Sword & Shield **Official news only** DLC Crown Tundra 22nd October

[Garagara]

Hopefully this isn't too baseless, but I have a theory. I think the new games will have an offense defense mechanic. When the match starts, one player will be skewed more towards defense, with some buffs going to def and spd, maybe even a little hp regen, and the other player getting atk and spa boosted and maybe speed. I'm not as well versed in competitive as most users here are I'm sure, but I feel like it would be pretty cool, making hyper offense and defense a little harder to use as you'd have windows for your weaknesses to be exploited.

The reasoning behind this is the logo for the new movie, mewtwo returns evolution (logos similar to it have been the mega evolution symbol and a z crystal for the past few gens) is the same as the logo on the players uniform when he enters the stadium and the logo on the gyms themselves. It also fits with the titles of course, and the coloring matches too.

 

[bdt2002]

Now THIS is a unique idea worth considering. Maybe Sword and Shield could focus on Attack and Defense whereas the possible third game could have a focus on Speed. Only problem is, what would it be called?

Lol, still think it should have been Blade and Shield as a reference to Aegislash-

 

[Yveltal]

I like the idea of Galar and Kalos being connected, but it seems like the only connecting route would be from the trail near the starting town in Galar to the Frost Cavern outside of Dendemille town. And since those areas have two very different climates, the connection seems highly unlikely.

The last time regions were connected, it was because their real-world counterparts were neighbors by land. The UK and France are separated by the English Channel, so that adds less credence to the theory.

 

[yourDeadGrandad]

Well I for one can't wait to try armoured Dunsparce and armoured Vanillish

 

[Pikachu315111]

Page 13

Hey all!

While I am excited at the level of discussion here, please let's try and keep to discussing known information from the Direct and Trailer. It is OK to speculate loosely from the information we have, but lets not go crazy here. Let's also not go into depth on any rumours which have been posted here, or elsewhere since the Direct happened.

This is also not a meme reaction post thread either, keep that to any one of the number of Discords you probably frequent.

Oops, sorry. Was stuck on the past few pages. So, got today to post all my thoughts. Got it.

Plus we already know they have copied other franchises: Mega Evolution is similar to Digimon (the devices used to evolve the creatures, fusing humans with creatures (like Nihilego possessing Gladion’s mom etc.)

(Hope you didn't hurt yourself stretching there)

Mega Pokemon, while perfectly plausible they could have gotten the idea to do that from Digimon, is still no different from any other show or video game which has characters able to power-up into a super from that only lasts for a period of time. It's a common trope. BTW, if you're saying they copies it because of the name, about that: in Japan Digimon don't use the word "Mega". While in English the Digimon stages is DigiEgg, Baby/Fresh, In-Training, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, & Mega, in Japan the stages are DigiTama, Baby I, Baby II, Child, Adult, Perfect, & Ultimate. Mega Pokemon are called Mega in Japan. Not to mention the design philosophy of Mega Pokemon and higher level Digimon (Mega Pokemon look like a natural evolution, starting from Perfect/Ultimate the Digimon designs start to go wild where the Digimon may barely look like its Adult/Champion form (and then there's Ultimate/Mega where the Digimon is either covered in metal/robotics, looks like a god/demon/legendary beast)).

Using a device to activate the transformation is also common as well as how else would they have done it? Not to mention it's done differently, like the Pokemon also have to be holding the stone that corresponds with it in addition to the trainer using their Mega Stone. Digimon with partners just need the partner to activate their Digivice (and "wild" Digimon can Digivolve on their own just fine).

And the fusion thing is completely different in context and design. Hybrid fusing in Digimon (either fusing with their Digimon partner like in Tamers or fusing with a spirit to become a Digimon like in Frontier) is a consensual choice to access a new level of power and the human to fight alongside Digimon. Nihilego is a parasite that forcefully fuses with its hosts, seemingly permanently or at least not without the victim being badly poisoned, and uses them to protect itself. Infact, while not shown in the game, Nihilego's concept art revealed that Lusamine had a bunch of Z-Crystals on her that Nihilego also absorbed, so the Mother Beast is actually a mutation and not what a normal Nihilego possession looks like:

Page 14

Is anyone else confused that there’s not a castle? (not including that pillar by the lake)

Huh, well there's castle-like places but you're right it's interesting in the place where there should castles there's no castle. Guess it could be part of the Industrial Revolution theme, the old making the way for the new. Where castles once stood we now have sprawling cities. *shrugs*

Kind looks similar to the battle chateau.

