Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield have been available for almost a month now, but Pokemon fans are still discovering changes that have been made since the last generation of games. The most recent change was perhaps discovered earlier, but wasn't shared broadly. Or perhaps Pokemon fans just assumed the numbers were just the same until now. Either way, apparently Game Freak has adjusted the amount of damage associated with attacks matching the terrain's type in Pokemon Sword and Shield.
Terrain is a mechanic that Game Freak introduced in Pokemon X and Y that introduces a field effect to a battle that can be changed via specific Pokemon abilities. There are currently only four different Terrain types, the same as when the mechanic was first introduced. Those Terrain types being Electric Terrain, Grassy Terrain, Misty Terrain, and Psychic Terrain. Each Terrain type has a unique trait, like how Electric Terrain prevents Pokemon from falling asleep or being affected by Yawn.
Each Terrain type also has one much more important aspect to it. That aspect is that abilities of the same type as the Terrain will do significantly more damage overall. And that's where Game Freak's change comes in. In previous games, using an ability that's the same type as the Terrain would increase the power of the move by an awesome 50%. Game Freak apparently decided that this was too powerful of a buff, which competitors would probably agree with. For Pokemon Sword and Shield, Game Freak nerfed the power increase from 50% down to 30%.
The other boons provided by Terrain remain unchanged, so Game Freak must still approve of the way Terrain can change up the dynamics of a battle. It just must not have liked how the power boost could make certain Pokemon incredibly powerful in the right situation. The nerf will hopefully encourage Pokemon Sword and Shield competitors to experiment with some new Pokemon for their synergies.
Game Freak continues to show that it's more willing than ever to make meaningful changes to Pokemon Sword and Shield that it believes will improve the game overall. Some of its decisions are certainly suspect, like bringing back Aegislash in the new games after it previously dominated the competitive scene. But most decisions are simple to understand and good for the health of the franchise. They may not always be positively received, but the alternative is Game Freak growing even more stagnant than it already is.
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are available now exclusively on Nintendo Switch.