Back in 1999, 25 whole years ago, Nintendo released Pokémon Gold and Silver on the Game Boy Color. Entering the Johto region, a whole new roster of catchable critters greeted us, including two excellent legendaries.
Now, somehow 25 years later, we’ve got some cool merch to celebrate including plush of Ho-oh and Lugia, and some very snazzy jackets. That’s not what we really want, however. One of the best Pokémon games on Switch is Let’s Go Eevee and Pikachu – so where’s the next one? Where’s our second-gen remake?
Imagine it – instead of Pikachu and Eevee, we could have Cyndaquil and Togepi. Perhaps a Wooper seeing as the Paldean variant is super popular now (for good reason). I’d suggest a Pichu version but that feels a little on the nose. There are plenty of adorable gen 2 Pokémon to use as mascots, and we would love for Nintendo to announce a Johto remake is in the works.
While the Let’s Go games were divisive, they allowed an entire new generation to experience Pokémon’s debut area. Plus, it let us seasoned fans dip back in and go back to our roots. It had a limited Pokédex – obviously – but let you ride certain Pokémon and have a little buddy by your side at all times.
We know we’re due to get the Switch 2 announcement fairly soon, and the only upcoming Pokémon game we know of is Z-A. There’s definitely capacity for another title alongside that, especially an adorable spin-off bringing us back to Johto.
Realistically, we’re not due a big Pokémon announcement any time soon, but we’re still holding out hope for a Presents stream on Pokémon Day in 2025. Roll on February 27!
If you’re planning on jumping back into Pokémon’s past, we recommend you check out our lists of the best electric Pokémon, best ghost Pokémon, and best dark Pokémon to help pick out a good team.