Pokemon Sword and Shield are now available on Nintendo Switch, and one of the first decisions you make is picking which starter Pokemon you’d like to accompany you on your journey. All three options in Sword and Shield are adorable, at least at first. But they will eventually evolve and change, and that might impact your decision from the outset.
Here’s each of the starters and their second- and third-stage evolutions so you aren’t too surprised later in the game. Regardless of who you pick, though, you can always swap them out for another Pokemon if you aren’t a fan, or trade with friends to complete your collection–so don’t be too worried about it!
In our Pokemon Sword and Shield review, we praised many aspects of the games, but acknowledged that the starters’ evolutions are universally not that great. There are plenty of other great Pokemon, though, so be sure to check out our guide to finding some of the coolest Pokemon in the game if you’re on the hunt for a different one.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are finally out on Nintendo Switch, and The Pokemon Company is giving away a few freebies for early adopters. Not only can you pick up a free track suit outfit for your trainer from Walmart starting November 16, but everyone who purchases the game by January 15, 2020 can claim a special Meowth that’s capable of Gigantamaxing. Here’s how to get yours.
How To Claim Your Free Gigantamax Meowth
Unlike the track suit outfit, you won’t need to head to a specific store to get your Gigantamax Meowth; rather, you can claim it using the Mystery Gift function from the game’s menu screen. Select Mystery Gift, then choose the option to get your gift via the internet. Follow the prompts to connect online and your special Meowth will be downloaded in the game. You can then find it waiting in one of your boxes at the Pokemon Center.
Other Free Pokemon
Meowth isn’t the only free Pokemon you can claim in Sword and Shield; you can also get a Pikachu and Eevee that are capable of Gigantamaxing, but only if you have save data from Let’s Go Pikachu or Eevee on your Switch. If you fall in that camp, you can pick up the Pokemon from Wild Area Station fairly early on in your adventure. Neither Pikachu nor Eevee can evolve, but they’re the only variants in their species capable of Gigantamaxing, so you’ll want to add them to your collection if you can.
As for the aforementioned free track suit, you’ll need to head to a participating Walmart store in the US before November 25 to claim a free download code for the outfit. Before you can get the code, you’ll first need to download and install the Pokemon Pass app on your smartphone, then use that to scan a QR code on display at the store. Once you’ve received your download code, you’ll need to input it in your copy of Sword or Shield via Mystery Gift to claim the outfit.
We gave the Gen 8 Pokemon games a 9/10 in our Sword and Shield review. Critic Kallie Plagge wrote, “Sword and Shield cut down on the tedious and protracted elements from previous games in favor of amplifying what makes Pokemon great in the first place. This is the most balanced a Pokemon game has felt in a long time, and with that, Sword and Shield mark the best new generation of Pokemon games in years.” If you’re just getting started on your Pokemon journey, be sure to check out our Sword and Shield guides below.
Pokemon Sword & Shield Guides
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Hear what Monaghan had to say by watching the video in the player above!
“They did a wonderful job of capturing their vision. And visually I thought that the movie was really well done. The cinematography was some of my favorite of the year. It was a wild ride,” Monaghan told IGN during an interview.
Coincidentally, the Joker movie was shooting at a location close to where Monaghan was filming Gotham, so there were two actors doing two different Jokers at the same time.
The first-ever Path of Exile fan convention, ExileCon, is taking place this weekend in developer Grinding Gear’s home city of Auckland, New Zealand. The event kicked off with a bang, as the keynote address with founder Chris Wilson included lots of big announcements and reveals. It was a busy event, to say the least, and in this post we’re rounding up all the key announcements.
Path of Exile 2
A full-on sequel, Path of Exile 2, is in the works for PC and console. Featuring a new, seven-act story and numerous improvements, Path of Exile 2 appears to the be the successor fans have been asking for. Among the new features is the removal of socketing gems, which should simplify and improve things. The game engine has also been improved, and the early demo Grinding Gear showed at ExileCon was very impressive. The initial act of the game is already playable (on the show floor), but fans might want to get comfortable for the full release. Founder Chris Wilson said the studio is taking its time with Path of Exile 2, and won’t release it until it meets the studio’s rigorous quality standards.
A completely unexpected announcement, Path of Exile Mobile is exactly what it sounds like: a mobile version of the free-to-play action RPG. Grinding Gear announced the game with a silly trailer that pokes fun at the idea of making a mobile game–it’s pretty great. The game is only an “experiment” for the studio, and as such, Grinding Gear hasn’t committed to actually releasing it at this stage.
Grinding Gear Games announced more details on Path of Exile’s upcoming 3.9.0 expansion. Called “Conquerors of the Atlas,” the expansion adds a new endgame story, upgradeable maps, and new skills. Specifically, there are new bow skills and support gems on the way. There are also “Support Gem Plus” items coming to Path of Exile, which are even more powerful. Conquerors of the Atlas launches on December 13.
Path of Exile’s new league, Metamorph, introduces a new NPC, Tane Octavius, who is described as a “master alchemist.” He killed his teacher (bad Tane!), and was exiled for it. “He hopes to find a cure, or perhaps just the source, for what he calls ‘the intrinsic darkness’ that led to his unforgivable violence,” reads a line from the announcement release.
Pokemon Sword and Shield have finally arrived on the Nintendo Switch, marking the start of a whole new generation for the series. Of course, each gen introduces a new region to explore and a host of new monsters to catch, and Sword and Shield are no different. This time around, the games take players to an idyllic countryside called Galar, which is home to a variety of new Gen 8 Pokemon, as well as a healthy selection of old favorites.
