
It allows one of your Pokémon to grow enormous once per battle for three turns. While Sword & Shield deliver a mostly traditional experience, the new Dynamax mechanic adds new wrinkles. The turn-based battle system is simple and engaging thanks to tons of distinct Pokémon and moves to experiment with.

Finding the right combination of Pokémon for pivotal battles remains fun, and I still get a kick out of creating overpowered teams through stat-boosting items and move-teaching TMs that let you bend the rules. You choose a starter Pokémon in your small hometown, then venture across the region and collect new monsters in a quest to defeat eight powerful trainers and gain access to the final challenges. While not every aspect of this new generation is perfect, Pokémon Sword & Shield bring several crowd-pleasing elements to deliver an outstanding new installment.ĭespite the technological leap forward and the aforementioned experiments, the core tenants of the Pokémon series remain intact.

Pokémon Sword & Shield carry on this tradition, debuting a new wide-open area and supersized Pokémon in battles, without sacrificing the elements that made the series such a hit in the first place.

Throughout the history of the Pokémon franchise, each entry has introduced incremental new features and experimented with new mechanics to support your primary goal: traveling the world in search of the rarest and most powerful creatures.
