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

 

[Beerus]

Yeesh im gonna pirate it but still i want my espeon and sceptile

 

[Lacius]

Dynamax is a stupid and pointless mechanic, that is apparently taking up a significant amount of memory. They should have upgraded Z-Moves to have a 5-turn cooldown. That would have added an extra layer of tension and mind games to competitive play.

It's just another gimmick. I can take or leave mega evolution, Z moves, Dynamax, etc.

However, when it comes to my Pokemon from other games, that's another story. I said something like this earlier in another thread, but if I can't import all of my old Pokemon, then I'm going to view this game as more like Let's Go and less like a mainline game. And I'm definitely not going to play it in that case.

 

[Enryx25]

Yeesh im gonna pirate it but still i want my espeon and sceptile

lmao
Do you really expect GameFreak to keep all the starters when Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur are the most popular?

 

[Beerus]

lmao
Do you really expect GameFreak to keep all the starters when Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur are the most popular?

idk they be doing some whack shit rn

 

[Cloud9Skywalker]

Pokémon Home is going to be a means to transfer my Pokémon strictly to SwSh?
Or will it work as a system to transfer between Let's Go, Go and SwSh?

Is that any different to just leaving your collection in Ultra Sun's PC box?

They're talking about adding features like trading to Pokémon Home, clearly they don't just want it to be a Bank successor, but a place for keeping and showing off your collection of Pokémon that you've gathered throughout the various games, hence the name Pokémon Home.

Think whenever Ash leaves on a new journey and only brings his Pikachu, leaving all his previous journey's Pokémon at home. At the end of the journey, he returns home and sees all of his Pokémon and brings all the Pokémon from his latest adventure with him.

I have a hunch that Pokemon Home is going to be almost like a Pokemon Daycare app for you to visit, play and manage your Pokemon. Something tells me it will be interactive for the user and not just a 'bank'. Like @Snugglevixen mentioned. IMO It doesn't sound so bad. Correct me if I am wrong but if they are allowing us the opportunity to transfer even the Pokemon that will not be in the Galar region Pokedex to Pokemon Home there has to be a reason for that and not just to showcase as Trophy Pokemon. There has to be more to it in relation to the future of Pokemon.

 

[seseiSeki]

I was already wondering when this would happen. Until now, they had to drag over everything from the older generations, like different evolution methods, form changing mechanics, etc. It would've been nice, if the "first big game" had all Pokémon, like some kind of final game for an era and then they start omitting stuff or start from scratch or something.
But if they're using "animation" as an excuse, I sure hope that we'll get better animations than those of the last few games. I saw a video on YouTube that compared the LGP/E and Stadium 2 animations. And the Stadium 2 animations were a lot better, because they didn't need to fit soo many Pokémon, like in S/M.

Edit:
Ok, just had a look at the list on Serebii. Never mind that argument about it being difficult to bring over all evolution methods. It seems like Gamefreak included maaany Pokémon that have evolution methods which are more complicated to implement. At this point, bringing over everything doesn't look like a problem anymore ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Frexxos]

I am the only one who really is annoyed about having all Pokémon in the games?
For me it is the best when you start a new game to only catch all of em in the new world. Different game, different Pokémon. I don't care at all....

 

[goldensun87]

I am the only one who really is annoyed about having all Pokémon in the games?
For me it is the best when you start a new game to only catch all of em in the new world. Different game, different Pokémon. I don't care at all....

You're missing the point then. The problem here, is that many of the old pokemon will not even be in the programming of Sword And Shield. It was bad enough that Gen 7 ditched the National Dex, but we could still hex in whatever we wanted or needed. Without the necessary programming, these pokemon are absolutely cut from the game.

I, for one, haven't cared for catching as many pokemon as possible since Gen 6, because I can just use PKHex to complete the Pokedex, and spend time viewing all the Dex info, instead of spending time trying to complete it.

 

[Bedel]

The models? Yes. Animations and special effects? Probably still incomplete.

They are reusing models and animations. There is a discusion about this at thus same forum that may clarify that to you.

 

[Taleweaver]

Wow...I've read all six pages, and quite some responses baffle me.

