Pokemon Winds and Waves, the first mainline games in the series to come to the Nintendo Switch 2were launched during a special Pokemon Presents livestream on Friday, the franchise’s 30th anniversary. They will be released in 2027 exclusively on the Switch 2.
Following the precedent set by Pokémon Scarlet and Violetthe new games seem to take place in a fully explorable open world. The new playable region is spread across multiple islands, with large stretches of ocean in between.
The clear separation between water and land harkens back to the cherished gameplay mechanics of the third-generation Pokemon games Ruby and Sapphire, which were released in 2002.
As tradition dictates, we got our first look at the three new starter Pokémon, powerful friends that serve as the player’s first partner in an unknown new place.
The grassy starter, Browt, is a chickadee with a head bulbous enough to the brain. The water type, Gecqua, is a four-legged gecko with a cool demeanor. And the fire starter, Pombon, is a super cute orange kitten with a mane that overshadows his body. (I suspect Pombon will quickly become a fan favorite.)
Fan-favorite Pokemon from previous games were also exhibited. So far we can confirm that Pikachu, Tympole, Wailord, Tropius, Carnivine, and Frillish are part of the cast of monsters that will be captured in the next mainline Pokemon games, alongside other older creatures. Many of the returning Pokemon seem to fit the island theme, dwelling in volcanic caves, swampy swamps, and underwater coves.
It’s been four years since the last mainstream Pokemon games – Pokemon Scarlet and Violet – were released for the Nintendo Switch.
While these games were praised by some fans for their open world and freer approach to telling a Pokemon story, they were held back by poor performance and game-breaking bugs on Nintendo’s first hybrid console. Nintendo is hoping that Pokemon Winds and Waves – games built for and exclusive to the more powerful Switch 2 hardware – will fare better when it comes to in-game performance.
Pokemon Winds and Waves may be the first traditional Pokemon games for the Switch 2, but they aren’t the first adventures into the world of pocket monsters in recent years.
The recently released Pokemon Legends: ZA introduced an entirely new battle system, abandoning the turn-based mechanics the franchise has been known for since 1996. Pokemon Pokopiaan Animal Crossing-style game coming out next month is also poised to bring pocket monsters to cozy play areas.
Both games will tide fans over until they can dive into the watery world of Pokemon Winds and Waves next year.
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