Pokémon Go squeezes past Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon to set gigantic franchise record

Pokémon Go has taken the mantle for the most Pokémon featured in a single Pokémon game, surpassing every other game in the franchise with the start of Season 12: Adventures Abound. 

Players on Reddit have calculated that starting on Sept. 5 with the launch of the A Paldean Adventure event, Pokémon Go now has 814 Pokémon either currently or previously obtainable since its July 2016 launch. Bulbapedia puts that total up to 825 by counting all Pokémon confirmed to be releasing in upcoming events.

Both options push Pokémon Go past 2017’s Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon which held the previous record of 807 obtainable Pokémon at the time—and was the last game on the 3DS and the final time a single Pokémon title had access to every Pokémon in the series. 

Once Pokémon moved to releasing on the Nintendo Switch, Game Freak and The Pokémon Company controversially announced that Gen VII would be the first generation to not feature a full National Pokédex since the franchise began in 1995—if you don’t count Let’s Go! Pikachu and Eevee. 

Since then, Sword and Shield featured 400 Pokémon pre-DLC—it jumps to 664 with both expansions—Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl became a time capsule with only 493 Pokémon available just like the original games, and Legends: Arceus only had 242 Pokémon total. Gen IX’s first entries, Scarlet and Violet are sitting at 400 Pokémon before its own DLC starts releasing on Sept. 13. 

Whether you were part of the Dexit mob or were fine with Game Freak’s decision to limit the available Pokémon in newer games, Pokémon Go continues to chug along and add a handful of Pokémon every few months. This season marks the first appearance of several Pokémon found in the Paldea region and there are still several species from Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and Galar that have yet to appear.

Depending on how future Pokémon titles expand on the National Dex, Pokémon Go pairing with Pokémon HOME could become the definitive way to catch and transfer hundreds of Pokémon that don’t make the cut in main games—especially for newer players. It is unlikely Niantic’s mobile efforts will ever catch up to the main series, however, since releasing consistent content updates would be harder with no Pokémon to add.