The annual gaming convention E3 gave us some new details about the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield titles. We got exciting leaks from the playable demo on the E3 floor, some interesting gameplay and information from the Nintendo Direct and Treehouse, and a very troublesome announcement from Junichi Masuda that has the community outraged and speaking out forcefully on social media.
NEW POKEMON
Let's start with the positive news. The playable Sword and Shield demo on the E3 floor has leaked two new Pokémon: Yamper and Impidimp. Impidimp is a devilish Dark-type and Fairy-type Pokémon, and Yamper is an Electric-type dog Pokémon with the new Ball Fetch Ability. Ball Fetch allows Yamper to pick up the Poké Ball from the first failed catch attempt of a battle if it is not holding an item.
MISCELLANEOUS
Moving onto the miscellaneous news from the Direct and Treehouse presentations, we have a sizable amount of further details about things recently shown in the Pokémon Direct.
NESSA: Firstly, we have Nessa. Nessa is a Water-type Gym Leader. Nessa is shown to have a Drednaw on her team, which she Dynamaxes. It is worth noting that the Pokémon the Gym Trainers (and possibly Nessa also) use do seem to be altered for the purposes of the E3 demo as to not give out spoilers.
POKÉ BALL PLUS: The Poké Ball Plus accessory released alongside Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! last year will also function with Pokémon Sword and Shield. You will be able to take Pokémon for strolls in the device, just as you could in LGPE. However, it will not be able to function as a controller in Sword and Shield.
The Poké Ball Plus will, as in Let's Go, also unlock the Mythical Pokémon Mew. Only new Poké Ball Pluses will be able to gift Mew to you in your Galarian game. However, don't rush to buy a new device or be angry over being put in the situation to do so. Pokémon HOME, the hub service recently unveiled in the Pokémon press conference, will allow for the Mew from Pokémon: Let's Go! to be transferred into your Pokémon Sword & Shield adventure, Serebii reports.
BRANCH POKE: Grookey is shown using a new move in the Treehouse gameplay. This is move is called Branch Poke, and is Grass-type. At this time, Branch Poke appears to be a new, early-game move exclusive to Grookey just as Leafage was for Rowlet in Sun and Moon.
WILD AREA: In the Nintendo Treehouse, we could see live gameplay of Trainers in the Wild Area. You can walk, run, crouch, and ride a bike. Yes, the bike is back, and it's better than ever! Thanks to the upgrades from the Rotom Phone, it can easily ride around both and land and water environments.
Bunnelby, Snover, Wingull, Machoke, Galvantula, and more were seen traversing around the beautiful Galarian scenery. We also saw more traditional encounters in the tall grass and at the end of our fishing rod. Encounters will vary in the different zones of the Wild Area, and vary even further based on weather.
MAX RAID BATTLES: As part of the Wild Area demonstration, we saw a live Max Raid Battle against a Steelix. This demo gave us more insight into how these Pokémon GO-inspired battles function. Each of the four Trainers in the battle will bring one Pokémon from their Party or Pokémon Box into the Max Raid. The ability to Dynamax your Pokémon will rotate between each participant each turn.
The Raid Boss' incredible power was also showcased. It will remain Dynamaxed the entirety of the battle (which is a maximum of ten turns). Each turn, the Boss can attack multiple times with Max Moves or regular moves. When the Boss reaches approximately 50% HP, it will put up a special shield that blocks attacks until it is penetrated by the four attacking Pokémon.
Y-COMM: The Y-Comm seems to be the successor to Pokémon X and Y's PSS and Pokémon Sun and Moon's Festival Plaza. The Y-Comm allows you to coordinate Max Raid Battles, trades, and Pokémon matches, plus it allows for other Trainers to appear in the Wild Area and give you items.
NESSA: Firstly, we have Nessa. Nessa is a Water-type Gym Leader. Nessa is shown to have a Drednaw on her team, which she Dynamaxes. It is worth noting that the Pokémon the Gym Trainers (and possibly Nessa also) use do seem to be altered for the purposes of the E3 demo as to not give out spoilers.
POKÉ BALL PLUS: The Poké Ball Plus accessory released alongside Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! last year will also function with Pokémon Sword and Shield. You will be able to take Pokémon for strolls in the device, just as you could in LGPE. However, it will not be able to function as a controller in Sword and Shield.
The Poké Ball Plus will, as in Let's Go, also unlock the Mythical Pokémon Mew. Only new Poké Ball Pluses will be able to gift Mew to you in your Galarian game. However, don't rush to buy a new device or be angry over being put in the situation to do so. Pokémon HOME, the hub service recently unveiled in the Pokémon press conference, will allow for the Mew from Pokémon: Let's Go! to be transferred into your Pokémon Sword & Shield adventure, Serebii reports.
BRANCH POKE: Grookey is shown using a new move in the Treehouse gameplay. This is move is called Branch Poke, and is Grass-type. At this time, Branch Poke appears to be a new, early-game move exclusive to Grookey just as Leafage was for Rowlet in Sun and Moon.
WILD AREA: In the Nintendo Treehouse, we could see live gameplay of Trainers in the Wild Area. You can walk, run, crouch, and ride a bike. Yes, the bike is back, and it's better than ever! Thanks to the upgrades from the Rotom Phone, it can easily ride around both and land and water environments.
