It’s nearly Pokémon Day, with the monster-taming series celebrating its 30th anniversary on Friday, February 27. As such, what better time to look back at all the mainline RPGs and pit them against each other? Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the newest game in the series, closed out 2025, and did the new, real-time battle system and story set entirely in one city indicate a bold new direction for the series, or a flop? Can it possibly compare to the classics like Red and Blue? Here’s our ranking of the mainline Pokémon RPGs, within which I’m sure you will find nothing objectionable.
This ranking was originally published in 2023 and updated to include Pokémon Legends: Z-A and reflect Scarlet and Violet’s Switch 2 upgrades in 2025.