Which was on the same route where the Day Care was. ;)

I see no room for the Frontier tho.

I also don't see where Victory Road could be. Infact I question where the Pokemon League is. Are we sure it's that large blue tower on the top? That would mean the Pokemon League is in a city where one of the Gyms are. I was thinking maybe there would be a twist and the black palace place would be the Pokemon League, giving us a sneak peak of it as we head up to London City for the final Gym (and maybe that large blue tower or Big Ben would be the Battle Tower expy), but then I watched the GameXplain video and saw how much dragon motif the location had that, yeah, it's probably the location of the Dragon Gym (and if we're following Gym order it's either the 7th before heading up to the 8th or it's the final Gym we have to go back to challenge after visiting London City).

However we do know for a fact this map is not 100% accurate:

vs

Just in the first city alone there are some houses and a center missing

How interesting, I would say they only included the notable buildings on the map... but wouldn't that include the Pokemon Center? Curious if this was an intentional decision or if the map was made from an earlier blueprint of the region which had less buildings. Eitherway this does certainly mean that we can't take the map 100% what it's showing.

Page 15

Quick reminder:

DO NOT POST MEMES.

I think this is the sixth or seventh time we've deleted the "Fighting/Fighting" starters picture. Please provide your own thoughts instead of reposting jokes made by somebody else.

It's not even a funny joke anymore. It was old by Gen VII because it was played out with Fennekin (who broke the streak). Incineroar got people going again but that also was a false alarm. Right now Scorbunny has nothing hinting being Fire/Fighting, and I still say it's going to remain a pure Fire-type.

You would think that, but Nintendo being Nintendo won't allow you access to another account on a different 3Ds unless you do a system transfer. Or call Nintendo and give them information to try and get that data on to a different 3Ds. Cloud saves I log in to my online account and bam, theres my stuff.

Wait, can you transfer your 3DS account/data to the Switch? Because if you can't does that mean you have to buy another Pokemon Bank account for the Switch?

That would make all your choices binary, and that's a lot easier to program for. Instead of creating eight different teams for each Gym, which would be required in a completely open map, one would only need two options. And considering that your rival has features three sets of teams depending on your starter choice all the way since Gen I, I don't think two teams for each Gym (or even, each overworld trainer) would be much of a technical hurdle.

But would it really be that much of an undertaking to create 8 different sets of teams for each Gym Leader? Infact many are probably going to be the same except for level differences and maybe a higher level team having stronger moves. However I don't think it would take a single person more than a few hours to create 8 different sets for each Gym Leader. The biggest difficulty with an open world Pokemon game isn't creating the teams, but rather it's how they're going to tell the story, progress the levels of Trainers and Wild Pokemon, and keep the player's Pokemon from becoming too overleveled.

And I'm finally caught up! Now for some stuff I've been meaning to post:

Possible Galar & Kalos Connection: After I made my comment about Galar and Kalos relation, I took a look at a map and think I see a possible connecting point. I was going to connect them on my own... BUT then I found an article on a Nintendo fansite called Nintendo Soup had done that for me:

IT ALL FITS TOGETHER!

Close up:

According to this map, the ONLY connection is through Frost Cavern. Sadly the Coumarine Port is on the wrong side for an easy ride up to the port we see on the Galar map. Another possibility is that those train tracks passing overhead the Lake District leads down to a newly built train station in Kalos, maybe Laverre City (which is based on the French city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, which has an interesting history concerning its closeness to the United Kingdom), you getting onboard in the red industrial city.

"Um, isn't the United Kingdom an island and not connected to France?"

Yeah, that's one of the wrenches messing with this theory. Now GF doesn't have to follow real world maps, but that's just a lazy excuse.

