Pokemon player brings Sword & Shield to Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Meg Bethany Koepp

Pokemon Sword & Shield’s fairy town Ballonlea comes to Animal Crossing: New Horizons at the hands of a talented fan who merged the two Nintendo games together in the perfect crossover.

Pokemon Sword & Shield kicked off Generation VIII with giant success to become the fastest selling Nintendo Switch title upon its release in November 2019, only recently being knocked off the top spot by Animal Crossing: New Horizons in March. With the two Nintendo series being powerhouses in their genres, it’s no surprise that many fans are creating crossovers between the two games.

We’ve seen epic battles brought to the life simulator, as well as actual locations from the RPG series being recreated. And now, a skilled player has designed the forest town of Ballonlea from Gen 8 – and it looks absolutely perfect!

[ad name=”article1″]

Ballonlea houses the Fairy-type Gym.

Sword & Shield’s Ballonlea recreated

In the game, Ballonlea is home to the Fairy-type Gym where players must defeat Opal in order to score her badge. The town is situated in a dense forest, and can only be accessed by making your way through the Glimwood Tangle. One of the key features of the mystical location is the abundance of luminous mushrooms, which light everything up for the perfect fantasy vibe.

Reddit user ‘NeonNarro1‘ is the brains behind the magic, and modeled the outside of their house to mirror the Gym. Using New Horizons’ mushroom lamps, the atmosphere of the secluded community truly comes to life. Sword & Shield’s Galar region is loosely based off of the United Kingdom, and in the games, the location’s buildings are modeled to look like Tudor cottages.

[ad name=”article2″]

A perfect recreation.

In another shot, the fan shows off their town entrance, using hyacinth lamps and Custom Design floor patterns to mimic the woodland theme. Flowers also line the pathways to add to the forest-like feel.

The neon lamps, again, really pull everything together, making for the perfect crossover between the two beloved Nintendo Switch games.

The neon lamps really pull it all together.

[ad name=”article3″]

If this has caused you to get bitten by the Pokemon bug, you’re in luck – Sword & Shield is getting its first DLC expansion titled The Isle of Armor very soon on June 17.

The new addition includes new monsters and G-Max forms, as well as new environments such as swamps, caves, and sand dunes.

About The Author

Meg was Weekend Editor at Dexerto before leaving us in April 2022.