Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are just a little over five weeks away from launch, and many fans have high expectations for the Gen 9 games to be the ultimate Pokemon game experience. This is mostly due to the fact that Gen 9 has the potential of combining Pokemon Legends: Arceus' semi-open world setting and Pokemon Sword and Shield's free roam, all while introducing plenty of new critters. And yet, while this is not something that was ever officially advertised, there's also the hope that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will allow longstanding fans of the series to have a living Pokedex on the Switch, something that Gen 8 missed out on.
Unfortunately, according to the many leaks that came about for Gen 9, gamers should keep their expectations low on this one unless Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's DLC includes all of the pocket monsters that are still missing from Nintendo's current console. As it stands, almost six years after its release, 27 old critters might not be featured in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's Pokedex. This is still a rather low number compared to the total of 60 creatures missing from all Switch-based entries before Gen 9, but it's concerning given the lifespan of the Switch ahead of the rumors surrounding a new console being in the works.
Which Old Pokemon Could Be Missing From Scarlet and Violet
A living Pokedex could be achieved in the past across mainline Pokemon games, but it stopped being possible due to the overwhelming amount of work that needs to go into creating animations and effects for an ever-growing amount of critters. This process has since been streamlined, according to The Pokemon Company, but it still seems that Pokemon Scarletand Violet will only have around 400 pocket monsters in the base Pokedex, which is quite low even for the standards set by Gen 8.
As such, many fans were hoping that Gen 9 would be the time for all the critters missing from the Switch to make a comeback so that players could at least have a living Pokedex on the console through Pokemon Home and the various Switch-based games. Again, according to leaks, multiple evolution lines will be missing entirely from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, and they won't even be accessible via Home transfer. The current list includes:
- Snivy
- Servine
- Serperior
- Tepig
- Pignite
- Emboar
- Patrat
- Watchog
- Pansage
- Simisage
- Pansear
- Simisear
- Panpour
- Simipour
- Blitzle
- Zebstrika
- Sewaddle
- Swadloon
- Leavanny
- Ducklett
- Swanna
- Furfrou
- Hoopa
- Pikipek
- Trumbeak
- Toucannon
- Minior
Why Gen 5 Remakes Need to Come Sooner Rather Than Later on The Switch
Out of these 27 old Pokemon, only two are from Gen 6 and four are from Gen 7, meaning that 21 of them are all from Pokemon Black and White, including two of three starter evolution lines. On one hand, this is something players can cling to in the hopes that Gen 5 Pokemon remakes hit the stores in the next two years or sooner, which doesn't sound too farfetched thanks to Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl being outsourced so that Game Freak could work on other games.
On the other hand, this could also lead to Gen 5 remakes coming out after Nintendo releases new hardware, thus crushing the dreams of those who want a living Pokedex on the Switch and might not get to. This is all speculation, but it's still a strange choice on The Pokemon Company's part to not include all the critters that didn't make the cut in Pokemon Sword and Shield or Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Regardless, the likelihood for Gen 9 to have an expansion or two further down the line is extremely high and even hinted at by leakers. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could indeed turn the tables and create the first opportunity to get a living Pokedex on the Nintendo Switch.
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet launch on November 18, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
