A Nintendo representative told IGN that motion controls won’t be required in handheld mode and players can instead use “the joystick on the left Joy-Con controller to aim and press the A button to throw a Poké Ball.” The motion controls are intended to enhance the experience, but aren’t necessary, Nintendo said.
Anyone who plans to get the upcoming Pokémon game for the Nintendo Switch but is worried about looking like an idiot in public when they flail their consoles around to try to catch some wild Pokémon might have nothing to fear anymore. Nintendo has confirmed that motion controls won’t be required to play Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! in handheld mode.
Instead of motion controls, a Nintendo representative told IGN that players can use “the joystick on the left Joy-Con controller to aim and press the A button to throw a Poké Ball.” The motion controls are intended to enhance the experience, but aren’t required, according to Nintendo.
Motion controls are still a requirement to play the game when docked, however, and playing without this feature will only be available to those who have their Nintendo Switch undocked. It’s unknown at this time if players will be able to turn off the feature while in handheld mode, since IGN were only shown this alternative means of catching Pokémon while the Switch was lying down, not moving.
If there isn’t a way to disable this feature, it’s possible that trainers could accidently do some actions, such as throwing a Poké Ball, while moving or when the Switch shakes a little bit during the journey. This could potentially lead to some jarring gameplay.
Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! will be released on Nov. 16 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
