Pokemon Sun and Moon on the 3DS introduced many innovations that defied what had been series norms in Pokemon games for years. One such change was not having any Hidden Machines – or HMs – in the game at all. While earlier, specific areas would be gated behind these specific moves that you would have to teach one of your Pokemon, in Sun and Moon, the mechanic was done away with. Thankfully, Game Freak are sticking with that change in the upcoming Pokemon Sword and Shield.
Speaking with Game Informer, planning director Kazumasa Iwao confirmed that HM moves won’t be included in Pokemon Sword and Shield either. Owing to the more freedom that will be afforded to players in the open world Wild Areas, the development team at Game Freak felt having HMs would not fit with the game and its structure.
“I think they played a role in the series traditionally to be like the relationship between a door and a key,” said Iwao. “The HM will unlock something and you’re able to progress and feel the ability to go to a new place. We didn’t have them in Sun and Moon, and this time around, we didn’t feel it really matched the concept, especially with the Wild Area and wanting to have this higher degree of freedom. The player can kind of choose how they want to engage with the gameplay. Having the more HM-based elements, we didn’t feel it really matched the game, so this time around they’re not in it.”
We’ve recently learned some other new things about Pokemon Sword and Shield as well, such as the fact that the game will support autosaving, or that it has had a whopping 1,000 people (roughly) working on it in total. More information is also bound to emerge with the upcoming 24-hour stream.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are out for the Switch on November 15.