Ultra Sun & Moon are the Last Core Pokemon Games on the 3DS

Fire Emblem series producer Hitoshi Yamagami stated last May that Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia will most likely be the last main series Fire Emblem game on the Nintendo 3DS as development will now shift on the Nintendo Switch. Sadly, it appears that the Pokemon series will also follow the same path.

Game Freak director Shigeru Ohmori mentioned in an interview with IGN that they have pushed the 3DS system to its absolute limits with Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. He also added that it will be the culmination of their entire work on the handheld.

Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon director Kazumasa Iwao also added that only 80 people worked on these games, about half the size of the original Pokemon Sun & Moon team.

The Pokemon Company’s Tsunekazu Ishihara briefly mentioned in this year's Nintendo Direct for E3 that a core Pokemon RPG is being developed for the Nintendo Switch but the game may not release until next year. Iwao and Ohmori didn't tell IGN what the remaining staff are now working on, but it can be assumed that the rest of the studio may be focusing their efforts on the upcoming Switch title.

One question remains: is it too late to purchase a 3DS for Pokemon? This may surprise you but owning a 3DS will allow you to play the most number of main series Pokemon games ever:

• Gen 1: Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow (Game Boy Virtual Console)
• Gen 2: Pokemon Gold/Silver (Game Boy Color Virtual Console) / Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver remakes (actual Gen: IV)
• Gen 3: Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire remakes (actual Gen: VI)
• Gen 4: Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum (DS)
• Gen 5: Pokemon Black/Black2/White/White2 (DS)
• Gen 6: Pokemon X/Y
• Gen 7: Pokemon Sun/Moon and the upcoming Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon

The Pokemon Bank and Pokemon Transporter apps let you transfer the Pokemon you caught from majority of the older generations to the latest one.

In addition, a number of Pokemon spin-off free-to-download games have been released on the 3DS which include:

• Pokemon Picross
• Pokemon Rumble World
• Pokemon Shuffle

Other retail Pokemon spin-off titles on the 3DS and the DS will expand your options to even higher levels. Aside from Pokemon, the entirety of the Nintendo 3DS and DS library will entertain you for literally thousands of hours.

The future of the 3DS may still appear vague at this point but Nintendo did give the system the chance it deserved with Pokemon and other successful series.

You can show your support by pre-ordering Pokemon Ultra and Ultra Moon locally. Selected retailer branches have also started giving away Shiny Silvally serial codes as a pre-order bonus.

Source: IGN