Pokémon Sword & Shield: 10 Predictions Based On Galar’s Map

Following the announcement of the region (Galar, based on the UK) and the starters (Grookey, Scorbunny and Sobble), Pokémon fans are eagerly awaiting more news on the upcoming Sword & Shield games. Mid May is usually when we hear about them, so hopefully we’ll get more details sooner rather than later.

For now though, we at least have the map and know that we’ll be starting in the south, working our way north.

There’s a fair few details on the map which haven’t been covered in any depth by official announcements, so there’s lots of room to speculate just what certain features may be used for, and how important certain locations are to the storyline.

There’s more reason than ever to be excited too, with the game debuting on the Nintendo Switch and promising a more open world feel to it. With Pokémon GO, Let’s GO! and Detective Pikachu only increasing interest in the games, Sword & Shield could be on course to be one of their biggest hits ever.

We’ve come a long way since the lines and squares which comprised the Kanto & Johto era maps; Galar’s offers a lot of insight into exactly what the game will be like.

Each region gets its own regional bird, sometimes two, encountered early on to help fill your party before better ones buff them up. Although there are exceptions to this (like Staraptor, who’s worth keeping around), they generally serve their purpose then retire gracefully.

With pigeons and pheasants both associated with the UK but already having Pokémon, a canary or budgie could be possible. Though they might not immediately spring to mind for Britain, the fact there’s a coal mine in the trailer means there’s definitely a chance.

Coal mining is a huge part of British history, so its inclusion definitely makes thematic sense. As for the canary or budgie, both of these were frequently taken down the mines in cages to warn the miners. If the gas became too toxic, the bird would suffocate, the the miners would know it was time to evacuate.

The mines seem to be fairly early on the map, though not as early as Route 1, so if they are the regional bird we’ll see them outside their thematically suitable habitat first for sure.

Then again, Alola’s regional bird was a woodpecker (Pikipek) which has nothing to do with Hawaii, so really it could be anything.