It’s no secret that the Pokémon games have seen a sharp decline in quality throughout the Nintendo Switch generation, with fans being extremely vocal about how unhappy they are about Game Freak not making the most of the jump to a home console.
2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Pokémon Red & Green, and expectations are high. This is a chance for Game Freak to impress fans with announcements for titles so impressive that they’ll win back the audience alienated by the low-effort Pokémon Nintendo Switch era.
The Escapist recaps
- 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise.
- The last mainline Pokémon games, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, were plagued with technical issues and awful performance at launch.
- The most recent spin-off, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, has been criticized for its tiny game world and uninspired Mega Evolution designs.
- Fans and critics slammed the latest Pokémon games, but they still sold millions of copies at launch.
Pokémon games have been on a decline throughout the Switch generation
The Nintendo Switch wasn’t kind to the Pokémon franchise. Things started out promising enough, with Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee being remakes of Pokémon Yellow with some Pokémon Go mechanics shoved in. Most saw these games as experimental spin-offs that were fun diversions, but people were excited for the next mainline games.
Pokémon Sword & Shield had a ton of hype going into their launch, with the promise of the Gen 8 games being the first mainline entries on a home console. That enthusiasm diminished when it was revealed that the National Pokedex wasn’t going to be in the games, meaning some Pokémon were being cut for the first time. And then, the games actually launched, with muddy visuals and dreadful pop-in, meaning that the technical jump fans had waited decades for was a huge letdown.
Little did fans know that they’d soon be pining for the days of Pokémon Sword & Shield, as Pokémon Scarlet & Violet would make them look like technical masterclasses. The Gen 9 games had laughably bad performance issues on Nintendo Switch, as well as a ton of bugs at launch. The open-world elements were also a disappointment, as they boiled down to the player choosing to tackle three quest lines in a different order, even though they didn’t scale to level.
The only bright spark of the Nintendo Switch generation was Pokémon Legends: Arceus, a genuinely great game that actually took risks and went in a new direction. Pokémon Legends: Arceus was set in the distant past of the Sinnoh region, a lawless frontier where Pokémon ruled and humanity encroached on its territory. Pokémon Legends: Arceus provided a fascinating glimpse into the history of the Pokémon franchise, leaving fans excited about where this new direction could take the series.
And then, Pokémon Legends: Z-A burned that goodwill with one of the most boring settings in the entire franchise. The grand Lumiose City from Pokémon X & Y was reduced to a generic city full of lifeless doll people. Even the highly anticipated return of Mega Evolutions was wasted, with some of the new ones having the worst designs in the franchise. Mega Dragonite and Mega Zeraora stand out as being some of the most wasted concepts ever to be put in a Pokémon game.
How can The Pokémon Company win back the fanbase’s trust?
The fans might have bellyached about the direction of the Pokémon games, but it certainly wasn’t reflected in sales. Pokémon Scarlet & Violet are warmed-up pieces of junk, yet they’re the second-best-selling generation of all time, just behind Pokémon Red & Blue.
2025 has proven that fans won’t stick with busted games forever. You only have to look at the critical and commercial reception to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 to see how a fanbase can abandon a beloved series if they grow weary of its direction.
So, how can The Pokémon Company win back the trust of the audience that has been burned by shoddy games? The simple answer is to make games that have care put into their presentation. The modern Pokémon games look and run like trash, especially when you compare them to a game like Digimon Story: Time Stranger. Investing time in creating an impressive-looking Pokémon game would do wonders for the series’ reputation.
The Gen 10 Pokémon games need to be impressive
The mainline Pokémon games need to start addressing player complaints. Fans are sick of meager character creation tools, an overabundance of tutorials and hand-holding, and the lack of any kind of difficulty options. Understandably, Game Freak wants titles that young children can enjoy, but the franchise is nearly thirty years old at this point. There are original Pokemaniacs who are now in their forties. Is it too much to ask to add options that make the games more challenging and more interesting to the older part of the fanbase?
There is a feeling of laziness in the modern Pokémon games, as if the minimum is being done. Of course, this isn’t true, as each Pokémon title is the product of countless hours of labor, with people working ridiculous schedules to get them made. But what’s the point of all that toil if the end product just feels lifeless, like a product that exists to tick boxes on a checklist? If Gen 10 is revealed in 2026, it needs to excite fans, both in its presentation and its story.
Also, Nintendo Switch Online versions of Pokémon Red & Blue are long overdue, especially ones with online multiplayer and connectivity to Pokémon Home. This would be a huge announcement to make during Pokémon Day 2026, one that would rival the release of the Gen 10 titles, yet Game Freak seems reticent to port the older games to modern hardware.
Ask The Escapist
The 30th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise is scheduled for February 27, 2026. This was the Japanese release date for Pokémon Red & Green. Pokémon Red & Blue were released in North America in 1998 and in Europe in 1999.
Pokémon Red & Green were initially supposed to launch in 1995, but they got delayed to 1996 near the end of development. The delay was so late that the start screens for Pokémon Red & Green still say 1995, even though they launched in 1996.
For years, it seemed impossible for Game Freak to fail, with Pokémon games among the best-selling on each Nintendo system. That being said, the past few years have shown the decline of massive franchises that put out the same stuff over and over again, with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 being the most recent example, so Pikachu’s throne isn’t as secure as it may seem.
The anime has moved on from Ash Ketchum, with his story neatly wrapped up in the series, save for the mystery of his father’s identity. The show has moved on to other characters, though The Pokémon Company has left the door open for his return in the movies.
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