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Pokemon Sword and Shield revealed for Nintendo Switch

Nintendo unveils the eighth generation of the game series in a Pokemon Direct presentation on the 23rd anniversary of the release of the original games.

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seankeane
Sean Keane Former Senior Writer
Sean knows far too much about Marvel, DC and Star Wars, and poured this knowledge into recaps and explainers on CNET. He also worked on breaking news, with a passion for tech, video game and culture.
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Sean Keane
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Pokemon Sword and Shield's Galar region looks pretty spectacular.

 Nintendo/Screenshot by CNET

Pokemaniacs, say hello to Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Nintendo revealed the eighth generation of the Pokemon game series in a livestream Wednesday, showcasing the new region and starter trio and confirming that they'll hit Nintendo Switch worldwide in late 2019.

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Watch this: Nintendo shows latest Pokemon game, Sword and Shield

Director Shigeru Ohmori revealed that the new games would be set in the Galar region, which looks a whole lot like Britain and features cities, open plains and snowy mountains. You'll choose the grass-type Grookey, the fire-type Scorbunny or the water-type Sobble as your starter Pokemon as the game begins. All are cute, but Scorbunny is clearly the correct choice.

Gameplay-wise, it looks like we're back to battling wild Pokemon after the Pokemon Go-style catching system from last November's Pokemon Let's Go, but we didn't get many gameplay details in the video.

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These three are your starter choices in the new games.

 Nintendo/Screenshot by CNET

Unlike Let's Go, Sword and Shield are true sequels rather than remakes, so you'll encounter a bunch of new Pokemon. Ohmori didn't say how many, but tradition suggests around 100 will be added (and we already have 809 in the Pokedex).

Wednesday, Feb. 27, marks Pokemon Day, the 23rd anniversary of the release of the original Pokemon games (Red and Green) on Game Boy in Japan. They came to the US more than two years later, with Green being replaced by Blue.

Pokemon Red and Blue's most memorable moments

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Wednesday's presentation comes just two weeks after the most recent Nintendo Direct, so we're in serious danger of a Nintendo goodness overdose.

Just kidding. We can never have enough. Like Snorlax, we will consume endlessly until there's nothing left.

Nom nom.

In the cinematic Pokemon world, a second Detective Pikachu trailer dropped Tuesday.

For more of Pokemon Sword and Shield, check out CNET sister sites GameSpot and Comicbook.com.

Originally published Feb. 26.
Update, Feb. 27: Adds details about the new games.

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