As with most media, there's always a spinoff or to of something. Pokemon's no different, and there's a good few of them, too. For starters, let's go into the Pokemon Trading Card Game, a title for the Game Boy Color. The Pokemon TCG cards were in rival with Yu-Gi-Oh!, and that's still the case, with other names like Chaotic and others. The game was just a digitized port of the Pokemon TCG, and a rather successful one at that. I played it a few times, and it seemed to me an answer to those who weren't lucky to have the actual cards. The game itself came with a card from the actual TCG, originally made by Wizards of the Coast. They had a sequel to the game, but it was a Japan exclusice, not officially seeing US sales. Game Freak had the right idea upon this games conception. I give it a 7 of 10.
Next on my list is Pokemon Pinball, something I admit was my addiction next to the Johto games. You were back to catching Pokemon, but on a pinball table this time. It was quite a thrill for me when I fist played it, for it had a unique rumble pack cartridge, something not seen in much GB titles. You play on a pinball table, with an image that appears that signifies which town it represents, and pending on this, what Pokemon you were to catch. The game had its ways of catching Pokemon, as well as evolving them. They also featured a Pokedex to signify what you caught. The game was received quite well, and spawned a next gen sequel, Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphiere for the GB Advance. Both games did quite well, and hold an 8 overall.
Pokemon Puzzle Challenge, also a GB title, was a handheld successor to Nintendo 64's Pokemon Puzzle League. Those familiar with titles like Tetris, Columns, and Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine would notice the gameplay, and traits of this game being similar to the aforementioned titles. As with the main games, your goal is to conquer the Johto Leaders. Another well received title, strangely doing better than its home console predecessor. It's one I can't grade though, I never tried this one.
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon was a game in which YOU were the Pokemon this time, and like the main games, various versions were made. It began with both a GBA and a Nintendo DS title as different games, though they interacted with one another. At first there were Red and Blue Explorers team, Red being for the GBA, while Blue being the first Mystery Dungeon DS game. Sequels afterwards were solely for the DS system, starting with Explorers of Time/Shadows when the Gen. IV Pokemon (Pearl/Diamond/Platinum) were introduced. Adding to this was the fifth game, which was more so like a remake, Explorers of the Sky. Sky was a sister game to explorers of Time/Shadows. There are 3 more titles in Japan, making a total of 8 titles. I personally didn't like the se4ries very much, but at the same time respected it as a nice change of pace. I give the series a respectable 7 of 10.
The Pokemon Ranger series was a DS-exclusice series of games. Ranger dealt in a entirely different region, much like Colosseum and XD: Gale of Darkness. Set in the region of Fiore, the player is one of the Pokemon Rangers, and has a different way of catching Pokemon, albeit temporarily. As it is for DS, a tool called the Capture Styler is applied. Capture is done by encasing the Pokemon with that tool, which you use with the touch screen and the DS stylus. This particular game is used in coherence with the Gen. IV games to capture and transfer Manaphy. The only Pokemon that sticks by you are Plusle/Minum, which is gender specific on the type of character you choose. This is succeeded by Shadows of Almia (a game set in the region of Almia) and Guardian Tracks (set in Oblivia). All get a fairly average rating, which is kinda how I see it: a 7 of 10 at the very least.
Pokemon Trozei is another puzzle title, much like Puzzle Challenge, for the DS. Tetris style gameplay is used here, so it can become quite addicting for Tetris fans, Pokemon fans, or a mix of the two. It has a plot, but the gameplay element is pretty straight forward. As it is for DS, the stylus is used at some point. I can't grade this one either, but I heard that reception was pretty high for this title.
Pokemon Dash is perhaps their shot at a racing game. Controlled by a stylus, players race as Pikachu to complete a course, running through checkpoints in the process. Despite preorder and goodies provided, this game has received a lot of backlash. Being nice, I'll say a 6 of 10, this being their first (and so far ONLY shot) at a Pokemon racing game.
The last one isn't really a game per say, but it's worth mentioning. Called Pokemon Pikachu, it was a Tamagotchi-like device that served like a virtual pet that didn't need to me cleaned up after or fed. As well, because of the "watts" it gives, it also served as a Pedometer to the user. A Pokemon Pikachu 2 GS version could be compatible with Gold and Silver, with assistance of the GBC/GBA/SP infared sensors, enabling it to interact with the game. This tool was later improvised to create the PokeWalker used with Gold and Silver's remakes (which had an exclusive infared DS card to interact with it.)
That covers the handheld side games. Next I'll cover the console side games.
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