A Timeline of Events: Pokémon Sword and Shield

With E3 2019 over and news of many upcoming titles being shared, it’s time to take a look at one game (or two) that sounds as if it is in a rough spot now. Similar to my “What is Pokémon Let’s Go?” video and article from last year, we’re going to be looking at everything we know so far about Pokémon Sword and Shield. While many of you have probably been following the news since the game’s initial reveal, there could possibly be some info that you may have forgotten or didn’t know! Either way, this article will serve as a catalog for everything we’ve heard about Pokémon on the Nintendo Switch. So let’s take a look back from when the game was first mentioned to today and to start off, we’ll be going back to 2016.

Although we all thought it was very obvious that the franchise would be coming to the NX, on September 20th of 2016, Tsunekazu Ishihara, the CEO of the Pokémon Company, stated in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that, “The NX is trying to change the concept of what it means to be a home console device or a hand-held device… We will make games for the NX.”

On November 8th, in an article written by Gamespot, Masuda-san stated in the December 2016 issue of Game Informer that, “When it comes to the main series, thinking of Pokémon RPGs that we develop at Game Freak, we always really considered the timing of when we released them… There has to be a certain point where we’re able to release the games and get them into the hands of enough people, to make sure the audience is big enough. This year, with Pokémon Sun and Moon, obviously we’re going to be starting to think about the next title, and then depending on what that timing is, I think that will determine which platform we would release it on.” Since at this time, Sun and Moon were out, it is possible to assume that the next title Masuda-san was actually referring to was Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon instead of a game that would be on the NX.

The next time we would hear of Pokémon and the Switch together in terms of interviews would be February 24th of 2017, where Ishihara-san sat down with Japanese tech website Toyokeizai Online for an interview. Although my source of this article is from Polygon, the translation of the original interview was done by NeoGAF user StreetsAhead. Within this interview, CEO Ishihara stated that “Pokémon has been about being portable, but now there is the Switch, which is a portable home console, so it has a bigger screen and higher specs than we’re used to… Apart from main games, we make stuff like Pokkén [Tournament] and [Pokémon Mystery] Dungeon, so I am thinking we should make games that suit the Switch, but at this time I cannot confirm any projects.” After that, as detailed by the Polygon article, Ishihara-san stated that if they’re to develop games primarily for the Switch, it would have to be different from how they use to develop handheld portable games, but the change wouldn’t be too elaborate.

And from that point on, we didn’t hear about anything regarding Pokémon and the Switch officially until June of 2017 not at their Pokémon Direct, but at E3 instead. Although they did speak of how there was a Pokkén Tournament DX Tournament at that year’s event, the bigger news was that Game Freak had begun developing a core RPG Pokémon title for Nintendo Switch. This was the major news that everyone who was a Pokémon fan was hyped about that year, more than Ultra Sun and Moon and definitely more than Pokkén DX. All we know at that point was that it may not release for more than a year, but we at least know from at this point today is that the next core RPG Pokémon game was already being worked on.

In July 2017, although we already knew that we wouldn’t see the game for more than a year, Nintendo’s Q1 Financial Report showed that the expected release date for Pokémon Switch RPG was 2018 or later. Nothing else new came about from July, but the next month did have a sprinkle of interesting detail as Game Informer traveled to Game Freak’s studio and was able to interview Ohmori-san and Masuda-san about Pokémon on the Switch. Although it didn’t have huge blowouts of info – there were some notable quotes from the interview. Such as Masuda-san stating “We can definitely see that expectations are very high and right now the pressure is on to answer those expectations.” and “Of course it is very difficult to make the game, so I hope people don’t get their expectations up too high.” followed by a laugh from Ohmori-san. The most important response from Masuda-san and Ohmori-san was when Game Informer was showing the two comments across the internet about fans’ hope for a console game, with Tebbit on Giantbomb saying he wanted the premise of “Gotta Catch ‘em All” in a large open-ish world. The two responded saying “Tebbit, we’re making it!” which surely brought some hope to fans and with what we know of the game now, it’s definitely like that!

The last time we would hear about Pokémon Switch in 2017 was in September, where Ishihara-san stated in an interview with Bloomberg that “With the Switch, we see it as a chance to create Pokémon that goes deeper and with a higher level of expression. As a result, that makes it an extremely important platform.” Outside of that, nothing was really shown off or talked about. Several months of speculation and rumors passed by and we went into 2018, still not knowing much about the next game.

