The Pokemon Company is once again finding itself apologizing to the more vocal members of the fandom. The most recent incident involves a retread of previous grievances withPokemon Sword and Shield, now through thePokemonYouTube web series.
“Pokemon: Twilight Wings"released its most recent episode on April 21, focusing on fan favorite gym leader Nessa. It wasn’t long before some fans were outraged due to a specific Pokemon that was featured within the episode. The Pokemon in question is Generation 1 water and ice type Dewgong, who appeared within the episode between the 4:12 and 4:22 mark.
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The issue some fans have with the inclusion of Dewgong is that it is unavailable for capture in bothPokémon SwordandPokémon Shield. This is the return of the National Dex fiasco that plaguedPokemon Sword and Shield’s pre-release and post-launch. The outcry prompted an apology from The Pokemon Company via its Official Japanese Twitter Account. The tweet apologized for the “misleading appearance” of a Pokemon not present in eitherSwordorShield.
Last year,Pokemon Sword and Shieldwere dogged by intense discussion and anger over the National Dex controversy. ThePokemonfranchise currently has 890 Pokemon across all eight generations of games. The most recent entries,Pokemon SwordandPokemon Shieldfor the Nintendo Switch, featured under half of that complete number. The National Dex in both games only had 400 Pokemonwith the remainder being unobtainable. What caused more ire was that despite the release ofPokemon Home, players were still unable to transfer any Pokemon that were not in the original roster. This led to mass outcryprompting comments from the development teamover the issue.
Some have suggested that the inclusion of Dewgong was not itself a mistake but a tease for the upcoming DLC for both games. Two big expansions are releasing forPokemon Sword and ShieldwithIsle of ArmorandThe Crown Tundra. The new expansions will increase the current Pokédex size by more than 200 Pokémon both new and old. WithIsle of Armor’s release soon approaching, some believed that Dewgong’s appearance was a hint that it will be among those new inclusions. However, some vocal fans did not appreciate the possible tease instead believing it was an insult. The National Dex controversy shone alight on the more toxic element of thePokemoncommunityand it appears that some have not moved past the issue.
“Pokemon: Twilight Wings” is the mini-series currently releasing on the OfficialPokemonYouTube channel. In the vein of the previous mini-seriesPokemon Generations, each episode is only six minutes in length. They take a small and intimate looks at the characters of the Galar region. Outside of the recent controversy, the series has received general praise for the animation and character work.
Pokemon Sword and Shieldare available now for the Nintendo Switch.
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