Pokémon Sword And Shield Revealed For Nintendo Switch, New Starters Shown

Absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait. It looks so much more lively and less sterile than the Let‘s Go games. This is the Pokémon I’ve been waiting for.
And I love the look of the new starters! I’ve always chosen the water one traditionally in every generation, but they all look so cute this time around that it’s going to be hard to decide.
And it was exciting to hear that the development team wants to try new things. I hope they take that seriously and do some groundbreaking stuff this time around. I love Pokémon, but the formula is getting a little bit stale. Even so, after seeing the reveal this just might be my most anticipated game for the year.

Random battles. Gorgeous environments. Fire bunny. I'm down.

Now begins the long wait.

So, in the end you guys managed to get Poké-England, eh.

Blimey!

Sun & Moon graphics and random encounters... in 2019.

This is a skip, ma'am.

Looks nice, but I'm not convinced yet. I want a different story than getting badges, fighting baddies while we're at it and then winning a Pokémon League type of thing. We're doing that for 20 years already.

This trailer didn't show enough to convince me that it's more than an HD 3DS Pokémon game.

Wish we could see the mons in the wild. And I’m concerned about the camera. Didn’t seem very “open world” to me. But besides that looks good

To quote Hanzo from Senran Kagura "You need to be both the sword and the shield."

Day 1 purchase.

@bratzdoll That certainly looked better than Sun and Moon graphics to me.

I'm excited. But then, I'm a Pokemaniac and always am at the beginnings of new gen. Can't wait to see what kind of new Pokemon we get. Scorbunny will probably be my starter.

I'm amazed they didn't go the whole hog and name them Pokemon Remain and Pokemon Leave, or as my friend joked Pokemon Red Passport and Blue Passport.

Alternative title: Pokemon Leave and Pokemon Remain.

Very cool. Not sure what others were really expecting but uhh yeah pretty excited.

Looks to me like the Galar region is based on Britain, just like Unova was based on France.

The region and design look really promising. Pokémon still being hidden in grass is a major letdown, though.

This is what I wanted, I felt absolutely cheated by Let's Go Pikachu, hopefully I can use the Pro Controller this time.

@Incognito_D Kalos was based off France not Unova.

Now this is the game I've been waiting for. Would have liked to have kept visible wild Pokemon, but still I'm looking forward to it.

Sobble is best starter.

@SinnohGeek Yeah, this time it's in HD.

I was a little disappointed. I was expecting an overhaul, but it seems more of the same but with better graphics. When the battle scene was shown, I was hoping to see a really true revamp...I don’t know. It didn’t look bad, it’s just that random encounters with (more than likely) your Pokémon knowing 4 moves and will have to forget one each time it learns another. I just want more depth.

Maybe I’m just being early with my criticism. Maybe with more info I will be blown away. As I stands right now though, Super Mario Maker 2 is shaping up to be my 2019 GOTY.

I didn't see walking Pokemon, which upsets me because the Switch has the capability, they finished assets for all gen 1-7 Pokemon in SuMo, and showed that they just have to port it over by using the same assets in Let's GO!

Stop removing features Game Freak. Also, I noticed them addressing the casual crowd first and foremost, which makes me scared that they aren't going to make main series games as difficult as 1-5 for the hardcore audience despite having a series for casuals to follow separate from the main series games.

The starter Pokemon look like fanart creations to me. I mean if someone leaked them yesterday I would have blown it off as such. But the rest of the game looks great.

@Incognito_D kalos was based on France

@RadioHedgeFund very good!

I hope that coliseum shot at the end of the trailer means that instead of an Elite 4 we will be getting an actual Pokemon league instead.

Region looked good, but I'm not a fan of any of the Starters, which is a first time thing for me...

I'm not thrilled about random encounters. They could have kept the encounter method from Let's Go, but with actual battling. But, the graphics and overall presentation look very nice. I'm hoping there will be some neat online features, and Pokeball support.

It looked thoroughly decent. Honestly the graphics looked a bit rough around the edges in the overworld and seemed reminiscent of an early PS3 game, but the character models all looked clean and animations seemed good too. Overall I'm quite interested, which is more than I could say for the past few pokemon games!

I wouldnt expect an grand reinvention until an big anniversary

i will definitely get it.

@patbacknitro18 That was my first thought too. But their 3D models look a lot better than the 2D art.

@-Juice- Pokemon was never a difficult game. I was like 9 when Red came out and didnt find it hard to play.

I'm disappointed with the return of the old style of random encounters. Seeing the Pokémon in the overworld in the Let's Go games is just about the only thing that they got right in those games, and it was such a refreshing and much-needed change for the series. The only reason why it may have worn out its novelty in Let's Go was due to the lack of available Pokémon (150 out of 809).

I hope they make it an option rather than imposing one way or the other.

That aside, it looks great. I hope we get more new Pokémon this time. The last two gens were quite light on that front.

I'm psyched! Can not wait

@-Juice- gens 1 through 5 weren't particularly difficult either.

please let there be a 3rd version named Pokémon Gun

Looks fairly safe so far but I wouldn't blame them for making a pretty conventional Pokemon game for the first entry on a home console. No need to shake up the series drastically at this point.

I'll take the grass monkey to start please!

Guess I’ll start off with Sword.

It looks great. I'm not blown away, but I'm more than satisfied. People expecting a BotW-style revamp for an annual franchise are really expecting too much, this game hasn't had half the development time BotW did. I'm really hoping the next game after this takes a few years to develop, but for now, Sword and Shield look like a proper return to what Pokemon is supposed to be.

Why are they so afraid to try anything different?

As a fan since Yellow, I'm very dissapointed, it looks like another 3DS game, but in HD, they had the chance to redo battle animations, models, do something more akin to Xenoblade with the overworld and change the formula, but instead they went safe and did everything samie again, I'm sad to say that the Colosseum/XD/Battle Revolution games still looks better than the main games on a HD console...

@ItalianBaptist They 100% do. Their designs just do not translate well to 2D.

The world looks gorgeous. The design of the Pokemon are VERY basic. Not what I’d expect from a Switch game. Pikachu looks like he should still be on the 3DS... whoever said BOTW tier should be shot. Still, Day 1 purchase for me.

So long as I can bring over my entire Pokedex from previous generations, I'll be happy. I worked hard to finish that Shiny Pokedex, damn it.

Looks like a pretty traditional Pokémon game, probably using the tech that established the Let's GO games. Will get one of the 2 games, but can't decide which one yet. Will definitely use that fire bunny as my starter.

definately set in england, got big ben and the chalk hill drawings

I was really hoping for a more substantial overhaul of the franchise (open-world) but I'm not really disappointed with what we saw. Baby steps, I suppose.

Please don't let Grookey's final form look awful...

Looks like a classic style pokemon game exactly as i was hoping no crappy let's go mechanics not too sure on the starters but it also depends on what they evolve into day one for me

@Kwehst The problem is the depth of the Pokemon battle system comes entirely from the fact that Pokemon are limited to 4 moves. It's the most crucial aspect of the engine, since it's the cornerstone on which the 'what is safe to switch in' mind game turns.

A complete overhaul of the system is possible, but not without alienating long term fans who have paid a subscription fee specifically to store old pokemon with the expectation of bringing them into the new generation.

Given the franchises sales, I can't see the core system ever really getting messed with.

It looks about what I expected. Not amazing by any stretch, but fine. Getting Sword.

@bratzdoll Stop trolling. That is the art style. No Pokemon game has ever looked like this and the scope is absolutely huge.

Tuned in live via YouTube on Switch. I think the game looks great so far, and Scorbunny looks cute, yet awesome that it's literally a fire bunny!

@Hughesy This is straight up false. Pokemon had always been relatively challenging up until gen 6. You can absolutely notice the challenge drop off, and interviews with the devs showcase this. USUM brought difficulty back up to Black and White levels, which was appreciated.

Saying Pokemon has never been difficult is a lie. It's not back breaking by any means, but it used to be a bit of a challenge all the same. I've never been defeated by Diantha, I still get defeated occasionally by Cynthia.

@Silly_G - I agree, it's also the only feature that felt that it can be built upon that Let's Go introduced.

Imagine a Safari Zone where you have to use certain kinds of ride Pokémon to get to places and chase and stir specific types.

Looks like a great first entry on Switch! Keep the great games coming!

@BenAV you don't even know what is gonna be in the game yet. Can we wait until we get morw information until we make that judgement?

@Zuljaras Yes they were afraid to do something new. Not because this game has only been in development for 2 years, unlike Breath of the Wilds 6+ years of development. But ya no they are just lazy for not giving us a fully open world Pokemon game within a 2 year development cycle. Oh and especially on a console that they just started developing for, while they also had other games in the works like Pokemon Lets Go and that new TOWN game.

@Zuljaras Zelda was also a smaller franchise with no backwards compatability or any expectation of it. Pokemon is a very different beast. Given the franchises past sales, what kind of massive gain could the devs possibly hope to accomplish with an overhaul?

Can’t wait for Pokemon Master Sword and Pokemon Hylian Shield in 2 years.

@Hughesy I agree, kids were able to brute force their way with an overleveled starter most of the time.

So my question is, if the games were always this easy why is gamefreak making them easier each time?

Yeap it's a day one buy for me, I don't care about the name or the starter this will be my first home console Pokemon games for Switch since Colosseum on the GameCube. My bro will be picking up his copy too and whichever version he gets I'll get the other one.

