Every Mainline Pokémon Game for the Nintendo Switch, Ranked

5 days ago 9

A female trainer with an Eevee on her arm in Pokémon-Let's-Go-Eevee!

Published Apr 9, 2026, 3:33 PM EDT

David is a Senior Editor at Collider focused primarily on Lists. His professional journey began in the mid-2010s as a Marketing specialist before embarking on his writing career in the 2020s. At Collider, David started as a Senior Writer in late 2022 and has been a Senior Editor since mid-2023. He is in charge of ideating compelling and engaging List articles by working closely with writers, both Senior and Junior, as well as other editors. Occasionally, David also reviews movies and TV shows and writes episode recaps. Currently, David is also writing his second novel, a psychological horror satire that will, hopefully, be picked up for publication sometime next year.

You might love the MCU or Fast & Furious or James Bond, but none of those franchises have anything on Pokémon. A massive, multimedia empire that includes video games, television, manga, trading cards, mobile games, and more, Pokémon has dominated the cultural conversation for over twenty years now, and its popularity has never waned. If anything, the recent announcement of the upcoming Generation X, with the games Pokémon Winds and Waves, proves that the franchise is better than ever.

In the video game space, Pokémon is currently sitting pretty on the Nintendo Switch, releasing six mainline games so far, plus a few spin-offs. However, the six mainline Pokémon games will be the focus of this list. Each offers something interesting to the franchise, and each is special in a distinct way, but which is the best? Every player will undoubtedly have an opinion on which one should sit at the top of the list, but at least we, as fans, can all agree that the series is experiencing one of its best eras on the Switch, even if its valleys are just as steep as its peaks are high.

Collider Exclusive · Star Wars Quiz Which Force User
Are You? Light Side · Dark Side · Or Somewhere Between

The Force is not a binary. It is a spectrum — from the serene halls of the Jedi Temple to the shadowed corridors of Sith space. Ten questions will reveal where you truly fall. The Force has always known. Now you will too.

🔵Jedi Master

🟡Padawan

🔴Sith Lord

⚫Inquisitor

⚪Grey Jedi

IGNITE YOUR SABER →

What is the Force to you? Your relationship with the Force defines everything else.

AA living energy I must be worthy of — it is not mine to control. BSomething vast and mysterious I'm only beginning to understand. CNeither light nor dark — just a current I choose to ride. DPower. Pure and simple. The strong take it; the weak don't.

NEXT QUESTION →

When you feel strong emotions — anger, grief, love — what do you do? The Jedi suppress. The Sith feed. Others choose differently.

AAcknowledge them, then release them. Attachment leads to suffering. BFeel them fully, then decide what to do — they're not the enemy. CBury them. Emotion is a liability I can't afford to indulge. DUse them. Passion is the engine of the dark side for good reason.

NEXT QUESTION →

The Jedi Council gives you an order you disagree with. You: How you handle authority reveals your alignment.

AFollow it. The Council's wisdom surpasses my own perspective. BVoice my objection clearly, then defer to the decision. CComply outwardly while doing what I think is right. DIgnore it. The strong don't answer to committees.

NEXT QUESTION →

You are offered forbidden knowledge that could give you enormous power. The cost is crossing a moral line. You: The dark side's pull is never more than a choice away.

ARefuse without hesitation. There is no cost worth that price. BWeigh it carefully — sometimes darkness holds real answers. CFeel the pull but walk away — for now. DAccept it. Power justifies the method used to obtain it.

NEXT QUESTION →

Your approach to training and learning is: A student's habits become a master's character.

ADedicated but humble. There is always more to learn from my masters. BRigorous and patient. Mastery is earned through years of discipline. CEclectic — I draw from every tradition, not just one. DRelentless and brutal. Pain accelerates growth. Rest is weakness.

NEXT QUESTION →

In a duel, your lightsaber fighting style reflects: Combat is the purest expression of a Force user's philosophy.

ADefense and composure — I wait for my opponent to overcommit. BFast and instinctive — I trust the Force to guide my movements. CUnpredictable — I blend styles to keep enemies off-balance. DOverwhelming aggression — I end fights before they begin.

NEXT QUESTION →

A defeated enemy lies at your feet, powerless. You: Mercy — or its absence — is the truest test of alignment.

AStrike them down — compassion toward enemies is naïve and costly. BNeutralize them permanently. I can't afford loose ends. CSpare them if I can — but stay clear-eyed about the risks. DOffer them a chance to surrender. Every being deserves that.

