The Studio Defends Its Decision to Not Include a National Pokédex in Pokémon Sword & Shield
Pokémon game fans have been pretty upset for weeks about there being no National Pokédex in the upcoming Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield. Despite all the criticism, Game Freak designer & producer Junichi Masuda defended the decision in a statement on Friday.
“Just like all of you, we are passionate about Pokémon and each and every one of them is very important to us,” Masuda said. “After so many years of developing the Pokémon video games, this was a very difficult decision for me. I’d like to make one thing clear: even if a specific Pokémon is not available in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, that does not mean it will not appear in future games.”
“The world of Pokémon continues to evolve,” he also said. “The Galar region offers new Pokémon to encounter, Trainers to battle, and adventures to embark on. We are pouring our hearts into these games, and we hope you will look forward to joining us on this new journey.”
Usually, after beating the main story of Pokémon games, players are able to import the Pokémon they captured in previous games (via the National Pokédex) but, in this year’s Pokémon, players will only be able to import Pokémon from Sword & Shield’s Galar region by using Pokémon HOME.
Fans have argued that this design decision limits player choice but Masuda has pointed to the massive amount of Pokémon (there are over 800 species at this point) and gameplay balance as reasons for why this feature isn’t in Sword & Shield.
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