- Primary Subject: Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen – Nintendo Switch Re-Release
- Key Update: Local-only trading and battling at launch
- Status: Official listing indicates no online connectivity
- Last Verified: February 21, 2026
- Quick Answer: The Switch versions appear to support only local wireless trading at launch, meaning no confirmed online trading or battling — a decision that feels outdated for modern players.
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen making their debut on the Nintendo Switch should feel like a simple, nostalgic win for long-time fans.
These are beloved Generation 3 remakes of the original Kanto games, and for many players, this is their childhood finally preserved on modern hardware.
From what’s surfaced on the eShop and in community conversations, the rollout feels more outdated than intentionally classic.
Why Is Connectivity the Biggest Concern?
The main issue appears to be connectivity, with the eShop description indicating that trading and battling are limited to local wireless only.
That means no confirmed online trading at launch. In 2004, the restriction made practical sense: most players relied on physical link cables since internet infrastructure wasn’t stable or common enough for online Pokémon trading and battling.
In 2026, however, requiring two consoles in the same room feels dramatically out of step with how people actually play.
What Happens to Trade Evolutions and Pokédex Completion?
This design choice hits hardest when you consider how Pokémon’s progression system is structured.
Trade evolutions like Alakazam, Gengar, Machamp, and Golem are locked behind player interaction.
Version exclusives are split between FireRed and LeafGreen. Without online trading, completing the Pokédex could realistically require owning two systems, two copies of the game, or having a nearby friend who also owns the opposite version and has progressed far enough to trade.
Back in the Game Boy Advance era, it was normal for friends to bring their handhelds to school. Today, many longtime Pokémon fans are adults whose main trading partners live in different cities or even countries.
Can Pokémon HOME Fix the Problem?
Some players believe Pokémon HOME could eventually offer a workaround, but even that remains uncertain given the service’s history of enforcing strict transfer rules, including one-way movements and generation-locked compatibility.
Even if compatibility is added later, it wouldn’t necessarily solve trade evolution requirements within the games themselves.
Pokémon don’t evolve through trades conducted inside HOME, and HOME doesn’t guarantee version-specific dex completion in a clean way.
In other words, HOME might help with storage or transfers, but it likely won’t fully replace traditional trading functionality inside FireRed and LeafGreen.
There’s also speculation that compatibility may not be available at launch at all. Some fans recall previous legacy re-releases, like the 3DS Virtual Console titles, where transfer support arrived later and often in limited form.
Is This Just a Straight ROM Release?
Adding to the “very 2004” feeling is a circulating social media claim that someone accessed LeafGreen early through preorder codes.
Based on posts shared by a prominent Pokémon leaker, the early version appeared to be a barebones ROM-style release, lacking overlays, additional settings, or enhancements.
Although this remains unofficial and unconfirmed, it aligns with what the eShop listing implies: these versions appear to closely mirror the original Game Boy Advance releases, for better or worse.
If that’s the case, then what we’re getting isn’t a remaster, not a remake, and not a modernization. It’s preservation. And preservation has value — especially for players who want the pure experience exactly as it was.
But preservation also means preserving limitations. No built-in online hub. No modern matchmaking. No in-game adjustments to trade evolution mechanics. No structural redesign to reflect how Pokémon communities operate today.
Interestingly, the games are confirmed to run on both Switch 1 and Switch 2, which at least avoids alienating the massive existing Switch install base.
It’s a good development, though it results in the unusual scenario of players picking up more than one copy simply to make local trading possible within their own home.
That solution works — technically — but it underscores the friction modern players feel. Needing two separate devices to recreate something that online infrastructure could easily handle suggests a conscious choice to prioritize authenticity over accessibility.
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