Pokémon Sword and Shield trailer reveals new Gigantamax forms

The latest Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield trailer has revealed Gigantamax forms for five Pokémon.

There are several ways to obtain Gigantamax Pokémon. Gigantamax Pikachu and Gigantamax Eeevee are unlocked if Switch owners have Pokémon Let’s Go save data on their console, for example, while Gigantamax Meowth is available as an “exclusive early-purchase bonus”.

Gigantamax Charizard and Gigantamax Butterfree are shown in the new trailer, above, too.

Players can also catch Gigantamax Pokémon by participating in Max Raid Battles, which let four players team up locally or online to take on Dynamaxing Pokémon in the Wild Area, which stretches between the cities of Galar.

Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield will release worldwide on November 15, 2019 for Nintendo Switch. It’s available to pre-order from retailers including Nintendo, Amazon, Best Buy and Game.

A limited edition Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield Switch Lite console will also be released in November. It’s available to pre-order from Nintendo, Amazon, Best Buy, ShopTo and Game.

Making Pokémon giant in size “was really inspired by the move to Switch, higher resolutions and the ability to play on a big screen TV”, Pokémon Sword and Shield director Shigeru Ohmori said in June.

“With the 3DS we really didn’t have the resolution to portray very small characters versus very big characters at the same time.

“So being able to visualise that kind of size difference, of the Pokémon, was something that the Switch enabled us to do. So we wanted to create these kind of cool-looking battles.”

Game Freak is increasingly prioritising original game creation as part of its Gear Project initiative, programmer and director Masayuki Onoue has told VGC.