Game Freak News Articles
Sunday17th Nov 2019
Video Digital Foundry Delivers Its Verdict On Pokémon Sword And Shield
Gotta watch it all
The mainline Pokémon series has finally made the jump to high-definition, so how does it hold up in terms of visuals and performance? The tech experts over the Digital Foundry found Sword and Shield to be a bit of a mixed experience. The texturing is described as being on "the basic side" – with low-resolution texture mapping...
Saturday16th Nov 2019
Random Yes, People In The Galar Region Eat Pokémon
Curry on rice, with cooked Slowpoke tail
So, if you haven't already noticed during your own playthrough of Pokémon Sword and Shield, the psychic-water type Slowpoke isn't featured in the Galar Region's Pokédex. While it was believed this Pokémon had been removed, that's not entirely true. You see, the new curry recipes in Sword and Shield reveal...
Reminder Sign Up Now To The Pokémon Sword And Shield Galar Beginnings Online Competition
Starts on 6th December
The Pokémon Company will be hosting the very first Pokémon Sword and Shield online competition next month, on 6th December. If you would like to participate in the Galar Beginnings tournament, all you have to do is sign up between now (15th November) and 5th December to take part. To do this, you'll need to enter the VS...
News The First Limited-Time Gigantamax Event In Pokémon Sword And Shield Is Now Live
Fancy taking on a giant Butterfree?
One big part of Pokémon Sword and Shield is the ability to participate in Max Raid Battles with four other trainers, in order to take down special Dynamax Pokémon. In some rare cases though, a Gigantamax Pokémon will appear. While the chances of encountering one of these Gigantamax Pokémon are normally...
Friday15th Nov 2019
News Eek, Pokémon Sword And Shield Could Be Corrupting Micro SD Card Data
...but your save data is safe, thankfully [Updated]
Update: It appears that more people are having this issue with the digital version of the game, and a Switch hacker has claimed to identify the cause, relating to those using exFAT as the filesystem on their SD card (via NintendoSoup). At this point, we imagine this is still isolated to a small...
News Of Course Pokémon Sword And Shield Is Getting Review-Bombed
Try to act surprised
Well, it was bound to happen, wasn't it? After the fuss about the Pokédex, recycled animations and much more besides, Pokémon Sword And Shield is getting review-bombed by users on
News Pokémon Designer Shares Special Artwork To Celebrate The Release Of Sword And Shield
"may your journey to Galar be a great one"
Pokémon designer and Sword and Shield art director James Turner – who recently came under fire for 'liking' a tweet that attacked disappointed Pokémon fans – has been sharing custom artwork leading up to the big release. Now that the new generation has launched on Switch (at least in most parts of...
Thursday14th Nov 2019
Random Now Pokémon Sword And Shield Haters Are Asking The US President To Halt Sales Of The Game
"This is violating our market rights"
Wow. Pokémon Sword And Shield sure has annoyed a lot of fans – and it's not even out yet. We've covered the numerous complaints about the game already, but – as our Pokémon Sword And Shield review clearly states – this is a solid start to Generation 8 on Switch. St
Wednesday13th Nov 2019
65 stores taking part
Based in the UK? Itching to get your hands on Pokémon Sword and Shield? Well, you'll be pleased to know that high street chain GAME is conducting a series of midnight openings on Thursday night/Friday morning across 65 of its stores, which means you can get your grubby hands on the latest title in the series a few hours...
And will base future decisions on those reactions
One exciting new aspect of the upcoming Switch releases Pokémon Sword and Shield is the 'Wild Area' – a vast and open bit of land connecting towns and containing many different Pokémon in their natural habitats. This same area also happens to make use of a free-moving camera, which is a first for...
Sunday10th Nov 2019
"We encourage people to use Pokémon Home to collect their Pokémon from old games"
We're a week away from the release of Pokémon Sword And Shield and the game is already being attacked online by fans who feel the developer Game Freak is letting them down – mainly because it has already been confirmed that the Switch release won't have a complete...
News Social Media Bands Together To Show Pokémon Studio Game Freak Some Love
#ThankYouGameFreak
It's been a difficult period for Japanese developer Game Freak since the producer Junichi Masuda revealed the upcoming titles Pokémon Sword and Shield for Switch would feature a limited Pokédex. There's been backlash from fans, online leaks and a launch event in Japan was even recently cancelled due to operational reasons...
Friday8th Nov 2019
Poll Which Starter Pokémon Is The Best? Choose Your Favourite Water-Type Starter
Pick from this pool
And we come to the final stop on our journey to find out the best multi-generational mix of starter Pokémon before we ultimately reveal your dream team of starters. We've previously asked your opinion for the best Fire- and Grass-type starter Pokémon from the eight generations that comprise the mainline
News Pokémon Sword And Shield's Japanese Launch Event Has Been Canned
All down to "operational reasons", apparently
Pokémon Sword And Shield is shaping up to be one of the biggest launches of the year, and nowhere is that truer than in Japan, where the series enjoys so much fame that 'mon are given positions of authority and no one blinks an eye. Taking this into account, any and all launch events relating to the...
Thursday7th Nov 2019
Poll Which Starter Pokémon Is The Best? Choose Your Favourite Grass-Type Starter
Best in grass
A wild PokéPoll appeared! Continuing our quest to find the ultimate cross-generational triumvirate of starter Pokémon, here we present the 8 Grass-type starters from every generation for your consideration. The Rock-Paper-Scissors choice of Fire-Grass-Water-types to kick off your adventure is a series tradition, but we're eager to...
