The closer that we get to the release of Pokemon Sword and Shield, the more that my interest grows. Not only did we get to see new ways that the Pokemon interact with the world, but we also got to see a ton on new features in the latest Nintendo Direct.
The first of these may be obvious to fans of the last few Pokemon games, but we have way more stuff to customize our characters with. Not only do we have new outfits, but also accessories. Not only that, but we can also change our characters hair style/color, and even add in some makeup if we need be. This, to me, feels a lot more in depth than the previous generations. It can lead to something like we saw in the direct, where the character looks completely different than the default.
There’s also a new mechanic while in the wild, known as camping. It appears to work sort of like Pokemon-Amie, where you care for your Pokemon and play with them. This version feels a lot more natural to me though, instead of being transported to some place where it’s just you and the one Pokemon. They also conveniently showed off one of Alcremie’s new “flavors”. It’s unknown whether these do anything as of now, but I’m really digging the mint color scheme.
Speaking of camping, there’s where you can do one of the other new features. You can now catch ’em- I mean, cook ’em all. Similar to Pokeblocks and Poffins, in this game you can cook Curry. There are over 100 types, and each recipe that you learn will be cataloged for you in your CurryDex. These will give your team various stat bonuses, which gives it an edge over it’s previous incarnations, which were only really useful for contests and evolving Feebas.
Other than that, there were also two more Pokemon announced. The Flying/Water type Cramorant, and the pure Ghost type Polteagast. On top of them being new, Cramorant also has a new ability in the form of Gulp Missle. If Cramorant uses surf or dive, it catches a fish in it’s mouth. If attacked in this state, it will immediately counterattack by launching the fish at the opponent.
You can watch the full reveal trailer on Nintendo’s official Youtube channel here!
