The first Pokemon game for Nintendo Switch is coming soon. The Pokemon Company announces that the two versions, Let’s Go Pikachu! and Let’s Go Eevee! will launch in November 2018. The game features co-op play, Pokemon GO support, and more.

1999’s Pokemon Yellow for the GameBoy inspires the designs of Let’s Go Pikachu! and Let’s Go Eevee! This game harkens back to what resonates with the older Pokemon fans, with Team Rocket and aspects from the animated series making a return.

Choosing between Let’s Go Pikachu! and Let’s Go Eevee! determines which starter Pokemon players use. Like in the anime, Pikachu rejects the Poke Ball and instead travels alongside the player on their shoulder. Similarly, Eevee hangs around on the player’s head as they explore the renewed Kanto region.

In the early footage, fans return to Pallet Town to once again begin their journey in becoming Pokemon Masters. They can play the game with one Joy-Con, and then share the other one with a friend. Together, they can explore the world, capture Pokemon, and fight in trainer battles. This lets them enjoy an adventure together, bringing a whole new dynamic to the tried and true Pokemon formula.

Also different from other games is a slightly changed mechanic for catching Pokemon. Players can now see Pokemon roaming the world, and then interact with them. After doing so, players swing their Joy-Cons to throw their Pokeballs, which is similar to Pokemon GO’s swiping. It also seems that you no longer need to fight to catch these Pokemon, which is quite surprising and exciting.

Next, the trailer introduces a Poke Ball Plus accessory. Connecting this accessory to the game allows users to bring their favourite Pokemon with them. The trailer showcases how interacting with the ball in various ways compels the Pokemon inside to respond with a range of expressions.

As if that’s not enough, the game also connects with Pokemon GO. Pokemon captured on players’ smartphone devices can transfer to Pokemon Let’s Go and vice versa. The Switch version also has a GO Park, letting players interact with their favourite Pokemon, as long as they are from the first generation. Furthermore, players can share their Pokemon with someone else’s Pokemon GO seamlessly as a present. That’s a dizzying amount of options.

So far, it’s clear that Nintendo wants make Pokemon more accessible for the new generation. The streamlined mechanics and interactivity with Pokemon GO points in that direction. It will be interesting to see how newer and younger fans react to this announcement.

In any case, director Junichi Masuda wants to stress that this game is not the successor to Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. That will arrive in 2019. Even so, there’s plenty for fans to look forward to with Pokemon Let’s Go.

Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu! and Let’s Go Eevee! is set to launch on Nintendo Switch worldwide on 16th November 2018.

For more info on the game, check out its official website.