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I’ve played every single mainline Pokémon game on Nintendo Switch, amassing hundreds of hours of gameplay. I’ve done it all from shiny hunting to competitive battling, raiding, breeding, and everything else you can think of.
That’s why it’s so easy for me to think about these games and tell you precisely what the absolute best Pokémon game on Switch is. So, you’d expect that the best would be my first recommendation for someone starting their Pokémon journey, right? But where’s the fun in that?
Allow me to be a purist and take you on a Pokémon journey that will make you appreciate modern Pokémon games while also understanding what we lost along the way.
With this said, here’s the best Pokémon game to start on Switch and the ones you should play after:
1. Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen — Start Here
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen will be the start of your Pokémon journey on Switch for various reasons.
They are remakes of the original games, meaning the winning formula that made Pokémon so popular is still present in these games. You start off by choosing your starter Pokémon, then go on an adventure to fill your Pokédex, put an end to Team Rocket’s ambitions, win gym battles, and ultimately become the Pokémon Champion.
Things are still fairly simple here with little guidance on where you must go, and after beating the third gym, you see the world open up a lot, and the experience becomes less linear, allowing you to tackle the next set of gyms in almost any order you want.
The price point is also the lowest on this list, with each game costing $20. It might seem steep for a GBA game, but remember that this title is compatible with Pokémon Home, and all event Pokémon like Ho-oh, Lugia, and even Deoxys are available to catch in this version, making it a worthwhile experience.
From here, you’d expect I’d send you straight to the modern games, but if you are subscribed to NSO + expansion pack, that’s where you’ll find the next stop on Pokémon journey.
2. Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness — The Natural Follow-Up
Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness is almost the perfect follow-up to FireRed/LeafGreen, and the only thing stopping it from achieving perfection is being tied to NSO. You see, in the original GameCube version, you could actually take Pokémon from your FireRed version and transfer them to Gale of Darkness, where you could battle with them in challenging 3D Double Battles.
This was the second game in the entire franchise where you could explore a region with your Pokémon, and it must’ve been magical for anyone who grew up with owning a GameCube and had a love for Pokémon.
I, on the other hand, only got to experience this game many years later, and unfortunately, modern Pokémon games in general ruined it for me. The novelty of exploring a 3D Pokémon world was gone, and I had a difficult time appreciating it for what it is.
It’s not a bad game by any means, just a tad outdated. But if you come from FireRed and LeafGreen, you will be amazed and also feel right at home since this is also a Gen 3 game. All the knowledge on abilities, moves, and type chart weaknesses will transfer to this game just fine, and you’ll have a blast in the Orre region.
3. Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl — Generation 4
FireRed and LeafGreen represent the 1st generation of Pokémon, Gale of Darkness is the 3rd, so I think it’s fitting that you’d experience generation 4 afterward with Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
I know what you’re thinking, and no, I’m not crazy for recommending these games. Honestly, they aren’t bad games, just disappointing because they chose to remake Diamond and Pearl instead of Platinum.
There are a ton of things to love in this game, though, like Pokémon following you around, biomes with roaming Pokémon in the underground, and the visuals are actually good and consistent, something other modern Pokémon games really struggle with.
Of course, not everything is perfect; for instance, I have no idea why TMs are still a one-time deal, and I don’t know why they butchered the underground mini-game and base-building.
But you’ll experience an entirely different region with different Pokémon to catch and Pokémon contests to participate in. You’ll tackle the Battle Tower for the very first time, which will be the toughest challenge you’ll face up until this point, and also learn about the Exp. Share, which is always on.
This one is a bit divisive, but as a busy dad, I welcome it since I no longer need to grind levels with wild Pokémon and instead focus on progressing through the game. Also, it’s an incentive to keep switching your party and capturing and evolving as many Pokémon as you can before the League.
There’s a ton of content to love here despite all its shortcomings, and it’s definitely a game I can recommend for someone who loves Pokémon and is starting their journey.
After this one, though, I think it’s time to go back to familiar ground.
4. Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Let’s Go, Eevee! — A Different Kind of Catching
Surprisingly, the most accessible Pokémon games you can play today come from the device you always carry with you, your smartphone.
That’s probably what Game Freak thought too when they decided to partner up with Niantic, which led to the development of the most impactful mobile game of all time, Pokémon GO.
After its success, the Let’s Go games were created to bring in all the new players who started their journey with Pokémon Go, and they did by remaking the original games once again.
It still follows the same formula but with a lot more emphasis on the catching. Since there are no wild battles, instead you’ll encounter wild Pokémon and have the chance to catch them immediately by throwing Pokéballs like in Pokémon Go.
