Sword and Shield livestream reveals new Galarian Pokémon

Patient fans who tuned into a recent livestream for Pokémon Sword and Shield were rewarded with the reveal of a brand new Pokémon from the Galar region, the UK-inspired location for the next generation of games.

After teasing viewers with galloping sounds and a few obscured glimpses, the new Pokémon walked briefly across screen and then, shortly before the stream came to an end, two of the new Pokémon emerged together. And they appeared to be Galarian variants of Ponyta, one of the original 150 Pokémon.

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The stream didn't have any accompanying text or commentary to confirm that this is definitely the case, but it's the most likely explanation.

Galarian Unicorn Attack

From what we could see, the Galarian version of the fire-type horse Pokémon takes the form of a unicorn, which ties in well with the UK theme of Sword and Shield's world. Instead of being fiery, the Galar region Ponyta's mane is pastel-toned and fluffy, like cotton candy.

The mythical appearance of the new Pokémon and the fact that it was spotted in newly confirmed Glimwood Tangle, a location that seems to draw inspiration from fairy glades, suggests that it could be a fairy-type but we won't know this for certain until it's confirmed by The Pokémon Company and Game Freak.

This new Galarian variant wasn't the only Pokémon to appear on the stream—others, including Impidimp, Pikachu, Phantump and Morellul and Shiiinotic also appeared, confirming their presence in Sword and Shield when the games are released on November 15.

According to the official page of the livestream, Pokémon researcher Sonia is gathering together reports to create a summary. We imagine we'll find out more about this new unicorn Pokémon when The Pokémon Company updates its website with some kind of research report soon.