[Sword & Shield] What are you hoping for?

1) I hope we get to visit a second region post-game. If we do get to, it will probably be Kalos because it looks like the maps could connect. And we only got one gen 6 game in Kalos, so visiting it would again would both make sense and be totally awesome!

2) I hope the post-game in general is filled with content.

3) Greater difficulty

4) More player freedom. Not necessarily open-world, but the ability to choose where you want to go to experience the story in different ways.

Choosing the starter not be be done during an over-bloated cut-scene. If I want the starter I choose to be female I want the soft resetting to be as easy as possible.

I am very simple, and not asking for much. Nintendo of Europe should do the localization for the English translation across the board.

But even moreso, I want a song that sounds like this.
https://youtu.be/yMpIwbHrgQM

Other than that, my mind is drawing a blank.

A decent support cast at the very least. Hau and Lillie both brought down my enjoyment of S/M quite a bit,

I definitely want my french vanilla fantasy of a Kalos postgame to be realised, there's way too many things fitting together that could suggest it will happen that I'd be a bit let down if they don't!!

I'm hoping for a story rich in reoccurring themes and an amazing plot like BW. Also hoping for more Pokémon this time around, hopefully Galarian forms. The titles and language they're using suggest royalty so I'm expecting to see that too

During the Direct they said something about how they (Game Freak) want to "challenge themselves" and "try new things while keeping what makes Pokemon special" or something like that.

I hope that they really do mean this, and more importantly that it will translate into something meaningful, as that would be fantastic.

But I'll only believe it when I see it.

Cherrim said:

Other than that, cute outfits again. There was like no variety in (U)SM and I think that's what got me bored of my trainer so quickly.

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Also this would be great

Gen 7's clothing selection was very limited and that's no fun. We're on the Switch now, they should be capable of not only doing better than Gen 7, but surpassing XY too.

The games seem like they're going to be great!

I'm hoping for a decent story, a fair amount of new Pokemon, a post-game battle facility and most importantly, Pro Controller Compatibility lol.

I'll stick to what I expect of the Pokémon right now.

More unique type combinations, especially Fire/Grass.
A dolphin Pokémon.
An overall balanced line-up of new Pokémon.
A fast Ice-type?
A regional bird/rodent/bug that isn't completely disposable later in the game.

Fairies that are more strongly tied to European and Irish folklore. Not just given the designation because they're pink and cute.
I mean.. they can be pink and cute too tho.

I also want a greater level of trainer customization so I can look dope af.

The games have already proved to be great in my opinion and I know I posted already saying most my hopes are answered, but what am I hoping for? Because we are now on a console and have far more memory. These are some things I really really want.

In-Game Seasonal Events - Maybe something like Animal Crossing. Make events and competitions that are only available at certain time a year. If it is a catching contest or something, then rewards us with special clothing or actual useful items.

Just in game events in general would be awesome. I love the Bug Catching contest only on Tuesdays and Thursday, but since then, we haven't have much of timed content. I am hoping with Lycanrocs, they bring these things back.

Returning to a past region, Kalos ideally or Unova would be awesome.

Online hubs to play games with random people online. In HGSS, they tried this, but at the time, not many people had easy access to wifi like we do now. The Plaza in Alola was a completely butchered opportunity.

Return of PSS. In Alola games, i didn't trade or do anything online because it was just so hard and annoying to find people to trade with. PSS was so easy to use. You had your friends listed and then others there. And sometimes you would even get random hellos from other people which was awesome.

An Interactive News System for the games similar to Splatoon 2 and SSBU. Kalos was supposed to use the Holocaster for this, but I don't think it was ever actually used. Even though it isn't required. I always enjoy getting on SSBU and Splatoon and seeing recent news related to those games.

With more memory and Trainer customization, I wouldn't mind have somewhere in the game where we could collect trophies or something. Like doing certain things and getting a trophy or a collectible to put in our room in game. Similar to Secret Bases, but slightly different.


I realize getting all of this is impossible from how pokemon has been doing things, so if I had to choose only one, I'd have to say In Game Seasonal events. Give me a reason to come back at later times and do things.

This had just sprung to mind after remembering that it had been mentioned by either GameXplain or another YouTuber, but I think it would be neat if the outfits outfits (hairstyles too) of past protags were available (If it was possible, there'd be 15 each so 30 all together, Super Mario Odyssey had 40 outfits). It would also give us a hint of nostalgia and would be great for people who enjoyed the way a previous protag was dressed. Now, these outfits would be a bit pricey in game, but I would love the option.

IcyIce said:

The games have already proved to be great in my opinion

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not to be that bitch, but isn't it waaaaay too early to say that Sword & Shield are great/are going to be great?

