Highlights
- The recently released Teal Mask DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet has reduced the number of missing Pokemon on the Nintendo Switch from 38 to 21.
- Each new Pokemon game released on the Switch has increased the number of catchable Pokemon on the platform, including the Teal Mask DLC.
- Future DLC is expected to bring the number of missing Pokemon on Switch from 21 to nine.
Game Freak recently released The Teal Mask DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, which has reduced the number of Pokemon missing from the Switch games from 38 to 21. Thanks to Pokemon Sword and Shield ditching the National Pokedex, there have always been Pokemon unavailable on the Switch. Recent releases have made it possible for Switch gamers to catch the vast majority of the creatures on Switch, but some are still missing.
The Nintendo Switch has seen a new Pokemon game of some kind basically every year since Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee launched in 2018. Sometimes this has come in the form of core, main series games, but other times this has been in the form of DLC or remakes of older Pokemon games. Each new Pokemon game released on the Switch has increased the number of Pokemon available to catch on Nintendo's latest console. The release of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet cut down the number of Pokemon missing from the Switch all the way to 38, and now that number has been reduced even further.
The Teal Mask DLC for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet introduced some brand-new Pokemon, but it also brought back some Pokemon that have been missing from the Switch games. Unfortunately, there are still 21 Pokemon that can not be caught on the Nintendo Switch at the time of this writing. They are Snivy, Servine, Serperior, Tepig, Pignite, Emboar, Patrat, Watchog, Pansage, Simisage, Pansear, Simisear, Panpour, Simipour, Blitzle, Zebstrika, Furfrou, Trumbeak, Toucannon, and Minior.
Pokemon You Can't Catch on the Switch List
- Snivy
- Servine
- Serperior
- Tepig
- Pignite
- Emboar
- Patrat
- Watchog
- Pansage
- Simisage
- Pansear
- Simisear
- Panpour
- Simipour
- Blitzle
- Zebstrika
- Furfrou
- Pikipek
- Trumbeak
- Toucannon
- Minior
The good news is that some of these Pokemon will be added as part of The Indigo Disk DLC that's coming to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet later this winter. A combination of leaks and official announcements have let fans know that the Generation 5 starter Pokemon, Blitzle, Zebstrika, Pikipek, Trumbeak, Toucannon, and Minior will all be added to Pokemon Scarlet and Violet at that point.
This leaves nine Pokemon that will not be available to catch on the Switch after The Indigo Disk DLC is released for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Patrat, Watchog, Pansage, Simisage, Pansear, Simisear, Panpour, Simipour, and Furfrou. Most of these Pokemon were introduced in Generation 5, with the exception of Furfrou, which is a Generation 6 Pokemon.
Rumor has it that there are remakes of the Generation 5 Pokemon games in the works, which would take care of everyone except Furfrou, but it's hard to say if such games would release for the Nintendo Switch. A brand-new Nintendo console is expected to launch in 2024, and so there's a chance the game would be developed for that platform instead. Then again, Pokemon games are known for releasing late in a console's life, like when Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 release for the DS after the 3DS was already out, and when Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon launched for the 3DS when the Switch had already been out. It's possible history will repeat itself, but Pokemon fans shouldn't hold their breath.
