I haven’t said too much about the controversy over Pokémon Sword and Shield’s removal of the National Dex, or “Dexit” as people began calling it.

This is partly because I’m in the middle. I can understand why fans who care about collecting all the Pokémon or carrying their Pokémon over from game to game would be upset, but I have no real stake in it myself.

(I’m more disappointed about them removing the option to turn off Exp. Share.)

But today, a crazy thought came into my mind: what if “Dexit” is actually canon?

Game Freak has been pretty adamant about their decision not to include all the Pokémon in Sword and Shield, not even as DLC (which would have angered some fans, but probably pleased others). A variety of reasons have been given, but what if it actually plays into Sword and Shield’s story?

Some people have suggested that the Galar region has restrictions on what Pokémon are allowed in. There’s also the possibility that something cataclysmic has happened to remove so many Pokémon.

The missing Pokémon could end up being not only a controversial issue for players, but something significant within the game’s story, either part of the main plot (and the plans of the true villains, perhaps?) or something that would come up in the post game (I could see Looker investigating this). It would be an interesting twist on what has been a divisive situation.

Do I really think the National Dex was removed for the sake of the story? Not really… but I wouldn’t have guessed they’d make both the original games and remakes canon due to multiple timelines, either, so anything is possible.

(There’s no Mega Evolution in Pokémon Sword and Shield, so does that mean they’re in the old universe, not the newer one?)

It’s a crazy thought, but what do you think? Could the decision to remove the National Dex and not allow you to have all Pokémon in Pokémon Sword and Shield actually be related to a plot point within the games themselves? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Since the last couple of posts were reviews, we never got a chance to talk about Wednesday’s Pokémon Sword and Shield news.

It wasn’t a video presentation like we thought it might be, just a new trailer. Like I predicted, it revealed new Pokémon, some new characters, and the new team.

Let’s talk about the Pokémon first. Like Sun and Moon, Sword and Shield will also have special regional forms. The trailer revealed Galarian Weezing, Galarian Zigzagoon and Linoone, and most interestingly, an evolution of Galarian Linoone called Obstagoon.

I believe this is the first time a Pokémon has gotten an evolution exclusive to a regional variant.

They also revealed a new Pokémon called Morpeko, which changes forms between Fully Belly Mode and Hangry Mode, which changes its ability from Electric to Dark.

Moving on to the new characters, the rest of the trailer focused on two rivals and the enemy team.

While a rival named Hop was already revealed earlier, this trailer added Bede and Marnie. Bede is another boy hoping to take on the Gym Challenge after being endorsed by Chairman Rose. His official description claims he also has “other objectives,” and he certainly looks like he’ll break free from the friendly rival character type recent Pokémon games have liked so much.

Meanwhile, there’s Marnie, and while it’s not entirely clear what sort of rival she’ll be yet (or who endorsed her), she’s connected to the newly-introduced Team Yell.

That’s right. “Team Yell.”

Team Yell is basically a group of obsessive sports fans who want Marnie to win at all costs. They carry vuvuzelas and Marnie-print towels (that’s not creepy at all) and do their best to sabotage Marnie’s opponents.

They don’t seem as evil as past teams, but they certainly fit the atmosphere of the Galar region, where the Gym Challenge is basically a huge sporting event. Besides, I still believe Chairman Rose and Oleana are the true villains of the more serious plot that will probably arise.

Finally, although it isn’t featured in the English trailer, Sword and Shield will have a new feature called Poké Jobs, where you send your Pokémon to help with jobs and gain experience and items. These are handled through the “Rotomi” in Pokémon Centers, which also handles boxes and Loto-ID. Here’s hoping it won’t be as annoying as Sun/Moon’s Rotom Dex.

What did you think of the latest Pokémon Sword and Shield details? How do you feel about the new characters and Team Yell? Share your thoughts in the comments.