Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield have received plenty of post-launch content with its two expansions, The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra. Hundreds more Pokemon and a couple new areas have been added, as well as story additions that build up the history of the Galar region. Multiple new legendary Pokemon, as well as nearly all of the old legendaries, were implemented. Even a new endgame doubles tournament and a second system for raiding Dynamax boss Pokemon came with The Crown Tundra. Fans have lucked out like few others with this Pokemon Sword and Shield expansion pass, but it’s starting to look like that’s all they’ll get.
Since The Crown Tundra launched on October 22nd, Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield support has largely ceased. There are still new raids and giveaways coming out for it, but it looks like no new content is waiting in the wings. Pokemon is one of Game Freak and Nintendo’s biggest franchises, and its 25th anniversary is coming up on February 27th. Despite Sword and Shield’s fairly recent content drops, there are several reasons to suspect that no more news is coming for Sword and Shield, and The Pokemon Company will be moving on to other things.
Pokemon Sword and Shield sold extremely well, but it had its own controversies before launch. Game Freak producer Junichi Masuda noted that there were now over 800 Pokemon species in the series, and the Switch’s hardware made it easier for them all to be expressive. However, the developer had to balance importing as many Pokemon as possible and updating them while still hitting development deadlines. Balancing and rebalancing the enormous Pokemon roster was also cited as a time-consuming priority. Game Freak had previously mentioned that it hoped expectations weren’t “too high” for the series’ Switch debut, which may have been foreshadowing the issues to come.
However, as more footage came out for the games, fans started to wonder if the approach really was quantity over quality. Pokemon only had a couple battle animations spread out across all their potential moves, and some attacks simply saw Pokemon jerking back and forth to simulate movement. Several models seemed like almost exact copies of those used in the 3DS games Sun and Moon, and on top of everything else, fans just couldn’t help but feel underwhelmed at the rough appearance of the Galar region at large. A new entry could help the Pokemon Company appease fans with targeted responses to Sword and Shield’s main complaints, and as such, it could be that the next gen is in the works, not expansions for this one.
Indeed, development on the next Pokemon games may be the precise reason Sword and Shield will not be seeing any more content updates, but it may not even have to be the next gen in full. Plenty of rumors have been swirling around regarding Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remakes. Quite a few fans consider Diamond and Pearl to be the best games in the series, and ever since the third generation of Pokemon games got remakes back in 2014, fans have been wondering when the fourth generation would get its shot. If recent hearsay is to be believed, that time may be this year.
There are plenty of rumors suggesting that the remakes, and their announcement, are just around the corner. A tweet from Junichi Masuda at the end of 2020 raised suspicions among sharp-eyed fans. The tweet in question had a picture showing a group of plush Psyducks, reminding Diamond and Pearl fans of the time the player is blocked by several Psyduck experiencing a collective headache.
There was also a leaked merchandise listing from Pokemon leaker Centro Pokemon LEAKS. The main point of interest was the fact that Diamond and Pearl‘s three starters make an appearance. A number of other Pokemon introduced in the fourth generation were featured among the merchandise, namely Riolu, Lucario, Leafeon, Glaceon, Munchlax, and Pachirisu. The timing of these lines up suspiciously well with Pokemon’s anniversary at the end of February.
Of course, these remakes would be counted as the same eighth generation as Pokemon Sword and Shield, and would thus retain a lot of the mechanics and concepts introduced in it. Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing could return with new Gigantamax forms in tow, much like Mega Evolutions in previous generations. Mount Coronet could even be turned into a Wild Area, being a recurring location that fills much of the map and houses many different kinds of Pokemon. It would mark the first vertically-oriented Wild Area, and could have indoor and outdoor segments. The possibilities are thrilling, and there is likely not much waiting time left before these rumors are confirmed or rendered moot.
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield had a good run, but their time looks to be over. With Pokemon’s 25th anniversary just around the corner and the last content drop being months ago, chances for more Sword and Shield DLC are looking thin. Despite that, the future for Pokemon is looking brighter than ever on Nintendo Switch, and fans are waiting with bated breath to see what’s coming next.
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are available now on Nintendo Switch.
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