History VideoGame / PokemonSwordAndShield

** Zamazenta's entire motif as fast, offensive and defensive. Also, its signature attack, Behemoth Bash.

[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant No relation to]] the KnightlySwordAndShield trope.

* SecretCharacter: Various Pokémon can be obtained in the game despite the fact that they don't have Pokédex entries

* ShieldBash: Zamazenta's entire motif as fast, offensive and defensive. Also, its signature attack, Behemoth Bash.

** Inner Focus, Own Tempo, Scrappy, and Oblivious now block attack drops from Intimidate. Additionally, Rattled now activates and raise its speed if it gets affected by Intimidate.

** Kommo-o lost Clangorous Soulblaze as Z-moves have been removed from Gen VIII onwards. However, it got a replacement option in Clangorous Soul, which does the same thing, but as a status move with[[CastFromHitPoints cutting Kommo-o's health by 1/3rd.]]

** Several moves has been made unavailable from Gen VIII onwards, most notably Return, Hidden Power and Pursuit.
** Toxic got its TM status repealed, and only a few Pokémon can learn Toxic Spikes by Technical Record [[note]]which does the same thing as an entry hazard, except it requires two usages[[/note]]. This leaves a select few defensive Pokemon with the move by level up or breeding, more specifically Toxapex, Quagsire, Pyukumuku, Seismitoad, Ferrothorn, and Mandibuzz.

** Defog now removes Terrains as well as entry hazards.

** Aegislash's forms have had a 10-point reduction to each of their main stats. Additionally, King's Shield only reduces the Attack of a Pokémon using a physical attack on it by one stage instead of two.
** The Figy, Wiki, Mago, Aguav, and Ipapa Berries now heal a third of the holder's max HP if the holder likes its taste instead of half. (Probably to prevent Appletun from abusing Recycle and Ripen.)
** Mimikyu's Disguise ability now costs 1/8th of its HP on activation, preventing any more trivial abuse with Focus Sash. It did gain Drain Punch, which can potentially recover that lost 1/8th and allow ''almost'' the same strategy, but now you have to work for it.
** As mentioned below; Intimidate is now blocked by Own Tempo, Inner Focus, Scrappy, and Oblivious, and triggers Rattled's Speed boost.
** Due to Z-Moves being deep-sixed, Kommo-o lost its Clangorous Soulblaze move. However, it got a weaker replacement option in Clangorous Soul, which does the same thing, only without the attack and [[CastFromHitPoints cutting Kommo-o's health by 1/3rd.]]
** Moody no longer modifies accuracy or evasion, which got it banned under {{Website/Smogon}}'s Evasion clause in the first place.
** The removal of Return has significantly weakened the Normal type's offensive options, as it was the most powerful widely-available Normal-type move without a NecessaryDrawback. [[note]]At a base power of 102 at max happiness, it was beaten out in this category only by Techno Blast (Genesect-exclusive and would only be Normal-type if you were completely ignoring its gimmick) and Mega Kick (directly learnable by only three mons by level up in this generation, though it has much wider availability as a TR. In any case its pathetic accuracy makes it less useful). Multi-Attack was also buffed considerably to 120 base power, but it's only available on Silvally.[[/note]]

** Vespiquen can no longer use Heal Order, a recovery move on a Pokémon with high defensive stats.
** The removal of Hidden Power makes Pokemon heavily dependent on the move to be competitively less usable and have to depend on movesets they have now. On the bright side, this also means a lot of saved time on [[GuideDangIt getting the right [=IVs=] for the specific type]].

* CentralTheme: Several of the main characters have a plot line of them dealing with the legacy of a very successful relative and learning to step out of said relative's shadows and carve their own legacy.
** It's ''heavily'' implied your player character's mum has done a ''ton'' of her own adventures, starting with her Old Bag (given to you) having seen a lot of use. Naturally, you're following in her footsteps.
** Hop's brother Leon is the League champion, and a major celebrity. Hop hopes to become Champion, but is basically doomed to have his aspirations crushed by the protagonist and Bede. Hop's too good-natured to really become resentful, so much of his arc involves him growing as a person and evolving to find something he wants that doesn't relate to his brother's legacy. [[spoiler:He decides to become a Professor]].
** Sonia is Professor Magnolia's grand-daughter and assistant. Magnolia became famous for her discovery of Dynamax. Sonia spends most of the game doing her own research and discovery, to step out of her grandmother and mentor's shadow as a fully fledged professor.
** Bede has no family, but most of his motivation comes from proving he is worthy of Chairman Rose's kindness, who took the orphan Bede and gave him his first Pokémon and a recommendation for the League. [[spoiler:Unknown to Bede, Rose doesn't really care about Bede, and he and his assistant are just using the boy; they get rid of him when he becomes inconvenient. Bede finds his true calling when Opal decides to make him her successor. Bede finds more success and happiness as the Fairy-type gym leader than he did trying to be Champion.]]
** [[spoiler:Marnie herself wants to bring her town the success her brother, the Dark-Type Gym Leader Piers, has. Marnie doesn't want to take her brother's position, in a contrast with Hop. And further contrasting, she ends up doing it anyway in the post-game]].
** [[spoiler:Sordward and Shielbert act on what they believe was the will of the Galarian kings they descended from, as well as attempt to prove the true history of Galar. When their plans for Zacian and Zamazenta go horribly awry, however, they consider, then realize, that ''they'' were the ones likely with the wrong historical account and willingly turn themselves in to the authorities.]]

