At E3 2019, The Pokémon Company announced that not all Pokémon will be able to be transferred into Pokémon Sword and Shield. Only Pokémon that are in the Galar Pokédex will be able to be transferred. Essentially, the rest of the Pokémon not in the Galar Pokédex are being erased from existence. Game Freaks reasoning behind this decision is that it is too hard for them to animate all Pokémon in HD and that they want to better balance the game. First off, Game Freak has been using the same models since Pokémon X and Y and these models were made in HD in order to future proof the franchise. They only need to update the textures for each Pokémon. I've attached and image below of a Growlithe from Pokémon Sun and Moon (left) and Pokémon Sword and Shield (right). These two Growlithes are the exact same model, all that's different is that the textures and coloring of the Pokémon were updated. As for the animations on these models, based on the gameplays that's been shown, the animations are the same that have been used since Pokémon X and Y. Furthermore, if Game Freak put everything else aside, it would take them no more than a month to update the textures and coloring of all 809 Pokémon! Regarding balancing the game, that's nonsense. How does removing half of the Pokédex make the game more balanced? Secondly, when has Game Freak ever been concerned about making the games balanced before. In addition to this unfortunate announcement, Game Freak announced that Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves are being removed from Pokémon Sword and Shield. Just another terrible move. I would be more critical of them removing Mega Evolutions if half of the Pokédex wasn't getting purged. These developments just show how lazy Game Freak is being with a franchise that has brought in over $90 billion! Hire more developers for the game or even take extra time to make the games. Either way this is unacceptable. Please let Game Freak know that you are not happy with this decision in a respectful manner. #BringBackNationalDex
Update: Official Statement From Junichi Masuda -Thank you to all of our fans for caring so deeply about Pokémon. Recently, I shared the news that some Pokémon cannot be transferred to Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield. I've read all your comments and appreciate your love and passion for Pokémon.
Just like all of you, we are passionate about Pokémon and each and every one of them is very important to us. After so many years of developing the Pokémon video games, this was a very difficult decision for me. I'd like to make one thing clear: even if a specific Pokémon is not available in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, that does not mean it will not appear in future games.
The world of Pokémon continues to evolve. The Galar region offers new Pokémon to encounter, Trainers to battle, and adventures to embark on. We are pouring our hearts into these games, and we hope you will look forward to joining us on this new journey.
Just like all of you, we are passionate about Pokémon and each and every one of them is very important to us. After so many years of developing the Pokémon video games, this was a very difficult decision for me. I'd like to make one thing clear: even if a specific Pokémon is not available in Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, that does not mean it will not appear in future games.
The world of Pokémon continues to evolve. The Galar region offers new Pokémon to encounter, Trainers to battle, and adventures to embark on. We are pouring our hearts into these games, and we hope you will look forward to joining us on this new journey.