All Pokemon mainline game plots, ranked from worst to best

Pokemon's mainline titles have always been criticized for their lack of plot. With many games in focusing on the creatures and the franchise's formulaic objectives, the story often takes a backseat, but the games that put more effort into their plot are often held in high regard by the community.

Many modern titles, even those in the Nintendo library, have some sort of voice acting, even if the story is not the main focus. This has left the Pokemon franchise in the dust narratively, with many players not even reading the novels of text bubbles these titles provide. Here is every mainline Pokemon game ranked by their story.

Note: This list uses Bulbapedia's list of mainline games, with remakes and upgraded versions taking the place of their original counterparts. The ranking is subjective and solely relies on the writer's opinion.

---

Ranking every mainline Pokemon game's story

14) Sword and Shield

Pokemon Sword and Shield were rushed games without much of a memorable story (Image via Game Freak)

Pokemon Sword and Shield were the only games that I had to look up to make this list. With the evil team having no real purpose in the narrative other than to hype up the eighth gym leader, and the real antagonist only acting out their plan for the last 10 minutes of the game, Sword and Shield fail to stand out positively among other mainline titles.

---

13) Let's GO!

Pokemon Let's GO! Pikachu and Eevee failed to deliver as much as the remakes for the Kanto region on the Game Boy Advanced (Image via Game Freak)

The Let's GO! games aimed to be the bridging point for fans of the main series, and fans of Pokemon GO, which was fairly new at the time of these games' release. These remakes of the Kanto region had some charm, incorporating the Team Rocket Trio from the anime, but lacked any of the post-game or side stories from Pokemon Firered and Leafgreen.

---

12) Crystal / Heartgold and Soulsilver

The Johto games relied heavily on the Kanto games, having very little unique identity (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The Johto games have arguably some of the most free content to offer out of most other titles in the franchise. However, a lot of its best traits rely heavily on the Kanto region in both gameplay and narrative. To this day, the Johto region is still the only place without its own evil team, and its Legendary Pokemon have no real relevance in the game's plot.

---

11) X and Y

X and Y waited too long to make their story interesting (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Pokemon X and Y started off incredibly slow, guiding the player along a path with four friends, each one more annoying than the last. Around the game's halfway point, the player is introduced to more interesting lore concepts like a powerful weapon and the ancient king of the Kalos region. These points will likely be expanded upon for Legends Z-A.

---

10) Black and White 2

Pokemon Black and White 2's horrible pacing left an impact on its story (Image via The Pokemon Company)

While these games are known for having the most content and being some of the most loved titles in the franchise, their story is a bit of a downgrade from their prequel.

These titles cannot go five minutes without forcing the player into long strings of textboxes followed by pushing them into a dungeon or some other form of side content that has to be completed to progress the story. Thankfully, the last few sections of the game make the tedious early game worth enduring.

---

9) Firered and Leafgreen

Pokemon Firered and Leafgreen did not try to implement some crazy world-risking plot, because it was meant to be a fun and simple game about a kid going on an adventure (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Pokemon Firered and Leafgreen are the enhanced versions of the first games in the franchise, and as such, they possess a simple story. These games are simply about a child leaving their small town for the first time, going to see the world, and meeting all sorts of powerful creatures along the way.

These games are also surprisingly open-world, allowing players to experience the story and side missions at their own pace.

---

8) Emerald

Pokemon Emerald introduced many players to the apocalypse-causing Legendary Pokemon trope used in future games (Image via The Pokemon Company)

The enhanced version of Ruby and Sapphire, Emerald features a similar plot in which Team Aqua and Magma are both pursuing their goal to awaken the Legendary Pokemon of the Hoenn region.

This results in a climax where Groudon and Kyogre stand off against one another, requiring the player to call Rayquaza from the Sky Pillar to stop them. All of this is conveyed through one of the franchise's first-ever in-game cutscenes.

---

7) Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

While these games were not perfect, they still feature the original story of the Sinnoh region (Image via The Pokemon Company)

While these games were a bit controversial at the time of their launch, they are still the definitive versions of Diamond and Pearl. Aiming to stay faithful to the original versions, their story remains consistent, with Cyrus' ultimate goal of controlling both Palkia and Dialga at the same time bearing fruit, if only for a moment before the player puts a stop to him.

---

6) Legends Arceus

Pokemon Legends Arceus is bogged down by a lengthy tutorial, lack of voice acting, and poor animation, but the post-game story was peak (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Pokemon Legends Arceus had some of the best gameplay of any mainline title, but its narrative solely being told through poor animations and textboxes despite being on a home console greatly worsened the experience for many. However, the end of the main story and the post-game missions with Volo made for some of the best moments in the franchise.

---

5) Scarlet and Violet

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have many of the same issues as Legends Arceus, but have much better characters (Image via The Pokemon Company)

With its abundance of textboxes and stiff animations, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have many similar complaints to that of Legends Arceus. However, Scarlet and Violet had Arven, Clive, and Larry. Fans could argue that Scarlet and Violet have the best story in the franchise thanks heavily to its well-written characters, but since the end credits feature an unskippable Ed Sheeran jumpscare, some points had to be deducted.

---

4) Ultra Sun and Moon

Ultra Sun and Moon feature a deeper plot with dimensional travel and funny giant Pokemon (Image The Pokemon Company)

Ultra Sun and Moon are the enhanced versions of the Alola games, featuring a more complete story that incorporates Necrozma and Ultra Space into the story of the region. This story paints Necrozma as a multiversal-level threat, leeching the light from each dimension it enters, with its next meal being the player's homeworld.

---

3) Black and White

Pokemon Black and White had a great story but really needs its sequel to wrap up its loose ends (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Black and White are seen as the most plot-heavy games in the franchise. This is often used as a compliment as well as a criticism. At its core, the game is a story about friends going on an adventure, much like the first entry in the franchise.This is thematically fitting, as the fifth generation served as a soft reboot of the series. While it is not a complicated story, its well-written characters put it leagues ahead of the original game.

---

2) Platinum

Pokemon Platinum features a better story, with additional characters and proper implementation of Giratina (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Pokemon Platinum is the enhanced version of Diamond and Pearl, and is still seen by many to be the optimal way to experience the Sinnoh region. Most notably, this game introduced Looker, who would become an important character in later generations. It also features the iconic cutscene of Giratina interrupting Cyrus mid-takeover of Dialga and Palkia, then dragging him to the Distortion World.

---

1) Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire feature the best version of the Ruby and Sapphire's plot, as well as its Delta Episode end story (Image via The Pokemon Company)

Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are the remastered versions of Ruby and Sapphire, and feature a much deeper and fleshed-out explanation of the Pokemon timeline than fans have seen prior or since. These games not only expand on the lore of the entire Pokemon world but also feature a brilliant postgame story in the Delta Episode, featuring Rayquaza and Deoxys.