Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Needs To Keep Sword & Shield's Love For Football

thegamer.com:

The best thing about Sword & Shield was how much it loved football. The footy is a core building block of British culture, and with Galar being based on the UK, a few references to the sport and the frenzy that surrounds it was inevitable. Kalos has Parisian cafes, and Galar has football. But it was not just one or two passing references chucked in like a Rory Delap throw-in here and there. Galar is built on raw, unadulterated eat my goal energy.

First, Cinderace. While the starters are a little too humanoid, and would have benefited from dual typing, Cinderace is clearly a tribute to football lads with the Meet Me At McDonald's. The Ball Guy is as terrifying as he is charming, making him the ideal football mascot and clearly Galar's answer to Partick Thistle's Kingsley. Trainers compete in football stadiums, wearing football kits, and collect football cards. Even Team Yell, the... well, not quite villains, but certainly annoying antagonists, are styled to look like football fans, with their scarves and their chants. Thankfully the flares shoved up their arses are nowhere to be seen.

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I'm a huge football fan, and as much as I loved seeing everyone come together to support England during the Euros, few things irritate me more than someone who doesn't understand football trying to talk about football. It's why I hate Michael Owen’s punditry so much. With Sword & Shield though, everything comes across as authentic and from the heart. The only flaw I could find in any of it is that the football fans in black & white stripes were, for some reason, Cockneys rather than Geordies. Speaking as a Newcastle fan myself I can confirm we already have a few die-hards who would