Topic: Pokemon Sword And Shield Direct Recap

[Shaymin]

Still no word on if the Honedge family will be in the game. Come on, y'all.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/50672/pokemon-sword-and-shield-direct-recap

We have new details - including a release date - for Pokémon Sword and Shield.

The first Switch-exclusive Pokémon generation will kick off worldwide on November 15, and a dual pack of the games will be available for preorder. Among the new features for the game:

Dynamax

Pokémon in Sword and Shield can become giant through a process known as Dynamax. In Dynamax, moves become powerful Max Moves, and the Pokémon also gain stat boosts. The Dynamax last for three turns in battle, and Gym battles will make use of the function.

Wild Areas and Raid Battles

Routes in the Galar region are open world locations called "Wild Areas". Pokémon will roam in the wild areas, and full camera control will be available. Weather will vary in the areas.

Players will be able to engage in Raid Battles against Dynamax Pokémon in the wild areas. Up to four players can participate locally and online, but only one Pokémon can go Dynamax in these battles. After defeating the giant, they will have the option to catch the Pokémon.

New Pokémon

The box mascots for the game are a pair of wolves named Zacian (Sword) and Zamazenta (Shield), while other new Pokémon include the sheep Wooloo, the flower family Gossifleur and Eldegoss, snapping turtle Drednaw, and the Steel/Flying taxi Corviknight.

[Stratos]

Okay, much more enthused for this game. Removal of random battles is a huge deal, and was a big plus for the Lets Go games. Also, looks like a lot of good Pokemon designs. Typically I gravitate to older, more familiar monsters, but there are already plenty of new ones that look promising.

[nickmitch]

The designs this gen have all been stellar.  And the Max Raids sound pretty fun, but even they said co-ordination would be key, yet Nintendo seems to hate playing with friends online as much as they hate voice chat.

But Corviknight is definitely the 3rd stage, right?

[TheXenocide]

Did they just pull another Mario Maker 2? I’ve watched it twice now and they distinctly say “play locally with friends and play online with other players”.

[Stratos]

Only the past Pokemon games have offered voicechat and other ways to interact with friends, so I have a feeling it won't get cut for this release.

[pokepal148]

Voice chat was cut during Gen 7 though.

[nickmitch]

That just makes it primed for a comeback.

[Shorty McNostril]

The fact that random encounters are gone makes me a hell of a lot more interested.  After playing Let's Go's great system, trudging around waiting for a random popup would have got old in a screaming hurry.  Hopefully they also bring over a version of their wild catching system so I can get XP without having to worry about a baby pokemon being smushed into paste while trying to level it.

[Stratos]

From the looks of it they found a perfect merger of the two systems. Some areas of tall grass have an icon above them you can go to and trigger a battle. Allows those wanting the random battles to keep them while allowing us who hate random battle to pass them by.