The best Pokemon Switch games range from a fighting game that first reached the console in 2017 to a Lumiose City adventure from 2025. Here are the 10 best Pokemon Switch games, ranked from worst to best, taken from the full list of best Pokemon games.
Rescue Team DX remakes the 2005 games and came out worldwide in 2020. A personality quiz at the start decides which Pokemon you play. Critics scored it 69 out of 100.
Unite is a team battle game that launched on the Switch in 2021. The type system is gone, and each Pokemon has its own Unite Moves. Critics scored it 70 out of 100.
Scarlet and Violet sold 10 million copies in their first three days, Nintendo's biggest launch up to then. They add Paradox Pokemon, creatures from the past and the future. Critics scored Scarlet 72 and Violet 71 out of 100.
Developer ILCA led these Sinnoh remakes in place of Game Freak, a first for main-series games. They launched in 2021, and critics scored them 73 out of 100.
Legends: Z-A takes place in Lumiose City, which X and Y introduced. The expansion Mega Dimension followed on 10 December 2025. Critics scored the Switch version 70 and the Switch 2 version 78 out of 100.
Pokken Tournament DX is the Switch port of an arcade fighter and includes the last four fighters added in the arcade version, plus one exclusive fighter. Critics scored it 79 out of 100.
New Pokemon Snap is a photo game set in the Lental region, and it launched in 2021. A research team led by Professor Mirror sends you out to photograph Pokemon in their habitats. Critics scored it 79 out of 100.
The Let's Go games let you transfer the Mythical Pokemon Meltan and Melmetal from Pokemon GO. They launched in 2018, and critics scored them 79 and 80 out of 100.
Sword and Shield were first teased at E3 2017 and arrived in 2019 with 96 new Pokemon. Dynamax makes a Pokemon grow to a huge size for a few turns. Critics scored them 80 out of 100.
Legends: Arceus arrived in 2022. Its map is divided into five large areas that you explore freely, and you catch wild Pokemon without a battle. Critics scored it 83 out of 100.
The top three Switch games each changed how a core part of the series works: Legends: Arceus lets you catch Pokemon without battling, Sword and Shield added Dynamax, and Let's Go copies the catching of Pokemon Go. The two remakes of older games, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Rescue Team DX, finish in the bottom four.
Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Critics scored it 83 out of 100.
Yes. Critics scored the Switch 2 version 78 and the Switch version 70 out of 100.
Scarlet and Violet, with 10 million copies in three days.