May 29, 2018, was the next time we would hear about Pokémon and the Switch officially. This came in a surprise Pokémon Press Conference where multiple games were announced – Pokémon Quest, a Game Freak developed spin-off for Mobile and Switch, and Pokémon Let’s Go! Pikachu and Eevee, a mainline title for Nintendo Switch based upon remaking Pokémon Yellow and combining features of Pokémon GO. However, based upon all we knew about Pokémon Switch prior and the fact that these were remakes, Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee was not the Switch game that Ishihara-san was referring to at E3 2017. That game would be coming out in the latter half of 2019.

In early snippets of the July 2018 Famitsu magazine, Nintendo Everything translated part of a segment focusing on Masuda-san stating in regards to bringing Pokémon from Let’s Go into the next titles, “There have been times where you couldn’t bring Pokémon over from previous titles – I imagine that created some bad memories. I want to try and change that, if I can.” But, the last time we would hear about Pokémon Switch would be in December, where Ishihara-san spoke in an interview with Dime stating that developing for the Switch has been hard due to the various types of playstyles there are and how to make them all interesting.

Since then it was radio silent, until Pokémon Day – February 27th, 2019. Many people, including myself, were expecting an announcement by now and it came with the reveal in a Pokémon Direct on the same day. The game that we’ve been waiting since 2017 to hear about (or 2016 for people who really believed in Pokémon Stars) was Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. Within this Direct we learned that Masuda-san has once again stepped back from being a Director and is only the Producer. Shigeru Ohmori, the director of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and Pokémon Sun and Moon, is also returning as the director of these brand new games. These titles, as tradition serves, will take place in the all-new Galar Region filled with new Pokémon and old. Aside from the new region and brand new starters, we learned that Pokémon Sword and Shield would still be scheduled to release Late 2019.

At Nintendo’s Financial Results Briefing on April 26th, 2019, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa highlighted that Pokémon Let’s Go was designed in a way to focus on playing the Nintendo Switch on a TV. One example given specifically is how you’re meant to swing the Joy-Con towards the TV in order to catch Pokémon. Another example to reflect that design choice would be to play couch co-op with a family or friend, one of the first times you could ever really do that in a mainline Pokémon game. However, Pokémon Sword and Shield are being designed to reflect playing the Nintendo Switch as a handheld. This is more notable as the design mentality is being focused in a way that Game Freak has always been comfortable with, as every mainline title was previously on a handheld.

Before we head into the bigger news that came on May 29th, we learned about how Game Freak is doing in terms of developing games and projects. Through an interview with VideoGamesChronicle, programmer and director Masayuki Onoue stated that Game Freak is focusing on creating original projects so that other parts of their team can return to Pokémon later with a fresh mind. Game Freak as of April 2018 has around 143 employees, but it is split between two teams: Team 1 that focuses on GEAR PROJECT and Team 2 that focuses on Pokémon. Through the GEAR PROJECT, several titles have been produced such as Giga Wrecker, HarmoKnight, Tembo the Badass Elephant, and Pocket Card Jockey. So although Pokémon is a big focus for the company, the entire company isn’t working solely on Pokémon. This is highlighted even further as Giga Wrecker ALT was recently released for all platforms and Project TOWN is still in development.

Now to tune into the Pokémon Game Conference that occurred on May 29th. Although there wasn’t an abundance of new information that was related to Pokémon Sword and Shield, there was the announcement of Pokémon HOME. Masuda-san, within the conference, states that many players have played Pokémon from the GameBoy Advance to the 3DS using the connectivity feature to bring their old Pokémon with them. “This special relationship is something unique to the Pokémon world. With so many different parts of this Pokémon world, we wanted to make a single location where they could all come together and use that to deliver a new experience that not only connects Pokémon with a variety of games but also connects players with each other. We’re calling it Pokémon HOME.” Pokémon HOME is a cloud service for both Nintendo Switch and mobile devices that allows you to bring over your Pokémon from Pokémon Bank on the Nintendo 3DS and Pokémon from Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee into Pokémon GO and Pokémon Sword and Shield. In addition, Pokémon HOME will have trading functionality locally and globally so you can trade Pokémon on your smartphone. This service will be launching in Early 2020, but that is currently all the information we have about the service.

