Pokémon Shield (Switch)

The core of the Pokémon series has always been in the handheld realm, the tent-pole titles with their turn-based battle systems, social features like battling and trading, and the collection aspect all making them a good fit for Nintendo’s handheld consoles. With the Nintendo Switch providing a console quality handheld though, the series would find itself with a new kind of opportunity, and while it had spinoffs and the like before that made use of console hardware, this was potentially a huge evolutionary step for the franchise. However, while the two Pokémon games released for the 8th generation of the series would feature plenty of ambition, it seemed to come with compromises as well.

Pokémon Shield (and the almost identical Pokémon Sword this is essentially a review for as well) features all the important parts of the Pokémon formula. Wild creatures known as Pokémon roam the land, these monsters coming in many shapes and styles and having elemental affinities that contribute to their use in battle. Pokémon can learn up to four moves to use in battle and have passive abilities that can influence their effectiveness, an example of how these interact being the mine cart Pokémon Carkol receiving a boost to its speed if it’s hit by a water or fire type move thanks to the ability Steam Engine. A Pokémon can have either one or two types from a list of 18, these including straightforward things like Electric, Steel, and Ice as well as ones that focus on their physical design like Flying and Dragon or focus on their abilities like Psychic and Poison types. A Pokémon’s type, its native ability, the moves it can learn, and the types those moves represent all play into a battle system where there are plenty of considerations when you construct a team of up to six unique creatures, not to mention other considerations like special items they can hold to boost their power, heal, or take advantage of niche situations. Every creature has stats like Attack, Special Attack, and Speed that also add another layer of depth to the affair but do lead to the imbalance among all the creatures featured, players often having to set their own rules to avoid battles just being the same extremely strong creatures trouncing anything else that enters the arena. However, the incredible amount of opportunities each creature has to twist a battle makes Pokémon battling not only enjoyable for its story purpose but incredibly fun as a multiplayer feature, all without alienating younger players. At its most basic level all you really need to know are what types are stronger against each other and pick moves that deal appropriate damage to take advantages of weaknesses, but more complex play can involve the use of more complex moves like Decorate that allow you to greatly boost an ally’s stats in a 2 on 2 battle or Obstruct which protects your Pokémon from all damage while lowering the defense of anything that makes contact with the shield.

Collection is also an important component of the Pokémon franchise and it naturally goes hand in hand with the battle system, the creatures the player collects determining how their team can take shape based on their strength when found and their location in the game. However, we hit the first odd snag, as Pokémon Shield only features 400 Pokémon in the base game, with the others added in later by way of updates and downloadable content. This is the fewest that have been available in the standard game since before Diamond and Pearl back in 2007 which was on much weaker hardware. The updates aiming to rectify it instead mean that there are 400 native creatures the game’s new Galar region to find to start with the others joining in later, but this starting batch feels like an appropriate number. Many old creatures return with an interesting emphasis on Pokémon that aren’t quite so popular. While the game does feature the expected series mascots like the fire-breathing dragon Charizard and electrical mouse Pikachu, odder choices like the dancing cactus Maractus, the living gears Klingklang, the twin barnacles Binacle, and the pufferfish Qwilfish seem to suggest that the mix of Pokémon was trying to give underloved creatures a chance to potentially worm their way into the hearts of new players. To also give more attention to old creatures, Galarian forms exist that will change the appearance and typing of old monsters under the idea they changed to adapt to the Galar region. The flatfish Stunfisk used to have electrical powers, but in the Galar region it switches to Steel instead as it takes on a bear trap like shape, and the unfortunate Corsola goes from a happy water/rock creature in other regions to a ghost thanks to the effects of coral bleaching. To set it apart from Pokémon Sun and Moon’s Alolan forms though, Galarian forms also unlock the potential for unique evolutions, Pokémon able to reach new forms by either having an item used on them, leveling up through experience in battle, or other unique and strange methods. The mime Pokémon Mr. Mime for example adapted to Galar’s snowy regions by becoming an ice type, this adaptation allowing it to evolve into the Charlie Chaplin inspired Mr. Rime.