I couldn't hear the Pokémon Direct video because no subtitles and awful dubbing! As I wear hearing aids that was not a disabled friendly video at all. I really hope Nintendo and Pokémon learn from Microsoft how to be disabled friendly. But at least I learned Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield look almost impossibly cute and come out autumn/winter this year!

It literally looks like Sun and Moon blown up. That's not necessarily awful as the use of textures and land was much better in SM than Lets Go but the textures are blurry as hell overall and the floor texture for the battles is unforgivable. Pikachu looks like he's floating on a mess of green and yellow thrown at a canvas.

I'm also disappointed in the lack of overworld Pokémon and Pokémon following you. What does constantly removing features do for Nintendo apart from serving to create hype for when they bring it back?

Watch it gets justified for 'techinical reasons' while the game runs at sub-30fps, 720p like Lets Go.

I don't know, the reveal was just disappointing for me apart from the overall look of the new region

Well, UK, congrats on Pokemon region "representation". XD

Looks neat so far. Moderately neat, but I like the landscapes and feel curious about what lore, stories and game mechanics the team may have been inspired to produce. That said, I doubt it'll be a priority in my backlog and a temptation to leap several Pokemon generations ahead where even the power of Lillie has yet to move me past Route 2 in Moon - but like with Moon, I might get this game early for events' sake.

The reason your character enters the stadium is because he gives up on being a pokemon trainer and decides to become a football player instead

I’m fairly concerned that the region looks really small. Gonna get me a ‘Sobble’ and call it ‘Squabble’

I'm actually fine with random encounters. I liked the Pokémon being shown in the Let's Go games. But at the same time, we are supposed to be under the illusion that this world is huge and that hundreds, if not thousands of these creatures are roaming around. So when you only see five Pidgey or Rattata on screen at a time, it kind of takes away that illusion. At least that's my perspective.

As for whether or not the series could have done with an overhaul ala Zelda, I won't argue that against it in spirit. I will say we need to keep in mind that unlike Zelda, Pokémon caters to a much wider audience. I think we can stomach an overhauled Zelda more so than Little Timmy could stomach an almost unfamiliar Pokémon experience

The starters might look like fakes, but those trainer designs are fantastic!

@-Juice- I played and beat Pokemon Green as a 9 year old in without understanding a word of Japanese without realizing I could catch pokemon other than my Charmander until 4 gyms in. Pokemon is only challenging if you want to impose an artificial challenge in yourself. Every game has been beatable by letting your starter hog all the EXP.

@justin233 "Please don't let Grookey's final form look awful..."

Yeh, tell me about it. Bloody Serperior..

Pokemon Attacc and Pokemon Protecc.

@Archius9 I think they've only shown off just a fraction of the real region size. After all they are working with a system with a far bigger memory space than the 3DS, so I'm thinking the regions gonna be much bigger than games like X and Y

Calling it now: we're going to see a stock price drop before the weekend because this new system seller isn't scamming players with microtransactions.

I mean, hey, worked with Let's Go and its 50-buck-paywall'd Mew that resulted in a stock price bump for Nintendo, I doubt Sword and Shield not pulling the same crap will do them any favours, stock-wise.

@michellelynn0976 If you say so. Even the TOWN teaser looked more impressive to me.

Grookey for me! Looks great and can't wait to buy!

Definitely day one buy for me, love the look of these games. I’m very happy that they went with a sun and moon kind of look, as they where my favorite installation for the 3DS. No stupid tropical island with knitted wholly clothes that looks painfully awkward.

Looks beautiful in my opinion. Very excited what the game has to offer.

I really liked the new starters. Can't say which one I'll be picking yet. Usually I only like two out of three which makes the decision bit easier. The names are kind of weird though. I guess I'll get used to them soon enough.

Other than that, it looks like Pokémon. There wasn't anything new per say but it looks good. Really digging the main character designs as well.

I've never enjoyed a Pokemon game and this looks like it will be no exception. They just look, feel and play so bland, stiff and uninspired with the same tired mechanics and endless grinding. I don't like being ambushed every 5 seconds by a random Pokemon or trainer who wants to fight, I want to explore or get to where I'm going.

i'm liking what i'm seeing so far.
i'm gonna wait and see what the final evolves are before picking a starter.

Still holding on hope for wild Pokemon in the overworlds and following Pokemon.
They didn't show any npcs or anything.
I wonder what new things they will add to Pokemon! I like the new England inspired region. And that foggy forest looks really cool.
Scorbunny #never-evolve

@EvrgrnCmln That does make sense. My expectations were set too high. The longer I let the thought of the new games stir, the more I’m interested in them. There’s still time for them to show us really cool features that will probably tip me in the hype direction. It’s still at its base a new gen Pokémon game I can play on my tv. That’s pretty darn cool.

@Zuljaras While I see where you're coming from, I don't think it's that big of an issue if it's presented right. And to be honest, the world in this game is looking amazing. If its actually a much bigger region than the 3DS games, then I would be satisfied with them going the grid-based route again. I don't think it's lazy given the short development time. I think that they just wanted work with what they knew best on this new, and far bigger hardware. And try to make what they can with what they've got.

@Ralizah Random battles is not a good thing.

I really take it that some Pokémon truly don't want change.

Game looks good and all the starters are cute. I'm happy random battles are back since I don't want new Pokemon spoiled for me and part of the fun is actually looking for new Pokemon. I am hyped. #TeamSobble

I like how, since they ran out of colors for the titles, they're now just going with "things that tend to come in pairs" like X & Y, Sun & Moon, Sword & Shield. Pokemon Salt & Pepper is surely not too far off.

@Dog I disagree. Random battles work very well in this series, and I'm glad to see them return.

@Borngis I think it would either be Mace or Spear.

@Haywired Ok, X and Y were a bit forced. But Sun and Moon made sense naturally with how the games worked, and Sword and Shield make a bit more sense with the region they're inspired from.

@YoshiAngemon Or it could be some definitive version of the games called Pokemon Royalty?

@AlexSora89 Saying that Mew is behind a $50 paywall is like saying a Smash Bros. collector's coin costs $60 for coming with Smash Ultimate. The price would not have changed at all without Mew.

Do not be cynical and intellectually dishonest again.

Very mixed feelings. I've been playing off and on since Gen 1, but I've always hated random encounters and am rather sad that they appear to be back. They just get tedious when you're trying to find a specific pokemon. Also rather disappointed that my pokemon riding on/following me is gone again. It makes me wonder what else they may remove or downgrade to make it more "available" to new players.

I will say the starters are cute, and the overworld looks fairly nice. I hope they come out with more details soonish.

Such a letdown. I want an open world Pokémon without a fixed camera, and why the heck are random encounters back?

I have never played a Pokemon game but wanted to maybe start with this one, but this still looks like a 3Ds game to me. I may go back and start with some of the DS ones, I much prefer the pixel look. I think a style closer to Breath of the Wild would have been much better here, this looks too clean like a flash game.

What’s with the low poly count in the background? Reminds me of an HD wii game like skyward sword. The art direction is also super disappointing with a weird mix of realism and cartoon, but doesn’t come across as stylized to me, like they couldn’t commit to a direction.

@AlexSora89
Not just England, the north seems to give Scottish vibe.

oh yes day one. People said don't get your hopes up for gen 8 they was wrong. This looks good, what am I going to get sword or shield it depends on the legendary's. I skipped lets go but so hyped for this one.

@Nekonokatzen Pokémon following you is not at all off-putting to new players. It's 100% stripped out so they can get away with minor-to-no optimization of their old engine and scrape by with 20fps like they have done for years now

@Ralizah No, they are outdated design that only impedes a person's progress when travelling and is also a needless obstacle to grinding as a player is forced to run around in circles to train Pokémon instead of simply running towards one.

Removing random battles is something Pokémon should've kept going forward.

As a long time fan and player of this series since the days of red and blue, this has to be the most underwhelming generation yet.

Thank god it says not final graphics because those backgrounds are hideous. Random encounters should never be used again. This was their opportunity to truly change up the system.

It needed Yo Kai 4/ Ni No Kuni 2 style graphics, a BOTW style open world, with monsters wandering around the planes in herds or alone Xenoblade 2 style, being able to selectively choose your battles as you see fit.

I can't believe they are still going to use a linear game patch using routes with walls either side. Huge let down to say the least.

The one thing they could have done without is random battles, let's go evolved that aspect of the game.

Thank goodness this looks much better than Pokemon Let's Go.

I'm really looking forward to playing it.

Ooh yes can't wait for this looks very good!

Looks like the next Pokemon will be a great game. I'm highly doubting we'll get 60fps, but hopefully a locked 30fps with perfect frame pacing so I can play docked and get a smooth experience via frame interpolation! All the starters are tres cute!

If a portable only Mini Switch is truly happening... surely it will launch along with this game? And then Animal Crossing...

@BenAV it looks like it's running on the same engine as the Let's go Pokemon Switch games.. only thing new here is the setting and Gen of Pokemon.

Was kinda hopping they try something really new for a home console Pokemon game then keeping in line with the Gameboy/DS/3DS pokemon games

@-Juice- Sounds like you're just not very good at the Pokémon games. I've never had a hard time at all.

Can't wait for these games. Looks amazing

@Dark-Luigi
Shield and the Scor(e)bunny will be mine!

@Dog No, random battles work fine in games built around them. LGPE look kind of ridiculous with gigantic Pokemon models wandering around the clearly not-to-scale environments of those games. Moreover, seeing the Pokemon on the map takes away from the element of surprise with every encounter.

I'd be OK with Pokemon on the map in an expansive, open world-style game, but in a traditional Pokemon game, random battling is the only way to go that makes sense.