The week after that, we were treated to a 15 minute Pokémon Direct on June 5th that gave us insight on brand new Pokémon and features. In terms of development, we learned that British graphic designer James Turner (a.k.a Jamie) is working as the Art Director for Sword and Shield. He previously has worked as Art Director for Pokémon Trozei!, Pokémon Battle Revolution, and as Director for HarmoKnight and Tempo The Badass Elephant. This is one example of how someone from the PROJECT GEAR team has come to Team 2 of Game Freak with a fresh new perspective. In terms of the scope of this game, the Wild Area was added to Sword and Shield. The Wild Area are areas between cities filled with luscious nature and roaming Pokémon, where the camera is also controlled by the player. This is most likely what Masuda-san and Ohmori-san were referring to back in August 2018 when casually replying to Tebbit’s plea for an open world-ish Pokémon game. In addition to Wild Areas, we learned of Dynamax and Max Raid Battles from Planning Director Kazumasa Iwao. Dynamax is a new feature that transforms your Pokémon into gigantic beasts with gigantic power. Within the wild area, there are Pokémon Dens that allows you to tackle a max Raid Battle. By connecting with three other players, you can fight a variety of Dynamax Pokémon and capture them. Although this was the only multiplayer feature revealed so far, it is stated in the Direct to be “one of these new multiplayer features” which means there could be more. At the end of this Direct, we learned that Pokémon Sword and Shield will be released globally on November 15th, 2019.

Finally on June 11th, Nintendo’s big E3 day, we learned a lot of new information through the E3 Direct and Treehouse. First off, we learned in the Direct that the Pokeball Plus will be compatible with Pokémon Sword and Shield. Second, the Treehouse that followed right after gave insight to far more important details within the new game. Similar to the Player Search System in Pokémon X and Y and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the WiCon feature allows you to see stamps detailing other player’s actions when they catch a Pokémon or want to trade with you. In addition, you’ll also be able to encounter trainers that you’ve previously connected (locally and globally) within the wild area. Third, we learned that Dynamax is a new ability that is actually replacing Mega Evolution and Z-Moves from the previous 3DS titles. Finally, Masuda-san further explained aspects of the Pokémon HOME service that was announced a few weeks ago but with one important change from Pokémon Bank.

“So in previous games that worked with the Pokémon Bank service, you were able to – for example: in Sun and Moon, you were able to bring over any Pokémon even if they weren’t in the Alola PokéDex. But with the transition to the Nintendo Switch hardware with it being much more powerful and allowing us to be much more expressive with the individual Pokémon, I know we’re well over 800 Pokémon species in the games. At Game Freak, we really spent a lot of time thinking about what the best move forward was in really preserving the quality of the different Pokémon, while also taking into account the battle balance having so many different Pokémon available all within a limited development time, so we don’t keep fans waiting too long for every new entry in the series. And after a lot of discussions, we’ve decided to come to a kind of new direction. So what that means for Pokémon Sword and Shield is that players will be able to transfer their Pokémon from Pokémon HOME only if they appear in the Galar Region PokéDex. So we were very careful and spent a lot of time thinking about what the best selection of Pokémon to match the setting of the adventure would be. So I’ll talk more about the details in future opportunities such as media interviews, but I wanted to let you know today. I know there are a lot of users of the Pokémon Bank service looking forward to Pokémon HOME, so I wanted to let them know what the change would be well in advance.”

The day afterward, the decision to limit Pokémon was further elaborated upon in an interview with Eric Van Allen at USGamer, Ohmori-san, and Masuda-san. Within this interview, it was stated that the decision and process of selecting which Pokémon would be a part of the Galar Region Pokédex were based upon several things. First, with the series having well over 800 different species and new ones also being added into these games and the fact that development is happening on the Switch, Game Freak is working to create “…much higher fidelity with higher quality animations. But even more than that, it’s coming down to the battle system. We’re making sure we can keep everything balanced and give all the Pokémon that appear in the games a chance to shine.” Masuda-san continues saying they knew at some point that this would have to happen and Sword and Shield would be a good point to reevaluate what Pokémon matter in the eyes of the audience, in consideration of the battle system, and what would be the optimal selection for the adventure being provided.

On the day after this, we learned from an interview with Pokemon.com, Masuda-san, and Ohmori-san that the concept of Pokémon Sword and Shield began right after development wrapped up on Sun and Moon. Thus, this means the game has fully been in development for about three years. In addition, the decision of having to limit what Pokémon would be in the Sword and Shield is possibly what Masuda-san and Ohmori-san meant when stating in the GameInformer interview that developing the game will be difficult and have a lot of pressure and the hopes that fans don’t have their expectations set too high. This decision could also be in reference to when Masuda stated he wanted to prevent instances of not being able to transfer Pokémon if he could. At this point, this is all the information we’ve known publicly about Pokémon Sword and Shield and more info will definitely appear towards the release of the game. I plan to research more and share with you information that you may not have known or fully give context to what news you may have heard of without the context. Until then, keep your eyes peeled for whatever info comes from the Pokémon Company, Nintendo, and Game Freak.