The Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield PokeDex has been a matter of some controversy in recent months. The Pokemon franchise's most ardent fans, those who grew up with the mantra "Gotta Catch 'em All," are frustrated that Pokemon Sword and Shield won't include every Pokemon in the franchise. This stems from Game Freak confirming that not every Pokemon will be available in the Nintendo Switch games due to the workload. Fans have since wondered just how many Pokemon will be in the two new games. They may now have an answer.
Redditor slusho55 mase a post to the Pokemon subreddit, noting that the Amazon listing for Pokemon Sword and Shield's official paperback PokeDex book has 448 pages. That's notable in that the official Pokemon paperback National PokeDex has 720 pages. Ergo, if the National PokeDex features 802 Pokemon, plus Mega Evolutions and Alola Forms, then it's reasonable to assume that Pokemon Sword and Shield's Galar region PokeDex will feature at least 500 Pokemon.
This estimate is, of course, complete guesswork. There's room for error in the extreme. Worse case, the new Pokemon Sword and Shield PokeDex book could feature extensive information about the 250 or so Pokemon already confirmed and no other Pokemon. Best case, the book could fit more Pokemon per page than previous PokeDex books and could climb into the 600s or 700s. What's important is that the estimate provides evidence that while Pokemon Sword and Shield won't have all Pokemon, it will have a very significant amount overall.
If the estimate proves accurate, that means that The Pokemon Company and Game Freak have as many as 250 more Pokemon left to reveal for Pokemon Sword and Shield. Which when you consider that it took a 24-hour livestream to confirm three or four more Pokemon, including Galarian Ponyta, might take a while. With just over a month until launch, it looks like Pokemon fans will be discovering a lot of Pokemon Sword and Shield's PokeDex for the first time on their own.
It's unlikely that the ultimate size of the Galarian PokeDex will sate the frustrations of Pokemon fans hoping for Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield to feature the National PokeDex. But it does put the controversy into perspective. While Pokemon Sword and Shield won't feature all Pokemon, it will feature a very large amount. That does mean that some favorites are going to be left behind, but it also provides an opportunity for Pokemon players to find new favorites.
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield release November 15 exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
Source: Reddit (via Nintendo Soup)