SwSh Artwork

[Esserise]

I know, right? I kind of wish they had more opportunities to show off those personalities, though.

Such as? They get a lot more airtime than most Gym Leaders in the series and even some of the Trial Captains, they get the League Cards to capture bits of their characters' essence and reveal certain details about them, and the graphical quality of the games gives them a lot more room for little moments of expression (Kabu's burning eyes when he Gigantamaxes his Centiskorch, Piers shouting into his microphone throughout his match, Raihan taking a selfie during his Gigantamax animation, etc.). There's also some more room given to them in the narrative than usual thanks to the lack of an Elite Four.

 

[DarkraiKnight]

Such as? They get a lot more airtime than most Gym Leaders in the series and even some of the Trial Captains, they get the League Cards to capture bits of their characters' essence and reveal certain details about them, and the graphical quality of the games gives them a lot more room for little moments of expression (Kabu's burning eyes when he Gigantamaxes his Centiskorch, Piers shouting into his microphone throughout his match, Raihan taking a selfie during his Gigantamax animation, etc.). There's also some more room given to them in the narrative than usual thanks to the lack of an Elite Four.

I dunno; I just felt like we could've had a bit more interactions with some of them, especially Bea/Allister and Gordie/Melony. They certainly don't feel as fleshed-out as Unova's Gym Leaders to me.

With that being said, though, they're probably one of the best sets we've ever gotten, just below Unova and Sinnoh's.

 

[Esserise]

They certainly don't feel as fleshed-out as Unova's Gym Leaders to me.

Personally I'd say those feel roughly equal, but I think for me it's again coming down largely to a matter of "Gen 5 Leaders have more cameos and moments of interaction" versus "Gen 8 Leaders aren't limited to 20x25 pixels' worth of expression"

 

[Alola]

I love love love how diverse all the Gym Leaders are this time around, not just in terms of their appearances but they all just seem so unique in style and personality too.

I was going to say this as well; we've certainly got the most diverse bunch to date. We have a really young leader and a couple elderly ones, several different body shapes among both genders, varying degrees of skin color, different hairstyles, our first Dark type and no Electric type-I just love it. Fitting too, given how diverse the UK is in general. The whole aspect of a Gym Leader was done well this Generation, in my opinion.

 

[AngryBinacle]

Does the guidebook usually come with all the artwork? Because we'd have a date then to expect the scans; the 22th.

 

[Esserise]

Does the guidebook usually come with all the artwork? Because we'd have a date then to expect the scans; the 22th.

Yeah, except in the odd case like Ultra Necrozma and Naganadel, which I think were only included in the USUM National Pokédex guide, rather than the storyline guide.

Though I don’t, uh... think that will be a factor this time.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

and the graphical quality of the games gives them a lot more room for little moments of expression (Kabu's burning eyes when he Gigantamaxes his Centiskorch,

I almost died when I saw this expression

 

[RK9]

Talking about artworks, I think the Rillaboom artwork does it way more justice than the model does.

 

[DarkraiKnight]

Here’s the full artwork of Gordie and Melony.

 

[prog rocker]

Here’s the full artwork of Gordie and Melony.

I sincerely didn't expect Gordie to look like that in Sword.

 

[AngryBinacle]

I guess the guidebook releases today, so we might get some scans?

 

[TdDBergamo96]

I guess the guidebook releases today, so we might get some scans?

I was today however several places including Amazon bumped it to the 26th

So im not so sure any news scan will happen today

 

[ShinyOotachi]

I was today however several places including Amazon bumped it to the 26th

So im not so sure any news scan will happen today

I had it pre-ordered and got an email yesterday to say that it would be delivered on the 28th, but the release date is still listed as today. My guess is that they over sold it.
I cancelled my order and re-ordered it through Game who say it should be delivered tomorrow.

 

[Couple's Consoling]

Well here's the art for the new Galarian forms and their evolutions.

