Last week there were rumors that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company would be bringing two Game Boy Advance classics, Pokemon FireRed and Pokemon LeafGreen, to the Nintendo Switch.
The two games were released in 2004 and were never released on a console other than the Game Boy Advance. Naturally, this has resulted in their prices remaining extremely high on the secondary market, with authentic copies going for upwards of $150 if you can find one in a sea of reproductions.
Fortunately, last week's rumors appear to be true, as although they weren't officially announced by either Nintendo or Pokémon, FireRed and LeafGreen have appeared on the Nintendo Switch eShop.
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen are apparently getting separate Nintendo Switch releases
Update: Just seconds after this article was published, the official Pokémon YouTube channel posted a video confirming that the two games will be coming to Nintendo Switch systems.
Original story below:
The news first surfaced on social media this morning, with excited fans spotting Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen listings on the Nintendo Switch eShop. The listing, which has yet to be released by Nintendo, suggests that the games will cost $19.99 and will be released on February 27, 2026, which happens to be Pokemon Day.
As of this writing, Pokemon has officially announced its Pokemon Day Pokemon Presents, which is also happening on February 27th. It's very likely that these games were supposed to be revealed and brought out of the shadows during the event, and some overly eager eShop worker got the site up and running early.
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What's probably most interesting about this reveal is that the games will be standalone purchases. Nintendo usually uses big flagship releases like this to boost its Nintendo Switch Online catalog and use them to get more subscribers, but it seems like the company is going back to a more traditional release, at least for these games.
This means that the NSO catalog will still not include any main Pokemon titles. Spin-offs abound, with Pokemon Stadium, Pokemon Stadium 2, Pokemon Trading Card Game, and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team all available.
The upcoming Pokemon Presents will probably be full of surprises, but if I were a betting man, I'd bet on two things: The reveal of Pokemon Generation 10, Wind and Waves, and the release date reveals of Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness for the Nintendo Switch Online catalog. Fortunately, we only have a week to wait.
- Released
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September 7, 2004
- ESRB
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E