Bunnelby, Snover, Wingull, Machoke, Galvantula, and more were seen traversing around the beautiful Galarian scenery. We also saw more traditional encounters in the tall grass and at the end of our fishing rod. Encounters will vary in the different zones of the Wild Area, and vary even further based on weather.
MAX RAID BATTLES: As part of the Wild Area demonstration, we saw a live Max Raid Battle against a Steelix. This demo gave us more insight into how these Pokémon GO-inspired battles function. Each of the four Trainers in the battle will bring one Pokémon from their Party or Pokémon Box into the Max Raid. The ability to Dynamax your Pokémon will rotate between each participant each turn.
The Raid Boss' incredible power was also showcased. It will remain Dynamaxed the entirety of the battle (which is a maximum of ten turns). Each turn, the Boss can attack multiple times with Max Moves or regular moves. When the Boss reaches approximately 50% HP, it will put up a special shield that blocks attacks until it is penetrated by the four attacking Pokémon.
Y-COMM: The Y-Comm seems to be the successor to Pokémon X and Y's PSS and Pokémon Sun and Moon's Festival Plaza. The Y-Comm allows you to coordinate Max Raid Battles, trades, and Pokémon matches, plus it allows for other Trainers to appear in the Wild Area and give you items.
POKEDEX PROBLEM
Finally, we have the outrage-sparking news that Junichi Masuda spoke. Pokémon HOME will act as the Nintendo Switch's version of Pokémon Bank, bringing together the 3DS' hub system, the Switch main-series titles, and Pokémon GO. But that is where the problem begins to surface...
While HOME will be able to store all 809+ different Pokémon, only Pokémon naturally found in the Galar region will be able to sent into Pokémon Sword & Shield. This means that the National Pokédex will not be in these games. While Sword and Shield have shown they have many different Pokémon in the three brief looks we have gotten so far, there is definitely a real risk that your favorite Pokémon won't be in the game.
This is the very thing that has outraged the community. Trainers have repeatedly pointed out on social media that the franchise's slogan is "gotta catch 'em all," and this limitation seems to run opposite to this central pillar of Pokémon. For a set of games that has generated so much hype and not had a lot of controversy or negativity muddying the waters thus far, this announcement has really taken the hype train an sent it screeching to a halt.
With all that said, we think we know why GAME FREAK has made this unfortunate decision. It seems rather likely that they are trying to influence the competitive scene (both competitive VCG and the online Battle Spot) so it is not defined by meta-breaking Pokémon like Therian Landorus, the Ultra Beasts, etc. But looking at it from a player's perspective, this was completely the wrong way to go about it. They could have easily banned Pokémon not found in Galar from those battle scenes, but still allowed Pokémon not native to Galar to be imported and be used on playthroughs.
There is also a secondary reason: time. The Pokédex is continually growing, and currently exceeds 800 Pokémon (not counting various forms and the new Pokémon added in Sword and Shield). Not having the full Pokémon roster in Sword and Shield will save the developers time since they won't have to update graphics, code in some Evolution Items, or form-changing locations.
But, we want to remain optimistic. Executives at GAME FREAK and The Pokémon Company have to see this incredible anger caused by this announcement, and hopefully they will reevaluate their plans in light of it. Maybe they will unlock non-Galarian Pokémon from HOME in the future or release them in special distributions later on. At the very least, we hope that the future main-series titles in Generation 8 will fully unlock the National Pokédex in Sword and Shield.
While HOME will be able to store all 809+ different Pokémon, only Pokémon naturally found in the Galar region will be able to sent into Pokémon Sword & Shield. This means that the National Pokédex will not be in these games. While Sword and Shield have shown they have many different Pokémon in the three brief looks we have gotten so far, there is definitely a real risk that your favorite Pokémon won't be in the game.
This is the very thing that has outraged the community. Trainers have repeatedly pointed out on social media that the franchise's slogan is "gotta catch 'em all," and this limitation seems to run opposite to this central pillar of Pokémon. For a set of games that has generated so much hype and not had a lot of controversy or negativity muddying the waters thus far, this announcement has really taken the hype train an sent it screeching to a halt.
With all that said, we think we know why GAME FREAK has made this unfortunate decision. It seems rather likely that they are trying to influence the competitive scene (both competitive VCG and the online Battle Spot) so it is not defined by meta-breaking Pokémon like Therian Landorus, the Ultra Beasts, etc. But looking at it from a player's perspective, this was completely the wrong way to go about it. They could have easily banned Pokémon not found in Galar from those battle scenes, but still allowed Pokémon not native to Galar to be imported and be used on playthroughs.
There is also a secondary reason: time. The Pokédex is continually growing, and currently exceeds 800 Pokémon (not counting various forms and the new Pokémon added in Sword and Shield). Not having the full Pokémon roster in Sword and Shield will save the developers time since they won't have to update graphics, code in some Evolution Items, or form-changing locations.
But, we want to remain optimistic. Executives at GAME FREAK and The Pokémon Company have to see this incredible anger caused by this announcement, and hopefully they will reevaluate their plans in light of it. Maybe they will unlock non-Galarian Pokémon from HOME in the future or release them in special distributions later on. At the very least, we hope that the future main-series titles in Generation 8 will fully unlock the National Pokédex in Sword and Shield.
Thanks for reading, Trainers!
SOURCE: Nintendo E3 Presentation, The Pokémon Company, Community Reports, Serebii | IMAGE CREDIT: The Pokémon Company