Speaking Of Being Lazy:
Sadly, after watching some videos, I don't think I can really add any comments to the trailer or map that hasn't been pointed out. GameXplain covered the map and the trailer in almost excruciating detail. There's also an interesting video from a mostly Pokemon Youtuber Lockstin & Gnoggin which poses some of his ideas about the game, mainly how he thinks the Gyms could be like (due to it having the symbol advertised in the Japanese logo) and the possible theme being Nature/Faith vs. Technology/Science. However, that's all I really got to say for the Trailer and Map, sorry. :(

One Last Thing... Cut Short:
And to wrap up what I wanted to post, I have my "What Isn't A Pokemon Yet" Repository and, though during Gen VII since I didn't really have that many Hawaii myths, things are much different for a region based on the UK! But while I originally wanted to go more indepth on these, the mods told us to keep speculation to a minimum so for right now I'm just going to post 5 sub-category lists from the Myth/Fairytale/Folklore category: England, French, Medieval, European, & Celtic:

What Myths Could We Expect To See

English: Cockatrice/Basilisk, Gremlin, Wyvern, Flibbertigibbet, Black Knight, Fairy Knight, Knight-errant, Boggart, Jenny Greenteeth/Peg Powler/Grindylow, Stone Tape, Spring-heeled Jack, Wight, Shug Monkey, Habetrot, Salisbury Hare, Screaming Skull, Tiddy Mun, Hob(goblin), Jack-in-Irons, Yallery Brown, Canvey Island Monster, The Queen's Beasts, King Arthur & Knights of the Round Table, Robin Hood, Twrch Trwyth, Cavall, Billy Blind, Cauld Lad of Hylton, Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain, Excalibur & Scabbard/Caliburn/Sword in the Stone, Merlin, Colt Pixie, Elfshot/Elf-arrow, Cottingley Faeries, Toadman, Beast of Tenby
French: Tarasque, Peluda, Barbegazi (& Swiss), Gargouille, Guivre, Beast of Gevaudan, Ankou, Cheval Mallet/Gauvin, Dames Blanches, Bugul Noz
Medieval: Myrmecoleon, Panther (legendary creature), Muscaliet, Leontophone, Ypotryll, Echeneis, Calygreyhound, Ichneumon, Jasconius, Questing Beast, Piroboli Rocks/Fire Stones, Peridexion Tree, Abarimon/Nuli, Alphyn, Barnacle Geese, Satyrus, Echeneis, Enfield, Forest Bull, Hircocervus, Hydrus/Hydros, Hypnalis, Jaculus, Monoceros, Musimon, Orphan Bird, Pard, Reichsadler, Scitalis, Sea-bee, Seps, Struthopodes, Undine, Loathly Lady, The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh, Theow, Philosopher's Stone, Toadstone/Batrachit, Hydrus (legendary creature)
European: Bicorn & Chichevache, Allocamelus, Amphiptere, Jaculus, Sandman, Bluecap/Knockers/Coblynau, Melusine, Skrat, Black Annis/Agnes, Killmoulis, Seven-league Boots, Vampire Watermelons/Pumpkins, Tatzelwurm, Valþjófsstaður Door/Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, Witte Wieven, Three Hares
Celtic: Leprechaun, Dullahan, Kilkenny Cat, Salmon of Knowledge, Galtzagorriak, Beithir, Fachen, Fuath, Dunnie, Gigelorum, Yan-gant-y-tan, Spriggan, Alp-luachra, Fear Gorta/Hungry Grass, Cabbit, Welsh Dragon/White Dragon, Cirein-croin, Water Leaper, Cat Sith, Lavellan, Redcap, Shellycoat, Afanc, Bugul Noz, Cu Sith, Dobhar-chu, Fachen, Fuath, Pictish Beast, Bugbear, Blodeuwedd, Muc-sheilche, Fern Flower, Failinis, Enbarr, Aibell, Hooded Spirits, Four Treasures of the Tuatha De Danann, Adar Rhiannon, Afanc/Addanc, Water Leaper/Llamhigyn Y Dwr, Enbarr, Failinis, Leanan Sidhe, Ellen Trechend, Joint-eater, Arkan Sonney

Also I said I looked through the Extinct/Fossil list for any extinct animal from the UK: Raptors, Compsognathus (a small raptor), Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Iguanodon, Ichthyosaur, Pliosaurus/Mosasaur, Plesiosaur, Edestus, Megalodon, Miacis, Turnspit Dog, Entelodont(?), Woolly Rhinoceros, Mammoth, & Coelurosauravus.

 

[Worldie]

Is there any particular reason for which anyone to this day still expects or even hopes for a "multiregion" game?

