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

[Silktree]

We got the bad news out of the way, and Dynamax sounds meh right now. Every other bit of news is going to have to be astonishing. Otherwise, what exactly did they make that sacrifice for?

Ohmori, the director, considers the Wild Area to be the highlight of the games. Make of that what you will.

What are you most excited for players to experience in the game?

It's hard to choose just one, but for me it's the Wild Area. Also, if you connect to the internet when you're in the Wild Area, you see a lot of other players from around the world. It really does feel like you're playing alongside all these other players. It's kind of a new thing for Pokemon. You can of course use the feature to invite them to trade or battle. I think it'll be a lot of fun.

Well, they kind of have to add data for Sword and Shield if they want trading to keep going "smoothly" for their next main series games. Compatibility within the same generation is the key thing they have to keep.

It's been gradually limited in the past 5 years.

 

[Zeta]

For the record, I’d also trade away Dynamax if it meant we could’ve had older Pokemon.

And they’ve said that we’re getting high quality animations to make up for the Pokemon loss. But where are the high quality animations? Physical attacks still look ridiculous in battles, and people have already compiled lists of animation errors.

Why don’t they actually show us the improvements? The current changes they’ve shown us are minimal at best.

Like Silktree said, the only explanations is either that they're limited to Pokemon Refresh's new incarnation (PokeCamp) or they're just frankly lying to us.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

But we know nothing on the lore behind Dynamax, so I’m not going to judge that part beforehand if it’s natural or artificial, or well written or not.

It still feels artificial to me, more so than any other mechanic so far. Lore that makes it something to do with natural energy will just infuriate me further.

Z-Moves and Megas felt more natural than Pikachu growing larger than a three storey building.

 

[TheElderKing]

For the record, I’d also trade away Dynamax if it meant we could’ve had older Pokemon.

And they’ve said that we’re getting high quality animations to make up for the Pokemon loss. But where are the high quality animations? Physical attacks still look ridiculous in battles, and people have already compiled lists of animation errors.

Why don’t they actually show us the improvements? The current changes they’ve shown us are minimal at best.

I haven’t watched them all (I’m waiting for the analysis of a Pokétuber I trust on this, since he was at E3 with an important Italian gaming magazine), but Flame Charge looked nice, and it is a physical attack.

 

[Knightwolf09]

It still feels artificial to me, more so than any other mechanic so far. Lore that makes it something to do with natural energy will just infuriate me further.

Z-Moves and Megas felt more natural than Pikachu growing larger than a three storey building.

So far Dynamax does seem to rely on a natural energy. It's been stated that for some reason certain areas allow them them to dynamax, and in the demo you can see that some kind of energy gets absorbed into the dynamax band. So clearly some kind of natural energy is what causes it.

 

[TheElderKing]

It still feels artificial to me, more so than any other mechanic so far. Lore that makes it something to do with natural energy will just infuriate me further.

Z-Moves and Megas felt more natural than Pikachu growing larger than a three storey building.

I think it’d be interesting if it’s related to the third legendary.

Again, if it’s about visual appeal, I get it. In terms of natural...I’m split. While Megas appear more natural, since they’re basically the new evolution, a whole method of how Megas worked never appealed to me, expecially given the Pokèdex entries of most Pokémon.

But I admit that part of me just don’t like how they appear to be copycats of Digievolutions.

 

[9tiefly]

And the whole 'this is our policy now' excuse is so inconsistent, like... "A limited roster that matches the environment of the regions that the games are set it"? Ummm, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that literally what they have been doing in every single game since the beginning? They couldn't finish refining every model on time to make them available after you beat the game? Okay, that's believable and I'll give them that. But then what's their excuse for not making all the mons transferable in the next games?

And the more I think about the balancing argument to justify Dynamaxing, the dumber I think it is... What's the use of coming up with a mechanic that every Pokémon can use if half of them can't even access it? Sigh.

