NEW POKEMON SWORD & SHIELD TRAILER GIVES US A LOOK ON THE GAME'S ONLINE BATTLES

When Pokemon Sword & Shield was first revealed, I laid down a challenge to Game Freak (the game's developers) to take of advantage of the Nintendo Switch resources and launch a game that is much more than just 'Pokemon HD'. Since then they have been ticking off more and more of the list with each passing new trailer. Their latest gave me a look at the game's new online as well as new gameplay tweaks and, I am about 80% happy with what I am seeing so far.

What you are seeing in the trailer above is the Online Trainer Battles in the new Battle Stadium. Along with the new trailer, Game Freak dived into more details about the game's online features including revealing the new ranking system. Trainers will face those of a similar rank in ranked battles and will earn points based on the results of those battles. However, Legendary and Mythical Pokémon are not allowed for use in rank but are available for Casual Battles. Pokémon Sword and Shield will also have Official and Friendly Competitions which sees Trainers competing in special battles with a variety of different rules and restrictions, while Friendly Competitions will allow Trainers to create and join others with rules determined by the host.

A look at Pokemon Sword & Shield's new ranking system

The trailer also gave us a look of some the new battle strategies and gameplay tweaks that are coming to Pokemon Sword & Shield. This included further explanations about Dynamaxing and Max Moves with the Water-type Max Move, Max Geyser, that triggers the rain weather condition, and the Fighting-type Max Move, Max Knuckle, that increases the attack of all allied Pokémon, as examples of their power.  All of this new information came from the 2019 POKEMON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS that is taking place this weekend, so there exists the possibility of even more news being released.

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Pokémon Sword and Shield will be released on the Nintendo Switch on November 15, 2019. ​For more on Pokemon check out what some critics had to say about the latest movie or for more gaming news check out our recommended games of August.