Pokémon Stadium 1 and 2 on NSO may allow for imported Pokémon after all — are mainline games on the way?

The Pokémon Stadium series is making its way to the Nintendo 64 application on the Nintendo Switch Online subscription, allowing fans to relive these original games. A feature from the original Nintendo 64 games was that players could transfer their Pokémon from the Game Boy games to Pokémon Stadium, and originally, it didn’t like that would be coming over to the Switch. However, eagle-eyed fans have noticed that this small detail was taken from of a specific regional announcement for Pokémon Stadium, igniting fans to believe original Pokémon games could be arriving on the platform after seeing different messaging in other regions.

The speculation comes from the Famiboards, where fans discussed the recent announcement. A post detailed that in the Nintendo of Japan announcement, there is no “Pokémon cannot be transferred to these games” disclaimer, building up the hype.

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Fans have been looking forward to playing the original Pokémon games on a modern platform for quite some time. The recent announcements of these older games and attaching them to the Nintendo Switch subscription make this deal a far more worthwhile option, especially for fans who can’t find or don’t have those older platforms.

It seems every time a new Nintendo Direct happens, the Nintendo Switch’s subscription receives a hefty amount of layers, weaving in a proper amount of nostalgia alongside upcoming titles. Adding the original Pokémon games, namely Red, Blue, Yellow, Silver, and Gold, could give many fans a chance to enjoy these original games in a far more convenient place, and it would link up well with the Pokémon Stadium announcements.

For now, all of this is pure speculation. Nintendo has yet to comment on the lack of original Pokémon games coming to the Game Boy expansion packs, but this might be something the company shares further down the line. This was one of the reasons Nintendo had shared they did not plan to be at E3 this year, as they had a much smaller line-up for the final moments of 2023. If Nintendo does release the original Pokémon games, those quieter months would be a good time for fans to check them out again.