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SwSh What little things, details, and other small additions in Sword/Shield that you like

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Since I made a near-identical thread some time ago in the regular Pokemon video game section, I figured now's the time to do the same with Sword and Shield. So, the question is: what little things, details, and other small additions in Sword and Shield that you like?

For me, I'm glad they're keeping with the different Trainer classes using certain Poke Balls outside of the standard model that reflect their personalities/hobbies/class. It really adds a lot of depth to the various NPCs you brutalize during the game. Next, I like the fact that our Fisherman class is actually a female for a change. A nice little change of pace, if you ask me. And the fact that they DON'T use a team of 6 Magikarps is a welcome change (in fact, I don't think they use ANY Magikarps, as, if memory serves, you tend to find them later in the game). Third, I'm glad that when you hatch a Shiny Mon, it gives of the sparkle effect after its animation, which is a nice addition (if it wasn't already in Gen 7, as I don't remember too well) as not all shinies are easily identified, as a number of them are just a shade or two different from their base forms (Gengar is a good example). So, it makes it easier to identify a shiny if it doesn't have a very "noticeable" color difference from its base color when you hatch one. Next, I'm glad they're keeping with the fact that some Pokemon are more like pets, thus they have food dishes and pet beds in various homes, like the PC's family pet Munchlax, which is a small but nice touch that continued from Gen 7. Next up, it's good that they've expanded more on the customization options, even though girls still get more than guys, but at least it isn't as heavily skewered as it was in XY. Not to mention there are no version-exclusive clothes or colors, and you can see your styling options at salons before you commit to them, which is very, very handy and prevents you from wasting money on a bad haircut. And finally, I like that they gave the wild Pokemon different "reactions" to you that correspond with their species nature. Friendly Yampers and aggressive Scraggy will chase you, timid Vulpix and cowardly Wimpod will flee, and some are just neutral to you. Also, the funny fact that certain Mons will respond to your spin and Charizard pose differently is hilariously adorable. Some Mons come at you quicker, others simply walk away, and some, like Kirlia, play along. It's both funny and cute to see the different reactions to something so ridiculous that I can't help but chuckle at it.

Well, those are my thoughts. What about you lot? What are some of the little things that Sword and Shield have that you like? Post away.
 
I made a whole post about it somewhere else, but I love all the thought and detail that went into the various brands you see throughout Galar. How every Gym has a particular sponsor, how some Trainers wear clothes from relevant brands (Workers having Timburr Builders hardhats, for example), and so on. Just recently, I noticed that the Pokémon Camp tents all bear the logo for one of the brands that sells more sporty clothes at boutiques, and also is a sponsor of Gordie's Gym. It makes the region feel very organic and internally consistent, especially since Poké Jobs allows you to interact with various companies who make products or offer services throughout Galar, defining and fleshing out the region's economic system in a way that hasn't really been done before. I also like the focus on how transportation works in Galar - there's a singular train system that runs through the major cities that is presumably used by the general public, although the Corviknight Taxis are also available for anyone who needs to get somewhere without a train station. (In particular, I like how some locations in Wyndon have dedicated parking spaces for Corviknight Taxis and other Pokémon-based travel.)

The different handwriting styles on all the major characters' League Cards. It's subtle, but says a lot about the individual. Like how Opal's handwriting is a little rougher, indicating that her age maybe causes her hand to tremble slightly, or that she doesn't have as much muscle control anymore.

Similarly, the personalized animations that each Gym Leader has for their Dynamax sequence. The flash of Fire in Kabu's eyes, Opal slipping due to the weight of the enlarged Poké Ball, Hop getting overexuberant and losing his balance, etc.

Everything about Curry is very detailed. Not just with how there are different portion sizes for each Curry, but notice how the player's dish and the regular-sized Pokémon's dish aren't the same image copied over - there's slight differences in the arrangement of the food on the plate. Additionally, the fact that every Curry variety has its own flavor rating (with some even being rather negatively critical...). Furthermore, Bug-type Pokémon lead to some unique results - despite the first stage's small size, they tend to eat larger portions of food, because they're storing up energy for metamorphosis. Whereas their subsequent stages often require less food in order to feel full.

Certain Pokémon's behavior in the Wild Area, as mentioned in the OP. In particular, I like how Zigzagoon and Linoone dart around wildly, and how Rhyhorn will charge at you without changing direction as per its Pokédex entries, making it easy to dodge.

I appreciated the moments before or after certain milestones in the Gym Challenge where NPCs would be lined up in a crowd and would call out to you. Related to that, there's an NPC with a Blipbug in the first Gym who says she's going to keep an eye on you, and she appears at every subsequent Gym lobby becoming more and more a fan of you, while her Blipbug gradually evolves, having finally become an Orbeetle by the time you make it to Wyndon.

