Ahead of the much anticipated Pokemon Sword and Shield release, the entire Galar region Pokedex has been leaked, supposedly revealing exactly what species will be in the game.
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While fans now know which species they can expect to see on November 15, the real news has been which Pokemon didn’t make the cut following the much publicized National Pokedex removal.
Here’s our usual leak disclaimer: if you’re wanting to enjoy Pokemon Sword and Shield spoiler free then we recommend you proceed with caution.
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Many have been eager to see whether their favorite ‘mons made it into the game. There are a lot of returning Pokemon but given the reported 400 total, when you include the new Gen 8 species then less than half made it.
Inevitably a lot of trainer’s favorites will miss out as a result but there are some really bizarre omissions which fans are less than happy with.
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No Bulbasaur or Squirtle?
If the leaks are correct, then it looks like Game Freak have done the unthinkable and excluded Bulbasaur and Squirtle from Pokemon Sword and Shield. This would mark the first time in a mainline Pokemon game that all the Kanto starters aren’t present.
What’s more curious is that the Charmander line is in the game. In addition to this, not only is Charizard in the game but it has also been given a Gigantamax form. This has made trainers poke fun at the Pokemon Company for their apparent Charizard obsession.
saw the new leaks……Bulbasaur and Squirtle are not in SWSH.I repeat, Bulbasaur and Squirtle are not in SWSH.#RIPBulbasaur pic.twitter.com/Urgdq0Y8Fc
— [Sorry for Everything] (@BulbaGanda) November 3, 2019
No starter Pokemon at all
That’s not all, though. There are no other starter Pokemon in Sword and Shield at all. That’s right, from Johto’s Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile to Alola’s Rowlit, Litten and Popplio, none of them are included.
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It shouldn’t be any surprise this will come as a disappoint to trainers as the starter Pokemon are among the most beloved in the series.
So after seeing the Pokedex for Sword and Shield , I'm disappointed that just about every starter was taken out and on top of that no good dragon pokemons were kept like BRUH
— Y0!Peaceful :love_you_gesture::skin-tone-4: (@PeacefulThundrr) November 6, 2019
What about the legends?
If there are no starters, then surely Game Freak have been generous with legendary Pokemon from previous generations, right? Well no, none of the Kanto legends are included. That means all of Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres and even Mewtwo miss out. Mew is in the game, however.
The same applies for Gen 2 and beyond with most notably Lugia, Ho-oh and Celebi omitted.
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One trainer tweeted: “I’m actually [kind of] upset about Sword and Shield’s Pokedex, almost all of my favorite Pokemon have been totally cut.”
Okay, I spent months defending Pokémon Sword & Shield but I have to admit, the cuts to the overall Pokédex are brutal. I’ve seen some compare it to the Thanos snap and that’s pretty much spot on… I’ll give the game a fair shot but I can’t say I’m not a little pissed now.
— Jake Frisch :soon: GalaxyConMN (@frischwizard) November 6, 2019
It’s certainly an interesting decision from Game Freak who have opened themselves up to criticism. 400 is less than half what the National Pokedex would be and the exclusion of so many key Pokemon would only add fuel to the fire.
We’ll have to wait and see whether any of these species will be added at a later date or if there is more to what has been leaked so far.