View attachment 128596View attachment 128597

DUDE! The full art makes SO MUCH DIFFERENCE to me! Some of these just look so much better as a 2D drawing. I mean, as a kid, I bought multiple guide books for the art ALONE, so it's always been important to me, but it kinda bums me out that this wasn't the FIRST way I saw a bunch of these.

 

[Titania]

(I know I might be biased, but...) I really like Opal's artwork. It gives that wicked-witch-from-fairytales vibe which I really dig.

I was going to say this as well; we've certainly got the most diverse bunch to date. We have a really young leader and a couple elderly ones, several different body shapes among both genders, varying degrees of skin color, different hairstyles, our first Dark type and no Electric type-I just love it. Fitting too, given how diverse the UK is in general. The whole aspect of a Gym Leader was done well this Generation, in my opinion.

Totally agree with this. Previous gym leaders (and trial captain) are always looks like below 20s with only 1-2 token older people. (trial captains are all kids).
I also love the variety of the skin color which does represent the UK well (compared to Unova who only had 3 people that have dark skin).

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

Totally agree with this. Previous gym leaders (and trial captain) are always looks like below 20s with only 1-2 token older people. (trial captains are all kids).
I also love the variety of the skin color which does represent the UK well (compared to Unova who only had 3 people that have dark skin).

I really do like the diversity among them also in terms of skin color and age. Among ages I'm guessing...

Milo- Mid 20's
Nessa- Mid 20's
Kabu- Late 40's
Bea- 14-18
Allister- Likely 10-13
Opal- Confirmed to be 88
Gordie- Mid 20's
Melony- Late 40's to early 50's
Piers- Late 20's
Raihan- Late 20's

 

[ShinyOotachi]

Milo- Mid 20's
Nessa- Mid 20's
Kabu- Late 40's
Bea- 14-18
Allister- Likely 10-13
Opal- Confirmed to be 88
Gordie- Mid 20's
Melony- Late 40's to early 50's
Piers- Late 20's
Raihan- Late 20's

I think you are mostly right with these, they would be very similar to my guesses too. Although I think Bea might 17-20 and I think Gordie is older because is he not meant to be Melony's brother?

 

[prog rocker]

I think you are mostly right with these, they would be very similar to my guesses too. Although I think Bea might 17-20 and I think Gordie is older because is he not meant to be Melony's brother?

Gordie is Melony's son.

EDIT: Nevermind, I was wrong, although I could have sworn Melony's card said it was her son. The Mandela effect is pretty horrible.

 

[Phosphene]

Melony- Late 40's to early 50's

Melony looks way younger than that. I'd say she's more around her mid to late 20s or early 30s.

 

[Esserise]

Gordie is Melony's son.

EDIT: Nevermind, I was wrong, although I could have sworn Melony's card said it was her son. The Mandela effect is pretty horrible.

I don't think it's directly stated that he's her son, but I do think it's implied:

Melony's League Card: "Melony has been a Gym Leader since she was in her twenties. She is also known as a very effective coach, but her coaching style is incredibly strict. Her battle style is fittingly severe and stoic, as well. Any Gym Trainers who manage to remain under Melony are sure to be powerful opponents. Thus many see Circhester Stadium as a major roadblock for Gym Challengers. Many quietly speculate that Melony's harsh battle style is due to a fight she had with her son."

Melony's Rare League Card: "Melony wanted Gordie to take over as the Gym Leader of Circhester, while Gordie wanted to dedicate himself to Rock-type Pokémon. The Pokémon battle between the two ended up dividing the whole town. Ever since that day, Melony and Gordie hardly ever see each other. That being said, Melony supposedly managed to become the first member of Gordie's fan club. Gordie seems to have a complicated expression in their photo together, but then again, that may just be one's own imagination..."

Gordie having that "complicated expression" would make sense if they're mother and son, and had that scuffle in the past which drove them apart. And I mean, being the first member of your son's fan club is a totally mom thing to do. Plus, they have the same hair and eye color, which is usually Pokémon code for "These two people are related!"

Though I do think it's a bit odd that Melony isn't really mentioned at all in Sword.