Has the Pokemon community solved Sword & Shield’s biggest mystery?

Brent Koepp

After the recent release of Gigantamax Toxtricity in Sword & Shield, the Pokemon community believes a major question in the RPG’s lore may have finally been answered. 

Pokemon entered its eighth generation with the release of Sword & Shield in November 2019. The latest title in the long-running Nintendo franchise had players exploring the Galar region, which was largely influenced by locations in the U.K.

However, the game’s story left trainers with a lot of questions about the lore, such as the giant glyph etched into the rolling mountains of Turffield. Now the community thinks the mystery has been solved.

Could Gigantamax Toxtricity be the answer to one of Sword & Shield’s mysteries?

Has one of Sword & Shield’s biggest mysteries been solved?

Early on in the game, trainers will encounter the staggering mountains of Turffield. The location has major significance in the story as it houses a massive glyph etched into the rocks. The player learns from Sonia, the assistant of Professor Magnolia, that it has ties to the region’s past.

While it’s theorized that the etching is related to an event called The Darkest Day, until now it’s been one of the titles biggest mysteries. However after the February 6 addition of Gigantamax Toxtricity, fans believe the Pokemon is the answer they’ve been looking for.

Over on the Pokemon Reddit forum, user ‘DanteDameron’ posted a photo comparing the Electric/Poison-type with the Turffield glyph under it. While it should be pointed out that the etching is in a cave-painting style, the spiked tail and oval eyes of Gigantamax Toxtricity is absolutely identical.

A Reddit user shared his theory with the Pokemon community.

In the game’s plot, The Darkest Day was an event where a black storm caused Pokemon of the region to Dynamax and Gigantamax over 3,000 years ago. So it certainly seems that the glyph is depicting Toxtricity having transformed during the chaotic incident.

Even more compelling is that the creature has also been immortalized in statue form near the lighthouse in Hulbury, which is further proof that the Poison-type shares a special connection with the world’s history.

Toxtricity is immortalized as a statue near the lighthouse.

It should be stated, however, that this theory has been pitched around since the game’s release, as dataminers discovered the Gigantamax creature list early on. YouTuber ‘TAHK0’ thoroughly broke this down back in December. Although with the official release of Toxtricity giant form, the community’s belief in the explanation has gained steam.

(Timestamp 04:46 for mobile users.)

While the glyph has not been officially confirmed to be the Electric/Poison-type, many fans now believe the mystery of the Turffield drawing can finally be put to rest. As of the time of writing, the Reddit post has over 9k upvotes.

If nothing else, it also shows that Sword & Shield has a world ripe with story waiting to be fleshed out, and fans are clearly hungry to learn more about the region and its history. Perhaps the game’s 2020 expansion pass will reveal more information.