Sword & Shield **Official news only** DLC Crown Tundra 22nd October

So I've been thinking now that Galarian forms are confirmed to return, the 4chan "affleck" rumor which so far has been nearly spot on on everything mentioned a seagull Pokemon that can pick up and fire a barracuda like a missile. Well, we don't have a barracuda Pokemon yet, but we do have a missile. Or more accurately, a torpedo.

Is it possible we'll see a Galarian Sharpedo, and possibly a regional evolution for it that's based on a barracuda?
 
Are we sure Linoone will even be transferable to the game?

Though talking of Pokémon transferable to the game, the trailer revealed three new ones: the Toxicroak, Reuniclus and Liepard lines.

Which, yes, means that with a limited number of models they can put on; one of the ones they chose was...
 
Are we sure Linoone will even be transferable to the game?

Though talking of Pokémon transferable to the game, the trailer revealed three new ones: the Toxicroak, Reuniclus and Liepard lines.

Which, yes, means that with a limited number of models they can put on; one of the ones they chose was...
Depending on what options we will have, Liepard used to be a really solid Pokémon for VGC14
 

LucarioOfLegends

Master Procraster
is a CAP Contributor
Galarian Formes woot

New Zigzagoon and Linoone forms are solid and implies Galarian Zigzagoon is the root, which is neat.

Obstagoon stole the show for me tbh, never expected a new evo for a gen 3 mon.

Galarian Weezing is the strongest chaps and I have to go to tea with him brb.

Mopecko looks interesting but doesn't seem much more than a gimmick.

I get solid asshole rival vibes from Bede and his connection with Rose's company makes me raise an eyebrow. Interesting to see how he pans out.

Marnie and team yell seem like an interesting dynamic, can't wait to see it in action. Otherwise Yell sounds like Skull but with an actual purpose, can't wait to see thier boss if they have one.
 

ScraftyIsTheBest

On to new Horizons!
is a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Lots to be excited about with Sword and Shield for sure! Definitely looking forward to this as more news rolls in.

I'm glad they're continuing the concept of regional variants. While USUM made it seem like they would be done for, looks like Galar will bring its own regional variants and we'll be seeing Galarian forms. And Galarian Weezing and Linoone look pretty cool, I love the concept for Galarian Weezing in particular: absorbing toxic gases but then purifying them, and the typing fits really well and sounds super interesting. Just like with Alolan Muk in Gen 7 it seems Galarian Weezing is based on the idea of consuming poison. It seems pretty interesting.

I love that they brought back cross-gen evolutions too: I've missed them a lot since Gen 4. Even if it's for a Galarian form, Linoone getting an evolution was not something I was expecting. Obstagoon looks to be an interesting Pokemon, and I'm looking forward to how it's going to function in battle. Hopefully we'll be seeing more cross-gen evos in Sword and Shield too outside of Obstagoon.

The rivals look interesting I guess, and Team Yell looks to be overdramatic like Team Skull. Wondering what they'll do and if they'll have anything to do with Zacian/Zamazenta (maybe not haha)...but they seem to be trying to top Skull in terms of OTT craziness.

Just a few initial thoughts on today's news, but yeah, plenty to be excited about with Sword and Shield.
 
I'm glad they're continuing the concept of regional variants. While USUM made it seem like they would be done for, looks like Galar will bring its own regional variants and we'll be seeing Galarian forms. And Galarian Weezing and Linoone look pretty cool, I love the concept for Galarian Weezing in particular: absorbing toxic gases but then purifying them, and the typing fits really well and sounds super interesting. Just like with Alolan Muk in Gen 7 it seems Galarian Weezing is based on the idea of consuming poison. It seems pretty interesting.
At least we get to see that Regional form is the first "gen gimmick" that actually managed to get reproposed in future games.

And as I said earlier, probably the best. Still sad we're very unlikely to ever see new megas, but to most degrees Regional forms are arguably the best way to improve on old, outdated pokemon without necessarly causing exclusivity, bad portability or needing gamebreaking mechanics.
 
At least we get to see that Regional form is the first "gen gimmick" that actually managed to get reproposed in future games.

And as I said earlier, probably the best. Still sad we're very unlikely to ever see new megas, but to most degrees Regional forms are arguably the best way to improve on old, outdated pokemon without necessarly causing exclusivity, bad portability or needing gamebreaking mechanics.
It also stops them going full Gen V, where many of them could have been just Unova variants of known pokemon thinking back on it.
 
I like how Galar is the first region to have Craigslist in the form of Poke Jobs. I don't like that there is no interaction with this mechanic other than selecting Pokemon and waiting for them to return.

It would be nice if it were a distraction a la Pokeathlon where you had to do activities with your pokemon to complete work
 
I like how Galar is the first region to have Craigslist in the form of Poke Jobs. I don't like that there is no interaction with this mechanic other than selecting Pokemon and waiting for them to return.

It would be nice if it were a distraction a la Pokeathlon where you had to do activities with your pokemon to complete work
It probably would but... considering they're very likely going to work in similar way of Pokepelago at getting EV/exp on pokemon while you're not playing, it would get tedious very fast...
 
I know this forum isn't meant for competitive speculation, but can we talk about how much potential both Galarian Weezing and Galarian Linoone have? I'm not even talking about the new Obstagoon just yet (which I still find to be amazing btw) because there's a distinctive difference with Linoone's and Obstagoon's abilities that I'll go over in a moment.

