Yesterday’s Pokedex leaks are causing the Pokemon Sword and Shield controversy to blow up on social media. Gamers on both Reddit and Twitter are rather upset that their favorite ‘mons aren’t making it into Pokemon Sword and Shield, and their anger seems to be reaching a fever pitch.
If you haven’t been keeping up with the development of Pokemon Sword and Shield, you may have missed statements in the past where Nintendo reps said that the newest game wasn’t going to feature every Pokemon. At the time, this kicked off campaigns advocating for the return of the “National Dex,” a system that allowed you to move over Pokemon from previous games, stretching all the way back to the original Game Boy titles.
ALSO: Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 fan reaction shows how little bark there is to consumer outrage
Now, the “Dexit” controversy (as it’s called in some spaces) has picked up even more Steam since yesterday’s Pokedex leaks. This Pokemon Sword and Shield controversy is fueled by irate fans who are missing their favorite Pokemon, a list that happens to include pretty much every past starter save for Pikachu, Eevee, and Charmander. Take a look at this image (via Reddit) which visualizes the reported state of the Sword and Shield Pokedex:
The furor is most readily evident on the /r/Pokemon subreddit. The top post is “One culled Pokémon family every day until Dexit is reversed – 001,” showing off images of a crying Bulbasaur, Venusaur, and Ivysaur. Pretty much every submission on that subreddit’s front page is discussing Dexit, ranging from heartbreak to anger and even to promises of an outright boycott from some. One such post highlights a quote reportedly from Junichi Masuda talking about the Pokedex as a concept.
“We made a bad memory back when you couldn’t transfer your Pokemon into the newest game (gen 2 -> 3), we want to work to prevent that from happening again,” the quote reads.
Twitter users, too, are equally upset about the Pokemon Sword and Shield controversy:
https://twitter.com/GAddict1_/status/1191669344784310273
https://twitter.com/KidGengar/status/1191469638644912129
The tiniest sliver of hope remains that the slashed Pokedex will not be the final say on the matter. We’ll find out for certain in less than two weeks when Pokemon Sword and Shield launches on the Nintendo Switch on November 15, 2019.
