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Pokemon Winds and Waves Revealed, Gen 10 Starter Debates Are Live

The Pokemon Company announced its first mainline games exclusively for the Switch 2, coming in 2027.

Headshot of Tyler Graham
Headshot of Tyler Graham
Tyler Graham Writer
Tyler is a writer for CNET covering laptops and video games. He's previously covered mobile devices, home energy products and broadband. He came to CNET straight out of college, where he graduated from Seton Hall with a bachelor's degree in journalism. When Tyler's not asking questions or doing research for his next assignment, you can find him in his home state of New Jersey, kicking back with a bagel and watching an action flick or playing a new video game. When Tyler's not asking questions or doing research for his next assignment, you can find him in his home state of New Jersey, kicking back with a bagel and watching an action flick or playing a new video game. You can reach him at tgraham@cnet.com.
Expertise Video gaming, computer hardware, laptops, home energy, home internet
Tyler Graham
2 min read
Green chickadee named Browt, orange dog named Pombon and blue water gecko named Gecqua stand in a lineup on a tropical island beach.

Browt, Pombon and Gecqua are the newest partner Pokemon.

 The Pokemon Company/Screenshot by CNET

Pokemon Winds and Waves, the first mainline games in the series to come to the Nintendo Switch 2, were announced on Friday, the franchise's 30th anniversary, on a special Pokemon Presents livestream. They will be released in 2027 exclusively on the Switch 2.

Following the precedent set by Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, the new games seem to be set in a fully explorable open world. The new playable region is scattered across multiple islands, with wide swaths of ocean between them.

The distinct split between water and land harkens back to cherished gameplay mechanics from third-generation Pokemon games Ruby and Sapphire, which were first released in Japan in 2002.

As tradition dictates, we got our first look at the three new starter Pokemon, which are powerful pals that serve as the player's first partner in an unfamiliar new place.

The grass-type starter, Browt, is a chickadee with a head that's bulbous enough to invoke the Brain. The water-type, Gecqua, is a quadrupedal gecko with a cool attitude. And the fire-type starter, Pombon, is a super cute orange pup with a mane that eclipses its body. (I suspect Pombon will quickly become a fan favorite.)

Fan-favorite Pokemon from previous games were also shown off. Pikachu, Tympole, Wailord, Tropius and Frillish are in the cast of monsters to be caught in the next mainline Pokemon games, among other older creatures. Many of the returning Pokemon seem to fit into the island theme, residing in volcanic caves (where we saw Slugma), marshy swamps (Carnivine) and underwater coves (Lumineon).

It's been four years since the last mainline Pokemon games -- Pokemon Scarlet and Violet -- were released for the Nintendo Switch.

While those games were lauded by some fans for their open world and more freeform approach to telling a Pokemon story, they were held back by poor performance and game-breaking bugs on Nintendo's first hybrid console. Pokemon Winds and Waves -- games built for, and exclusive to, the more powerful Switch 2 hardware -- need to fare better when it comes to in-game performance. 

Pokemon Winds and Waves may be the first traditional Pokemon games for the Switch 2, but they aren't the first ventures into the world of pocket monsters for the new console. The recently released Pokemon Legends: Z-A introduced a whole new battling system, moving away from the turn-based mechanics the franchise has been known for since 1996. Pokemon Pokopia, an Animal Crossing-style game that will be released next month, is also primed to bring pocket monsters to cozy gaming spaces. 

Nintendo also announced that the upcoming, competition-focused Pokemon Champions will be released on the Switch in April and is coming to mobile devices later this year. 

These games will have to tide fans over until they can dive into the watery world of Pokemon Winds and Waves next year.