No National Pokédex: The Deal with Dexit

The prospect of a mainline Pokémon game on a Nintendo home console is something many fans were incredibly excited about and there will still be some looking forward to exploring the Galar region this November. However, few would have expected the game to be as controversial as it has proven, with the decision to remove the National Pokédex threatening to turn away the franchise’s most long-time fans. Why has this move proven so divisive and are fans right to react as they have?

The National Pokédex contains all pokémon in it and often replaces a game’s Regional Pokédex near the end of your adventure. Sword and Shield will be the first main series games to lack this function since its introduction in Ruby and Sapphire. Producer Junichi Masuda has offered several reasons for this decision – he told USGamer that it was because of “the sheer number of Pokémon” (807, plus the Sword and Shield additions), and that limiting the Pokédex was always an inevitability. He also suggested that the Switch hardware would result in higher quality animations, but doing this for every Pokémon would not be feasible, especially given Pokémon’s annual release schedule.

Fans have cancelled their pre-orders

No matter the reasoning, to say that long-time fans of the franchise have been a bit miffed about this decision would be an understatement. They have taken to message boards, forums and the official Pokémon Twitter account to voice their disapproval. Sword and Shield footage is being heavily downvoted on YouTube. Fans have cancelled their pre-orders and vowed not to buy the upcoming game at all. It even led to a hashtag trending on Twitter – #bringbacknationaldex – and, in a satirical flair, began a discussion of ‘Dexit’.

To be fair to the fans, they do kind of have a point.

The unofficial catchphrase of the Pokémon franchise has been “gotta catch ’em all” for some time and, by denying players access to the full Pokédex, this will be an impossible task in the new games. Even Pokémon Sun and Moon, which did not technically have a National Pokédex, still enabled players to trade in all the existing Pokémon – there were no exclusions, which will not be the case in Sword and Shield. It is arguable that the game could be patched later, but Masuda has expressed no interest in doing that.

It is conceivable that players may have been using the same Pokémon for more than twenty years

This hits long-term fans in two ways. Firstly, a limited Pokédex means some creatures are not making the cut, it is unavoidable that some people will not be able to play with their favourites. I like Castform, Spoink, and Jumpfluff, but I doubt I am going to get to use them all in this game and that saddens me a little bit. I am sure that there will be new creatures that I will grow to like, but there will be no history between us. It will not be the same.

And a player’s history with their Pokémon is the other major issue. People love to hunt and fill their Pokédex, spending hours on end breeding the perfect monster for them. You have been able to transfer your team from game to game, essentially in some format since the early days of Red and Blue. It is conceivable that players may have been using the same Pokémon for more than twenty years, developing a strong attachment. Now, Game Freak have decided that they will not be able to share this latest adventure together. That is an understandable reason to be upset.

There is no one decision here that would please everyone

Game Freak have suggested that they are going to cycle which Pokémon are available in future games, which certainly is a solution, but I do not know if it is a particularly good one. The Switch is definitely powerful enough to handle all of the Pokémon in one title. If this decision is coming because the team are investing their time in creating a fantastic new feature that will amaze everyone, then perhaps it is all for the better. We all knew deep down that an ever-increasing Pokédex would catch up with Game Freak eventually, and it seems like the day is finally here.

There is no one decision here that would please everyone, but it seems like this one actively upsets the franchise’s most loyal fans, and that cannot be a sensible strategy, whatever you think of no National Dex.