As we expected from yesterday’s announcement, the big N hosted a brief Pokémon Nintendo Direct this morning. Eager monster collectors were hoping for more news on that highly-anticipated mainline Pokémon RPG and we expected to see at least some kind of mobile-related update. If not some kind surprise remake announcement. Head below for all the details.
(Update 3/26 10:20am):
- Amazon has now added the rare $10 Prime member credit to the Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield pre-orders.
- Pre-order Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield for $59.99 with a $10 reward certificate at Best Buy. And Amazon now has pre-order listings live for both Shield and Sword.
Well, the Pokémon Nintendo Direct went by in a flash (7 minutes or so), but here’s everything we got from today’s livestream broadcast. While many expected to see some spin-off content or even just Go updates, it was nothing but the new Pokémon RPG.
Pokémon Sword and Shield
We got a brand new trailer for the upcoming mainline RPG in today’s Pokémon Nintendo Direct and it looks great! Nintendo will be continuing its usual dual release schedule with the new Pokémon Sword and Shield.
These are brand new role playing games in the series that take place in a never-before-seen region with all new Pokémon. Both titles will take place in what is known as the Galar region which is filled with large cities, forests and snowy mountains. On top of all-new trainers, gyms and some new starter companions.
We were introduced to three new Pokémon which will act as your main buddies in Sword and Shield. Those include Grookey the chimp, Scorbunny the rabbit and the water lizard Sobble. All three were featured in the trailer you’ll find below.
Both games will release simultaneously in late 2019. You can expect more details to be revealed in the coming months.
Pre-order Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield for $59.99 with a $10 reward certificate at Best Buy.
Pokémon Day
Today is Pokémon Day in celebration of the launch of the very first release in the series back in 1996. And that comes with some in-game goodies courtesy of the Pokémon GO team. From now through Feb. 28, 2019 (at 1:00 p.m. PST) you might encounter Shiny Pidgey and Shiny Rattata and that’s on top of some other additions making there way into the game for a couple days:
- Pokémon that Trainers encounter early on in their adventures through the Kanto region will appear more frequently in the wild!
- Pokémon originally discovered in the Kanto region will be available to challenge in raids.
- Pikachu and Eevee wearing flower crowns will make a special appearance as Field Research encounters and in the wild.
More Nintendo Direct:
If you missed the Nintendo Direct from earlier this month, you can get all the details right here. We saw the debut of Super Mario Maker 2 and Zelda: Link’s Awakening, just to name a few.
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