Today a number of new Gigantamax Pokemon forms have been revealed for the upcoming games, Pokemon Sword and Shield. While these Gigantamax forms are awesome, they seem to mainly favour Gen 1 Pokemon, which has perturbed some fans, who believe that Pokemon from other generations also deserve the Gigantamax treatment. Check out the trailer for the new Gigantamax forms below and read on for more details.
Along the road to release, a few Gigantamax forms for Pokemon Sword and Shield have already been revealed. The ones we knew about prior to today included Alcremie, a dessert Pokemon, Corviknight, a steel crow Pokemon, and dredknaw, a water and rock type Blastoise rip-off. However, all of these Pokemon are new to Pokemon Sword and Shield, which is fine in and of itself. All the newly revealed Gigantamax Pokemon are from the original Pokemon games, and therefore Gen 1. As a long-suffering Pokemon fanatic, I’m very excited about the Gen 1 Pokemon getting the Gigantamax treatment, making them relevant once more. But I too find myself agreeing with Pokemon fans who joined the ranks in more recent games, such as Crystal, X and Y, or even White and Black 2, that Pokemon from other generations deserve the Gigantamax treatment.
New Gigantamax Forms
The new Gigantamax Pokemon forms that have been announced today are still very exciting, and some require players meet certain criteria in order to unlock them. Gigantamax Pikachu and Eevee for example, can only be accessed by players who have play records for Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu or Eevee respectively. Personally I didn’t purchase both, so I’ll be restricted to the best one, Eevee, though I do think this is a little unfair on Pokemon fans like me,who can’t justify the purchase of two nearly identical Pokemon games.
Luckily the Gigantamax forms for both Charizard and Butterfree have no requirements in order to access them. The Gigantamax form for Meowth however, is exclusively available to Pokemon Sword and Shield players who play the games and download the form before the 15th of January 2020. I do like how this form is only available to those who invest in the games early on, because it indicates that the same will be true of other Pokemon Gigantamax forms in the future.
Why Do Other Gens Deserve Gigantamax Forms?
It goes without saying that the Pokemon games are filled with iconic creatures, even if some of them are designed around a bag of rubbish (looking at Trubbish here). Not only have the games established some Pokemon, such as one of my own favourites Typhlosion, as some of the best in the franchise, the animated television show has given them emotional depth. Some players, like me, will have grown up watching Pokemon before playing any of the games, and resultantly have a favourite already in mind. Diglett was one of the best Pokemon among my friends, but it was only because of a specific episode of the television show. I remember battling obscenely over-levelled Digletts because my friends wouldn’t allow them to evolve, but that was only because they felt a deep emotional connection to that Pokemon over any other, even Pikachu.
I think that there should be more Gigantamax forms, covering other generations of Pokemon, as a service to those fans who didn’t get into the games with Pokemon Blue, Red or Yellow. Pokemon games are about sharing your experiences with others, and if your experience didn’t involve one of the newly announced Gigantamax forms, then it may feel like your experience with the franchise has been invalidated.
Not To Worry
To some the situation may seem bleak, but they shouldn’t worry. I’m certain that there are far more Gigantamax forms in Pokemon Sword and Shield than we’ve been shown so far. In the past we’ve been told that other Pokemon are going to be added to the roster for these games as time goes on, and I’d be very surprised if they too don’t have a Gigantamax form. Let us know your favourite Pokemon in the comments.