
Generation eight of Pokémon is officially here, as this morning Nintendo announced Pokémon Sword and Shield, to release this fall on the Switch. The pair of games are three-dimensional and cel-shaded, looking better than any Pokémon we’ve seen before.
You can watch the first trailer here:
Pokémon Sword and Shield will be the first mainline games in the series to appear on a home console, they’ll take place in a new region (“Galar”), with a whole bunch of new Pokémon, including three starters that Nintendo showed off in a trailer this morning: Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble.

(Yes, those are real names.)
The previous generation of monster-collecting games, gen seven, began with Pokémon Sun and Moon on the 3DS in 2016. Now, three years later, it’s time for the next one.
DISCUSSION
Total noob question: Why are there always two versions of the game? Red & Blue, Gold & Silver, now Sword & Shield. Are they two different games? Are the stories or gameplay different? Why two? WHY TWO??