Pokemon fans have had a lot of exciting information thrown their way recently, as last week's Pokemon Presents event gave them new details on the Pokemon World Championships, updates for Pokemon GO and Pokemon Unite, as well as the third trailer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. While fans eagerly await the next pair of mainline games in the series, Game Freak and The Pokemon Company are giving players a reason to log into the most recent titles, Pokemon Sword and Shield.
As with any other mainline Pokemon title, Sword and Shield gave players a new region to roam around in, Pokemon to catch, a unique evolution ability in the form of Dynamax and Gigantamax, and plenty more. Now, Game Freak is bringing even more pocket monsters to Pokemon Sword and Shield, as the company announced that fans will be able to get their hands on new Pokemon weekly from August 12 to September 16. In order, the Pokemon coming to Sword and Shield are: Dracovish, Dragonite, Gengar, Sirfetch'd, and Lucario.
These Pokemon may sound familiar to fans of the animated series, as they are five of the six members of Ash's party in the latest Pokemon Journeys anime. The Pokemon won't be distributed to Sword and Shield players in the same order Ash catches them in Pokemon Journeys, though, as Sirfetch'd was the first creature the iconic protagonist caught while on a visit to the Galar region. Still, for any anime fan out there, it will be fun to run with the same team that Ash does. Of course, a special Pikachu will also be available to Pokemon Sword and Shield players, as no team of Ash's would be complete without the Pokemon franchise's mascot.
The "World Cap Pikachu" will be available a day before Dracovish, on August 11. Following Dracovish's drop on August 12, Dragonite will be available August 26, with Gengar, Sirfetch'd, and Lucario coming in the weeks after on September 2, 9, and 16, respectively. Another thing to note about these new Pokemon coming to Sword and Shield is that they will each be level 80, meaning anyone grabbing Ash's Pokemon Journeys team will have an advantage in the game's story.
It is reported that the codes for these new Pokemon will only be distributed in Japan, but Western Pokemon fans need not worry as the codes will also work outside of the Japan region. Alongside this limited time event, Pokemon Legends: Arceus players can also pick up a new cosmetic item as part of a Mystery Gift giveaway until June 2023.
Pokemon Sword and Shield is available now on Nintendo Switch.