By: Bryce L. Jackson

Nintendo held a Pokemon Direct today to reveal new details of the upcoming Pokemon Sword and Shield games. They showed off more of the vast and variable environments of the Gallo Region, showed off a few of the Pokemon of this region and introduced a new gameplay feature meant for Co-Op play and gym battles.

The Wild Area

The Wild Area was shown off as this specific region with an open world design and varying biomes dedicated to specific Pokemon types. Players will have full control of their camera for added field of view perspective. The Wild Area will also host a new gameplay feature called Max Raid Battles in which 4 players co-op battle mode that pits the 4 against the new “Dynamax” Raid Boss, a larger, more powerful version of a Pokemon.

At random, one of the trainers will have the chance to Dynamax their own Pokemon to even the odds. Upon defeating the boss, trainers will have the opportunity to catch that Pokemon.

Gym Battles

Gym Battles in the Gallo Region are hosted in large stadiums designed to allow for Dynamax Pokemon battles. In gym battles, the gym leader and the challenger will be able to Dynamax a Pokemon and its moves for up to 3 turns. Dynamax will only be available once per battle so trainers will have to strategize when to use the ability

Legendary Pokemon

The names and designs for the Legendary Pokemon of the Gallo Region were revealed, Zaican and Zamazenta.

Release Date and More Info

Pokemon Sword and Shield will be released November 15th, 2019 on Nintendo Switch. Nintendo will also begin pre-orders for a double pack that has both games.