A couple of weeks back, Nintendo renewed its trademark for Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Nintendo DS remakes of the second generation that released worldwide in 2009. As the trademark renewal seemingly came out of nowhere and occurred less than six months before the 25th anniversary of the franchise, which will take take place at the end of February, many players have begun to speculate about whether Nintendo Switch ports of the classic games could be on the way.
With only the trademark to go off, there's very little evidence to suggest The Pokemon Company has any plans to bring Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver to Nintendo Switch, but that doesn't mean it's entirely out of the realm of possibility. The problem is that it would take far more work to port games from the Nintendo DS and 3DS era than something like Super Mario 3D All-Stars or the upcoming Pikmin 3 Deluxe because of the handheld's dual-screen functionality. It would likely be a lot of added work for Game Freak and the Pokemon Company, while the payoff itself is unclear.
Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver Nintendo DS Problems
From the get-go, games on the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS present far more of a challenge when it comes to porting to new hardware due to the fact that both handhelds utilize, and are built around, dual-screen functionality. Some Pokemon games used the additional screen for little more than an easy-access menu system (Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver), whereas others use the screen as a world map (Pokemon Sun and Moon), or for little mini-games in the case of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. And that's only for Pokemon games that never utilized the second screen to its full potential, whereas The World Ends With You and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass were arguably built around the functionality.
Losing access to a second screen wouldn't be detrimental to Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver's core gameplay and that certainly wouldn't mean the games could never be ported to other platforms. It's already been done before with Resident Evil Revelations. But it does mean Game Freak and The Pokemon Company need to put in far more time and money to make the transition work in a way that's faithful to the original game. Beyond basic expectations that Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver would be optimized to take advantage of the Nintendo Switch's more powerful hardware, and both in terms of performance and graphics, Game Freak would need to look at overhauling the games UI and touch-screen capabilities in order for the games to function on a single screen.
For example, the screen would need to be expanded to 16:9, the menu system would need to be built into the UI for both moment to moment exploration and Pokemon battles, and certain in-game functions such as the bike would have to be remapped entirely to take advantage of the additional buttons. Both Pokemon Sword/Shield and Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Let's Go Eevee offer good examples of how Game Freak could design the new UI and build the games for Nintendo Switch. There's no question about whether the developer is talented enough or capable of pulling it off, because of course it is, just an acknowledgement that the task may not be as simple as some fans think it is.
Unfortunately, the reality is that Nintendo is likely just renewing trademarks before they expire and there are no current plans for Game Freak or The Pokemon Company to bring either of these classic games to Nintendo Switch at the moment. However, in the past couple of months, there have been multiple rumors suggesting The Pokemon Company has plans for a Pokemon collection of some sort, similar to what Nintendo has done with Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Super Mario's 35th anniversary.
According to the rumors, all signs currently point to Pokemon day (February 27) for the big reveal, so whatever games are coming in 2021, it'll be a little while longer before there's any concrete information. Whether it's Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver or the original GameBoy games, players would love to see the second generation on Nintendo Switch, as long as Game Freak puts in the work to make them more than just a barebones port.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are available now on Nintendo Switch.