** There is a level cap to catching Pokémon where you cannot catch Pokémon that are above your curfent level, and require more Badges to catch them. This is also the only game in the series to do so.

** Much of the Crown Tundra's plot is patterned like one of the [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries anime episodes]]: character(s) of the day running into the protagonist and kicking off the plot when the protagonist agrees to help them, goofy slapstick involving a talking Pokemon (and a legendary one at that) who needs the hero's help, {{Excited Show Title}}s evocative of the Japanese episode titles (complete with exclamation marks), an overly excitable character providing comedic relief, and more of an emphasis on dialogue.

** The scene where you chase Galarean Zapdos through the Wild Area is a reference to [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner the Road Runner]].

* This is the first original[[note]]''VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee'', which were remakes of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokémon Yellow]]''[[/note]] mainline ''Pokémon'' duology to not be released on a dedicated handheld gaming system.

** After years of fans asking for it, these games finally allow the player to skip the long-winded catching and Pokémon Center tutorials, though not the entire introductory section. This time around, you're given Poké Balls and allowed to encounter wild Pokémon before the tutorial, and if you've already caught at least one, Leon will acknowledge that you already know what to do and allow you to proceed. And when you reach the first Pokémon Center, Hop outright asks you if you've been to one before, and if you tell him you have, he won't tell you how it works.

** In previous games, Eevee could only evolve to Leafeon and Glaceon by leveling up while in a specific area. However, games after Gen IV tended to make said areas inconvenient to access, and in some games completely inaccessible until far into the late game[[note]]Gen VII possibly being the worst offender: Glaceon is only available from ''the last dungeon''[[/note]]. Here? Just feed Eevee a Leaf Stone or Ice Stone. Problem solved. Not to mention you can just flat out find wild Eeveelutions roaming a specific region in the Lake of Outrage. Charjabug received a similar update with it now being able to evolve into Vikavolt via a Thunder Stone instead of having to be in a specific area. Vikavolt can also be found roaming in parts of the Wild Area. As of the Isle of Armor DLC Magneton also uses a Thunder Stone to evolve into Magnezone.

* AllThereInTheManual: The NPC that turns up in every Pokémon Center is called Jack by the Prima Strategy guide as a pun on "Jack of all trades" given he fills several roles such as allowing you to rename a Pokémon or have one of your Pokémon remember a move it forgot. (In the Japanese version, he's simply called Pokémon Center Staff)

* AllThereInTheManual: The NPC that turns up in every Pokémon center is called Jack by the Prima Strategy guide as a pun on "Jack of all trades" given he fills several roles such as allowing you to rename a Pokémon or have one of your Pokémon remember a move it forgot (In the Japanese version, he's simply called Pokémon Center Staff)

** Gym Leaders can be fired for losing too many battles, just like in Creator/TakeshiShudo's [[LightNovel/PocketMonstersTheAnimation novelization of the anime]].

* WeirdWorldWeirdFood: Players can cook all kinds of curries while camping. Some of the key ingredients are rather unusual, such as apples, boiled eggs, fresh salad, Slowpoke tails, and a spice implied to have a power similar to the [[MakeMyMonsterGrow Dynamax phenomenon]]. The curries are also made from the berries found all over the Pokemon world, with equivalents that would be odd to cook into a curry, such as plums, oranges, and honeydew melons. Ironically, the most normal ingredient of the bunch, rice, is just called "some grain", implying that it's ''not'' common in-universe. This all serves in part to remind the player that while the Pokemon world may be an alternate Earth, it's still different enough to have different cultural norms, something that may not otherwise be readily apparent.

** ''The Isle of Armor'' part of the Expansion Pass is even lighter than the main game, due to a NoAntagonist approach and no overarching threat. The closest thing ''The Isle of Armor'' has to a villain is either BitchInSheepsClothing [[TheFakeCutie Klara]] (for ''Sword'') or [[InsufferableGenius Avery]] (for ''Shield''), even then, the story focused on making them into better people, not humiliating them.

** ''The Isle of Armor'' part of the Expansion Pass is even lighter than the main game, due to NoAntagonist approach and no overarching threat. The closest thing ''The Isle of Armor'' has to a villain is either BitchInSheepsClothing [[TheFakeCutie Klara]] (for ''Sword'') or [[InsufferableGenius Avery]] (for ''Shield''), even then the story focused on making them into better person, not humiliating them.

* CrazyCatLady: One of the NPC campers you can interact is an elderly lady with a horde of Galarian Meowth.

* ThematicSequelLogoChange: The Japanese logos contain the Galar League symbol, which the plot revolves around even more so than usual for a Pokémon Game due to the Dynamax mechanic, while all versions have the "Sword" lettering sliced through to represent the sword-using Legendary Pokémon Zacian and the "Shield" containing a symbol to represent the shield-bearing Zamazenta.