Pokemon Sword And Shield Is What I Needed To Get On The Switch Train

Nintendo has officially announced the next Pokémon game and it’s called Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield for the Nintendo Switch. Now I want a Switch more than ever.

This announcement was the last push I needed to fully commit. Games like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey and more weren’t enough for me to sink money into another console. But now that the next Pokemon RPG game is coming, I’m all in.

Sword and Shield will bring the eighth generation of Pokémon to consoles and so far we know only the three starters: Grassy type Grookey, Fire type Scorbunny, and water type Sobble.

I’ve been wanting a new Pokémon game to really sell me on the Switch and convince me to become the best there ever was. The last time I played a Pokémon game from start to finish was Pokémon Sapphire for the Game Boy Advance. Since then, I’ve pretty much fallen behind on Nintendo’s other handhelds because all I usually want is Pokémon.

Sure, Pokémon Let’s Go! Pikachu and Eevee were released late last year, but lacked some of the minor qualities that make for the complete Pokémon experience. While it has most of the RPG exploration that typifies Pokémon titles, it substituted the Pokémon vs. Pokémon battles with something completely different: capture-based mechanics, which also encouraged the use of the Pokéball controller.

It’s a part of my childhood and the appeal for me never went away. Now that Sword and Shield is coming to the Switch, this makes a console that also hosts games like Bayonetta 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and the aforementioned Breath of the Wild and Odyssey even more appealing. I can’t wait to catch up on all the great Nintendo games I missed in recent years and even more, I can’t wait to catch ‘em all.

Pokemon Sword and Shield setting : The Galar Region

Every Pokemon game comes with a new region, and Sword and Shield is no different in that regard. Players will visit the Galar region which will host the 8th generation of Pokemon.

We don’t know much about the region but Pokemon Company describes Galar as “an expansive region with diverse environments— an idyllic countryside, contemporary cities, thick forest, and craggy, snow-covered mountains. The people and the Pokemon who live there work together closely to develop the industries in the region. Fans will have the opportunity to visit various Gyms in the Galar region in their quest to become Champion.”

Pokemon Sword and Shield doesn’t have an exact release date right now but is slated for late 2019.

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