2. Pokémon Go
I know it might be tough to hear for a lot of the hardcore Pokémon community, but there really isn’t a Pokémon game as important as Pokémon Go. Niantic’s mobile collect-a-thon game has fundamentally changed what Pokémon is to most people. When the game launched on mobile in 2016, that was the closest we ever got to world peace. It brought entire communities of people together, served as the basis of regular gatherings like Pokémon Go Fest, is somehow still coming up in reports about people doing crimes while playing it, and changed the way Game Freak thinks about post-game support for mainline entries like Scarlet and Violet with the introduction of raid battles. As a game, it has its issues, though Niantic has supported the game for nearly seven years now after multiple other projects have failed to take off. But as a moment? Pokémon Go is the most important game in the franchise since the original Game Boy games.
