How Many Is Too Many?

A few days ago, I and a few colleagues had a discussion on the possible future for Pokémon. Part of it involved how many more generations Pokémon can support and in effect how many Pokémon there could be. Some said that even now it may seem mind-boggling that there are so many, let alone later on with future generations. So the question I pose as the title of this post becomes relevant with this discussion.

It was said that Pokémon could support possibly up to 10 generations, and even up to 12. The rationale for this was because there may be unexplored directions for the monsters and there may still be room for some unique additions. One has said that there haven't been 12 versions of all the starters yet, perhaps to accommodate the 12 months of the year or the 12 signs of the zodiac (Western and/or Chinese). This is a totally valid reckoning, and I'm all for it if it can happen. I personally think future generations could do something that hasn't been done recently, which is to furnish evolutions for older-generation Pokémon. Anything is certainly possible with a later generation, especially when it complements existing Pokémon well.

The problem is as I've presented with the question. At present there are 800+ species of Pokémon, and even more forms than that. That is not a small number; that is a big number, one that may be a bit too big for some minds to comprehend. Even if one can comprehend it all, there is always the question of physical (system) limitations. When the main series games go on the Switch, how many can be supported, and in what way? What about other games, like Shuffle for instance, which can and does support generational updates? Such questions arise naturally from the question in the title, and they may need their respective answers.

I don't mind big and bigger numbers of Pokémon species, as it does lend the credence that the world of this series is indeed as big as ours or all outdoors. But some people may mind this, especially when the number goes beyond what they can take in. It may be fully dependent on the wills of those committed to the series. So as to this question that involves the matter of enormity, perhaps the question may always be situationally debatable, as I and my colleagues have done, and it may not seem as big as it seems.