Rediscovering the Kanto region in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen has been so much fun — and financially successful — that it only makes sense for Nintendo and the Pokemon Co. to release other Game Boy Advanced classics, such as Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald.

But time will ultimately tell whether these games get the same treatment as FireRed and LeafGreen, which were released on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 immediately following the Feb. 27 Pokemon Presents presentation.

The games were rereleased to commemorate the 30-year anniversary of Pokemon Red and Green’s original release in Japan.

Those games launched the entire Pokemon franchise, including a popular trading card game and an anime television series — all of which later came to North America in the late 1990s.

According to online reports of Nintendo’s eShop sales data, Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen were the highest-selling games on the eShop, which is impressive considering the charts are generated by revenue and not units sold.

Despite being over 20 years old, the games were sold at a price of $20 each and brought in more revenue than games that cost $60 or more.

Releasing the Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald versions on the Switch and/or Switch 2 would make the most sense if Nintendo wanted to capitalize on the momentum since those games are already compatible with FireRed and LeafGreen.

Once players defeat the elite four and champion, essentially beating the game, they go to One Island on a quest to upgrade the network machine that allows Pokemon from the Hoenn region — where Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald take place — to be traded over to FireRed and LeafGreen.

They also wouldn’t have to do much work to simply release emulated versions of these games onto the Switch and generate countless millions of dollars in the process.

After all, Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire were the best-selling Game Boy Advance games of all time, selling more copies worldwide than FireRed and LeafGreen back in the day by about 4 million units.

It’s reasonable to think history could repeat itself over on Nintendo’s eShop, and it would introduce another generation to what I’d argue are some of the most fun games to play.

What would make it personally rewarding is that those who complete the Hoenn region pokedex can obtain a Johto region starter Pokemon — Chikorita, Cyndaquil or Totodile — from Professor Birch.

I obtained each of those starters through a long and lengthy process on the Game Boy Advanced SP years ago, and it would be fun to start the journey over again on the Switch.

Specifically in Pokemon Emerald, there’s a glitch that allows you to clone Pokemon and duplicate items at the Battle Frontier, which would be useful for obtaining an extra master ball — an item used to catch any Pokemon without fail — to hunt shiny legendary Pokemon, which have a one in 8,192 chance of being shiny in FireRed and LeafGreen.

After beating the game on the Switch, I am attempting to encounter a shiny Mewtwo to use my master ball on. It’s a process that requires hours of soft resetting, or saving your game before an encounter and manually turning it off and on again until a shiny appears.

Although the odds aren’t in my favor, I’ll get it eventually.

I randomly encountered, and caught, a shiny Caterpie — also one in 8,192 odds — while playing through the game. So, like anything in life, it can happen; it just takes time.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling it’s going to take several years before other Pokemon classics are released on the Switch or Switch 2, as Nintendo has stated on its website that they “have nothing to announce regarding any other potential titles” being released in the future.

A data miner has uncovered specific mentions of Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald in the emulator the Switch uses to run FireRed and LeafGreen.

While I would love to play Ruby or Sapphire on my Switch, I’m not getting my hopes up any time soon — at least not until next year’s Pokemon Presents presentation.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520 and mchurella@altoonamirror.com