Pokemon Sword and Shield Introduces New Items

Two new items are coming to Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Another trailer for Pokémon Sword and Shield dropped today, releasing a whole bunch of exciting news for the upcoming games. Between Hidden Abilities and Ranked battles, it’s easy to lose some of the smaller details, such as new items.

Two new items were introduced in today’s trailer. Both items are held and activate in battle under specific circumstances. The first is Room Service, which is quite the adorable name for what it does. The second is the Eject Pack.

Held items have been around since the second Pokémon generation in Silver, Gold, and Crystal. These items included basic things like berries, converted the EXP Share to a held item for one Pokémon, and a few other special items that boosted existing abilities. They have since gotten far more advanced.

Room Service is the first introduced in Pokémon Sword and Shield. This item activates once Trick Room is successfully used, lowering the holder’s speed stat. Trick Room is a strategic move that flips stats on their heads. The Pokémon with the lower speed stat will now attack first, making Room Service a handy item to have if you have Trick Room on that Pokémon or, if in a double battle, on the battling partner.

The second new item is the Eject Pack. It’s a bit more self-explanatory than Room Service. Once an opponent uses a status lowering effect, if it hits the target holding Eject Pack, the holder will immediately switch out of battle. Something that lowers a stat, such as an attack, will be removed upon swapping Pokémon. This item will be a handy way to dodge these effects, at least while you have a full team to swap.

These two are the only items showcased in the newest trailer. Both of which have good strategic value, which will likely help in the upcoming ranked matches added to the game. Pokémon Sword and Shield will be available on the Nintendo Switch beginning November 15, 2019.