@ClassSonicSatAm

The camera is no longer top-down so that is a good sign...

@bratzdoll uh huh.

@BenAV Um no. Stop acting like you're the authority.

@thesilverbrick Let's Go tried a lot of new things, yet plenty of people whined about them.

Truth is, some Pokémon fans truly don't want change.

@bratzdoll I’ll raise you a random encounters but I can’t stand with you on the graphics comment. I think the game looks great and right on target. Considering it’ll look even better by the time of release you can color (or colour) my happy.

I am surprised that they are keeping so close to the look and feel of the 3DS games. I expected much better looking graphics and to see Pokémon walking around instead of hiding in the grass.

Regardless, this game will sell in the millions and will be one of the best selling games on Switch. I am sure that Nintendo announced it now so that they could talk about it in shareholder briefings next month and use it as the justification for being bullish on Switch sales for the 2019 fiscal year. Pokémon and Animal Crossing will one hell of a one-two punch for Switch this year, especially in Japan.

Looks great. I'll be choosing Scorbunny at the start.

Kinda had a feeling this gen was going to be a let-down. But at the same time I understand why they're taking the easy way out.

I just have so many ideas that would take the Pokemon series to the next level that would just blow everyone's minds. And then I see Game Freak not taking chances with this game unlike what they did with Let's Go. It's just a little disheartening.

If their next game isn't truly game changing, I will be giving up on this series once again. Game Freak is leaving way too much potential untapped. And for a series like Pokemon, that's a shame.

Looked nice, looked like Pokemon. I liked all the starters too. Will be looking forward to this. Here's hoping they manage to keep the spoilers to minimum for once, the Pokemon company kinda likes going bonkers with the reveals sometimes.

i love it Great first time game on switch i will def get day 1 pre ordering as soon as we get release date i will be getting shield and i will probably end up taking grookey i hope his third form isnt stupid and bring on a dark type gym and steel again i think the last steel gym we had was pearl and diamond
gym 1 Bug
Gym 2 water
Gym 3 steel
gym 4 Dark
Gym 5 poison
gym 6 fairy
gym 7 Normal
Gym 8 ground

and also post game they should allow us to travel to a dif region like sinnoh

The Let's Go games looked better! It's not a matter of textures, but of making it a living world, and with the pokémons in sight every time, it felt like this was the right way to play Pokémon. These games feel like a step backwards, and looking like the 3DS games, random battles. The only thing that looks new it's the terrain, with hills, that's it.

From what I can tell, it's almost exactly what I expected. The trailer showed us the names, graphics, starters, and a bit of the region, but not much else. Can't say I'm hyped until I see more, but at least the region looks interesting.

I just hope there is either an interesting new gimmick, or at least enough content to warrant the 60 dollars this time. I'm not expecting the world, just enough to keep things spicy. Because I'm not sure if I'll buy this, at this point. Which is saying something, because I've been a huge fan since Red and Blue.

@rhyeee3216 Didn't X and Y have a steel gym?

What's inherently wrong with random encounters? At least with them, you can control the rate at which you encounter Pokemon. I hated waiting for certain Pokemon to spawn in LGP/LGE. At least with random encounters, I'm still engaged with the game.

@Scottwood101 I gotta agree with a lot of what you said. It kinda dosheartened me a bit when I saw the main character walk by someone and it triggered a battle. I was like, “oh wow the same exact formula...”
but at the same time I have no idea how I would handle it differently so I’ll take it. It’s worked for this long.... it will need a change up eventually but I’m absolutely buying this and I know I’m going to love it.

Also, expecting a Pokemon game with an open world as detailed as BOTW's in a 2 year development cycle is absolutely unrealistic.

@Ralizah The scale of the Pokémon is your complaint? I guess you must not have been happy with Pokémon following you in previous games, they were never up to scale.

You can still have an element of surprise with Pokémon surrounding you. You see something you've never seen before? Walk towards it and try to catch it!

You didn't dispute the tediousness of random battles. My points stand.

Looked great to me. Perhaps not a huge leap graphically, but they usually purposefully make such small strides so they can easily churn out the next one without having to worry too much about how they will innovate, so expectations were kept relatively in check on my end. Will be buying a Switch the day this comes out!

@patbacknitro18 i dont remember ik they had a steel elite 4 member

Nice reveal, loved the starters so far. And the game looks absolutely beautiful. I don't know why people are still trying to hope for an open world adventure. If Game Freak hasn't done it by now, I really don't think they're going to anytime soon. I just feel like people should stop expecting it. Pokemon has never been one to revolutionize the wheel.

For what it was though, it looks beautiful and I can't wait to play. I'm still holding out hope for pokemon following behind you like in Let's Go, but I didn't see it in the trailer. Only other gripe is I think sword and shield is just, kinda generic, but it's just a name at the end of the day. I'm wondering if Sword has more attack based, exclusive Pokemon, and Shield has defensive ones. Makes sense to me, let's see what happens.

There are a lot of good comments about the random encounters and the argument for and against in here. I keep thinking about either side and I can think of reasons why either one would and wouldn’t be better. I can’t think of a way to handle it differently So like I said, I’ll take it. It’s no doubt going to be an amazing game. Loving the 3rs person view as opposed to top down and the worlds feel so lush and alive. More so than other entries anyway.
Really excited to see this develop into the best Pokémon to date! Also can’t wait to hear/read all those battle puns and random trainer comments. I’ll never forget the kid who said “let’s go kneecaps!” before I proceeded to hand him his @$$.

OMG!!
I was excited and.... a little bit worried at the same time.
Excited to see UK & Ireland inspiration on Galar region. it looked beautiful.
But at the same time, i was worried about Soccer that included in the game.
I really really don't like soccer and if i have been forced to play soccer mini games..... I just cannot stand it.
I understand if this Pokemon try to capture the UK gamers that really really Hard to be impressed by Nintendo games.
Hopefully the soccer aspect from that Pokemon games will be Optional mission to do. I even cannot stand for Blitzball on FF X. 😒

@TheDragonDAFan If you're complaining on not being able to see certain Pokémon in Let's Go, you have no right to be complacent with the old formula, as you actually can't control the rate of the random encounters. Worse, you'll have to deal with one at a time unlike Let's Go which did multiple.

Let's Go pushed the series forward more than some people would want to admit.

After seeing what was possible on the Switch on Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Breath of the Wild, the potential for a literal open world Pokemon Safari was right there! This looks like the same old same old with a newer and more detailed coat of paint. Pokemon truly is the Glacier or video games, in that they barely budge an inch in decades.

And you know who I blame for all this? The diehard fans who are so deep into their walled comfort zones that if a past Pokemon appears with a slightly different haircut they’ll go diving for their Squirtle themed security blanket.

Honestly, I’ve yet to play it but I’m more interest in Let’s Go. At least the developers there had the cojones to try something new even if it doesn’t pay off or they have to listen to the dreary whines of the naysayers.

@Anti-Matter Would it interest you if the regional terrorist Team were based on FIFA? =)

@Anti-Matter If you're referencing the end of the initial trailer, that wasn't soccer. That was an actual Pokemon League. It's the only thing I'm actually hyped about with this game right now.

"Set in the new Galor region"
"...in a brand new region called the Galar region..."

Day 1 for me doesn't look like anything earth shattering in the world of Pokémon but I'm definitely excited to grab Pokémon Shield. This will be my 4th preorder for my Switch this year with MUA 3, DBZ in April and Fire Emblem in July.

Did they rip that Pikachu model from the 3DS?

I was hoping for much more drastical changes. It is too "safe" and absolutely not unique like Super Mario Odyssey was for the Mario series and Breath of the Wild for the Zelda series.

I think Nintendo have missed an opportunity with these games to finally bring fresh air and big changes to the series, which are undoubtely needed. I am actually a bit disappointing.

@Dog There's nothing to dispute. I don't find it tedious. You do. I found weaving in and out of Pokemon on the map added nothing to the game for me.

@Dog It doesn't really matter that multiple Pokemon appear on the screen at a time in the Let's Go games. When I'm waiting for the game to decide when to spawn in a Pokemon I'm looking for, it's boring. I'm doing nothing. With random encounters, I'm in more control of how often I encounter Pokemon. Plus, I'm doing something to make it happen.

Beautiful, another day one buy for me. Can't wait.

I so looking forward to getting Pokemon Sword and choosing Sobble as my starter Pokemon. But, did anyone notices that they didn't show any legendary Pokemon for Pokemon Sword and Shield versions' boxart?

@Kal_el_0724
1.50 - 1.54
I saw a Soccer outfits.
I was worried if i will have been forced to play soccer to get some Pokemons.

Oh nice, water Kecleon, a Pansage in babystage and a fusion of Victiny and Bunnelby. And hd graphics of Sun and Moon? Same battlestyle graphics as before where the pokemon just summons a slapping hand or fire off a kamehameha punch? Will propably get downvoted but like really, went from handheld to Switch and its so identical..

Not really impressed. Looks like the same old tired formula, with new graphics that are all over the place. It looks really rough and muddy.

@FX102A You know, I've been thinking about the best way Game Freak could do a full on demo of an open-world style game play akin to how the world is in the anime. My original idea has to do with just four pokemon: Kakuna, Pidgey, Beedrill, and Pikachu.

You're walking through the end of a massive field when you find the edge to Viridian Forrest. You find a Pidgey that finally lands in front of you that you want to catch and sneak up behind it. However, when you throw your pokeball you use too much strength accidentally throwing it near a tree where a batch of Kakuna are hibernating. You accidentally hit one, startling the entire bunch. They evolve into Beedrill and start chasing you.

