These are the 20 BEST Pokémon games ever

 We celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pokémon by choosing our favorite games from Nintendo's most successful and iconic pocket monsters.

Today marks a quarter of a century since Pokémon first hit the market with its Red and Green editions in Japan. Since then, the saga has become a synonym of success , selling millions of units with each of its main deliveries and producing a multitude of spin-offs that have allowed us to enjoy our favorite creatures in a wide variety of different genres. Not to mention the gigantic merchandising machinery that has always been associated with the license. After yesterday's announcement of the future of the saga And taking advantage of this important date, we wanted to bring you back our list of what we believe are the 20 best games in the series.

To make things a little more interesting and varied, we have set a few small rules for ourselves when designing this list . Thus, we will only choose one installment of each spin-off (although here we will make a small exception, as you will see), while of the main titles we will include all the editions (including the final one) as one. In addition, if there is a game that has a remake , such as the cases of Silver and Gold or Red and Blue , we will only select either the remake or the original version, but never both.

With all that said, we finally make our way to our list of the 20 best Pokémon games - we hope you enjoy it!

20. Pokémon Ranger: Traces of Light (2010 - Nintendo DS)

The Pokémon Ranger trilogy may not have been the best that has come out of the license, but it must be recognized that they are far from being bad games, offering very simple, enjoyable and pleasant adventures to play . In addition, his proposal was, at least, quite curious, since here our objective was not to "capture" these creatures, but to make friends with them and "calm them" by drawing circles at full speed , something that against the bosses had more of a what it might look like. In fact, here the Pokémon with whom we are friends did not fight, but simply supported us during the confrontations giving us various advantages with their abilities.

Unfortunately, its low difficulty, the slow rhythm of its scripts, and the monotonous that its main mechanics became, prevented these games from going any further. Of all of them, we are left with Trazos de Luz , the most polished and complete delivery of all .

19. Pokémon Colosseum (2004 - Nintendo GameCube)

At first, Pokémon Colosseum was going to be the equivalent of Pokémon Stadium of the third generation, but in the end what we received was a much more ambitious and experimental game that, in addition to offering us the possibility of waging three-dimensional battles on the desktop with our Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Fire Red and Leaf Green in all types of stadiums, it also brought with it an exclusive and surprisingly original role-playing adventure.

In fact, it was not the typical Pokémon game , since here we played one of the "bad guys" (who, obviously, was not so bad ) and instead of capturing pocket monsters we had to steal them from other trainers to purify them, as long as they were corrupt. Thanks to this premise, the title presented a story and a somewhat more mature and darker tone than what we were used to seeing in the saga, in addition to completely moving away from its typical clichés, such as "getting everyone" or getting all the gym medals.

The downside is that the main plot was extremely short and the selection of Pokémon that we could steal was too limited. Some more exploration was also missed, as the sets were too small and linear. Of course, all this did not prevent it from being a very entertaining and recommended experience for any fan of the series.

18. Pokkén Tournament DX (2017 - Nintendo Switch)

We are not going to deny that we had been wanting a Pokémon fighting game practically since we got our hands on Red and Blue for the first time, so the announcement of Pokkén Tournament was something we received with open arms, even more so when the team behind him featured such reputable names in the genre as Katsuhiro Harada, creator of Tekken.

Although the final result was not as satisfactory as we would have liked, we have to admit that it offered us a very original and unique fighting game that divided the action into open phases with three-dimensional free movement with other more closed duels and with the classic camera. side of the genus. Both did not stop constantly exchanging, which favored very dynamic and entertaining confrontations, especially if we take into account the care and care that had been put into representing each of their playable Pokémon.

However, its character roster was too small, the game modes seemed insufficient and very unattractive, and the title suffered from an alarming playable depth that made us tire of it early. Luckily, its DX version for Switch solved some of these problems (relatively), making it an interesting purchase option for anyone wanting to indulge in cakes with their favorite pocket monsters.

17. Detective Pikachu (2018 - Nintendo 3DS)

Detective Pikachu is the most recent and pleasant surprise that the saga has left us in a long time . In essence, it is a very easy and simple graphic adventure whose puzzles offer everything but a challenge, but despite this it managed to win us over for a single reason: its charismatic protagonist.

