Pokémon Sword & Shield

[Sonictrainer]

If you don't care about Spoilers, I have recently updated the Spoilers Topic for Sword/Shield.

 

 

Mod edit: The board automatically showed a spoiler in the link's thumbnail, so it's been changed to a link.

[Balding Spider]

The grass starters final evo is top tier.

[Blue Blood]

Fuuuuuuuck. What an annoying two weeks this is going to be. I'll have to avoid YouTube entirely.

[Sonictrainer]

Now for some cool reveals

We get a preview of the new Box Sprites for Sword/Shield from a screenshot of Tetris 99

Also, a Pokémon appears on a piece of merchandise that is a replica of Leon's cape.

[Ellipsis-Ultima]

Sneek peek of that track that Toby Fox did for this game:

Its a battle theme apparently?

[DarkRula]

I would make a guess that this is going to be one of those out of nowhere battle themes like the final encounter with Wally in ORAS.

But who would it be for?

Do we know what the Team Yell battle theme is yet? Could be for them (possibly a leader of the group).

[Celestia]

I've seen speculation it might be associated with Yamper in some way (I'm guessing based on how Toby included a drawing of one when he announced this). Maybe it's the [battle?] theme for a character who has one.

[DarkRula]

The Queen's battle theme.

That'd be something, and I know it's been memed a lot.

[Pawn]

The whole Pokédex has been leaked now, so be careful out there! If you want any specific questions about the dex answered without entering the spoiler thread, feel free to PM me and I'll tell you what I know. I'm avoiding story spoilers so won't be able to address related queries.

[Blue Blood]

Lol, if there's "The Queen" in this game, she'd need a battle theme that sounds a lot more elegant and regal. This sounds more befitting of a knight. Its grown on me as a track. Curious to find out exactly where is going to be used. And I continue find the RSE synth trumpets to sound funny. Fitting and clever, but hilarious. When something like that happens, you know the person that created the track is a fan who put a lot of heart into it.

@Pawn Christ the Internet really is the fucking worst. Thanks for the heads up yet again. There's got to be at least one more official trailer coming soon for the launch. I'm such a broken record here, but I love the fact that I've kept up with all the official news and know basically nothing about these games. The launch trailer will probably be a big information blow out; starter evolutions, more gyms, now Galarian forms, more new Pokémon etc etc. The 15th is such a long way away.

I'm double dipping with the double pack, and based on the available info I'm still not sure which version I'll go for. I'm leaning towards Shield, because... Larvitar and Goomy > Deino and Jang-whateverthealolapseudoledgendaryiscalled, Zamazenta > Zacian (although they're both cool and are the best pair of mascots since GSC), ghost gym leader > fighting gym leader. But it's not much to go on, and I'm seriously interested in using Sirfetch'd.

Since I'm double dipping, let me know if you want to get all the starters. I'll happily start over on my second game in the first few days to trade over starters for whatever the new Rattata and Pidgey clones are.

[Vec]

If I have to guess, that theme from Toby could be for Zacian/Zamacenta, the third legendary or the champion whose name I forgot

[Blue Blood]

3 minutes ago, Ice Vec said:

If I have to guess, that theme from Toby could be for Zacian/Zamacenta, the third legendary or the champion whose name I forgot

I dunno. Sounds a bit happy for Zacian and Zamazenta, who strike me more as proud and noble. It's not impossible though. I think it's a legendary theme of some description.

And I wonder if Leon, the Champion, will be less forgettable in game? I'm expecting his to play more of a role in the plot than previous champions have done. Based on his design and the fact that his signature Pokémon is a fucking Charizard, I don't like him so far.

Also, anyone who wants Nintendo news but doesn't want to run the risk of Sword and Shield leak spoilers, Nintendo Life's got you covered: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/11/pokemon_sword_and_shield_are_leaking_like_a_sieve_be_safe_out_there. They won't be posting any spoilers in the pre-release period. 

