Aug 122019
Since the last couple of posts were reviews, we never got a chance to talk about Wednesday’s Pokémon Sword and Shield news.
It wasn’t a video presentation like we thought it might be, just a new trailer. Like I predicted, it revealed new Pokémon, some new characters, and the new team.
Let’s talk about the Pokémon first. Like Sun and Moon, Sword and Shield will also have special regional forms. The trailer revealed Galarian Weezing, Galarian Zigzagoon and Linoone, and most interestingly, an evolution of Galarian Linoone called Obstagoon.
I believe this is the first time a Pokémon has gotten an evolution exclusive to a regional variant.
They also revealed a new Pokémon called Morpeko, which changes forms between Fully Belly Mode and Hangry Mode, which changes its ability from Electric to Dark.
Moving on to the new characters, the rest of the trailer focused on two rivals and the enemy team.
While a rival named Hop was already revealed earlier, this trailer added Bede and Marnie. Bede is another boy hoping to take on the Gym Challenge after being endorsed by Chairman Rose. His official description claims he also has “other objectives,” and he certainly looks like he’ll break free from the friendly rival character type recent Pokémon games have liked so much.
Meanwhile, there’s Marnie, and while it’s not entirely clear what sort of rival she’ll be yet (or who endorsed her), she’s connected to the newly-introduced Team Yell.
That’s right. “Team Yell.”
Team Yell is basically a group of obsessive sports fans who want Marnie to win at all costs. They carry vuvuzelas and Marnie-print towels (that’s not creepy at all) and do their best to sabotage Marnie’s opponents.
They don’t seem as evil as past teams, but they certainly fit the atmosphere of the Galar region, where the Gym Challenge is basically a huge sporting event. Besides, I still believe Chairman Rose and Oleana are the true villains of the more serious plot that will probably arise.
Finally, although it isn’t featured in the English trailer, Sword and Shield will have a new feature called Poké Jobs, where you send your Pokémon to help with jobs and gain experience and items. These are handled through the “Rotomi” in Pokémon Centers, which also handles boxes and Loto-ID. Here’s hoping it won’t be as annoying as Sun/Moon’s Rotom Dex.
What did you think of the latest Pokémon Sword and Shield details? How do you feel about the new characters and Team Yell? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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Reading you write “hangry” is more amusing than expected.
Hahaha. It’s what they called it!