Unlike the Pikachu we all know, this peculiar detective speaks with a hoarse and serious voice, he is addicted to coffee, he does not know how to run on all fours and he goes everywhere always tired, he does not hesitate to try to flirt with any cute girl he crosses on his way, he is unable to perform Pokémon moves and solves cases and crimes like no one else. Thanks to its constant presence, the adventure gains an interest and charm in its narrative as we have never seen before in a game in the series , getting us to get hooked and enjoy each step we take until we reach the end and solve all the mysteries that are pose us.

16. Pokémon Stadium (1998 - Nintendo 64)

Although logic tells us that we should have chosen its sequel, since it offers twice as many playable Pokémon, we have finally stayed with the first Pokémon Stadium (really the second, since the original never left Japan) for various reasons.

In essence, it was a game where the only thing we did was fight , either with rented and predetermined Pokémon or with those we had trained in our Red and Blue cartridges on the Game Boy (we could do the transfer thanks to an accessory that was included with the title), although of course, this was the first time we could see our favorite monsters recreated in 3D , a leap that for many of us was really shocking after getting used to the pixels of Nintendo's veteran laptop.

In addition to this impact, which was evidently lost to a large extent with its continuation, it should also be noted that all the battles were commented in Spanish by a live voice by a commentator who left us one of the most mythical dubbing of the time (they seem like fires! artifice!), who was changed for the sequel without reaching the same level. Finally, in addition to fighting, both titles included a surprisingly addictive selection of minigames , although these were much more inspired by the first part, which is why we have stayed with it for this list. In short, a very iconic and brutally challenging game (completing all the cups was no small feat) that allowed us to experience the fights of the saga with all the spectacle they deserved.

15. Pokémon X / Y (2013 - Nintendo 3DS)

Thanks to Pokémon X / Y, the interest in these iconic Nintendo creatures, which seemed to have waned with its previous installments, returned in a big way, becoming one of the best-selling games of the entire series . The sixth generation did many things well, including taking a necessary and spectacular graphic leap that became their main claim. In addition, the new creatures had a great design, recovering to some extent the style and charm of the first two games in the series.

Unfortunately, at the playable level it did not contribute much , offering the same (and fun) formula as always, and its contents were not up to the mark, leaving us with one of the most decaffeinated and empty post-game of the entire saga . The huge downturn it brought with it in the difficulty of the main adventure did not help either, turning our journey through Kalos into a real walk. Of course, although it is the generation that we have enjoyed the least, it is still a highly recommended and entertaining game for all Pikachu fans and company.

14. Pokémon Pinball (2000 - Game Boy Color)

Pokémon Pinball had the honor of being one of the first spin-offs in the series and, at the same time, one of the most addictive . An idea as simple as combining the capture of creatures that has characterized the license with the fun of a good pinball table ended up perfectly.

The title had two boards (red and blue), each with its own characteristics and exclusive Pokémon to capture, while our ball was obviously a Poké Ball. As we played, we could activate the trip various mechanisms to improve it, travel between regions (in each one different monsters appeared) and, of course, find these iconic creatures to capture them cleanly and even evolve them.

Of course, the goal was to get hold of the original 151 Pokémon and complete our Pokédex (the data was saved from one game to another), thus giving us the perfect excuse to play game after game and always feel that we progressed along with it we had a great time. A real vice that included a special cartridge to add a vibration function to the console and that we felt each of the blows we gave. In addition, it had a fantastic sequel for GBA just as recommended.

13. Pokémon XD: Dark Tempest (2005 - Nintendo GameCube)

With this game we break a bit the rule of not including more than one installment of the same spin-off saga , since, despite what its title might imply, it is a sequel to Pokémon Colosseum , albeit a lot more focused on the role-playing adventure part than the Stadium- style fighting.

Thanks to this, Dark Tempest is presented as a much bigger, fuller, longer and more polished game than its predecessor in every way . The story was much more interesting, the characters were better treated, there were more Pokémon that we could "steal" (almost double), the purification process of them was improved considerably, and so on. And all this while maintaining the tone and playable bases of Colosseum , as well as its multiplayer modes and compatibility with Game Boy Advance and third-generation games to be able to give us cakes in 3D.