[Salamander]

3 hours ago, Blue Blood said:

Christ the Internet really is the fucking worst. Thanks for the heads up yet again. There's got to be at least one more official trailer coming soon for the launch. I'm such a broken record here, but I love the fact that I've kept up with all the official news and know basically nothing about these games. The launch trailer will probably be a big information blow out; starter evolutions, more gyms, now Galarian forms, more new Pokémon etc etc. The 15th is such a long way away.

I'm also dodging spoilers, and given that that's the case I think I might even avoid any hypothetical final official trailer that might come out.  It feels faintly arbitrary to be differentiating between spoilers that are okay because the developers selected them and spoilers released by anyone else, though that might be just me.  How exactly did everything get leaked, anyway?  Dataminers, review copies?

[Blue Blood]

12 minutes ago, FFWF said:

I'm also dodging spoilers, and given that that's the case I think I might even avoid any hypothetical final official trailer that might come out.  It feels faintly arbitrary to be differentiating between spoilers that are okay because the developers selected them and spoilers released by anyone else, though that might be just me.  How exactly did everything get leaked, anyway?  Dataminers, review copies?

Agreed. At this stage, I really need to see absolutely no more information about these games. And whatever comes out of any further trailers/other reveals is so lonely just to be the big blow out stuff. Starter evolutions, characters and story, post game, literally tons of other new Pokémon just because "hype". This close to release, what else do you need to know? Is any new info, official or leaked, going to make you enjoy these games more? I'd argue it'll hinder the experience.

The leaks came from players in Mexico where the street game has been broken. I don't know if thats the only source, but there you go. It sucks. 

[Salamander]

1 hour ago, Blue Blood said:

The leaks came from players in Mexico where the street game has been broken. I don't know if thats the only source, but there you go. It sucks. 

A fortnight early?  And here's me remembering ORAS and Sun/Moon getting a delayed release in Europe just because X/Y leaked a few days early.

[Sonictrainer]

Someone also got their copy of the Strategy Guide early.

[Blue Blood]

50 minutes ago, Sonictrainer said:

Someone also got their copy of the Strategy Guide early.

It can't be helped that this stuff was leaked. There's literally no way that Nintendo could possibly ensure that the game or the strategy guide aren't leaked out to the public early. The only thing I could possibly think of is if in the future they were to delay the physical release of games until several weeks after the digital release, and that's not going to happen any time soon (thankfully). When the street date is broken by such a large margin, you just can't expect people not to leak everything. Gotta get those five seconds of internet game, right? 

Just to be on a tangent...I remember when it used to be really normal for games to arrive a day early if your pre-ordered online in the UK. Most shops would ship the games so that they arrived in launch day at the latest, and it usually worked out as you getting the game 1 day early. I was so used to this happening regularly that I would actually make plans for the early release. It never seems to happen for me anymore. The last thing I got early was my Switch Pro Controller (but not the console) one day before launch. 

[Pawn]

35 minutes ago, Blue Blood said:

Just to be on a tangent...I remember when it used to be really normal for games to arrive a day early if your pre-ordered online in the UK. Most shops would ship the games so that they arrived in launch day at the latest, and it usually worked out as you getting the game 1 day early. I was so used to this happening regularly that I would actually make plans for the early release. It never seems to happen for me anymore. The last thing I got early was my Switch Pro Controller (but not the console) one day before launch. 

It hadn't happened for a while, but Shopto actually got Luigi's Mansion 3 to me one day early, so I'm hoping (probably in vein) that the same will go for Pokémon.

[Blue Blood]

4 minutes ago, Pawn said:

It hadn't happened for a while, but Shopto actually got Luigi's Mansion 3 to me one day early, so I'm hoping (probably in vein) that the same will go for Pokémon.

Fingers crossed for you. I ordered from the Nintendo Store, because they were the only place with the dual pack steelbook in stock at the time. They never seem to send out their games early (the Switch Pro Controller was an exception), so I'm out of luck for a Thursday delivery.

[Blue Blood]

There's a new trailer out now, and it's a doozy at 5 minutes long! I'm not going to post a direct link to it because I'm guessing everyone who's still active in this topic is avoiding further news? It's here though if you want to look. If there's any new info in there, it would be nice if you could spolier tag it.

