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e3 2019
Not All Pokémon Will Transfer To Sword And Shield
There's a lot to be excited about with Game Freak's next mainline Pokémon games. However, one new detail arose during Nintendo's Treehouse live presentation during E3 that's making some fans upset: Some of the Pokémon – and we don't know which ones – will not be transferable from the upcoming Pokémon Home service to Pokémon Sword and Shield.
The Pokémon Company has made a point of carrying your old Pokémon to new installments since 2002's Ruby and Sapphire. And with the 3DS virtual console versions of Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, and Silver being compatible with the Pokémon Bank service, it's possible – if a bit convoluted – to transfer a Pokémon from games that came out in 1998 to the most recent installments, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, which launched in 2017.
If your Pokémon can be found within the Galar region, then you're still in luck, as you can transfer them from Pokémon Bank to Pokémon Home, and then into Sword and Shield. However, if your 'mon isn't catchable within the upcoming games, producer Junichi Masuda says this won't be possible, at least at launch.
Reasons Masuda cites for not bringing over the Pokémon include creating HD assets and animations for all of the creatures, currently sitting over 800 and potentially reaching a thousand with Sword and Shield. Another point of consideration is balancing for the competitive scene, which becomes tricky with over 800 combinations of Pokémon, moves, abilities, and so on.
We do not, as of yet, know which Pokémon have made it in, and which haven't made the cut. Masuda did however seem to suggest that all original 151 Pokémon would be available, and we've already seen a wide selection of 'mon from every generation in the games' trailers and gameplay segments. Furthermore, Masuda made no statement confirming or denying any potential patches for the future that may allow these Pokémon to be transferable in the future.
The Internet is not taking this well. In Nintendo's archive video where Masuda revealed this information, it has 18 thousand likes and 63 thousand dislikes.
Pokémon Sword and Shield launch for Nintendo Switch on November 15. For more on new Pokémon coming to the game, check out our impressions on Yamper and Impidimp.
[Source: Nintendo]
It's a shame that we may no longer be able to catch 'em all in Sword and Shield, even if the reasons stated seem reasonable. But it would be a lot better if Game Freak was more transparent with what exactly these details mean. There's a lot to be excited about with Sword and Shield, and we imagine the vast majority of players wouldn't even use this feature anyway. But for those who do, it's understandably scary for fans to not be able to transfer their beloved creatures.
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