Learn With Pokémon: Typing Adventure is an unexpectedly entertaining entry to the long list of Pokémon spin-offs. While it may not teach you how to type, you will learn how to quickly spell MIENSHAO or how to tell apart a Marill from an Azurill from a distance — utterly essential life skills, if you ask us.
This game is fun and challenging for both Typing Rookies and Master Typists alike; even so, it shouldn't be considered a must-buy, even for hardcore fans. Still, if you were in the market for a sturdy little Bluetooth keyboard and you also liked Pokémon, this was a solid purchase.
Pokémon Masters EX is a bit of a megahit now, with many Pokémon fans turning in for their dailies, events, and new characters. In fact, we'd say it's one of the most well-realised Pokémon mobile titles to date – especially in terms of presentation.
Partnering up with classic Pokémon characters is fun, and the game has only improved since its original release in 2019 (as Pokémon Masters). There are loot boxes galore, of course, but in terms of mobile outings for the franchise, this is one of the better ones.
As a free-to-play downloadable Switch game, Pokémon Café ReMix is rather pleasant. The art style and designs are charming (especially when you recruit them and they get their uniforms), and the dishes you prepare are clever; the Fluffy Eevee Pancakes and Cheesy Rowley Pizza look particularly appetising. We think we’ll just skip straight to dessert, thanks.
The microtransactions aren’t massively intrusive, the energy system isn’t too debilitating, and the stages aren’t Candy Crush Saga-style efforts where it’ll take you 70 goes to get lucky enough to eventually clear them.
Pokémon Café won't keep you engaged forever, but it's a nice little distraction. Now, an espresso macchiato, por favore.
Did Hey You, Pikachu! need a spiritual successor? Probably not. But that's what Ambrella's Pokémon Channel is.
Swapping a microphone for the Nintendo e-Reader (at least in the US and Japan - the peripheral never launched in Europe), Pokémon Channel is an odd mixture of life-sim, tamagotchi-style pet-carer, and minigame collection.
It was pretty darn cute, plus you got a free Jirachi in Ruby & Sapphire. But there's just nothing to do. Wake up, watch TV, play with Pikachu — that's basically it. The idea of taking care of Pokémon is ripe for a decent game, and Pokémon Channel felt like a missed opportunity.
But hey, watching the weather with Pikachu isn't that bad, and there are lots of collectibles to keep the youngest Poké Trainers entertained.
Pokémon: Magikarp Jump is a fascinating package. It has great style, but it severely lacks in gameplay. It feels like the epitome of a generic mobile title with a Pokémon twist, which is somewhat unfortunate. With no gameplay other than feeding the fish and playing 'Whose stat is bigger?', there's just unfortunately so little to the game.
It's definitely something fun to play on the bus or the train to kill time, but it just lacks the depth that we've come to expect from the other Pokémon mobile titles. While it's easy to recommend having it on your mobile device, it's hard to recommend paying for microtransactions.
Pokémon Quest is a fun little time waster that will satisfy your collect 'em all urges if you've exhausted everything the mainline Switch Pokémons have to offer.
You will have to splash some cash if you want to get the most out of it, but it's far from a money sink. You can get everything you need in a single purchase, or unlock most of it slowly by playing for free — it's one of the most generous 'freemium' systems out there.
Overall, Quest is a great jumping-off point for new fans of the series, and the cutesy art style just might win over veterans. No harm in giving it a shot.
Pokémon Rumble U is straightforward fun that's a far cry away from the main Pokémon titles, but it does pair some key strategic elements of the series with the button bashing – though there are definitely moments where there's too much going on to keep real track of, which does lead to more reliance on the latter than the former.
Despite its short length, there's lots to go back to when you consider the hundreds of Pokémon to collect and challenges to beat. It's not essential by any means, but it's a fairly decent multiplayer game.
Pokémon Link: Battle (or Pokémon Battle Trozei as it was known outside Europe) deserved to find a large audience. The match-three puzzle action was well done, and the emphasis on building combo attacks makes it feel significantly different from other examples of this genre.
There's also the appeal of collecting all 718 Pokémon — every known 'mon back in 2014 — and while the lack of online multiplayer felt like a missed opportunity, local co-op matches with friends filled the void to an extent. Like so many puzzle titles, repetition became an issue over prolonged periods, but the portable nature of the host platform made this ideal short-burst entertainment.