In typical Pokemon fashion, you’ll begin your Galar journey by picking a starter Pokemon and setting out to collect badges, but Sword and Shield also shake up the series’ formula in a few surprising ways. In the video above, we walk you through the first portion of the adventure, picking our starter and meeting the region’s champion, Leon, who shows us the ropes of Pokemon training.
Like previous Pokemon games, Sword and Shield each feature a handful of version-exclusive Pokemon as well as some other differences, including a couple of unique Gyms. If you’re not sure which version is right for you, be sure to check out our Pokemon Sword and Shield version differences roundup for a full breakdown of how the two games compare.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are available exclusively for Nintendo Switch. We gave the titles a 9/10 in our Sword and Shield review. Critic Kallie Plagge wrote, “In collecting, battling, and exploring, Sword and Shield cut out the bloat and focus on what makes these pillars of the Pokemon games so captivating in the first place. You’re not held back by overly complicated back-end systems or hoops to jump through; from the outset, you can start wandering the Galar region, seeing its new Pokemon, and trying out its new battle strategies with very little in your way.”
Path of Exile is coming to mobile devices. This morning at ExileCon, Grinding Gear CEO Chris Wilson announced that the popular free-to-play title is coming to smartphones featuring what is described as a fair monetization strategy. Wilson also pointed out that Grinding Gear is developing the title in-house as opposed to shipping it off to a different studio to handle it.
Before you get too excited, however, Wilson cautioned that Path of Exile mobile is only an “experimental” title. Development will continue–or not–based on fan feedback.
Wilson used his keynote address to make a little jab at Blizzard over its own mobile game reveal. He said he’s happy that Grinding Gear announced Path of Exile 2 before revealing Path of Exile Mobile in what was surely a reference to how Blizzard angered fans by announcing Diablo Immortal before Diablo IV.
Disclosure: Grinding Gear Games is paying for GameSpot’s flight and accommodation in Auckland, New Zealand to attend ExileCon.
Everything Included In The Stadia Founder’s Edition Package
Pictured above is every physical item included in the $130 Stadia Founder’s Edition, which is long since sold out. Unpictured: the buddy pass invite and a three-month subscription to Stadia Pro (normally $9.99 a month), the service required for 4K gameplay.
As mentioned before, this is just the start of our Google Stadia coverage. Come back next week for lots more, including our impressions of Google’s first major push into mainstream gaming.
Pokemon Sword and Shield have finally arrived on Switch. While the games may not include every Pokemon in the series, they do feature a good mix of old favorites and new Gen 8 monsters, so you still have plenty of options to choose from when assembling your Pokemon team.
Where To Catch Certain Pokemon
Most monsters in Sword and Shield can be found roaming about the Wild Area, a sprawling open-world expanse that stretches across the Galar region. The Wild Area isn’t the only place you can encounter Pokemon, but it is home to the largest variety of them (some of which will actually be too strong for you to catch at first), making it the best place to look for new monsters.
As you explore the Wild Area, the weather will change dynamically, which will influence what Pokemon appear in the wild. You also need to keep in mind that you can only catch Pokemon of a certain level depending on how many badges you’ve collected, so you can’t capture every wild Pokemon you encounter.
Fortunately, this isn’t as restrictive as it sounds; you’ll still encounter plenty of monsters, including a bunch of old favorites very early on in your journey. Many can be found in various portions of the Wild Area, but your first chance to catch some will actually be in certain routes and other places. If you’re just getting started, here are some Pokemon you’ll likely want to add to your collection and where you can find them:
Pokemon
Habitat
Eevee
Route 4 (Outside Turffield)
Pikachu
Route 4 (Outside Turffield)
Milcery
Route 4 (Outside Turffield)
Sizzlipede
Route 3
Gastly
Watchtower Ruins (Wild Area)
Impidimp
Glimwood Tangle
Galarian Ponyta
Glimwood Tangle (Shield only)
Galarian Farfetch’d
Bridge Field (Wild Area) (Sword only)
Rare And Fully Evolved Pokemon
As you progress through the adventure, you’ll also encounter rare and even fully evolved Pokemon in the wild. You’re guaranteed to run into some in certain parts of the Wild Area, but there may be only one of them at a time, so if you miss your chance to catch it, you’ll need to wait a while for it to spawn again–something to keep in mind before you challenge any fully evolved Pokemon you spot.
Fortunately, you can save right before you battle the monster and restart if you inadvertently knock it out (although to ensure a clean reset, you should disable autosaving in the options menu). These Pokemon’s habitats also won’t be listed in the Pokedex, so we’ve rounded up some rare Pokemon we’ve encountered and where they can be found:
Pokemon
Habitat
Machamp
Giant’s Mirror
Tyranitar
Dusty Bowl (Shield only)
Gengar
Dusty Bowl
Gyarados
East Lake Axewell
Lucario
North Lake Miloch
Vileplume
Dappled Grove
Ludicolo
Dappled Grove (Shield only)
Gallade
Bridge Field
Dusknoir
Stony Wilderness
Snorlax
Motostoke River Bank
Conkeldurr
Motostoke River Bank
Haxorus
Axew’s Eye
Pangoro
Rolling Fields
Ditto
Lake of Outrage
Lapras
North Lake Miloch, Lake of Outrage
Eevee evolutions
Lake of Outrage (depends on weather)
Rotom
Lake of Outrage
Pokemon Sword and Shield are available now on Nintendo Switch. You can read our thoughts on the games in our Pokemon Sword and Shield review. If you’re just getting started on your Galar journey, then be sure to check out our other Sword and Shield guides below for more helpful tips.
