been a while since The Pokémon Company has given us any new information about Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, but that was remedied in today's Pokémon Direct. The Direct gave us a look at a few new Pokémon from the Galar region, some important characters, a new battle feature, and more.
NEW POKEMON
Let's start with the new Pokémon. We got a good look at seven new species of Pokémon, which includes the box-art Legendary Pokémon.
WOOLOO: The Normal-type Wooloo draws inspiration from sheep. It can have the Fluffy or Run Away Ability. Wooloo appears to be the common Normal-type of the Galar region, just as Rattata, Patrat, and Bunnelby are for their specific home regions.
GOSSIFLEUR: Gossifleur is a flower Pokémon that appears to be fairly common. It has the Cotton Down and Regenerator Abilities, and is a pure Grass-type.
Cotton Down is a new Ability. The opposing Pokémon's Speed will be lowered when a Pokémon with the Cotton Down Ability is hit by one of their attacks.
ELDEGOSS: Eldegoss is the evolved form of Gossifleur. This Pokémon is also a pure Grass-type with the Cotton Down and Regenerator Abilities. When Gossifleur evolve into Eldegoss, the flower on its head transforms into a cottony flower with seeds scattered about it in a strawberry-like manner and its body becomes more of a Swadloon-shaped leafy cloak.
DREDNAW: Drednaw is a dinosaur-like Water- and Rock-type Pokémon that loves to bite things. The Pokémon Company's website describes it as hard to train. Drednaw can have the Strong Jaw or Shell Armor Ability.
CORVIKNIGHT: Corviknight is a terrifying raven Pokémon. It is a Flying- and Steel-type Pokémon with the ability to transport Trainers across the region to any city they have previously visited, just as Charizard did in the Alolan games and your partner was able to do with Sky Dash in the Let's Go! games.
ZACIAN: Zacian is a Legendary Pokémon. This wolf-like Pokémon proudly wields its sword in its mouth in battle and on the cover of Pokémon Sword. The types and Abilities of Zacian, as well as its counterpart, are unknown.
ZAMAZENTA: Zamazenta is a Legendary Pokémon. The counterpart to Zacian, it graces the cover of Pokémon Shield. Zamazenta is also a blue, wolf-like Pokémon, but it has what appears to be fur armor on its face that resembles a shield.
WOOLOO: The Normal-type Wooloo draws inspiration from sheep. It can have the Fluffy or Run Away Ability. Wooloo appears to be the common Normal-type of the Galar region, just as Rattata, Patrat, and Bunnelby are for their specific home regions.
GOSSIFLEUR: Gossifleur is a flower Pokémon that appears to be fairly common. It has the Cotton Down and Regenerator Abilities, and is a pure Grass-type.
Cotton Down is a new Ability. The opposing Pokémon's Speed will be lowered when a Pokémon with the Cotton Down Ability is hit by one of their attacks.
ELDEGOSS: Eldegoss is the evolved form of Gossifleur. This Pokémon is also a pure Grass-type with the Cotton Down and Regenerator Abilities. When Gossifleur evolve into Eldegoss, the flower on its head transforms into a cottony flower with seeds scattered about it in a strawberry-like manner and its body becomes more of a Swadloon-shaped leafy cloak.
DREDNAW: Drednaw is a dinosaur-like Water- and Rock-type Pokémon that loves to bite things. The Pokémon Company's website describes it as hard to train. Drednaw can have the Strong Jaw or Shell Armor Ability.
CORVIKNIGHT: Corviknight is a terrifying raven Pokémon. It is a Flying- and Steel-type Pokémon with the ability to transport Trainers across the region to any city they have previously visited, just as Charizard did in the Alolan games and your partner was able to do with Sky Dash in the Let's Go! games.
ZACIAN: Zacian is a Legendary Pokémon. This wolf-like Pokémon proudly wields its sword in its mouth in battle and on the cover of Pokémon Sword. The types and Abilities of Zacian, as well as its counterpart, are unknown.
