Pokemon Nintendo Direct Reveals Switch's Sword And Shield, Gen 8 Starters

[Update] Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield have been revealed. We also got to see the game's new Galar Region and the three adorable Gen 8 starters. You can watch the full trailer for Sword and Shield below or go here to see the full Pokemon Sword and Shield Nintendo Direct. Despite the presentation running only seven minutes, we learned quite a lot about the new games, which are set for release on Nintendo Switch in late 2019. As of yet, we don't know what the differences are between the two versions, although the gameplay footage we've seen might contain some hints regarding a legendary Pokemon.

[Original story] A Nintendo Direct presentation focused on Pokemon will air today. The livestream promises to bring "roughly seven minutes of new information" related to the franchise, though it's unclear whether this information pertains to a Gen 8 reveal or something else entirely.

The Pokemon-themed Direct is scheduled for Wednesday, February 27 at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET / 2 PM GMT (1 AM AET on February 28). Although Nintendo hasn't provided any indication on subject matter, it's possible The Pokemon Company will reveal more about its Pokemon game for Switch, which was first announced at E3 2017. Given that Nintendo is promoting this, it seem fair to assume that we will be hearing something about a video game. Whatever the case, you'll be able to watch the stream on Nintendo's website or here on GameSpot.

Pokemon: Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee were released for Nintendo Switch in November 2018 as remakes of sorts of Pokemon Yellow. They incorporated some elements of the mobile phenomenon Pokemon Go in an attempt to ease newer players into the mainline series.

Pokemon for Switch, on the other hand, is described as "a core RPG Pokemon title." Little else is known about the forthcoming title, though The Pokemon Company did confirm at its initial reveal that the game would launch in the latter half of 2019. It would make sense, therefore, for us to hear more about the game around now.

Pokemon director Junichi Masuda has stated developer Game Freak is looking into ways of transferring your existing creatures to new games. "We're definitely always thinking of that kind of forward-moving functionality, especially since we've introduced [Pokemon transfer service] Pokemon Bank," Masuda told GameSpot. "Now, up to Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, you're able to store your Pokemon, and we know they're very important to everyone. I mean, obviously, people would be very sad if they couldn't use their Pokemon in a future game. So, it does get complicated when you talk about the details and we're still figuring it out, but we do have plans to find ways to let players use their Pokemon in the next game." For more on the upcoming title(s), check out everything we know so far about Pokemon for Nintendo Switch.

February 27 is Pokemon Day, The Pokemon Company's yearly celebration of its huge pocket monster franchise. Pokemon Go is holding a special event, with generation one creatures spawning more frequently along with shiny versions of Pidgey and Rattata.