New items and features announced for Sword and Shield
You can effectively change the Nature of Pokémon! There’ll also be a launch period for catching a Gigantamax-able Butterfree, and the first online competition for generation eight.
A new trailer for the Pokémon Sword and Shield titles has released, as has information on the official website. You can effectively change the Nature of Pokémon, access the PC box system from most areas in the game, and use multiple items (e.g. Protein) for boosting effort values (EVs) of Pokémon in one go.
Mints
Mints are items that will make their first appearance in these games. They’ll impact which stats of your Pokémon are likely to grow faster than usual! Each Pokémon has a Nature, and this Nature can impact which of the Pokémon’s stats are likely to grow faster or slower than average. Using a Mint on a Pokémon seems to change these stat-growth patterns! However, a Pokémon’s Nature itself won’t change even if you use a Mint.
Special Supplements
Nutritious drinks like Protein and Iron raise a Pokémon’s base points, which in turn help raise that Pokémon’s stats. Until now, there has been a limit on how many of these items could be used on a Pokémon. However, in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, you’re now able to max out a Pokémon’s base points using only these supplements!
Exp. Candies
Normally, your Pokémon earn Exp. Points through battles. But if you use an Exp. Candy, you’ll be able to give your Pokémon Exp. Points directly! You can earn these Candies in Max Raid Battles, so collect a bunch and level up your Pokémon in a flash!
Egg Moves
Sometimes, a Pokémon hatched from an Egg will know unusual moves called Egg Moves. These Egg Moves are moves that the Pokémon wouldn’t normally be able to learn through more common means, like leveling up or using TMs. In these games, if you leave two Pokémon of the same species at the Pokémon Nursery together, an Egg Move that one of them knows can be passed on to the other Pokémon!
It appears that a Pokémon can only learn an Egg Move this way when it knows three or fewer moves.
Launch period to have higher chance for Gigantamax Butterfree
In Max Raid Battles, four Trainers team up to take on a wild Dynamax Pokémon. But in extremely rare cases, a Gigantamax Pokémon can appear instead of a Dynamax Pokémon. Normally, your chances of encountering a Gigantamax Pokémon are very, very small. However, we’ve discovered that certain Gigantamax Pokémon become more common during specific time periods!
From Friday, November 15, 2019, until early January 2020, players will be more likely to encounter Gigantamax Butterfree in Max Raid Battles.
During this same period, players of Pokémon Sword will also be more likely to encounter Gigantamax Drednaw and players of Pokémon Shield will be more likely to encounter Gigantamax Corviknight!
Pokémon Boxes
You can deposit Pokémon you don’t want on your team in your Pokémon Boxes. In Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, you’ll be able to access your Pokémon Boxes in various towns and facilities—but also while you’re on the road or even when you’re exploring in the tall grass! You’ll be able to swap Pokémon into and out of your team whenever you want, so try experimenting with all sorts of different Pokémon.
Just be aware that there are a few places—such as the mission areas where you take on Pokémon Gyms—where you won’t be able to access your Boxes.
Battle Competition
A battle competition has been announced. The full rules are not yet revealed, but the sign up period begins at game launch and ends on Thursday, December 5, at 23:59 UTC. The competition starts Friday, December 6, at 00:00 UTC, and ends on Sunday, December 8, at 23:59 UTC. It will be a Single Battle format.
What is your favourite new item or feature? Will you take part in the first online competition?
Edited by Zach.