The various posters thrown up on the walls throughout Spikemuth are amusing. Someone else pointed out that there's one that's a pin-up of the Gen 2 Swimmer♀ sprite. There's also some posters of Marnie, and some vandalized ones of Rose. Other details in peoples' houses are really nice, too. Check out Sonia's room at Prof. Magnolia's house - it's full of personality. And look at the Switch in your character's room - the Joy-Cons match those of the system you're playing on.
 
I've already said this before in the general SwSh discussion thread, but I do like the fact that Pokemon with a foreign language name will no longer revert to the language of your game once they evolve.
 
I just remembered two more points that Sword/Shield granted us.

For starters, we no longer need to hold the B button to run. Your walking/running speed is solely determined by how hard your pushing the analog stick. That is a godsend.

Secondly, and most importantly... we can FINALLY skip certain tutorials! The ever infamous catching tutorial can be skipped if you've already caught something, and the Poke Center tutorial can be skipped by just saying "No" (or whatever the prompt is). Also, any other tutorials, like how Max Raids work and such are taught through a single prompt that pops up beforehand and that's it, which is positively painless compared to some. I really hope GF keeps that in play from here on, as those tutorials are murder at times.
 
As a Brit I just love how the aesthetic of the region really reflects the real world inspiration of the UK. It sounds daft but even stuff like the designs of the bins has been changed from past games in a way that makes it more like the UK.

The dialogue features a lot of British dialect too which adds to the immersion for me, I know a lot of people didn’t like Leon’s constant use of the word Champion, but I’ve known a few people who use the word regularly in real life to just mean good - it’s a bit of a northern thing here.

I’ve recently been replaying Gen V (finished White and now on third gym of White 2) and while there is a lot in the design to make it more western than the previous games it’s mostly in the big picture, most of the little details are largely the same as previous games so it makes Unova quite a Japanese tinted version of America. Once I’m done with White 2 I might replay Y next to remind myself how Kalos compares too.
 
I love that the brand that manufactures eyeglasses is named Defog. As someone who's basically blind without 'em, it really does feel like that. :p

As a Brit I just love how the aesthetic of the region really reflects the real world inspiration of the UK. It sounds daft but even stuff like the designs of the bins has been changed from past games in a way that makes it more like the UK.

The dialogue features a lot of British dialect too which adds to the immersion for me, I know a lot of people didn’t like Leon’s constant use of the word Champion, but I’ve known a few people who use the word regularly in real life to just mean good - it’s a bit of a northern thing here.

I’ve recently been replaying Gen V (finished White and now on third gym of White 2) and while there is a lot in the design to make it more western than the previous games it’s mostly in the big picture, most of the little details are largely the same as previous games so it makes Unova quite a Japanese tinted version of America. Once I’m done with White 2 I might replay Y next to remind myself how Kalos compares too.

I imagine a lot of this can be accredited to the savvy decision to assign James Turner to the role of art director for Sword & Shield. I recall an interview with him where he talked about how one example of his input was turning down the initial, more cliché "medieval" design for the Trainer Tips signs and suggesting the more realistic look that we ended up getting.
 
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I mentioned it once in the SwSh thread, but I really like those little boys that sit on structures and swing their legs there. It's just a few NPCs, sure, and the model is the same everywhere you see it, but it's still really fun to me to have NPCs interact with the environment like that. It's something you could only do in a 3D game, too, so it's cool to see them exploring the possibilities of what 3D maps can do.
 
I’ve recently been replaying Gen V (finished White and now on third gym of White 2) and while there is a lot in the design to make it more western than the previous games it’s mostly in the big picture, most of the little details are largely the same as previous games so it makes Unova quite a Japanese tinted version of America. Once I’m done with White 2 I might replay Y next to remind myself how Kalos compares too.

It's nice that they really did a much better job making Galar feel British. Unova feels like America seen through the eyes of a Japanese tourist. Same with Alola and Hawaii. I'm not British but even I noticed the little things in the dialogue like the mum spelled with u and Hop calling you mate and stuff like that.

I also quite enjoy the details about the Galar Pokemon. The nods to UK history and culture in some Pokemon like Perrserker, Runerigrus, Copperajah, Sinistea, Rolycoly line etc. There is still the odd thing like a penguin being here but it's much better to things like koalas in Hawaii, zebras and daruma dolls in New York and Mexican luchadores in France.
 
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Im glad we got typings like grass/dragon, dragon/steel, dragon/ghost and dragon/water again and in different form, especially on non legendary pokemon.
 
