Dynamax and Everything Else Revealed in Today’s Pokemon Direct! - Image 1

Dynamax and Everything Else Revealed in Today’s Pokemon Direct!

Dynamax and Everything Else Revealed in Today’s Pokemon Direct! - Image 2

Dynamax and Everything Else Revealed in Today’s Pokemon Direct!

In case you missed it, this morning's Pokemon Sword and Shield Direct gave us a huge glimpse at the Galar region, a release date for the new games, as well as new Pokemon and new mechanics on the Nintendo Switch!

Dynamax and Max Raid Battles

Supersize your Pokemon with the new Dynamax mechanic, a technique you can use once per battle to turn your Pokemon into a colossal titan with super-powered moves! The Dynamax feature is reminiscent of Mega-Evolutions, but much more impressive in practice. Pokemon Gyms in the Galar region will be stadium-sized to accommodate this special style of battle! You'll sometimes even encounter Dynamax Pokemon in the wild for an extra challenge.

Also revealed were Max Raid Battles, a series first, where up to four trainers can team up using the Nintendo Switch WiFi Direct connectivity. These Max Raid Battles, like the Raids in Pokemon Go, will allow a team of trainers to battle against a single powerful Dynamax Pokemon.

New Pokemon Unveiled

The Pokemon Direct also introduced several new Gen 8 Pokemon, including Wooloo (the one that looks like a sheep), Gossifleur (the one that looks like a flower) and Drednaw (the one that looks like it will bite your face off). Gossifleur can evolve into Eldegoss, but no other evolutions were revealed yet. A raven Pokemon, Corviknight, will fly you from town to town, the Pokemon equivalent of Uber. We also got our first glimpse of Pokemon Sword and Shield's legendaries, which made clear why the games are named "Sword" and "Shield"--the legendary Zacian carries a sword, and Zamazenta has a shield for a face.

Wild Area

In between towns, Pokemon Sword and Shield will feature a large open-world field known as the Wild Area, where you'll encounter different wild Pokemon depending on the weather, time of day, and which part of the region you're in. This is a very exciting update to series, which is typically limited to linear routes that crisscross the region.