Modders are already adding missing Pokemon to Sword and Shield
Well, that didn’t take long! Just days after the release of Pokemon Sword and Shield, the new game is already being modded.
There have been strong opinions on the latest Pokemon game, both since its release and in the build up. Game Freak have been not only accused of rushing its release but not developing it to the standards trainers had expected of a Nintendo Switch release.
Mods improving the graphics
It should be no surprise that modders are already improving the visuals of the Galar region then. The infamous tree showcased at E3 back in the summer of 2019 has become the go to example of poor textures.
Modders have now added their own textures for this, though, and the improvement is indisputable. You can see other visual updates in the video below.
Adding missing Pokemon
Elsewhere, the National Pokedex removal has been talked about to the moon and back, and even now is still a hot topic in the Pokemon community. This has perhaps motivated modders to alter the game more so than they would have been otherwise.
Many playing Pokemon Sword and Shield would have assumed, and reasonably so, that that nothing could be done to add in the missing Pokemon. However, missing species have already been added, and what’s more they’re working!
A datamine showed that there are 435 species in the Pokemon Sword and Shield code, 35 more than there are currently in the Galar Pokedex. One of the many missing species is Omastar, the fossil Pokemon from the Kanto region.
Well, that wasn’t so hard.
Needs a ton more work, of course, but it’s pretty cool to see it functioning. pic.twitter.com/KYm1nkMsXO — Michael (@SciresM) November 18, 2019
It is not found within the Pokemon Sword and Shield whatsoever, yet one modder has managed to get it in the game. While its integration is by no means perfect, it can be seen within the game with a Pokedex entry, animation and it even works in battle.
This provides hope for trainers retaining hope of seeing the National Pokedex in the Galar region, albeit in an unofficial capacity.
It’s a complicated process for those who don’t know how mods work but it shows it may be possible to one day get all eight generations of Pokemon in there.
Improved textures in Pokemon Sword and Shield…Hacked Switch
Trainers reading about mods for the first time may be excited by this prospect but, not to put a dampener on it, the mods can only be played on a hacked Nintendo Switch console or on the Yuzu PC emulator for the Switch.
This means for the vast majority of trainers the mods will simply show what could have been, rather than what you can experience.