An Amazon listing suggests Pokémon Sword & Shield will feature a little more than half of the almost 900 Pokémon currently in the National Dex.
We are getting ever closer to the highly-anticipated release of Pokémon Sword & Shield. On November 15, Pokémon fans will get the chance to explore the much discussed Galar Region, a region that looks very much as if it was inspired by the United Kingdom — a first for Pokémon games.
Despite being more than a month away from release, Sword & Shield has already come under some criticism. The bit of backlash started when Game Freak revealed that for the first time that the game will not feature the entirety of the franchise's extensive roster of creatures. The fact that Galar region trainers will not be able to catch 'em all, as Pokémon's tagline has always promised, didn't go down well.
So, if we can't catch ALL the Pokémon which have been created to date, what percentage of them will be included in Sword & Shield? Well, an Amazon listing of a physical version of the Galar region Pokédex has given us a clue. The book's description reveals that it has 448 pages. According to Nintendo Soup, a full dex has 772 pages, each of which features one or two Pokémon, and Mega Evolutions are not included.
The math points towards there being roughly 500 Pokémon in Sword & Shield. More than enough to keep trainers busy for a very long time, but it will never be enough to please everyone. By the time all of the Galar region's new Pokémon are revealed, the number of creatures to catch and train in all of the Pokémon universe will surpass the 900 mark.
Some players will never be okay with a shortened dex. For the rest of the fanbase, Game Freak needs to make sure it justifies leaving out what appears be around 45% of its roster. The assumption is that the Pokémon which have made the cut will be created with more attention to detail. If that doesn't come across in Sword & Shield, players will question why all 900+ Pokémon couldn't have been included.
Source: Nintendo Soup