Pokémon Sword and Shield players aren't happy about new transfer requirements

Meg Bethany Koepp

More Pokémon Sword and Shield details were released during the Nintendo Treehouse at E3 2019, and fans aren’t too happy with the new transfer system.

Nintendo officially unveiled Sword and Shield for the Nintendo Switch back in February, sending the internet into complete mayhem.

A dedicated Direct and a press conference were later shown on June 5, giving fans a lot of new information on the upcoming games, as well as new titles such as the Pokémon HOME app – a new way to bring various titles together using a cloud-based service.

During the Nintendo Treehouse event at E3 2019, developers went into more detail about what the service will include for Sword and Shield, and fans aren’t happy about it.

Sword and Shield is coming to the Nintendo Switch on November 15.

The transfer rules

If you wanted to be able to move any Pokémon into Sword and Shield using the HOME app, you’re in for a disappointment, since it was confirmed that only monsters in the Galar region Pokédex would be able to be transferred.

“Players will be able to transfer their Pokémon from Pokemon HOME, only if they are in the Galar region Pokédex,” Game Freak developers said during the presentation.

The full Pokédex hasn’t been released yet, meaning that the monsters that can be transferred are currently unknown. 

This isn’t completely bad news though, since older generation Pokémon should be available to transfer if they’re in the Dex.

Fans were not pleased with this recent development, and took to social media to air their concerns.

“WTF, the national dex being axed from Gen 7 was a warning sign. I knew it…” one user tweeted. “This has utterly killed my hype for this game,” another disheartened fan replied.

Even infamous fan Shofu was disappointed, simply stating, “Bro why.”

Many players wanted to use the new transfer service for competitive matches, so this news comes as a huge blow, especially since competitive fans going to be limited as to what Pokémon they can use to fight with.

Pokémon Sword and Shield – What we know

Every game in the series has a rival that’s pitted up against the main character in the bid to become Pokémon Champion. In the Galar region, players will be up against a boy named Hop, and the current Champion is his brother.

Zacian and Zamazenta are the games’ majestic legendary wolf monsters – one holds a sword in its mouth, and the other has a shield for a mane.

The new battle mechanic Dynamax lets you fight giant, more powerful versions of Pokémon, and can only be used once per battle.

The games also have a new open-world zone called The Wild Area, where monsters appear on screen in front of you, and can be battled and caught.

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