Pokémon Sword & Shield - 10 Best New Pokémon
And you thought the original 151 had all the best designs.
Pokémon Sword & Shield have just released, and with that comes a whole bunch of new Pokémon. All the headlines at the time were about the existing ‘mons set to be cut by Dexit, but now that we’re free to explore Galar, it’s the newbies in the limelight.
Any Pokémon new to Galar have been considered here, even ones we saw ages ago in trailers and whatnot. The Galarian forms of existing Pokémon have been left out though, with those being tackled later on.
Recently, there was a list of the best ‘mons in Sword & Shield for competitive battling; this list is far less scientific. It looks at the much more nebulous concept of ‘best’ Pokémon, in terms of fan popularity, aesthetics and general ‘coolness’. Subjectivity of course plays a part, but Pokémon who’ve been talked about the most since release have made themselves too popular to leave out.
It’s looking at individual Pokémon, not evolutionary lines or families, so there’s a mix of first stage, middle stage, final stage and single stage Pokémon here to enjoy. You can’t quite catch ‘em all anymore, but you can certainly catch these ten.
11. Honourable Mention: Cinderace
Initially, there was a shortlist of just over ten considered, and when it was trimmed down, none of the starter families were part of it. It only seemed right to have them as an honourable mention though, as despite the typical scorn poured upon them, they’re pretty neat.
There was an option to sit on the fence, and just have ‘the starters’ as an honourable mention, but where’s the fun in sitting on the fence? Flag in the ground, Cinderace is the best ‘mon of the nine starter forms.
As exhibit A, I offer up Pyro Ball. I have no further evidence I wish to submit for consideration.
Pyro Ball is the single coolest signature move not only of the Galar starters, but of any Pokémon anywhere. The football inspired rabbit does a few keepy uppies with a rock, round the worlds it, turns it into a fireball and volleys it at their opponent in a Peter Crouch scissor kick.
It’s perhaps a little too much bait for a certain type of Pokémon fan, but the starter Pokémon have had a very humanoid feel for a few generations now.
People will likely favour whichever starter they picked, but here Cinderace just nicks it.