Pokémon Sword and Shield: Nintendo's new games set in land inspired by UK...

[AGXStarseed]

(Not written by me)

Set in a new region, Galar, the new Pokémon games for Switch will be released later this year

Nintendo has unveiled two new Pokémon games for its Switch console: Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. Introduced in a short online broadcast by Junichi Masuda and Shigeru Ohmori at Pokémon’s developer, Game Freak, they feature a painterly, impressionistic world that juxtaposes urban and natural environments, continuing the series’ long-running theme of human interaction with nature.

Pokémon Sword and Shield’s starter Pokémon, from left: Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble. Photograph: Nintendo/YouTube

The region of Galar is clearly Britain-inspired; it’s all little ivy-coloured cottages in the villages and austere London-style buildings in the cities. The setting has already prompted a slew of creative nicknames from fans on Twitter, among them Pokémon Greggs/Pokémon Nandos.

The Region of Galar

Like every new Pokémon game, both Sword and Shield will introduce new monsters to collect and battle, three of which featured in the recorded stream. Trainers were shown battling in grasslands, towns and plains as well as in gigantic stadiums. The two versions will include a slightly different selection of Pokémon, which players can trade online or in person.

Like every new Pokémon game, both Sword and Shield will introduce new monsters to collect and battle, three of which featured in the recorded stream. Trainers were shown battling in grasslands, towns and plains as well as in gigantic stadiums. The two versions will include a slightly different selection of Pokémon, which players can trade online or in person.

Trailers

Sword and Shield follow last year’s Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee!, remakes of the very first Pokémon games (Red, Blue and Yellow, released between 1996 and 1998). Pokémon is traditionally a huge sales driver for Nintendo consoles, especially in Japan; it is the world’s highest-grossing media franchise, having pulled in an estimated $90bn (£68bn) through games, anime and merchandising. On smartphones, its spinoff Pokémon Go has millions of active players per month.

Pokémon Sword and Shield will be released worldwide late in 2019.


Source: Pokémon Sword and Shield: Nintendo's new games set in land inspired by UK

 

[AGXStarseed]

While I won't buy this game as I don't have a Nintendo Switch and the last Pokemon game I played was Pokemon LeafGreen on a GBA Emulator, I have to say this one is intriguing.
Firstly, I like how it's set in the UK - we've got a lot of mythology to pull from in terms of Pokemon designs in that regard.

Also, it may be just me but - from looking at the map of Galar (which kind of looks like the UK but flipped and rotated so it's upside down) is giving me some Game of Throne vibes; I wonder if the Elite Four will be based around the families from that series.

Finally, based on the Logos, it appears the new legendaries will be based on Wolves. Considering how many times Britain has been invaded in the past by Iceland, I'm thinking the "Legendary Wolves" will be based off the Wolf Giants Sköll and Hati from Norse Mythology.
From what I've heard in the 2018 God of War game, Sköll and Hati were captured as pups by Odin - the King of the Aesir Gods - and kept in the kennels in Asgard in order to keep their father and an enemy to the Aesir, Hróðvitnir (also known as Fenrir), at bay.
When the sun and moon grew mutinous and stood still, Odin put Sköll and Hati to use. Using ancient magic, Odin cast the wolves to the heavens and they began chasing the sun and the moon, but they will not do so endlessly. It is foretold that the day Sköll and Hati catch and devour their prey will be the day that marks the beginning of Ragnarök.

Considering the previous games (Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon) had Legendary Pokemon based on the Sun and Moon, I'm interested to see how this plays out regarding the mythology of the game series.

What's more, a drawing in one of the trailers shows something interesting...

Will there be references to extraterrestrial visitors in this game?
It's possible, especially since you could easily class several Pokemon as 'aliens'...

 

[Iamnotarabot]

It doest look very new for a game that is supposed to be a big release for à home console.
We dont know enought yet for sure but I am not interested at all.

The new starters look very boring to me aswell.

 

[Southern Discomfort]

Will there be references to extraterrestrial visitors in this game?
It's possible, especially since you could easily class several Pokemon as 'aliens'...

I think the writer is a little confused. I don't expect aliens but more of the English countryside used as inspiration.

 

[AGXStarseed]

I think the writer is a little confused. I don't expect aliens but more of the English countryside used as inspiration.

I was referring to the picture I posted, which has what I presume is one of the "Legendary Wolves" but also has several smaller creatures around it that look at bit like the classic 'Grey' aliens.

Take into consideration as well that the UK has a substantial amount of UFO sightings (the most recent of which was January this year) and there's even a place in Wales called the "Broad Haven Triangle" which was an area of subsequent alien sightings in the 1970's.
To be fair, they could just be other Pokemon that happen to look like Grey aliens - I was just entertaining the possibility they they may indeed be aliens.
(Heck, without going too far into religious territory the games have already included the Pokemon Universe's equivalent of 'God' - called Arceus - so having actual aliens or other 'Alien Pokemon' isn't too farfetch'd in my point of view).

 

[Southern Discomfort]

I was referring to the picture I posted, which has what I presume is one of the "Legendary Wolves" but also has several smaller creatures around it that look at bit like the classic 'Grey' aliens.

Take into consideration as well that the UK has a substantial amount of UFO sightings (the most recent of which was January this year) and there's even a place in Wales called the "Broad Haven Triangle" which was an area of subsequent alien sightings in the 1970's.
To be fair, they could just be other Pokemon that happen to look like Grey aliens - I was just entertaining the possibility they they may indeed be aliens.
(Heck, without going too far into religious territory the games have already included the Pokemon Universe's equivalent of 'God' - called Arceus - so having actual aliens or other 'Alien Pokemon' isn't too farfetch'd in my point of view).

Sorry for the wording, I thought it was all one continuous post, didn't see the break in posts there.

 

[AGXStarseed]

Sorry for the wording, I thought it was all one continuous post, didn't see the break in posts there.

No worries.

 

[Cinnamon115]

I feel kind of silly for saying this, but when I first saw the new region, it reminded me a lot of the Milwaukee area. Then when I saw people saying, "it's the UK!!!!" I felt dumb for not noticing that. But it does look like a great game.