New Pokemon Snap Removed at Least One Pokemon From Game

Now, there’s a couple of distinct possibilities as to why Shroomish isn’t in the game. The first possibility is that Shroomish is being held back for potential DLC, as the Pokemon was clearly once in the game but appears nowhere in the game data. As dataminers noted numerous “empty slots” with reserved IDs, it’s possible that a new DLC could add new Pokemon to each region in the game instead of doing something like adding a new island to the region.

The more likely reason is that Shroomish was cut from the game because it just didn’t fit in. Shroomish isn’t exactly the most personable Pokemon, and it’s possible that Bandai Namco opted for a Pokemon with a little more personality relatively late in the planning process. Additionally, the Florio Nature Park is a temperate area and Shroomish lives in tropical forests. So, if there was a continuity concern, it’s possible that Shroomish just didn’t make much sense as the tropical jungle region of New Pokemon Snap is already brimming with plenty of Pokemon.

Regardless of the reasons why, it’s fascinating to definitively know that at least some content got cut from New Pokemon Snap. It’s a rare glimpse into the planning process behind a Pokemon game, and hopefully we’ll learn more about what other Pokemon almost made New Pokemon Snap.

New Pokemon Snap is available for the Nintendo Switch now.