[Your Vest Friend]

There's no way I can shoulder your tags Blue. 

And since it's just the English version of a Japanese trailer from a few days ago, there's nothing to spoiler either I don't think. 

[Blue Blood]

1 minute ago, Dr Egg-Gin said:

There's no way I can shoulder your tags Blue. 

And since it's just the English version of a Japanese trailer from a few days ago, there's nothing to spoiler either I don't think. 

If shouldering them is too much to ask for, maybe you could just spoiler tag any info?

I'm not sure what the Japanese trailer had in it. Anything past the Gigantamax Charizard/Pikachu/Eevee/Meowth trailer is new to me.

[Sonictrainer]

We got a new trailer today that shows off a few new items and new mechanics.

 

New Items: Mints & Changes to Old Items

Quote

Mints are items that will make their first appearance in these games. They’ll impact which stats of your Pokémon are likely to grow faster than usual! Each Pokémon has a Nature, and this Nature can impact which of the Pokémon’s stats are likely to grow faster or slower than average. Using a Mint on a Pokémon seems to change these stat-growth patterns! However, a Pokémon’s Nature itself won’t change even if you use a Mint.

Quote

Nutritious drinks like Protein and Iron raise a Pokémon’s base points, which in turn help raise that Pokémon’s stats. Until now, there has been a limit on how many of these items could be used on a Pokémon. However, in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, you’re now able to max out a Pokémon’s base points using only these supplements!

If two Pokémon are of the same species but one has more base points, the Pokémon with more base points will grow to be stronger!

Quote

Normally, your Pokémon earn Exp. Points through battles. But if you use an Exp. Candy, you’ll be able to give your Pokémon Exp. Points directly! You can earn these Candies in Max Raid Battles, so collect a bunch and level up your Pokémon in a flash!

 

Other Changes to Old Mechanics

Quote

You can deposit Pokémon you don’t want on your team in your Pokémon Boxes. In Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, you’ll be able to access your Pokémon Boxes in various towns and facilities—but also while you’re on the road or even when you’re exploring in the tall grass! You’ll be able to swap Pokémon into and out of your team whenever you want, so try experimenting with all sorts of different Pokémon.

Just be aware that there are a few places—such as the mission areas where you take on Pokémon Gyms—where you won’t be able to access your Boxes.

Quote

Saving diligently has always been part of a Pokémon adventure, but now there’s an autosave function to help you out! The autosave function will automatically save your progress during your adventure at various points, such as when you enter a town or a building.

This function is automatically turned on when you begin your adventure, but you’ll be able to turn it off if you want to have more control over when your progress is saved. Even with autosave on, you’ll still be able to save manually, too, just as you can when autosave is off. Go to the Options menu to choose how you’d like to save, so you can set up an experience that suits your style!

A message will appear in the upper-right-hand corner of the screen when your progress is being automatically saved.

Quote

If a Pokémon you received in a trade doesn’t have a nickname, you’ll now have the chance to give it a nickname—but only once! Speak to the man standing behind the left-hand counter in any Galar region Pokémon Center—this jack-of-all-trades is sure to help you out!

Note that, just as in previous titles, you won’t be able to change the name of a traded Pokémon that already has a nickname.

 

[Blue Blood]

10 minutes ago, Sonictrainer said:

We got a new trailer today that shows off a few new items and new mechanics.

 

Oh wow. Those are are some brilliant QoL improvements. Do the mints actually change a Pokémon's nature then? So if you want to change your strategy with a certain Pokémon you've changed without having to start from scratch? That's fantastic, especially if you catch a random shiny that's of the wrong nature. And being able to use multiple vitamins all at once is going to be a Godsend. Really impressed with that. But the best of all is Pokémon passing on egg moves in the nursery without breeding. I'm looking forward to this.

[NegaMix]

I'm really liking the look of these new features! Being able to access the PC anywhere is brilliant, as are the nature mints and vitamin enhancements.

I really hope that these mechanics get carried over to future games too.