Back in June, Game Freak somewhat casually revealed that not every Pokemon from the franchise would be available in the highly-anticipated Switch exclusives,Pokemon SwordandShield. This information spurred quite a controversy within the community, and the absence of theNational Dex inPokemon SwordandShieldhas been a topic of frequent conversation ever since. However, the full extent of the missing Pokemon has only recently become clear, and it is quite a lengthy list indeed.
The ability to assemble a list of the Pokemon that are not available in these forthcoming games comes following a leak that revealed thefullPokemon SwordandShieldPokedex, which consists of 400 pocket monsters in total. This means that there are nearly 500 Pokemon missing fromPokemon SwordandShield, and ResetEra member Joseki has shared a graphic that delineates them. This graphic can be found below, and Pokemon marked with green are those that are featured in the games while those marked with white are not.
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With so many Pokemon missing inPokemon SwordandShield, there is certainly a lot to digest in this graphic. That said, one thing may stand out immediately to those that peruse the Pokemon that are not included in the forthcoming games: the only old starter that is returning inPokmeon SwordandShieldis Charmander and its evolutions. Considering that many fans have a deep attachment to the starters from previous generations, this may come as a significant blow.
With respect to why Game Freak may have chosen to cut the old starters for the Galar Pokedex, some fans theorize that the developer wants to encourage players to connect with the newPokemon SwordandShieldstartersby removing the old ones. Indeed, players will be selecting from Grookey, Scorbunny, and Sobble whenSwordandShieldfinally release, and there is no chance that these new starters will be playing second fiddle to the likes of Squirtle or Bulbasaur due to their absence.
All of this said, it is important to note that this list of missing Pokemon is based upon unofficial leaks, and cannot thus be considered definitively confirmed. However, everything currently points to these leaks being accurate, and fans can reasonably expect the Pokemon outlined here to be missing fromPokemon SwordandShield’s Galar region.
MORE:Pokemon Sword and Shield: Here’s Every Leaked Starter Evolution
