Nintendo Switch Online Should Bite the Bullet It Has Long…

For years, Pokemon fans have had to jump through hoops just to replay older games. Emulators, second-hand cartridges, or hardware mods have become the norm for those who want to revisit FireRed, HeartGold, or Black 2. Meanwhile, Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) continues to avoid the one franchise that could supercharge its legacy catalog overnight.

Now, the timing has finally lined up. There’s a Pokemon Presents happening on July 22, 2025, and Pokemon Legends: Z-A is confirmed to be the main focus of the presentation. At the same time, the recently launched Nintendo Switch 2 has introduced upgraded hardware, new emulator support, and a fresh wave of attention to the platform. This would be the perfect moment for Nintendo to finally bring all the classic Pokemon titles to NSO and give fans the access they’ve waited years for, and there's no better bridge to Pokemon Legends: Z-A than the history that built up to it.

switch 2 shouldn't break pokemon tradition

Nintendo Switch 2 Shouldn't Break One Pokemon Tradition

The Pokemon series has always aimed to be a portable adventure, and with the arrival of the Switch 2, it should maintain one tradition.

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By Chris Nicholls

Pokemon is Practically Built for NSO, and NSO Is Ready

The irony is that Pokemon is tailor-made for NSO. The Game Boy NSO tier already runs games from the exact era Pokemon dominated. Pokemon Red/Blue, Yellow, Gold/Silver, and Crystal would require no more effort than the Zelda: Oracle games, which are already live on the NSO. On the GBA side, titles like FireRed, LeafGreen, Emerald, and Ruby/Sapphire would bolster NSO’s weak GBA lineup instantly. The original Red/Blue and Gold/Silver were some of the first games to push link cable functionality, which was a precursor to online battles and trading, and NSO could replicate that experience digitally. Players can trade between Crystal and Ruby via cloud save emulation, or battle friends in Stadium 2 using synced save data.

There's also the belief that re-releasing old Pokemon games would cannibalize any future remakes. That argument no longer holds because Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, released in late 2021, still sold over 15 million copies despite Diamond/Pearl already being playable via DS cartridges and emulators.

Remakes offer modern graphics, new features, and reworked mechanics. NSO, on the other hand, preserves the old-school UI and classic battle pacing that defined the early generations. For fans who grew up with the GBC or GBA, that raw, unpolished experience has unmatched sentimental value.

Pokemon Home Already Proves Demand for Legacy Titles

Nintendo already allows players to move Pokemon from Gen 3 all the way to Scarlet/Violet via Pokemon Home. That pipeline includes DS and 3DS Nintendo games, which were never built for modern platforms. If the company can maintain data fidelity across six console generations, there’s no real excuse for skipping a simple ROM upload. Plus, the success of Pokemon Home shows players care about their old Pokemon. Players still transfer creatures across generations, even from the Game Boy Advance era. If players are willing to pay for the ability to preserve their Blaziken from 2004, they’ll definitely pay for access to the game it came from, too.

The Pokemon Classics Library Could Help Build Hype for Z-A

Historically, Game Freak has delivered a new mainline title or major remake roughly every two to three years. Pokemon Crystal hit shelves in 2000, followed by Ruby and Sapphire in 2002, FireRed and LeafGreen in 2004, and so on. Now, for the first time in nearly two decades, Pokemon fans are entering a fourth year without a new mainline Pokemon game. Rather than letting interest fade, Nintendo could make up for the long wait time and reignite the fanbase’s attention with something that requires no new development pipeline: legacy content.

These games don’t need trailers, new animation, or marketing. Indeed, a “Games Coming Soon to Nintendo Classics” spot at the end of the stream simply featuring box art for the games would likely suffice and provide all the anticipation they'd need, building momentum for the Pokemon franchise and feeding directly into Z‑A hype, especially if they were to release sometime before October. Still, only time will tell what the Pokemon Presents has in store.

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