Spoiler

SIGH. I just need to vent and get this out of my chest. I know I have been spending way too much energy on this and maybe coming across as blunt and rude when replying to some of you, considering it's just a game and yada yada yada. But Pokémon is pretty much my entire life, no matter how sad that sounds lol. I've been playing since RB. I've had every main game since. I collected the cards for a while when they were first released and the TCG was what made the first years of school bearable; I'd bring my collection with me every day and I'd spend most of the time tracing the illustrations and making up attacks and habitats. There was also an unofficial Nintendo magazine running at the time that featured monthly fakémon contests and that's what got me into drawing. One of my most cherished memories from that period is when I went to the cinema for the first time with my late grandpa to watch the Mewtwo movie and they were giving away exclusive cards. Pure bliss...

As the years went by and the bullying became increasingly unbearable to the point of me becoming depressed by the age of 10, I knew I could always turn to Pokémon games. Not only as escapism but also as a reference of what being kind and compassionate and respectful of different ways of expressing your individuality really was about. When things at home became violent too and I became suicidal as a result, I kept making my mission to keep holding on until the next games were released, and so I had something to look forward to and fight for. When I was kicked out, I turned to Pokémon for family. When I tried self-harming, I turned to Pokémon for hope. I try to branch out to other franchises but none gives me as much fulfillment. Sure, they're fun! But Pokémon is something else entirely. If all comes crashing down, I'm lucky to have found other incentives to keep fighting. Maybe this much attachment really isn't healthy. So yeah, this sounds like a me problem honestly haha, but... Change is freaking hard.

 

[Poke Dragon]

If Game Freak is worried about having too many Pokemon appear in the wild, then simple, you can make it so they can only be gotten through trading and transferring, the previous generations did this and it at least allowed us to use a Pokemon from the previous games if we wanted. Completely locking out Pokemon is really the worst way to do this, because it could take ages until you could finally have your favorite Pokemon become able to be used in a game again.

 

[RileyXY1]

If Game Freak is worried about having too many Pokemon appear in the wild, then simple, you can make it so they can only be gotten through trading and transferring, the previous generations did this and it at least allowed us to use a Pokemon from the previous games if we wanted. Completely locking out Pokemon is really the worst way to do this, because it could take ages until you could finally have your favorite Pokemon become able to be used in a game again.

Especially considering that the gen they were introduced in might not be remade for a very long time.

 

[TheElderKing]

If Game Freak is worried about having too many Pokemon appear in the wild, then simple, you can make it so they can only be gotten through trading and transferring, the previous generations did this and it at least allowed us to use a Pokemon from the previous games if we wanted. Completely locking out Pokemon is really the worst way to do this, because it could take ages until you could finally have your favorite Pokemon become able to be used in a game again.

I don’t think they said that having them in the Wild Area is the problem. That wasn’t going to happen either way, because they would’ve never made all Pokémon available directly in Galar.

 

[PinkIceFox]

Not gonna lie, even if it doesn't really affect how I play my pokemon games, I'd 100% trade enlarging pokemans for all the old pokemon coming back. I hate battle gimmicks with a passion. If they want to make battles more interesting find another way than adding a new way to stuff a held item into my pokemon's hand and temporarily give them a boost I can only use once per battle.

Also the timer poo clouds and the swirling vortex being part of the models doesn't necessarily mean they're separate models. These items could be coded in a way that they're always present, just with their size numbers set to 0 so the models don't appear at all until they're programmed to pop into existence and resize themselves.

 

[The Outrage]

I don't even transfer Pokemon that much and this news is so disappointing.

I get not wanting to program a catchable location for all Pokemon in-game and having every NPC use one, or even updating their movesets. Just limit the catachable and NPC Pokemon to what makes sense for the region, and let us transfer (and breed) the rest. But what can we expect from a company that thought implementing difficulty levels as version exclusives

I feel like Game Freak has some weird rules about what they can do and just don't want to break them...like every available Pokemon needs to have an in-game catchable location (which wasn't even the case for RSE). And what does this mean for remakes? Are they now constrained to the generation's original list? Or are we gonna see that Game Freak is, in fact, using this as a cash-grab by suddenly making the rest of the Pokemon available in another game?

