The truth of the matter is that Masuda is DEATHLY afraid of the number 1000, as shown by all the diversionary tactics like megas and regional variants- it's a number that represents the amount of hot shit his studio is going to find themselves in when they have to contend with such a workload, a workload that is several magnitudes more than they can handle. They can't even properly take care of 500 pokémon, for crying out loud! Yet they keep being coy about the truth of the matter with completely inane and random excuses like "we do it to increase quality of animations" or other crap that amounts to "uhhh we did it because we had to [laughs]".

Seriously, he's FUCKING afraid of the number 1000. Not only due to how easily it would BTFO their workforce crunching under TPC's insane yearly demands for new content, Masuda is aware that higher pokémon numbers = more disinterested casuals. He fears the 1000 because it would show a vast world that is impenetrable to newcomers. He hides it all with various smokes and mirrors and lowered amount of new pokémon since Gen 6. He has established a framework where Pokémon is no longer a world but a solar system where Kanto is the Sun in the center and all the other planets are just orbiting around it.
"It's okay if we make a batch of new pokémon our audiences will hate automatically! We'll just sprinkle a few around heckin Charizarderino! That way the game will still sell while appeasing Jewshihara!"

Honestly, it's so very sad how rotten the core values of Pokémon have become just because of the insurmountable insecurities of one faggot.