The 10 WORST Pokémon Games

“Pokémon Scarlet & Violet” (2022)

To be fair, “Scarlet & Violet” are still of better quality than all the crappy spin-offs we’ll talk about later. But with how the series could and should have evolved by now, most fans are justified in voicing their disappointment. One of the most prominent criticisms is performance; these games look and run like a trainwreck, with framerate issues, a lot of bugs, and graphics that don’t showcase what the Switch is actually capable of. Some minor patches were issued for bugs, but they didn’t fix everything. Even still, there are other problems. The open world is barren and boring, and most of the towns have nothing of real interest. “Pokémon Legends: Arceus” released the same year, and showcased notable improvements in giving the series a larger scale. But “Scarlet & Violet” was like a massive step backwards.

“Pokémon Shuffle” (2015)

Nintendo’s egregious use of microtransactions in its mobile games has been well documented with other franchises. But with “Pokémon” being one of its biggest earners, you can imagine how bad they were with “Pokémon Shuffle.” Released on the 3DS, and later on iOS and Android, it’s a tile matching puzzle game with a Pokémon twist. While certain aspects are interesting, like how each round is set up like a battle that takes type advantage into account, its monetization ruins any fun you could gain. Hearts are required for each stage, which take around thirty minutes to regenerate unless you want to buy them from the store. There are also coins and jewels to factor in, which can be earned in-game, but at a painfully slower rate than just buying them.

“Hey You, Pikachu!” (2000)

The first “Pokemon” spin-off developed by Ambrella, a studio responsible for a lot of the games on our list, was a digital pet sim starring the franchise’s mascot for the Nintendo 64. “Hey You, Pikachu!” came bundled with a mic so that players could talk with and issue commands to Pikachu. But most of what you could do with it was mind-numbingly dull, if you could even get it to work. Yes, the peripheral was definitely flawed, with Pikachu failing to pick up what you were trying to get it to do. Playing through this would have been a tough lesson in patience, even if the mic worked. It was an early yet troubling sign of the “Pokémon” IP getting milked for all it was worth.

“Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl” (2021)

Remakes of the core games have been strongly received in the past. And fans of “Diamond” and “Pearl” were likely excited to learn that theirs would be coming to Switch. That excitement turned sour pretty quickly, though. Maybe it was because GameFreak didn’t oversee development, instead handing it over to ILCA. But calling these ‘remakes’ isn’t exactly honest. Sure, you’ve got a couple quality-of-life improvements and enhanced visuals, although how you feel about the Chibi style varies between players. But everything else makes them feel like remasters instead of remakes, including the same glitches and issues with the regional PokéDex of the originals. ILCA didn’t bring over any of the features that fixed issues in “Diamond” and “Pearl” that we saw in “Platinum.” These games just seemed like cheaply-made cash grabs when remakes of other generations got so much love and care.

“Pokémon Battle Revolution” (2007)

Although the core series remained handheld for a long time, console players got some decent spin-offs that retained core mechanics, like the GameCube’s “Colosseum” and its sequel, “Gale of Darkness.” But when it was time for the same developer of those games, Genius Sonority, to release something on the Wii, “Battle Revolution” fell flat, and hard. Unlike its predecessors, it featured no story mode, making the overall package lesser. While those games could also connect to the Game Boy Advance games for various features, “Battle Revolution” was much more reliant on this. So if you didn’t have a DS with “Diamond” or “Pearl,” that was another strike making the game pretty unfun. Add on some disappointing online play, and there really wasn’t much “Battle Revolution” offered.

“Pokémon Dream Radar” (2012)

This 3DS AR game was really just another way to squeeze money from the “Pokémon” fanbase. It used the handheld’s camera and gyroscope to find and battle Pokémon, as well as collect items. You could then connect to “Black & White 2” to transfer everything in. Sure, it only cost three bucks. But since items you collected weren’t found in those games, nor were the hidden abilities some of the Pokemon had, it felt a little scummy. Plus, the gameplay was very tedious. It all boiled down to shooting at different colored orbs and clouds to unlock things; literally fun for maybe a minute or two. Even at the cheap price, it wasn’t really worth it.

“My Pokémon Ranch” (2008)

Another pet sim from Ambrella, this time for Wii, “My Pokémon Ranch” let you transfer in your creatures from “Diamond” and “Pearl” so that your Miis could spend time with them. If you think that sounds boring, we’d say that’s putting it lightly. Your ranch would grow with new features alongside your collection, but everything was completely shallow. Outside of simply looking at your Pokémon in 3D instead of 2D, there was almost nothing here, yet it still cost 10 dollars to get. It was even worse if you didn’t have those core games. Your ranch would start with a group of six Pokémon, and you’d earn only one new one each day. It was just mind-numbingly uninteresting.

“Pokémon Rumble U” (2013)

The “Pokémon Rumble” series has never been that great. So by the time we got the Wii U entry, we knew not to expect glory, and we were still disappointed. Like its predecessors, you control Pokémon in battle arenas, taking out enemy teams. However, there’s no real skill or strategy involved. You can just mash buttons and come out on top. Paired with the game’s linearity, this makes everything grow repetitive extremely fast. It doesn’t help that, even with only a few Pokémon on screen, it can be hard to tell what’s happening due to the frantic, messy gameplay. The visuals and character models all look bad, too, surprising given this was on Nintendo’s first HD console.

“Pokémon Channel” (2003)

Is this the worst “Pokémon” pet sim from Ambrella? Well, you could definitely make an argument for it. Most of the time, you’re not really playing. Instead, you’re enlisted by Professor Oak to watch his Poké-centric TV network, flipping through various programs that make the writing of the anime seem Oscar-worthy. While there are a handful of mini-games to find, nothing really holds your interest. We know we’ve called a lot of these games boring, but this is another entry where you’ll immediately feel your attention wavering. There’s more here than in something like “My Pokémon Ranch,” although that’s a pretty low bar to cross. But “Pokémon Channel” cost $50 at release, which is offensively high for what it offered.

“Pokémon Dash” (2005)

On paper, a Pokémon racing game sounds like a great idea. In execution, it’s genuinely terrible. It really should have been called “Pikachu Dash,” since that's the only Pokémon you can play as. Couldn’t have thrown a Ponyta or something in there, guys? As dumbfounding as that is, maybe a fun gameplay hook could have saved it. Unfortunately, “Pokémon Dash” is an empty, bland experience that relies on a touchscreen control gimmick that quickly outstays its welcome. All you do is press the stylus to the DS screen in the direction you want Pikachu to move in, which is definitely not the invigorating gameplay even the most basic racers can offer.

Is there an awful “Pokémon” game that we left off? Let us know about it in the comments. And if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great gaming videos every day!