Pokémon: Leaf Green - Nintendo Switch Edition Review
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With an open calendar and a few days to kill, I decided to try out Pokémon Leaf Green on the Nintendo Switch. I’ve played its generational counterpart, Fire Red, in the past but only on my laptop’s totally legal emulator. My Pokémon experience on my first handheld consoles, a lime green Game Boy Color and an atomic purple Game Boy Advance, was limited to Pokémon Blue and Gold, so unfortunately, I lack a frame of reference for what it was like to play the third generation remake on its originally intended platform. However, I got close to the mid-2000s feeling while recently dog sitting. While I mostly played with the console docked and a television as the screen, I accommodated to Shade’s (The German Shepherd regularly featured on Ev Dog Blog graphics) early bedtime by transitioning to handheld mode and playing under the covers of our shared bed. Unlike the children of 2004 who precariously played their Game Boy Advance with a worm light attachment to negate the darkness of their rooms as their parents monitored the halls listening intently for any unsanctioned late night fun, I feared no parents or screen glare issues. My folks were enjoying the nicer weather of Charleston that weekend and even though the Switch 1 may be outdated as a console, its LCD screen provided more than enough brightness to illuminate my fortified cocoon of blankets. On both my 4K TV and the handheld screen, the game’s graphics appeared slightly crisper than the original version that I’ve played on my laptop. Though, being a 2-D game, the ceiling for visual enhancements was always going to be low. Still, I preferred using the larger television screen as a preventative defense against eye strains.
Nothing makes the vibes cozier than a caterpie light!
Even in a 2026 reproduced remake state, the gameplay itself was still your typical first generation Pokémon experience. My character, Doggy, designated his rival with a standard crass name, Uncle Pussy, and we were off! In an effort to make the game more replayable and this playthrough more memorable than the other dozen times I’ve played some version of this game in the past, one of my primary goals was to use a team comprised mostly of Pokémon I’ve previously not utilized in prior playthroughs. I dive deeper into the team’s makeup in the Tidbits section below, but essentially, outside of my starter, I planned on avoiding the use of hackneyed final team members like Pidgeot, Gyrados, Nidoking, Snorlax, Hitmonlee, Zapdos, and one of the Eevee evolutions. Due to the game’s linear nature and the scarcity of unique Pokémon available throughout the first few regions, this was difficult to achieve across the game’s first half. (To their credit, most of these early Pokémon can at least serve as hidden move slaves that are required to advance the game.) Even when the game’s second half becomes less linear and additional unique Pokémon become available, the game’s most salient issue arises: level grinding.
It’s pretty crazy that two kids that grew up as neighbors in the same small town became champions within a short time of each other, but no one seems to care or mention it during the post-game section.
Sure, you have a variety of paths to take with a variety of new Pokémon to catch including the strong gift Pokémon and the Snorlaxes, but all the Pokémon in your party, even the starter you’ve had since the third minute of the game are going to be severely underleveled for the rest of the game. The plethora of trainers and Team Rocket members to battle along the newly-opened routes is convenient, but it’s extremely tedious to battle them when they all use the same four pokemon. In these earlier generation pokemon games, the player must decide to either sacrifice experience points required for their pokemon to grow in level OR their free time in real life. Masochistically, I chose the latter as I desired a more authentic experience with Leaf Green. Hours of drudgery were required to get them up to snuff with the fifth and sixth gym leaders’ level 43 ace pokemon (14 levels higher than the fourth gym).
This grinding issue exacerbated as the loss of time killed all momentum for my other primary objective with this playthrough: actually using strategy moves and not just all-out attacking moves. I wanted to be a nuisance to my opponents by maxing out my stats or punishing them with a debilitating status move. Sadly, that type of playstyle eats up hours like Kobayashi devours hot dogs and I was already running short on time (and buns).
What makes the grinding even more of a burden, is the fact that battling trainers is a necessary evil in Leaf Green. Battling rewards the player with funds to purchase items. Leveling up makes your pokemon stronger, but the moves they learn organically as they grow in Generation 3 are diabolically ineffective. For the most effective team, one will need to buy an abundance of coins at the casino (FanDuel and DraftKings thank Game Freak for their service in teaching children about gambling) to unlock the exorbitantly-priced teachable moves (Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Flamethrower, etc.) that may not be the best overall in the game, but are the most dependable with 100% accuracy.
Still, as much as I bitch and moan about this time consuming hindrance, this series engrosses me like no other and I end up playing for hours longer than I originally allocated in my schedule. Even when I get upset at myself for extending these sessions with the repeated excuse of “one more trainer” or “one more level”, a few hours of non- Pokémon activity go by and I’m ready again to battle more ratattas!
With all that in mind, is Leaf Green worth the twenty (cu)bones it currently costs? Possibly. When I get the itch to return to Kanto again, I’ll likely play my laptop’s emulated version with infinite rare candies (an item that increases your pokemon by 1 level) that permit me to quickly circumnavigate the game’s map and steer clear of any unnecessary level grinding. However, if I find myself on a long journey as a passenger on a plane, train, or automobile, pokemon on the handheld Switch would be a fantastic way to pass time. Plus, the handheld device is less awkward to operate than a laptop on a chair tray table that unexpectedly moves at your row neighbor’s whim.
