Pokémon is the highest grossing multimedia franchise of all time. Which is even more impressive when you consider it’s one of Nintendo’s “newer” staples. Their two other iconic franchises, Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda, both have over 10 years on Pokémon, debuting in 1985 and 1986 respectively. At the core of this massive franchise of movies, anime, books, trading cards, and more is video games.
Pokémon games are broken up by Generations, with each new Gen taking place in a new region and introducing new Pocket Monsters to catch. To date, there are 9 different generations and over 1,000 different Pokémon. And I’m going to rank them. The generations, not the Pokémon. I’m not that crazy. As always, this is a subjective list meant to entertain with a bit of informing on the side. Your opinions may not be the same as mine, and that’s okay.
Without further ado, let’s start with the worst.
Honorable Mention: Larry
Generation 1 (1998-2000)
Mainline games- Red, Blue, & Yellow
This entry could just be the famous image listing all the big problems with Gen 1 and nothing else. I’ll quickly highlight some of those issues before moving into other problems that keep the inaugural generation at the bottom.
- Critical Hit rate was based on speed
- Focus Energy cut Critical Hit rate by 75% instead of doubling it
- Waking up from Sleep takes an entire turn
- Buffing your stats as high as they can go will roll them over into being incredibly weak
The original games
Along with the numerous glitches, the other core issue associated with Generation 1 is the overpowered Psychic type. The Psychic type, as it stands right now, is weak to three types: Bug, Dark, and Ghost. However, things were very different in Gen 1. See, the Dark type didn’t exist yet. And another bug in the game made Psychic immune to Ghost instead of weak to it. Which means Psychic’s only weakness in Gen 1 was the Bug type, which had a total of four moves. Even then, two of those moves are weak multi-hit moves, and the other is a status move.
Not only is the first generation of Pokémon games a broken mess, it just doesn’t look good. Now, I don’t believe that a game has to have detailed and hyper-realistic graphics to be good. However, Red, Blue, & Yellow came out in 1998; the same year as Banjo-Kazooie, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil 2, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
The Kanto Region
Yes, portable consoles are always behind in both graphics and performance. But the style of Generations 3 through 5 are a far cry from the grayscale visual atrocity of Generation 1. Furthermore, a lot of the official Pokémon artwork hadn’t been done yet. So a lot of the sprites look absolutely awful, and barely resemble the Pokémon they’re meant to be.
So, no one is denying the cultural impact and significance of Pokémon‘s first generation. However, it has not stood the test of time in the slightest. That being said, it’s a good thing their first try is still their worst try. It means they only got better from here.
Generation 2 (2000-2003)
Mainline games- Gold, Silver, & Crystal
Okay, so they didn’t get much better right away, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Generation 2 fixed a lot of the problems that plagued the first one. For starters, adding the Dark and Steel types to balance out Psychic. However, a lot of the new Dark types were not easy to come across. Also, Gen 2 introduced a whole heap of new problems. Like adding a bunch of weak baby Pokémon to go with the new breeding mechanic. And feeling more like a weak followup to Red & Blue than being its own game.
The Johto Region
Also, this Generation is this low on a very personal level. So, if you’re mad that it’s this low, direct your anger toward Whitney’s Miltank. A powerhouse designed for pain and destruction, and way too powerful for only the third gym leader. It’s not a skill check or difficulty increase either, nothing comes close to being as hard as this until you’re practically at the end of the game.
While Generation 2 was an overall improvement on what came before, there are still some glaring issues that come with figuring out a new series and how to balance everything out. Issues that would mostly be fixed in the first two generations’ far superior remakes.
Generation 8 (2019-2022)
Mainline games- Sword, Shield, Brilliant Diamond, & Shining Pearl
Gimmick- Dynamax Battles
Now let’s go to the opposite side of the spectrum: far inferior remakes.
The underwhelming artstyle of Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl
Generation 8 ended with the remakes of Gen 4’s Diamond & Pearl, and suffer from simply sticking too close to games that are not good. I will get more into the issues with Gen 4 when that Generation comes up, but Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were just inferior to what they were based on, and lacked any sort of real fun in exchange for a laughably easy experience with a ridiculous difficulty spike at the end for no reason.
As for the big new games of the Generation, they weren’t much better. They were heralded as the most open Pokémon games to date, yet felt like little more than a straight line with barely any attempts at a story to keep things going. A lot of the new monsters and people were forgettable, and they had paid DLC when the base game didn’t even feel worth the full price.
