You walk through the Kanto region with your starter Pokemon riding on your shoulder or nearby, catching wild Pokemon by physically flicking the Joy-Con like tossing a ball rather than battling them first. Regular battles against trainers still use straightforward turn-based menus. It strips out some series mechanics to be as approachable as possible, making it a good starting point for someone who has never played a Pokemon game.
Gameplay video
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Screenshots & review notes
The short version
It softens the traditional formula considerably, cutting wild battles almost entirely, which longtime fans found jarring but which makes this the easiest on-ramp the series has offered in years.
In the hands
Flicking the Joy-Con to catch Pokemon borrows straight from Pokemon Go, and while it's simple, it's satisfying enough to keep the catching loop from feeling like a chore.
Look and sound
Kanto looks genuinely lovely rebuilt for the Switch, all warm colors and a Pikachu who follows you everywhere with real personality.
The long haul
A great choice for kids, newcomers, or anyone playing alongside a non-gamer thanks to seamless co-op. Series veterans wanting deep mechanics may find it too streamlined.
Frames captured from the gameplay video above; notes are our own take on the game.
What it's like to play
You begin walking through a bright, welcoming recreation of the Kanto region with either a Pikachu or Eevee following you around outside of battle, hopping onto your shoulder and reacting to how you treat it. When wild Pokemon appear on the path ahead, there is no battle to start, instead you throw balls directly at them using a flick of the stick or the Joy-Con held like a fishing motion, timing your throw as rings shrink around the target the way you might in a mobile Pokemon game. Trainer battles still play out with the classic menu-based turn system, picking moves and watching them play out, but wild encounters are entirely about catching rather than fighting. A second player can join in at any moment using their own Joy-Con, controlling a helper character who tags along for battles and catching.
Your goal is the familiar Kanto journey, earning eight gym badges, exploring towns like Cerulean and Lavender, and eventually challenging the Elite Four, while your partner Pikachu or Eevee can be dressed up in different outfits and learns exclusive special moves unique to it. Catching streaks reward you with bonus items and experience the more consecutive good throws you land, so a session often becomes a small rhythm of walking, tossing balls at Rattata and Pidgey, and moving on to the next area. The whole story runs a comfortable fifteen to twenty hours, and it can connect with the Pokemon Go app on a phone to bring creatures back and forth.
Longtime series fans may miss wild Pokemon battles entirely, since this streamlined catching system removes a chunk of what older games spent hours on. Playing docked on a TV requires physically swinging a Joy-Con to throw balls, which some players find tiring or simply prefer to avoid. For a parent introducing a child to Pokemon, or anyone wanting the gentlest, friendliest way into the series, this is close to perfect.