And even though it’s not my favorite mechanic, there is another one that I think is important for you to try, Mega-Evolution.
This was super popular during generations 6 and 7 and was entirely removed during Sword and Shield, so I could not have you go through those games without having a taste of this wonderful feature and truly understand what was taken from us for so many years.
5. Pokémon Sword and Shield — The First True Console Game
Next up we have Pokémon Sword and Shield, the game many consider to be the first “true” mainline Pokémon game released on a game console.
The game was a bit divisive since you cannot capture all available Pokémon from every generation, but by now you have played 2 remakes of a generation 1 game, so don’t worry, your favorites will most likely always be available in every single game.
Can you even imagine a Pokémon game with no Pikachu or Charizard?
But controversial as this game was, it introduced two mechanics that have been progressively expanded in subsequent games: Max Den and the Wild Area.
Max Den is basically a raid battle system you can take on alone (with 4 NPCs) or with the help of other people via online play. While most raids are a bit useless to take on, the ones that reward you with Gigantamax Pokémon were always a treat to do.
And if you buy the DLC, you get access to the Dynamax Adventures, where you have to participate in random Raid battles with rental Pokémon until you reach the legendary Pokémon waiting at the end.
You can find these Raids in the Wild Areas, which are big open maps you’ll be able to explore freely and capture Pokémon. The main Wild Area of the game is a bit disappointing, but again, the DLC fixes this.
Pokémon Sword and Shield are not my favorite Pokémon games at all, but they were a huge first step forward as the very first open-world Pokémon game.
6. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet — Total Freedom
Imagine a Pokémon game with no boundaries, where you are free to roam and take on any gym in any order you want and even explore the world with your friends in co-op.
That’s what Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are, but the scope of this game was something that Game Freak had never experienced before, meaning the end product we got was a game that wasn’t as optimized and was filled with bugs.
Some of these issues were fixed with time, while plenty of others remained until the Switch 2 Free Patch Update, which fixed all the performance issues, increased the visual fidelity, and filled the world with more Pokémon, making it feel less empty and alive.
You can absolutely play this on Switch 1, but it’s on Switch 2 where you’ll find the definitive way of playing Scarlet and Violet. And coming from Sword and Shield, you’ll be pleased to know that raid battles still exist and have improved, in my opinion.
The main mechanic in generation 9 is Terastallization, which changes the typing of any Pokémon to whatever their Tera Type is. In raids you’ll sometimes need to use this mechanic to break a barrier, and this time anyone can do it while also playing independently. This means you do not need to wait for other people to select their moves!
Terastallization is a mysterious phenomenon. Journeying through the region of Paldea to uncover its secrets was one of my favorite things to do, and the ending is up there as one of my favorites of all time in a Pokémon game.
I just love uncovering the lore of new Pokémon games and seeing how it can be connected to other games in the series, but what I love even more is when we go back to a previous region and see their lore being extended.
7. Pokémon Legends: Arceus & Legends: Z-A — The Final Stretch
In this section I’m including both Pokémon Legends games since I can’t honestly decide which one you should be playing first.
In both games, the Gyms and the Pokémon League are gone, random encounters no longer exist, and for the first time you will be able to throw Pokéballs to capture Pokémon. These wild Pokémon can also attack the player and make them faint, so to avoid this, you should learn how to dodge or throw your own Pokémon to initiate a battle.
In Arceus, battles are still turn-based with a few changes. You can now switch between the Strong and Agile styles, which will result in more powerful attacks or even more turns to attack in a row.
In Z-A, turn-based battles are entirely gone, and for the first time you will give commands to your Pokémon in real-time while making sure you are positioned well to hit your attacks.
Z-A is closer to being an open-world game than Arceus is, since the latter has several big areas to explore instead of a single map. But Z-A takes place in a single city where everything will start to look the same after a few hours of playing.
However, where these two games shine is in the story, going deeper into the genesis of the Sinnoh region and also the mysteries behind the Ultimate Weapon that is said to be the origin of Mega-Evolution.
They are both fantastic in this regard, and I think your choice should be based on which lore you would like to experience first. Although, since you barely touched on Mega-Evolution by now, I think that would be a strong contender for your next game, but I’ll leave that for you to decide.
So, Which Pokémon Game Should You Start With?
Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen is definitely the Pokémon you should be playing first if you’re new to the franchise. And from there you are free to follow this path I paved for you, which I’m actually doing myself too! I’m just finishing up LeafGreen, and then I’ll be back for another playthrough of Gale of Darkness.
My goal is to finish all these games again by the time Pokémon Winds and Waves release in 2027, and if that’s your goal, then I think you have plenty of time to catch up.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll be seeing you again next time with brand-new content!
