Pokémon Sword and Shield

Here, the player and three NPCs work together to take down a Dynamaxed Pokémon

Several new features for the games are also firsts for the series, including cooperative raid encounters, akin to those seen in Pokémon Go; the Wild Area, a fully explorable open world area with free camera movement and dynamic weather, which has implications on which Pokémon species appear at a given time;[2] and "Dynamaxing" and "Gigantamaxing", both of which temporarily allow Pokémon to grow to larger sizes.[3][4] Gigantamaxing is limited to select Pokémon and feature different forms from the Pokémon's normal appearance.[5] A new mechanic called "Poké Jobs" tasks the player's Pokémon with completing requests, such as assisting in construction or cooking, to gain experience or rare items.[6] In addition, Pokémon native to the game's region can be transferred to the games from the Nintendo 3DS app Pokémon Bank, Pokémon Go and Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! via the Pokémon Home service.[7][8] Pokémon Gyms make a return after being absent in Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.[9] As is typical with the series, the two games have version-exclusive content, such as available Pokémon and, for the first time, Gym Leaders.[5] Some features from previous entries, such as Mega Evolution and Z-Moves, are absent from the games.[10] A new 'Camp' mode allows the player to interact and play with their Pokémon and cook different types of curry to provide bonuses for Pokémon. New customization options for the player character have been added, like outerwear and other accessories.[11] In most instances, the PC box can be accessed outside of Pokémon Centers, except when inside Gyms, for example.[12]

Sword and Shield only support direct game-to-game connectivity between themselves. The games are also compatible with Pokémon Home, an online cloud storage service for storing Pokémon, released in February 2020.[8] Home is the only path to bringing Pokémon from previous generations into Sword and Shield; this includes Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the previous games in the series which were released for the Switch.

Sword and Shield are set in the fictional Galar region (as viewed from the south)

Satellite image of Great Britain (taken from North above to South below), which heavily inspired the design of the Galar region

Sword and Shield take place in the Galar region, a large, narrow expanse of land and one of many regions in the Pokémon world. Game director Shigeru Ohmori described it as a more modern setting.[13] The region itself is inspired by Great Britain,[14] with its many landmarks resembling places such as the Houses of Parliament and the Cerne Abbas Giant.[15][16][17] Within the Galar region lie countryside towns featuring cottages and Victorian architecture to the south.[16] An Industrial Revolution-like city with steampunk-style elements populates the center of the region.[18] Many of the region's towns and cities feature Pokémon Gyms stylized like football stadiums, which show off both Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing, implemented by the Galar Pokémon League Chairman, Rose.[19] Snow-covered mountains dominate much of the northern areas of the region.[13] Encompassing a large portion of the south-central part of the region is the Wild Area, an open world area with numerous roaming Pokémon species. Weather across the Wild Area changes regularly.[2] Like with Pokémon Sun and Moon, Pokémon previously introduced in older games, such as Weezing, gain regional Galarian Forms with new typings, stats and appearances. Some Pokémon, such as Linoone and Meowth, even gain regional evolutions.[20]

Similar to many previous entries in the Pokémon franchise, players embark on a journey across the region to become the strongest trainer, fighting eight powerful trainers called Gym Leaders and eventually the region's Champion. The player and their best friend, Hop, receive one of three starter Pokémon: Grookey, Scorbunny, or Sobble from Leon, Champion of the Galar region and Hop's older brother. Afterward, the two explore a forest called the Slumbering Weald but are driven off by a powerful Pokémon. During their subsequent visit to the region's Pokémon Professor, Magnolia and her granddaughter Sonia, they convince Leon to endorse them to take part in the Gym Challenge. After traveling to the next city to register for the Gym Challenge, they encounter rivals Bede and Marnie along with Team Yell, a devout group of hooligans who act as Marnie's unintentional fanbase and are determined to stop anyone else from completing the Challenge. The player also meets Chairman Rose, who, in addition to endorsing Bede as a Gym Challenger, presides over the Galar Pokémon League and the region's main energy company.

The Galar region was heavily inspired by the United Kingdom, with the main city—Wyndon—being a representation of London (pictured). The in-game city has the Rose of the Rondelands, a building inspired by the Houses of Parliament.

As their quest continues, the player assists Sonia in her research on two Legendary Pokémon who saved Galar from an ancient crisis called the Darkest Day and deduces that they are the same Pokémon previously encountered in the Slumbering Weald. After beating the 8 Gym Leaders, including Piers, Marnie's older brother and the leader of Team Yell, the player makes their way to Wyndon where they win the Champion's Cup, earning an opportunity to battle Leon. The next day, before the battle between the player and Leon can commence, Chairman Rose awakens the legendary Pokémon Eternatus in an attempt to harness its power to provide unlimited energy to Galar, inadvertently triggering a second Darkest Day. The player and Hop return to the Slumbering Weald and secure the aid of the legendary Pokémon, Zacian and Zamazenta, to defeat Chairman Rose and Eternatus, after which the player catches Eternatus. The player then faces and defeats Leon in a battle and becomes the new Champion of the Galar region.