Using Pikachu just like in the anime, you have him use thundershock on them to make your break.

But doing just a Safari Zone demo would be the most ideal. It would be a rather small region but still big enough to have a small forest, open grasslands and water. You could show off demos of throwing balls, rocks, and using a fishing rod. The cool thing with the fishing rod would be timing. You finally hook something after a few minutes of patience. As you're reeling it in, it suddenly leaps out of the water and into the air. You notice it's a Dratini. You quickly grab a pokeball off of your belt and toss it for a chance to catch it.

Seriously. This would be killer.

Sobble is a Chao from Sonic.

Looks nice albeit a touch underwhelming; visuals look lovely and the new starters look neat. I’ve been playing Pokémon most of my life, so I suppose you could say I’m a touch burned out on the series. (Not disparaging the games or their legacy; I’m just tired and want something new, I think?)

I’ll be keeping my eye on this new series and will keep on open mind on its new mechanics and such in the days ahead.

How come a spin-off Let’s Go, Pikachu!/Eevee looks cleaner and overall better than so much expecting new main entry?

The world reminded me of Kalos. Anyway the game looks fun. I noticed random encounters are back? It would be amazing if more main Pokemon games came out this year.

@Anti-Matter Those are Pokemon League jerseys. Notice the high number on the back. And the glove for his throwing hand.

@FX102A The truth has been spoken.

@Kal_el_0724 Maybe online tournament's.

@Alto yeah I get that some things have to stay to make it still feel like Pokémon. I'm just sick to death with getting 8 badges in a linear fashion to end with the elite 4. Get rid of that formula and just give us a cool story to progress through.

@Regpuppy the content that will justify the price will probably be that you get to revisit Kalos at the end ala Gen 2. The connection seems too obvious to not utilize at all.

@LinkxPeach The weird thing is that they both have the same wolf-like head.
Anyway, this'll be Link's favorite Pokémon entry! Mega Man has his affinity for soccer/football/futból, as well!

y’all are ridiculous. after BOTW, you act like any game that’s not a 200+ hour massive open world game is trash. i’ma let you in on a secret... it’s okay for games to have a semi-linear progression. nintendo cannot JUST make open world games. i think the graphics look great, if you disagree that is fine, but i’m getting a little sick of every comment section being “why no open world? why no botw?”

The Linear-looking path in the Region designs scares me. It looks even more linear and straightforward than B/W's Unova region and Sun/Moon's story path. I hope it has enough interesting locales or optional areas, 'cos the in-game screenshots look gorgeous. Alot more promising than what Let's Go had to show.

Also, Water starter wins again for me. Scorbunny does look fun, but Sobble is too adorable.

Series is 23 years old, but they're still afraid of shaking up the formula - looks like It's going to be 3rd consecutive year without Pokemon for me.

@TJWorks While the scenery and region all look more polished than what's in Pokemon Let's Go, the character designs are pulled straight from the DS. It's unbelievably jarring. Why they're not at least taking the character models from Let's Go I haven't a clue.

@Preposterous this is what i think as well!

@FX102A Let's Go games get repetitive REALLY quickly. And yes, I finished Let's Go. But 90% of the time you are throwing balls at Pokémon who 10% stay in the first ball you throw.

Or battling trainers. But after you beat all the trainers there is absolutely NO reason to go back to the game.

True, a more "open" Pokémon would be nice. But a 100% Open World Pokémon game (like Breath of the Wild) would be really boring. Because Pokémon is very story driven unlike Zelda games, which focus on exploration.

There would be NO logical reason to make Pokémon into Breath of the Wild 2.0.
The game the trailer showed looks really good. The world looks bigger than any previous Pokémon game. And it looks really nice.

@Preposterous Wouldn't you say Let's Go shook up the formula?

@Dog
Fine, then try getting a Mew without coughing up the money. I'll wait.

It looks like Germany not England to me.

Looks like a continuation of previous mainline Pokemon titles.

It ain't BOTW, but it aint Let's Go 2 either.

@Wiss2wiss
And given I have inherited my poor great aunt's old house at the town nicknamed "the lost Scottish clan", I couldn't be any happier.

As for an Italian region, well, I guess we'll talk again when Generation IX hits. Too bad I'll have kids of my own by then.

@westman98
Which is all that matters.

And here it is. The mainline Pokémon console game people have been wanting for over 2 decades.

And it looks gorgeous. A noticeable step up from Let’s Go, which already looked good to me.

@Kal_el_0724 I think both the DS and Let's Go games are still using the same character models. It looks more like they're using different rendering styles/shaders; the Switch/DS games have cel-shaded textures, while the Let's Go textures/colours have softer blending and lack the lineart rendering that the Switch games bring back.

I prefer the cel-shaded lineart rendering the Switch games are using again. It stands out to me more.

I mean, it appears to be another "slightly better looking than the last but with little change to the formula" Pokemon game that GF can pump out evey couple of years. It doesn't necessarily look bad, nor have we seen enough for me to fully pass judgment, but what I saw certainly didn't excite me too much. Also didn't disappoint me though because I have never expected GF to change much from game to game.

Well it certainly looks good. I’ll wait until I hear what risks they’re trying out before I bash it for being the same game as before. May the odds be in their favor.

@Dog Let’s Go stripped away all the complexities and depth of Pokémon. The one good thing it introduced was the ability to see wild Pokémon in the overworld. Other than that, everything was a major step backwards.

Hyped !!! For once i actually love all three starters, i think Sobble just about edges it for me though

Seeing as its set in the UK, i really hope we get some pokemon based on each region, so a welsh dragon pokemon, scottish lock-ness pokemon etc that would be really cool.

@Toadie There's already Farfetch'd holding a leek for Wales.

@frogopus The co-op was clearly tacked on. It cut the difficulty of an already ridiculously simple game in half. I’m glad that families with young children could enjoy that, but for anyone over the age of 10, the co-op drained every last ounce of challenge from the game.
I will concede that the overworld Pokémon following mechanics were a nice touch, but HGSS gets credit for introducing that.

@bratzdoll Unless I see some sort of real evidence for this, there's no reason for me to think that. I fear this is just wishful thinking, on your part.

Graphically it is a step up which is good. I was hoping to get away from the stationary view points but it seems they are making a return but hopefully it is a persistent open world with no breaks or load screens between areas. I mean the sales numbers of these games should equate to exceptionally high production values.

I wonder what new things they will be trying as mentioned in the video? Hopefully not just some rubbish mini games, and maybe a great story line like Black and White.

It may take me a minute to love these starters. I guess the grass one could be cool.

If this game runs like the recent 3ds titles, then they have no excuses considering this looks like an HD Sun/Moon.

Funny how people already decided to not get this because of what they showed today. (better wait and see what else they show later).

I already know why people would get this right away because of this direct, and because it is Pokemon.

There are many things I would want in this, but one thing I really want is I hope they do not do many cut scenes like they did in Sun and Moon.

@Regpuppy it is exactly that, wishful thinking I’d like to think that...surely they tried to do SOMETHING big for this.

I'm dead set on the Fire bunny and I will name him Bugs.

"It's not Pokemon: Breath of The Wild".

Thank. God.

I only have so much time, not every game has to be a 200 hour open world time vampire. Linearity is not a bad thing.

If the fire starter zodiac theory was ever in doubt I think we can put that to rest

@BenAV exactly, they have exhausted the series for so long now with the same formula, nothing has really changed in the series for 20 years now, i haven't touched a pokemon game since X/Y and i didn't even play that proper.

i am happy for pokemon fans though i hope they enjoy the game at least.

@kotag I wouldn't call what they've done making it easier, what they've done is add quality of life improvements. The only difficulty in Pokemon was from the grind. I love games that make me grind to get stuff, but games dont have to be that way.

@oatmaster Yeah i guess, but something a bit more iconic would be better haha

@-Juice- I don't know if you knew but none of the Pokemon games were difficult.

@lmello

I am so gonna pick Scorbunny too! Can’t wait to feed neeps and tatties to pokemons when we reach Inverness!

P.s. I hope they have Lochness-style legendary to the game.

@thesilverbrick i think a lot of pokemon fans will forget about GO when this one comes out.

@bratzdoll Fair enough, I suppose... I guess you're a masochist then. Lol

Good, no more Pokemon Go crap, we actually get to encounter random Pokemon this time.

I would have liked it better if they didn't re-introduce random encounters. The new world looks awesome but it would have probably looked and felt more lively if it had Pokémon wandering around. Still pretty hyped, seems gorgeous.

@AlexSora89

My bony is so ready for Neeps and tatties!
Not to mention deep-fried Mars haha.

P.s. I think Scorbunny is very well designed

I’m super excited, but they could have come up with something better than Sword and Shield like come on 😂

I'm sure more in-depth features will be shown off at E3. Personally I'm torn between all 3 starters. I love them all, they're all so cute. Usually I go fire-type but I really don't know which I'll pick to start off. Guess it'll depend on what the evolutions look like. I hope, but I'm not holding my breath, that this game is compatible with Pokemon Bank or a Switch specific version of it. Otherwise I guess I'll have to restart the game multiple times to get each starter and just trade to my hubby for him to trade them back to me when I'm ready to start the actual game, LOL.

Waiting on the next let’s go.

@AlexSora89 I didn't realise England was known for snowy mountain ranges...

@DarthFoxMcCloud I’m with you, hoping they support the bank or some sort of transfer. Would be sad to lose 2 decades worth of Pokémon.

It kind of just looks like the same old Pokemon. I haven't played a Pokemon game since Black and White. After I completed the elite four I did some of the post game content, and then kind of fell out of it.

