There was a same article about it too, but here

I dunno what the concerns are, but limiting the number of pokemon just affects players that wants to complete the dex. The other concern is if getting the shiny charm is gonna be the same way as sun / moon which is completing the galar dex via seeing and catching every pokemon in the region. If they're putting a limited pokemon in galar region, that'll make things difficult to defeat a pokemon with sturdy and some other abilities.

Limiting the number of usable pokemon goes far beyond completing the pokedex or getting a shiny charm. It takes away a core freedom of the entire franchise which was to choose your dream pokemon team and battle them against your friends and their own dream teams. That's what the mainline pokemon games have been about since Red and Blue, and while they had to cut ties for Ruby and Sapphire due to hardware limitations there is no excuse beyond laziness for them to do it again now.

Well last time, we got the shiny charm by completing the alola dex, both caught and seen. If galar dex were to be the same like that, then probably there's no question about it that we can get the shiny charm that way. completing The national dex wasn't needed to get the shiny charm. If they limit the number of pokemon in galar region and dex, that'll make local, and online battles more difficult to do. If outside of local and online battles, then it's gonna be hard to find a pokemon to be the false swiper and a sleeper.

Here's something regarding this whole "limited selection of Pokémon" thing from Proton Jon's stream last night: Having this be the thing at launch is fine, so long as they use the power of DLC to eventually add Pokémon back in. Now, before anyone says that we shouldn't have to pay more money just to reclaim older Pokémon that aren't in the base game, there's the Splatoon approach, where older Pokémon are added in batches over time for free. This also works for new mythical Pokémon, allowing Game Freak to surprise us with them instead of hackers/dataminers finding and leaking them as soon as the games release. And honestly, with the Uproar caused by their decision, this is the best solution Game Freak can implement, allowing them to release Sword and Shield in time without delaying them, but also slowly add old Pokémon back into the game.

And yes, I'm upset at the decision, too, but instead of raging about it and threatening to completely cut ties with a franchise I enjoy, I'm looking at the bigger picture and being cautiously optimistic regarding the whole thing.

"instead of raging about it and threatening to completely cut ties with a franchise I enjoy, I'm looking at the bigger picture and being cautiously optimistic regarding the whole thing"

I think Pikminsatellite is being completely reasonable, I wouldn't call it "raging". He's not happy with a decision, so he's not going to give money to receive a product he's not happy with -- that's "voting with your wallet".

Like he said:

"I will be boycotting all pokemon titles until they decide to backpedal this ridiculous 'policy' (if ever)"

If GF does change their mind, then that'd be great. But they haven't confirmed it. Why buy a game that you're not happy for, just in hopes that they'll change their mind, when they've said that this is their policy going forward? Buying it would show them "Okay, we had a few days of bad tweets, but overall we didn't lose out on many sales, so it's all good". The only way for them to change their mind is if Sword/Shield completely bombs.

Yep, GavinGoneGlobal got my response to a tee, if there was any news about them adding pokemon back in future patches, I'd be straight back on the hype train (despite just how low effort this game actually is). Why would I be optimistic about SwSh when they've literally said they will not be adding non-Galar pokemon and will continue to do things like this in future games?

I'm not even sure there's a chance to (or of) back away (or out) from sword / shield, but if that's what you guys want and your decision to make, then that's your call for those reasons on what you guys said and i'm not gonna stop you guys for that even if it means missing out on the fun and enjoyment of the game.

When (or if) pokemon events for sword / shield are gonna take effect, probably you guys will miss everything out on the events and you'll be forced to trade pokemon. As I said before or in the previous posts that there's a strong feeling that the pokemon pass app for pokemon events may affect pokemon sword / shield.

If they did release the demo like they did with ORAS, Sun / moon, and let's go Pikachu / eevee, then we don't know if we're gonna get any extra pokemon and items off from it.