The fact Galarian Weezing still has access to Levitate to go with that Poison/Fairy typing is phenomenal. It's only weak to Steel and Psychic which are admittedly not the best offensive typings (Psychic is offensively better than Steel by a wide margin, but it ain't a top 5 offensive typing like Water or something). Poison/Fairy normal resists both Dark and Grass, is double-resistant to both Fighting and Bug, and thanks to its Levitate ability, is immune to Dragon and Ground. That combination of Dark, Fighting, and Bug resistance along with a Ground-immunity is shaping Galarian Weezing to be one of the best Fighting-type switchins in the game; resists Knock Off, immune to Earthquake, and double-resists U-turn (which makes Galarian Weezing a potentially great Rocky Helmet user). Hopefully, this mon gets a more reliably form of recovery than Pain Split, but given normal Weezing's low HP, I think it can manage just fine assuming Galarian Weezing has a similar HP stat.

Galarian Linoone, however, is really exciting on the offensive side of things. It still has the Gluttony ability unlike its new evolution hence why I'm talking about it before Obstagoon. Assuming it still has access to Belly Drum, Extreme Speed, and Pinch Berries not only make a return, but act the same way as they do in Gen 7, this mon will be hella scary in the lower tiers. The fact it's Dark-type now means it no longer has to run non-STAB Shadow Claw to deal with Ghost-types, and if it gets Knock Off access, that's a really strong STAB at +6. It not Knock Off, it might get something like Crunch, which still works. The new double-weakness to Mach Punch and Vacuum Wave hurts, though, but it was already pretty weak to those moves before as regular Linoone.

I am interested to see Obstagoon's stat distribution because it could potentially be a great Belly Drum sweeper, as well (again, assuming Galarian Linoone still has Extreme Speed). Guts + Belly Drum sounds hella broken if it also gets access to a +2 priority move and Knock Off, as well as potential new coverage moves that Linoone wouldn't normally have access to.
 
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I am interested to see Obstagoon's stat distribution because it could potentially be a great Belly Drum sweeper, as well (again, assuming Galarian Linoone still has Extreme Speed). Guts + Belly Drum sounds hella broken if it also gets access to a +2 priority move and Knock Off, as well as potential new coverage moves that Linoone wouldn't normally have access to.
Note that being a Dark type, it's almost guaranteed to get access to Sucker Punch anyway.
 
I'm going to be real, I'm still not buying this game because [redacted], and those issues still remain. But credit where credit is due, this is some very neat stuff.

Regional variants not only returning, but expanding beyond Kanto, and the Kanto variants we did get are. I love Weezing-G's design, concept, and the first Poison/Fairy type (with Levitate and, apparently, a second/Hidden Ability!). Zigzagoon is my favorite utility 'mon of all time and I'm pleased as punch to see it get the Rattata/Meowth treatment--and it even keeps Pickup as an Ability!

Cross-gen evolution not only returns, but crosses over with those regional variants, and is done in a way that makes the now-middle stage naturally distinct from its evolved form. Obstagoon is a whole different beast

Oh, and another forme-change-at-Half-HP ability or something thereabouts, with a Signature Move that changes type with it! I fear a repeat of Zen Mode in terms of usefulness, but I dig the concept.

Team Yell: THIS QUIET OFFENDS SLAANESH! THINGS SHALL GET LOUD, NOW! Tell me I wasn't the only one who thought of that. Anyway, they could be parodying several aspects of toxic fanbases, some of which...may apply to this one. Either way, I love it.

So even amid the many, many complaints, GameFreak shows us that there's still a bit of magic in the franchise after all.
 
I gotta admit that Obstagoon looks great. It's nice to see a badger-like Pokemon design now.
Obstagoon is such a cavalcade of design choices. It's like what would happen if Typhlosion and Incineroar had a baby that spent too much time around Lycanroc and stanned Gene Simmons after growing up stanning Paul Stanley.

I do kinda like how Galar zigzagoon uses a dark-light color scheme that's the reverse order of the OG zigzagoon, and the name "Obstagoon" is a great callout to ziggy's name as well as adding new meaning to the -goon suffix.
 
Oh, and another forme-change-at-Half-HP ability or something thereabouts, with a Signature Move that changes type with it! I fear a repeat of Zen Mode in terms of usefulness, but I dig the concept.
It's actually different. The mechanic is "changes every turn".

That said, being a pikaclone, I wouldn't really expect competitive stats on it, and most likely will just be a fun in-game gimmick / low tier pokemon at best.
 

Yung Dramps

awesome gaming
189556

See the thing this guy is holding? I've been joking about it being a bodypillow, but uhh...

"They want nothing more than for Marnie to become Champion, and they all try to obstruct other challengers in all sorts of ways. They will take over hotel lobbies, prevent other challengers from accessing transportation, and even shout and distract opponents during battle. Whenever Marnie battles, it seems these Team Yell Grunts are quick to appear, showing their support with Marnie-print towels and also horns."
 
View attachment 189556
See the thing this guy is holding? I've been joking about it being a bodypillow, but uhh...

"They want nothing more than for Marnie to become Champion, and they all try to obstruct other challengers in all sorts of ways. They will take over hotel lobbies, prevent other challengers from accessing transportation, and even shout and distract opponents during battle. Whenever Marnie battles, it seems these Team Yell Grunts are quick to appear, showing their support with Marnie-print towels and also horns."
This isn't really unheard of. Towels are a common collectable item at concerts and the like for pop stars/bands. They're giving Marnie a sort of rockstar-idol treatment, so carrying a towel with her print on it kinda makes sense. I think the only weird thing to note is that they hold the towels horizontally, so they're always depicting Marnie in a horizontal position

-the fanbase's favorite position for cute girls, amirite-

The female Team Yell grunts have some nice design choices, like the shaved hair look. I just wish they had a horizontal pink streak instead of a vertical one on their face so they'd look cooler than the male grunts but eh.
 

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