The Pokemon Company and Nintendo have announced that two new games in the long-running Pokemon series, titled Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Pokemon Let's Go Eevee, will be released for Nintendo Switch on November 16.

In-keeping with recent rumours, the games will take place in the Kanto region (the setting of the original 1996 games) and represent a full 3D reimagining of 1998's Pokemon Yellow, which allowed players to buddy up with the iconic electric rat Pikachu. This time, players will partner with either Pikachu or Eevee depending on which version of the game they pick up.

The Let's Go games are not part of the mainline roleplaying series that generally usher in a new generation of pocket monsters, with Nintendo indicating that one of those is scheduled for the back half of 2019. Instead, these games blend the tried-and-true catching and battling mechanics with the more casual feel of last year's juggernaut mobile game Pokemon GO.

Players can play the whole game with just one Joy-Con controller — or with a new accessory called the Poke Ball Plus that Nintendo plans to release alongside the game — flicking with motion controls to throw poke balls similar to GO. The new games will also be able to link up with the smartphone app via Bluetooth to transfer pokemon caught out in the real world from players' phones to their Nintendo Switch.

Though the games clearly hope to capture some of the nostalgia-fuelled success of GO — containing only the original collection of 151 monsters plus their weird Alolan forms — Let's Go is also designed as an easy entry point to the series for new and younger players.