In the nearly 30-year history of the Pokemon franchise, games have largely fallen into three categories: mainline entries (like Scarlet and Violet), live-service games (like Pokemon TCG Pocket), and spin-offs (such as Pokken Tournament). Unfortunately, the last few years have seen The Pokemon Company largely moving away from the latter category. Live-service games have become a way for the developers to keep interest in the Pokemon series between mainline games, with shorter development cycles and a greater opportunity to bring in revenue over time.
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This has been disappointing for many Pokemon fans, as there were quite a few good Pokemon spin-offs released over the years. As such, we’ve listed five Pokemon spin-off games that could absolutely use new entries.
1. Pokemon Pinball
Pokemon Pinball was one of the very first Pokemon spin-off games, and it remains one of the best after all these years. Released back in 1999, Pokemon Pinball managed to brilliantly combine the world of Pokemon with a genuinely fun game of pinball. The gameplay perfectly fit the handheld format, and its beautiful pixel art still holds up decades after the game was released. Pokemon Pinball worked on a level that was surprising to say the least.
A similarly well-regarded sequel came out on Game Boy Advance in 2004, but the series has been dead ever since. There was apparently an effort to make an ambitious third game, but plans fell through. It’s a real shame, because a new Pokemon Pinball would be great to see on Nintendo Switch. At this point, I’d even settle for the two existing games coming to Nintendo Switch Online.
2. Pokemon Puzzle League
I’m going to let you in on a secret: while Dr. Mario is the puzzle franchise most closely associated with Nintendo, the best puzzle series the company owns is Panel de Pon. The gameplay is simple but addicting, and Nintendo has made several attempts to sell audiences on the concept over the last 30 years. In my humble opinion, Pokemon Puzzle League remains the best take on the concept so far. On top of the fact that the gameplay is just plain fun, the developers turned Pokemon Puzzle League into a love letter to the first few seasons of the anime.
It sounds like a weird combination, but the instrumental versions of music from the show and new voice lines from the cast make the whole thing really charming. I’m not sure you could bottle that lightning in the anime’s current era, but Pokemon Puzzle Challenge on Game Boy Color proved that the combination still works even without the anime influence (though not quite as well). After years of lukewarm takes on Puzzle League, it’s time to combine the puzzle series with Pokemon once again.
3. Pokemon Ranger
In the DS era, developers were looking for unique ways of using the handheld’s abilities to create fresh gameplay experiences. The Pokemon Ranger games were the result of HAL Laboratory and Creatures coming up with a new way to interact with the Pokemon world through the use of a touch screen. Pokemon Ranger centered on the player drawing circles with the DS stylus, and using each captured Pokemon’s abilities to solve puzzles.
The spin-off series actually saw multiple releases over the years, and the Pokemon Ranger characters went on to appear in the anime and mainline games. The Pokemon Company essentially abandoned Pokemon Ranger once the 3DS era started, but a new entry would be a good fit for Nintendo Switch 2, especially if the system’s mouse mode were used to replicate the stylus.
4. Pokemon Trading Card Game
In 1998, Hudson Soft and Creatures took the massively popular Pokemon TCG and converted it into a video game playable on the Game Boy Color. The result was Pokemon Trading Card Game, which taught players the mechanics of building decks while replicating the concept of card collecting in a digital format. The idea was basically a predecessor to Pokemon TCG Pocket.
While the mobile game has greatly refined the concept of its GBC predecessor, the latter has one really big advantage: a single-player RPG campaign. Even though I really enjoy Pokemon TCG Pocket, the mobile game’s focus on PvP battles is a little irritating. A new version of Pokemon Trading Card Game using the slick presentation and faster battles of Pokemon TCG Pocket would be the best of both worlds, and a must-own on Nintendo Switch. At the very least, it would be nice to see the game’s Japanese-exclusive sequel given a translation and release in North America and Europe.
5. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
There was a point where Pokemon Mystery Dungeon was one of the most consistent Pokemon spin-offs in terms of getting new releases. While many of the games on this list received just a single game or two, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon saw several entries released across many different Nintendo handhelds. Unfortunately, it’s been a while since that was the case. A remake of the first Pokemon Mystery Dungeon was released on Nintendo Switch in 2020, but the last time we saw a wholly new entry in the series was all the way back in 2015 on 3DS. Mystery Dungeon has long been a fan favorite, and it’s past time it made a comeback.
When it comes to the Pokemon franchise, it’s always difficult to guess what the future holds. However, there’s a lot we can assume about 2026. After all, next year happens to be the 30th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise. It remains to be seen how the event will be celebrated, but hopefully, The Pokemon Company will have a lot for fans to look forward to. Current rumors suggest that we could see the next full Pokemon generation released, but it’s possible we could see a lot more on top of that. This could be the perfect opportunity to bring back some of the spin-offs that have been missing in action for too long.
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