12. Pokémon Puzzle Challenge (2001 - Game Boy Color)

Although many may only know Intelligent Systems from Fire Emblem and Paper Mario , the truth is that this veteran and reputable studio has participated in many Nintendo games, and they have always displayed an enviable level of quality. His contribution to the Pokémon world was to create the Puzzle League saga by resuming the gameplay of Panel de Pon , which resulted in two addictive puzzle games (later there would be more, but they would no longer be related to the creatures of Game Freak), one for Nintendo 64 ( Pokémon Puzzle League ) and Pokémon Puzzle Challenge for Game Boy Color.

Both titles boasted the same gameplay, consisting of aligning three equal pieces to make them disappear and thus create combos with which to take life from our rival in really intense duels in which we had to prevent our pieces from touching the top of the table. screen. We opted for the portable version, since we found it much more complete and entertaining , in addition to adapting better to the console due to its playing style, offering a multitude of challenging modes of great duration, capture elements and an enviable soundtrack, in addition to be based on the Pokémon Gold and Silver games instead of anime, as it happened on the desktop. What was said: addictive and complete like few others. Its quality was such that no subsequent attempt to make a new Pokemon puzzle spin-off has even overshadowed it.

11. Pokémon Sword and Shield (2019 - Nintendo Switch)

Pokémon Sword and Shield is the latest game in the series and the first of its major installments to be released on a desktop console . Although its development has been involved in a great controversy due to the little progress that its technical section has suffered and because of the decision that Game Freak has taken to include only 400 creatures (thus avoiding that we can "get hold of them all"), The truth is that it has turned out to be a good game that has contributed really interesting ideas and mechanics to the series.

The play with the open world of the Wild Area, the enormous improvements of the competitive, the ease of raising and having perfect creatures, the hilarious raids or the tactical touch that the possibility of enlarging our Pokémon brings are virtues that we have loved and that have put the series in the right direction . It does not get rid of certain flaws that separate it from the best generations, such as a level design that is too linear and corridor, and when it comes down to it it is hard to get rid of the feeling of being in front of a transition delivery, but that does not mean that be tremendously enjoyable by any fan of these pocket monsters.

10. Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum (2007, 2009 - Nintendo DS)

The fourth generation of Pokémon left us with an extremely conservative title that, despite everything, had many virtues. The formula of the series has been more than proven in these two decades, so it continued to offer an extremely addictive adventure, very complete and with many hours of fun, even if it was limited to doing the usual and its post-game did not arrive at the level of its predecessors, not to mention a somewhat irregular creature design.

Here we must highlight its Platinum edition , which solved many of the problems of Diamond and Pearl , leaving us a much more memorable, complete and interesting title that also gave us the joy of recovering the Battlefront of Pokémon Emerald . In addition, we cannot forget that this generation was the one that introduced the current distinction of attack movements between special and physical, assuming a revolution in the competitive field that has lasted to this day. You will soon be able to rediscover it, or enjoy it for the first time, thanks to the remake announced for Nintendo Switch , which will arrive later this year.

9. Pokémon Sun and Moon / Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (2016, 2017 - Nintendo 3DS)

Pokémon Sun and Moon benefited a lot from the resurgence of the Pokémon fever that we live with Pokémon GO , since it came out just a few months after the mobile phenomenon, but beyond that, it is a great game that has earned its place in this list on its own merits. In fact, in it we have one of the most ambitious installments of the entire series , with which Game Freak tried to give it a facelift and break with some of its traditional conceptions, giving a new structure to the development of the adventure with the Insular Tour and creating truly unique Pokémon with very exclusive details that provided all kinds of new and unprecedented strategies in the competitive field.

In addition, the narrative was enhanced with spectacular video sequences and the "good vibes" that was breathed in the way of life and understanding the relationship with the Pokémon of the Alola inhabitants was as refreshing as contagious. And let's not forget about removing the heaviness of Hidden Machines in favor of Pokémounts, either! Of course, all this was accompanied by a graphical improvement that exploited the capabilities of Nintendo 3DS to its last consequences , abandoning the "big head" style of its predecessors for a more proportionate and stylized one. Perhaps its greatest scourge was the zero difficulty that its main adventure presented (in addition to being a bit more linear than usual), as well as a post-gamesomething scarce and not too interesting, the latter defect that was solved with its Ultrasol and Ultraluna editions .

