As expected, yesterday's opening ceremony of the 2019 Pokémon World Championships unveiled some new information about Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. Let's break all the new information down.
ABILITIES
This trailer was very much focused on the competitive side of Sword and Shield rather than the story or new Pokémon. One of the first thing it showed us was two new Abilities.
NEUTRALIZING GAS: Neutralizing Gas is the undisclosed secondary Ability of Galarian Weezing. This Ability suppresses all other Abilities on the battlefield. As an example, if a Therian Landorus is brought into battle against a Galarian Weezing, its Intimidate will not activate until after Galarian Weezing leaves the field.
MIRROR ARMOR: Mirror Armor is Corviknight's Hidden Ability. Any stat-lowering effect used on a Pokémon with Mirror Armor is reflected back.
NEUTRALIZING GAS: Neutralizing Gas is the undisclosed secondary Ability of Galarian Weezing. This Ability suppresses all other Abilities on the battlefield. As an example, if a Therian Landorus is brought into battle against a Galarian Weezing, its Intimidate will not activate until after Galarian Weezing leaves the field.
MIRROR ARMOR: Mirror Armor is Corviknight's Hidden Ability. Any stat-lowering effect used on a Pokémon with Mirror Armor is reflected back.
NEW MOVES
The trailer showed off one new move, with the news drop also confirming the name of another.
BREAKING SWIPE: Flygon was seen using a new attack in the trailer called Breaking Swipe. It lowers the Attack of all opponents you're facing.
STEEL BEAM: We have known of a powerful Steel-type attack for Duraludon for a while now. Thanks to a screenshot on the Pokémon website, we now know that its English name is "Steel Beam."
BREAKING SWIPE: Flygon was seen using a new attack in the trailer called Breaking Swipe. It lowers the Attack of all opponents you're facing.
STEEL BEAM: We have known of a powerful Steel-type attack for Duraludon for a while now. Thanks to a screenshot on the Pokémon website, we now know that its English name is "Steel Beam."
HELD ITEMS
The trailer also unveiled two new Held Items.
ROOM SERVICE: The Room Service item will lower the holder's Speed when Trick Room is active.
EJECT PACK: The Eject Pack will switch a Pokémon out if it is hit by a stat-reducing move.
ROOM SERVICE: The Room Service item will lower the holder's Speed when Trick Room is active.
EJECT PACK: The Eject Pack will switch a Pokémon out if it is hit by a stat-reducing move.
BATTLE STADIUM
The successor to the Battle Spot is the Battle Stadium. This is where online battles will occur. A Nintendo Online Membership is required to use it.
RANKED BATTLE: Ranked Battles put a twist on pervious titles' Rating Battles. You'll gain points and move up in Poké Ball-themed tiers rather than have numerical ratings. Ranks can be checked in the upcoming Pokémon HOME app.
CASUAL BATTLE: The games will also have Casual Battles that won't affect your ranking. They'll also allow for use of Mythical and Legendary Pokémon that Ranked Battles do not.
ONLINE COMPETITIONS: There are also Online Competitions, both official and player-made.
RENTAL TEAMS: Rental Teams allow for you to share your teams and battle with other player's teams.
RANKED BATTLE: Ranked Battles put a twist on pervious titles' Rating Battles. You'll gain points and move up in Poké Ball-themed tiers rather than have numerical ratings. Ranks can be checked in the upcoming Pokémon HOME app.
CASUAL BATTLE: The games will also have Casual Battles that won't affect your ranking. They'll also allow for use of Mythical and Legendary Pokémon that Ranked Battles do not.
ONLINE COMPETITIONS: There are also Online Competitions, both official and player-made.
RENTAL TEAMS: Rental Teams allow for you to share your teams and battle with other player's teams.
POKEDEX
Finally, this news drop featured no never-before-seen Pokémon, but it did show us some new Pokémon to the Galar Pokédex. These Pokémon are the latest to have made the cut:
We have also been working to compile a complete list of the Sword & Shield roster. Click here to check out which Pokémon are known to be in the Galar Pokédex so far.
- Qwilfish
- Shellos
- Gastrodon
- Rotom
- Timburr
- Gurdurr
- Conkeldurr
- Cottonee
- Whimsicott
We have also been working to compile a complete list of the Sword & Shield roster. Click here to check out which Pokémon are known to be in the Galar Pokédex so far.
Thanks for reading, Trainers!
SOURCE: The Pokémon Company