After months of rumors and speculation, The Pokemon Company finally announced Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee for the Nintendo Switch with a gameplay trailer. The trailer for Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee was very informative, but it still left some things a mystery, like whether or not players would be able to evolve Pikachu and Eevee in the games. While more substantial information is coming at E3, that particular question has already been answered.
As reported by Game Informer, Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee will not let players evolve their starter Pikachu and Eevee. However, it will still be possible to acquire Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon, and Raichu in the games through other means.
For one, other Pikachus and Eevees acquired in the games can be evolved. Secondly, we know that there will be Pokemon GO integration that will allow players to transfer the monsters they've captured in the mobile game to the Switch releases, so that should be another way to acquire them in Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee.
Some fans may be surprised that Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee won't allow players to evolve their starter Pokemon. However, this actually makes some sense. After all, Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee are directly inspired by Pokemon Yellow, which featured a Pikachu that couldn't be evolved into a Raichu, similarly to the Pokemon anime.
Pokemon Yellow is inspiring Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee in other ways as well. For example, the fact that the starter Pokemon are Pikachu and Eevee mirrors how players started with Pikachu in Pokemon Yellow and their rival started with Eevee. Furthermore, Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee also feature Pokemon that follow the player around outside their Pokeballs, and also like Pokemon Yellow, the games are set in the Kanto region.
While quite a few details have been revealed about Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee, fans can expect even more to be revealed at E3 2018 in June.
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee will launch on November 16, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
Source: Game Informer