Pokémon Sword & Shield: Ranking Every New Pokémon So Far

The newest trailer for Pokémon Sword & Shield has just dropped, and with it has come another group of new Pokémon. We’re starting to get a decent picture of what Galar and its native Pokémon will bring, with several British inspirations having played a part in the design process.

The lack of Megas in the new game has already caused controversy, but now it appears they’ll be replaced by "Gigamaxing", which changes a Pokémon’s size and design... like Megas. Whether Mega Charizard or Mega Alakazam’s design will remain is unclear, but seems unlikely.

With players set to be restricted to the National Dex only, the new Pokémon could be more important than ever. We still don’t know how many entirely new ones will be there, or have a definitive answer on who will be returning. Already though, there’s a few Galarians to get excited about, as well as old favourites Tyranitar, Miltotic and Pikachu returning.

Here though, the focus is specifically on the newbies. They’re ranked by apparent popularity within the fanbase, their design, how much we know of them and whether or not they offer an interesting typing.

Rolycoly comes bottom of the list not because it’s terrible, but because it’s only appeared briefly, has a basic design and doesn’t seem like it brings anything new. The design is heavily reminiscent of Roggenrola, and even the name has a similarity.

It’s likely Rolycoly will evolve into something with a little more flair, but since we don’t know that for definite, it has to be rock bottom. The coal inspiration has clear links to British history though, so it could be a solid foundation for a much better ‘mon.

The gem mines are one of the most intriguing places on the map, but Rolycoly just doesn’t do the location justice. Hopefully there’ll be some better ‘mons there in game; it seems like the ideal spot for Sableye, for example.

However, Rolycoly could yet pull a Beldum and be the fairly unimpressive first stage of what could be an amazing evolutionary line. Just as Beldum turns into the fan favourite Metagross, Rolycoly’s ability of Steam Engine could be hinting that it will turn into a classic steam train of some kind, presumably picking up the Steel typing in the process.