8. Pokémon Conquest (2012 - Nintendo DS)

What if we brought together the historical figures of feudal Japan and brought their wars to the Pokémon world in a turn-based strategy RPG? This strange question was the one that Koei Tecmo and Nintendo had to ask themselves before developing this unusual crossover between Nobunaga's Ambition and Pokémon , which, unfortunately, never had official distribution in Spain , so the only European version that existed was that of United Kingdom, forcing us to resort to imports to enjoy this great game.

As we say, the result could not be more satisfactory , becoming a warlord with an eevee that, based on strategic Pokémon battles, had to conquer and unify the Ransei region by challenging other historical warriors and recruiting new troops to to join his cause, and all this while managing our army to ensure the defense of our territories while attacking others.

At the audiovisual and playable level, the title is a real marvel . Perhaps his plot was too simple and a little more depth and difficulty would not have hurt the battles either, but overall, it was a hilarious adventure, very satisfying and exceptionally long as soon as we set out to complete all his campaigns after the battle. main story. Without a doubt, one of the best Pokémon games ever made.

7. Pokémon Snap (1999 - Nintendo 64)

And we come to the penultimate spin-off on this list, one of the strangest and most surprising that you would expect. How HAL Laboratory was able to make a real game consisting of taking photos of the Pokémon? It is something that we still wonder, but the truth is that its quality and its ability to entertain is beyond doubt . Actually, the title was a kind of rails shooter in which we were advancing through different routes automatically while we photographed the creatures we encountered in it while they went about their normal life in their natural habitat. Obviously our reel was limited and depending on our photos, we would earn more or less points by completing each tour.

We were evaluated with a multitude of criteria , such as the pose of the Pokémon, that there is more than one in the same photo, the size, that we capture a unique or special situation, our technique, etc. To achieve this, we had different objects that we could use with the environment and with pocket monsters to promote these conditions to occur, encouraging us to constantly experiment to solve the "puzzles" that gave us the key to take the best possible photo. . Each tour was so full of secrets and exclusive details that we could repeat them dozens of times and continue discovering new things, something that managed to hook us with amazing ease and to put hours and hours into the game almost without us noticing. A true one-of-a-kind gem.

6. Pokémon Mysterious World: Sky Explorers (2009 - Nintendo DS)

Pokémon Mysterious World is another of the most prolific spin-offs that the license has left us, with several deliveries already under its belt. Here the idea is to turn ourselves into a Pokémon (something that is usually done with a personality test) to make friends with the rest of the creatures that live in a world without humans and where they have developed their own society. And all this while we overcome dozens of challenging randomly designed dungeons in which we move in turns.

Although their playable formula is not exactly the most varied (we will do the same from the beginning to the end), they are very entertaining games with surprisingly complex and elaborate scripts that tend to capture our interest with relative ease . And all this not to mention the gigantic number of hours that it will take us to complete them 100% and meet all its optional challenges.

Keeping a single delivery is not easy and we are convinced that each of you will have your favorite, but this time we have decided to bet on Pokémon Mysterious World: Sky Explorers , the extended version of Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness . It is not the most polished in the playable (that honor is held by Megamisterioso World ), but it is the one with the most unforgettable and mature story and characters that we have ever seen in a Pokémon product , reaching levels of narrative brilliance unheard of for the Serie. Without a doubt, an essential story for any fan of these charismatic creatures.

5. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (2004 - Game Boy Advance)

Finally we come to the game that started it all or, to be more specific, to the remake that it received on Game Boy Advance . We are not going to deny that it has cost us a lot to choose this version or the original, since the merit of creating this phenomenon, its worldwide impact and its grateful "simplicity" in parenting are things that no one is going to take away from it, but valuing it with a little more coldness and putting nostalgia aside, we have finally opted for Fire Red and Leaf Green against Red and Blue .

