Pokémon Sword and Shield, the upcoming RPG games for Nintendo Switch, are heavily inspired by the UK. The games are set in Galar, a Britain-based region in the Pokémon world that will play host to the 8th Generation of cute critters.

In an interview with US Gamer, Pokémon Sword and Shield director Shigeru Ohmori explained why the team at Game Freak took inspiration from the UK when crafting the Galar region: “It kind of ties into the main scene we have for the game,” he explained, “which is this idea of being the strongest or the greatest. Being on the Nintendo Switch, I wanted to really challenge myself to create the greatest Pokemon experience yet using all the hardware power we didn’t have before.” These ideas of power, strength and greatness reminded Ohmori of his trips to the UK.

As he puts it: “I’ve been to the UK on trips, and I just get a kind of sense of strength and greatness from the region, you know, the home of the Industrial Revolution, and all these people trying to aim for greatness. We translated some of that feeling into the Galar Region.”

In this article, we’ll chronicle every way in which Galar is showing its UK influence, starting off with the newest reveals…