Nah said:

not to be that bitch, but isn't it waaaaay too early to say that Sword & Shield are great/are going to be great?

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Definitely, especially since absolutely nothing remarkable has been confirmed yet. That said, I'm still holding out hope. I'm going to have faith in these games.

I said the same thing about LGPE though before being pretty disappointed...

In general, for good character customization, lots of new Pokemon, and, above all, an interesting story! It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but aside from the Pokemon themselves, I mainly play new Pokemon games for the story and characters. :blush: (Especially now that there's a freaking multiverse! That's huge.)
But one specific hope I have for the story - Legendary Pokemon that are actual characters, like Nebby and the Blinding One Necrozma were. Seriously, I loved that so much about gen 7! I'm hoping that they're trying to establish it as a pattern. Please please please.

...Also, with all the connections everyone is talking about between Galar and Kalos, I'm holding out a small amount of hope for an AZ appearance. But I'm prepared to be disappointed.

just want to throw my 002c in a few things that have been talked about here:

character customization: definitely agree that there should be more customization than in SM, for sure! although part of me wants to give Alola a pass somewhat because there's only so much you can do with a tropical themed region, but I dunno.

seasons - highly doubt this will happen. but I may be wrong here, but I see this as particularly unlikely. seasons was fifth gen's "gimmick" (so to speak) and it'll likely just remain there, never to be brought back.

kalos post-game: I have a pretty harsh opinion on visiting previous regions as a post-game. I'd love for XY to be expanded upon, but I genuinely don't see a Kalos post-game doing any sort of justice to the extent of what it deserves. For that to happen we'd need sequels dedicated to fixing the issues that Kalos had. If Kalos were to make any sort of appearance in SwSh, I expect it to be fairly limited in terms of where you're allowed to explore/where you can go.

But hey, I'd love to be pleasantly surprised! This is the Switch we're talking about here and Game Freak has more freedom to play around, so maybe they'll catch me off-guard and introduce a post-game previous region visiting of sorts. One can only hope.

PSS - 90% sure it's not happening. I know a lot of people love PSS because it just... works and there's no unnecessary bells and whistles and complications like in Festival Plaza, but I feel like Game Freak would have to re-implement how it functions since it was originally designed for a 3DS game. With that effort, they might as well start on something new, which is more or less what I expect.

plot/less cutscenes - maybe I'm just jaded, but as Pokemon moves towards becoming more JRPG-ish, I feel like cutscenes are just going to be unavoidable. there are going to be the "i don't play Pokemon for the plot" types, and sad to say that the way the trend is going, Pokemon being plot-heavy isn't going to stop being a thing anytime soon. I mean, it's possible SwSh would change this, but I don't believe they will.

hoping for a damn good plot though, that's for sure. I know Pokemon has been getting progressively darker and darker with each new generation, so I'm curious to see what could beat XY's dark plot and SM's.

Nah said:

not to be that *****, but isn't it waaaaay too early to say that Sword & Shield are great/are going to be great?

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Not for me, because I generally think most games are great. I love the graphics. I love the trainers. I love that gyms are back, and for me that is enough. Usually when I am disappointed in a game, I already know I am going to be before they come out. For the most part, I love all games regardless.

Only recently did I not like a main series pokemon game with LGPE. Any time there is a new generation of games, it is already great.

A good plot with good pacing. Sun Moon's plot would have been much better if it had a better pacing rather than sticking it all together mostly around the same time (which is why the constant trainer battles, cutscenes, and such are a bother to a lot of people). I love cutscenes and trainer battles, but there needs to be more exploration too. Honestly feel like if BW was made in the way SM did they would have done a better job at pacing with their cutscenes.

That said! I would love to see more fairies and dragons due to where this region is. More different typings (and even typings we haven't had yet), and a good Pokedex that doesn't exclude Pokemon that should be in the region (hi yes I'm forever salty about oddish not being part of Alolan's).

Here are some of mine I've been thinking of:

Less linearity: One of my problems with SM/USUM was that it felt more like I was just "riding a roller coaster" rather than just exploring on my own. I'd be forced to follow this linear path set before me until I hit that flag that interrupts the gameplay. Gen 5, especially BW, was a circle. And Gen 6 was a flower. It just felt like there wasn't much reason to revisit many towns/cities after leaving them the first time. The Galar region, as I see it, kinda seems like we'll be going in a straight line upwards. Hopefully I'm wrong, and that there will be a lot of extracurricular things/opportunity to explore on the way to the next goal, a la Gens 1 through 4.

