Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield will be the first proper mainline versions of Pokemon to be released on Switch, with it taking players to the region of Galar and introducing a whole host of new creatures to capture. However, there has been one major sticking point recently and that is not all Pokemon from the previous generations will be available in these games meaning players will not be able to transfer in some older monsters. Of course, this has caused a lot of people to be upset by the decision with the backlash being so large that Junichi Masuda, producer of the games, released the following statement.
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 Swordand 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.
June 28, 2019
Junichi Masuda
Going by the statement it appears nothing will be changed to incorporate the missing Pokemon, but they will likely appear in future games. However, whether it’ll be the same situation here where only some make the cut or all will be transferrable in future iterations. This is unlikely to placate a lot of people but the position is pretty clear, and no doubt both Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield will see huge sales.
Source: Pokemon Company
Hantastic
Sounds harsh, but I seriously doubt that Gamefreak is “pouring their hearts” into these games. If you look at the production values of Town versus what they’ve showed about the new Pokemon so far you can see how it looks when they actually feel passionate about something. Town already looks vibrant, beautiful and polished whereas people have photoshopped Ocarina of Time’s Link in the environment of the Galar Region and almost no one noticed. :p