To celebrate Pokémon Day 2019 on February 27th, Nintendo streamed a seven-minute Pokémon Direct, providing trainers around the globe with their first look at the upcoming core Pokémon RPG entries, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield.
Slated for release later in 2019, these titles will see you explore the all-new Galar region in pursuit of Pokémon, chasing your dreams to become the champion – and there will be plenty of new Pokémon for you to encounter and capture (as well as many from previous generations) as part of your mission to catch ‘em all.
You’ll find these starter Pokémon waiting for you in the Galar region – based on the United Kingdom
This time around, the starter Pokémon are Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble, each bringing their own unique personality to the table. Grookey, the grass-type starter, is a mischievous chimp Pokémon, full of boundless curiosity; Scorbunny, the fire-type starter, is a rabbit Pokémon bursting with energy; and Sobble, the somewhat timid water starter, is a lizard Pokémon that loves nothing more than hiding away in the water and shooting out attacks at passers-by.
You’ll find these starter Pokémon waiting for you in the Galar region – based on the United Kingdom – which is a huge region with all kinds of terrain to explore, including mountains, forests, caves, bustling cityscapes and idyllic countryside.
We still have much to learn about Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield before release, including what legendary Pokémon they’ll feature and what story they will follow, but perhaps their announcement wasn’t the most intriguing part of the Direct. If you weren’t paying attention throughout, you may have missed the sly announcement that “we've got plenty in the works for the Pokémon brand that we hope will delight you”; could we finally be about to see remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl? Is there a new Mystery Dungeon or Ranger title on the horizon? We’ll just have to wait and see…