It literally only happened once (for gen 2), as much as Galar *could* have connection to Kalos, imagining a potential "postgame visiting Kalos" is even beyond wishlisting.

 

[AquaticPanic]

Is there any particular reason for which anyone to this day still expects or even hopes for a "multiregion" game?

It literally only happened once (for gen 2), as much as Galar *could* have connection to Kalos, imagining a potential "postgame visiting Kalos" is even beyond wishlisting.

I personaly think that with switch giving them much more space it is... Well, more likely than before, but that doesn't mean much

One thing I'm wondering about id buffs and nerfs. Gen 7 gave a big list of those, and very unexpected changes such as Leech Life's buff or them nerfing, uh... tackle? why. Point is, Alola brought a bunch of direct changes to stats, abilities and moves. I wonder what they will do for Gen 8 (Hope they buff Shadow Punch to be honest)

 

[Sulfurian]

Personally I hope they buff or change submission. Its such a weird move when you have things like close combat/high jump kick/jump kick already.

 

[Dargad]

I'm excited at the prospect of being able to have multiple save files.

I always want to try each starter and different team composition, but I don't always want to trash all the progress I made to do that. Having multiple go at the game without deleting your first save file will greatly increase the game's replayability.

Let's Go allowed one save per Switch user. I'm hoping it's the case for SwSh as well.

 

[bdt2002]

Balance Changes that I think need to happen

Pokémon Nerfs: Zygarde-Complete and Mega Gengar are the two major ones I can think of. I wouldn't be opposed to a Primal Groudon nerf either. As for non-Ubers, Landorus-Therian, Magearna, Ash-Greninja, and the Tapus all come to mind.
Move Nerfs: Volt Switch, U-Turn, entry hazards, spread moves for VGC
Move Buffs: Can't think of any off the top of my head
Ability Nerfs: Intimidate, Power Construct, Shadow Tag, Desolate Land

 

[AquaticPanic]

Also I've seen some people theorize on a possible change/special treatment to Aegislash, but imo there's a group of mons more fitting for them to at least have in these games

They're the Swords of Justice after all, fit right in with the somewhat medieval heroic theme the games have. And if the Kalost theory turns out to be true, these 4 are based on The Three Musketeers, which is french. I don't expect them to gain anything new, but I do think it's possible for them to be in the region (But if they do bring back new megas, this is a perfect opportunity)

I know Solrock and Lunatone weren't in SM, but imo there's quite a big difference between them


Oshawott-Starter is the legendary for Pokemon Sword

 

[Champion Leon]

I don’t need to stretch, with facts.

Page 13

Oops, sorry. Was stuck on the past few pages. So, got today to post all my thoughts. Got it.

(Hope you didn't hurt yourself stretching there)

Mega Pokemon, while perfectly plausible they could have gotten the idea to do that from Digimon, is still no different from any other show or video game which has characters able to power-up into a super from that only lasts for a period of time. It's a common trope. BTW, if you're saying they copies it because of the name, about that: in Japan Digimon don't use the word "Mega". While in English the Digimon stages is DigiEgg, Baby/Fresh, In-Training, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, & Mega, in Japan the stages are DigiTama, Baby I, Baby II, Child, Adult, Perfect, & Ultimate. Mega Pokemon are called Mega in Japan. Not to mention the design philosophy of Mega Pokemon and higher level Digimon (Mega Pokemon look like a natural evolution, starting from Perfect/Ultimate the Digimon designs start to go wild where the Digimon may barely look like its Adult/Champion form (and then there's Ultimate/Mega where the Digimon is either covered in metal/robotics, looks like a god/demon/legendary beast)).

Using a device to activate the transformation is also common as well as how else would they have done it? Not to mention it's done differently, like the Pokemon also have to be holding the stone that corresponds with it in addition to the trainer using their Mega Stone. Digimon with partners just need the partner to activate their Digivice (and "wild" Digimon can Digivolve on their own just fine).