For me, as an adult with spending power, there isn't really much of a hook anymore to the whole catch-train and grind aspect of the Pokemon games when I could just purchase a new game. I tried to get into EV training, and I had a realization that it was entirely pointless endeavor for someone who doesn't play online or goes to competitions.

Not only that, and I know its a kid game, but the story was really boring. Maybe if they gave the avatar a personality, made him/her into a more modern RPG protagonist there would be something I felt attached to.

I thought I was being a bit hypocritical because I was one of the people vocal about Let's Go straying too far from the mechanics of traditional Pokemon, but after a second thought, it again isn't about the gameplay, so much as the game's presentation. I can deal with the nostalgia trip of playing a remake of Gen 1 and 2, and possibly 3, but for the newer games to be stuck with the same smiling avatars and the same kid's Saturday morning cartoon (worst than that, Nick Jr. levels of tepidness), I might just skip Shield and Sword.

And yes. Loyal/faithful Pokemon fans, I know that not purchasing the game will not hurt the millions of sales it will likely achieve. But perhaps you people should start asking GameFreak to step up its game too.

@-Juice- how do you see them catering to casual players instead of more hardcore players from that video? I don’t see it at all.

Of course the full depth isn’t shown, it is a first trailer. We will learn much more at E3.

@Klunk23 Agreed but I can't help but be disappointed. I just hoped they would have done something refreshed with the battle system, the overworld, the graphics - something!!!! At this point it looks like they've just come up with new Pokemon and a new region based on industrial Britian.

@krvstkvlt "This trailer didn't show enough to convince me that it's more than an HD 3DS Pokémon game"

At the same time... does it truly need to be anything else? Pokemon games are probably more defined by the way they stick to tradition than the way they challenge it.

And it's part of the charm that made it so enduring; you can miss a title or even a gen and still very easily slip in back into the game because so much still follows the same foundations without fearing being left out of the loop.

People all go how Dragon Quest could never be popular in the west because it's mechanics are so dated and never changed over the years and how all these aspects are "only popular in Japan".

But will it might never be smash hit popular in the west, it's only because lack of promotion and disjointed western releases support(the entire generation of SNES titles missing in the west whilst final fantasy got two core games in 4 and 6).

Because gameplay that "never changed" and games that "are all the same" over generations and generations of titles is something Pokemon is.

And I'd argue it's not just popular "despite" it but "because" of it.
"Reinventing the wheel" is nice but so is "familiarity". And in a way that define both why Dragon Quest is so popular in Japan and Pokemon is itself so popular worldwide.

Both are the "comfort food" of RPG franchise. For both good and bad, you know exactly what you're getting into when you pick one up... which in large part is why they've been so enduring.

This is not to say that the RPG genre need shaking up.
But then again there's others franchises that already exist for experience that shake up expectations.

With already established "comfort foods" franchise, shaking up can have benefits but frequently the risks can well outweighs the benefit if you screw up.
For a Zelda example: with a good successful "shake up" you may indeed end up with a generation defining Breath of the Wild.
But if you mess up by focusing on the wrong aspects("new innovative control schemes", etc) you may well end up with a Skyward Sword so bad that it led people to not just swear off Zelda but Nintendo altogether.

Love the new world design, looks really nice. Starter Pokemon look cool, all good as far as I'm concerned! And crucially much more interesting than Let's Go, gameplay wise. Pretty sure I'll be picking it up, which will be my first Pokemon game since, er...Red and Blue.

It seems to me that the trouble with Pokemon is that it was designed to be an RPG game for little kids and yet over time the little kids that first got into it aged by 20+ years and expected the series to develop with them when the series just wanted to stay as an RPG for little kids.

@Kai_ not really a good time to do something new for the first non-mobile only game. Wait until the next one, gen 9. That is the one that we should expect to be something different.

Of course, the Let’s Go games were something different, but everyone hated them, right?

@SinnohGeek infinitely better

@BionicDodo ugh, saying that an ip needs to grow with the original kid fans 20 years ago is the same old Star Wars argument.

There are still kids in the world, and they will be playing this game for the first time. Have Mario or Zelda “grown up” too? No, they are what they are. If you’ve aged out (by aged I don’t mean your number of revolutions around the sun) then there are plenty of mature (usually meaning spending compute cycles on adding lots of blood and guts) games to be played.

Hopefully support the procontroller!

Probably the whole reason there isn’t overworld in counters is because everyone complained about all the changes to the wild battle systems leading up to release of Let’s Go. So they decided to give the people what they want and go back to the way things were.

Sad that the actual Pokémon game franchise can’t get the poke ball animation and sound right. At least the smash series got that s*it correct

There are people saying "but is 2019, bring us something modern", but at the same time others are like "Yes, thats exactly how i like it". Which one is your team?, yo will know, but notice that everyone is already talking about Pokemon right now, so everyone in the bottom, really love this wonderful franchise with its good and bad things.

why are there always 2 pokemon games releasing at the same time?

@Dysnomia I wasn't saying that, I was saying that the older fans seem to expect that when that's not what the Pokemon games want to be. I've never played a Pokemon game in my life.

@BlackenedHalo
1. More choices for customers
2. More profits from business aspect

@Anti-Matter I believe the original idea was to encourage people to engage socially with system link due to the version exclusive etc. during the gameboy days.

The presenters did not look very excited. I think they need to get people with more hype. At least a bit of a smile or something?

As to the game, I'm not excited about random encounters again and I wish the camera was more over the shoulder-ish. I enjoyed seeing how big that forest was for instance in that brief shot. Oh well, it'll probably be there in spurts

I had hoped for quite a bit more shake-ups from a new mainline game on Switch. I haven't really been able to get even remotely hooked on Pokemon in a long time and this kinda brings me back to when I tried X and came away disappointed on how little the series had developed over the last couple of years before.
It just seems very same'y to me, right down to the visuals and the way the world is represented. That's great for folks who managed to stick with the series for long and basically just want a 3DS Pokemon on the Switch, albeit a bit more shiny.

I for one cannot help but feel like this is a huge missed opportunity to take the series into a new direction (with a Pokemon Let's Go already providing plenty of fanservice on the Switch). I don't think I can ever go back to a very traditional - at this point cookie-cutter - design of a Pokemon game like this, after having played (j)RPGs like - to name a few - Persona 5, SMTV(A), Xenoblade Chronicles X and 2, Tokyo Mirage Session #FE as well as for instance Nier Automata over the course of just the last 3-4 years.

Pokemon has stuff going for it, but it also feels lacking behind in several areas like by years ... or even decades.

@codyf Black2 and White2 had a secret difficulty setting. It was just very convoluted. But ya Pokemon has always been as hard as you make it on yourself. I wouldn't mind difficulty sliders in all future games. It would make sense with how diverse the fanbase of pokemon is. Also wouldn't be that hard just scale the levels higher or lower

Ok BOTW type game was a bit much to ask for. Graphically though, it’s a bit jarring that they couldn’t get to a Pokken level.

Sure, give us that typical linear Pokémon game which we are all used to, but step it up graphically a bit. Especially the character models. That is a complete let down. I expected something at least on the level of Pokken Tournament graphically. Not 3DS, which is dead.

I personally am glad that it's not like BOTW. Open world games are massively overrated right now.

I have never been a Pokemon fan (always liked the look of it, but just never got into it).

However with two kids aged 5 and 7, I decided to get "Let's Go Pikachu" for Christmas in the hopes that my kids would get into Pokemon.

Needless to say, they played it once or twice. I wanted to return it just based on the awful controls and lack of Pro-Controller support. NOT a good first impression. Granted my 7 year old got all 120 shrines in Breath of the Wild so this game was "too kiddy" even for him.

I'm going to consider Sword and Shield as a "soft reset" in my attempts to get my young kids into Pokemon. This looks MUCH more promising.

Looking forward to "trying again" next Christmas.

God, I friggin' hate all this incessant whining and moaning. Some people are just never satisfied, no matter what the outcome might have been.

I watched the trailer 2 times, to see what all the whiny fuss was about, and all I could see that while it certainly isn't a top-tier title in the graphics department, it still looks pretty darn good, and probably a whole lot better than any Pokémon game has ever looked.

One important thing that all the "quick, let's jump right into the comments section to complain" people seem to have missed, is a pretty clearly visible message, displayed during the bit where the video plays on an actual Switch, which explicitly says:

"Game footage not final."

Which more than likely means that we're still looking at beta material,
but they wanted to give us a general idea of what to expect, so people already thinking we were already going to see a completely finished product, with all the bells and whistles already in place, were probably deluding themselves.

This was never going to be a Pokémon version of Breath of the Wild,
so I don't know why so many people fooled themselves into expecting it to be that. It's just plain stupid. The Pokémon franchise is a different story altogether, and suddenly shaking up the formula in a massive way,
could actually do more damage than good.

The Pokémon Go games already changed some things, and although they are still very popular overall, there's plenty of people that don't like these changes at all, myself included.

Overall, the game looks good, and full of promise. And I don't get the complaining about random encounters either. That was the original formula, and the dumbed down version of encounters offered in Go wasn't really a plus for me, and aside from the fact that Pokémon obviously aren't real, it made it feel less like you're actually in that world, discovering Pokémon, a lot of whom, according to the original description, "like to hide in the tall grass and shrubs".

But no, let's give the whiners their way, and go with the simplified "gotta see 'em all" formula from Go...
(and don't even get me started on the stupid point and throw Pokéball mechanics)

In real life, you also won't see ALL animals in direct, plain sight. Some of them you might see, but most are hidden away, and can only be seen and found, if you know where to look, so that's a BIG point in favor of random encounters.