After defeating Leon, the player and Hop return to the Slumbering Weald to return Zacian and Zamazenta's artifacts to their rightful place. The two also meet Sonia, who has become the Galar region's new Pokémon Professor. However, they are confronted by Sordward and Shielbert, two brothers claiming to be descendants of ancient Galarian kings. The two steal one of the relics and begin forcing innocent Pokémon to Dynamax. The player, Hop, and Piers work with the Gym Leaders to subdue the Dynamax Pokémon and then track down and confront the brothers. They use Dynamax energy to drive Zamazenta (in Sword) or Zacian (in Shield) berserk, and the player drives them off with the help of Zacian (in Sword) or Zamazenta (in Shield). They then are challenged to a battle by the Legendary Pokémon and allowed to catch it, while Hop follows Zamazenta/Zacian back to the Slumbering Weald and calms it down, being chosen by it as its Trainer. The player and Hop have a final battle, after which Hop decides to be a Pokémon Professor and becomes Sonia's assistant.

During the Pokémon Direct on January 9, 2020, a pair of expansion packs were announced which were released throughout 2020 as part of an expansion pass. The first pack, The Isle of Armor, was released on June 17, 2020, while the second pack, The Crown Tundra, was released on October 22, 2020. A physical bundle including both expansion packs with the base games was released on November 6, 2020.[39] The expansion packs introduce new Legendary Pokémon such as Kubfu and its evolved forms in The Isle of Armor and Calyrex in The Crown Tundra, along with new regional forms for pre-existing Pokémon such as Slowpoke.[40] Between both expansion packs, they add more than 200 pre-existing Pokémon that aren't available in the base game.[41] The explorable area introduced in The Isle of Armor draws inspiration from the Isle of Man while the area in The Crown Tundra is based on Scotland.[42]

The decision not to include all pre-existing Pokémon in the games drew criticism from many fans, who referred to it as "Dexit", a portmanteau of Pokédex and Brexit,[43] and used the hashtag "#BringBackNationalDex" to discuss the matter on social media.[44] Fan backlash focused on the removal of a long-standing aspect of the franchise, the discarding of its former English tagline "gotta catch 'em all," and a perceived lack of improvements in other areas of the games, such as graphics and animations.[44][45] Some fans called for the games to be delayed until all of the Pokémon could be added.[46][47] In an interview with Famitsu, Shigeru Ohmori stated that models for Pokémon appearing in Sword and Shield were being made again from the ground up.[48][49]

Writing for Polygon, Patricia Hernandez commented that "to some degree, the backlash makes sense" while adding that it had "gotten out of hand".[44] Alex Donaldson of VG247 noted that feature creep—where an increase in new features over time may lead to removal of previous ones—had finally reached Pokémon, and long-overlooked design shortcomings of Game Freak were brought to the forefront as a result.[50] Kotaku's Gita Jackson summarized the backlash as "the tension of a desire to indulge in nostalgia against a desire to experience more complexity."[51] Joe Merrick, the webmaster of fansite Serebii, considered the controversy to have caused the most unrest among Pokémon fans since the troubled launch of Pokémon Bank in 2013.[43]

Masuda formally responded to the criticism on June 28, 2019, two weeks after it erupted, expressing appreciation for the love and passion shown by fans.[52] He reiterated that the removal of certain Pokémon was a difficult decision to make and that they would be available in different games in the future. Michael McWhertor of Polygon noted that while Masuda's statement acknowledged the fans' discontent, it "[did not] amount to much".[53]

Upon release, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic.[54][55] Critics praised the games' simplicity, new elements such as Dynamaxing, and streamlined battle encounters but criticized the incomplete Pokédex and not taking full advantage of the games' potential.

Brian Shea from Game Informer particularly praised the new Dynamax feature for being visually and strategically exciting without being overused: "while the Dynamax mechanic has the potential to disrupt the flow of any battle, it doesn't factor into most encounters, since it can only be used in Gym battles and select other situations".[59] Casey DeFreitas for IGN also praised Sword and Shield for their fun gameplay and lack of monotonous activities, while criticizing aspects such as cutscenes and lack of a full Pokédex.[62] Writing for GameSpot, Kallie Plagge also praised the pair for easy-to-understand game systems and a sense of freedom stating, "you're not held back by overly complicated back-end systems or hoops to jump through; from the outset, you can start wandering the Galar region, seeing its new Pokémon, and trying out its new battle strategies with very little in your way."

Conversely, Chris Tapsell for Eurogamer criticized the games, commenting that it lacked substance and did not live up to previous titles in the series. Tapsell commented "this is a new generation of Pokémon games that promises much, with brilliant new Pokémon, a raft of intricate system-tinkering for long-term fans and a series-first stab at an 'open-world' area. But all that's new seems to have come at a cost – and the cost is almost everything else in the game."[65] James Grebey and Tom Philip of GQ also felt somewhat underwhelmed, praising the Wild Area but stating that the games were "satisfying but pedestrian" and feel like "proof of concept [with] another stage of evolution left for console Pokémon games". They also said that "there is... a lot in Sword and Shield that doesn't feel like it couldn't have been achieved on the Nintendo 3DS."[66]

In Japan, Sword and Shield sold two million copies during their first three days on sale, surpassing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as the fastest-selling Switch games in that region.[67][68] In the US, they sold more than two million copies in their opening weekend. By November 21, 2019, Sword and Shield had sold more than six million copies worldwide, surpassing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as the fastest-selling Switch games.[69] By December 2020, the games had sold 20.35 million copies worldwide.[70]