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Nintendo Switch Online adds another classic Pokémon spinoff game

By Jesse Lennox July 8, 2022

Pokémon Puzzle League will be available to all Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass subscribers starting on July 15.

The addictive spin-off puzzle title Pokémon Puzzle League combines elements from the Pokémon franchise with the gameplay from Panel de Pon, in which the aim is to arrange colored blocks to earn points. The game was the first to feature characters from the anime, such as Ash, Misty, and Brock. The crew will enter Puzzle Village where they will encounter other trainers, gym leaders, and members of Team Rocket and face off in puzzle battles.

Pokémon Puzzle League is the 17th N64 game to be added to the Expansion Pass service and the second Pokémon game in a row, following last month’s addition of Pokémon Snap. This title had one other re-release on the Wii via the Virtual Console, however, Nintendo has since shut that service down, making this the only way to play this title without the original hardware.

A strange note is that Pokémon Puzzle League will not be available on the service in Japan. Instead, players in that region will be getting Custom Robo due to the fact that Pokémon Puzzle League only saw a western release at launch and never got a Japanese translation.

The Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass started off feeling like a poor value upon launch but has since grown to feel like a valuable service. The inclusion of more cult classic games like Pokémon Puzzle League, and even the latest collection of Sega Genesis games like Zero Wing, have been a significant factor in winning over those hardcore Nintendo fans.

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How do you follow up on such a strong year? That's a question Nintendo is surely going to work to answer in 2023. While the Switch will get the year's biggest game in Zelda, the rest of its lineup is largely shrouded in mystery. We know a few games that are on the horizon, but we likely won't know what the whole year looks like until a winter Nintendo Direct.

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After 25 seasons, Ash Ketchum is retiring from Pokémon

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The Pokémon Company confirmed that Ash Ketchum will no longer be the main protagonist of the series' anime starting in 2023.
Ever since Pokémon! I Choose You! first aired in Japan on April 1, 1997, the Pokémon anime has followed the exploits of 10-year-old Pokémon trainer Ash Ketchum on his quest to become Pokémon Master. After trying and failing many times across 25 seasons, Ash finally managed to become the world's greatest Pokémon trainer in Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series after winning the Pokémon World Coronation Series.
The Pokémon Company is deciding to leave Ash's journey on a high note and will retire his character as the protagonist of the Pokémon anime after the current season. Thankfully, he is getting a proper send-off across the final 11 episodes of Pokémon Ultimate Journeys: The Series, with classic anime characters like Misty and Brock returning to help tell "the final chapter in Ash and Pikachu's story." These final 11 episodes will start airing in Japan on January 13, 2023.
This won't be the end of Pokémon anime adaptions, though; The Pokémon Company will start a new series later next year, following two new characters named Liko and Roy. Details on this new series are still scarce, but we know it will also feature Sprigatito, Fuecoco, Quaxly, and a Shiny Rayquaza in significant roles. We're likely to see them venture through Paldea, the region Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are set in.
While the announcement that Ash Ketchum will no longer be the protagonist of the Pokémon series is bittersweet for those of us who grew up with the Pokémon anime, we can hope that the series will give him a beautiful farewell, and that Liko and Roy's series can successfully capture the hearts of a whole new generation of Pokémon fans.