Pokemon Sword & Shield's Best Addition Was XP Candies
Before you get your pitchforks out, just give me a chance to explain myself, please. The best part of Pokemon is a different thing to every player. For some, it’s breeding perfect IV ‘mons with competitive natures and egg moves that can be used in tournaments. These people are called ‘nerds’. For others, it’s shiny hunting, or completing the national dex. These people are called ‘dorks’ Me? I just like to use a diverse team and keep mixing things up. And caring about this is neither nerdy nor dorky and in fact, very cool. The XP candies in Sword & Shield make this easier than ever before.
In the Pokemon anime, where levels barely seem to exist, Ash would regularly take a ‘mon out of his PC to use it for the first time in important battles. Remember that time he sent his virgin Krabby into a Pokemon League match? Talk about chucking it straight into the deep end. Admittedly, this is stupid, but I still envied the fact he didn’t have to grind for a few hours first. Out the box and into the ring with you, there’s a good lad.
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This isn’t possible in the games, where your level 13 Yamper would get obliterated by a level 43 Gyrados, actually. So, you have to grind. Grinding is the worst part of Pokemon - hell, it’s the worst part of most RPGs. Even great gameplay loops become mundane by hour 50. Even the best Nuzlocker in the world hacks in Rare Candies to mitigate the hours of dull battles.
In previous generations, catching a late-game Pokemon before the eighth Gym or the Elite Four was a double-edged sword. Sure, you’d get a cool new ‘mon like Tyranitar or Metagross to use, but the thought of having to grind it up to level 50+
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