Sordward

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Sordward (Japanese: ソッド Swod) is a character introduced in . Together with his younger twin brother, Shielbert, the duo act as antagonists in the game's post-game story.
==In the core series games==
===Pokémon Sword===
After the player character, or , becomes Champion, the player and Hop return to the Slumbering Weald, where they attempt to return the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield they borrowed to fight . However, they are stopped by Sordward and his brother, Shielbert, who steal the weapons. The brothers declare the items to belong to them, claiming to be descendants of the first kings of Galar, and denounce Sonia's Book, which unveils the kings of legend as the Legendary Pokémon and , as a lie. The player battles and defeats Sordward and reclaims the Rusted Sword, but Hop is unable to retrieve the Rusted Shield. The brothers make their escape, causing a frustrated Hop to pursue them.
The player later finds Sordward and Shielbert in Turffield Stadium, where they reveal they were the people behind the Gym's incident with the rampaging Dynamax that the player, Hop, Milo, and Piers battled. They announce their intent to do the same thing at other Stadiums, and that they will reveal the "true nature" of Zacian and Zamazenta. After the player, Hop, and Piers work together with Nessa and Kabu to defend their respective stadiums, Sordward and Shielbert show up at Sonia's laboratory in Wedgehurst, demanding more Wishing Stars to force Pokémon to Dynamax with. Sonia calls the player and Hop to help, so they come and defeat Sordward and Shielbert in a Multi Battle. After the battle, Sonia's new assistant is revealed to have been a supporter of the royal brothers, who was planted there to spy on Sonia and secure the Wishing Stars the lab had in storage. Sordward, Shielbert, and Sonia's assistant make their escape while Sonia is stunned by the sudden betrayal.
As the player and their allies are helping the other stadiums, Sordward and Shielbert are putting their plan into action in Hammerlocke. Sordward and his allies wait in the Energy Plant to stop the player and their friends from reaching Shielbert, who is summoning Zamazenta atop the tower summit. Claiming that their status as royalty and celebrities has been called into question by Sonia's findings, Sordward reveals that they plan to tarnish the names of the Legendary Pokémon by overloading them with the same Galar particles they used to force the other Pokémon to Dynamax, causing them to go berserk. The player battles Sordward again while Hop and Piers deal with his entourage, but after being defeated, they hear a roar, and Sordward declares they have already won.
At the tower summit, the player, Hop, and Zacian calm down the rampaging Zamazenta. Zacian then turns its attention to the brothers, but Sordward steps up to defend his brother, begging it to spare them. After looking to the player, Zamazenta relents, and the player captures it in a formal battle. Afterwards, the brothers swear to atone, turning themselves in to Piers's custody. The player next sees Sordward accompanied by Shielbert, Piers, and Leon, who compliment the player and Hop on their last battle in the Slumbering Weald. The brothers formally apologize for their conduct and declare that they have abandoned their claim to the throne, saying that the only person truly noble enough for it would be the player themselves.
After the player has completed the events of The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, it is revealed that Sordward and Shielbert assisted in sponsoring the Galarian Star Tournament as their way of atoning for the crimes committed in the postgame. Sordward participates in the tournament, where - after the player has won the tournament 15 times - he can be chosen by the player as a teammate or be faced as an opponent, partnering with either Shielbert or Marnie.
===Pokémon Shield===
After the player character, or , becomes Champion, the player and Hop return to the Slumbering Weald, where they attempt to return the Rusted Sword and Rusted Shield they borrowed to fight . However, they are stopped by Sordward and his brother, Shielbert, who steal the weapons. The brothers declare the items to belong to them, claiming to be descendants of the first kings of Galar, and denounce Sonia's Book, which unveils the kings of legend as the Legendary Pokémon and , as a lie. Hop battles Sordward to retrieve the Rusted Sword, but he is defeated. The brothers make their escape, causing a frustrated Hop to pursue them.
The player later finds Sordward and Shielbert in Turffield Stadium, where they reveal they were the people behind the Gym's incident with the rampaging Dynamax that the player, Hop, Milo, and Piers battled. They announce their intent to do the same thing at other Stadiums, and that they will reveal the "true nature" of Zacian and Zamazenta. After the player, Hop, and Piers work together with Nessa and Kabu to defend their respective stadiums, Sordward and Shielbert show up at Sonia's laboratory in Wedgehurst, demanding more Wishing Stars to force Pokémon to Dynamax with. Sonia calls the player and Hop to help, so they come and defeat Sordward and Shielbert in a Multi Battle. After the battle, Sonia's new assistant is revealed to have been a supporter of the royal brothers, who was planted there to spy on Sonia and secure the Wishing Stars the lab had in storage. Sordward, Shielbert, and Sonia's assistant make their escape while Sonia is stunned by the sudden betrayal.