Unova feels like America seen through the eyes of a Japenese tourist. Same with Alola and Hawaii. I'm not British but even I noticed the little things in the dialogue like the mum spelled with u and Hop calling you mate and stuff like that.

To be fair, they did this plenty in Alola, too. Howzit, aue, cousin/uncle/auntie, tutu, chicken skin, da kine, etc.

(Come to think of it, shouldn't "chicken skin" be something like "Blaziken skin," kind of like how Sword & Shield turn out the phrase "Nickit in Wooloo's clothing"? Immersion BROKEN.)
 
The whistling mechanic is a cute touch. Not just for its functional application in the Wild Area, but even if you're just standing in a town or a house surrounded by NPCs and static Pokémon, whistling will cause them to turn their heads toward you for a moment.

I like the "cinematic" cutaway dialogue during battles with important NPCs, but I especially like that they even gave one to Zacian/Zamazenta during the final battle with them. Just a quick moment of the wolf breathing deep in preparation for the fight (for Zacian anyway, Zamazenta's is more of a roar). That's super cool - to me, it makes them feel a little more real and personable, not just some generically omnipotent God Mon, but a warrior who's done this before and knows the value of concentration and focus. I see this extending from the same sort of thinking that inspired the "Starter chooses you" sequence in Sun & Moon. I really like that they've started using the graphical capabilities of the 3D games to give Pokémon more agency and perspective, even in small ways.

Might not be a "little detail" per se, but I love that they remixed the Hall of Fame theme for Leon's battle music. And the cheers throughout make it so fucking hype. Relatedly, I like how in lieu of an actual Hall of Fame room, the title screen takes up that function after you beat the game.

There's also a couple of moments throughout the game where you're given leeway to be a bit mischievous in your dialogue choice - focusing on the Bob's Your Uncle poster instead of the fifth tapestry in Circhester, and "exaggerating what happened" by telling Sonia that Turffield Stadium was completely destroyed in the post-game arc. (Which she totally believes for a second, even though the stadium is right before her eyes!)

Other fun details; there's a Game Freak employee at the Hotel Ionia who's playing Pokémon GO on her phone. Also, there's a Black Belt on Route 9 who says he's practicing baritsu - a quasi-fictional form of martial arts from the Sherlock Holmes stories.
 
Shouldn't it be "Lycanroc in Wooloo's clothing"?

In terms of 1:1 animal equivalence, that would be more accurate, but not only is Lycanroc not in the Galar Dex (yet, anyway - and not that that's a hardline disqualification, but it does make more sense for a local phrase to use a Pokémon that actually lives in the region), but also character-wise, Nickit works better as an in-universe translation of the meaning of the phrase - Lycanroc is more openly brash and aggressive (particularly Midnight Form), while Nickit is very thoroughly a deceptive thief who'll take whatever it wants, so Nickit better suits the idea of someone cunning and self-serving hiding under a friendly veneer.

Going back to my own comment, Blaziken similarly probably wouldn't be a great translational equivalent for "chicken," even though it is one, because the phrase "chicken skin" comes from what chickens look like when they've been plucked, and when would anyone be seeing a plucked Blaziken? But a better candidate doesn't really leap to my mind.
 
Combusken? Torchic?

Kind of the same problem, even with those - the larger issue is that the Pokémon games don't want to talk in too much detail about Pokémon being used as food, so I don't think plucked chicken skin is something that people in the Pokémon world would code as being exposed to as often as in our world, where we're much less precious about that kind of thing. (And "Torchic skin"doesn't work phonetically, either - "Combusken/Blaziken skin" at least retains the rhyme.)

Although, I've just now looked up Blaziken's Pokédex entries, and maybe it works better than I thought:

> "It learns martial arts that use punches and kicks. Every several years, its old feathers burn off, and new, supple feathers grow back in their place."
 
Going back to my own comment, Blaziken similarly probably wouldn't be a great translational equivalent for "chicken," even though it is one, because the phrase "chicken skin" comes from what chickens look like when they've been plucked, and when would anyone be seeing a plucked Blaziken? But a better candidate doesn't really leap to my mind.
Moltres
 
Another thing that just came to mind is that now, when you pick up an item, sometimes there can be more than one of it upon obtaining it, like the three Poke Balls on Route 2 or the two X Defenses just outside of Galar Mine 1. I think only the Colosseum games did that, though my memory is a bit hazy on that. That's actually pretty helpful, as it means you can get more items in one sitting instead of getting almost drip-fed items throughout the game. Not to mentions some rare items, like Leftovers, can be found in places like Berry Trees on occasion. And, in that same vein, hidden items now give of a sparkle indicating where they are, which is very helpful when trying to find them, so no more searching for certain tiles on the ground to find hidden items.
 
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