Nintendo Hoists Pokémon: Sword and Shield, New Switch Games

Nintendo has announced Pokémon: Sword and Pokémon: Shield as the franchise’s eighth-generation games, coming to the Switch later this year.

The announcement in Wednesday’s Nintendo Direct also unveiled a bit of the forthcoming titles’ in-game footage, revealing what could be Pokémon’s most immersive and detailed 3D art style yet.

The games will take place in an entirely new region named Galar, which the official Pokémon Company website describes as “an expansive region with many environments—idyllic countryside, contemporary cities, thick forests and craggy, snow-covered mountains. The people and Pokémon live together in this region, and they’ve worked together to develop the industries here.”

The announcement also introduced us to the games’ precious new trio of starters, Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble. Catch them in the new trailer included below.