Official Pokémon Sword and Shield speculation thread (Updated June 5th, 2019)

[El_]

That wouldn't surprise me considering the Hillside Figure in one of Galar's Town literally is hinting at a giant Pokemon... the "strongest Pokemon" theme of the generation would mean Pokemon having the power of giants. (Or Gods for anyone familiar with the God of War series)

The wild Pokemon encounters being like Let's Go is honestly more surprising to me, especially if it incorporates an open world on Routes with the Towns evolving into/functioning as full on Hub Worlds. The scaling, the traversing, and just how interact-able said open world is regarding immersion is what this Gen would be remembered for.

 

[Blue_Cheshire]

We actually did it! 600 pages before the direct!

 

[Synthaphone]

Was hoping I’d be able to sleep in until it’s closer to 9, but I woke up and instantly remembered the Direct so I guess the waiting starts now, 3 hours early- darn.

Only a few more hours though! I’m letting myself get excited for this one, I feel like it’s gonna cover some cool new stuff.

 

[BackSet]

Noooo! I'll be at school when the direct comes out! Why couldn't it be a regents day today instead of tomorrow!

 

[techitisJ]

Was hoping I’d be able to sleep in until it’s closer to 9, but I woke up and instantly remembered the Direct so I guess the waiting starts now, 3 hours early- darn.

Only a few more hours though! I’m letting myself get excited for this one, I feel like it’s gonna cover some cool new stuff.

Im with you. Its 3:45am and my brain is like "hey gotta stay up you have news in like 2 hours" while it's been successfully waking me every hour to remind me. Like brain, i trust you to wake me up for the direct, not 2 hours before.

 

[RileyXY1]

I thought that we saw the standard Pokemon encounters being used on the routes. Also, I don't think that there will be open world elements in this game.

 

[Ambrose7]

2 hours to go. Direct is at 6 PM over here.

 

[Boss1708]

Guys, I bring you exclusive news. Here is the new and exciting feature Ohmori and Masuda are going to show us in today's Direct:

Spoiler

 

[titofox]

Noooo! I'll be at school when the direct comes out! Why couldn't it be a regents day today instead of tomorrow!

I'll be at work so I know the feel... I'll try to scape to the toilet for at least 15 minutes, but it's a little bit hard.

 

[El_]

Guys, I bring you exclusive news. Here is the new and exciting feature Ohmori and Masuda are going to show us in today's Direct:

Spoiler

View attachment 119197

The actual new exciting feature according to "credible" leaks.

Spoiler

KICKASS Giant Pokemon Battles in an open world environment. See? It even incorporates the "soccer" theme.

 

[Gísli]

-Will have raid battles for local and online [Probably what the Reddit leak confused for giant Pokemon]

Similar to the raids in Pokémon GO, then? Battling giant super-strong Pokémon as a group.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

VR Plant's leak sounds believable, but that other leak just sounds terrible. Giant Pokemon just sounds like an awful gimmick.

 

[jonathan keller]

About 72 minutes to go! It's about time!

 

[Synthaphone]

VR Plant's leak sounds believable, but that other leak just sounds terrible. Giant Pokemon just sounds like an awful gimmick.

I mean, that was the whole gimmick of the Totem Pokemon that you could get in USUM... it was kind of fun, (mostly because their size made them visibly distinct from other Pokemon of the same species, making them feel more like individuals) but I didn't ultimately care that much. They'd be better off just including the sizes thing from Let's Go but actually scaling the models up or down this time so that it actually IS exciting to find an unusually small or large Pokemon.

(I'm definitely one of those people who loves the idea of giving Pokemon of the same species small visual differences, like slightly tweaked color palettes and sizes, in order to help everyone's Pokemon feel more like a unique individual- I don't predict it'll be happening this generation though.)

 

[dvor]

one hour left!

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

I mean, that was the whole gimmick of the Totem Pokemon that you could get in USUM... it was kind of fun, (mostly because their size made them visibly distinct from other Pokemon of the same species, making them feel more like individuals) but I didn't ultimately care that much. They'd be better off just including the sizes thing from Let's Go but actually scaling the models up or down this time so that it actually IS exciting to find an unusually small or large Pokemon.

(I'm definitely one of those people who loves the idea of giving Pokemon of the same species small visual differences, like slightly tweaked color palettes and sizes, in order to help everyone's Pokemon feel more like a unique individual- I don't predict it'll be happening this generation though.)

Its more so that its like this is the big game changing gimmick for gyms and it doesn't sound exciting or interesting at all. Pokemon with size differences is nice, like the Totem Pokemon, but being able to make your Pokemon giant for the gyms just sounds so uninspired.

 

[Diamond & Pearl]

Exactly an hour left...

Oof...

Spoiler

Edit: Ninja'd unless @dvor sent it at 13:59 (where I live). Curse you Werster...

 

[FaeKing17]

I mean, that was the whole gimmick of the Totem Pokemon that you could get in USUM... it was kind of fun, (mostly because their size made them visibly distinct from other Pokemon of the same species, making them feel more like individuals) but I didn't ultimately care that much. They'd be better off just including the sizes thing from Let's Go but actually scaling the models up or down this time so that it actually IS exciting to find an unusually small or large Pokemon.

(I'm definitely one of those people who loves the idea of giving Pokemon of the same species small visual differences, like slightly tweaked color palettes and sizes, in order to help everyone's Pokemon feel more like a unique individual- I don't predict it'll be happening this generation though.)

That's actually an amazing idea.

 

[El_]

Giant Pokemon just sounds like an awful gimmick.

WTF you just say?

The gimmick has existed in the anime longer than some board members have been alive! But really, I'll wait to see how it's incorporated (assuming it's even real) before passing judgement. It could actually add to the idea of a bigger and open world, maybe even as cool as those Eastern Dragons from Zelda BOTW. (imagine giant Loch Ness Lapras) Or it could be silly as all hell, but we'll see soon enough.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

45 minutes left!

Spoiler