Coinciding with the start of the Pokemon World Championships tournament, Game Freak is ready to talk about Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield's multiplayer functionality. The Nintendo Switch exclusives will have a robust selection of competitive modes for Pokemon trainers to test their skill in. In Pokemon Sword and Shield's Battle Stadium, players can compete in both Casual and Ranked battles, as well as in international Online Competitions.
Confirmed via the official Pokemon Twitter account, Pokemon Sword and Shield players will have access to three different online multiplayer modes. The core multiplayer modes are Casual Battles and Ranked Battles, as Casual Battles don't track wins or losses and also allow the use of Legendary and Mythic Pokemon blocked in Ranked Battles. Ranked Battles tracks wins and losses, assigning a rank and putting players up against others of a similar rank.
The third mode in Pokemon Sword and Shield's Battle Stadium is Online Competitions. This is split into two different forms: Online and Friendly. The first is Official Competitions, which tasks players to compete against each other in special events that have different rules and restrictions. They may even offer a path to participating in the Pokemon World Championships. Friendly Competitions are made by other players, making for smaller and more diverse events.
In addition to the different multiplayer modes that Pokemon Sword and Shield offer in the Battle Stadium, there's one final feature worth mentioning. Rental Teams allow players to "borrow" teams of Pokemon to use online. They aren't wholly customizable, requiring a Battle Team ID to rent a full team. However, players can rent up to five teams at once to battle with and can be used in Ranked Battles.
While the robustness of the Nintendo Switch's online multiplayer functionality may leave much to be desired, the platform still offers the best opportunity for a healthy competitive Pokemon community in the franchise's history. It's not necessarily too different than what Pokemon Sun and Moon have offered prior, but it's enough. However, as with all Nintendo Switch multiplayer games, playing online will require a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership.
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield release November 15 exclusively on Nintendo Switch.