Following up on the Pokémon Direct on June 5th, Nintendo has revealed more information on Pokémon Sword and Shield at the Nintendo Treehouse Live at E3 event.[prebreak][/prebreak] The showcase revealed a few things, such as the new Pokémon Yamper and Impidimp, as well as other general gameplay.

However, during discussions with Junichi Masuda, he revealed that not every Pokémon is going to be available in Pokémon Sword and Shield. "What that means for Pokémon Sword and Shield is that players will be able to transfer their Pokémon from Pokémon Home, only if they appear in the Galar Pokédex." This means that certain Pokémon will be completely omitted from the game, for the first time in the series' history. Naturally, people are upset about this, leading to a whopping 40,000 dislikes on Nintendo's official upload, compared to the video's 15,000 likes. Part of the frustration comes from the idea that all Pokémon can be transferred to the new Pokémon Home service, and have no way of leaving, leaving them in what is essentially a Pokémon Prison.

In an interview with USgamer, Masuda explained that the reason for omitting Pokémon was down to the "higher fidelity" of the game, as well as the "higher quality animations". He also said that they're looking to keep the battle system balanced, and to allow the new Pokémon to shine.

Junichi Masuda, Producer: There are a couple of different parts to the thinking behind it, but really the biggest reason for it is just the sheer number of Pokemon. We already have well over 800 Pokemon species, and there's going to be more added in these games. And now that they're on the Nintendo Switch, we're creating it with much higher fidelity with higher quality animations. But even more than that, it's coming down to the battle system. We're making sure we can keep everything balanced and give all the Pokemon that appear in the games a chance to shine.

We knew at some point we weren't going to be able to indefinitely keep supporting all of the Pokemon, and we just found that Sword and Shield would probably be a good point to go back and reevaluate what would be the best selection of Pokemon that appeal to the widest audience while keeping into consideration the balance of the battle system. It isn't just going to be all-new Pokemon in the Galar region Pokedex; there's still going to be a lot of favorites that fans will be able to bring over that they've adventured with previously. But yeah, it was pretty much just balancing and getting this optimal selection of Pokemon for the adventure we wanted to provide.

Previously, all Pokémon were available through trades and cross-generation transfers of Pokémon. This meant that each game had a unique set of Pokémon that appear, but the others can be obtained in some form. It's currently unknown how many Pokémon have been cut from Sword and Shield.

You can find a list of Pokémon confirmed for Sword and Shield here.

YouTube Video
USgamer Interview

 

[Daisy]

I can't see how anyone could defend this decision, honestly. Isn't the whole point of Pokémon to 'Catch 'Em All'?

 

[Xzi]

'Tis a shame. For every step forward, GameFreak seems to feel like they have to take another step back.

 

[Crimsonflare]

Such disappointing news... Again. Pokémon isn't what It was years ago, sadly.

 

[leon315]

Nintendo seems also recycle HD models from pokemon go, never expect that Big N would made such lazy decision!!!

 

[Daisy]

Nintendo seems also recycle HD models from pokemon go, never expect that Big N would made such lazy decision!!!

From X/Y actually, I believe. The models in the 3DS versions were made to be future-proof, which probably explains why battles run so poorly in the 3DS games.

 

[Xzi]

Nintendo seems also recycle HD models from pokemon go, never expect that Big N would made such lazy decision!!!

What makes you think that? The old models came from the 3DS engine.

 

[yusuo]

New tag line

Pokemon... Gotta catch some of em

 

[Mythical]

This just makes me sad. I'd love to support more great Pokemon games, but I love playing competitive Pokemon. Not having access to them all is even more frustrating then having certain abilities be inaccessible due to transfer problems or lack of events
edit: I have no problem with them reusing materials either tbh.

 

[Deleted User]

As long as all my pokemons are safe in Pokemon home, I'm good

 

[Robika]

I can't see how anyone could defend this decision, honestly. Isn't the whole point of Pokémon to 'Catch 'Em All'?

I invite to model, rig and animate 900 unique freaking monsters. It is insane, even for Game freak.

 

[sup3rgh0st]

This is an outrage, Game Freak should just create 800+ unique sets of animations for every single Pokemon. As fans, we are entitled to a series of games that grows in size and scope after every single release. All they need to do is copy-paste the models over, it's really easy, trust me. /s

 

[KirovAir]

It's kinda to be expected with so many pokemon. It's basically a cost/returns calculation. They will probably release the remaining models later on. I can't blame them for this.

 

[Bedel]

I invite to model, rig and animate 900 unique freaking monsters. It is insane, even for Game freak.

The thing is: they have the models and the animations. This is not an excuse.
Stop defending an incomplete game.

 

[Haymose]

Personally I’ve always thought Pokemon needed a heavy overhaul so this seems to be in line with my vision.

Upsetting your players isn’t a consequence that should be taken lightly though.

 

[Xzi]

This is an outrage, Game Freak should just create 800+ unique sets of animations for every single Pokemon. As fans, we are entitled to a series of games that grows in size and scope after every single release. /s

They already created the animations, the problem is that they want all the animations to be different in Dynamax form.

 

[Daisy]

I invite to model, rig and animate 900 unique freaking monsters. It is insane, even for Game freak.

They're all already modelled and rigged, as well as animated, bar the new Pokémon. That, and Pokémon is one of the biggest media franchises of all time, they can damn well afford it.

 

[jeffyTheHomebrewer]

It's kinda to be expected with so many pokemon. It's basically a cost/returns calculation. They will probably release the remaining models later on. I can't blame them for this.

Yeah, and if it's as DLC, I think it should be free, like if it was an optional update.

 

[DarthDub]

I'm not going to buy this game.

 

[Clydefrosch]

I invite to model, rig and animate 900 unique freaking monsters. It is insane, even for Game freak.

Is it really insane to expect them to put in the works for a franchise that generated over 90 billion dollars in it's time?

Not that this one will sell very well, it's going to lose a huge chunk of it's core buying base (nostalgia nerds and online players) This move will cost them so much more than paying a dozen animators for a few months ever could.