Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen release frustrates Nintendo Online subscribers

The Switch release of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen has left Nintendo Online subscribers puzzled because the games are standalone rather than part of the Nintendo Classics library. Serebii founder Joe Merrick points to a likely reason: Game Freak has spent recent generations building ways to move monsters from older titles into modern ones.

Nintendo Classics often add cloud saves, rewind, suspend points and online features, and those additions could let players "save scum" encounters or otherwise unsettle the broader Pokémon ecosystem. There are practical hurdles too. Transfers into Pokémon Home typically require monsters to be moved progressively through newer games, and Game Freak’s systems don’t account for transfers out of digital games that are over twenty years old.

FireRed and LeafGreen are also remakes of some of the franchise’s most beloved entries, which may explain the separate treatment.

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