There are a lot of aspects of the Pokemon franchise that have helped it become the media juggernaut it is today. As the origin and a consistently big part of that success, the Pokemon games deserve special mention.
While there are many valid criticisms to level at the games, they also do a lot right, including being the birthplace of most Pokemon’s designs and plotlines. The games do have a reputation for having rather simplistic stories, but across the main series and plenty of spin-offs, they have produced quite a few genuinely compelling plots for players to get invested in.
7 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red/Blue Rescue Team
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As the first games in the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, Red and Blue Rescue Team were the first to use the premise of a human being transformed into a Pokemon. This premise gave the original Mystery Dungeon protagonist one of the most interesting perspectives of any Pokemon protagonist.
While these first games don’t have the best narrative of any Mystery Dungeon title, the bond between the player and their partner is very sweet, and even the side characters are full of personality. The fact that the player is a human in a Pokemon-only world also makes them be distrusted by the other characters, which is rare for a Pokemon game.
6 Pokemon Colosseum
Colosseum often gets praise for being one of the only Pokemon games that features a reformed villain as the protagonist. Wes is a former member of ‘team snagem’, and even starts the game by stealing from them and setting off an explosion in one of their bases. The Pokemon series has always been rather black and white with its morality, and this one simple change makes Colosseum’s plot stand out.
The game also introduces ‘shadow Pokemon, which add some challenge both to the gameplay and Wes’ quest to defeat the organization known as Cipher. Besides these unique traits however, it is a fairly standard Pokemon story, trading in the quest to become champion for more focus on the evil team plotline.
5 Pokemon Black And White
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The major intrigue in Black and White hinges on N and his suggestion that Pokemon battling is a cruel activity. At the time of the game’s release, this was an idea that had been joked about in fan circles, so seeing the games themselves address it was an interesting move. Even powerful trainers in the game are forced to at least entertain the idea, and it’s the closest the main series has come to a genuine moral conundrum.
While the story eventually reaffirms the importance of human and Pokemon bonds, N’s challenge of the status quo has made him a memorable character even over a decade later. Team Plasma as a whole is also one of the more interesting evil teams, and helps give Unova its unique identity.
4 Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Pokemon Legends: Arceus has a premise that surprised and intrigued players from the start. It sees a young trainer being transported back in time by Arceus itself, in order to help the humans of the past connect with pokemon. As good as this premise is, the characters and conflicts in the game are also quite compelling, especially characters like Kamado and Volo, who act in more believable ways than most Pokemon characters.
It’s also one of the few Pokemon games that addresses themes of fear, distrust, and survival. Its setting is one in which humans and Pokemon are still hostile to each other, so there is just more tension in the story. It also manages to reward fans via characters like Ingo who is much more intriguing for those who played the games set in Unova.
3 Pokemon Sun And Moon
For the most part, Pokemon Sun and Moon have standard storylines for the series, with a team of antagonists and a quest to become champion being the main focus. Where the story gets uniquely interesting, is with the introduction of the Aether Foundation and the Ultra Beasts.
Specifically, Aether’s leader Lusamine and her family are the source of much of the game’s drama. Her grief at the loss of her husband led to her neglecting her children Lillie and Gladion, who both go on to escape their mother and ally with the player. It’s rare that Pokemon addresses family drama and child abuse, but Sun and Moon pull it off quite well.
2 Pokemon Scarlet And Violet
Off the back of the disastrously handled story of Pokemon Sword and Shield, it shocked many fans just how compelling Scarlet and Violet’s story is. At first, it presents the goal of becoming a champion, as well as defeating Team Star and helping Arven find ‘herba mystica’ for an undisclosed reason. However, it only becomes better from there.
From the bullying plotline of Team Star to the slow reveal of Arven’s quest to save his dying Mabostiff, the story tackles fairly mature topics for a Pokemon game. This goes even further in the depths of Area Zero, where the games not only confirm the rare death of a character Pokemon, but also unravel a story surrounding the professors and their sordid relationship with Arven, their son.
1 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers Of Sky
While the Red and Blue Rescue Team games started off the Mystery Dungeon series, Explorers of Sky is considered by most fans to be the pinnacle of the series. Its story first appears in Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, but Sky is the definitive version.
Sky’s story is an epic in every sense of the word. The cast is easily lovable, and even without voice acting carry the weighty emotions of the plot perfectly. The adventure involves time travel and existential elements, and has easily the most heart-wrenching ending of any Pokemon game. And it earns this ending through constantly, expertly building up character relationships, motivations and delivering impactful story beats.