Not sure whether to pick Pokémon Sword or Shield? Let us explain the differences and help you choose.
Pokémon Sword or Shield? It’s a tough decision. At least, it’s a tough decision if you’ve been thinking about jumping into the eighth generation of the Pokémon games. Offering a choice between two versions of the same game is a long-standing tradition for the Pokémon series. It started with Red and Green in Japan for the GameBoy in 1996 and it continues through to these latest releases on Nintendo Switch. Then and now, the overall game is pretty much the same regardless of which version you choose. But there are some differences and it’s definitely not a bad idea to know what they are before you commit to Pokémon Sword or Shield. There are actually more version differences in Pokémon Sword and Shield than previous generations. There have always been version-exclusive Pokémon, maybe some version-exclusive locations, but Pokémon Sword and Shield take that even further with version-exclusive Gyms, characters and curry ingredients. These are things that it’s really worth looking into. To help you decide whether you want Pokémon Sword or Shield, then, we’ve detailed the differences between both versions of the latest Pokémon games, as well as both DLC releases below. From the early days, the main difference between the Pokémon releases has been that one version will have Pokémon the other doesn’t and vice versa. The same is still true for Sword and Shield. For some players this won’t make an iota of difference, but if you have a favorite creature that the game just isn’t worth playing without, it’s worth making sure they won’t be exclusive to a particular version before you make that Pokémon Sword or Shield decision. It’s always possible to find someone to trade with if you have missed out – and you can always buy both versions, if you want to – but that’s a bit of a rigmarole and can be avoided if you want an easier life. Below are the version exclusive Pokémon for Sword and Shield, with their respective types. Pokémon Sword exclusives: Pokémon Shield exclusives: Sword and Shield also have version-exclusive gyms so, depending on which version you pick, you will find yourself facing an exclusive Gym Leader with their own type-focus. Pokémon Black and White had a similar scenario where, depending on which version you picked, you found yourself battling either Drayden or Iris.
