Nintendo Switch Has Three Free Pokémon Games You Can Download Right Now

With February marking the 30th anniversary of Pokémon, I’d imagine you want to indulge your Pokémon love as much as possible for the rest of the year, right? I mean, you’re only human. Luckily, there are a bunch of free Pokémon games that you can play right now on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.

While many Pokémon fans are eagerly awaiting news of Gen 10 or praying we’ll get some classic re-releases, gamers on a budget should know that there are some Pokémon games out there that don’t cost a penny. And to be clear, I’m not talking about playing Pokémon Ruby on your phone via an emulator. Because, you know, that’s illegal.

So, let’s take a look at the three Pokémon games you can currently play on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 for the low price of nothing at all.

Pokémon Café ReMix

Put those Pokémon to work

If you’ve ever wanted to rescue Pokémon from the hell of beating the stuffing out of each other, Pokémon Café ReMix lets you do that. Instead of fighting to the point of exhaustion, you can now force your Pokémon into free manual labor as you grow your bourgeoisie food and drink empire. Heartwarming stuff.

This is a free-to-start puzzle game in which every Pokémon has its own unique skill. You can play pretty much the entire game without spending any money, although there are in-app purchases that streamline the experience and let you do certain things quicker.

Pokémon Unite

Pokémon Meets League Of Legends

Multiple Ghost Pokémon against a starry sky

Pokémon Unite is a very different vibe to the previous game. Where the first game we talked about is a low-stakes puzzle adventure with cozy vibes, Pokémon Unite is all about those sweet, sweet battles.

“Join Trainers from around the world as they head for Aeos Island to compete in Unite Battles,” reads the game’s official description. “In Unite Battles, Trainers face off in 5-on-5 team battles to see who can score the most points within the allotted time. Teamwork is key as you and your teammates defeat wild Pokémon, level up and evolve your partner Pokémon, and knock out the opposing team’s Pokémon to prevent them from scoring points. Put your teamwork to the test, and take home the win!”

Pokémon Quest

Block smash

Pokémon Quest has a pretty gorgeous Minecraft-esque visual style, but I should stress this is not an open-world Pokémon survival sim. You have Palworld for that, although I don’t think Nintendo would thank me for saying so.

This is probably the simplest game of all the bunch, in that the gameplay loop is pretty laid back. You assemble a team of Pokémon, explore stages for loot, and take part in semi-automatic battles. There’s some strategy to be found in equipping Pokémon with the right items, planning ahead with your team, and cooking dishes, but this is largely a game older fans will be able to play on their Switch with the TV on in the background.

So there you have it, Pokémon fans, three very different games you can play right now on your consoles for the low price of nothing at all.

Release Date: 1997 – 2023
Network: TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC
Directors: Shigeru Omachi, Koji Ogawa, Fumihiro Ueno, Hideki Hiroshima, Maki Kodaira, Makoto Ooga, Ayumi Moriyama, Keitaro Motonaga, Shigeru Ueda, Fumihiro Yoshimura, Minoru Ohara, Yoshitaka Makino, Kiyoshi Egami, Makoto Sokuza, Bjarne Heuser, Naoki Murata, Kenichi Nishida, Tomoe Makino, Masahiko Watanabe, Hiroaki Takagi, Tazumi Mukaiyama, Ryohei Horiuchi, Yoshihiro Oda, Hiromichi Matano
Writers: Junki Takegami, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hideki Sonoda, Yukiyoshi Ôhashi, Yuka Miyata, Takeshi Shudo, Shouji Yonemura, Shinzo Fujita, Michihiro Tsuchiya, Deko Akao, Reiko Yoshida, Aya Matsui, Junichi Fujisaku