Pokémon Sword and Shield have created quite a stir among fans of the series in recent months.
Despite wowing audiences with a delightful visual tour of the Galar region and the unique Pokémon that reside there way back in February, hype levels plummeted sharply just a few short months later for one very specific reason. As part of its attendance at this year’s E3, developer Game Freak confirmed to thousands of onlookers that, for the first time in series history, the core RPG sequels wouldn’t feature a National Pokédex.
What does that mean? Put simply, restrictions will be in place that prevent Trainers from collecting all 800-plus Pokémon in a single game. That feat has only ever been possible by transferring ‘Mons from past Generations over to each new release, of course, but that’s not possible this time around. Game Freak’s reasoning for the change has come down to the problem of cramming so many creatures onto a single cartridge and that eventually, sacrifices would have to be made.
Thanks to a recent interview with Game Informer, however, series producer Junichi Masuda has renewed hopes that those Pokémon cut from Sword and Shield will eventually return down the line.
You can look forward to seeing Pokémon that don’t appear in these games appearing in different regions in future games. I think Pokémon Home, for a lot of players, will serve as a launching pad to gather them all there and then embark on future adventures.
Pokémon Home, for the unfamiliar, is a new app scheduled for launch sometime in 2020 – intended to replace Pokémon Bank – that serves as a central storage unit for a player’s entire collection. Almost all modern Pokémon games from the 3DS era will be supported, as too will the Let’s Go! spinoffs and Niantic’s Pokémon Go. The plan, then, is to have Pokéfans store those critters not found in Sword and Shield in Pokémon Home until the time comes when Game Freak opts to reintroduce them.
Will that be the answer that many have been seeking over the last several months? Unlikely, but it’s reassuring to see that Game Freak has far from forgotten the time and effort some longtime veterans have put into Catching ‘Em All.
Pokémon Sword and Shield are out November 15th exclusively for Nintendo Switch.
