Pokemon Sword and Shield: Giantmaxing, new Items, Pokemon Battle Stadium, more revealed

Pokemon Battle Stadium and more information on moves, and Dynamaxing were revealed today for Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Pokemon Sword and Shield players will be able to go online and battle it out with others in the Pokemon Battle Stadium.

Trainers can connect to the internet and battle in single or doubles in the Battle Stadium. They can also engage in global Ranked Battles against other Trainers and their Battle.

Here's how that works according to The Pokemon Company:

• Trainers will battle those with a similar rank and will earn points depending on the results of those battles.
• Each rank in Ranked Battles belongs to a specific tier, and Trainers can increase their rank by earning enough points.
• Trainers can check their own ranking in the Battle Stadium. They can also see how all of the participants placed in a competition on the smartphone version of Pokemon HOME.

Casual Battles are different, as they are non-competitive battle but instead designed to make players a better Trainer. In Casual, players can use Legendary and Mythical Pokemon that are not eligible for Ranked Battles.

There will also be other features such as Online Competitions and Rental Teams.

Trainers who participate in Online Competitions can battle in either Official Competitions or Friendly Competitions.

Here's more:

• In Official Competitions, participants will take part in special battles with a variety of different rules and restrictions.
• In Friendly Competitions, Trainers can join competitions hosted by other players or even host their own competitions. Regulations in Friendly Competitions are determined by the host.

With Rental Teams, players can "borrow Battle Teams" by inputting IDs available online or make Battle Teams put together as Rental Teams available to other Trainers.

Up to five teams can be rented at once, and can also be used in Ranked Battles.

Dynamaxing and new Items

Along with online competitive battles and the stadium, more information on abilities and Dynamaxing were provided.

Dynamaxing, as previously reported, makes your Pokemon grow huge. But there's more to it. Dynamaxing will also boost the Pokemon's power by using Max Moves which also feature additional elements. For example: using the Water-type Max Move, Max Geyser, will trigger a rain weather condition. Max Knuckle, a Fighting-type Max Move, increases the attack of all allied Pokemon.

In order to Dynamax a Pokemon, the Trainer will need to have a Dynamax Band. This allows the player to choose which Pokemon to Dynamax and choose which items they can hold items which help make Max Moves more powerful.

These new items include Room Service and Eject Pack. When held, the former will lower an opponent's speed which Trick Room is successfully used. When a Pokemon has its stats lowered while holding Eject Pack, it will then quickly switch out so another Pokemon can be used.

New Abilities

New abilities for Galar region Pokemon were also announced.

Galarian Weezing’s ability Neutralizing Gas will neutralize the ongoing effects of other Pokemon’s abilities. It will even prevent Abilities from being triggered.

Hidden Abilities are also new and this are considered rare. Pokemon in Max Raid Battles might have these Hidden Abilities, one is Giantamaxing. There is a very small chance Trainers will encounter a special Pokemon capable of Gigantamaxing.

While extremely rare, the Pokemon which can Giantmax could have another Hidden Ability. One of these is called Corviknight’s Mirror Armor, which will bounce back any stat-lowering effects from an opposing Pokemon’s abilities or moves.

You can see most of the new information revealed today in-action by watching the trailer above.

Pokemon Sword and Shield releases on Switch November 15.

Be sure to bookmark our pre-release Pokemon Sword and Shield guide for all relevant information, including movesets, bios and more. We’ll continue to update it as more information becomes available.