I would just give sword / shield some time to improve. I've been a long time pokemon fan & player, but I'd give these pokemon games some time to improve regardless of the condition and I tend to stay away from the areas and cities that can cause game breaking (or freezing) issues till they're fixed.

I know there are a lot of questions and concerns about the game, but it can't be helped if there are limits to the game and accept the game's current conditions till later on in the future updates.

The other part that they restricted was pokeball plus as a controller so you can only use it for strolls.

Well yes you're right, I will wait for the games to improve, so I won't be buying Sword and Shield or any future pokemon games until they decide to include all pokemon again. If they ever do have a game that includes all pokemon again, I can always just buy a used copy of SwSh to get whatever I need, but I'm certainly not going to reward Game Freak's incompetence with a day 1 purchase.

I would just experience the game myself and see what I can learn. It's most likely that i'll be getting shield version off from my brother if that were to be the case and he's able to get the double pack rather than the single version. I'll have to ask him if he's gonna get the double pack.

The exclusive sword version pokemon shouldn't be a problem for me since i can only do local wireless.

There's another question I'd like to ask you guys: What would you guys do if the game doesn't improve?

"Limiting the number of usable pokemon goes far beyond completing the pokedex or getting a shiny charm. It takes away a core freedom of the entire franchise which was to choose your dream pokemon team and battle them against your friends and their own dream teams."

Exactly, thank you. It's not about the National Pokédex at all (although in hindsight their removal of that in S&M was an obvious warning sign). For what it's worth I am holding exactly the same position as you.

As a compromise, I'd accept it if there were a spin-off like Pokémon Battle Revolution that had connectivity with the main series to allow you to use all your Pokémon for battles, even if they couldn't all be used in an actual in-game storyline. But that has to come first - I'm not going to buy Shield just on the off-chance that one day it will be possible.

Even that shouldn't be necessary, though. Pokémon is literally the most profitable franchise in the world, beating Star Wars by a large margin. There's no way Game Freak don't have, or can't easily get, whatever resources they need.

"I'm not even sure there's a chance to (or of) back away (or out) from sword / shield"

I mean, not buying the game literally requires no effort at all. As for what I would do if it doesn't improve? ... Continue not to own it...?

Missing out on events is a good point, but let's be honest, that already happens just because events are usually restricted to small geographical regions. I've never acquired a Tanabata Jirachi, for example, and the app you mention, Pokémon Pass, is only available in the US. Any new mythical Pokémon will eventually be re-released, and in any case trading is a thing, and as a last resort I imagine Switch save editing will be a thing too by the time they reverse the policy, if they ever do. If you're determined enough there's always a way.

"As a compromise, I'd accept it if there were a spin-off like Pokémon Battle Revolution that had connectivity with the main series to allow you to use all your Pokémon for battles, even if they couldn't all be used in an actual in-game storyline. But that has to come first - I'm not going to buy Shield just on the off-chance that one day it will be possible."

I read on serebii that your stored Pokemon will have an 'active' role in Pokemon Home. If this meant having a battle system along the lines of pokemon showdown I could accept the limited selection in SwSh, but let's face it that would require too much time and effort for GameFreak to program. No doubt it'll be something like poke pelago 2.0

If they made completing the galar dex (both seen and caught) as a part of the requirement to get the shiny charm for sword / shield like they did with alola dex in (ultra) sun / moon, then there's no question about it that they'll make that as a same requirement as sun / moon's alola dex.

I know there has been an uproar about sword / shield and national dex lately. what I told you guys in the previous posts will allow you guys to put your 2nd thoughts into getting the game or just wait for it to see if there are any improvements to the game or not.

Back in (ultra) sun / moon, there was no national dex in the game except the pokemon bank.

Another thing, if you guys are still getting sword / shield, then there's no point in putting your 2nd thoughts in getting the game regardless of your decision and people's negative reviews and comments regarding the national dex and the game's current conditions except for bugs & glitches issues which we need to avoid at all times. We don't want that to happen like last time with X/Y's lumiose city bug & glitch which is the freeze part when you save in there and continue from that city.

