While it has not been confirmed in any official capacity, rumor has it that Nintendo could very well be bringing classic Pokemon series games to its Switch Online service. Nintendo just recently added Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games to its Switch Online and Switch Online Expansion Pack subscription services, giving gamers the chance to relive some of the classics from the popular handheld systems.
Nintendo has added a small number of Game Boy and GBA games to Switch Online and its Expansion Pack to start, but there are more on the way. Out of all the Game Boy and GBA games coming to Switch Online in the future, though, fans may have noticed that none of the classic Pokemon games were part of the lineup. However, that doesn't mean that Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald can't come to the service at some point down the line.
And in fact, there is some evidence to suggest that the classic Pokemon games could very well be coming to the service eventually. It's been pointed out that Nintendo has updated videos for the Pokemon Stadium games coming to Switch Online Expansion Pack to remove the disclaimer that users wouldn't be able to transfer Pokemon to them. This has led some to believe that the original Pokemon games are coming to the service at some point and when they do, they will retain their compatibility with Pokemon Stadium and Pokemon Stadium 2.
For the uninitiated, Nintendo 64 gamers had the option to connect their classic Pokemon cartridges to Pokemon Stadium and Pokemon Stadium 2 to transfer Pokemon from the handheld games for use in the N64 titles. Nintendo removing the disclaimer could be an indication that it plans on bringing this functionality back, but it could also just be an unrelated coincidence. Needless to say, fans shouldn't get too excited just yet.
If classic Pokemon games are coming to Switch Online as rumored, perhaps the announcement could come during the annual Pokemon Day celebration on February 27. Pokemon Day typically features some big announcements for the Pokemon franchise, and classic Pokemon games coming to Switch Online would certainly fit the bill. But if not, maybe fans will at least get release dates for the Pokemon Stadium games on Switch Online, since they have yet to be added to the service.
With the 3DS eShop closing down soon, Pokemon gamers will soon find it more difficult to play the classic games in the series on modern hardware. Hopefully the rumors are true and the classic Pokemon games come to the Nintendo Switch, but fans should keep their expectations in check for now.