ThePokemonseries has always shown a willingness to pay tribute to the past, andPokemon Sword and Shieldleft a big mystery that the next generation can answer. WhileScarlet and Violetare currently the main focus of the series, especially with the upcoming expansions,Pokemon Sword and Shieldis still well remembered, with uniquely-themed starters and a memorable setup for the series' typical gym challenge. Among all the new features that came withSword and Shieldwas a twist on a series tradition that deserves to be revisited, hopefully as soon asPokemonGeneration 10 – Galar’s Pokemon fossils.
Even as early asPokemon Gold and Silverrevisiting Kantoin Generation 2,Pokemonhas never completely left the past behind. The most obvious example of this would be the majority of Pokemon still making appearances well after their original debuts, ensuring that every region has some familiar faces. In addition, characters from past regions have also made cameo appearances in later games, as have other references to regions from past games. This has helped thePokemongames to all feel like a part of a connected world, rather than a bunch of disconnected games.
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Galar’s Fossil Pokemon Are Still Shrouded In Mystery
Reviving Pokemon from fossils is one of the series' oldest traditions, butPokemon Sword and Shield’s fossil Pokemonbroke the mold in a notable way. Rather that simply collecting a fossil and reviving it, players would collect two separate fossils and combine them to form a new Pokemon. Players would combine either a Fossilized Bird or Fossilized Fish with a Fossilized Dino or Fossilized Drake, for a total of four possibilities. The game explicitly makes it clear that the end result is not an ancient Pokemon, but rather parts of two different Pokemon mixed together, creating a Pokemon that never existed previously.
Pokemon Sword and Shield’s fossils raise the unanswered question of what Pokemon they were originally. Not evenPokemon Sword and Shield’s DLCbrings up what the fossils could have been beyond what they get turned into when mixed together, leaving it up to interpretation. The only things known for sure are the heads of the Fossilized Bird and Fossilized Fish, and the lower bodies of the Fossilized Dino and Fossilized Drake. Although some things about these Pokemon can be inferred from the parts that do appear on the completed Pokemon, their full designs are still a mystery despite definitely existing in the past.
Solving the mystery of Galar’s misused Pokemon fossils would be an excellent use of time in the nextPokemongame. Every new set of games needs new storylines, andGeneration 10 ofPokemoncan go bigby revealing the true identity of Galar’s four fossils during the game. There would be the obvious perk of adding four new Pokemon to the series, and it would also have the added benefit of finally letting players see these Pokemon in their original forms. After years of only existing as halves grafted together, bringing them to life properly would be a good payoff for an unusual story.
The fossil Pokemon ofPokemon Sword and Shieldare one of the most unusual moves that the series has made, and created the perfect mystery for future games to solve in the process. FollowingPokemon Scarlet and Violet’s storywill require something impressive in the next generation, and bringing back the half-revealed fossil Pokemon of Generation 8 could be a part of what makes the next set of games into something special.Pokemon Sword and Shieldmanaged to create the series' most unique fossil Pokemon. In return,PokemonGeneration 10 can solve the mystery at last.
Pokemon Sword and Shieldare available now for the Nintendo Switch.
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