As the player and their allies are helping the other stadiums, Sordward and Shielbert are putting their plan into action in Hammerlocke. Sordward and Sonia's former assistant head to the tower summit, where they attempt to summon Zacian using the Rusted Sword. They succeed in doing so just before the player and their allies arrive. Sordward tells Zacian to begin its rampage, but when the Legendary Pokémon tries to attack Sordward instead, he panics. After the player calms down Zacian and captures Zamazenta in a formal battle, Sordward compliments the player. The brothers swear to atone, turning themselves in to Piers's custody. The player next sees Sordward accompanied by Shielbert, Piers, and Leon, who compliment the player and Hop on their last battle in the Slumbering Weald. The brothers formally apologize for their conduct and declare that they have abandoned their claim to the throne, saying that the only person truly noble enough for it would be the player themselves.
After the player has completed the events of The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra, it is revealed that Sordward and Shielbert assisted in sponsoring the Galarian Star Tournament as their way of atoning for the crimes committed in the postgame. Sordward participates in the tournament, where - after the player has won the tournament 15 times - he can be chosen by the player as a teammate or be faced as an opponent, partnering with either Shielbert or Marnie.
===Pokémon===
Single Battles against Sordward occur exclusively in . In , Shielbert takes his place in these battles.
====First battle====
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====Second battle (Multi Battle with Hop)====
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====Third battle====
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====Galarian Star Tournament====
Sordward uses these three Pokémon as both a partner and potential opponent in the Galarian Star Tournament.
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==Gallery==
===Sprites===
Icon from the menu
==Quotes==
==In animation==
===Pokémon: Twilight Wings===
Sordward appeared in The Gathering of Stars, where he was seen spectating the opening ceremony of the Galarian Star Tournament along with his younger brother Shielbert.
==In the manga==
===Pokémon Adventures===
Sordward debuted in Unbending!! Meet the Celebrities. One year prior to the , Sordward and his brother Shielbert stole the Rusted Sword and Shield from the Slumbering Weald. They were also responsible for the disappearance of 's Pokémon.
A year later, Sonia uncovered evidence incriminating Sordward and Shielbert as the culprits behind the Slumbering Weald incident and attempted to deliver it to Casey. Sordward and Shielbert shot Sonia's Flying Taxi out of the sky, but she was rescued by Leon, preventing the brothers from taking the camera containing the data. Later, they attacked Casey under the wrong assumption the camera made it to its destination, only for Piers to arrive and reveal he had it. Piers gave the camera up but secretly removed its memory card, tricking the brothers into leaving empty handed. When Sordward and Shielbert later returned for the card, Casey, , and Piers worked together to uncover their faces. The brothers attacked Henry and Casey, but were stopped by Piers's . Before Piers could finish them off, Marnie arrived and told him to avoid going too far, allowing the brothers to flee.
In Unbelievable!! The Shocking Truth, while recovering in the hospital, Sonia revealed that Sordward and Shielbert were working together with Rose. Later, after Rose released to restart the Darkest Day, Sordward and Shielbert made a sham news broadcast where they announced their intention on using the Rusted Sword and Shield to defeat Eternatus and solve the crisis. The brothers faced Eternatus, but when their Pokémon were easily overpowered, they were forced to use the Rusted Sword and Shield. The tools failed to activate, allowing Eternatus to send the brothers flying off the building. Rose saved Sordward and Shielbert, but expressed his disappointment in the brothers' performance and questioned the legitimacy of their royal lineage.
====Pokémon====
=====On hand=====
=====Lost=====
==In the TCG==
Sordward & Shielbert was introduced as a in the Pokémon Trading Card Game during the English Sword & Shield Series (the Japanese Sword & Shield Era). It was first released as a Japanese and as part of the English expansion with artwork by Hideki Ishikawa. It allows the player to choose a from the discard pile then either put it into their hand or draw three cards at the choice of the opponent.
==Names==
Language 	Name 	Origin
Japanese 	ソッド Swod 	From ソード sword
English 	Sordward 	From sword and the male name Edward
German 	Schwerthold 	From Schwert (sword)
Spanish 	Tizonio 	From (brand, poetic term for sword)
French 	Jean-Fleuret	From fleuret ()
Italian 	Brandobaldo 	From brando (brand, poetic term for sword)
Brazilian Portuguese	Espadarnaldo	From Espada (sword) and the male name Arnaldo
Korean 	소도 Sodo 	Transcription of his Japanese name
Chinese () 	索德 Suǒdé 	Transcription of his Japanese name
Chinese () 	索德 Sokdāk 	Transcription of his Japanese name
Category:Sword and Shield characters
Category:Criminal masterminds
Category:Royalty
Category:Multi Battle partners
Category:Pokémon: Twilight Wings characters
Category:Pokémon Adventures characters
Category:Characters who are twins
de:Schwerthold
es:Tizonio y Dargo
fr:Jean-Fleuret
it:Brandobaldo
ja:ソッド
zh:索德