While a series starring many different creatures for players to catch and keep was a great idea back in the 90s, the Pokemon franchise has ended up running into a problem with how many creatures it has. The series' 8th generation has led to it having a whopping 898 Pocket Monsters. Managing all of those creatures across different titles seemed to become too much for the development team's workload during the development of Sword and Shield, so Game Freak had to make the difficult choice to get rid of the National Dex.
The National Dex was revealed to not be in Pokemon Sword and Shield shortly before they were released. This meant that the games would strictly only offer Pokemon found in the Galar region, which also restricted the kinds of creatures players could bring into the game from older titles. Ever since the change, some Pokemon have yet to re-appear in recent releases. This means that there's no way for players to catch these Pokemon, or even use them in other games at all outside of Pokemon Bank and Pokemon Home, the franchise's Cloud service storage spaces. Unfortunately, the 3DS shutdown will mean that some of these Pokemon are no longer accessible.
What Pokemon Are Available in the Current Switch Titles
When Game Freak announced the removal of the National Dex, the resulting backlash was infamous. The Pokemon developer was transparent about how it would restrict future games to follow certain regions only, and many fans immediately became nervous over the potential that their favorite creatures would get left behind. Fortunately, it seems that Game Freak has kept this in mind with titles going forward, as games like Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, along with Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, have helped keep many of the series' creatures around.
The Let's Go titles focused on strictly Kanto Pokemon while including Mega Evolution, and Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl still features a now outdated National Dex that includes Pokemon up to Generation 4. Through these games, 493 Pokemon are available, with the ones seen in Generation 5, 6, and 7 being the ones fans have seen the least of in recent years. Thankfully, Pokemon Sword and Shield makes even more of the creatures available, with its Galar Pokedex including around 600 Pokemon on its own.
All of the Pokemon Unavailable in the Current Switch Titles
The Galar Pokedex offered many critters the chance to come back as Sword and Shield only offered about 81 new Pokemon and 13 Galar region forms out of its massive selection across the main game and both DLC expansions. This means a majority of the Galar Dex featured Pocket Monsters from different regions, making these creatures obtainable without the use of Pokemon Bank. A few more that weren't in Sword and Shield made a return in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, such as Oshawott and its evolutions, which also helped bolster the number of creatures players could get without transferring. A list of the Pokemon that aren't available in current Switch titles can be found below.
- #495 - Snivy
- #496 - Servine
- #497 - Serviper
- #498 - Tepig
- #499 - Pignite
- #500 - Emboar
- #504 - Patrat
- #505 - Watchog
- #511 - Pansage
- #512 - Simisage
- #513 - Pansear
- #514 - Simisear
- #515 - Panpour
- #516 - Simipour
- #522 - Blitzle
- #523 - Zebstrika
- #540 - Sewaddle
- #541 - Swadloon
- #542 - Leavanny
- #580 - Ducklett
- #581 - Swanna
- #585 - Deerling
- #586 - Sawsbuck
- #594 - Alomomola
- #602 - Tynamo
- #603 - Eelektrik
- #605 - Eelektross
- #648 - Meloetta
- #650 - Chespin
- #651 - Quilladin
- #652 - Chesnaught
- #653 - Fennekin
- #654 - Braixen
- #655 - Delphox
- #656 - Froakie
- #657 - Frogadier
- #658 - Greninja
- #676 - Furfrou
- #731 - Pikipek
- #732 - Trumbeak
- #733 - Toucannon
- #734 - Yungoos
- #735 - Gumshoos
- #739 - Crabrawler
- #740 - Crabominable
- #741 - Oricorio
- #774 - Minior
- #775 - Komala
- #779 - Bruxish
These 49 Pokemon aren't available in any of the current games, which means that once Pokemon Bank shuts down, fans won't be able to obtain them any other way beyond transferring them into Home and keeping them there. There's no telling of just when these characters will get a chance in the spotlight again without any knowledge of what Game Freak is planning next, so fans are notably concerned about them being left behind over the years. Many of these creatures being left out are actually starter Pokemon from Black, White, X, and Y, meaning that many trainers have an attachment to these monsters in particular. Therefore, being unable to use or obtain them in other games is rather upsetting.
It's very understandable that fans would be anxious over their favorite Pocket Monsters not making a return, as almost every creature in the series is sure to have a fan somewhere. The fact that players won't have any idea if their favorite creature is available in the latest game only adds tension to the matter, as even classic Pokemon like Seel have only been made available through remakes and not games such as Pokemon Sword, Shield, or Legends: Arceus. It leads fans to believe the return of their favorite animalistic partner is a slim chance against the roughly 900 monsters Game Freak has to choose from.
While the fact that not every Pokemon can be made available in future titles has led to a fair deal of anxiety for plenty of series loyalists, there are benefits toward limiting what critters go into each title as well. Pokemon Legends: Arceus has the smallest Pokedex in years, yet it's being highly praised by both fans and critics alike. It may be in part that the efforts needed to use all the series' creatures in every title are now able to go into other parts of development, such as storytelling and power balancing. Still, though there may be benefits, fans having to question what titles will feature their favorites and which won't may be something for Game Freak to try to minimize in the future.
Pokemon Bank is currently available on the Nintendo 3DS eShop until March 2023.
