Pokémon Sword and Shield | Controls Walkthrough Video

Hi, I’m Nomi and today we’re going to be looking at the controls for Pokémon Sword. But the controls are exactly the same for Pokémon Shield, too. The game has a few features which can be useful for those who find it difficult to use the Standard Controls.

 In the Standard Controls you use the Left Stick to move around in the Wild Area, when you get to an area of grass you can also use the Left Stick gently to crouch to avoid Pokémon seeing you. The Right Stick is then used to control the camera in the Wild Area. You can also press the L button to rotate your camera towards your direction you’re facing, rather than using the Right Stick. In a city you use the Left Stick to move and the camera will automatically follow you. This means you don’t need to use the Right Stick in cities and towns.

 Y is used to open the Y-Comm which enables you to use the wireless communications as well as the local ones and X is used to open the Main Menu. You press A to Select and you can press B to Cancel. So in a menu, I would press A to select something and I would press B button to cancel. To rearrange the items in your Options Menu you can also press Y and then move the items along with your Joystick and press Y again. The Plus button is used to open the bike. When you are using the bike, you can press the B button to speed up. You can press the Plus button to dismount.You can press the Left Stick Click to whistle to a wild Pokémon to attract its attention.

 In a battle, you can use the Left Stick to make your selection. A to select. When you select Fight; Y will also bring out move information such as the power of the move. Press B to cancel. Y will tell you more about the Pokémon you’re facing, if you select it; It will also do the same for your Pokémon. X will allow you to throw a Poké Ball at the Pokémon. To select another Pokémon, you can use either the Left Stick, the Right Stick or your D-pad, depending on your preference.

 To choose to go camping; you press the X button to open the Menu and then move your joystick or the D-pad towards the Pokémon Camp option. In Pokémon Camp you can use the Left or the Right Stick to move the camera around to look at your Pokémon. To Crouch you can use either the Left Stick Click or the Right Stick Click. A is used to call Pokémon and speak to them. B is used to Cancel. X will bring up the Menu and you can select Play with A Toy. You can choose a Wand Toy and press A to Shake. In the Toy Menu you can press Y to Change Toys and Press A to throw the ball. You can use the L and R button to zoom in.

In the Pokémon Camp the Left D-pad also acts as Y, so you can take out another toyand you can press the Down on the D-pad to put it away. With the Gyroscope turned on you can also use the Right Joy-Con to shake and move the toy. Playing with your Pokémon can increase their friendliness towards you. This can be useful as some Pokémon will only evolve with high friendship or affection. 

Cooking curry is really important in the game as it increases the friendliness of Pokémon House towards you as a trainer. It’s also very useful as it increases the health of your Pokémon, depending on how well you’ve cooked the curry. To start cooking; you press the X button to open the Menu. You just select to Start Cooking with A. You are then asked to choose your key ingredient You can either use the Left Stick, the Right Stick or the D-pad to choose your ingredient and then press A to Select. When it asks you to add key ingredient, you can also press Plus to avoid adding a key ingredient and it will take you straight to the Berry Menu. It then asks you to choose a berry. You can add up to ten berries and you can mix and match your berries. You press the Plus button to continue.

To fan the flames you follow the prompt on screen and press the A button or you can use, with the Gyroscope turned on, a fanning motion with your hand. You then stir it using either the Left Stick, the Right Stick or the Right Joy-Con. Finally, you put your heart into your cooking. You wait for the circle to reach the green zone and press A to add the heart into the cooking. Depending on your timing, and the ingredients you’ve chosen, you’ll be awarded a taste rating and the rating will affect what benefits you get.

 To stop camping you press the X button to open the Menu. You can use the Left Joystick, Right on the D-pad or the Right Joystick to select Take Down Tent and press A to Select. You can also quit camping by pressing the B button and then A to Select Quit Camping.

 Sword and Shield also has an option called Casual Controls. This means that the D-pad buttons double up as the face buttons and you can use either the Left or the Right Joy-Con to play the game entirely. To choose Casual Controls; you press the X button to open up the Menu and you use either the Left, Right or D-pad to go down to Options, A to Select, highlight Casual Controls and scroll left to turn it on. You press A to confirm. This now means I can use the Right Stick in the Wild Area to move my character or the Left Stick.

 With Casual Controls on the camera will follow your player and therefore you don’t need the Right Stick to act as the Camera Control. It also means that the D-pad becomes A, B, X and Y. So, for example, the Up on the D-pad will now open the Menu. You can then use either Stick to navigate the Menu. Down on the D-pad has also become B so you can use that to exit Menus and cancel. Left on the D-pad has become your Y, so you can use it to open the Y-Comm. You can use the Right on the D-pad to confirm and Down on the D-pad to Cancel. If you’re using the Left Joy-Con with Casual Controls turned on, the Minus button will also double up to enable you to open the bike. You can also press the Minus button to close the bike and start walking normally.

 The only downside of using Casual Controls is that the D-pad won’t act as your directional pad anymore. It will always replicate the face buttons. The Casual Controls extend to working in the Pokémon Camp, when you’re cooking curry, Max Raids and also in Pokémon Battles-either Wild or Gym. 

So with Casual Controls on, and using just the Left Joy-Con, I can select Make a Curry with the D-pad I can then use my Left Joystick to select my key ingredient and the Right on the D-pad to select Options. If I want to cancel an option, I can press Down on the D-pad as I would for the B button. The Minus button will also double up as the Plus button in this mode. So you can press the Minus button to say that you’re ready to start cooking and then you press Right on the D-pad to Select A. You then press Right on the D-pad to fan the flames. You can also use the Gyroscope. And then you press Right on the D-pad to add your heart into the cooking. Instant noodle curry! Mmm! Quite happy with it.

 To quit camping you can either press Down on the D-pad as your B button and select with the Right D-pad. Or you can press up on the D-pad to open your Menu, scroll over to take down the tent and press Right on the D-pad. You can choose to fight using the Right D-pad. Scroll through the Options with your Left Joystick. Press Down on the D-pad to Cancel. Press Left on the D-Pad to give you information. And you press Up on the D-pad to select a Poké Ball to use. These controls will be exactly the same for a Max Raid Battle and for Gym Battles.

 The Casual Controls also work well if the Nintendo Switch is in Handheld Mode. In the Options Menu there are also a few other settings which might be useful to try out. There’s an option to change the text speed so you can make the text slower or faster, depending on your preferences. You can also opt to turn the Gyroscope off. This means that you will need to use buttons and the joysticks to navigate through the Pokémon Camp and to make curry.

However, it means that accidentally moving the Joy-Cons won’t interfere with curry making. There are also options where you can invert the Horizontal and Vertical Camera Controls if you find that useful. When you’ve chosen your options you can then press B to set and escape the Menu. Some people can find it easier to have thumb grips on the Joy-Con joysticks, while some people prefer not to. It’s just personal preference really.

 Pokémon Sword and Shield also enables you to use the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. This means that you can also use a Titan Two adapter alongside the Xbox Adaptive Controller to use joysticks and buttons as your button clicks instead. 

Thank you for watching and please get in touch if you have any questions.