Classic Pokemon Games Headed to Nintendo Switch for Anniversary

Pokemon fans are in for a treat, as The Pokemon Company has officially announced that Pokemon FireRed and Pokemon LeafGreen are coming to Nintendo Switch systems. Their addition will answer fans’ common request for classic mainline Pokemon entries to be made available on Nintendo’s latest consoles.

To be clear, there’s no shortage of Pokemon games overall on the Switch family of consoles. Classic games like Pokemon Stadium and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness have been made available on the system via the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack, while the core consoles have received mainline entries like Pokemon Legends: Z-A, Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee, and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Now, a rumor of two classic Pokemon games coming to the Switch has been proven true.

Pokemon is Finally Bringing LeafGreen and FireRed to Switch

Ahead of Pokemon Day, Pokemon has announced that in honor of the 30th anniversary of the franchise, players will finally be able to enjoy Pokemon FireRed and Pokemon LeafGreen on the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. Though Pokemon typically keeps its biggest exciting reveals for the Pokemon Day presentation itself, it went ahead and made this reveal a week in advance. Both games will be available as downloads from the Switch eShop only, with no plans at this time for a physical release. Players won’t have to wait long to get their hands on them, as they will be officially released immediately following the Pokemon Day presentation. The Pokemon Day presentation will be held on February 27 at 6 am PT, so fans can close out February by playing one of their favorites.

Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.

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The Pokemon Company shared a short trailer for the games, but fans should be aware that these two games are not being added to the Nintendo Switch Online catalog. Players should also know that these are the 2004 Game Boy Advance games, not remakes or remasters. Players will still be able to trade and battle in the Pokemon Wireless Club in Pokemon Centers, but online play will not be supported, which may disappoint some. Switch 2 users will be able to use GameChat while playing Pokemon FireRed or Pokemon LeafGreen.

Those who are eager to get their hands on the games may be excited to learn that they’re available for pre-purchase on the Nintendo eShop right now. The two games are sold separately for $19.99 each, and if pre-ordered, will be preloaded to a user’s Switch or Switch 2 system so they can play it immediately upon release. Switch console storage space shouldn’t be a big problem, either, as the games are estimated to take up a mere 40MB each.

This is the second time that a Gen 1 Pokemon remake has arrived on the Nintendo Switch console line, with Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee serving as reimagined remakes of Pokemon Yellow that launched back in 2018 for the original Switch. Given these inclusions, some fans may find it curious that the original Pokemon Gen 1 Game Boy titles are still not available. However, Nintendo has stated that it figured players would appreciate revisiting the “ultimate versions” of Pokemon Red and Blue, and thus players will get FireRed and LeafGreen instead.

As that these two games have been highly demanded on Switch by fans for years, it begs the question as to what else Pokemon Day will have to share. As it’s the 30th anniversary, big celebrations and releases are expected by the fandom. Announcing these games ahead of the show may mean that there are even bigger surprises in store, which may include players’ first glimpse at Pokemon Wind and Wave, the long-leaked mainline Gen 10 games. Further, Pokemon Pokopia, which is launching in March, will likely see its last showcase, and more about Pokemon Champions, which is scheduled to be released this year, will most likely make an appearance.