The Pokémon Company responds to Sword & Shield fan outcry with statement of no intent

The Pokémon Company seems unmoved by the recent fan protests.

After the weeks following Nintendo’s showing of the upcoming Pokémon Sword and Shield at E3, The Pokémon Company has stated in response to the public outcry from fans after it was revealed that the new game will not be using the National Pokédex.

By not using the National Pokédex, the game will only feature certain Pokémon that are in the game’s Galar region and not the entirety of the game’s bulging number of Pokémon currently available. This would also restrict the Pokémon coming into the game by Pokémon Bank as only Pokémon available in the Galar region can be brought in.

This, understandably, caused many fans of the series to be upset at the notion that not all Pokémon will be in the game, but also devalues the Pokémon Bank feature. While Nintendo has stood firm, there’s been no official statement on it. Until now.

The Pokémon Company have stated:

Thank you to all of our fans for caring so deeply about Pokémon. Recently, I shared the news that some Pokémon cannot be transferred to Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield.

I’ve read all your comments and appreciate your love and passion for Pokémon.

Just like all of you, we are passionate about Pokémon and each and every one of them is very important to us. 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. 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.

While it does confirm that the Pokémon from the National Dex still has a future, it’s a reasonably non-statement to make about Pokémon Sword and Shield. This is unlikely to deter the fans who have been calling for the National Dex to come back but may instill some hope that their favorite Pokémon will not be forever lost.