And besides, some Pokémon are supposedly so small, that you shouldn't even be able to see them, walking through tall grass or any other heavily overgrown area, so it only makes for a FAR more logical choice.

On a side note: laughing my @ss off at the people thinking that they know better what would make a great Pokémon game, and what it would actually need to make it so, than the actual Pokémon Company itself.
If you all are so great and smart, you should probably apply for the position of Creative Director over there, and see if they'd even remotely take your application seriously...

Either way, even this short teaser of the new mainline game has already piqued my interest more than any other mainline Pokémon game since the GameCube has been able to do, perhaps even all the handheld titles included. The last titles I played (but never finished) were Black & White, and the Pokémon Ranger and Dungeon games, and those last ones
I played even less than Black & White.

So, unlike some of these professional cry babies, I'm rather optimistic that this is going to be a pretty decent and entertaining mainline Pokémon game.

@ThanosReXXX @Andymad I agree. People may have been expecting more after games like BOTW and Mario Odyssey but all I saw was the best looking Pokémon RPG ever created.

@ThanosReXXX "And besides, some Pokémon are supposedly so small, that you shouldn't even be able to see them, walking through tall grass or any other heavily overgrown area, so it only makes for a FAR more logical choice."

Lol. That's the best bit of comment I've read all morning. Good Point!

@GrizzledVeteran @XTS2 Thanks.

@Ralizah So because LGPE didn't do it right, that means they shouldn't attempt it in future entries? Also, why can't there be an element of surprise in coming across them in the field? Wouldn't it be cool and more immersive to see Pokemon in different locales acting out their instinctive behaviours and interacting with other Pokemon, as opposed to just popping up in random battles or sitting around in people's houses?

@XTS2 I won’t deny it looks great. I was absolutely IN LOVE with Let’s GO. But I think after getting Pokémon games that REALLY pushed the visual envelope like Pokken Tournament, I think many people, including myself, maybe expected something of that tier graphically. Especially for what we’ve seen on the Nintendo Switch so far. You’re right it IS the best Pokémon has looked. But hey IT IS WHAT IT IS! I’m still gonna buy it. I’m still going to love it. No question

No 3DS announcements? /s

Kind of disappointing art direction here. The new games look so faithful to their 3DS predecessors it suggests a lack of ambition. This extends to the inclusion of random encounters as well.

I'll still buy. Hopefully robust features and online functionality can compensate for lackluster visuals.

@ThanosReXXX Oh my goodness, there are still people naive enough to think that "Game footage not final" means that it's some sort of a beta version and the final release is going to be x times better?
That's so adorable!

Q) So, what do you think?

A) Given my dislike of recent Pokémon entries such as Sun & Moon as well as Let's Go, I'm surprised to find myself adoring everything I've seen in this trailer. I'm feeling optimistic about Pokémon once again and it feels great.

The region looks lovely and linear, the trainer designs are fantastic (the male trainer finally doesn't look like a blue Red and the female trainer is adorable), gyms are back, and the core gameplay looks to remain unchanged. My worries that they'd try to alter things as Breath of the Wild and Oddyssey did for the Zelda and Mario franchises respecitvely, two games I did not like the direction of, appear to have been averted.

My hopes here now are for to be some more challenge, perhaps in the form of a difficulty mode option, and a story that is as enjoyable as Black and White's. Gen 5 has yet to be beaten as my favourite Pokémon games (and amongst my top 10 favourite games of all time) but as I look to a Pokémon game based around my country, I have hopes that it could very well achieve that goal.

As for starters, Sobble is my favourite of the trio!

I don't care how pretty this looks, it better blow me away. I still believe Pokemon should have ended after 4 gen. I mean the concept of space and time made sense, plus the God Pokemon Arceus. How can you top that. The new gens just don't make sense and the games aren't as fun as they used to be since Heartgold and Soulsilver.

Well, I envisioned something a bit more amazing looking. But hold off till I see/read more on the actual game.

Looks like a great Pokémon game to me. Vibrant and vivacious. Lovely. The new starters are full of character.

All these BOTW comments (from both sides) when Dragon Quest XI is right there. You don’t have to go “open world” to show ambition, sticking to tradition and linearity while creating a 2019 game of a big enough scale is perfectly viable. Just a matter of how low we set the bar...

Color me unimpressed. The region just looks like more of the same cramped, linear corridors with tons of visual fluff and minimal substance. It literally does just look like SM HD which was one of my worst fears. This is a 2019 console game, if it’s not open world it should at least look larger and less corridor-like. Probably passing on this and maybe quitting Pokémon altogether until Game Freak displays some semblance of ambition.

@Dysnomia The Let's Go games were the safe option, they cut out features to make them more accessible. There's no excuse for Game Freak just falling back on what they know for the 20th time. They don't deserve the free pass they keep getting just because it's Pokémon. No one else gets away with recycling the same game, not even Zelda.

I did manage to watch the reveal live. I'm definitely excited for this and will likely get Pokemon Sword unless the exclusives for Shield end up being better. Here's my motivation to get around to Ultra Sun before November!

Also, Galar is Britain or I'm a Charizard X. (So part of me hopes I'm wrong. )

The trailer gave me some Sun/Moon vibes, but I'm good with it if they got rid of the constant and unnecessary interruptions/cutscenes.

I don't get it...I played the demo for let's go pikachu and it wasn't fun at all. I'm an rpg guy but just can't get the appeal of this stuff.

It's exactly what I was expecting; basically 3DS games with HD graphics that'll now cost £50 because they're on the Switch. Hard pass.

@SlippingBack Let's Go took away most of the RPG elements of the franchise, so it isn't a really good starting point. Besides that, the demo wasn't good to begin with (or better say the game itself wasn't good). It only showcased that flicking the controller gives the exact same result than pressing the A button to catch, so it doesn't makes sense it is blocked during docked gameplay.

all whiny comments aside, im glad the random encounters and gym battles are back thats the way a true pokemon game should be (not that silly stunt they pulled with let's go), end of story.

Hearing a lot of people complain about the graphics but it clearly states “game footage not final”. Let’s not forget how much better XBC2 looked when my was released compared to first show. A few other games as well.

I haven't been this hyped for a Switch exclusive since BOTW!!! I thought Fire Emblem would do it for me but I really don't like the school aspect of it... I'll enjoy it, but I doubt it'll be my favorite. Wish they'd go back to the old art style, too.

But anyway, POKEMON LOOKS AMAAAAZZIIIINNNGG!!! HYYYYPE!!!

Traditional Pokemon mechanics are PERFECT. Naysayers be damned.

Does anyone else think the starters look like Chao from sonic games especially the blue one

@SlippingBack I love Pokemon but Let's Go barely had anything to sink your teeth into to see why Pokemon is fun. I'd give this one a try instead. Let's Go is the most basic game you could play (and it's a gameboy game remake).

Also happy they kept the outline effect the 3DS games had. Didn't like how Let's Go looked without it.

But anyway, yeah, HYPE!

Very underwhelming reveal, like many said this looks like SuMo HD but without any substance. Hate that random encounters are back, and please yes men, your arguments in favor of random encounters are weak as hell. Lets Go did something right by having the pokemon be seen, so you could be more discriminating in which battles to tackle, which by the way is the only thing aside from having a pokemon follow you that people want back from Lets Go.

So stop whining yourselves that everyone is rightly critiquing a stagnant series (which is independent of popularity), GF has a tendency to introduce some awesome things and then removing them the next iteration, while improving so little that it feels like a step foward and two backwards. I’ll wait for E3 to watch what else there is too offer but right now this seems to me the most underwhelming gen ever, and I’ve been playing all gens since 1.

I'll never understand why the majority of Pokemon fans just don't want the franchise to change at all. These games look to be practically the same as what has been released for the past 20 years, but with unambitiously updated visuals and shallow plots. I'm pretty disappointed in what was shown because if they aren't willing to take risks with innovation at this point then they never will - they have no reason to change anything as long as they keep making bank off of their game re-skins.

@Wiss2wiss
I always go after the water starter by default, but I have to admit everyone's design is pretty sick this time around. Really amazed by Scorbunny, but that patch of his already seems to suggest yet another Fire/Fighting type.

That said, Sobble is adorable. It has sob in its name, it's precious, I gotta protect the little guy.

dose anyone think the train goes to Kalos.
In Real life their is a a train from london to paris
Also it looks like the the place from the movie with merceana in it the azloth knigdom

@Gzeus88
Well, the more snowy environments in Pokémon games, the better. I'm not complaining.

@andrew20
Leave it to the Pokémon theorists, their schedule is hella inclusive for the time being.

Those are some nice visuals! For a Pokemon game at least. I'm getting a bit of DQXI-vibe from them. And it's not even final stuff they are showing here. Might get even prettier!
Now here's hoping for a more open world and a camera you can rotate and really enjoy those environments. Capturing pokemon seems to be like older main games, by battle, which is nice. I liked how you could see the pokemon in Lets go so I hope it's the same case with these.
Those starters seem a bit boring but I have had the same thoughts of new pokemon for a while alredy. New 'mons get the job done but seem to lack the charm of the first two gens. Anyway, this is day one for me. The sword-version that is!

Looks like a little better version of a 3ds game. Eh..

@Anti-Matter will you please be quiet? Your posts are so irritating. Just hush for a while.

@gauthieryannick Yep they're sort of damned if they do, damned if they don't with these games. I have zero interest in Pokemon. But I do recall reading somewhere that no matter what Game Freak do, the fans will never be happy.