Personally, I've never played a pokemon game before (it just doesn't appeal to me). So I had no idea that every pokémon that was introduced at any time would remain in all future versions of the product as well. I had always assumed that "gotta catch 'em all" meant "gotta catch all the pokemon in this game". It would make sense, no?

Other sequels rarely include all the characters of the previous versions, let alone do this every single time (heck...this is the very first franchise I've ever heard that did this). You don't expect barbie or playmobile to cram every single model they have in the box whenever you buy a new set, right? Fighting games often tend to minimize the characters, because they know that every character they add needs to be balanced against everyone else to prevent people from either ignoring it completely or (even worse) always picking it because it's plain better.

"but the catch phrase is gotta catch em all!"
If that's supposed to be convincing then I'm sorry, but it has a backwards effect: it lowers my expectations of your intelligence. In case you haven't noticed: catch phrases are meant to sell you something. They're invented by marketing in the hopes of selling the game. At best, they aren't straight lies. But they usually are the summary of the most optimistic version of the goal. In other words: straight lies. As such, I would reply to this with "grow up". It's one thing to nurture your inner child. But this is just being childish.

"but it's the highest grossing media franchise in the world"
So I've heard. And I won't lie: it's impressive (worth 10 billion more than the runner up, hello kitty? That DOES shape some expectations). And unlike some critics, I'm not of the conviction that they can't afford it. Or even make a loss on having to do extra work, for that matter. No...my criticism on this front is twofold:
1) like bitcoin, it is ultimately a model that cannot continue forever. No matter how you turn it, pokemon is still a game and not an encyclopedia or something. There is a point on which even the hardcore crowd is going to admit that actually catching them all has become an endless chore.
2) the 'less is more' principle. The more you add, the less individuality each single one has. There's already criticism that some pokemon look like a five year old fingerpaint drawing. Eliminating the worst improves the general likeness of what remains.

 

[erikas]

I *might* be ok with it if they add competitive online battles to pokemon home with full 3d models, and the core games are just an adventure and a way to catch new pokemon. But i'm guessing thats not gonna happen.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Wow...I've read all six pages, and quite some responses baffle me.

Personally, I've never played a pokemon game before (it just doesn't appeal to me). So I had no idea that every pokémon that was introduced at any time would remain in all future versions of the product as well. I had always assumed that "gotta catch 'em all" meant "gotta catch all the pokemon in this game". It would make sense, no?

Other sequels rarely include all the characters of the previous versions, let alone do this every single time (heck...this is the very first franchise I've ever heard that did this). You don't expect barbie or playmobile to cram every single model they have in the box whenever you buy a new set, right? Fighting games often tend to minimize the characters, because they know that every character they add needs to be balanced against everyone else to prevent people from either ignoring it completely or (even worse) always picking it because it's plain better.

"but the catch phrase is gotta catch em all!"
If that's supposed to be convincing then I'm sorry, but it has a backwards effect: it lowers my expectations of your intelligence. In case you haven't noticed: catch phrases are meant to sell you something. They're invented by marketing in the hopes of selling the game. At best, they aren't straight lies. But they usually are the summary of the most optimistic version of the goal. In other words: straight lies. As such, I would reply to this with "grow up". It's one thing to nurture your inner child. But this is just being childish.

"but it's the highest grossing media franchise in the world"
So I've heard. And I won't lie: it's impressive (worth 10 billion more than the runner up, hello kitty? That DOES shape some expectations). And unlike some critics, I'm not of the conviction that they can't afford it. Or even make a loss on having to do extra work, for that matter. No...my criticism on this front is twofold:
1) like bitcoin, it is ultimately a model that cannot continue forever. No matter how you turn it, pokemon is still a game and not an encyclopedia or something. There is a point on which even the hardcore crowd is going to admit that actually catching them all has become an endless chore.
2) the 'less is more' principle. The more you add, the less individuality each single one has. There's already criticism that some pokemon look like a five year old fingerpaint drawing. Eliminating the worst improves the general likeness of what remains.

If you never played a pokmon game before, then you probably don't realise that its exactly this feature that makes pokemon stand out from the rest of monster catcher games. That you can move your favourite compations from one game to another.

 

[raxadian]

This is Game Freak we are talking about. Its either going to be a third game with minor changes or a Sword 2/Shield 2 also with minor changes.

