Pokemon Sword

Pokemon Sword and Pokémon Shield are 2019 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch console. They are the first instalments in the eighth generation of the Pokémon video game series. Like previous instalments, the games follow a young Pokémon Trainer as they train and battle Pokémon, aiming to defeat the Pokémon Champion, the region’s strongest Trainer, and gain the title for themselves. The games introduced many new features including the Dynamax and Gigantamax mechanic, which causes a player’s Pokémon to grow to a significantly larger size and use more powerful attacks in battle.

Conceptualization of the game began immediately following the completion of Pokémon Sun and Moon in 2016, while full development began a year later. The games were designed around the intent of utilizing the improved hardware capabilities of the Nintendo Switch. The Dynamax mechanic was similarly designed around the ability to see larger battles than previously possible in the series. Pokémon Sword and Shield are RPGs with adventure elements. They are presented in a fixed camera, third-person perspective, though some areas allow for free camera movement. 

The player controls a young Pokémon trainer who goes on a quest to catch and train creatures known as Pokémon and win battles against other Pokémon trainers. By defeating opposing Pokémon in turn-based battles, the player’s Pokémon gains experience, allowing them to level up and increase their battle statistics, learn new moves, and evolve into more powerful Pokémon. The player can capture wild Pokémon through wild encounters by weakening them in battle and catching them with Poké Balls, adding them to their party. The player can also battle and trade Pokémon with other players via the Nintendo Switch’s connectivity features.

As is with other Pokémon games, certain Pokémon are only obtainable in either Sword or Shield, and the player will have to trade with others to obtain every Pokémon from both versions. The games introduce temporary transformations known as Dynamax and Gigantamax. Dynamax allows Pokémon to transform into gigantic-sizes during a Pokémon battle and use special “Max Moves”, more powerful attacks that have unique in-battle effects. Gigantamax, which is limited to selected Pokémon, additionally alters Pokémon’s physical appearance and replaces one of their Max Move battle techniques with a G-Max Move exclusive to the selected Pokémon. 

Players can battle in teams of four, either with other players or with non-playable characters, in cooperative raids against wild Dynamaxed or Gigantamaxed Pokémon, who have significantly larger health bars and can summon protective barriers to limit damage dealt to them. If players succeed in defeating the Raid Boss, they are granted the opportunity to catch the Pokémon and receive rewards; if four Pokémon on the player’s side are knocked out during the battle or enough turns pass in the battle, the player will lose the Raid. Players can use Dynamax during these Raid Battles, though which player can Dynamax on a given turn is rotated once per turn.

Sword and Shield are set in Galar, a fictional region inspired by the United Kingdom, with several of its landmarks resembling places such as Bath, Somerset and York. Within the Galar region lie countryside towns featuring cottages and Victorian architecture to the south. There are also Industrial Revolution and steampunk references. Many of the region’s towns and cities feature Pokémon Gyms stylised like football stadiums, showcasing the games’ Dynamax and Gigantamax mechanic. Snow-covered mountains dominate much of the northern areas of the region.