'Pokémon Sword and Shield' Legendary Might Be Revealed in the New Trailer

Nintendo finally revealed Pokémon Sword and Shield on Wednesday, unveiling the eighth-generation of the franchise and the first core Pokémon game to launch on Nintendo Switch (or any other home console). The initial trailer revealed a new region (Galar) and three new starters, but one thing we still don’t know about are the new legendary Pokémon coming to Sword and Shield. Or do we?

As GameSpot points out, the new Pokémon Sword and Shield trailer is full of mysterious symbols carved into various stones and mountain sides. It’s unclear what these mean, but one in particular looks a lot like a massive new Pokémon. Could this be one of the legendaries introduced in the new Gen 8 games?

Here’s how it appears in the Pokémon Sword and Shield trailer:

And here it is enhanced (notice the little humans near its feet for scale):

From this perspective, it really does look like some fearsome, legendary creature. This might be a rudimentary drawing, but it captures the scale of the Pokémon. It also appears to be breathing out some sort of elemental power, but it’s unclear if that’s supposed to be fire, wind, electricity, or all three at once.

My guess (based on nothing but speculation and over 20 years of Pokémon-playing experience) is that early on in the Sword and Shield you’ll hear about some mythical Pokémon that no one has ever seen and may not even exist. The only evidence of it will be symbols like this one and legends passed down through history. However, by the end of the game, you’ll encounter this legendary Pokémon and catch it, which is basically how all these games play out.

Of course, this probably isn’t the only legendary Pokémon in Sword and Shield. One other possibility is that the new game logos could hint at other legendaries in the game (another common theme in these games). Based on this image, we’re looking at some sort of dog-type Pokémon, possibly two different variations depending on which version of the game you buy.

Either way, we’re sure to hear more about the legendary Pokémon in Sword and Shield as their’ “late 2019” release date approaches. In the meantime, we’ll be analyzing every image from that initial trailer (and every new image Nintendo releases) for any more clues about the Gen 8 legendaries coming to the Pokémon universe later this year.

Pokémon Sword and Shield launches in late 2019 for Nintendo Switch.