The Switch does add the capacity to add a whole lot of stuff by DLC, but yes, programing all those extra pokemon would work better as a different game.

If you never played a pokmon game before, then you probably don't realise that its exactly this feature that makes pokemon stand out from the rest of monster catcher games. That you can move your favourite compations from one game to another

You couldn't move Pokemon from Second Gen to Third Gen, remember?

 

[Taleweaver]

If you never played a pokmon game before, then you probably don't realise that its exactly this feature that makes pokemon stand out from the rest of monster catcher games. That you can move your favourite compations from one game to another.

I admit: I didn't know that either. But still...isn't this just a problem for the group whose pokemon isn't available AND those not wishing to start over?

It certainly makes sense to skip the game if you've 'raised' your pokemon over many games and won't be eligible to do it in this one, but wouldn't this outrage be only justified AFTER it becomes known which ones will be in the game and which ones don't? I mean...you say "your favorite companions" (at least I think that's what you meant to say). That isn't really true if people just want to export each and every pokemon they've ever collected. Which I can, to a degree, also understand. Just not as much.

 

[EthanObi]

The Switch does add the capacity to add a whole lot of stuff by DLC, but yes, programing all those extra pokemon would work better as a different game.



You couldn't move Pokemon from Second Gen to Third Gen, remember?

That's not comparable at ALL.

Gen III had Colosseum and XD:Gale of Darkness, which, when paired with Ruby/Sapphire covered all of the 249 Non-mythical Pokemon from Kanto and Johto, so there was a way to catch them all, as well as a way to consolidate them all into a single game version.
And even after that was done they made Fire Red/Leaf Green, which covered all of Kanto's 150 non-mythicals, as well as most (if not all) of Johto's 99, via the sevii isles.
Sword/Shield isn't the same because they're omitting ALL functionality of the Pokemon not in the Galar Pokedex.

Furthermore, their reasoning for this omission is a direct contradiction to their previous reasoning for why they made X/Y's Pokemon Sprites the way they did, as well as currently seen game footage of Sword/Shield.

on a Final note: With the game slated for November 15th, There's basically NO chance of Game Freak doing a 180 on this, even though it should've been obvious people don't want ANY Pokemon from generations past erased, after the Fiasco that was Black/White, Expect a Sword 2 and Shield 2 in 2021, which will have all of the past Pokemon, and a slightly altered story Ala Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon.

 

[erikas]

I admit: I didn't know that either. But still...isn't this just a problem for the group whose pokemon isn't available AND those not wishing to start over?

It certainly makes sense to skip the game if you've 'raised' your pokemon over many games and won't be eligible to do it in this one, but wouldn't this outrage be only justified AFTER it becomes known which ones will be in the game and which ones don't? I mean...you say "your favorite companions" (at least I think that's what you meant to say). That isn't really true if people just want to export each and every pokemon they've ever collected. Which I can, to a degree, also understand. Just not as much.

I am confident most of my favorites will make it, but here's the thing, i made a living dex of all the pokemon that currently exists. I did this back in X, i transferred it to omega ruby and then to moon to ultra moon, adding the newly added pokemon. And now part of it will forever be stuck in pokemon home. But here's a better example imagine if Wizards of the coast said "half of magic the gathering cards can no longer be used, you can't have them in your deck anymore". Do you think it would matter which ones they took out? The outrage would be massive.

 

[Silent_Gunner]

As someone who's always been more of a SMT (mainly Persona, but the main series and its spin-offs are definitely interesting) fan, I understand why they don't have every monster in each and every game: because then we'd never get anymore spin-offs, and it seems like those are in limited supply in modern day ATLUS as is already outside of Persona which has had the SMT namesake dropped from it after the initial PS2 release of Persona 4!

But for Pokemon, which is the most popular I think it's ever been in these past few years, especially after the explosion in popularity it received via Pokemon GO, this looks pathetic. Not only is Nintendo doing so much better than they ever have before because of how far portable hardware has come, but you're telling me they don't have enough money to throw at one of their biggest franchises after Mario, Zelda, and Donkey Kong to help it reach a zenith in quality to coincide with this Wii-era resurgence of Nintendo hardware?

