In the wake of a taste of world peace thanks to Pokemon Go, there's no question that the monster collecting series is about as popular video games around. The iconic Pikachu is just as recognizable as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The ongoing frenzy surrounding card prices guarantees almost daily Pokémon headlines. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a couple million units. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.
Yet despite that ubiquity and popularity, some Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These are games that didn't get their fair shake, or were overshadowed under the hype of the core series. These are Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto new mediums. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they ever got follow-ups or modern remakes. Considering these factors, this list will not be yet another recommendation for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Still, these might be these Pokémon games. Therefore, prior to rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, agreed?
Pokemon Ranch: The Cozy Forerunner
Too many Pokémon games emphasize the battling aspect of the series, and far too few of them highlight the everyday realities that would come with owning a pet. Sure, there are small features like these in modern games—players may play with your monsters in camps. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokémon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is best seen as the precursor to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from various titles. Critical reception from its launch noted Ranch was a bad if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to dispute these notions, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the closest we've ever gotten to a everyday life Pokémon game.
As the name suggests, the game is set on a farm where your Mii avatars—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the draw was watching what your monsters might do when they're not being forced into battle. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a tiny companion. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.
Ranch was released long before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was prior to the rise of passive games, and the video playthrough normalization of viewing games you aren't actively controlling. Many never realized that Ranch's concept to observe your critters as much as you play with them didn't mask a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, there's a Twitch stream focused on broadcasting the game continuously. The individual who runs the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he still has not encountered all that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Gone
Did you know that Pokémon once had an official tabletop game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest ventures into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the trappings of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the slow progression for new figures.
All of these questionable mechanics obfuscated a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb strategy game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, seven years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Truly I think this game was better than TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, accessibility, game design, and features in general," another commenter wrote. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be engaging with it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Unfortunately, Duel's early release was plagued with connectivity problems. Bugs, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people few incentives to come back. Should a revival occur, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would end better. The unique game board made for a fantastic strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that board is also a daunting visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Silly Experiment
Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a rare instance of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a premise so absurd, it was bordering on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers venture forth with a full belt of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that poke fun at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with breeding the ultimate version of the notorious fish. This isn't about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to pause before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that Select Button loved and understood the fan culture around Magikarp.
Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was as likely to improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Beyond the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things one might wish the core series would do, like offering a wide variety of the same type of monster. It's understood it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have 30 different colorings and patterns for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.
Magikarp Jump was not a particularly sophisticated or profound game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with unpredictable results that forever alter how you can train a companion also describe the excellent Mewgenics. It's worth noting: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when 2026 GOTY season arrives.
Given dozens of mainline entries and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that not nearly enough people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu
