Pokémon gamers prepare as highly anticipated October 8 shadowdrop teased

The Pokémon Company seems to have finally cracked the code on what fans really want; mark your calendars for October 8.

It’d be unfair to say the last few Pokémon games have been downright bad, but they’ve been far from impressive.

Pokémon Winds And Waves might be a breath of fresh air being a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, but with a 2027 release date, we’ve still got a long wait ahead of us.

However, the Pokémon leak account pokesoku is now claiming Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire will be getting a Nintendo Switch re-release later this year. They’ll join Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen which were re-released in February 2026.

The re-releases sold like hotcakes despite featuring hardly any differences or upgrades to their Nintendo Game Boy Advance versions, but they’ll soon be getting Pokémon Home support.

Pokesoku’s corroborated similar claims from Shpeshal_Nick, who recently stated that they’d heard a similar rumour. The supposed date of the re-releases is October 8, which is only a week away at the time of writing.

READ NEXT: Pokémon Gen 3 remaster footage surfaces, new Nintendo Switch ports could be on the way

Obviously take these claims with a pinch of salt as unless The Pokémon Company confirms it with a reveal trailer, it’s probably just wishful thinking. Besides, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire are fantastic, yet they pale in comparison to the real Gen 3 GOAT…

Is Pokémon Emerald getting a Nintendo Switch re-release too?

The Pokémon Company was wise to kick things off with Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen for several reasons.

First and foremost, it just made sense to start with Kanto. It’s the first region Pokémon fans ever explored and the graphics and gameplay improvements of FireRed and LeafGreen made them the definitive Gen 1 games.

Now we’re having some difficult conversations though… Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen didn’t have a third game like so many other generations, but Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire are both complimented and improved by Pokémon Emerald.

Despite this, there’s been no mention of Emerald getting a re-release alongside the other Gen 3 games, which is a little worrying.

Not to mention we’re seemingly skipping over Gen 2 entirely. Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal didn’t get a refresh until the Nintendo DS days so perhaps The Pokémon Company is holding off until it finds a workaround for the dual-screen controls.

As for Pokémon Emerald, the chances are it will get a re-release if the Ruby and Sapphire rumours are true. It’ll just get a re-release sometime later in the year or somewhere in 2027.

If so, I’d personally recommend waiting for that version of the game unless you don’t mind replaying the same story beats in short succession.

Like FireRed and LeafGreen are the definitive Gen 1 games, Emerald is without a doubt the definitive choice for Gen 3.

October 8 is creeping up quickly so keep an eye out for word from The Pokémon Company on those rumours.

READ NEXT: Pokémon Crestfall is a free new RPG experience based on an all-time classic