Pokémon Armor and Tundra

*Sword and Shield redirects here. For the TCG expansion, see Sword & Shield (TCG). For the Pokémon Adventures chapter, see Sword & Shield chapter (Adventures).*
**Pokémon Sword** (Japanese: **ポケットモンスター ソード** *Pocket Monsters Sword*) and **Pokémon Shield** (Japanese: **ポケットモンスター シールド** *Pocket Monsters Shield*) are the primary paired versions of Generation VIII. The games were released on the Nintendo Switch worldwide on November 15, 2019 for both retail sale and download. All copies of the game are playable in nine languages: Japanese, English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese.

During E3 2017, Tsunekazu Ishihara announced that the next core series titles would be available on the Nintendo Switch, but they were not prepared to release any more information at the time. On May 30, 2018, The Pokémon Company gave a press conference and announced that the new core games would have more traditional gameplay, as opposed to that found in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.

The games were formally announced on Pokémon Day, February 27, 2019 at 11 pm JST during a worldwide announcement through Nintendo Direct hosted by Tsunekazu Ishihara, Junichi Masuda, and Shigeru Ohmori. An official trailer was shown, giving information on the region and the starter Pokémon players can choose from.

The Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass was revealed during a Pokémon Direct on January 9, 2020; it adds two new areas to the game, The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra.

## Plot

Template:Spoilers The Template:Player is a young child who lives with Template:Gal in the town of Postwick in the Galar region. One day, the player's friend Hop invites them to meet his big brother Leon, the Champion of the Galar League, so that they both can receive a starter Pokémon from him. After receiving their starters, the player and Hop follow a runaway Wooloo into the Slumbering Weald. Inside the foggy forest, they encounter a mysterious Pokémon that is completely unaffected by moves. They are soon rescued by Leon, and then they set out to receive an endorsement from him so that they can participate in Galar's Gym Challenge. After some convincing by Professor Magnolia, Leon agrees to give both the player and Hop an endorsement. Just then, two Wishing Stars fall out of the sky, and Professor Magnolia converts them into Dynamax Bands for the player and Hop, allowing them to Dynamax their Pokémon. The player and Hop then travel together to Motostoke to attend the Gym Challenge's opening ceremony, where they meet Rose, the president of Macro Cosmos and the chairman of the Galar Pokémon League, as well as a band of hooligans known as Team Yell.

After the opening ceremony, the player sets out to collect the eight Badges required to compete in the Champion Cup tournament from Gym Leaders across the region. Along the way, Professor Magnolia's granddaughter and assistant Sonia tells them about Galar's history and a mysterious event known as the Darkest Day. The player ends up uncovering pieces of the Darkest Day's history during their journey, much to Sonia's pleasure. Eventually, the player manages to successfully collect the eight Badges and travels to Wyndon, where the Champion Cup is held. They win their way through the Champion Cup semifinals, where they defeat Hop and end his dream of surpassing his brother. After confronting Macro Cosmos's vice-president Oleana at Rose Tower, the player participates in the Champion Cup finals and wins their way through it, earning themselves the right to challenge Leon.

However, just before the player and Leon's battle can begin, Rose makes a public announcement, revealing that he's going to bring about the second Darkest Day to save Galar from an energy crisis a thousand years in the future. To stop Rose's plans, the player and Hop travel to the Slumbering Weald again to seek help from the Legendary Pokémon Zacian and Zamazenta, one of whom had been the mysterious Pokémon they saw at the start of their journey. They find and take along a Rusted Sword and a Rusted Shield from the heart of the forest and go to confront Rose in Hammerlocke, where it is revealed that the Darkest Day is the result of Rose awakening a Legendary Pokémon known as Eternatus. After defeating Rose, the player and Hop go to face Eternatus at the top of the Hammerlocke Stadium, where Leon unsuccessfully tries to Template:Pkmn2 it, forcing the player to battle it. Once Eternatus seems to have been defeated, however, it suddenly transforms into its even more powerful Eternamax form. However, thanks to the sword and the shield they found, the player and Hop are able to summon Zacian and Zamazenta to their aid, and together, they defeat Eternatus in a Max Raid Battle, allowing the player to catch it and thus end the crisis. Three days later, the player finally takes on Leon in a battle at Wyndon Stadium and defeats him, ending his career as the undefeated Champion and making the player the new Champion of Galar.