Honestly, as upsetting as it is that they're not including all the Pokemon anymore, I don't think that alone will stop me getting the game. I can kind of understand why they're doing it; they want the game out before the end of the year and it's just not possible to everything before then (supposedly they're adding/improving all the animations, so even with those X/Y models it would take a long time).

They should really do updates or a battle revolution type of thing, but I think the deal breaker for me is if the quality of the what they do include is poor. As nice as the past couple of generations of Pokemon have been, they are not great games; X and Y had a fairly poor and predictable story with very little to do post game or even in a lot of the places you'd already visited, ORAS also felt rather rushed in a similar way. I'll admit sun and moon had a decent story but USUM felt like the games sun and moon should have been. The difficulty of these games is also a problem; I don't mind they make it easier for new players but the option for more of a challenge/skip tutorials would be nice.

Basically my point is I'd prefer quality over quantity with these games, and if they don't deliver I'll probably stop getting new Pokemon games like some of you have said.

I don't think the difficulty of the games is the problem at all. The difficulty picks up after each and every new generation of pokemon. It got easier because the exp. share can be turned on and off by choice. To make it more challenging and get a full enjoyment of the games is that keep the exp. share off till post-game.

Some of us don't want to stop (or quit) getting new pokemon games. We just want to have some fun, take a challenge, enjoy the games. We all have been a pokemon fans & players for a long time as long as we remember playing and enjoying them.

Turning off exp share doesnt really make the games harder, just grind-ier. An optional challenge mode could improve the main games quite a bit by:

- Allowing NPC trainers to have more than 2 pokemon (Literally only the rivals and the champion ever have a full team, unless you count the joke trainers with 6 magikarp), or limiting the number of your own usable pokemon to mirror the NPC trainer (so if they only had 2 pokemon, you could only use 2 etc.)
- Forbidding healing items to be used mid-battle (and to be extra cruel, not apply this rule to everyone else). And yes I know you can just not heal yourself in the main games, but this rule in combination with much harder fights this would actually pose a threat.
- Scaling the enemy's pokemon's levels to your own pokemon, thereby eliminating the ability to just overlevel to victory
- Proper EV trained pokemon. Afaik, trainer pokemon generally have 0 EV investment making them a non-threat even if they're at a higher level than your own team. Throw in some perfect IV pokemon while you're at it.

And that's just off the top of my head.

Yeah, I played the last games with exp share off and I only really ran into trouble with some of the kahunas/trial bosses and that Necrozma fight near the end.

To add to your list we could do with some slightly improved AI. I know some trainers already do swap their Pokemon out but it would be nice to see it more often, especially when you have a good counter to their Pokemon out. Maybe make their teams share less weaknesses too.

Doing a pokemon party and level sync which is matching the number of pokemon and their levels to the trainer's pokemon will make the battles fair enough, but the problem with that is if you have exp share on, only the participating pokemon will get exp and not those in your party although you can still get exp while in level sync. If they make trainers swap pokemon more often, then it'll make pursuit to be used a lot plus they only do that if they're type disadvantage. The major downside part about these 2 is that if your party pokemon is wiped out, you'll be sent back to the last pokemon center visit.

Another thing, if you want to make the game more challenging (via nuzlocke or a challenge of your own) like I did, then you can do that regardless of playthrough you're doing. Forbidding to use healing items is another thing that you want to add your challenge, but the downside parts is that your party will be wiped out and burning moves very fast.

I mean, how many people opt to use pursuit as a move on their Pokemon currently? Usually it's a bit of useless move during the story, so if they swapped a little more often it would actually give you a reason to keep the move on your Pokemon. They don't have to make it so the AI always swap out either; say you have a grass type in against their water type, you might be thinking they will swap, but perhaps the water type has an ice type move, so the AI keeps it in. Just things like that to make you think a little more and add some potentially difficult decisions.

