Pokemon Sword and Shield will feature Exp. Share but not how you think
You’ll be able to share experience points in Pokemon Sword and Shield but the game won’t feature the Exp. Share item. Confused? Let us explain.
The Exp. Share item does as it suggests – it shares the experience points earned in a particular battle between all of your Pokemon in your party. The split of experience between Pokemon that participated in a given battle and those that didn’t, varies by generation.
However, while the item has been ever present since the Pokemon video game series began, it won’t feature in Pokemon Sword and Shield. That is according to Director of the upcoming game, Shigeru Ohmori.
Here is why you should not be worried or mad about exp share…
-> It scales depending on the level again.
-> The game is definitely balanced around it since it's not optional.
-> It literally just removes grinding. Grinding artificially increases the length of a game. pic.twitter.com/9N9vHgw1ly— gameonion (@gameonion1) October 2, 2019
That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to share exp between your Pokemon, though. Ohmori confirmed, in an interview with Game Informer, that “every Pokemon in your party gets equal experience automatically as you progress through the game”.
This is a somewhat interesting and unexpected revelation given the history of the item. It’s an understated bit of news that hasn’t been lost on some trainers, though.
One trainer immediately considered the fact that if it is an automatic feature within the game, then it should be possible to disable it. Presumably it will be, as it would be strange if it couldn’t, but there has yet to be confirmation of such functionality.
Another trainer said they were “more annoyed by the news that exp share is “baked into” the game than [they were] about no National [Pokedex]”. The same trainer did acknowledge a knee-jerk reaction however, clarifying their initial concerns by saying exp share is useful but it’s important to have an option.
It all depends on a trainer’s preference and playstyle, though. Some prefer a more pure approach whereby only the Pokemon who battled are eligible for experience points. Others disagree as it can be too hard to level up large numbers of Pokemon, especially later in the game.
Hopefully the exp share feature will be clarified as the release date of Pokemon Sword and Shield (November 15) draws closer.