Pokémon Sword & Shield: 10 Pokémon You Won't Believe Aren't In The Game

7. Dratini / Dragonair / Dragonite

Dragon-type has always been a bit of an issue in Pokémon. Given it's the only type that's specifically inspired by a particular creature (rather than, say, an elemental force like Fire or a vague concept like Dark), Nintendo sort of felt like they ran out of ideas for their creature design after Gen 3. The main problem being that Dragonite and, in fairness, Charizard, were pretty much perfect.

Between them you had the quintessential looks for both Asian and European dragons, and everything that's come along since has either been pale imitations of them (apologies to Salamence who also isn't in Sword or Shield) or just incredibly outlandish like Guzzlord or Drampa. Thus, Dragonite has always felt like a mainstay of the franchise. Most players have trained one in pretty much every game since.

But you'll have to find yourself something new in 2019, as all three members of its evolutionary line have been left out of Sword and Shield. No doubt the rich well of British mythology will provide something new, but it would have been nice to compliment the game's OG, rather than replace it.