Here's What We Learned at the Pokémon Direct Today – Video Included
This morning there was a brand-new Pokémon Direct from Nintendo and Game Freak, and we learned quite a bit about the upcoming Pokémon Shield and Pokémon Sword. One of the big things I was hoping for was to see the final evolutions of the starting Pokémon, but alas, that will have to happen another time. What did we learn though?
Pokémon battles are a big part of the entertainment industry in the Galar region, and that is why they have giant stadiums for gym matches. Also, those matches are reportedly televised. It was even confirmed that “Gym Masters” was a mistranslation as this presentation called them Gym Leaders.
In addition, we were introduced to a few new Pokémon from these games. Wooloo is a very fluffy sheep and is kinda adorable, Gossifleur is a flower and evolves into Eldegoss, Drednaw looks like a crazy turtle that is said to be able to bite rocks and iron, and Corviknight looks awesome and is a taxi that will fly players back to any town. At the very end of the Direct, we were treated to a look at the two legendary Pokémon: Zacian and Zamazenta. These legendary Pokémon look very similar and are wolves, one with a sword in its mouth and the other covered in armor.
Another piece of news was the Pokémon Champion for the region is named Leon, and while we don’t know his full team, it does look like he has a Charizard. He’s going to be a very popular character with NPCs, and he has a cape. His brother Hop will be one of your rivals, though it once again looks like the rivals will be more friendly than some of the rivals from the first couple of generations.
The Galar region professor is Professor Magnolia, who looked a bit like Maggie Smith to me. Magnolia’s granddaughter Sonia is her assistant, and both are said to be helpful throughout the game.
There are two more big pieces of news: Dynamaxing and Raids. Dynamaxing makes your Pokémon giant and gives them a boost to their stats. Your Pokémon will get to Dynamax once per match but will stay giant for 3 turns. Meanwhile, Max Raids are a new way to play with your friends. When you’re in the Wild Area (places between towns where you can find wild Pokémon) you can potentially connect with up to three of your friends via local wireless or online to take on a Max Raid. The wild Pokémon in these Max Raids will be Dynamaxed but won’t be limited to 3 turns. Once the Raid Pokémon is defeated, you’ll have the chance to catch it like in Pokémon Go with some Pokémon presumably only available via Max Raids.
Pokémon Shield and Sword will be available on November 15 and it was even announced that you can pre-order a double pack that comes with both games. You can pre-order the games at Amazon (Shield/Sword), Best Buy (Shield/Sword), and GameStop (Shield/Sword).