Game Freak are well known for putting a lot of effort into the worlds that they create, and Pokémon Sword and Shield are no different, this time the setting is an upside down jolly old Great Britain. The titles haven't been out overly long, only since November 2019, and no doubt millions have people all over the world have completed them.
But what about the hidden details that are quite subtle to miss, or things that people just didn't realize holds a secret meaning. There are some well-hidden references in Pokémon Sword and Shield and some that might be only fan theory.
10 Paula, The Ghost Child
Upon completing the letter delivery quest in Hammerlocke for Paula, and then returning to say mission accomplished, Paula is nowhere to be found. Examing where she stood all that's there is a Reaper Cloth.
However, if you go back to Frank's house, where the letter was delivered, a little girl is in the corner of the room staring at the wall. Upon speaking to this girl, she'll reply with, "Hey, don't interrupt our conversation!" as she turns back to the wall. Who is she talking to, the wall? Or perhaps it's Paula?
9 G-Max Gengar
Gengar now is one of the many of Pokémon that has a Gigantamax evolution, but this form might seem familiar to some, especially if they've played Pokémon Sun and Moon.
In Sun and Moon, players can go to a location called Festival Plaza, where several facilities can be created, that hold a specific function such as EV training. One of these places is a Haunted House, and the building looks almost identical to G-Max Gengar, well minus the arm whether it was used for inspiration or a reference, who knows.
8 The Skyscraper Pokémon
For those who live in the Galar region, aka Great Britain, but more specifically London, a particular Pokémon G-Max evolution might also seem familiar. The Pokémon in question is Duraludon, the steel/dragon-type Pokémon.
Its G-Max form resembles a giant skyscraper, but it's not any old building. It's actually based on the most prominent building in the entirety of Great Britain, The Shard. The tallest building in the European Union and the sixth tallest in Europe. Game Freak has done their research well.
7 Pokémon Murder?
In Galar in the town of Circhester, there is a lady who lives with her two Pokémon that she adores. Yet, she loves to look deep into the flames of these two Pokémon, which are Litwicks, because it calms her. It seems lovely, doesn't it?
Well no, the Pokédex entry for Litwick states that any person who looks into the burning flames of this Pokémon will drain the lifeforce from the said individual, which in turn becomes their fuel to burn. So is this lady being slowly eaten, or perhaps she is already dead?
6 The Fire Expert, Kabu
Kabu is the fire gym leader from Pokémon Sword and Shield, but was he a gym leader somewhere first? Kabu initially originates from Hoenn, and there's a piece of information that supports this, his league card. Furthermore, a kid says that Kabu is a fire expert from the Hoenn region.
There is a fire-type gym in the land of Hoenn, in Lavaridge City, to be exact, where the gym leader Flannery resides. However, her grandfather, who used to run the gym before was a fire expert. Could they be the same character, or is it a coincidence?
5 Type: Null
Type: Null is a legendary Pokémon, and from the information from the region of Alola, there are only three in existence. Gladion must have stolen two from the Aether Foundation, where this Pokémon was created, he kept one for himself and gave one to the league champion of Alola. However, what happened to the third one?
As inside Battle Tower, an NPC gives you this legendary Pokémon for free, could it be the third one? Sadly not, as from Type: Null's Pokédex entry, it states that the theft of top-secret research notes led to a new instance of this Pokémon being created in Galar.
4 Rare Candy Has Another Function
In every Pokémon game, if any Pokémon got to level 100, there was no chance of evolving it by leveling, it would stay at the stage of evolution it was on forever. However, with some voodoo magic or science in Pokémon Sword and Shield, it's now possible to evolve that Pokémon.
Rare Candies, the item used for Pokémon to automatically gain one level, now has another function. As no Pokémon can ever get to level 101, the Rare Candy item changes function, and instead of leveling up the Pokémon, it now evolves that Pokémon.
3 Chairman Rose
What did Chairman Rose do before he became a businessman? Well, his origins are not as a business tycoon but actually as a miner in the region of Galar. Two sources of information back this up. In post-game by going to Galar Mine 01, Oliana is there for some reason, she gives you Chairman Rose's rare league card, but she also says that Chairman Rose used to be a miner.
Then if you go to Tilbury, one of the miners can be found by the eastern exit, and next to him is the elephant Pokémon Cufant. Now think back to when Bede destroys the memorial wall; he uses Chairman Rose's Cooperajah, which is the evolved form of Cufant. The evidence adds up.
2 The Budding Artist Sonia
Sonia, or now Professor Sonia, is actually a budding artist, a lot of her artwork can be seen in her room, be one such piece stands out from the rest, the rarest Pokémon of them all, Zubat.
This must mean at some point in Sonya's life, she must have traveled to the other regions of the Pokémon world, perhaps with Professor Magnolia, as Sonia is her assistant as well as her granddaughter. Or maybe a Zubat once appeared in the region of Galar then disappeared, but before that happened, Sonia fell in love with the majestic Pokémon.
1 Gym Leader Opal
Opal is the fairy-type gym leader in Galar, the old lady who is training up rival Bede as the next leader. If you look at her league card, it says that she took over the fairy gym from her mother 70 years ago. Now, this could mean one of two things essentially, the first that the oldest gym challenge to date was, in fact, the Galar region, and was before Professor Oaks time, as there is no way Professor Oak is beyond 70.
The second is that the Pokémon Sword and Shield games are set pretty far into the future, so if any of the previous league champions every show-up, they should be getting on in years.