Following a taste of global harmony courtesy of Pokemon Go, there's no question that the creature-catching series stands as one of the most ubiquitous gaming titles in existence. Pikachu is just as recognizable as Disney's mascot, perhaps even more. The continued excitement around card prices ensures almost daily Pokemon news stories. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a couple million copies. Remarkably, unofficial Pokémon games achieve popularity annually.
However in spite of that ubiquity and popularity, some Pokémon games that are totally underappreciated. These represent games that failed to receive their fair shake, or were buried under the hype of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games stuck on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were early forays onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got follow-ups or contemporary re-releases. Considering these factors, we won't be offering yet another reminder for Pokémon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're digging deep.
Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and writing 'Actually,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?
Pokemon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner
An excessive number of Pokémon games emphasize the combat aspect of the series, and far too few of them highlight the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a pet. Sure, there are small features like these in modern games—players may pet, and feed your monsters in camps. However, I'm longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.
My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from various titles. Reviews from its launch noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to argue against these claims, but it compels me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've come to a everyday life Pokémon game.
True to its title, the game is set on a farm where your personal Miis—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The activities with Pokémon were simple, and a lot of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a beautiful franchise built on the simple pleasures of coexisting with a small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, it's likely we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its complete potential. One might cry 'save us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is as much a puzzle game as it is a life sim.
Ranch came out well before Stardew Valley sparked the lasting craze of cozy games. It was prior to the rise of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's concept to observe your creatures 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 live stream dedicated to broadcasting the game 24/7. The streamer who runs the channel maintains that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he even now has not encountered everything that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.
Pokémon Duel: The Tactical Board Game Lost
Did you know that Pokemon once had an official tabletop game with action figures? Pokemon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the tabletop experience in a more accessible format. Duel was also, sadly, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of free-to-play mobile gaming. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha game where players could pay to win—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new figures.
These questionable mechanics masked a sad truth: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel today. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," a YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, game design, and content in general," another commenter declared. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."
Regrettably, Duel's early release was plagued with server issues. Bugs, alongside Duel's predatory business model, gave people few incentives to return. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unique board structure made for a great tactical experience for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a intimidating visual mess.
Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Absurd Gem
Man, why don't more Pokémon games loosen up a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company approving a game with a concept so silly, it was verging on shitpost. Considering we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of useless monsters who literally can't do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.
In Magikarp Jump, the player is charged with raising the ultimate version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can kick your butt. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can flop the highest. I'm not a fan is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires the player to wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers loved and understood the fan culture around Magikarp.
This was most apparent than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get eaten by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the great writing, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the mainline games would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species of monster. It's understood it's not feasible for any Pokémon game to have dozens of variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but we can hope.
Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or deep game, but the seeds of brilliance 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 running when 2026 GOTY season rolls around.
With dozens of core games and derivative titles, chances are that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. I know that some people remember games like Pokemon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball with affection despite argu