🔗 Share this article

Following a glimpse of world peace courtesy of Pokémon Go, it's undeniable that the monster collecting franchise is about as mainstream video games around. The iconic Pikachu is every bit as famous as Mickey Mouse, perhaps even more. The continued frenzy around card prices ensures almost daily Pokémon headlines. You'd be hard-pressed to find a Pokémon game that failed to move at least a couple million units. Even, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.

Yet despite that ubiquity and popularity, there are still Pokémon games that are totally overlooked. These represent games that didn't get their proper due, or were overshadowed by the hype of the mainline series. These are Pokémon games stuck on ill-fated platforms or services, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that probably would have blossomed if they had received follow-ups or modern remakes. With these criteria in mind, this list will not be just one more reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. We're going beneath the surface.

Still, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before adjusting your spectacles and writing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with discerning palates, agreed?

Pokémon Ranch: The Chill Forerunner

Too many Pokémon games focus on the combat element of the series, and far too few of them focus on the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a pet. Sure, modern titles include small features like these in modern games—you can play with your monsters in camps. But I am longing for a Pokémon game more in the style of Nintendogs or The Sims.

My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Nintendo Wii isn't it. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the antecedent to Pokémon Home; that is, as a storage system to store monsters from different games. Critical reception from its release noted Ranch was a poor if not truly ugly game. It's not my goal to dispute these claims, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.

As the name suggests, the game takes place on a farm where your personal Miis—imagine this—just relax with your pals. The activities with Pokémon were basic, and a significant part of the draw was observing what your monsters might do when not forced into cockfighting. Ideally, Pokémon Ranch would have been the start of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can collect a fee for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will not get a Pokémon Ranch game developed to its fullest potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but I also know that the upcoming Switch exclusive is as much a puzzler as it is a life simulation.

Ranch was released well before Stardew Valley kicked off the lasting craze of cozy games. It was prior to the rise of idle games, and the video playthrough normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Most people never realized that Ranch's proposal to watch your creatures as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a shallow core. In truth, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, there's a Twitch stream dedicated to running the game continuously. The streamer who operates the channel states that, after almost twenty years of playing the game, he still has not seen everything that is in it. Justice for Pokémon Ranch: no one knew what to do with you in 2008.

Pokémon Duel: The Strategic Board Game Gone

Did you know that Pokemon once had an licensed tabletop game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to digitize the physical experience in a more approachable format. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's earliest forays into the world of freemium mobile gaming. Duel had the trappings of a gacha game 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 tactical game with Duel anymore. "Words cannot describe how much I adored and miss this game," one YouTube comment reads, years after Duel's servers were shut down. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of complexity, approachability, game design, and content in general," another commenter wrote. "I truly believe if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket together."

Regrettably, Duel's initial launch was plagued with server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people little reason to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company chose to resurrect this franchise, it's unclear things would play out differently. The unique board structure made for a great strategic challenge for the few folks who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting visual mess.

Pokémon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Gem

Man, 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 silly, it was verging on internet meme. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a team of ineffective monsters who simply cannot do anything, I'm shocked we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.

Within Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with raising the ultimate version of the notorious fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'karp raised to enter competitions to see who can jump the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many mobile games, requires the player to wait before they can train their Magikarp further. But it is clear throughout the experience that Select Button appreciated and got the fan culture around Magikarp.

Nowhere was this more evident than in Jump's brutal random events, where your Magikarp was just as likely to raise its stats as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also experimented with other things I wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same species of monster. I know it's not practical 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 profound game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that forever alter how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will likely be in the conversation when 2026 GOTY season arrives.

---

With dozens of core games and spin-offs, chances are that I omitted that particular Pokémon game you totally love but argue that too few people played. I know that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokemon Pinball with affection notwithstanding argu