New items and mechanics revealed for Pokémon Sword & Shield

A new trailer has been released for Pokémon Sword and Shield showing various new mechanics in the games.

• Mints are a new type of item that changes a Pokémon's stats to match a different nature. They don't actually change the nature, but for example a Modest Mint changes the stats to what they would be if the Pokémon had the Modest nature.
• Pokémon of the same species (e.g. two Sylveon) can pass egg moves to each other when placed in the Nursery. They must have empty move slots for this to occur.
• The Pokémon storage can be accessed from almost anywhere.
• New Exp. Candy items give many Exp to Pokémon.

Also announced is a launch online competition, Galar Beginnings.

The Galar Beginnings competition runs from December 6th to 8th, with sign-up from November 15th (release day) until December 5th. Most Pokémon from the Galar region will be allowed, and all Pokémon become level 50 for the matches.

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During certain periods, Gigantamax Pokémon will be more common in Max Raid Battles. From launch until early January 2020, players will be more likely to encounter Butterfree (both versions), Drednaw (Sword only) and Corviknight (Shield only) as Gigantamax forms.