Pokémon: Every Kalos Creature That Never Made It Into Sword & Shield

Each Pokémon generation introduces a number of brand new Pokémon for players to encounter, battle, and catch. Most generations include a mix of brand new and existing Pokémon, but nearly every Pokémon is eventually accessible. The flagship games of Generation VIII, Sword and Shield, made the controversial decision to include only a portion of the roughly 900 Pokémon in existence.

Subsequent DLCs added a lot of the Pokémon that were missing, but a few still fell through the cracks. Kalos, the setting of Pokémon X and Y, introduced only 72 new Pokémon, and most of these made their way into Sword and Shield. Unfortunately, a few Kalos Pokémon were still omitted.

7Vivillon Has A Ton Of Alternate Forms

This Pokémon set itself apart from the litany of early-game Bug type Pokémon by having 20 different forms. These forms are determined by the actual geographic location of the 3DS when the Pokémon is generated. For instance, the Archipelago Pattern is found in Puerto Rico, and certain regions of South America, while the Garden Pattern is found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and New Zealand. This variance makes Vivillon a great force for player communication and trade, so it’s sad to see it missing from the Generation VIII games.

6Pyroar Has A Unique Type Combination

Early Pokémon games were hesitant to pair the Normal type with anything other than the Flying type. A handful of Pokémon broke this trend here and there, but Generation VI added a slew of Normal types combined with other, more flashy types.

Among these was Pyroroar, the Fire type Royal Pokémon. Resembling a lion with a fiery mane, this Pokémon was one of few to demonstrate sexual dimorphism. Male Pyroar have a full round mane, while females have a long mane flowing from the top of their head. Pyroar is a simple Pokémon, and it seems a shame to not include the only ever Fire/Normal type in Sword and Shield. 

5Florges Is A Great Example Of The Fairy Typing

One of the great representatives of the brand new Fairy type introduced in Generation VI, Florges comes in five different colors determined by the patch of flowers it is found in. It features a cute design, with its early forms being tiny fairies clutching a flower. By the time it evolves into a Florges, it has gained full control over flowers and can cause them to grow at will. There are now plenty of Fairy types to choose from, but Florges is a good example of the type that could have fit well into Sword and Shield’s medieval fantasy trappings.

4Gogoat Was One Of The First Rideable Pokémon

This humble grass type has the honor of being one of the first rideable Pokémon in the franchise’s history. While Pokémon have long been used for transport, it wasn’t until later that the player could actually see the Pokémon they were riding. The rideable Gogoat in X and Y is not controllable, it simply gives the player a tour of Lumiose City. But riding Pokémon is a common occurrence in later games, and having a Gogoat appear in Sword and Shield could have been a nice nod to that history.

3Furfrou Helped Underscore Customizability

Pokémon X and Y introduced customizable trainer avatars, a feature that has remained a core part of the series ever since. In addition to customizing their trainer, players could also customize Furfrou, the Poodle Pokémon. The different haircuts Furfrou has access to are purely aesthetic, not affecting the Pokémon’s stats at all. Omega Ruby, Alpha Sapphire, Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon all featured locations for a Furfrou to be groomed, so it seems like Sword and Shield could have done so as well.

2Hoopa Was Used To Introduce Other Legendaries

Legendary and Mythical Pokémon are often hard to port forward to future regions, as they are usually pretty tied to their home region’s storyline. At the same time, many of these Pokémon are exceptionally powerful and popular, so lots of Pokémon games will include some kind of extradimensional explanation for including various Mythicals and Legendaries.

Hoopa is capable of creating wormholes and was in fact the explanatory device used to introduce many Legendary Pokémon in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Unfortunately, Hoopa has only been available during events and is not catchable anywhere in Generation VIII.  

1The Starters Are Iconic And Beloved

The Generation VI starters had a strong design identity, as they were themed after a classic RPG party. The Grass/Fighting type Chespin is a warrior, the Water/Dark Greninja is a rogue, and the Fire/Psychic type Delphox represents a magician. These creatures aren’t the most iconic of all Pokémon starters, with the possible exception of Greninja. Still, Starter Pokémon are usually pretty popular, and its sad to see these creatures missing from Generation VIII. Additionally, Greninja is one of only two Pokémon lines with access to the incredibly powerful Protean ability. Protean allows the user to change its type to match each move it makes, essentially giving it a constant Same Type Attack Bonus. With both Greninja and Kecleon missing from Generation VIII, Protean as a competitive strategy is completely absent from the Generation VIII games.