There’s a new Pokémon coming this month; an actual 8th gen game with new critters to collect. It’s the first “true” Pokémon game for the Switch too, so it has people incredibly excited to “catch em all.” Unfortunately, despite that being the series trademark catchphrase, it seems players won’t be able to catch em all. Of course, we already knew this. In a recent interview with Polygon, Sword and Shield producer Junichi Masuda said that Pokémon would be cut as the team had to balance gameplay with the right number of creatures.
“We need to be able to prioritize new gameplay ideas,” Masuda said. “We need to be able to find a way to balance the right number of Pokémon and also still introduce new ways for players to enjoy the game, new gameplay ideas to keep the series fresh and enjoyable far into the future.”
[Spoiler warning – beyond here might be spoilers for Sword and Shield]
According to recent leaks (as seen on ResetERA), we now know the extent of the culling, and of the over 820 Pokémon established in the universe, only about 400 of them show up in the new games. That number includes the 81 or so new Pokémon introduced in Sword and Shield, along with roughly 3 Galarian forms. That means it’s incredibly likely that one or two of your favourites won’t be available. Here’s a collated look at the new Pokémon joining in Sword and shield.
Here though, is a very handy list of all the current Pokémon. Ones with a green background will appear in Sword and Shield, while those on a white background will be missing from the new game. Are any of your favourites missing?
On the one hand, I get it. There are way, way too many Pokémon at this point, and as with real-life animals, they’re very much a regional thing. On the other, the entire bleeding point of Pokémon is to “Catch ‘em all” and not being able to do that takes away half the fun.
Last Updated: November 5, 2019
Craig "Crios" Boonzaier
November 5, 2019 at 09:30
When Lilipup, a dog native to England who evolves into a Scottish terrier is cut from the game, but the Panda is in there.
Regardless though, i always enjoy playing each new game with the new mechanics and ‘mons.
Just wished that the new mechanics were not mostly shoe horned it gen1.
Jacques Van Zyl
November 5, 2019 at 08:45
I don’t agree with a lot of the cuts here, and personally would’ve preferred a different list of cuts. Still, I understand why they were made and hope the rest of the massive pokedex gets added in the future.
Daniel Hallinan
November 5, 2019 at 08:57
Trubbish made the cut.
tenouttaten.
Pariah
November 5, 2019 at 09:09
For the first time in its life, Scyther didn’t make the cut.
Yozzie
November 5, 2019 at 09:20
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ECKNPMdUcAAfab4.jpg
Craig "Crios" Boonzaier
November 5, 2019 at 09:30
When Lilipup, a dog native to England who evolves into a Scottish terrier is cut from the game, but the Panda is in there.
Regardless though, i always enjoy playing each new game with the new mechanics and ‘mons.
Just wished that the new mechanics were not mostly shoe horned it gen1.
Yozzie
November 5, 2019 at 09:42
I wonder how many of the people complaining about the complete dex being cut to 400 have actually finished a dex before in their life.
New game. New Pokemon, those are the only goal. And of course who ever is on top of the PvP meta for this gen.
Allykhat
November 5, 2019 at 12:30
There are some weird omissions there…
This list actually puts me off a little.
BradeLunner
November 5, 2019 at 18:01
Squirtle always gets screwed