And the fusion thing is completely different in context and design. Hybrid fusing in Digimon (either fusing with their Digimon partner like in Tamers or fusing with a spirit to become a Digimon like in Frontier) is a consensual choice to access a new level of power and the human to fight alongside Digimon. Nihilego is a parasite that forcefully fuses with its hosts, seemingly permanently or at least not without the victim being badly poisoned, and uses them to protect itself. Infact, while not shown in the game, Nihilego's concept art revealed that Lusamine had a bunch of Z-Crystals on her that Nihilego also absorbed, so the Mother Beast is actually a mutation and not what a normal Nihilego possession looks like:

Page 14

Huh, well there's castle-like places but you're right it's interesting in the place where there should castles there's no castle. Guess it could be part of the Industrial Revolution theme, the old making the way for the new. Where castles once stood we now have sprawling cities. *shrugs*



Which was on the same route where the Day Care was. ;)



I also don't see where Victory Road could be. Infact I question where the Pokemon League is. Are we sure it's that large blue tower on the top? That would mean the Pokemon League is in a city where one of the Gyms are. I was thinking maybe there would be a twist and the black palace place would be the Pokemon League, giving us a sneak peak of it as we head up to London City for the final Gym (and maybe that large blue tower or Big Ben would be the Battle Tower expy), but then I watched the GameXplain video and saw how much dragon motif the location had that, yeah, it's probably the location of the Dragon Gym (and if we're following Gym order it's either the 7th before heading up to the 8th or it's the final Gym we have to go back to challenge after visiting London City).



How interesting, I would say they only included the notable buildings on the map... but wouldn't that include the Pokemon Center? Curious if this was an intentional decision or if the map was made from an earlier blueprint of the region which had less buildings. Eitherway this does certainly mean that we can't take the map 100% what it's showing.

Page 15

It's not even a funny joke anymore. It was old by Gen VII because it was played out with Fennekin (who broke the streak). Incineroar got people going again but that also was a false alarm. Right now Scorbunny has nothing hinting being Fire/Fighting, and I still say it's going to remain a pure Fire-type.



Wait, can you transfer your 3DS account/data to the Switch? Because if you can't does that mean you have to buy another Pokemon Bank account for the Switch?



But would it really be that much of an undertaking to create 8 different sets of teams for each Gym Leader? Infact many are probably going to be the same except for level differences and maybe a higher level team having stronger moves. However I don't think it would take a single person more than a few hours to create 8 different sets for each Gym Leader. The biggest difficulty with an open world Pokemon game isn't creating the teams, but rather it's how they're going to tell the story, progress the levels of Trainers and Wild Pokemon, and keep the player's Pokemon from becoming too overleveled.

And I'm finally caught up! Now for some stuff I've been meaning to post:

Possible Galar & Kalos Connection: After I made my comment about Galar and Kalos relation, I took a look at a map and think I see a possible connecting point. I was going to connect them on my own... BUT then I found an article on a Nintendo fansite called Nintendo Soup had done that for me:

IT ALL FITS TOGETHER!

Close up:

According to this map, the ONLY connection is through Frost Cavern. Sadly the Coumarine Port is on the wrong side for an easy ride up to the port we see on the Galar map. Another possibility is that those train tracks passing overhead the Lake District leads down to a newly built train station in Kalos, maybe Laverre City (which is based on the French city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, which has an interesting history concerning its closeness to the United Kingdom), you getting onboard in the red industrial city.

"Um, isn't the United Kingdom an island and not connected to France?"

Yeah, that's one of the wrenches messing with this theory. Now GF doesn't have to follow real world maps, but that's just a lazy excuse.

Speaking Of Being Lazy:
Sadly, after watching some videos, I don't think I can really add any comments to the trailer or map that hasn't been pointed out. GameXplain covered the map and the trailer in almost excruciating detail. There's also an interesting video from a mostly Pokemon Youtuber Lockstin & Gnoggin which poses some of his ideas about the game, mainly how he thinks the Gyms could be like (due to it having the symbol advertised in the Japanese logo) and the possible theme being Nature/Faith vs. Technology/Science. However, that's all I really got to say for the Trailer and Map, sorry. :(

One Last Thing... Cut Short:
And to wrap up what I wanted to post, I have my "What Isn't A Pokemon Yet" Repository and, though during Gen VII since I didn't really have that many Hawaii myths, things are much different for a region based on the UK! But while I originally wanted to go more indepth on these, the mods told us to keep speculation to a minimum so for right now I'm just going to post 5 sub-category lists from the Myth/Fairytale/Folklore category: England, French, Medieval, European, & Celtic:

What Myths Could We Expect To See

English: Cockatrice/Basilisk, Gremlin, Wyvern, Flibbertigibbet, Black Knight, Fairy Knight, Knight-errant, Boggart, Jenny Greenteeth/Peg Powler/Grindylow, Stone Tape, Spring-heeled Jack, Wight, Shug Monkey, Habetrot, Salisbury Hare, Screaming Skull, Tiddy Mun, Hob(goblin), Jack-in-Irons, Yallery Brown, Canvey Island Monster, The Queen's Beasts, King Arthur & Knights of the Round Table, Robin Hood, Twrch Trwyth, Cavall, Billy Blind, Cauld Lad of Hylton, Thirteen Treasures of the Island of Britain, Excalibur & Scabbard/Caliburn/Sword in the Stone, Merlin, Colt Pixie, Elfshot/Elf-arrow, Cottingley Faeries, Toadman, Beast of Tenby
French: Tarasque, Peluda, Barbegazi (& Swiss), Gargouille, Guivre, Beast of Gevaudan, Ankou, Cheval Mallet/Gauvin, Dames Blanches, Bugul Noz
Medieval: Myrmecoleon, Panther (legendary creature), Muscaliet, Leontophone, Ypotryll, Echeneis, Calygreyhound, Ichneumon, Jasconius, Questing Beast, Piroboli Rocks/Fire Stones, Peridexion Tree, Abarimon/Nuli, Alphyn, Barnacle Geese, Satyrus, Echeneis, Enfield, Forest Bull, Hircocervus, Hydrus/Hydros, Hypnalis, Jaculus, Monoceros, Musimon, Orphan Bird, Pard, Reichsadler, Scitalis, Sea-bee, Seps, Struthopodes, Undine, Loathly Lady, The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh, Theow, Philosopher's Stone, Toadstone/Batrachit, Hydrus (legendary creature)
European: Bicorn & Chichevache, Allocamelus, Amphiptere, Jaculus, Sandman, Bluecap/Knockers/Coblynau, Melusine, Skrat, Black Annis/Agnes, Killmoulis, Seven-league Boots, Vampire Watermelons/Pumpkins, Tatzelwurm, Valþjófsstaður Door/Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, Witte Wieven, Three Hares
Celtic: Leprechaun, Dullahan, Kilkenny Cat, Salmon of Knowledge, Galtzagorriak, Beithir, Fachen, Fuath, Dunnie, Gigelorum, Yan-gant-y-tan, Spriggan, Alp-luachra, Fear Gorta/Hungry Grass, Cabbit, Welsh Dragon/White Dragon, Cirein-croin, Water Leaper, Cat Sith, Lavellan, Redcap, Shellycoat, Afanc, Bugul Noz, Cu Sith, Dobhar-chu, Fachen, Fuath, Pictish Beast, Bugbear, Blodeuwedd, Muc-sheilche, Fern Flower, Failinis, Enbarr, Aibell, Hooded Spirits, Four Treasures of the Tuatha De Danann, Adar Rhiannon, Afanc/Addanc, Water Leaper/Llamhigyn Y Dwr, Enbarr, Failinis, Leanan Sidhe, Ellen Trechend, Joint-eater, Arkan Sonney

Also I said I looked through the Extinct/Fossil list for any extinct animal from the UK: Raptors, Compsognathus (a small raptor), Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Iguanodon, Ichthyosaur, Pliosaurus/Mosasaur, Plesiosaur, Edestus, Megalodon, Miacis, Turnspit Dog, Entelodont(?), Woolly Rhinoceros, Mammoth, & Coelurosauravus.

If you read the manga for the Pokémon series, you would better see how they copied fusion in other iterations.

https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Burst
I didn’t simply say the copied a general concept, I am specific with the franchise. Megas don’t have robotics in Pokémon?

Blastoise-Mega, and it’s not even a Steel-Type... Glaceon, Beedrill, etc.

Steelix-Mega has literal Metallic shards floating around it.

Now compare these to their basic forms: Squirtle, Snorunt, Weedle, and Onyx. Do they seem recognizable?

Even Scyther to Scizor-Mega is the definition of adding metal armor and weaponry, and they are completely different in design, from shape and color to typing.

God, Demon, Legendary beasts?

You mean like Medicham-Mega resembling the Hindu God Shiva, Houndoom-Mega representing a demon, and Rayquaza-Mega representing a legendary beast?