NEXT QUESTION →

The Jedi Code forbids attachment. Your honest view on love and bonds: The source of the greatest falls in the galaxy.

AThe Code is right. Attachment clouds judgment and invites suffering. BLove is not a weakness — the Jedi Code got this one wrong. CI have no attachment — only loyalty to my master's mission. DI feel it deeply but struggle to reconcile it with my training.

NEXT QUESTION →

Why do you use the Force at all? What's the point? Purpose is the difference between a knight and a weapon.

ATo learn. I'm still figuring out what I'm capable of. BTo protect and serve. The Force is a responsibility, not a gift. CTo survive — and maybe carve out something worth having. DTo dominate. Strength demands to be expressed, not contained.

NEXT QUESTION →

At the final moment — light side or dark side pulling at you — what wins? In the end, every Force user faces this moment. What does yours look like?

AThe light. I choose peace, even when darkness would be easier. BNeither fully — I carve my own path through the middle. CWhoever I serve — my loyalty defines me more than my morality. DThe dark. Power is the only thing that's ever actually been real.

REVEAL MY ALIGNMENT →

Your Alignment Has Been Determined Your Place in the Force

The scores below reveal how the Force sees you. Your highest number is your true alignment. Read on to understand what that means — and what it will cost you.

🔵 Jedi Master

🟡 Padawan

🔴 Sith Lord

⚫ Inquisitor

⚪ Grey Jedi

Disciplined, compassionate, and deeply attuned to the living Force, you have walked the path long enough to understand its demands — and accept them. You lead not through authority alone, but through example. You have felt the pull of the dark side and chosen otherwise, every time. That is not certainty. That is courage.

You are earnest, powerful, and brimming with potential — and you know it, which is both your greatest asset and your most dangerous flaw. You act before you think, trust your gut over your training, and sometimes confuse impatience for bravery. The Masters see something in you, though. The question isn't whether you have what it takes — it's whether you'll be patient enough to find out.

You are not simply dangerous — you are certain, and that is worse. You have decided what the galaxy needs, and you have decided you are the one to deliver it. Your power is genuine and formidable, earned through sacrifice that would have broken lesser beings. But examine your victories carefully. Every Sith believed their cause was righteous. The dark side's cruelest trick is that it agrees with you.

You were forged in fire and reshaped by those who found you at your lowest. You serve, because service gave you structure when you had none. Your allegiance is not to an ideology — it is to survival and to the master who gave you purpose. But there is something buried beneath the conditioning. The Jedi you hunt? You recognize them. Because you remember what it felt like before the choice was taken from you.

You have looked at the Jedi Code and the Sith Code and found both of them incomplete. You walk the line not out of indecision but out of conviction — you genuinely believe both extremes miss something essential. The Jedi don't fully trust you. The Sith think you're wasting your potential. They're both partially right. But so are you.

↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ

6 'Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!' (2018)

A trainer petting a Pikachu in Pokémon-Let's-Go-Pikachu

The Nintendo Switch era of Pokémon began in 2018 with the release of Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let's Go, Eevee! The games are de facto remakes of the Gen I titles, offering a retelling of the same story but changing the catching mechanics to take full advantage of the Switch's capabilities. Here, catching Pokémon is the priority, although trainer battles and the gym challenge remain central to the story.

The Let's Go games rank last here because of how uninspired they feel. The last thing we needed in 2018 was yet another remake of the Gen I titles, especially when the plot is basically the same, beat by beat. Most egregiously, the difficulty here is nearly non-existent. Because the focus is on catching Pokémon, the Let's Go games feel like one extended prologue full of hand-holding meant to make an already easy game all the less challenging. The franchise's obsession with Gen I can get very tiresome very fast, and that's the case with these inoffensive but unimpressive titles.

5 'Pokémon Sword and Shield' (2019)

Gen VIII was the first to debut on the Nintendo Switch with the 2019 titles Pokémon Sword and Shield. Set in the UK-inspired Galar region, the games follow the player's journey to become a Pokémon Champion, battling trainers, gym leaders, friends, and rivals. Along the way, they must combat the looming danger of the Darkest Day brought about by a mysterious Legendary Pokémon.

