Chances are, you clicked this article because the title made you want to tear the author apart for such a heinous opinion so close to the release of the second major Pokémon title released on a title. However, you should hear me out because the Nintendo Switch is bringing us the eighth generation of Pokémon, and only the eighth generation of Pokémon.
Yes, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield will only contain the Pokémon from the Galar Pokedex. That means you won’t see your favorite Pokémon from older generations, such as Charizard or Eevee. Not having Eevee or the millions of different evolutions our favorite little mutant hybrid of a fox and cat Pokémon can evolve into is a travesty in itself.
There has been significant backlash over the Game Freak’s decision to omit all our favorites. However, their reasoning is one that didn’t sit well with fans. Junichi Masuda of Game Freak revealed that the reasoning behind this was they wanted to focus more on the graphics and gameplay than adding the old Pokémon. We would be more inclined to believe them if current screenshots of the game didn’t look like they were pulled straight from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. There was a collective gasp and sighs of discontent as screenshots from Pokémon Sword and Shield made it look like it was from a console that exists way before the Nintendo Switch: the Nintendo 64.
However, newer screenshots have shown a handful of older Pokémon, leading us to believe they’ve added a couple of the older Pokémon to quell the burning rage among Pokémon fans. Only time will tell which Pokémon will exist in the franchise’s newest region. Let’s just hope their Dynamax feature was worth a dip in sales if the game doesn’t perform too well commercially.
