Various media outlets had the opportunity to play the beginning of Sword and Shield and detailed portions of the game including trainers, Pokémon and many other tiny tidbits.
Here’s what we learned from the various Pokémon Sword and Shield previews:
TOWNS AND TRAINERS
The beginning of the game is very similar to other Pokémon games, with a character explaining what the world of Pokémon is. However, instead of the region’s professor, we see Chairman Rose in a stadium.
After the introduction, players see the champion Leon taking on a trainer that the source outlet could not discuss. The scene ends with Leon’s Charizard just about to Dynamax/Gigantamax.
The first town is called Wedgehurst, and this is where Hop and your trainer meet Leon. Leon is the one who gives you your starter choice. It’s also revealed that Hop will pick the Starter Pokémon that’s weak to yours. In this case the writer selected Sobble, so Hop chose Scorbunny.
GameInformer points out that Leon took back the unselected Starter, (in this case, Grookey) and the demo team declined to comment when asked if we’d see that Grookey again.
After you battle Hop, a Wooloo breaks through the fence by your house and you can explore the Slumbering Weald.
The first major city in Galar you visit is called Motostoke
NEW POKEMON
While the previews don’t talk specifically about new Pokémon, there are unrevealed Pokémon found in Slumbering Weald that outlets could not go into detail on.
It’s also revealed that there are seven Pokémon on the Route heading to North to where Professor Magnolia is. Again only Yamper was allowed to be mentioned, which could mean new Pokémon or Galarian forms.
GAME MECHANICS
GameInformer revealed that the Pro Controller can be used with Sword and Shield, which was not the case with Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee. The writer also praised the fluidity of the game when docked writing, “I played docked in TV mode. In TV mode, Pokémon Sword ran smooth, without any noticeable hiccups or framerate drops.”
The Pokémon Center is where trainers can heal Pokémon, buy items, rate and re-nickname Pokémon as well as delete moves.
Experience is gained through capture and is distributed through your whole team.
TMs are multi-use in Sword and Shield, with the TM for Swift found early.
According to Eurogamer, some Pokémon in the Wild Area will be much higher level than yours. The outlet also revealed that tn the Wild Area, some Pokémon have a yellow aura around them. This denotes that they have Max Individual Values (IVs) in certain stats or have an Egg move.
Pokémon Sword and Shield releases November 15 for Nintendo Switch.
What do you think of the new information discovered? Let us know in the comments section.
