It’s a pretty safe bet that almost everyone reading this has played at least onePokémongame or, at the very least, is familiar with the series.
That makes sense since it’s been around since 1998, which is quite a while. But while everybody has a favorite main game, what about the spinoffs? You might think there were only a handful, but you’d be woefully incorrect.
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There’s an insane number of Pokémon spinoff series, and we did the hard work collating, organizing, and ranking them for you.
This list has everything from strange sports games to safari simulations, all-out arcades, and even tactical dungeon crawlers. So get ready to truly catch them all courtesy of DualShockers.
This list excludes regional exclusive games, freemium, educational games, tools like the Pokedex, and mobile applications like Pokémon Go. Also, We will be listing Spinoff series such as Mystery Dungeon as one entry for the sake of brevity.
18Pokémon Dash
Ready, Set, Pika Pika!
Pokemon Dash
Everyone has been a little obsessed with the electric rat that is Pikachu since Pokémon’s inception. And while it might seem odd to make a racing game around him, a lot of weird stuff happened during the DS era of gaming.
Using your stylus, you can control your Pokemon and set them racing across a variety of environments. Whether racing through deserts, marshes, and beaches or riding in balloons, there was some surprising diversity in Pokémon Dash.
That said, it was also a very basic game and could be beaten in just a couple of hours. However, if you were a player looking for a steeper challenge, there were always the GP modes to mix things up.
If you wanted to get the most out of this title, you could always hook your DS up with five other systems and have a Pikachu party. Not to mention, compatibility with games like Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and FireRed allows you to try out different courses.
17Pokémon Rumble
Cute Little Beat ‘em Up
Pokemon Rumble Blast
Pokémon Rumble’s series is, as you would expect from the title, a Pokemon-fuelled beat-em-up, an idea that seems great on paper, but it is far from the best Pokemon spinoff out there.
There were several examples over the years, including Rumble Blast, Rumble U, Rumble World, and Rumble Rush, but they were stylistically similar. Namely, they focused on real-time mayhem with cute little critters.
At first, all you have is one attack per monster, but you can acquire more by leveling up and collecting coins to buy new moves.
In true frenetic fashion, up to four players could join in on the fun, even using Nunchuk and Wiimote in some titles.
What probably helped the game was a free Wii Shop demo for Rumble, but overall, this series was a bit of an odd experiment that didn’t make a huge impact.
16Hey You, Pikachu!
Derpy Virtual Pet
Nintendo 64
Simulation
Release Date
June 26, 2025
The obsession with owning a real-life Pikachu took a huge step forward during the Nintendo 64 era with Hey You, Pikachu.
Developed by Ambrella, it not only allows you to interact with Pikachu, but to actually talk to them. This is in large part thanks to the rarely used VRU (voice recognition unit).
Over 365 in-game days, you’ll talk with the little yellow monster, bonding and playing various simple games.
These range from collecting food to going fishing, and playing rewards you with Pika Points. Once acquired, you can spend them at Abra’s Shop to unlock new items.
Think of it like owning a slightly more technically impressive Tamagochi. It’s neat but hardly revolutionary.
15PokePark
Just a Walk in the Park
PokéPark Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure
Unlike some other entries, the PokePark games were pretty diverse. You have to explore a vast park and make friends while participating in a variety of mini-games.
Your goal is to help Mew recover the scattered pieces of the Sky Prism.
Despite the stakes of helping a Legendary Pokémon, both the original PokePark and PokePark 2 were pretty laid back and relaxing.
There are even some battle sections, where Pikachu will make use of moves like Thunderbolt, Dash, and Iron Tail, as well as powered-up versions of each.
If nothing else, these were some colorful and engaging games to play on the Wii. Definitely contenders to appeal to a younger generation of gamers.
14Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness
Me and My Shadow
August 13, 2025
There weren’t all that many games to be played on the GameCube. So when you find a good one, you remember it.
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness was absolutely one of those great examples of the console. Sure it was nominally a sequel to Colosseum, but it felt more like a stand-alone RPG, including some neat mechanics unique to this title that we would love to see make a return in more modern Pokemon titles.
