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In the wake of a taste of world peace thanks to Pokémon Go, it's beyond doubt that the monster collecting series is about as ubiquitous video games around. Pikachu is every bit as recognizable as Mickey Mouse, if not more so. The ongoing excitement surrounding card prices ensures near-daily Pokemon headlines. You'd be difficult to find a pocket monster game that didn't sell at least a few million units. Remarkably, fan-made Pokémon games achieve popularity every year.

However despite that pervasiveness and popularity, some Pokémon games that remain underappreciated. These represent titles that failed to receive their fair shake, or were overshadowed by the hype of the mainline series. They're Pokémon games released on doomed consoles or online offerings, or were pioneering attempts onto different formats. They're often also Pokémon games that might have flourished if they ever got sequels or contemporary re-releases. With these criteria in mind, we won't be offering just one more reminder for Pokemon Conquest or the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. We're pulling an Excadrill.

Nevertheless, these might be these Pokémon games. So, before rearranging your glasses and typing 'Well,' let us just agree that these are Pokémon games for people with refined tastes, shall we?

Pokémon Ranch: The Cozy Forerunner

Too many Pokémon games emphasize the combat aspect of the series, and not nearly enough of them focus on the ordinary aspects that would come with living with a companion. Admittedly, modern titles include small features like these in recent entries—players may pet, and feed your monsters in camps. But I am dying for a Pokémon game more in the vein of Nintendogs or The Sims.

My Pokemon Ranch (2008) for the Wii is not that game. The downloadable-only title is most accurately viewed as the precursor to Pokemon Home; that is, as a storage system to hold monsters from different games. Reviews from its launch noted Ranch was a poor if not outright hideous game. I'm not here to dispute these notions, but it behooves me to say Ranch might be the nearest we've ever gotten to a slice-of-life Pokémon game.

True to its title, the game takes place on a ranch where your personal Miis—imagine this—simply hang out with your Pokémon pals. The interactions with Pokémon were simple, and a significant part of the appeal was watching what your monsters might do when not forced into battle. In a just world, Pokémon Ranch would have been the beginning of a wonderful franchise built on the simple pleasures of living your life with a small creature. But since The Pokémon Company can charge a subscription for Pokémon Home now, I'm guessing we will never see a Pokémon Ranch game realized to its complete potential. I'd say 'help us, Pokémon Pokopia!' but it's also known that the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive is just as much a puzzler as it is a life sim.

Ranch came out well before Stardew Valley kicked off the enduring trend of comfort gaming. It was before the proliferation of passive games, and the Let's Play normalization of watching games you aren't actively controlling. Many never understood that Ranch's proposal to observe your creatures as much as you interact with them wasn't to hide a lack of substance. In actuality, Ranch's attention to detail was so remarkable, a Twitch stream focused on broadcasting the game 24/7. The individual who operates the channel states that, after nearly two decades of playing the game, he still has not seen all that is in it. Recognition for Pokémon Ranch: nobody knew what to do with you in 2008.

Pokemon Duel: The Strategic Tabletop Game Lost

Did you know that Pokemon once had an licensed board game with miniatures? Pokémon Duel was the 2016 attempt to adapt the physical experience in a more approachable form. Duel was also, unfortunately, one of Pokémon's first ventures into the world of freemium phone games. Duel had the hallmarks of a gacha title where players could spend for advantage—and there was motivation to do so, given the lengthy grind for new pieces.

These questionable mechanics masked a tragic reality: Pokémon Duel was an superb tactical game with Duel anymore. "I can’t express how much I loved and miss this game," one YouTube comment states, years after Duel's servers were pulled. "Honestly I think this game was superior to TCG Pocket in terms of depth, approachability, design, and features in general," another commenter declared. "I am convinced if it launched now people would be playing it more than GO and Pocket combined."

Regrettably, Duel's early release was marred by server issues. Technical problems, alongside Duel's scummy business model, gave people few incentives to come back. If, by some miracle, The Pokémon Company decided to revive this franchise, I'm still not certain things would play out differently. The unique board structure made for a great strategic challenge for the handful of players who played Duel, but that playing field is also a daunting eyesore.

Pokemon: Magikarp Jump: The Whimsical Experiment

Wow, why don't more Pokémon games relax a little and have some fun? Magikarp Jump (2017) was a uncommon case of The Pokémon Company giving its blessing a game with a premise so silly, it was verging on shitpost. And when we're dealing with a franchise where trainers go out with a full belt of useless monsters who literally can't do anything, it's surprising we don't have more Pokémon games that laugh at themselves.

In Magikarp Jump, the player is tasked with raising the ultimate version of the infamous fish. I'm not talking about a Magikarp that can win battles. These are 'Magikarp raised to enter competitions to see who can jump the highest. One drawback is how Magikarp Jump, like many phone games, requires the player to wait before they can improve their Magikarp further. But it is evident throughout the experience that the developers loved and understood the community love around Magikarp.

This was most apparent than in Jump's merciless random occurrences, where your Magikarp was just as likely to improve as it was to get snatched by a Pidgeotto. Apart from the clever dialogue, Magikarp Jump also tried out other things I wish the core series would do, like offering a diverse range of the same type of monster. It's understood it's not practical for any Pokémon game to have 30 different variations for a compendium of over a thousand creatures, as Magikarp Jump does... but one can dream.

Magikarp Jump was not a especially complex or deep game, but the kernels of genius were there. Sharply written events with outrageous outcomes that permanently influence how you can raise a pet also describe the excellent Mewgenics. And I'm just saying: Mewgenics will almost certainly be in the running when 2026 GOTY season arrives.

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With numerous core games and spin-offs, it's probable that I didn't mention that one Pokémon game you absolutely adore but argue that not nearly enough people played. It's acknowledged that some people look back on games like Pokémon Ranger or Pokémon Pinball fondly despite argu