The future return of the National Dex has been thrown into further doubt as Junichi Masuda has confirmed that future games in the Pokémon series will also feature a reduced number of monsters.
Pokémon Sword & Shield has been the source of controversy since E3 2019 when it was revealed that not all of the Pokémon from the series would be returning. Masuda announced during a Treehouse Live event that the only Pokémon available in the games would be the ones from the Galar region and that the National Dex would no longer be present.
Fans had hoped that future Pokémon titles would gradually add all of the Pokémon back into the games, but it seems that this won't be the case. Masuda was interviewed by Inside Gamer and the future of the National Dex was brought up.
"We now have no plans to make the Pokémon that are missing in the Galar Pokédex in-game available. That is an approach that we want to continue in the future with Pokémon games. Of course, up to now it has not been possible to encounter every pokémon in every game, so people had to transfer it from old games via Pokémon Bank to the new game, for example."
It seems as if the upcoming Pokémon Home phone app will be where fans gather all of their past captures.
"Currently the Pokémon Home app is under development, where players can collect their different Pokémon, and only Pokémon in the Galar-Pokédex can be transferred from there to Sword and Shield. But the way of playing is actually not very different from before with Pokémon Bank: until now you have always been able to meet only the pokémon of a certain region.
We encourage people to use Pokémon Home to collect their Pokémon from old games there. From there, they might be able to take it to other games in the future. So take good care of your old Pokémon, because you might be able to go out with them again in the future. ”
The reason for the reduced Pokédex is due to the sheer number of Pokémon that now exist in the series. Due to limited development time, Game Freak was forced to cut some of the cast to ensure release. It's safe to say that future Pokémon games will use the same engine as Pokémon Sword & Shield, so it doesn't make sense to reduce the number of Pokémon in later games.
It's possible that the backlash regarding the National Dex will cause Game Freak to change its mind for future games, especially if the sales of Pokémon Sword & Shield are affected by the controversy. The fiscal response to Pokémon Sword & Shield will be revealed soon, as the games will be released for the Nintendo Switch on November 15, 2019.
Source: Inside Gamer