CULTURE

The "Pokemon Sword" and "Shield" Galar Dex Leaked, and the Cuts Are Brutal

The Galar Dex is like a Pokemon franchise Thanos Snap.

The Pokemon Company

One of the Pokemon franchise's most prevailing, and perhaps most important, features has been the National Pokedex–a system whereby every new mainline game, no matter where it took place or what new Pokemon it added, would ultimately allow players to collect any Pokemon in the entire franchise during the post-game.

The National Dex meant that every Pokemon game built upon its predecessors, and a player's favorite Pokemon could always be counted on to join them in the new game, even if they didn't really fit the new region's theme. So when the news broke that Pokemon Sword and Shield, the first mainline Pokemon entry for Nintendo Switch, would be getting rid of the National Dex, fans were understandably upset.

****POKEDEX SPOILERS FOLLOW****

But some still held out hope. Sure, a lot of the less popular Pokemon would probably be getting cut––Pokemon like Musharna, because wtf is that thing?

MusharnaSeriously, wtf guys?The Pokemon Company

But all the favorites, powerful bad boys like Garchomp, Metagross, and Dragonite, would certainly be safe, right?

Well, the final Galar Pokedex (Galar is the new region in Sword and Shield) just leaked on 4chan, and oh man, this sh*t is like a Pokemon purge. Out of the 800+ Pokemon currently in existence, 400 are gone. It's like the Thanos snap, but worse, because instead of being random, a lot of the choices are actively ridiculous.

Here's a visual. Green background Pokemon are included. Orange background Pokemon appear in an alternate "Galar form"; but the white background Pokemon are straight up gone:

Sword and Shield PokedexCredit to anonymous user on 4chan

Not a single starter Pokemon line has made it to the new games other than Charizard. And while I'm not about to lie and say I don't love Charizard, how could they do Venasaur and Blastoise dirty like that? What about Greninja? What about Incineroar?

It's almost unbelievable how many great Pokemon have been cut. No Alakazam. No Absol. No Zoroark. No Fossil Pokemon. What was Game Freak thinking? And before anyone argues that those Pokemon just didn't fit into the Galar region, which is based on the UK, they didn't include Stoutland––a Pokemon based on freaking Scottish and Yorkshire terriers.

StoutlandThe Pokemon Company

Even weirder, they included Musharna. Why, of all the Pokemon out there, would they cut Salamence but include FREAKING MUSHARNA?

Luckily Mimikyu, probably my all-time favorite, is still in the mix, but this entire new Pokedex is a massive disappointment, and the decisions of which Pokemon to include are frankly baffling.

Pour one out for your lost Pokebros.