New Trailer for POKEMON SWORD and SHIELD and News About the Battle Stadium
Another week and another video for Pokémon Sword and Shield. In my opinion, this latest video provides some updates that many casual fans won’t care too much about, but it seems to be great for those in the competitive scene. It is explained that Galarian Weezing’s ability Neutralizing Gas removes any ongoing effects of other Abilities such as Levitate. However, once the Neutralizing Gas Pokémon is removed, all other abilities turn back on. Another new ability we learned about is Mirror Armor, which is Corviknight’s Hidden Ability. Any stat-lowering effects are instead reflected back onto your opponent’s monster.
The video also introduces two new items, Room Service and Eject Pack. The former lowers your speed when Trick Room is used. This will help manipulate the turn order to go even earlier. The Eject Pack is a bit more general as it will immediately switch out the Pokémon holding it when any of its stats are lowered.
We then get to see some more information about Max Moves from Dynamaxed Pokémon. Apparently, all Max Moves will have a secondary effect such as raising the Attack of all allied Pokémon. Also, as stated on their website, moves like Protect will not save you from Max Moves. You can still be protected from Max Moves by Max Guard, the move that all status moves become when a Pokémon Dynamaxes.
A couple of things not covered in the video, but on the official website, are the Battle Stadium and how to get Pokémon with Hidden Abilities. It looks like the best way to get a Pokémon with a Hidden Ability is via Max Raid Battles. This will also give you the potential to get a Pokémon with both a Hidden Ability and the ability to Gigantamax, which is pretty awesome to think about.
Onto the Battle Stadium. This is how you connect to other trainers around the world via the internet. There are Ranked Battles, Casual Battles, and Competitions (further broken down into Official and Friendly). Ranked Battles are just what you’d expect. It’s the competitive scene where you’ll get to prove who has the best team of Pokémon. Casual Battles are less formal and as such allow the use of some Legendary and Mythical Pokémon. Both of these modes offer battles in Single and Double Battle formats. The Official Competitions will let you compete in, well, official tournaments with the chance to eventually participate in World Championships. Friendly Competitions are what you’ll do when you and your friends make your own contests. The final note on the Battle Stadium is that there will be a system available to rent teams of Pokémon. This reminds me of good old Pokémon Stadium, but it looks like you rent a whole team instead of individual Pokémon. These Rental Teams will be allowed in Ranked Battles, but it’s unclear if they’ll be allowed in Competitions.
What’s your favorite new piece of news? Pokemon Sword and Shield will be available on Nintendo Switch on November 15.