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The main unique mechanic was powerful Shadow Pokémon that had to be purified before you could catch them. They had some devastating new moves at their disposal, as well as being integral to the overall story in Gale of Darkness.
There was even pretty sizable post-game content after you rolled the credits, which is something even current main-game entries fail to accomplish. Gale of Darkness may have been a one-off adventure, but it’s one that either deserves a sequel or a modern remake.
13Pokémon Mystery Dungeon
Dungeon Crawling
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity
Spike Chunsoft has developed a lot of interesting games over the years, but perhaps none quite so weird as thePokémon Mystery Dungeonseries of games.
From Red and Blue Rescue Team to Explorers of Time and Darkness, Gates of Infinity, and beyond, they took the Pokémon characters and threw them into challenging tactical dungeons.
While you can argue that mainline Pokémon games have always been turn-based, here, every movement was crucial as you navigated and avoided traps. An economy of movement is key, since wandering too far gets you kicked out of your current dungeon.
Perhaps the most interesting element of the games is that you’re not a regular Pokémon but, instead, a human that has been mysteriously transformed into one. It’s an oddball spinoff, but one that many fans hold a lot of love in their hearts for.
12Pokémon Ranger
Temporary Buddies
Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs
If you took Power Rangers and mixed them with the Pokémon franchise, you might have something a little like Pokémon Ranger.
It was also part of the DS Renaissance that introduced us to many weird, often noteworthy takes on the main series.
The main way that Pokémon Ranger and its two sequels, Shadows Over Almia and Guardian Signs, differed from the main series was you never use Pokeballs.
Instead, you use the DS stylus to draw circles around and capture Pokémon temporarily. Then, they can help assist you in missions, as well as solving environmental puzzles.
While it might feel weird exploring a Pokémon region without trainers or the usual conveniences, Pokémon Ranger did well enough to make a decent name for itself.
11Pokémon Picross
By the Numbers
Pokemon Picross
While many of the other games on this list were pretty creative or weirdly inventive, Pokémon Picross was pretty much what the name suggests. It’s Picross with Pokémon in it, and not much else besides.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, and the game did allow you to use some Pokémon to get hints to help you shade in the grid and create a picture.
You’re allowed to include up to 5 on your team, restricted only by a cooldown system and not being able to have a regular and Mega form of the same Pokémon in your team.
If you’re the impatient sort, Pokémon Picross will also allow you to use the Picrite currency to speed things up. Not a bad game by any stretch, just not the most inventive of these spinoffs.
10Detective Pikachu
Put On Your Sleuthing Hat
Detective Pikachu Returns
Before the popularity of the movie,Detective Pikachuwas all about solving crimes with a talking Pikachu. But that wasn’t the most interesting part of the game and its sequel.
No, that was the fact that the Detective Pikachu games were narrative adventures with puzzles to solve and clues to unearth!
Sure, the main series doesn’t necessarily lend itself to narrative adventure, but as the Mystery Dungeon games show, it can be done.
It’s a cute little series that worked well on the 3DS and then got a dash of extra glamour on the Nintendo Switch in Detective Pikachu Returns.
While you can argue whether the premise works better as a game or a movie, most will admit that, regardless, it’s a novel and fun idea.
9Pokémon Pinball
Slap In Some Quarters
Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire
One of the oldest games you’ll find in arcades is the noble pinball machine. So it’s perhaps not surprising that eventually, Pokémon decided to mix things up with the classic form of entertainment.
Unlike most pinball games, here, hitting Pokémon with your ball will help you catch them and fill out your Pokedex.
The original game had 150 different Pokémon to catch, as well as challenging bonus stages such as fighting in a graveyard against Gastly, Haunter, and Gengar.
They also split things into two different fields, depending on the game. The original Pokémon Pinball had a red and blue field, and Ruby & Sapphire were split accordingly.
Although it didn’t reinvent the classic arcade entertainment, Pokémon Pinball did enough in a new and interesting way to keep fans captivated.