Sword and Shield were the series' first attempt at an open-world game through the Wild Area. The gimmick was much publicized but, alas, turned out to be quite underwhelming. Visually, Galar is the most insipid region, lifeless and frustratingly still despite some interesting locations. The story is also the weakest of any mainline game, offering a very bare-bones take on the traditional Pokémon formula and further brought down by a lazy villain and a truly awful regional team. Hop is a very good rival and one of the most compelling NPCs in the series, and both Marnie and Bede are solid additions, too. Sword and Shield feel like two games of unrealized possibilities, and while some of the new Pokémon are great, the generation overall feels like something of a disappointment.

4 'Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl' (2021)

Lucas and Dawn in the Sinnoh underground with Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup in Pokémon BDSP

The Gen IV remakes, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, are arguably the most divisive titles in the series since the Gen V titles. Like the originals, these two follow Lucas and Dawn as they begin their journey in the Sinnoh region, facing Team Galactic and its leader, Cyrus, who aims to use the box-art legendary to destroy the current universe and create a new one deprived of all emotion.

As previous remakes, BDSP updates the original Diamond and Pearl but follows them a bit too faithfully, to the point where they refuse to correct some of the original games' glaring issues, most notably the Pokédex structure. In fact, many fans call them the all-time worst titles in the series, which is an exaggeration. Indeed, the games are not perfect, and the visual style is quite off-putting. However, BDSP has the most challenging Elite Four in the series and the hardest Champion battle ever, and no game that has those two can ever be considered the worst.

The latest Pokémon game, Legends: Z-A, is quite odd. Set in Kalos' Lumiose City five years after the events of the Gen VI titles, X and Y, the game sees the player enter the Z-A Royale, where they'll battle to advance their rank. Meanwhile, a strange phenomenon is making Pokémon Mega Evolve and go berserk within the city, as the Legendary Pokémon Zygarde takes an interest in the player.

A continuation of the Legends formula, Z-A is also a much-deserved continuation to X and Y and, in a way, a redemption for Gen VI overall. The main allure here is the numerous Mega Evolutions introduced to fan-favorite Pokémon like Dragonite and underappreciated ones like Victreebel. The plot itself is nothing out of the ordinary, but it delivers in every way that it should. While its predecessor focused more on the catching aspect of the franchise, Z-A showcases battling, introducing new mechanics and offering challenging fights against the berserk Megas. It's not as good as the one before, but as a much-deserved second chance for the Kalos region, Legends: Z-A meets the expectations.

2 'Pokémon Scarlet and Violet' (2022)

Three characters with Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Gen IX is the second one to debut on the Nintendo Switch, set in the Iberian Peninsula-inspired region of Paldea. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet follow the player as they enroll in either Naranja or Uva Academy (depending on the game) and embark on three different missions to become the Champion, aid a friend in need, and battle the local villainous Team Star. Along the way, they receive help from a mysterious Pokémon that becomes their constant companion.

Scarlet and Violet improve upon the open-world setting of the previous titles to present the franchise's best implementation of the gimmick thus far. The story is also incredibly original and includes many moving parts, offering many surprisingly emotional payoffs that further distinguish these titles. The prologue in Area Zero is among the most original pieces of storytelling in the entire franchise, and the characterization of the companions, particularly Nemona, Arven, and Penny, is rather good. Sure, the frame rate is truly appalling, especially during launch, and the world remains ocasionally baren compared to other open-world titles. However, Scarlet and Violet mark a firm step in the right direction as Pokémon enters a new era in its long history.

Without a doubt, the single best Pokémon game for the Nintendo Switch so far is Legends: Arceus. A radically new take on the classic formula, the game takes players to the past of the Sinnoh region, called Hisui. The plot sees the player capture Pokémon to build the region's first-ever Pokédex while learning more about the lore of the mysterious Pokémon deity, Arceus.

Legends: Arceus is the first truly open-world game in the series, focusing far more on the catching aspect than on traditional battling. Narratively, it takes daring risks, showcasing Sinnoh's mythology to construct a deeper and more detailed story that echoes the glory days of Black and White. Visually, it is the most stunning Pokémon game we've ever had (that's a low bar, I know), successfully making Hisui come to life. Plus, the Volo fight at the end ranks as possibly the hardest in the entire franchise. Legends: Arceus truly thrives in its depiction of Pokémon as mighty but dangerous creatures, placing particular attention to the player's bond with them. It's by far the most original game in Pokémon so far and a strong contender for the all-time best in the series, let alone the Switch.