The gimmick isn’t very good either. Dynamaxing and Gigantamaxing just felt like weaker versions of the much cooler Mega Evolution. Especially with how limited its use was. I applaud Game Freak for trying new things, but it feels like they’ve tried re-inventing the wheel so many times they’ve forgotten that it’s supposed to be a wheel at this point.
Gigantamax Cinderace
Generation 9 (2022-Present)
Mainline games- Scarlet & Violet
Gimmick- Terastallizing
I miss when games actually worked at release.
The most recent and current Generation of Pokémon games is a step up from what came before it, but not by much. In fact, I’d say the games in this generation as a whole are worse, but there’s enough to boost it above the previous three entries.
For starters, Game Freak made an open world game without bothering to research how to do so. They say you can explore the map in any order you want, but that’s clearly a lie. Levels don’t scale according to your level, they’re set in stone just like every other Pokémon game. Meaning there is a forced order to everything, there’s just no effort to make it clear what that order is. This leads to many people, myself included, accidentally being drastically over leveled for certain stretches of the game, because we thought we were playing an open world game.
The three storylines in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet
Despite that glaring flaw and the lack of any meaningful main plot until the very end, Gen 9 manages to not be as bad as the three I’ve already mentioned. There are a lot of new Pokémon and characters that I grew quite fond of. And even the Terastal Phenomenon gimmick was fun at times. It’s fun being able to switch up your type to negate a weakness or create a power boost against an opponent.
Also, I placed this about Generation 8 because this Gen isn’t over yet. So I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt, since it has the potential to be better, while Gen 8 is stuck as it is. Only time will tell.
Pokémon Scarlet’s Naranja Academy
Generation 4 (2007-2011)
Mainline games- Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, & SoulSilver
This is probably the most controversial placement so far. Lots of people have a special place in their hearts for Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, but not me. I don’t have the benefit of looking back on these games with rose tinted goggles.
So all I see is a group of games that move way too slow with an extremely limited Pokédex resulting in almost every playthrough involving the same small handful of Pokémon. More power to you if you’ve played a Sinnoh game without using Infernape, Roserade, Floatzel, Staraptor, Luxray, and Garchomp with a couple HM Bibarels thrown in.
Palkia, Giratina, and Dialga
Gen 4 does have some highlights, though. The story of Team Galactic and Cyrus’ efforts to find Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina are very interesting, and represented the beginning of a way too short lived period where the evil teams were truly evil. On top of that, the Gen 2 remakes are a drastic improvement over their originals, if only because of the big new gameplay element introduced in Gen 4.
The Physical/Special split is by far the best thing Gen 4 ever did. There are three move categories in Pokémon: Physical, Special, and Status. Before Gen 4, the move’s type decided what category it was in. All Fire type moves were Special, and all Flying type moves were Physical, for example. This changed in Gen 4, with a move’s category being determined by whether the move made physical contact or not. So the previously Special attack Fire Punch became a Physical attack.
The Sinnoh Region
This change made so many Pokémon actually usable, and it makes going back to Gens 1-3 hard to adjust to. So while the main games in Gen 4 aren’t the greatest, the things it set up for future Generations to succeed boost it higher than it would’ve been otherwise.
Generation 7 (2016-2019)
Mainline games- Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, Ultra Moon, Let’s Go Pikachu, & Let’s Go Eevee
Gimmick- Z Moves, Totem Pokémon, Ultra Beasts, Regional Variants, Trials…This whole generation was a gimmick, really
We jump forward about 10 years to see that slowness has once again infected Pokémon.
Pokémon Sun & Moon are an interesting case. Game Freak ditched the standard 8-gym region in favor of trying something new, but seemed to lack any confidence in players to adjust. The game constantly holds your hand from one place to the next, lacking that freeing feeling of exploration.
Also, a lot of the gimmicks they tried in this Generation just didn’t work. Z-Moves were lame screen nukes, Totem Pokémon were just regular Pokémon battles but a bit tougher, and the Ultra Beasts are almost all awful. Though the island trials were fun, as were a lot of the characters.
The Alola Region
Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon were Sun & Moon but better, with an expanded Pokédex and story, though the extra focus on Ultra Beasts wasn’t great. The biggest weakness across all 4 games is the evil team(s). Team Skull are purposely meant to be a joke and a distraction from the twist villains of the Aether Foundation. But that evil team isn’t good either, so the twist falls completely flat.
Let’s Go Pikachu & Let’s Go Eevee were the first Pokémon games on the Nintendo Switch, and they’re somehow still the best. They are remakes of Gen 1 with a lot of changes and simplifications in an effort to get Pokémon Go players to transition to the main games. The games are good for what they are, and bonding with Pikachu or Eevee is really fun, but there’s not much to them for experienced Pokémon fans to enjoy. They’re very easy.
