PokéBase - Pokémon Q&A
3 votes
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So, I’ve just fallen back into the world of Pokémon thanks to my 4 year old little girl. Learning an LOT lately. Are there discernible differences in game cartridges by country anymore? I.E. is a Japanese version of BD the same as the US version with different stickers on the cartridge? Or is some of the internal content “disabled” or barred/changed?

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edited ago by
I have a Russian copy of Shield, North American copies of other games, European Mystery Dungeon, and other Japanese games unrelated to Pokemon. The only noticeable differences are cosmetic with the sticker and the cases. They all work the same on the Switch without any issue, and they all play in English.
There hasn’t been any major gameplay variants by region since the early 2000’s, that I’m aware of. All my international copies of games work the same as their counterpart.
I also have Japanese and English copies of nearly every single Pokemon DS and 3DS game, and they all function the same, albeit there’s a region lock on the 3DS family. The switch doesn’t have the region lock.

Tl;dr if you bought an international Switch game, you should be able to play it fully in your preferred language without any issues.
You’re a lifesaver! I can get the Japanese version of BD/SP (both) for $55, waaay more cost effective. I was nervous of losing in game experiences (like Jirachi and Mew in BD/SP or Shamin in Arceus) from having different regional cartridges. You have helped me tremendously!
i mean if you count text, some games have slightly different dialouge (like gladion threatening to strangle hau in french)
Thanks Polteageist! I figured there were text variations, but my main concern was content in terms of gifts/bonuses etc. I didn’t want using a different country’s cartridge to lock me out of getting Mew in BD/SP, for instance. Or Darkrai in Legends: Arceus, as another example.

1 Answer

–2 votes

Switch Cartridges are not Region locked (all except Chinese TenCent ones).

DLC is typically is not locked either but in concern for Pokémon they are not region locked. So you may buy a NA expansion for your Japanese Pokémon Game.

ago by
OP is wondering if in-game events or game contents are region locked.
@Leviathan Do you want this question back on the unanswered list?
Nah. I think Silver got me covered on my answer!