The Pokémon Company
- Nintendo just debuted its new pair of Pokémon games coming to the Switch later this year: "Pokémon Sword" and "Pokémon Shield."
- It also provided a preview of the grass, water, and fire-type Pokémon that players will be able to choose from: Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble.
Nintendo on Wednesday unveiled its next major entries in the Pokémon series: "Pokémon Sword" and "Pokémon Shield." The game will launch in late 2019 and takes place in the all-new Galar region.
The Nintendo Direct announcement also provided a brief look at the new Pokémon that players will be able to choose from when starting the game: Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble. As is the case in previous games, these starter options are of the grass, fire, and water types.
Grookey is the grass option, which game director Shigeru Ohmori described as a "mischievous Pokémon with boundless curiosity."
The rabbit Pokémon Scorbunny that Ohmori said is "bursting with energy" will serve as the fire choice - the water lizard, Pokémon Sobble, is "a bit timid" and shoots out attacks as it hides in the water.
In one scene, Scorbunny is shown bouncing up from the ground leaving flickering flames in his footsteps, which Sobble then extinguishes by spouting water from a nearby fountain. Grookey can also be seen scurrying up a nearby building. The video teased that the game will also include many other never-before-seen Pokémon.
"Pokémon Sword" and "Pokémon Shield" are the next flagship role-playing games in the Pokémon franchise, and the announcement comes after Nintendo first said in 2017 that a new core game would be coming to the console in 2019.
Nintendo also debuted "Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee!" and "Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu!" in November 2018, a pair of games set in the familiar Kanto region from "Pokémon Red,""Pokémon Blue," and "Pokémon Yellow." (The games also incorporated elements of the popular mobile game, "Pokémon Go.") But while that game largely focused on the original 151 Pokémon, this upcoming installment will bring in a roster of new faces.