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| Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves bring the next mainline Pokémon RPGs to Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027. |
By Jon Scarr
Thirty years after Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green launched in Japan, today’s Pokémon Presents laid out where the series is heading next across Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The showcase lined up new mainline RPGs for Nintendo Switch 2, a dedicated battle game for tournaments on Nintendo Switch, a cosy town-builder, and a new way to replay Kanto on modern hardware.
The Pokémon Company has spent February building up its “What’s Your Favorite?” anniversary campaign, starting with the Super Bowl LX commercial that asked people around the world to share their favourite Pokémon. Today’s show felt like the next step in that yearlong push, adding concrete release dates, new game reveals, and a clearer picture of how 2026 and 2027 will look if you follow the series closely.
If you’re trying to figure out what to play and what to pick up next on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, there’s a lot packed into one show.
Pokémon Winds And Pokémon Waves Open The Next Generation On Nintendo Switch 2
The biggest announcement from today's Pokémon Day 2026 stream is Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves, the next mainline RPG entries coming to Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027. This new region is built around windswept islands and a huge ocean, with an open world that mixes land routes, beaches, and water exploration.
You start your adventure by choosing one of three new partner Pokémon. Browt is the Grass-type Bean Chick Pokémon, Pombon is a Fire-type Puppy Pokémon, and Gecqua is a Water-type Water Gecko Pokémon. Each one uses the classic Overgrow, Blaze, and Torrent abilities, so you get a familiar base even as the new region shifts the focus to sea routes and island towns.
The reveal trailer focuses on the region, showing steep cliffs, coastal villages, and sea paths with more environmental detail than past games have managed. There is still no region name or new battle twist to pick apart, so for now this is very much an opening tease built around the world and that starter trio.
A smaller but important change ties into localization. Starting with Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves, Brazilian Portuguese joins the supported language list. That widens day-one access for players in Brazil and other Portuguese-speaking regions instead of forcing them to rely on imports or different language versions.
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| Two Pikachu dance on a pier in a tropical scene from the Pokémon Day 2026 trailer for Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves on Nintendo Switch 2. |
Pokémon Pokopia Builds A Cosy Pokémon Town On Nintendo Switch 2
While Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves are set for 2027, Pokémon Pokopia is almost here. The town-builder launches on March 5 for Nintendo Switch 2 and gives you a slower, cosier take on Pokémon between the bigger RPGs.
You step into the role of a Ditto in human form, rebuilding a worn-down world by placing homes, planting crops, and creating habitats that encourage different Pokémon to move in. As your town grows, you fill out a Habitat Dex and nudge layouts around to see which partners show up.
Pokopia also lets up to four people play together locally or online. You can visit friends’ towns, invite them into yours, and bring one of your own Pokémon along for the trip. With preorders live and an in-game Ditto rug as an early purchase bonus, it’s the next stop on the calendar before Champions and the new generation.
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| Pokémon Pokopia centres on building a town where Pokémon can gather, relax, and share moments like this riverside meal. |
Pokémon Champions Steps In As The New Battle Game
Pokémon Champions is the competitive push coming out of today’s show. It arrives on Nintendo Switch in April, with mobile versions later this year, and it’s already locked in as the main battle game for the Video Game Championships at this year’s Pokémon World Championships in San Francisco.
Pokémon Champions connects directly to Pokémon HOME. Later this year you’ll be able to link Pokémon Legends: Z-A to Pokémon HOME, then move certain partners across into Champions. Bringing over choices like Chesnaught, Delphox, Greninja, and Eternal Flower Floette will also earn you Mega Stones such as Chesnaughtite, Delphoxite, and Greninjite as in-game rewards.
The idea is simple: if you want to focus on battling without juggling a full story, Champions is where you go. With the game landing on Nintendo Switch first and Worlds taking place in August, you already know how much time you have to learn its rules and build teams before it shows up on the tournament stage.
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| Pokémon Champions brings focused battles to Nintendo Switch first before heading to mobile later this year. |
Pokémon FireRed And Pokémon LeafGreen Bring Kanto Back On Nintendo Switch
If you missed the Game Boy Advance era, or you just want an easier way to replay Kanto, Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version are now available as digital titles on Nintendo Switch. They dropped today as part of the anniversary plans and give you a cleaner way to revisit the original region without digging out older hardware.
These versions remake Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green with sharper visuals and a few quality-of-life tweaks, while keeping the old route layout and Gym order intact. If you’ve only seen Kanto through later remakes or anime reruns, this gives you a solid middle ground between a pure retro replay and a full reimagining.
There’s also hardware for people who love Kanto music. The Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue Game Music Collection: Game Boy Jukebox is a physical music player shaped like a Game Boy with 45 small cartridges that play tracks and sound effects from the original games. In Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., you’ll find it on Pokémon Center alongside an “Opening Scene” collection that uses artwork from the intro to Red and Green.
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| Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version are now available as digital releases on Nintendo Switch for the series’ 30th anniversary. |
Events, TCG, And Mobile Games Keep The Pokémon 30th Party Going
If you’re thinking about a bigger Pokémon trip this year, the show also packed in new details for PokémonXP and the 2026 Pokémon World Championships. Both events take place in San Francisco, and the multi-day interest list is open from April 2 to April 23. If you’re picked, you’ll be able to explore the new convention, watch high-level play, and visit a dedicated Pokémon Center pop-up store on site. Single-day interest will open later in the summer.
On the card side, the Pokémon Trading Card Game will mark the anniversary with a special expansion in 2026. It will be the first set to launch at the same time across participating markets worldwide, with more products planned through the rest of the year. That keeps tabletop releases closer to the video game schedule instead of trailing months behind.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Mega Dimension also showed up with Mega Garchomp Z. A new Mystery Gift lets you unlock a special hyperspace distortion where you can battle Mega Garchomp Z and earn a Garchompite Z stone if you win. If you’ve put the game down, that’s a strong reason to jump back in for another run.
The showcase then checked in on Pokémon GO, Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, Pokémon Sleep, Pokémon UNITE, Pokémon Masters EX, and Pokémon Café ReMix. If you already play any of these games, there is new anniversary content, from Unite licences for Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno to first partner events with brooch rewards in Pokémon Café ReMix.
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| PokémonXP and the 2026 Pokémon World Championships bring the series’ 30th anniversary events to San Francisco later this year. |
Pokémon Day 2026 Lays Out The Road Ahead
Pokémon Day 2026 sits right between looking back and looking forward. On one side you’ve got Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version on Nintendo Switch, plus the Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue Game Music Collection: Game Boy Jukebox. On the other, you’ve got Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves preparing the next generation on Nintendo Switch 2. In the middle, Pokémon Pokopia and Pokémon Champions map out 2026 with a cosy town-builder and a focused battle game.
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