For over two decades, the mainline Pokémon games had been an exclusively handheld experience. That all changed in 2019 with Pokémon Sword & Shield, the eighth generation that marked the series’ monumental leap to a home console, the Nintendo Switch. This transition brought with it new opportunities and new controversies.
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🏟️ A New Sense of Scale
The power of the Switch allowed for a grander sense of scale than ever before. Gym battles now took place in massive stadiums filled with cheering crowds, creating an epic, tournament-like atmosphere. The games also introduced the **Wild Area**, a large, open-world-inspired zone where you could freely control the camera and encounter a wide variety of powerful Pokémon roaming in the overworld. This was a significant step towards the open-world gameplay fans had been dreaming of.
🦖 The Dynamax Phenomenon
The new battle mechanic for this generation was Dynamax and Gigantamax. You could transform your Pokémon into a giant, kaiju-sized version of itself for three turns, complete with powerful new moves. Certain Pokémon even had special Gigantamax forms with unique designs. It was a visually spectacular feature perfectly suited for the big screen.
✂️ The ‘Dexit’ Controversy
However, the transition wasn’t entirely smooth. To manage the development of high-definition models for so many creatures, Game Freak made the difficult decision not to include every single previous Pokémon in the game. This move, dubbed ‘Dexit‘ by the community, was highly controversial and sparked intense debate among fans. Despite this, Sword & Shield were immensely successful, proving that Pokémon had a bright future on home consoles.
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*The Story of Pokémon*. 9th ed., Future PLC, 2025.
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