To sustain the series, Pokemon probably has to shift from a "once every 3 years event AAA title" to a "games as service" model with an online component so that GF can update the series. Basically, the level of model fidelity and maintenance can be sustained with an MMORPG or a pseudo-MMORPG profit model. Pokemon Go attempts this, but there's not a lot you can actually do with the Pokemon in that game after you catch them, and the battle system is moronic. An expansion of Pokemon Go or a side project to replace it would allow for an infinitely expanding PokeDex and an income stream that doesn't have to be punctuated every 3 years after years of drought.

Weren't Microsoft and Google talking about cloud-based games? That could be the future for Pokemon, but Masuda is hardly forward thinking (preferring selling the same game with minor improvements at full price rather than DLC, but then saying you're trying to 'save people money')

 

[Esserise]

For the record, I’d also trade away Dynamax if it meant we could’ve had older Pokemon.

I wouldn't, though again, I'm coming at that from a very particular angle that I'm sure not many people would have been at - I've always wanted a more cooperative kind of battling in the games (I have never had any interest whatsoever in PvP, but I really enjoy Raid battles in Go), I'm not particularly attached to Megas or Z-Moves, and I was already going to reboot my collection anyway. It feels very odd to be in a position where GF are actually catering to me quite a bit... at the expense of so many others.

As far as the "logic"/naturality of Dynamax goes, I actually got to wondering the other day, where does all the extra mass suddenly come from? But then I realized that you could ask the same thing about most regular Pokémon evolutions. So whatever energy is in them that would normally go toward their regular evolutions is probably excited by whatever it is causing Dynamaxing, causing them to grow in a manner similar to how the Necrozma energy affects Totem Pokémon. So, that's my headcanon, anyway

And they’ve said that we’re getting high quality animations to make up for the Pokemon loss. But where are the high quality animations? Physical attacks still look ridiculous in battles, and people have already compiled lists of animation errors.

I wonder if we're looking at this in perhaps the wrong way - not so much that their time is being spent improving the already-existing animations of the old Pokémon and moves, but rather that it's the animations of the new Pokémon that are more demanding. In the sense that making the new wave of Pokémon takes up a huge chunk of time, and therefore only so much of the time they have after that can be devoted to doing what polishing needs to be done on the older assets, and so that's where they've chosen to cut a corner. Also, consider all of the cutscenes that we're likely to see - it would be a higher priority to make the Pokémon in those look good than it would be to worry about fixing up the texture on Arceus, no?

Also, while it's not strictly pertinent to animations per se, I am curious to see how much personality each Pokémon has in the Wild Area. Like, in Let's Go, one of the details I loved was that wild Abra have a behavioral trait wherein they will teleport away unless you sneak up on them from behind. Engaging with Pokémon in the Wild Area looks even more dynamic than in Let's Go, so like, they talk about making the Pokémon as expressive as possible - could part of that be them going and finding ways to make each Pokémon behave in a more unique way when they're walking around? That's possibly giving them too much credit, but for now, I'm interested to see.

 

[Zeta]

Another thought occurs to me - this could be GF fishing to bring back Pokemon Stadium for extra cash.

After all if Pokemon Sword has half the Pokemon and Pokemon Ultra Diamond has half the Pokemon, then they can never battle.

But . . . buy Pokemon Stadium Switch! It only has 10 different backgrounds, so GameFreak can claim this allowed them to focus on the Pokemon models! And you can finally see Dialga fight Zacian! Only $60 + subscription fees to Switch Online and Pokemon Home!

 

[Kallyle]

Well, they kind of have to add data for Sword and Shield if they want trading to keep going "smoothly" for their next main series games. Compatibility within the same generation is the key thing they have to keep.

I feel like Game Freak has some weird rules about what they can do and just don't want to break them...like every available Pokemon needs to have an in-game catchable location (which wasn't even the case for RSE). And what does this mean for remakes? Are they now constrained to the generation's original list? Or are we gonna see that Game Freak is, in fact, using this as a cash-grab by suddenly making the rest of the Pokemon available in another game?