I love these games and honestly, I have no clue how to rate them. The first generation’s remake is a classic, but it’s missing necessary mechanics that were implemented generations later. Given all the tremendous game modifications that have been created by independent game designers, I’m sure Game Freak could have applied some of these user-benefitting alterations, but that would have costed the frugal gaming giant time and money, so I doubt there was any legitimate chance of that happening. In the one universe where it did, I imagine the game would be exclusive to the Switch 2 with a listed price four times higher than what I paid on the already discount-averse Nintendo Store. To augment replayability, a simple improvement would be adding on a New Game Plus-like feature. After you beat the vanilla version, you can restart the game with level 5 versions of all the pokemon you caught in your first playthrough. One of these days, I’d love to use a Starmie or a Muk for the majority of the game, but I guess that’s too much to demand! At the end of the day, I can’t really blame Game Freak for their avarice when addicted fools like myself continue to broaden the depths of their deep pockets for the same game we’ve already played and will play again.
Rating: 7.151
Tidbits:
This section will feature more information on my team, additional analysis on the game itself, and other musings I had while playing.
My Final Team:
Blastoise – aka Tito – I rotate between starters and mom said it was Squirtle’s turn to be picked. Interestingly, One of my favorite Pokémon cards I own in real life is a German Squirtle card where its Deutsch name is Schiggy.
NidoQueen – aka Donidos – I didn’t want to use a Nido Queen or King, but when my Nidorina had two clutch critical hits against in an unexpected rival ambush, her spot was earned. The Nidos benefit from access to diverse array of teachable moves across a variety of types, but lower special attack made them less effective and Dinodos essentially the 5th most important member of the team. However, there’s no denying this one had the clutch gene as it etched our names into the Hall of Fame by hitting two vital Blizzards (a 70% accurate move) in a row against Venusaur in the Elite 4 Rival Championship.
Sandslash – aka ShrewCat – While the nickname may not aesthetically match the team of a trainer named Doggy, it honors a friend who just evolved into ShrewDad in real life. This was my first time ever using the Sandshrew line for more than one gym. Moves like Slash and Earthquake added mightily to its value. Randomly, I recall owning a Sandslash keychain that was affixed to one of my first grade backpack zippers. Although, it was more of a irritant than décor as it constantly poked me in the back on the bus ride home.
Jynx – aka Zynx (trade name) – With an incredibly high speed and special attack, Jynx is undoubtedly one of the greatest cheat codes in this game. The reasons it’s a top-tier pokemon are threefold: its same-type attack bonus ice moves annihilate bulky dragons in the Elite 4, no non-psychic pokemon in Kanto resists psychic moves outside of the two steel type pokemon that only appear in an early gym, and the only available Jynx in the game comes through a mid-game trade (pokemon acquired via trade obtain boosted XP for each pokemon they defeat, so level grinding doesn’t suck as much.) Give it an item to hold like a twisted spoon, which boosts psychic moves, and suddenly, you have a certified demon in your pocket. This was actually my first time ever using one in a traditional game. It won’t be the last after her MVP performance.
Hitmonchan – aka Chi Chi – I always go with Hitmonlee, so I decided to switch it up and go with the one who gains access to the elemental punches (Fire/Thunder/Ice punch) thinking they’d be useful for multiple battles in the Elite 4. It was a good strategy until I realized way too late that the physical-special split takes place in the Generation 4 games meaning all of these moves were still categorized as special. This wouldn’t be a major issue, but Hitmonchan is a physical attacker, so more than half of my moves were essentially ineffective.
Moltres – aka Leches - Honestly, I wanted to eschew from the practice of capturing a Level 50 legendary bird that I lacked full-game attachment to with a master ball near the end of the game, but this approach became necessary when I noticed that Peaches the Fearow was too weak and underleveled to provide meaningful moves in the Elite 4.
“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of regions”
I still fall for rival battle traps after 25 years of playing. Despite knowing they’re coming up soon, I always forget and take one step in the wrong direction. By the time I’ve realized my mistake, he’s already walking down smugly from his fixed spot.
Despite a revitalized interest to play around eight games in the series over the past five years, I still need to refer to the weakness type chart.
I wish more pokemon had the move Metronome. For those who are unaware, it’s the box of chocolates of pokemon moves as you never know what you’re going to get. Pokemon that use this move have access to every move in the game, but you’re at the mercy of the game’s random move generator to determine if you’ll get a super effective attack or something completely useless like the move Splash. After writing this, I’m now inspired for my next playthrough to solely feature just Metronome users.
A couple of positives: The running shoes gifted to you probably knock off five to ten hours. Given that the original were ultra-punishing (or good life lessons) for kids playing their first game, the remakes are a fair bit easier with dark moves like Bite now included in multiple learnsets.
I thought the Sevii Islands were okay. They’re another way of gaining some XP, but the bland B plots offered little to the new location. The cruelest part about the first chain of islands was the fact they make you learn Rock Smash, the second worst HM move.
There’s nothing I despise more in these games then trade evolutions. Level grinding sucks, but I wouldn’t mind it as much if I could actually use a Gengar, Alakazam, Machamp, or Golem. In 2026, there’s somehow still no online trading hub. While there’s no link cable required, one must physically meet up with their friends and trade through LAN.
As a fan of poison type pokemon, I loathe how they’re made synonymous with Team Rocket. Maybe they’re a bit toxic, but Ekans, Koffing, and Grimer deserve more respect for their cuteness.
I wished they retconned more pokemon with different types like adding steel to Magneton. Two that quickly come to mind are enhancing Ninetales and Marowak with ghost types. I believe any minor change like these would have created a better overall product with increased final team options and replayability, but I guess we’ll just have to settle for abilities as the major addition.
I assume surfing encounters were purposefully neglected by Game Freak as the water sections are just prolonged versions of Diglett Cave but with Tentacool and Tentacruel as the exclusive pokemon that range widely in level.