Wild Pokemon can also Mega without a trainer such as Mewtwo.

 

[Sulfurian]

Also I've seen some people theorize on a possible change/special treatment to Aegislash, but imo there's a group of mons more fitting for them to at least have in these games

View attachment 163414

They're the Swords of Justice after all, fit right in with the somewhat medieval heroic theme the games have. And if the Kalost theory turns out to be true, these 4 are based on The Three Musketeers, which is french. I don't expect them to gain anything new, but I do think it's possible for them to be in the region (But if they do bring back new megas, this is a perfect opportunity)

I know Solrock and Lunatone weren't in SM, but imo there's quite a big difference between them


Oshawott-Starter is the legendary for Pokemon Sword

I could see a new form for those four. Also if samurott could get leaf blade pls.

 

[Hugin]

Random speculation, I think we’re guaranteed to get some sort of new forms/megas/regional variants this gen. Further, I expect we’ll get 90 or fewer new mons, with the new forms being the focus. Why? We’re at 809 mons in the game, and I expect they’ll want to make it an even 1,000 at some point*, purely for marketing reasons.

Now, most generations have introduced 100-150 mons, with the exception of gens VI and VII, which did roughly 80 each, but had a lot of form variants. Now, 1,000-809=181, too many for one gen, but not enough for 2 full-sized gens. So they’ll give us one more smallish gen, bring the count up to 899 or less, pad things out with either new megas**, Galarian forms of Venomoth etc, or that new armor mechanic that’s been rumored. Then Gen IX gets to be advertised with “100+ NEW Pokémon, 1,000 total!”, which you know they have to want.

*And then 1,001 in the sequels for that gen.
**which is what I want, this introducing a mechanic just to drop it is annoying, and more megas might make the in-game aspect of using them actually plausible

 

[ItalianBaptist]

Also with a possible theme being the Industrial Revolution we also may get some Steel- and Poison-type variants (for example: how about a Poison/Flying Swablu that evolves into a Poison/Dragon Altaria with black smog wings instead of fluffly white clouds?).

This needs to happen ASAP :D

 

[Zowayix]

My biggest counter to Kalos being visible (or perhaps even mentioned) in-game is the fact that the UK is upside-down. That means to maintain consistency, France would have to go at the north end of the Galar map, and all of Kalos's maps would have to be inverted. I can't see that being pulled off in any reasonable amount of time. (Cynical me even thinks this is specifically why they put the UK upside-down.)

 

[Scorpio]

Maybe Galar and Kalos aren't actually physically connected, and are instead just a short boat ride away from each other. It makes a ton more sense that way.

Plus, we did originally have to take a boat to get from Johto to Kanto proper.

 

[Sulfurian]

Thing is, when making a game having two regions, I would say you'd have to do more than what johto gave us. Boss rush 8 gyms with hardly any challenge and then fight red again on top of the highest galar peak? Gotta do more than that. Flesh out kalos war story. Maybe add some team skull personalities to team flare to make them less dull and forgettable. Do those side quests like what ultra games had.

And just as a side note: please God give us backgrounds to wifi battles. The fact poketubers have to hack it just to give it actual backgrounds is so annoying. Why did the gamecube games and battle revolution have this years ago but we're still playing catch up.

 

[Champion Leon]

My biggest counter to Kalos being visible (or perhaps even mentioned) in-game is the fact that the UK is upside-down. That means to maintain consistency, France would have to go at the north end of the Galar map, and all of Kalos's maps would have to be inverted. I can't see that being pulled off in any reasonable amount of time. (Cynical me even thinks this is specifically why they put the UK upside-down.)

Maybe the train will connect it?

 

[Worldie]

Balance Changes that I think need to happen

Pokémon Nerfs: Zygarde-Complete and Mega Gengar are the two major ones I can think of. I wouldn't be opposed to a Primal Groudon nerf either. As for non-Ubers, Landorus-Therian, Magearna, Ash-Greninja, and the Tapus all come to mind.
Move Nerfs: Volt Switch, U-Turn, entry hazards, spread moves for VGC
Move Buffs: Can't think of any off the top of my head
Ability Nerfs: Intimidate, Power Construct, Shadow Tag, Desolate Land

The thing is, none of those is used or even legal for VGC in some cases. GF does not aknowledge Smogon, and almost none of the things you mentioned is gamebreaking in it.