Either way this is going to sell like hotcakes.

Overall, I really enjoyed the reveal trailer and I am absolutely pumped for this game. The world, starters, and characters look amazing and I can't wait to get this game. With that said though, here are my two cents on the complaints I've read.
-"The game looks like an HD Sun and Moon": I agree that it's not the most impressive looking game out there but the visuals are WAY better than the 3DS. There's a lot vibrance and lush to the world and more detail thanks to the Switch's hardware compared to SM.
-"It's not open world"- While I think the old format can be tiring, it's important to realize that making a good open world game is very difficult especially if you're trying to be ambitious like BOTW. It would take a lot time, money, and resources to make a good open world and I don't think Game Freak has enough experience to do it yet. Also, there are a lot of design challenged that Game Freak would have to do to make an open world Pokemon game. The advantage of linearity is that it's simple to follow whereas open world is more complex, and since Pokemon is designed for children, an open world would be too overwhelming for them. I do think some open world ideas should be implemented like dynamic weather but I think the best approach for a more open Pokemon game would be like old 3d Zelda where the area is open but if you want to progress the story, get to certain areas, you need to take a certain path. But overall, I'm okay with the linearity and it's important to note that moving to open world won't work for everything

I've always been a fire person, so the bunny will be what I choose. That being said, the water type is really cute and tempting. Maybe I will just buy both versions of the game, and play one with fire and the other with water.

Either way, I intend to preorder this game. This is a must buy for me.

Wonder when they'll announce how it'll launch alongside a Switch Mini console for kids

I thought it looked great. Really don't know what people are whining about given they intentionally didn't show too much new ... In terms of features. It clearly has some open areas.

Unlike Zelda, Pokemon games are narrative driven. If they went true open world, it would clearly not be a kids game - people would get very, very lost.

I'm finding the same with Zelda ... As much as I'm enjoying it, I find it hard to get motivated to pick up and play again. Too much rinse and repeat. Not enough narrative or direction.

@bratzdoll,

Not sure if you are being serious.

I'm 27 years old and I hope to see pokemon games till I'm old. Hehehehebehhehe
This franchise have a way to get me every time.

Sometimes im jealous of Game Freak. Sending out essentially the same things 8 gens straight, never add anything really creative outside of pokemon designs that they dont really need to try that hard on anymore (lol i mean look at these starters), dont need to focus on a actual story even tho its a rpg but other rpgs have to because oh boi they arent pokemon ( easy answer, idk why GF can pass on this but not other rpgs). They try to do "new" things but its always just a gimmicks that mask creativity and then they pretty much ignore it in future games; Mega Evolutions, Z-Rings, Open Wild Battles, etc. They just got mainline pokemon on consoles and what it seems like from the presentation all they know what do with it is HDifying old assets and improving graphics as a whole and playing it safe. This really isnt hard work compared to other rpg developers, this is just robots working as they are programmed, making a pokemon game > add little changes to make seperate versions for easy money > fund a new season of pokemon anime to get the kiddies still hooked > after pokemon sells better than the last one, make pokemon again but either remake a old dual set pokemon game for a quick buck or make another set in the same gen and alter them a little.
Its crazy how well GF can get away with this type of thing based on the brand alone, they are really smart to milk this long, not like kids or fans care since they still like this stuff so power too them since its their entertainment.

@KingBowser86

Lol! The Hyrule region.

@bratzdoll oh well. Suits me, i skipped lets go and can't wait for this.

to the people saying that they wanted a BOTW type game.
nobody should be surprise that they didn't went with that route. im not even shock that it's back to what we had in X/Y and Sun/Moon.

maybe we will see a "Open World" Pokemon type game in the next few years or so. but, not now.

@Ardisan Yeah I get a sense of déjà vu every time I play a pokemon game, still the different stories are pretty cool and I am still suprised they can come up with different pokemon designs even if some of them are similar to a different type.

@Charinzardon,

So you are saying it looks like a Pokemon game,but in HD,please tell me what you were expecting?.

@thesilverbrick they had it in sun and moon.

@Daloblast Well im happy you can still enjoy the games, dood! Pretty much what really matters in games anyway.

It's Sun/Moon's engine with 3DS models and HD textures.

While the visuals and frame rate are a bit rough based on that early footage, this looks to be a solid Pokemon entry for those who are expecting a successor to Pokemon Sun/Moon and not Pokemon Breath/Wild. The game is still ~9 months away, so improvements and upgrades are possible/likely.

Sword/Shield looks a lot closer to Yokai Watch 4 visually than I thought it would, though the (presumed) fixed camera in Pokemon would still given Yokai Watch the advantage.

@BenAV Dunno I had my hopes for a moment, but I guess this way they be able to transfer Pokemon from the Let's go games might explain why it didn't take so long to make, start with a remake then make a new game on it with the same engine you would think, having the power of a home console they could try for something game changing like Zelda breath of the wild

So glad I went over to another console this generation. Nintendo just seems to be stuck in 3rd gear. My tastes have evolved.

Happy for the folks that really enjoy this stuff.

I think some people unfairly went into this reveal with the "Western inspired "AAA" style open world game or bust" mindset. It reminds me a bit of DQ XI S's graphical style. But I'm way more interested in the actual game itself rather than nitpicking the graphics. I'm totally picking the fire rabbit.

I am getting Sun and Moon flashbacks with that map design and layout. I just hope its nothing like that gen. I wish its more like ORAS with the graphics of Lets go.

Looks like Sun and Moon on an HD emulator, honestly.
Beyond that, It's about what I expected.

Pokemon Yellow was pretty easy unless you tried to beat Brock and Giovanni with Pikachu (will still doable). I like water Pokemon.... New game looks more like an evolution than a revolution but its a new modern pokemon game on a switch. I'm happy with that

@Preposterous No, not really. I just used that to point out that this is not the final version. Nowhere in my comment did I say that I expected that there's still some major graphical overhaul possible.

Contrary to the delusional people, I'm not expecting this Pokémon game to suddenly be transformed into a massive, open world rpg, with graphics that "should" be FAR better than what we have here, as all the whiners seem to agree on.

What I actually AM expecting, is no more than some minor tweaks and upgrades, so the "awful" texture quality that some are complaining about could still be moderately improved, and some other stuff may be touched up here or there, to make the overall picture even more pleasing than it already seems to be.

And from this little bit of footage, we haven't been able to see any decent amount of gameplay, so they're probably still ironing out the final wrinkles there as well, and they've still got a couple of months to do that, before they'll need to be able to come up with something playable for this year's E3.

So, in short, I'm basically just taking into account some cosmetic touch ups and/or gameplay tweaks, and therefore I'm not going to judge a book by it's cover based upon less than 2 minutes of footage in a 7 minute Direct...

You know what I find adorable? People that are actually capable of comprehensive reading, and who don't cherry-pick parts of my comments, so they can rip them out of context to fit the stupid point they're trying to make...

I am quite pleased with this introduction to Gen 8. There seems to still be a LOT of salt and negativity on this site about Pokemon that I just don't understand.

If we ever go back to a US themed adventure I’d like the games to be called Pokémon Pitcher & Pokémon Catcher.

@Heavyarms55: It's not so much this site as parts of the fandom in general unfortunately. I won't pretend that I'm pleased about everything that I've seen in that trailer, but the positives far outweigh the negatives IMO.

I'm not gonna say how good or bad these are until I have one of the two in my hands and have played through it.

Y'know, this reminds me of a recent blurb from Super Paper Mario in Francis's castle:

"I love going on message boards and complaining about games I've never played!"

I laughed WAY harder than I should have at that.

@krvstkvlt They already mixed it up in Sun and Moon. Personally, I prefer the Gyms and League setup over S/M's Grand Trials.

Yeah that looked like a Pokemon game. People can say whatever they want about their love of Pokémon in its traditional iterations, but I’ve mentioned before that this is a series that lacks artistic merit in 2019. The original games had so much character and were so fresh at the time. They really squeezed all they could out of those GB cartridges. They were budget releases, but didn’t at all suffer from that being the case. These graphics just don’t have that same level of detail or charm.

Will this be a fun game? Probably. But why did Game Freak need to rest on their laurels instead of doing something unique? Two very similar looking Pokémon games in 2018 and 2019 could have added up to one awesome in 2020.

@Aozz101x Why would we want an "open world" Pokémon game in the first place?! That would ruin the franchise! Pokémon is and always has been at its core a more structured JRPG series, and that's exactly how it works best. Even Colosseum and XD worked that way. If you change that, then it's just no longer Pokémon!

@Urameshi They do change up and add interesting new mechanics regularly, but the core of the games has to remain intact for the franchise to still remain as good as it ever was. If they change too much, then it's just not Pokémon anymore. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

For example, most longtime fans would hate the new games if the core series ever did anything crazy like real time battles (or even a hybrid system), as that would completely ruin all the strategy we've learned over the years.

@Ralphio If you think this level of graphics could be done on the 3DS, you're crazy. For one thing, the Pokémon sprites certainly look much better than the washed out mess we got in the 3DS games.

If you're complaining about the art style, why? It's the same style used in the Let's Go! games, and people love that, don't they? It's like the handheld games were brought to life on the big screen in HD, which is gorgeous and exactly what we want. It's like an updated version of Colosseum's and XD's graphics. A more realistic style would just look weird for a Pokémon game.

Please correct Galor to Galar region in the title text

I'm almost a complete Pokemon Noob.... what's the difference between the two versions?

