Swordshield

Most of us are likely familiar with the Pokémon series' standard of eight Gyms to find and defeat - until Pokémon Sun and Moon did away the idea altogether, of course - but Pokémon Sword and Shield look set to revolutionise the system all over again.

In the new games, a whopping 18 Gyms will be featured. They'll be split across 'Major' and 'Minor' leagues; different Gyms will appear in each and some will differ depending on which version of the game you pick up. For example, Bea's Fighting-type Gym will appear in Pokémon Sword's Major league, while Allister's Ghost-type Gym will appear in Pokémon Shield's Major league. The news comes from Game Informer which has shared exclusive info on the games in its most recent issue.

Interestingly, it would appear that the Gyms can be in different leagues each year in the Galar region, perhaps working in a similar system to sports where teams are promoted and relegated each season. It isn't clear whether or not you'll be able to challenge all 18, but we couldn't help notice that there just so happens to be 18 different Pokémon types in the game. Could there be one Gym for each type?

Plenty more fresh details have also been shared recently, including the fact that HMs won't be featured, around 1,000 people have worked on the new games, and that Sword and Shield will benefit from an optional autosave function. Oh, and series director Junichi Masuda has also confirmed that any "cut" Pokémon will return in future games.

Liking the sound of 18 Gyms? It certainly sounds like it could be pretty exciting to us. Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

[source gameinformer.com, via siliconera.com]