Less hand-holding: It's been 8 generations. I know how to catch Pokemon already. I know it's to cater to the ones just starting out, and that's why it should be like GSC: optional. Be like the Dude. Another suggestion is something like the Teachy TV. That way, help is there for those that need it, and those that don't can go on about their business.

Customization: Hoping this returns, and is just as extensive (or maybe even more) as it was in X/Y. Maybe even allow the ability to change the color of all clothes, not just white ones.

PC is less smiley all the time: Please let our player characters emote.

Return to a past region: What with the whole thing about Galar possibly being near Kalos due to irl location and Melmetal, it'd be nice to be able to revisit it, maybe post-game. It'd be a good opportunity to "complete" Kalos, as X/Y felt kinda... the opposite. I've always loved the idea in games of revisiting past areas you've been in after a time skip, which is one of the reasons I love GSC and BW/B2W2 so much.

Streamlined trade/battle system: Essentially X/Y's PSS. Everything was right there on the screen, no bells and whistles. Quick and painless.

Seasons/Seasonal events: One of the reasons Gen 5 is my favorite is because of seasons being a thing. It just made the world feel more real. Have certain events, items, or locations only available during certain seasons, like Casteliacones during summer or something to that effect.

Adjustable difficulty/harder difficulty in general: While I wasn't too big of a fan of USUM's direction, I did like their attempt at difficulty (certain totems, Ultra Necrozma). B2W2 also did this pretty decently with the Key System, though I'd prefer if all difficulties were available from the start.

That the new gimmick isn't overwhelming: Essentially my problem with Z-Moves, which were for the most part a free insta-kill button. Hopefully whatever this new gimmick is adds a new level of strategy to the gameplay other than "netting me a free KO". I've seen the whole Armor Evolution rumor being tossed around, along with it maybe doing something with buffing either offensive or defensive power (hence, Sword and Shield). I think that'd be pretty cool.

Post-game content: It doesn't necessarily have to be a Battle Frontier of sorts (though I'd really love that), but I'd like something to keep coming back to after completing whatever bit of story happens after I become Champion.

speaking of story...

A story that knocks my socks off: I can't say I play Pokemon purely for the story, but BW/B2W2 managed to tell a story so good to me, I went out and bought the other version just to experience it again. Despite the hand-holding and barrage of cutscenes, SM told a good story too, as well as creating, imo, one of the best antagonists in Pokemon history with Lusamine (before ruining her entire character with USUM). I'm not saying it needs an extensive, uberdark narrative, just a nice good story that's reasonably paced, while also giving me reason to care for each major character.

Something something Arthurian mythology: This is just a personal wish of mine, but I'd like maybe just a hint of something as a fan of Arthurian mythos. Take the legendaries, for example. Maybe the Sword legendary could be based on Excalibur, and the Shield legendary based on Pridwen. And the 3rd legendary could be based on Rhongomyniad which could hint at a Pokemon Lance/Spear or something.

...I have more, but I'll stop before this wall-o-text gets any bigger. I was glad to hear in the direct that they're challenging themselves to try new things, and I'm really hyped to see what else is shown off. I feel like a good 80-90% of what I listed probably won't happen, but speculation is one of my favorite things to do leading up to the release!

RPG IMPACT: A strong story and character plot that engages you. The pokemon have always been the exciting factor, but what if the story was strong along with the pokemon?

Attack differences: Location enhancements on moves. Species specific attacks.

New pokemon: More ice pokemon... that are not food related.. and ghost types ////// pokemon that are inspired by Flamingo, Birds of paradise, Angel Fish, Llama, gargoyle, sabretooth tiger, goblin, fighting flower, narwhal, and mixed animals.

Pokemon Tea party that turns into a food fight mini game.

1. The option to skip cutscenes.
Strongly recommended on second playthroughs. If Mario & Luigi's 3DS remakes and LGPE can do it, so should Sword and Shield.

2. Diverse rematches postgame
I would like to see plenty of Trainers that can be rebattled with their teams' levels being in the 70s or 80s to ease grinding somewhat.

3. An O-Power or Roto-Loto equivalent.
The ability to reduce hatch times for eggs and gaining even more EXP would be ideal to make raising your Pokemon to Level 100 less of a chore.

4. A rich and snobby rival.
I am bored of friendly rivals at this point. It will not hurt to give use the Pokemon equivalent of animated wealthy snobs like Pacifica Northwest or Bonnie from Kim Possible. The option to troll her every now and then with witty choices would make the adventure worthwhile.

5. Regional variants for Pokemon from later generations.
It would be cool to see what new subspecies could be covered if some more Pokemon would adapt to Galar's cooler climate and mountainous domain. I hope to see regional variants for Pokemon first found in Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh, since a lot of classic Pokemon would have cross-gen evolutions.