The only thing you can hope for a direct/indirect nerfs are Intimidate and Fairy/Steel typing in general.
Rest, difficult to see any reason to affect them.

 

[Codraroll]

Nice to see so much enthusiasm in here! It's always fun to dissect the tidbits of official news and try to find out if they give away more information than it seems on the surface. Some pretty cool clues can usually be found if one looks for them.

That being said, sometimes it's hard to tell apart clues shown in the videos, and wishes you'll try to confirm. With the Pokémon fanbase being what it is, there's a great deal of wishlisting going on, and some people try to start with the conclusion and find the evidence later. Far too often, the conversation veers off towards discussing what people want, rather than the actual news given out.

Over this last page, the other mods and I feel like there's a little too much going on that isn't anchored in the actual news. Multiple regions, possible nerfs and buffs to moves and Pokémon, and that stupidly persistent armour mechanic thingamajig... We're not talking about the news anymore, we're circling around wishlisting again. And while it's fun to list your wishes, it's not particularly engaging to read about the wishes of others. From experience we know that such threads tend to devolve into everybody listing their wishes, and nobody listening or making conversation.

So we've decided to follow the time-honoured Orange Islands tradition of declaring the news exhausted for now. The thread will be locked until further news surface.


HOWEVER, that's not to say there is no place for Sword&Shield talk in the Orange Islands. While the forums have their rules against baseless speculation and general chitchat, OI has a Discord channel here, where we talk about all things Pokémon all day long. I hope to see some of you there!

 

[DHR-107]

As quick update as I am sure a lot of you are aware of by now:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1133000046381752321

A Pokemon Investor meeting is being broadcast tomorrow evening (Wednesday morning in Europe). Previous versions of these have announced Pokemon GO and Pokemon Quest.

More importantly:

Another Pokemon Direct is happening 5th June 2019. This will likely lead into Nintendo Treehouse at E3 covering even more details for SwSh! Get the date booked!

 

[DHR-107]

Another quick update from the conference last night:

Pokemon Home is the latest version of Pokemon Bank and will be available early 2020. It appears to connect direct to the 3DS version of Pokemon Bank, but we are unsure of the absolute mechanism of the transfers yet. As with PokeTransporter, it looks like this is a one way trip from Gen 6/7 games into Pokemon Home. The only "two way transfer" is from Sword and Shield themselves.

 

[DHR-107]

It is happening. Now is the time. In 13 minutes or so a new Nintendo Direct will be aired showing new information for Sword and Shield. I'll be updating this post and the OP throughout the afternoon with new stills etc from the Direct. The thread is also open for new posts!

 

[Merritt]

New information (will update throughout direct):

Sheep Pokemon, biting Turtle-like Pokemon, fluffy flowerlike Pokemon. Ravenlike Pokemon.
Names are: Wooloo, Drednaw, Gossifleur, Corviknight

Corviknight is a flying taxi (maybe no HMs?)

Gossifleur can evolve into a cottonlike mon called Eldegoss

There are overworld Pokemon, unclear if they can be interacted with.

"Raidlike" Pokemon battle with giant Pokemon (both on player and enemy side. Giant Pokemon have red 'clouds' over head. This is called "Dynamaxing". They have special moves.

Soccer field is just a battle stadium with giant Pokemon, not a soccer minigame. These are confirmed to be gyms.

Wild Pokemon available change based on weather. Full camera control for the player.

Dynamax boosts power - is an inbattle option similar to mega evolution. One use per battle. Pokemon revert after 3 turns.

In the Wild Areas there's a feature called "Max Raid Battles", multiplayer (4 players) option to fight Dynamaxed wilds. Multiplayer for this is both local and online.

Some Pokemon are only obtainable after being beaten in the Max Raid Battle form.

Legendary Pokemon: Wolf in armor and Wolf with a sword in its mouth. Have potential powered up forms (they briefly glow blue/red)?
Names are: Zacian (sword) Zamazenta (armor).


Characters:

Champion of Galar is named Leon. Has a Charizard, is undefeated.

Younger brother of champion is Hop, is "one of" your rivals.

Professor Magnolia, researches Dynamax, granddaughter assistant named Sonia.

Grass Gym Leader Milo. Has a Dynamaxed Eldegoss.


Release Date: November 15th, 2019