I'm calling it now: after the Switch, Nintendo is going to fuck up with their next console, if they make one at all and don't just release an improved Switch, as I don't see them doing anything but that from a logical point of view considering how easy of a sell the idea is compared to any other console outside of graphical horsepower which, if the Nintendo Switch can run The Witcher 3 of all of the games that have been ported to the Switch, fuck off out of here with excuses outside of games from 2018/2019 that push the anemic hardware of the base versions of both the PS4 and the XBone about it being "too much work to put in, animate, balance, and make unique every Pokemon ever made" I know there's some that are more iconic/popular/modernized Pokemon out there, but honestly, you can't not meet expectations at such a crucial time for the Switch as the launch of a new Pokemon game. The reason Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Smash Ultimate, and a lot of other big Nintendo games are popular on the Switch is because they made such a strong impression that made people want the system that normally wouldn't buy a Nintendo console. Add onto that all of the third party support the console is getting (even if it's mostly ports of older games, having all of that on a device that's truly portable is a lot better than having something like Resident Evil 5/6 + the two Revelations games on something like the Wii U that was the Switch being tried too early and too fucking close to the introduction of the iPad of all devices), and there's honestly never been a better time to be a Nintendo fan.

 

[raxadian]

Kyouhei.

When Ruby and Sapphire was released, yes the previous Pokemon were in the game but the only way to get them all was by using Gameshark.

Ruby and Sapphire was released worldwide on 2003.

Pokemon Colosseum was released Worldwise on 2004.

Pokémon FireRed andLeafGreen was released Worldwide on 2004.

Pokemon Emerald was released worldwide on 2005.

Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness was released Worldwide on 2005.

So that's two years... and even then you still needed offline Pokemon events to get a few Pokemon.

 

[Taleweaver]

I am confident most of my favorites will make it, but here's the thing, i made a living dex of all the pokemon that currently exists. I did this back in X, i transferred it to omega ruby and then to moon to ultra moon, adding the newly added pokemon. And now part of it will forever be stuck in pokemon home. But here's a better example imagine if Wizards of the coast said "half of magic the gathering cards can no longer be used, you can't have them in your deck anymore". Do you think it would matter which ones they took out? The outrage would be massive.

Hmm...I understand your position. I really do. But this is DESPITE your analogy, rather than because.

Because I've played magic: the gathering for quite some time. From 1995 to 2010 or something. And I was thinking of mentioning that as well, because outphasing, banning, errata-ing and restricting cards is EXACTLY what they do. And for good reason. Yes, they create some cards somewhat better than others, and somewhat steer the meta-game. But what they actively try to avoid is that everyone ends up playing with the same deck because it beats out everything else.

Every new edition has some new cards as well as some older cards that are no longer allowed to be used. Of course they don't come to your house to lay it on you when you use cards from outphased editions in your deck, but that's akin to just keep playing your current pokemon game.

So...no. I'm sure there is some outrage whenever a card is deemed too powerful, but their restrictions are heralded rather than banned (whenever a new edition comes out, it is simply standard that cards from the old block can no longer be used).

 

[Deleted User]

I am confident most of my favorites will make it, but here's the thing, i made a living dex of all the pokemon that currently exists. I did this back in X, i transferred it to omega ruby and then to moon to ultra moon, adding the newly added pokemon. And now part of it will forever be stuck in pokemon home. But here's a better example imagine if Wizards of the coast said "half of magic the gathering cards can no longer be used, you can't have them in your deck anymore". Do you think it would matter which ones they took out? The outrage would be massive.

TCGs have been doing that for a long time. Pokemon only lets you use cards from the past couple of years and Yu-Gi-Oh keeps banning popular cards due to Konami constantly breaking the game.

 

[bjaxx87]

Reminds me of the first and Japan-only Pocket Monsters Stadium game which didn't support all 151 Pokémon. I wouldn't be surprised about "Ultra Shield" and "Ultra Sword" supporting all of them like Pocket Monsters Stadium 2 (Pokémon Stadium in the west) back in the day.

I agree that they very well could afford animations for all the Pokémon considering the cash the series is generating on a regular basis. Just outsource the work if necessary. They could recycle them in future installments of the series so it's not like the effort is just for one title.