Personally, I think the best middle ground to this situation is this: if you have a remake or something similar involving another region, then Pokémon available previously in the generation should also be available. I feel like that’s a fair deal if Game Freak really is having trouble.

 

[The Outrage]

Another thought occurs to me - this could be GF fishing to bring back Pokemon Stadium for extra cash.

After all if Pokemon Sword has half the Pokemon and Pokemon Ultra Diamond has half the Pokemon, then they can never battle.

But . . . buy Pokemon Stadium Switch! It only has 10 different backgrounds, so GameFreak can claim this allowed them to focus on the Pokemon models! And you can finally see Dialga fight Zacian! Only $60 + subscription fees to Switch Online and Pokemon Home!

I realize this is more cash-grab but I'd be down for that. Maybe integrate Pokemon Home with Pokemon Masters. Let us do something with the Pokemon we transfer but aren't in the new games.

EDIT:
I just realized Game Freak probably is still against DLCs, because this whole "we can't program all the Pokemon within the given timeframe" issue disappears if they allowed for DLCs. Pokemon not available yet? That's fine. Get an update to let them be playable. They also still get to keep the whole "choosing only Pokemon who fit the region" thing.

 

[TheElderKing]

Another thought occurs to me - this could be GF fishing to bring back Pokemon Stadium for extra cash.

After all if Pokemon Sword has half the Pokemon and Pokemon Ultra Diamond has half the Pokemon, then they can never battle.

But . . . buy Pokemon Stadium Switch! It only has 10 different backgrounds, so GameFreak can claim this allowed them to focus on the Pokemon models! And you can finally see Dialga fight Zacian! Only $60 + subscription fees to Switch Online and Pokemon Home!

I don’t think is going to happen, but the question about follow up remakes is an interesting one.
Unless the traditional remakes are gone, it’s logical that in Gen 8 there’ll be Pokémon games set in a different region from Galar.

Either way you said is going to happen, which I doubt, or there’ll be something else. Either an update/adding of Pokémon for the remakes that retroactively works for SwSh (after all, if the problem is modeling/balancing, the Galar Pokémon are supposedly done, so they could be transferred to the remakes even if they aren’t in the Sinnoh dex), or the competitive will all switch on remake, at least for the VGC. Which would be another marketing failure.

 

[Knightwolf09]

Honestly I most liked the idea of battle mechanics not only because they made the game feel fresh but improved the pokemon. Everyone thinks just slapping on a new evolution solves everyone's problems, but that's definitely not always the case, and Gen 2 and 4 can give some examples. And I also liked how megas handled improving the pokemon but made them too good. And I like that z-moves were accessible to everyone, but didn't have as much impact. Dymax is essentially best of both worlds. Sure pokemon don't get new designs, but if it makes the pokemon more useable and supportive to the team and battle, then I don't mind.

 

[RileyXY1]

Honestly I most liked the idea of battle mechanics not only because they made the game feel fresh but improved the pokemon. Everyone thinks just slapping on a new evolution solves everyone's problems, but that's definitely not always the case, and Gen 2 and 4 can give some examples. And I also liked how megas handled improving the pokemon but made them too good. And I like that z-moves were accessible to everyone, but didn't have as much impact. Dymax is essentially best of both worlds. Sure pokemon don't get new designs, but if it makes the pokemon more useable and supportive to the team and battle, then I don't mind.

Except Dynamax only lasts 3 turns, and you can only use it in very specific areas. Although, the credible leak does claim that we are getting another new feature called Gigantamaxing that actually causes the Pokemon to change form. I believe that they intend on having Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing permanently replace Mega Evolution and Z-Moves.

 

[Zeta]

Except Dynamax only lasts 3 turns, and you can only use it in very specific areas. Although, the credible leak does claim that we are getting another new feature called Gigantamaxing that actually causes the Pokemon to change form. I believe that they intend on having Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing permanently replace Mega Evolution and Z-Moves.

They're replacing them this game, but something else with replacing Maxing next gen. GF has no faith in any new mechanics and seems to be just using them as shallow marketing tools rather than well-thought out ideas to keep in the series forever.