Perhaps appropriately for a game that brings back many old favorites and odder choices who never got their chance to shine, Pokémon Shield’s new creatures seem to swing around wildly in quality, it being a game of high and lows as the design team seemingly got more experimental and willing to break from traditional series design in what might be the start of another series art shift for monster designs. A creature like the fiery centipede Centiskorch, the adorable boxing octopus Clobbopus, or the barracuda Barraskewda would fit in well with old designs, but some stranger designs like Stonjourner are just a stone henge with a face slapped on them and some creatures like Chewtle are essentially a turtle with a big goofy face. At its lowest you have something like a Toxel, a Plasticine looking lizard with diaper like markings on its rear. It does follow the wise series standard of indicating a monster’s type through its name and coloration, it being pretty clear that this Pokémon is poisonous, but then it has a random lightning bolt slapped sloppily on its forehead since they couldn’t think of a more natural way to convey its electric typing. On the other hand, you have some incredibly creative concepts like a dragon bursting from an apple and using pieces of the broken fruit as wings with Flapple, the many different fossil Pokémon who are formed by a careless scientist mixing and matching the remains of different creatures, and Falinks who are a set of helmet-wearing marching creatures that nearly look like a caterpillar when in formation. Whether you like something like Eiscue, a penguin with a huge exploding ice cube for a head, or Impidimp, a pink gremlin that looks like it’s drawn from some other franchise with its unnatural proportions, will fall on the individual, but it feels like many players will find both winners and losers in this bunch to inspire some strong feelings. With attachment to your party being cultivated both by the general experience of raising them and the way the game portrays your bond with your Pokémon, it’s good to have such a diverse set of creatures to appeal to all sorts of tastes and preferences.

Acquiring new Pokémon in older games used to involve finding them in grass when they’d randomly appear to attack you, but Pokémon Shield introduces a much more interesting method of finding monsters in the overworld. The actual Pokémon themselves are now roaming around openly in the grasses, caves, and water, the player only needing to look around to see if there’s something new they want to snag. Entering a new area in Pokémon Shield is always exciting because you will see new creatures roaming about, but this concept is taken even further with the Wild Area. One massive expanse of land where the creatures roam free uninterrupted by cities, enemy trainers, or other distractions, the Wild Area packs many small sections where different creatures will spawn in accordance to the weather. Wandering around this massive zone in search of new creatures makes the collection process much more interesting than treading over grass repeatedly, and there are even special Pokémon who wander out in the open that would usually require some extra effort to earn, an example being the giant steel snake Steelix who would usually require you to trade the rock snake Onix while holding a special rare item. Unfortunately, some Pokémon will still only appear in shaky grass or by fishing, but many creatures can be found in the different routes and the Wild Area just by wandering around, the process of catching them involving weakening them in a battle before you throw a Poké Ball or one of its more effective variations. Sadly some of the new Pokémon are made incredibly hard to find so it’s unlikely you’ll find them naturally during a regular playthrough, some of the returning Pokémon even probably picked since they were too rare to really embrace in their original games, but the process of collecting Pokémon still requires elbow grease to catch them all while offering plenty to find before you start scouring for the rarer ones.

An interesting new form of catching Pokémon has been introduced here as well, Max Raid battles turning almost any Pokémon into a giant boss battle. Dynamaxing and the slightly different Gigantamaxing both turn Pokémon into absolute giants, gaining incredibly powerful attacks and increased health bars for three turns while Gigantamax Pokémon even have their appearance change. While you and other Pokémon trainers can Dynamax during certain battles, the Max Raids make it more interesting by having the wild Pokémon permanently locked into Dynamax mode while you and three other trainers try to take it down with one monster each. A refreshing mix up to catching and one that can be more dangerous than trainer battles when you find the higher rated Dyanamax creatures, these Max Raid battles not only provide a new experience but can offer unique opportunities to the player. The creatures found in the Max Raid dens or online can be Pokémon you were otherwise unable to obtain at that point in the game, creatures that would otherwise be exclusive to either the Sword or Shield version of the game, and monsters with secret abilities that can make them even more effective in battle. You will also get a lot of rewards for participating in these, raids perhaps being too generous at times as you can get Exp. Candy that can rapidly level up your Pokémon beyond where they should be in the level curve but can also conceivably let you get a new creature up to speed since the experience shared across the party otherwise means the whole team will grow at the same speed ignoring anyone lagging behind. These raids also offer a new multiplayer component to the franchise, the player able to join up with other players online for the raids… but here we face our first technical wrinkle. The online in Pokémon Shield is oddly structured and sometimes unreliable, it being difficult to get into a raid save with friends and codes required for online interactions that then have further limitations like battles only being allowed to last 20 minutes tops. You can do raids offline, but the AI partners who fill in can be self-defeating, hampering the potential for enjoyment in the highest rated raids but thankfully not being dumb enough to sabotage the lower leveled ones too often.

Other technical issues exist outside the weird online though, one being an incredible amount of pop-in. Character and Pokémon models will sometimes not display until you are incredibly close, making scanning for new Pokémon in the Wild Area less exciting than it could have been. Some areas are locked into specific times of day and weather can abruptly change from one step to the next, and many creature animations feel like they lack character. However, there is one place where a lot of love was put into making the Pokémon look great, that being Pokémon Camp. If you wish to just interact with your companions, you can set up a tent and play with your current team, all Pokémon having unique interactions that make them far more endearing. While journeying with them and training them up can already help you bond with these creatures, Pokémon Camp lets you spend time with them outside of battling. Outside of an intricate curry cooking component this is mostly fluff where your ability to interact is somewhat limited, but this more personal way of engaging these creatures feels like an important addition all the same just for how much more character it gives every Pokémon and how it allows you to spend quality time with the creatures you come to love. Pokémon Camp also can heal up injured Pokémon so you don’t need to take a trip to a healing center, that being one of those nice touches that Pokémon Shield has that help make up for the technical problems. Many quality of life features like easy access to relearning forgotten moves on Pokémon and accessing your entire collection of Pokémon from most places in the world further allow you to customize your team and all around make the game more open to experimentation and customization, with even your human avatar coming with plenty of clothing options as Pokémon does continue to push into new ideas, just not as gracefully as it could have.