Playing with Eevee
Generation 7 tried a lot of new things, and while not all of them worked, they still created a refreshing change of pace in a series that had started to feel repetitive.
Generation 3 (2003-2007)
Mainline games- Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, FireRed, & LeafGreen
The original classic. Gen 3 saw a complete overhaul of the presentation of the series, and introduced many elements still present today. Ruby, Sapphire, & Emerald weren’t trying to be connected to Gens 1 and 2. Instead, the new Hoenn region stands completely apart from them with its own story and new antagonists.
The Hoenn Region
Gen 3 also has probably the overall strongest collection of new Pokémon. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t have at least one beloved Hoenn Pokémon. The games may seem basic by today’s standards, but their impact on the Pokémon franchise as a whole can not be understated.
Then there’s the Gen 1 remakes FireRed & LeafGreen. No, I don’t know why they’re one word either. Also, FireRed & LeafGreen being remakes of Red & Blue may seem weird, but that’s because the original games in Japan were Red & Green, not Blue.
These remakes still remain the best way to experience Gen 1 outside of ROM hacks. All of the glitches and bugs from the originals are fixed, and the graphics are updated so you can actually tell which creature you’re fighting.
Charizard & Venusaur
Again, there aren’t any huge things that make Gen 3 stand out. But it set the groundwork for every game that came after it, and remains a solid benchmark for the franchise. It’s an overall solid experience across the board that any fan will enjoy.
Generation 6 (2013-2016)
Mainline games- X, Y, Omega Ruby, & Alpha Sapphire
Gimmick: Mega Evolution
Xerneas & Yveltal
Can you tell I like Gen 3? These final two spots may be the most controversial, but this is my list and I can do what I want.
X & Y were the first main Pokémon games on the 3DS, and also marked the main series’ first foray into three dimensions. Which makes it all the more baffling that we never got a Pokémon Z, but I digress. (It’s the plane that indicates 3D space, how do you mess that up??).
The transition wasn’t perfect. A lot of the Pokémon’s new 3D models had very muted colors and strange design choices. However, the added details also led to the introduction of character customization. Because Game Freak isn’t Game Freak if they aren’t adding gameplay elements that have been around in other games for 20 years. This series still doesn’t have difficulty options.
Speaking of which, the main problem with Gen 6 is that it is way too easy. Too few trainers use Mega Evolution against you, and the updated EXP Share easily over-levels your team. On the subject of teams, Team Flare is the last great evil team in Pokémon. Essentially being the Pokémon equivalent of that group of angry Germans from the 1940’s. They’re even occupying the Pokémon world’s version of France.
Lysandre, the leader of Team Flare
Gen 6 is also the debut of the Fairy type, introduced to weaken the overpowered Dragon type. The Fairy type itself has since become overpowered, but it’s the first new type since 2000, and that type of shakeup was necessary. It also gave us Sylveon, one of my favorite Pokémon ever, so that’s a plus.
But Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire are the real reason this Gen is so high. This is everything a remake should be. They took an already solid game and made it even better, along with adding the gimmick of Mega Evolution to freshen things up. And, unlike Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, Game Freak actually added certain elements of Emerald to improve the experience.
Generation 5 (2011-2013)
Mainline games- Black, White, Black 2 & White 2
Zekrom & Reshiram
These games do not deserve the hate they get. The Gen 5 games were the first to take place in a region not based on Japan, with the Unova region instead being based on the New York City area. Game Freak decided to go all in on this departure by creating a whole new Pokédex for Black & White, meaning players had no choice but to catch all new Pokémon.
Some people hate this and most of the Gen 5 Pokémon, but I love it. It recreates that feeling you get playing your first ever Pokémon game; you don’t recognize any of these fantastic beasts, and want to learn more about them. And Gen 5 has some of my favorite Pokémon, like: Victini, Oshawott, Darmanitan, Cofagrigus, Cinccino, Klingklang (mostly ironically), Beheeyem, Chandelure, Golurk, and Genesect.
The Unova Region
Both sets of games are also the most story-focused Pokémon has ever been. Both games follow the efforts of Team Plasma and their “King” N to liberate Pokémon from people. And there are actual twists and turns in the story that keep it interesting and make you want to play more. The gym leaders also play a role in the story, making them more than just obstacles.
Black 2 & White 2 also represent the only time a mainline Pokémon game got a direct sequel. I go back and forth on which I think is better. The games are so fast and dynamic, with energetic music that gets you invested in the action. Here’s hoping Game Freak doesn’t mess up the inevitable Gen 5 remakes.