Wednesday6th Nov 2019
Poll Which Starter Pokémon Is The Best? Choose Your Favourite Fire-Type Starter
Trouble starters, punkin' instigators
We're going to go out on a limb and guess that you've probably heard about the new Pokémon game coming out very soon. Yes, we're on the cusp of Gen VIII with the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield and very soon you'll be able to choose between Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble before embarking on a journey...
Video Check Out The Yummy Pokémon Sword And Shield Zacian And Zamazenta Edition Switch Lite
It's a thing of beauty
Pokémon Sword and Shield is almost with us, but before that, we have the special Zacian and Zamazenta Edition Switch Lite to get to grips with. It's not out until November 8th in the west, but we managed to get our hands on a Japanese model early, and Zion has been putting it through its paces. Let us know if you'll be...
Tuesday5th Nov 2019
Rumour Nintendo May Have Caught The Pokémon Sword And Shield Leaker
Someone wasn't careful enough, it seems
The recent leak of information relating to Pokémon Sword And Shield certainly wasn't part of Nintendo's grand scheme for promoting the game, but if a recent rumour is to be believed, the company has tracked down the individual responsible. The report comes from Twitter user KGPrestige, who claims that...
Saturday2nd Nov 2019
Rumour The Starter Evolutions For Pokémon Sword And Shield Might Have Been Leaked
Warning: possible spoilers ahead
It appears the starter evolutions for Pokémon Sword and Shield have possibly been leaked on Reddit. The images of these Pokèmon are believed to have originated on a Twitter account. As can be seen, we've got the first evolutions for Sobble and Grookey, as well as their apparent
Wednesday30th Oct 2019
News Pokémon Sword And Shield File Size Revealed On The Japanese Switch eShop
Make some space
If you plan on picking up a digital copy of Pokémon Sword and Shield next month, you might be interested to know just how much storage space the new entries set in the Galar region require. According to a listing on the Japanese eShop, both games will need 9.5GB of free space. To download both, you'll need 19GB. This follows on...
Sunday27th Oct 2019
News Get A Free Mewtwo For Pokémon: Let’s Go In The United States
By visiting a Best Buy store next month
Pokémon Sword and Shield might be arriving less than a month from now, but that doesn't mean The Pokémon Company has forgotten about Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! just yet. If you live in North America and happen to own a copy of Let's Go, you'll be able to download the mighty Mewtwo at...
Thursday24th Oct 2019
News Negative Feedback Gets Us Down But Must Be Taken On Board, Says Pokémon's Junichi Masuda
"You have to take criticism"
It's a bit of an odd time for Pokémon. You could argue that the series has never been bigger, what with titles such as Pokémon GO and Pokémon Masters pulling in new fans on smartphones while movies like Detective Pikachu spread the brand across the world via the media of cinema. However, the core of the Pokémon...
Pixélmon, I choose you!
Nintendo has posted a 30-second teaser for the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Shield that features a whole load of your favourite 'mon from previous generations. We could describe it in detail, but it's only 30 seconds - check it out above. Neat, huh? It's great fun to see all the retro pixel versions of Pokémon from multiple...
Friday18th Oct 2019
Video We've Played Pokémon Sword And Shield On Nintendo Switch And These Are Our Thoughts
Are they any good?
After Luigi's Mansion 3, the next major Switch title arriving is Pokémon Sword and Shield in the middle of November. It's expected to be the biggest Pokémon game ever (in more ways than one) – with Dynamaxing, Gigantamaxing, and a brand new region featuring idyllic countryside, contemporary cities, thick forests, and...
Saturday5th Oct 2019
News Game Freak Considered "Changing Up" The Battle System In Pokémon Sword And Shield
But wanted to express turn-based battles in the ultimate form
One staple of Pokémon is the turn-based battle gameplay. Without it, the series probably wouldn't have been as successful as it is today. While the upcoming releases Sword and Shield for the Nintendo Switch have incorporated a lot of new ideas, there were a few of them that didn't make...
Friday4th Oct 2019
News The Pokémon Company Issues A Statement About The Number Of Gyms In Sword And Shield
The new entries will still offer a "traditional Gym" experience
Earlier this week, we found out Pokémon Sword and Shield would include a "whopping" 18 Gyms, split across 'Major' and 'Minor' leagues in a Game Informer cover story. Although we already knew different Gyms would appear depending on which version of the game you were playing, The...
Thursday3rd Oct 2019
Random Game Freak Had Plans For A Virtual Boy Title But Never Got Around To Making It
Pokémon Red?
Whenever the developer Game Freak is mentioned, you probably think about the mainline Pokémon video game series. That's not the only series it has worked on over the years, though. Little Town Hero is coming to the Switch later this month and there was a point in the Japanese company's history when it had an idea for a Virtual Boy...
Wednesday2nd Oct 2019
News Junichi Masuda Says Cut Pokémon Will "Definitely" Return In Future Games
Gone but not forgotten
Earlier this year, Sword and Shield producer Junichi Masuda shocked the Pokémon community when he revealed some creatures would be left behind. After much backlash from fans, it resulted in him releasing an official statement, saying how it was a "very difficult decision" to make. He also explained at the time that if a...
News Around 1,000 People Worked On The New Pokémon Games For Switch
The biggest team ever!
Pokémon Sword and Shield might not include every pocket monster, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a small game. In fact, it's such a big project, more than 1,000 people were reportedly involved in its development. Speaking to Game Informer, director Shigeru Ohmori explained how the core team who developed the Sun and...
Saturday28th Sep 2019
Video Game Freak Introduces The Characters Of Little Town Hero
Not long to go now
Game Freak might be best known for the mainline Pokémon series, but it also likes to make other games. The next one on the way is the RPG Little Town Hero, previously known as 'Town'. With this digital-only release just around the corner, Game Freak has decided to upload a new clip, featuring all of the "attractive" characters...