Last time I played through ultra sun I did a nuzlocke with no exp share, battle style on set and not using healing items during battle. Even then I only lost Pokemon just after getting them or during a boss fight; after they were levelled up a bit they weren't having trouble in a lot of fights. I know I can replay Pokemon games with more and more challenging rules, but I'd also like to experience new ones with a bit of challenge on a more casual play-through too.

Pursuit can only be useful if your opponent switches a lot when they're at type disadvantage. Baton pass, not sure. Pursuit shouldn't be used often in story mode, but in a online and local battles, yes you can use it often although it'll be tough to predict when your opponent is gonna switch. Inflicting status ailment like paralyze, poison, and burn will make pursuit a little more useful if your opponent tends to switch with ailment on.

If you want to do a challenge on your 1st playthrough, then that's fine. That's what I did back in XD: Gale of Darkness, diamond / pearl / platinum, black / white 1, and sun / moon. even though in XD: Gale of Darkness, I have to keep my party at minimum of 3 due to purification chamber. I wouldn't do 4 in terms of how good the pokemon are in the game so I had to stick with 3. Diamond / Pearl / Platinum, Black / white 1, and sun / moon, All I did was clear the game without evolving my starter pokemon

The challenge for sword / shield? well who knows what's gonna happen. I don't even know what the challenges they have in store for us.

Dear fans, we heard your outcries about older pokemon being cut from the game. We don't care. Get them in the next game. Buy this game too. See ya.

-Junichi Masuda

Pretty much confirming we won't be getting cut pokemon added via patches.

Well I guess it can't be helped, but the decision is up to you guys if you're willing to get the game (or the double pack if possible) or not. I know some of us don't care about the negative reviews and comments, but if we're the type of pokemon players and fans that doesn't care about the negative reviews and comments, then we're good on getting the game or the double pack.

It's probably their way of balancing the game if i'm right, but if they did allow us to use the pokemon from the previous games for online battles and competiton, then that's fine by us. We can't use them in Local battles and competition. I dunno about post-game although it will make things tough for us to deal with sturdy ability.

Pokémon games are meant to be fun, enjoyable, and challenging regardless of the nerfs and balance.

Does anyone here play any Pokemon fan games? I just began Pokemon Solar Light & Lunar Dark (despite the title, it's just one game). It's a fan region with over 350 original Pokemon, no official ones. While I'm not huge on the Pokemon designs (they're rather bland), I do like many other aspects of the game.

As for Sword & Shield... I'm starting to re-think my decision to get it. It'd be the first official game I played since like Ruby & Sapphire. The "no transferring" doesn't bother me, since I don't have any Pokemon to transfer. And neither does not having every single Pokemon in existence. But it just seems like Game Freak is lazy. Many videos point this out. The graphics don't look good at all and look like barely any effort was put into them. And I'm not a fan of many of the newer mechanics of battling.

You still got a lot of time to re-think your decision on getting sword / shield. it seems that we're still in for a long wait till November. For any news and updates, that would be for Nintendo or pokemon directs so we'll have to keep an eye on them. once the game releases, we have to keep an eye out for any issues so we can start avoiding them. we don't want those things to happen on us.

I mean a good chunk of Sword and Shield has already been leaked, and it doesn't look like they're holding back anything impressive. This text post came out a week or two before the pokemon direct and E3 and got way too many specific details correct to not be fake. Pretty much the only remotely interesting thing will be Gigantmaxing. Meanwhile they've got things like another humanoid final evolution for the fire starter, more regional variants (which will undoubtedly be exclusive to kanto pokemon again) and another bland poke amie thing which will likely be one of their excuses for cutting old pokemon.

I read an article about how game freak is "implement(ing) new things fairly gradually" in pokemon although if you guys are interested in reading it, here's the article

I wasn't too sure if it's gonna be their way of making pokemon games and battles fair though, but we'll have to see the outcome of the game.