Pokémon Unveils Winds and Waves for Switch 2, Reveals New Starters
Open-world island games Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves are coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027, debuting new starters Browt, Gecqua and Pombon during the franchise's 30th anniversary livestream.
Overview
Pokémon announced Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves for the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027 during a Pokémon Presents livestream on Feb. 27, the franchise's 30th anniversary.
The games are open-world, set across multiple islands with wide swaths of ocean between them, and continue the mainline series' embrace of explorable maps first seen in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
The trailer revealed three new starter Pokémon—Browt, Gecqua and Pombon—and returned creatures including Pikachu, Tympole, Wailord, Tropius and Frillish, according to the presentation.
Leakers have said the region may draw from Indonesia and Southeast Asia, and the trailer showed tropical jungles, seaside mountains, underwater reefs and volcanic caves, evoking third-generation water-land mechanics.
Pokémon did not announce an exact release date for the 2027 games, and Nintendo also announced that Pokémon Champions will be released on the Switch in April and is coming to mobile devices.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the reveal as celebratory but cautious, mixing enthusiastic descriptive language for new starters with evaluative judgments about past performance and expectations for Switch 2. They prioritize nostalgia and fan reaction while omitting developer statements or technical details, relying on narrator descriptions rather than sourced quotes.
FAQ
The new starters are Browt (grass bird-like Pokémon), Gecqua (water-type gecko), and Pombon (fire dog-inspired Pokémon).
The games are coming exclusively to the Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027, with no Switch 1 logos shown in the trailer.
They are open-world games set across multiple tropical islands with oceans, featuring explorable maps, lush jungles, seaside mountains, underwater reefs, and volcanic caves, similar to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
They were announced during a Pokémon Presents livestream on February 27, 2026, celebrating the franchise's 30th anniversary.
Returning Pokémon shown include Pikachu, Tympole, Wailord, Tropius, and Frillish.