In what universe does Sun/Moon's graphics look similar or just an HD up-rez to Sword/Shield's??? Take a look at the character models and environments of S/M and compare 'em to those of S/S's.

@BulbasaurusRex i think your missing my point here.
i never said anything about us wanting a "Open World" Pokemon game. all i said was that "maybe will see an Open World Pokemon game." and to be fair we probably won't. just because i said that doesn't mean that i would like the idea.

@krvstkvlt sounds to me like you want a different game all together....i just hope this isnt so easy like pokemon lets go and more like ruby or sun or my fav emerald.

@BulbasaurusRex I get what you're saying, but then you have to ask "What is Pokemon?" It essentially boils down to traveling with Pokemon to catch and train/battle with them to enter into competition - as long as it has this, it's Pokemon.

If any other franchise stagnated to the point that Pokemon has, people wouldn't keep buying it. Pokemon is strangely the one exception to a gaming franchise (an RPG franchise especially) that fans want to remain the same, which makes things easy for GF. If they didn't make additions like mega evolutions or Z-moves, people would still buy the games just the same. The changes that have been made to the combat system have been rather superficial, and previous iterations were all on handhelds so it was never expected for GF to make any drastic changes. Pokemon LGPE paid homage to the first generation games, and oddly is the only game to take risks with changes.

For the online competitive scene especially, why are people so afraid to learn something new to add more factors to consider when battling? Why are people so accepting of change in other franchises but Pokemon is the one that's treated like it's so intrinsically perfect that the thought of change is treated like a plague? It's a twisted conflict in interest to want a new, exciting experience without any change; It's still the same exact battle system that was used in Pokemon Blue and Red 20+ years ago albeit with "flair". Pokemon isn't known for its captivating stories, character depth and/or great music, it depends almost completely on it's gameplay (the premise of catching, battling, training, and caring of Pokemon).

It seems like fans lost the vision at some point of the game's battles more so resembling the action of Pokemon battles in the anime and started believing that adding new Pokemon to the franchise is the only thing that matters. This is the first official new mainline Pokemon game on what is essentially considered to be a home console - it just bewilders me that people are so satisfied with more of the same handheld experience they've had over and over again.

@Scollurio
Generally speaking, there are two main differences:

1. The Legendary Pokemon. There's a pokemon that is exclusive to one version or the other. For example, in Pokemon X you could get Xerneas and in pokemon Y you could get Yvetal. You could not get Xerneas in Y unless you traded for it.

2. A few random pokemon. There are a few non-legendary pokemon that may be version exclusive, or more common in one version.

Other than that, the stories are likely to be the same (perhaps with a few minor tweaks). Sun/Moon had a major difference in that Moon pushed the clock forward by 12 hours; in other words, if you played in the afternoon, it would be night in-game (certain pokemon only appear at night). Sun had "normal" time.

Likely there will be a few minor differences, but generally speaking the major differences are the version-exclusive pokemon.

@BenAV your response.

Hmm... Don't know what to think yet. It's hard to tell just from this announcement. But it looks cool, although I'm worried it's not refreshing enough seeing that the Pokémon animations seems somewhat similar to the 3DS games (but hopefully they are more lively this time (Blastoise shooting the hydro blast from his cannons for example)). And that locked camera...

I was looking forward to this, but it seems like random battles are making a return, which kills most of my excitement. It looks like they're not doing much new. The three starters are very similar - small body, big round head - and do not seem nearly as iconic as the original three from red and blue. Still, I think it looks very pretty. I haven't played Pokemon since Silver, so if this gets good reviews I might pick it up.

@ThanosReXXX Sorry, it's just that your whole comment was so silly, as if meant as a parody or written by an 8 yo kid with pure heart. Not really worth arguing with seriously. If you genuinely believe all those things, I think I might have a bridge to sell you.

"Pokemon Sword/Shield is an HD Pokemon Sun/Moon" is the new "Super Smash Bros Ultimate is an enhanced port of Super Smash Bros Wii U."

i never understood the pokemon phenomenon, maybe it's like angry birds which i never understood either, but at least that went away.

Another box checked with a tired Pokémon release. Perhaps the Pokémon franchise needed a rest for a couple more years so it can get it's act together. Same old gameplay with 3DS HD graphics. Pokémon deserves better in my opinion.

I think I speak for everybody if I say we want a Pokémon adventure that looks like Monster Hunter Worlds with Pokémon that look like they do in that Detective Pikachu movie.

Come on, we need something epic on a home console. I want that world to finally come to life.

This looks like a fun game and it will sell like crazy, but they've got so much money to make something that will blow your mind. This seems to still have that top down view most of the time. I want to be able to move to first person view, spot a Pokémon in a tree, sneak up and attack it with one of my Pokémon.

@Preposterous What's actually silly is you apparently not fully understanding what I wrote, and apparently interpreting it completely differently than how it is actually intended. I'm not over-expecting anything, my expectations are quite realistic, unlike some other people's idiotic demands, and besides that, I don't think it is possible to already pass judgement on this game, 9 months before its release.

That was basically all I was saying, nothing silly about that, and no need to come up with some dumb and insulting remarks, just because your grasp of English may not be good enough to fully comprehend what I'm trying to say.

Oh, and do yourself a favor: learn the difference between an opinion and a fact. Just because you think or believe something, doesn't mean that it's actually true.

And you can keep that bridge, or jump off it, for all I care.

Now if you don't mind, I'm done with this useless conversation.
I've got more important things to do with my time.

Wow people are never happy.looks 10x better then 3ds

@ThanosReXXX First you come with a classic Gish gallop, while also crying about people who dare to not completely fall for hype like small children, then continue to ramble about reason and logic while clearly being the emotional one and you finally end by accusing the other side of not getting what you're saying and wasting your time?
I'd suggest taking a break from the internet (at least for the next 10 months or so) and investing that time into some kind of a therapy, because you seem to have some serious issues to deal with.

@Preposterous Says the kid who uses a synonym for ridiculous as his online name...

All I did was repeat and/or elaborate on what I already said, I never changed anything whatsoever.

I suggest you take a page out of your own book. This site will be the better for it.

@ThanosReXXX Now we're playing this game? Having any number of Xs in your username doesn't really evoke an image of a serious person either.
But I'm dead serious about you looking for help, it's not a laughing matter when a great number of your comments on this site is about complaining about people who disagree with you (to the point of referencing their comments in a completely different conversation under a completely different topic; yes, I've noticed that and it's genuinely sad).
Alternatively, just block me (and every other "whiner") if you need your safe space so much, but working out your problems would be a better option in the long run.

@Preposterous There;s nothing sad about people not wanting to be slammed with negative comment after negative comment every damn day, while they actually come to this site to have a good time, and talk and get together as people who like Nintendo. Some negativity is warranted, and Nintendo certainly isn't perfect, but most of the negativity is reaching levels of ridiculousness.

But I see we're not getting anywhere, so let's just agree to disagree and give it a rest already. We just have a different view on things, and that's perfectly fine, but not worth either of our time and trouble to continue having a rather negative discussion about.

Oh, and thanks for your concern about my mental health, but I'm perfectly fine, so I'll end my part of the discussion here.

Have a nice day.

@ThanosReXXX Being so emotionally shaken that you seek comfort from an internet buddy ("Yes, you're correct and he's wrong. And his username is ridiculous!") is certainly a sign that you're taking all of this too personally, so at least a short vacation from the site (perhaps even internet altogether) would be advised for your mental wellbeing - especially if you think you're perfectly fine and there's nothing weird about your behaviour.

@Decapre @DuskformLycanroc @Astrolorange my mistake - I'm mixing up my region names!

@HumanDog
I don't know about anyone else, but I most certainly don't want Pokemon to look like Detective Pikachu and I definitely don't want it to be first person.

What Sword/Shield does need is a controllable camera.

@Preposterous There is absolutely nothing wrong with not liking the game, but you really are coming off as annoying. You chimed in to begin with about how "naive" @ThanosReXXX supposedly is for talking about game footage not being final which then resulted in a pointless argument.

You already made up your mind and it's pretty clear there's no convincing you. It's almost as if you're just looking to get on someone's nerves not really contributing anything to the discussion and just coming to leave snarky remarks for anyone who doesn't want to hear the constant complaining about this game.

I didn't even intend on commenting here in the first place since I said my thoughts elsewhere already and it's probably pointless even now as I doubt it'll make any difference the way you see things whatsoever, but I got annoyed and typed this out so far, so I might as well finish it. Anyways, I'm out.

So to celebrate/commiserate Brexit we get a Pokemon game based in the UK. LOL X-D

@HollowGrapeJ Thanks, much appreciated.

@johnvboy Look at a 3DS Kirby game, then look at Star Allies, then look at Sun/Moon, and then at Sword/Shield, they both didn't change much, but one at least evolved Graphically enough.

@Charinzardon,

The new game looks fine to me.

I think adding a difficulty setting would make everyone happy. Pokemon black 2 had a hard mode, but only after you best the Elite 4.

@PerishSong Thx for clarification. Got it on my radar now. Since I'm generally a peaceloving person I rather go for SHIELD than SWORD. If that makes any sense!

Well, its the same artstyle from Lets Go, but a bit stronger. And the game looks a bit more open (well, the field anyway). Other then that it looks like just another Pokemon. Not the full scope openworld Pokemon I hoped for. And the random encounters are back, wich is a bit of a step backwards. But maybe they chose that because Lets Go slowed down significantly when there where a couple of Pokemon on screen.

To put it shortly (I am not a Pokemon nut): Its another babystep forward, as always. Could still be fun though.