ThePokemonseries has over a thousand creatures across hundreds of games under its wing that the whole world has fallen in love with. Pokemon has so much content to enjoy in the mainline games, but there are plenty of more obscure titles that also deserve love.
With new games releasing nearly every year, the series is full of titles that go under many fans' radars. While the mainline games sell millions of copies, some of the spin-offs barely reach the 500K mark. Only true Pokemon masters will put in the time and effort to play these, but they are well worth your time.
11Pokemon: Magikarp Jump (Mobile)
Never Too Much Magikarp
It really feels like any Generation One Pokemon could have their own spin-off title and this one featuring the iconic fish that can’t do anything, Magikarp, is proof of that. Magikarp Jump was one of the first proper mobile games for the series and, unlike the massive success of Pokemon Go, it flopped like a Magikarp.
This adorable title has a cute artstyle that matches with its chilled gameplay loop involving you rasing a virtual Magikarp to you guessed it jump. By training your Magikarp, you can compete in a jumping league against other Magikarp trainers to win prizes and splash your way up the ranks.
10Pokemon Trozei! (DS)
Puzzling Fun
Pokemon dives into the puzzle genre all the time and one of the first was Pokemon Trozei. This game is all about sliding Pokemon on a grid to clear them, just like many otherpuzzle games.Being an early DS title, Pokemon Trozei came out before Generation Four, making it quite strange to look back on, as it contains none of the DS era’s staple Pokemon.
This game did get a sequel on the 3DS called Pokemon Battle Trozei, which did actually sell over one million copies, but even now, these games are never brought up as they have been overshadowed by better puzzle spin-offs. Pokemon Shuffle, in particular, is one that even steals the chibi Pokemon heads for its own, and it’s sad that Trozei is just a buried fossil of the series now.
9Pokemon Battle Revolution (Wii)
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
If you adore the battle side of the Pokemon games, Pokemon Battle Revolution is made for you. This battle simulator-like title is a hidden gem that puts your battle knowledge to the test with many modes, leagues and ways to battle that make you truly feel like a Pokemon master when you win.
What Battle Revolution does best is its spectacle, as every single battle feels so full of energy. From the brilliant animations which bring life into every single Pokemon to the announcer calling out intense moments like it’s an esports event, this game makes you feel like you are actually battling in a tournament with high stakes.
8Pokemon Channel (GameCube)
Take It Easy
This title is less of a game and more of an interactive Pokemon experience filled with charm that lets you experiencea slice of lifein the Pokemon universe with various Pokemon friends. The entire game is centralized around you and Pikachu watching TV together and enjoying the simple life.
From the TV, you may watch various shows with Pikachu, such as the weather presented by the anime’s talking Meowth, a shopping channel featuring a stylish Squirtle and two special anime episodes of a special Pichu Brothers show. This game isn’t the most engaging, but if you just want to relax with some Pokemon it can be more relaxing than any other game.
7Pokemon Trading Card Game 2: The Invasion Of Team GR! (Game Boy)
Tabletop Fun Returns
You have likely played the wonderful Pokemon Trading Card Game for Game Boy if you are a fan of the physicalTCG,but like a lot of the earlier spin-offs, you likely didn’t know that it had a sequel. Pokemon TCG 2 is just more of the first game, but now with even more expansions from the TCG and an entirely new story.
Since it was only released in Japan, it is hard to enjoy for the English-speaking audience as it requires a lot of text reading. However, there are fan translations if you cannot read Japanese, which allow more people to experience this wonderful adaptation of what playing theTCG back in 2001was like.
6Pokemon Tretta (Arcade) + Pokemon Tretta Lab (3DS)
Catch Those Disks
Many Pokemon titles rarely make it overseas, as Japan is always locked in a Pokemon frenzy. One sad part of this also includes the many arcade games, such as Pokemon Tretta. This title was a long-running machine that was produced from 2012 to 2023 in eastern regions where you could catch and battle Pokemon, which would be given to you as physical disks for you to use.
Around 2013, a special game, Pokemon Tretta Lab, launched for the 3DS in Japan that came with a shell for the system to fit inside. This title would allow you to take the disks you earned and insert them into the shell and interact with the game. With this, you could keep track of your collection as well as test your Pokemon in battle to help you plan for the arcade machine without wasting any credits.
5Pokemon Conquest (DS)
A Triumphant Collaboration
Despite being such an iconic series, Pokemon rarely ever makes crossover games, but when it does, they are some of the best titles. While everyone knows of the Pokken Tournament titles, there was another video game crossover before this in 2012. This year on the DS, we received the crossover of the grand Pokemon series and the Nobunaga’s Ambition series in Pokemon Conquest.
This tactical RPG takes the best of both series and fuses them together with ambition, resulting in a Pokemon title like no other. Controlling multiple Pokemon on a grid, you move them around to attack other Pokemon and achieve objectives while leveling up and protecting your allies. This title is quite difficult, but once the gameplay clicks, you will be met with a game that will stick with you.
4PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond (Wii)
Wonderful From Start To Finish
The PokePark series is iconic to the Wii, but if you weren’t a Pokemon fan during this era, you likely have never even heard of the name. PokePark is just like the Mystery Dungeon series in that you play as a Pokemon and run around making friends with other Pokemon, but in this series, it’s all about visiting and playing around in a theme park-like world.
PokePark 2: Wonders Beyond is especially great as it is not only themed all around Generation Five but also improves the gameplay to be more varied and fun with the same charm and fun as the original. This series is full of silly dialogue and funny mini-games that show a side of the Pokemon themselves that we don’t often get to see in the mainline titles.
3Learn With Pokemon: Typing Adventure (DS)
We Still Can’t Spell Alomomola
Nintendo’s exclusivity with Pokemon may be more loose in modern times, but back in the DS days, if a Pokemon game was being made there were no mobile or PC shenanigans. This lead to some “interesting” games, to say the least, and Learn with Pokemon: Typing Adventure is one of the silliest.
This game, as the name suggests, is an educational title that teaches you how to type through the use of your favorite Pokemon and the power of an EDM-inspired soundtrack. You may think that typing on the tiny DS screen would be an awful way to learn, and you would be right, so this title came with a small keyboard that connects to the cartridge of the game, allowing you to learn how to type Chimchar over and over.
2Pokemon Pikachu Color / Pocket Pikachu 2 GS
Tamagotchi X Pokemon
In the 90s, virtual pets inside a little device were all the rage and, of course, Pokemon had to capitalize on the market with their adorable mascot with their own take. The Pocket Pikachu 2 GS, released in 2000, was The Pokemon Company’s second answer to this craze, but since PokeMania was fading, it became a quickly forgotten relic.
This device is practically a modified pedometer with a little Pikachu who will always be mad at you. By walking around, you accumulate Watts which you can then feed to Pikachu to keep it happy, but this Pikachu is greedy and will not be satisfied easily. As you raise your friendship with the little mouse, you unlock more cute animations of Pikachu, that is, if you can keep it happy for even a day.
