Pokémon fans have found a wild new way to get around one of the biggest frustrations on the Switch: not being able to catch every single Pokémon in one game. Instead of waiting for the official games to include every monster, players are turning to Nintendo’s new life sim, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream, to create and share their own Pokémon designs. It’s basically an unofficial National Dex made by the community, and it’s already buzzing with creativity.
The National Dex Problem Still Frustrates Switch Players
Since Pokémon Sword and Shield, Game Freak stopped putting every Pokémon species in a single title. This has been a sore point for many fans who want to truly “catch ’em all” on one console. Even the games that still call out a National Pokédex, like Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, only cover the first 493 Pokémon. Meanwhile, Scarlet and Violet expanded the roster with multiple regional Pokédexes but still didn’t deliver a full lineup of over 1,000 Pokémon in one game.
This patchy approach means fans must juggle different games or accept missing out on some favorites. Other Switch Pokémon titles like Pokopia and Pokémon Champions offer only a small slice of the full roster.
Tomodachi Life’s Creation Tools Are Filling the Gap
Enter Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream. This new sequel focuses heavily on player creativity. You can customize your island, your Miis, and unlock a workshop called Palette House to create all kinds of content. Now, Pokémon fans are using these tools to handcraft pixel-art versions of their favorite Pokémon.
On Tomodachi Plaza, you can now upload custom designs from your island and share them with other players!https://t.co/QxYdZHwHjQ
This feature will be expanded throughout the day, and you will soon be able to upload more images! 💛 pic.twitter.com/yRWV3SbL9g
— Tomodachi Plaza (@TomodachiPlaza) April 18, 2026The cool part? Once you create a custom Pokémon on your island, you can upload the design to Tomodachi Plaza and share it with players worldwide. The Plaza is already showcasing dozens of these community-made Pokémon. From Pikachu to lesser-known creatures like Axew, players are bringing the full spectrum of the Pokémon world into the life sim.
Grab your favorite Pokémon on Tomodachi Plaza! 💛 pic.twitter.com/IPztxaScZS
— Tomodachi Plaza (@TomodachiPlaza) April 18, 2026Tomodachi Plaza even highlighted this new upload feature, encouraging players to grab their favorite Pokémon creations, making it a true fan-driven collection.
Players Are Building a Full Fan-Made Pokémon Collection
It’s not just pixel art. The game’s robust character creation system lets fans turn Miis into recognizable Pokémon NPCs, turning Tomodachi Life into a surprising Pokémon sandbox. The creativity is wild – one fan joked about trying to make a Beldum cry but ended up with a Trapinch instead. The community is sharing their work all over social platforms, showing off how far this unofficial National Dex has come.
I tried making a Beldum cry…I think I made a Trapinch.#SteelChicSoap pic.twitter.com/2ORXnmwleN
— RIRI (@SighNako) April 17, 2026While Tomodachi Life won’t replace the official Pokémon games, it stands as the only Nintendo Switch title where you can collect and display every Pokémon you want in one place. Until the release of Pokémon Wind & Waves, this is the closest thing fans have to the dream of catching ’em all on Switch.
This creative workaround shows how passionate and clever the Pokémon community can be when given the right tools. So if you’ve been itching to finally fill out your National Dex, maybe it’s time to give Tomodachi Life a try.