ZAMAZENTA: Zamazenta is a Legendary Pokémon. The counterpart to Zacian, it graces the cover of Pokémon Shield. Zamazenta is also a blue, wolf-like Pokémon, but it has what appears to be fur armor on its face that resembles a shield.
CHARACTERS
Moving on, we have some new characters that will play an important role in the story.
PROFESSOR MAGNOLIA: Professor Magnolia is the Pokémon researcher of the region. She studies the new Dynamax phenomenon.
SONIA: Sonia is the professor's assistant. She is stated to help you out along your journey and to be the Champion's childhood friend.
LEON: Speaking of the Champion, let's meet him! His name is Leon, and is seen in the Direct trailer with a Charizard.
HOP: Hop is your Rival in these games. He will start his journey alongside you, and appears to pick the starter that has a disadvantage to your's. Hop is Leon's younger brother.
MILO: Milo is one of Galar's Gym Leaders. He uses Grass-type Pokémon like Eldegoss.
PROFESSOR MAGNOLIA: Professor Magnolia is the Pokémon researcher of the region. She studies the new Dynamax phenomenon.
SONIA: Sonia is the professor's assistant. She is stated to help you out along your journey and to be the Champion's childhood friend.
LEON: Speaking of the Champion, let's meet him! His name is Leon, and is seen in the Direct trailer with a Charizard.
HOP: Hop is your Rival in these games. He will start his journey alongside you, and appears to pick the starter that has a disadvantage to your's. Hop is Leon's younger brother.
MILO: Milo is one of Galar's Gym Leaders. He uses Grass-type Pokémon like Eldegoss.
DYNAMAX & RAIDS
DYNAMAX: In recent generations, a new battle mechanic is introduced that plays a big part in the story and region's history. In Kalos we had Mega Evolution, and in Alola we had Z-Moves. The Direct revealed Galar's new battle mechanic: Dynamax.
The Dynamax phenomenon super-sizes one of Pokémon in a battle. This feature can only be used once, and only lasts for three turns. Dynamax Pokémon receive a power-boost with their super-strong Max Moves. Pokémon can only Dynamax once the Trainer receives the Dynamax Band, which appears to be given to you before Milo's Gym.
MAX RAID BATTLES: Clearly drawing inspiration from the Raids in Pokémon GO, Sword and Shield introduce Max Raid Battles to go along with the Dynamax feature. Very similarly to GO, multiple Trainers (a maximum of four) will team up to fight Dynamaxed Pokémon out in the wild. One Trainer of the four will be able to use the Dynamax feature themselves, as well as catch the Pokémon when it's weak enough.
The Dynamax phenomenon super-sizes one of Pokémon in a battle. This feature can only be used once, and only lasts for three turns. Dynamax Pokémon receive a power-boost with their super-strong Max Moves. Pokémon can only Dynamax once the Trainer receives the Dynamax Band, which appears to be given to you before Milo's Gym.
MAX RAID BATTLES: Clearly drawing inspiration from the Raids in Pokémon GO, Sword and Shield introduce Max Raid Battles to go along with the Dynamax feature. Very similarly to GO, multiple Trainers (a maximum of four) will team up to fight Dynamaxed Pokémon out in the wild. One Trainer of the four will be able to use the Dynamax feature themselves, as well as catch the Pokémon when it's weak enough.
ROTOM PHONE
Rotom will once again find a home in your Pokédex. The Pokédex in the Galar region is an app on your character's cellphone, which is inhabited by Rotom. The Rotom Phone functions as more than a simple Pokédex. It will double as a bike-enhancer, and is implied to do even more.
WILD AREA
The area in-between cities in Galar is called the Wild Area. This is a vast, unsettled area filled with Pokémon, some hiding in the grass traditionally and some roaming in the over-world like in Let's Go. This area is very open-world, with little linear restraints and a rotatable camera. Pokémon found in the Wild Area vary on location and weather.
That's everything revealed in the Direct. We'll continue to update you on news about Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield up to and after their release on November 15. Thanks for reading, Trainers!
SOURCE / IMAGE CREDIT: The Pokémon Company