Pokémon Sword and Shield

They are presented in a fixed camera , third-person perspective, though some areas allow for free camera movement . The player controls a young Pokémon trainer who goes on a quest to catch and train creatures known as Pokémon and win battles against other Pokémon trainers. By defeating opposing Pokémon in turn-based battles, the player's Pokémon gains experience , allowing them to level up and increase their battle statistics, learn new moves, and evolve into more powerful Pokémon. The player can capture wild Pokémon through wild encounters by weakening them in battle and catching them with Poké Balls, adding them to their party .

The player can also battle and trade Pokémon with other players via the Nintendo Switch 's connectivity features. As is with other Pokémon games, certain Pokémon are only obtainable in either Sword or Shield , and the player will have to trade with others to obtain every Pokémon from both versions. Pokémon Sword and Shield are set in the Galar region, inspired by the United Kingdom . Galar consists of numerous cities and towns, with a route system separating major settlements.

Random encounters with wild Pokémon typically occur in tall grass or bodies of water along routes and they might chase or run away from the player depending on their disposition. The driving force bringing the player to travel around the Galar region is to participate in the "Gym Challenge", an open tournament to decide the region's greatest Pokémon Trainer (the Champion). Eight of the game's cities and towns are homes to stadiums housing "Gym Leaders", powerful trainers specializing in certain types of Pokémon; beating a Gym Leader will grant the player a "Gym badge". After collecting all eight Badges, the player will be allowed to participate in the "Champion Cup", where they will face off in a tournament against the previously faced Gym Leaders in the Gym Challenge.

After they emerge victorious, the player will face the reigning Champion of the Galar Region, Leon. New features Dynamax allows Pokémon to transform into gigantic-sizes during a Pokémon battle and use special "Max Moves", more powerful attacks that have unique in-battle effects. Gigantamax, which is limited to selected Pokémon, additionally alters Pokémon's physical appearance and replaces one of their Max Move battle techniques with a G-Max Move exclusive to the selected Pokémon. Gigantamax and Dynamax lasts for three turns.

Gigantamax is also only for specific Pokémon. Players can battle in teams of four, either with other players or with non-playable characters , in cooperative raids against wild Dynamaxed or Gigantamaxed Pokémon, who have significantly larger health bars and can summon protective barriers to limit damage dealt to them. If players succeed in defeating the Raid Boss, they are granted the opportunity to catch the Pokémon and receive rewards; if four Pokémon on the player's side are knocked out during the battle or enough turns pass in the battle, the player will lose the Raid. Players can use Dynamax during these Raid Battles, though which player can Dynamax on a given turn is rotated once per turn.

The Wild Area is a fully explorable open world area with free camera movement. Pokémon will appear in the game's overworld, and which Pokémon can appear will depend on weather conditions in the Wild Area, which changes every real-world day. The Wild Area's Pokémon fluctuate wildly in terms of their in-game level, and players will be unable to catch Pokémon of a certain level until they obtain certain Gym Badges by progressing through the main story. Players can find collectable items and battle non-playable characters in the Wild Area, and can additionally interact with Raid Dens, which allow players to initiate raid battles with Dynamaxed opponents.

Players can also use a new "Camp" feature, which allows players to set up camps with their Pokémon. Players can play and interact with their Pokémon in the camps, and can additionally use food items to prepare curry . Curry can be used to increase various statistics associated with the Pokémon, such as their friendship with the player, as well as giving them experience points. Depending on the difficulty of the curry recipe and ingredients used by the player, the curry will have a different final ranking, which will affect the amount of bonuses granted to the player's Pokémon.

Players can participate in online multiplayer in camps with up to four players. In multiplayer camps, players can cook curry cooperatively and play with other players' Pokémon. Other new mechanics include "Poké Jobs," which tasks the player's Pokémon with completing requests around Galar to gain experience or rare items. Regional variants, variations of Pokémon from past games in the series that have different appearances due to regional adaptation, return after being introduced in Pokémon Sun and Moon , which featured regional variants exclusive to the game's main location of Alola.

The games additionally have content exclusive to certain versions of the game, with certain Gym Leaders and Pokémon species being available only in Sword or Shield .