The main Pokemon games still aren't available via Nintendo Switch Online, but the next best thing is coming with one of the greatest spin-offs

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team cover art showing a group of four Pokemon gathered around a Magnemite mid-air — (Image credit: Nintendo)

As fans endure the endless wait for the classic mainline Pokemon games to make their way to Nintendo Switch Online, another surprise spin-off arrives - and it's almost just as good.

Sure, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX is available to play on the Switch, but what about the Nintendo original that walked so the 2020 release could run? The OG is now making a return in its base 2005 form - the one many nostalgic fans know and love. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team will soon be available via a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership, as revealed by Nintendo in a surprise announcement.

The classic spin-off is set to make its grand return next week on August 9. Red Rescue Team will mark the arrival of the first-ever Pokemon title from the age of the Game Boy Advance to launch on Nintendo Switch Online. When compared to the best Pokemon games from the mainline series, the roguelike RPG stands apart as a unique title thanks to its gameplay - in Mystery Dungeon, you are a Pokemon yourself rather than a trainer.

Red Rescue Team, much like Pokemon Red, dropped alongside its counterpart, Blue Rescue Team, when it was originally released. As of now, though, Nintendo has yet to announce that Blue Rescue Team will also come to Nintendo Switch Online. It's exciting nonetheless - I'm continuing to keep my fingers crossed for mainline games in the future myself, but anything is better than nothing, and that certainly applies to the Red Rescue Team.

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After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.