Pokemonis about to celebrate yet another anniversary, as the first games in the series launched on the Game Boy back on July 24, 2025. The series has seen countless releases since then, and fans who once played on tiny, monochrome screens are still takingPokemonon the go, though they now have a full, colorful world to explore inPokemon ScarletandViolet.Pokemonhas reached extraordinary heights in the last 29 years, turning into one of the largest gaming IPs, both in size and in the number of creatures there are to catch in its spin-offs and mainline titles.
The number of pocket monsters the series has under its belt has, for some players, been bringing it down for the last few years. What was once the catchy “gotta catch ‘em all” tagline has become a colossal endeavor, though services likePokemon Homedo help fans collect, gather, and organize their creatures. There is a rather large missed opportunity that’s appeared asPokemonhas evolved and innovated, though. While it’s easy to think of how the situation withPokemon Bankkeeps creatures from Generations 3 through 7 inaccessible, there are solutions in plain sight that are going unused. Despite the fact that Nintendo Switch Online has room for the titles that started it all,Pokemonis still not on the service.
Nintendo’s Lack of Pokemon on Nintendo Switch Online’s Retro Games Feels Bizarre
Pokemon Was Almost Expected for Nintendo Switch Online the Moment it Was Possible
Nintendo Switch Online gave players access to just NES and SNES titles during the first two years of its existence, but it was announced that Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games were being added to the service on August 01, 2025. When this was announced, many fans thought that titles such asPokemon RedandBlue, as well asRubyandSapphire, would be perfect for the service. TheGame Boy title based onThe Pokemon Trading Card Gamewas added, as wasPokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team, but mainline titles are still absent from the service two years later. It’s a bit strange, especially when the 3DS gave players access toRed,Blue, andYellowon the Virtual Console. There were even specialRed VersionsandBlue Versionsof the handhelds that players could buy, which came with a code to get the title they chose on the eShop.
There is an interesting connection between the 3DS re-release of the original games and their absence from Nintendo Switch Online, though. That connection is that the first-everPokemongames were put on the 3DS rather late into the system’s lifecycle. They were released in February 2016 to celebratePokemon’s anniversary, and the 3DS would be officially discontinued four years later in 2020. Now, the Nintendo Switch lacks the mainlinePokemongames it certainly has room to include, but the Switch 2’s life cycle is about to begin. There have already been two years for Nintendo to release the nine mainline Game Boy and Game Boy Advance gamesonto Nintendo Switch Online, and the opportunities for them to come to the Switch are now dwindling.
Even though the Switch 2 could take NSO’s library with it at launch, it doesn’t make this absence any less confusing. There may be some hang-ups keeping the mainlinePokemongames from reaching the service, such as how their presence might impactPokemon Home, and considering how longcompatibility betweenHomeandPokemon ScarletandViolettook to arrive, that could be the case. Whatever the case may be, one positive could be thatPokemongames fromRedandBluetoEmeraldcould be saved for the Switch 2’s potential DS integration. Hopefully these classic games will be made accessible once more, and maybe the announcement of their release will come on a sooner Pokemon Day rather than a later one.
