Game Freak Shares New Pokemon Sword and Shield Art for 2021

To celebrate the start of 2021, Pokemon Sword and Shield developer Game Freak has shared a new piece of Pokemon art. Featured in an article by Japanese outlet Gamespark, the image showcases a concert by a band composed of Rillaboom, Obstagoon, and a pair of Toxtricity, with several other Pokemon in attendance, including Pikachu. 2021 is the Year of the Ox, and the artwork pays homage to this fact with fireworks of Tauros, Miltank, Bouffalant, and Gastrodon. It's a neat image to close out 2020, and it should help get Pokemon fans excited for 2021, which looks to be a very big year for the franchise!

An image of the artwork can be found below.

Overall, 2020 was a fairly strong year for the Pokemon brand. Pokemon Sword and Shield received a major expansion in the form of the Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra DLC. The expansion significantly increased the amount of content available in the game, bringing back older Pokemon, as well as new creatures. The year also saw the release of Pokemon Home, an app that allows players the opportunity to bring all of their Pokemon obtained since Ruby and Sapphire into one place. With all of that content to enjoy, 2020 will be a hard year for The Pokemon Company to top!

While last year was clearly a good one for the brand, 2021 has the potential to be much bigger. This year marks the 25th anniversary of Pokemon Red and Green's release in Japan. The Pokemon Company has announced plans to celebrate that anniversary with new product, but nothing official has been revealed, just yet. It's possible that a new mainline entry in the series could see release (such as the long-rumored Diamond and Pearl remake), as well as previously announced Nintendo Switch games, such as Detective Pikachu 2 and New Pokemon Snap. Regardless of what gets revealed in the coming weeks, it seems like a safe bet that Pokemon fans of all ages should find something to enjoy!

Pokemon Sword and Shield is available now, exclusively on Nintendo Switch. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the game right here.

Are you a fan of Pokemon Sword and Shield? What do you think of this art from Game Freak? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!