Pokemon Winds and Waves: Switch 2 Exclusivity, Gen 10 Starters Revealed
Pokemon Winds and Waves, the first main games in the series to hit the market Nintendo Switch2were launched on Friday, the franchise’s 30th anniversary, during a special Pokemon Presents livestream. They will be released in 2027 exclusively on Switch 2.
Following the precedent established by Pokémon Scarlet and Purplethe new games appear to take place in a fully explorable open world. The new playable region is scattered across several islands, with large stretches of ocean between them.
The clear separation between water and land is reminiscent of the beloved gameplay mechanics of the third-generation Pokémon games Ruby and Sapphire, released in 2002.
As is tradition, we got our first look at the three new starter Pokémon, which are powerful friends that serve as the player’s first partner in a new, unfamiliar location.
The grass-type starter, Browt, is a titmouse with a head bulbous enough to summon brains. The water type, Gecqua, is a quadrupedal gecko with a cool attitude. And the fire starter, Pombon, is a super cute orange kitten with a mane that dwarfs her body. (I suspect Pombon will quickly become a fan favorite.)
Fan’s Favorite Pokémon previous games were also highlighted. So far we can confirm that Pikachu, Tympole, Wailord, Tropius, Carnivine and Frillish are among the cast of monsters to be captured in the upcoming mainline Pokémon games, among other older creatures. Most of the returning Pokémon seem to fit the theme of the island, residing in volcanic caves, swamps, and underwater coves.
It’s been four years since the last mainline Pokémon games – Pokémon Scarlet and Purple – were released on Nintendo Switch.
Although these games were praised by some fans for their open world and freer approach to telling a Pokémon 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 designed and exclusive for the more powerful Switch 2 hardware – will fare better in terms of in-game performance.
Pokemon Winds and Waves may be the first mainstream Pokemon games for the Switch 2, but they’re not the first adventures into the world of pocket monsters in recent years.
The recently published Pokémon Legends: ZA introduced an entirely new combat system, moving away from the turn-based mechanics the franchise has been known for since 1996. Pokémon Pokopiaan Animal Crossing-style game releasing next month, is also set to bring pocket monsters into comfortable play spaces.
Both games will accompany fans until they can dive into the aquatic world of Pokemon Winds and Waves next year.
