Look at these Big Boys
The latest trailer for Pokémon Sword and Shield is all about the nitty-gritty of battling, including new held items like Room Service, hidden abilities, and the oft-highlighted Dynamax mechanic that can turn one of your Pokémon huge for three turns and grant it powerful, battlefield-altering Max Moves.
The Pokémon Company also detailed more battle mechanics in a trio of posts.
The more I hear about Dynamaxing, the more I’m warming up to it, and that’s in no small part thanks to its ease of use. Once your trainer has the Dynamax Band, the transformation mechanic can work on any Pokémon in the Galar region and – thank goodness! – they don’t need to hold a special item.
For those of us who are more into catching than strictly battling, Sword and Shield will have some incentives for taking on lots of Max Raid Battles: namely, hidden abilities. There’s a chance that Pokémon caught in these raids will possess hidden abilities, and in rare cases, you can even come away with a Pokémon who has a hidden ability and the option to Gigantamax in battle (it’s similar to Dynamaxing except they’ll change into a unique form and have access to G-Max Moves).
The third and final post covers the Battle Stadium, which will require a Nintendo Switch Online membership and span Ranked Battles, Casual Battles (which allow “certain Legendary and Mythical Pokémon”), Official Competitions, and Friendly Competitions. There’s a lot of minutia for battle-hardened players. Me? I just appreciate the confirmation about Rental Teams in Ranked Battles.
Ever since we learned that the Galar region won’t support the full roster of Pokémon on the National Pokédex even if you have them in the Pokémon Home app, I’ve been paying way more attention to Sword and Shield videos. I can’t help but wonder who will make the cut. It’s a hard feeling to shake.