In general, we find ourselves with the same and mythical adventure that we already live in the veteran Game Boy, but with totally renewed graphics and including all the playable and content improvements that the second and third generation brought with them : more creatures, the possibility of running, being able to play as a boy or a girl, EVs and IVs, parenting, and so on. Obviously, there were also new areas to explore, challenges to face and a much more interesting and long post-game. That is, not only was it a much more beautiful game visually, but it was also much more polished and balanced playable , making its competitive game much more interesting and fair, but at the same time preserving all the enormous charm that made this game. adventure a whole mass phenomenon.

4. Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald (2003, 2005 - Game Boy Advance)

It will probably surprise many of you that we preferred to stick with the original versions of Rubí, Sapphire and Emerald rather than with their remakes for Nintendo 3DS, but, to be honest, we believe that the Game Boy Advance editions came out rounder, especially when it comes to Emerald Pokémon.

Although the graphic leap was not as great as we expected and the playable formula barely evolved , Ruby and Sapphire were the first titles in the saga to introduce a major conflict related to certain legendary Pokémon that put the world in danger, increasing the scale and epic of our adventures at levels that we had not known until then.

Playable they also introduced certain novelties that ended up defining the entire competitive sector of the series , such as tag team matches and the possibility of better controlling the breeding of our creatures through IVs and EVs. In addition, with Esmeralda one of the most exciting and tough post-game of any installment with the Battle Front was introduced , where an infinity of really challenging and complicated combats with special rules awaited us, something that was inexplicably eliminated from its remake.

3. Pokemon Black and White (2011 - Nintendo DS)

With the arrival of the fifth generation, Game Freak returned to the fray with a new game that, despite following the same formula as always, was able to offer us a lot of fun and which is, without a doubt, the best story and narrative that has never had a main installment of the series so far , leaving us with a character as memorable and elaborate as N, who makes us question many of the conceptions of the Pokémon world.

Not surprisingly, the final stretch of this title is probably the most epic and surprising of the entire saga , distancing itself from the traditional Pokémon League to culminate with a much more elaborate climax. And all this accompanied by a completely renewed graphic section and with really surprising effects for what we were used to seeing on Nintendo DS. The bad news is that, at the level of creature design (not so in the human one), it is the weakest delivery, but, in general, it is a hilarious and very complete adventure that gave us many hours of pure entertainment. Without a doubt, one of our favorite generations.

2. Pokemon Black and White 2 (2012 - Nintendo DS)

Unlike what usually happens, Pokémon Black and White did not receive a third edition. Instead, Game Freak opted to make a direct sequel to them to take us once again to Unova , but a few years later, with new protagonists and a completely new story. The interesting thing is that, despite the obvious recycling and not including a new generation of creatures, rediscovering this region became a very enjoyable adventure , since the passage of time had caused many changes in most areas, so which still retained a certain freshness.

As if that were not enough, the title featured a really tough and challenging post-game that recovered the best traditions of the saga , offering us a challenge at the height with which to motivate us to continue playing and strive to overcome it, leaving us with one of the deliveries more complete, challenging, long and polished of the entire series, virtues that have ended up leaving us an indelible memory and one of the generations that we have enjoyed the most at a competitive level.

1. Pokémon HeartGold Gold and SoulSilver Silver (2010 - Nintendo DS)

And the crown is, as many of you have imagined, for the remake of Pokémon Gold and Silver . Anything we tell you about this game will probably fall short , so if you like Pokémon and have never had a chance to get the hang of it, we encourage you to try changing that. The Game Boy Color editions continue to be, to this day, the best the saga has given , offering a gigantic adventure that introduced not one, but two entire regions into a technical prodigy that we must thank for the incredible skills as a programmer. of the sadly deceased former president of Nintendo: Satoru Iwata.

New types of Pokémon, 100 new brilliantly designed creatures, a well-adjusted difficulty, an expanded story, Shiny Pokémon, epic and unique moments, day and night cycle in real time, and more. And as if that were not enough, thanks to its third edition, Cristal , the story was expanded, the possibility of being able to play as a girl was introduced for the first time and the post-game was considerably extended with the challenging and long Battle Tower. With all this, it is easy to understand that a game that collects this base and improves it with the advances that the saga had made up to the fourth generation (graphics included) has become our favorite. And not only that, but it also expands its contents and brings us back a renewed and challenging Battlefront! A true past and, without a doubt, the most complete title of the series (and by far). Hopefully we will see something similar again soon.