There’s a reason your mom knows Pikachu. Over the past three decades, Pokemon has gone from being Satoshi Tajiri’s childhood dream to the highest-grossing entertainment franchise in the world.
The pocket monsters’ legacy includes a wildly popular anime, widely scalped trading cards, a movie starring Ryan Reynolds and many, many games. New entries in the series are dipping into the history of the franchise and dialing up the nostalgia. Pokemon Champions, which is slated to release in 2026, will combine all of the franchise’s battling gimmicks under one unified competitive game.
A Pokemon game exists for nearly every gamer, whether you love exploring new worlds, bonding with cuddly creatures, crawling through dungeons, solving mysteries or battling with other players.
We’ve curated this list of the best Pokemon games you can play, including mainline games and spin-off titles from throughout the franchise’s history.
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Best Pokemon games of all time
Recent updates to the list
February 2026: Removed Pokken Tournament DX. Added Pokemon Legends: Z-A, the latest game in Game Freak’s open world Pokemon spin off series.
New Pokemon games coming in 2026
There are multiple new Pokemon games releasing in 2026. Pokemon Champions is a player-versus-player battler that will be released for the Nintendo Switch, Android and iOS allowing players to bring over their favorite monsters from the Pokemon Home app. New set expansions for Pokemon TCG Pocket and new events for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet will also be released throughout the year.
Best Pokemon game FAQs
How we determined CNET’s best Pokemon games
When creating this list of the best Pokemon games, we factored in how unique and enjoyable these games are for most players. We evaluated criteria including graphics quality, innovative gameplay mechanics and compelling narratives. We balanced our picks to include a variety of mainline titles across all nine generations while still representing the wealth of Pokemon spin-offs from other genres. We favored games that hold up well for contemporary gamers and added something new to the iconic franchise. If you’re looking for help choosing your next game, CNET’s top PlayStation 4 list is a good place to start narrowing down your choices.
