The Pokémon Company International and Game Freak have confirmed that the Dynamax battle mechanic has replaced Mega Evolution and Z-Moves in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield.
Mega Evolution was first introduced in Pokémon X and Pokémon Y, whereas Z-Moves were added in Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon.
“Dynamax is actually a new way to power up your Pokémon in these games that replaces what we’ve seen previously – for example, Mega Evolution and Z-Moves,” game director Shigeru Ohmori explained on Nintendo Treehouse Live.
“Each player participating in the battle can choose one Pokemon from either their party or from the Box, so it’s important to choose one of your stronger Pokemon before you go into the Max Raid Battle.
“And, you only get to choose one and you can’t change during the battle, so you’ve got to make sure it’s a good choice.”
Trainers will first need to obtain the Dynamax Band key item to Dynamax their Pokémon, a phenomenon that is unique to specific locations in the Galar region such as the stadiums of Pokémon Gyms.
When used, Pokémon will take on gigantic appearances in battle, and it has become integral to battles in the region – boosting the Pokémon’s power and turning all of their moves into special Max Moves.
Trainers can only Dynamax their Pokémon once per battle, and the Dynamaxed Pokémon will return to its regular form after three turns.
These Max Moves are more powerful and can even trigger additional effects, which, as an example, sees the Normal-type Max Move, Max Strike, also lowering the Speed stat of an opponent it hits.
Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield will release exclusively for Nintendo Switch worldwide on November 15th.
