Pokémon Boxes
You can deposit Pokémon you don’t want on your team in your Pokémon Boxes. In Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, you’ll be able to access your Pokémon Boxes in various towns and facilities—but also while you’re on the road or even when you’re exploring in the tall grass! You’ll be able to swap Pokémon into and out of your team whenever you want, so try experimenting with all sorts of different Pokémon.
Just be aware that there are a few places—such as the mission areas where you take on Pokémon Gyms—where you won’t be able to access your Boxes.
Autosave
Saving diligently has always been part of a Pokémon adventure, but now there’s an autosave function to help you out! The autosave function will automatically save your progress during your adventure at various points, such as when you enter a town or a building.
This function is automatically turned on when you begin your adventure, but you’ll be able to turn it off if you want to have more control over when your progress is saved. Even with autosave on, you’ll still be able to save manually, too, just as you can when autosave is off. Go to the Options menu to choose how you’d like to save, so you can set up an experience that suits your style!
A message will appear in the upper-right-hand corner of the screen when your progress is being automatically saved.
Nicknames
If a Pokémon you received in a trade doesn’t have a nickname, you’ll now have the chance to give it a nickname—but only once! Speak to the man standing behind the left-hand counter in any Galar region Pokémon Center—this jack-of-all-trades is sure to help you out!
Note that, just as in previous titles, you won’t be able to change the name of a traded Pokémon that already has a nickname.
