Author: Trafficblast

The eighth generation of Pokemon games, Pokemon Sword and Shield, have finally been revealed. The trailer, which you can watch above, shows off the new starter Pokemon, a new region, and how Pokemon will look on Nintendo Switch. But it also has a few shots that raise more questions than they answer.

At two points in the trailer, you can see stones with symbols carved into them. These symbols are different from previous Pokemon puzzles, like Gen 2’s Unown and Gen 3’s braille, and they could just be decoration–the new region, Galar, might be inspired by England, and these could be Stonehenge-esque stones. But they’re featured prominently in their respective shots, so it’s hard not to wonder.

Also shown in the trailer is a large carving in a hillside of what might be a Pokemon. Aside from another indication that this might be an England-inspired region, it could represent a legendary Pokemon; it appears to be both breathing fire (or smoke) and shooting out lightning bolts, and there are small figures at its feet that seem to be having a bad time.

In more regular news, the trailer revealed the new Gen 8 starter Pokemon, and Sword and Shield have been confirmed for a late 2019 release.

In a Nintendo Direct earlier this morning, Nintendo announced two new Pokemon games, which are titled Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. The two games will arrive on Switch in late 2019, marking the first main series Pokemon games to arrive on the console. The Direct also gave us a brief look at the games’ gorgeous new region, Galar, and the three new starter Pokemon: Grookey, a grass monkey; Scorbunny, a fiery rabbit; and Sobble, a shy water lizard.

More information, including the exact release date, will be revealed in the coming months, but if you’re already mentally throwing your money at Nintendo and counting down the days, pre-orders for the game are slowly opening up. Best Buy, Amazon, and GameStop already have listings for Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield live on their sites, so you can pre-order the games right now. We’ll update this post as more retailers begin offering pre-orders.

Where to pre-order Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield

Pokemon Sword

Pokemon Shield

Pre-order bonuses for Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield

As of right now, the only pre-order bonus available is at Best Buy, where you can receive $10 reward credit for pre-ordering one of the Pokemon games. However, to be eligible, you must be a Best Buy member. Signing up for their membership program is free.

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As part of a special Nintendo Direct to celebrate Pokemon Day, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have finally pulled back the curtain on Pokemon Sword and Shield, the series’ upcoming eighth generation titles for Nintendo Switch. On top of revealing details about the games’ setting, we got our first look at their brand-new set of starter Pokemon, which represent the first Gen 8 Pokemon.

As in previous Pokemon games, players will be presented with a choice of three different Pokemon when they first begin their adventure in Sword and Shield. This time around, the options will be the Grass-type chimp Grookey, the Fire-type rabbit Scorbunny, and the Water-type lizard Sobble. You can see all three of them below.

No other new Pokemon have been revealed yet, but we did get a glimpse at a ton of returning Pokemon, including a handful from Sun and Moon–you can see all the Sword and Shield Pokemon in our gallery. Sword and Shield are set in the new Galar region, which appears to be based on Britain and spans idyllic countryside, rustic towns, and frigid mountains.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are being directed by Shigeru Ohmori, who also served as director of Sun and Moon. Based on the footage revealed thus far, Sword and Shield appear to be much more traditional takes on the series than the recent Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee; random encounters seem to be back, and players will once again be able to battle wild Pokemon before capturing them. It’s also been confirmed that Gyms are returning after they were dropped from Sun and Moon. We also spotted some mysterious symbols, though it’s unclear what significance they have, if any.

Pokemon Sword and Shield release exclusively for Nintendo Switch in late 2019. That doesn’t appear to be all that awaits Pokemon fans this year, however. Toward the end of the presentation, The Pokemon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara teased that the company has “plenty in the works for the Pokemon brand that we hope will delight you.”