One of the biggest examples of the highs and lows of Sword and Shield though would be the main story. The Galar region is a land obsessed with Pokémon battle to the point it’s become a nationwide event when new trainers begin their gym challenge. Heading out across the land to challenge eight type-themed gyms with skilled gym leaders at the head, the player takes on the role of one of many trainers looking to beat all eight and make their way to challenge the region’s champion. With the gym challenge being such a phenomenon in Galar, you’ll see its importance everywhere, the battles more like a sporting event than a personal trial. The fights with the gym leaders take place in giant stadiums with cheering crowds, and in a game with some already excellent and energetic music, the way the crowd cheers along with the gym music really pumps you up and makes the fights feel so much more exciting. Other gym challengers have their own fans and arcs, Marnie’s hooligan fans Team Yell causing little bits of trouble as they try to make sure she wins the challenge while a rival trainer named Bede goes through an interesting character arc involving their need to be appreciated. With every gym containing not just trainers to fight but challenges that range from puzzles to catching contests to Pokémon fights with gimmicks attached, the gym challenge is made extravagant and more engaging than in previous titles, Pokémon Shield doing an excellent job of making it feel like a big deal for the people in this world. While the gym challenge is a heavy focus of the plot, it isn’t the only one, and that’s where the game stumbles a bit as it doesn’t devote the time or energy to its more traditional story. While the gym challenge does have clunky writing at times, the game’s main antagonist and their motivations are communicated poorly and rushed through, with many steps on the way to a sloppy conclusion feeling tacked on or out of place. Rather than weaving it into the core gym stuff it splits off awkwardly and with very little substance supporting it when it should have just tried to build off the greater emphasis on your personal adventure. The areas you explore along the way outside of the Wild Area also feel a little underdeveloped, the game seeming to put a lot of love into its new big ideas and taking the attention away from areas that could have been just as interesting, but it does at least feel like the well done areas of the game make up for the shallowness of lesser focused ideas.

THE VERDICT: A rushed story and odd technical problems can’t bury an excellent execution of the Pokémon formula. Pokémon Shield maintains the series’s intricate yet accessible Pokémon battling and the appeal of finding and connecting with new Pokémon creatures, the Pokémon formula strong enough to make up for small deficiencies. The incredible presentation of the gym challenge makes it more exciting than ever to go on your personal Pokémon journey, the Wild Area and Max Raids introduce great new ways to find and catch monsters, and Pokémon Camp allows you to bond with them in cute ways. Small compromises do keep it from being the best game it could be, but Pokémon Shield still has the most important parts of a Pokémon RPG, some aspects of which are done better than ever before.

And so, I give Pokémon Shield for Nintendo Switch…

A GREAT rating. Pokémon Shield is a bit like a lovely drawing on a crumpled piece of paper. Some people will look past the canvas to appreciate the art while others might not be able to get over what it was drawn on, but the truth of the matter is the drawing is influenced by its quality and its canvas. Pokémon Shield has awkward moments of pop-in, a weak plot, and it feels like the Pokémon series didn’t take advantage of more powerful hardware than the ones its previous titles were made on… but then it also makes the gym challenge exhilarating and gives a few characters small arcs tied to it. It makes catching more interesting than ever with an open area to find hundreds in and Max Raids that allow for a new way to find and face off with the creatures you want to acquire. It makes battling more accessible with helpful features and gives you a way to hang out with Pokémon outside of fights in the camp. All of this on top of some great songs and a huge selection of unique and lovable creatures means that Pokémon Shield is still an excellent new addition to the series, but one that mostly relies on the core formula and small tweaks to it to be so amazing still. Sacrificing a coherent story, strong locations, and technical soundness prevents this from being the fantastic game it could be, but the appeal of battling and collecting is too strong for it to be anything less than great.

Being the first true console venture means Pokémon Shield and Pokémon Sword should have been more, but viewed on the quality of what is in the game rather than dreaming of what it could be, it is still a great experience and one that delivers in many of the ways it should. Graphical problems don’t make it any less fun to train up a team of wonderful fictional monsters to fight in what the game sells as an incredible sporting event, so while I can’t deny I want to see more from the most profitable media franchise of all time in its console debut, it still showed how it go there by executing its formula and new ideas in a way that makes it still exhilarating despite the stumbling points.