Moving Pokemon series to Switch marks end of 3DS

Coming on Nov.17, “Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon” will arrive on the 3ds. Nintendo has confirmed after these games there will be no further mainstream Pokemon games on the 3ds. This meaning, of course, that Pokemon is moving to the Switch. This could be a huge change for Pokemon.

First, mainstream Pokemon has always been on a handheld. Red, Blue and Yellow were on the gameboy, Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald on the Game Boy Advance, along with Firered and Leafgreen. Diamond, Pearl and Platinum were on the Nintendo ds. The ds also had Pokemon Black and White, and Black 2 and White 2.

Pokemon X/Y and Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, along with now “Pokemon Sun and Moon” and “Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon” coming soon, were on the 3ds, Pokemon has a long history of mainstream handheld games.

While the Switch is a handheld, it’s also a console. The only console Pokemon games to date are spin-off games.

While this may not seem like a huge change, it might actually be. Pokemon’s graphics are designed for small screen, so when you hook your Switch to it’s console port and try to play a generation 8 game on your TV, will the graphics remain as they are, or upgrade? These questions can’t be answered until the games are released, but theories will rise.

Pokemon will change once it goes to the Switch, and the times it was on a handheld may be forgotten. However, not all the changes are for worse. A lot of people complained about the lag in Pokemon “Sun/Moon,” so moving the games to Switch will lower lag.

Finally, with the last game on the 3ds coming up, what does this mean for the 3ds? Pokemon is one of three pillars holding the 3ds up. Those pillars are Legend of Zelda, Mario and Pokemon. With “Breath of the Wild,” Zelda is already on the Switch. With “Super Mario Odyssey,” Mario is also joining the Switch party.

Now, Pokemon is also leaving the 3ds, so the 3ds has a very high chance of dying. With its three main pillars leaving, all it will have are smaller games trying to hold it up. However in the end, it may die, but its memory won’t.