4. Pokémon Colosseum / Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness

Pokémon Colosseum and its sequel Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness are the only games that could reasonably be considered traditional Pokémon RPGs on this list, but while they share much of the battle mechanics with the mainline games, they’re not quite the same “catch ‘em all” affair. Set in the Orre region, these two games reframe the usual Pokémon catching loop to let the player steal opposing trainers’ Pokémon who have been distorted by the antagonistic Team Snagem. You can then add them to your team and purify them. While the mechanical twists are notable, Colosseum and Gale of Darkness also leaned into a darker storytelling, which gave them a distinct tone separate from other Pokémon games. They’re not quite to the levels of Pokémon Legends: Arceus and Scarlet and Violet’s endgame, but they still stand out as some of the coolest explorations of the Pokémon universe. Oh, and antagonist Miror B. is forever an icon.