During the post-game, the player and Hop travel to the heart of Slumbering Weald to return the Rusted Sword and the Rusted Shield, only to be confronted by the rich brothers Sordward and Shielbert, who try to steal the artifacts. Although the player manages to defeat one of the brothers and recover one of the stolen items, the two still manage to get away with the other one. The player and Hop are then forced to travel around Galar to stop the Dynamax Pokémon the brothers have let loose at the Gym Stadiums. They finally confront them again at Hammerlocke Stadium, where they reveal their plan being to reinstate the Galarian monarchy and denigrate Zacian and Zamazenta. Using the artifact they stole, the brothers lure in one of the Legendary Pokémon and drive it berserk, forcing the player to battle it. After it has been defeated, the other Legendary Pokémon appears as well, which the player battles and catches. During the battle, Hop follows the first Legendary to the heart of Slumbering Weald, where he successfully calms it down. Deeming Hop worthy of its trust, the Legendary Pokémon then willingly joins his party. The player and Hop then battle for one last time, after which Hop declares that his new dream is to become a Pokémon Professor, and Sordward and Shielbert briefly reappear to apologise for their actions.

## Blurb

A wild new adventure with Pokémon!

You can battle to be the best!

Carve a path to the future!Template:Sup/8 / Protect the world from disaster!Template:Sup/8

Band together in new co-op battles!

## Features

The games mix some of the changes introduced in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! with the more traditional gameplay last seen in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Wild Pokémon now appear on the overworld, known as "symbol encounters", similar to the Let's Go games, as well as random encounters shaking in tall grass.

Known as the Gym Challenge, Gyms that the player must battle with the goal of becoming the Champion return to the games, after being replaced by trials in Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon. The challenge culminates in the annual Champion Cup tournament where the player may challenge the Champion.

### Wild Area

Main article: Wild Area
The Wild Area is a vast, open area that connects several towns in the Galar region. It is home to a wide variety of Template:Pkmn2 Pokémon-type.

### Dynamax and Gigantamax

Main article: Dynamax

```
*and Gigantamax*

```

Dynamax is a new type of transformation that allows any Pokémon from the Galar region to power up and become larger using the Dynamax Band. After Dynamaxing, a Pokémon can use a Max Move.

Gigantamax is a special phenomenon that also changes the appearance of a few individuals of certain species of Pokémon. Like Dynamaxing, the Pokémon is increased in power and becomes bigger. A Gigantamax Pokémon can use a G-Max Move.

### Max Raid Battles

Main article: Max Raid Battle
Max Raid Battles are a new cooperative feature that allows up to four players to challenge a Dynamax Pokémon together over local wireless or Nintendo Switch Online.

### Rotom Phone

Main article: Rotom Phone
Replacing the Rotom Pokédex of the Generation VII games, the Rotom Phone acts not only as a Pokédex but also has additional features, such as the Town Map. It also acts as the main interface for the game's menu.

### Y-Comm

Main article: Y-Comm
The Y-Comm serves as an interface to connect with other players over local wireless or on the internet through Nintendo Switch Online. Players can trade (either a Link Trade or Surprise Trade), battle, swap League Cards, and join Max Raid Battles.

### Battle Stadium

Main article: Battle Stadium
Replacing the Battle Spot from the Generation VI and Template:Gen games, the Battle Stadium allows players to participate in battles over the internet through Nintendo Switch Online. Players can participate in Ranked Battles, Casual Battles, and Official Competitions as well as host or join Friendly Competitions.

### Rotomi

Main article: Rotomi
Rotomi replaces the PCs in previous games and has several features including allowing players to send their Pokémon on Poké Jobs, design their League Card, and draw for the Loto-ID.

### Pokémon Camp

Main article: Pokémon Camp
Pokémon Camp allows players can go camping and interact with their Pokémon, cook curry, and visit other player's camps.

### Game-exclusive Pokémon

#### Main Game

1. ↑ Famitsu review scores - 12/4/19 - Nintendo Everything
2. ↑ Pokémon Sword and Shield Review - IGN
3. ↑ Metacritic - Pokémon Shield
4. ↑ Pokémon Sword and Shield sell 6 million copies in launch weekend - CNET
5. ↑ Fiscal Year Ended March 2020 - Financial Results Explanatory Material - Nintendo Co., Ltd.
6. ↑ Top Selling Title Sales Units - Nintendo Switch Software
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Media Create Sales: CY 2019 (2018 Dec 31 - 2019 Dec 29) Sales | ResetEra
8. ↑ We Interview Junichi Masuda and Shigeru Ohmori about *Pokémon Sword* and *Pokémon Shield* | Pokemon.com
9. ↑ A Special Letter and Song from Undertale Game Creator Toby Fox | Pokemon.com
10. ↑ Nintendo Support: How to Update Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield
11. ↑ How to Update Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield | Nintendo Switch | Support | Nintendo