Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen Special Collection Just Dropped, It’s Gorgeously Retro

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, the Game Boy Advance Kanto remakes that just so happen to be some of my favourite games of all time, are officially getting a Nintendo Switch port!

They’re dropping straight after the Pokémon Presents event on 27 February 2pm GMT / 3pm CET / 6am PT / 9am ET on the Nintendo eShop.

Excitingly, it seems these ports will have support for Pokémon HOME coming soon.

To announce these long-awaited games as standalones, not tied to a subscription service, has fans wondering what Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have in store for the 25 minute event next week.

But it seems there’s one more surprise that’s been revealed ahead of time.

For the physical media lovers among us, including myself, I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news.

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Physical Collection Quietly Revealed

I’m a good news first kind of gal. Ignore the ominous dread.

The good news is that there’s an absolutely stunning 'Special Edition' physical release of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, and I genuinely think it’s one of the best Pokémon drops we’ve had in a long time.

The Special Edition includes a lovely replica of the original Game Boy Advance packaging, alongside 3 engraved glass balls of the classic starter trio - Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. It comes with a stand for your balls, which lights them up green, red, or blue.

Now for the bad news.

I lied, there’s actually 2 bits of bad news. Sorry.

The first one is that, according to the official Pokémon Center Online listing, this boxed release doesn’t include a physical cartridge, instead issuing a download code. It’s still a lovely collectors item, but it’s kinda going against the whole point of physical media there.

The replica packaging also does not include the Game Boy Advance software or instruction manual, which is a shame. Instruction manuals are a real lost art, and a major part of video game history. I remember leafing through (hah) my copy of Pokémon LeafGreen’s manual until it fell apart. Dumb child, I could’ve sold that for a fortune.

Check out the trailer for it, if you haven't seen it already! It's so nostalgic.

The second installment of bad news - this special collectors edition is only available online, in Japan. Silver lining - The Pokémon Company said it might be available at physical Pokémon Centers at a later date. But there’s none here in the UK, so I guess I’m booking yet another flight back to Japan to re-visit every Pokémon Center on the main-land. True story.

The Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen special editions will be available from the Japanese Pokémon Center online store from 28 February 2026.

It’ll run you up a hefty 19,800 yen - about £95 / $127.

The digital download, available worldwide, are available to pre-order on the Nintendo eShop for £16.99/$19.99. For games that are over 2 decades old that’s… Steep.

Who am I kidding, I'm part of the problem, I'll buy it anyway.