Pokemon Sword and Shield Leak Reveals First Look at Gigantamax Versions of Popular Pokemon

Popular Pokemon like Pikachu, Eevee, and Meowth will have Gigantamax forms in Pokemon Sword and Shield. The news broke overnight when the cover to Japanese manga magazine CoroCoro Ichiban leaked online. Part of the cover shows Meowth, Pikachu, Eevee, and Charizard looming under Dynamax clouds with warped-looking bodies. Gigantamax Pikachu, for instance, resembles its original "chubby" form seen in the earliest days of the Pokemon franchise, while Meowth has an extended "longcat" body. Charizard looks much more savage and fierce, with flames streaking over its shoulders, while Eevee is a lot more fluffy and has oversized, uneven ears. A close-up of the forms can be seen below:

The Gigantamax mechanic is a new mechanic in Pokemon Sword and Shield and is related to the Dynamax mechanic, which causes a Pokemon to grow to enormous sizes and gain access to special attacks. Gigantamaxing a Pokemon causes a Pokemon to both grow in size and change their appearance, and gives them access to a special G-Max Move. Only certain Pokemon species can Gigantamax, and it's only limited to certain Pokemon of that species. For instance, while we now know that Eevee can Gigantamax, it's not a guarantee that an Eevee you catch in the wild will be able to. Previously, only three species had confirmed Gigantamax forms - Alcremie, Drednaw, and Corviknight. However, a substantiated leak stated that Pokemon like Meowth and Pikachu would also have Gigantamax forms, as would Lapras.

The new forms will likely be officially revealed later today, as the Pokemon Company is preparing to drop more news about the upcoming Pokemon games. That news drop goes live at 9 AM ET and we'll have complete coverage.

Pokemon Sword and Shield will be released on November 15th.