Every Mainline Pokemon, From Easiest To Hardest

Pokemon games are still hugely popular despite their sometimes challenging difficulty spikes from time to time. Granted, the challenge doesn't always feel intentional, and Pokémon as a series is still hugely accessible, but if you're worried about the difficulty of a particular game, this list is designed to help. Whether you've got a soft spot for the older generations or prefer the modern games, we've brought every mainline Pokémon game together in one tidy list and ranked them all based on how easy they are to complete. We've factored in the challenge of filling out the Pokédex, the gym leader battles, the strength of the Pokémon League, puzzle solutions, and any other obstacle the games can throw our way. Updated on August 30, 2026, by Niall Walsh: We've revisited this list to clean it up and ensure it's still the most comprehensive ranking of Pokémon games by difficulty. 23 Pokémon: Let's Go Pikachu & Let's Go Eevee A Great Place To Start This revisit to Kanto on the Nintendo Switch changes many parts of the usual Pokémon formula. Wild battles are a thing of the past, and the games have rarely been this accessible to the youngest of the young. That said, the games are sorely lacking in difficulty. Not only do they hand you an extra-powerful Pikachu or Eevee as your starter, but you can even teach them powerful moves of any type you want by visiting a few NPCs in Pokémon Centers. It's totally viable to play the entire game with one Pokémon, and it almost seems to encourage it. Keep in mind these games were never meant to be a challenge. They're a mixture of an entry point into the series and a nostalgia trip for long-time fans, making it ideal for people who love Pokémon but don't play the games. 22 Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Despite being remakes of Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, which will appear much later on this list, Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire are almost a joke in their challenge level. Many foes give ludicrous amounts of experience, and from your starter's Mega Evolution to a free Latios or Latias, it's difficult to fail in this adventure. That's not to say it isn't fun, and it had a wonderful competitive scene thanks to its many new Mega Evolutions and access to various legendaries. That said, you'll absolutely need a personal restriction like a Nuzlocke challenge if you want a little more bite with this game. 21 Pokémon X & Y Not Mega Hard Like Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, the Kalos games released beforehand also gave trainers a few too many tools. A free Kanto starter and more Mega Evolutions made for degenerative teams, but this game at least had new Pokémon and Gyms that players might not be as familiar with. That novelty makes it much more interesting to replay it and might result in some Gym Leaders and rivals catching you off-guard. Will it make you sweat at all, though? No, probably not. 20 Pokémon Sword Letting The Side Down Despite being extremely similar, Pokémon Sword & Shield have key differences that affect their respective difficulty levels. While most of the split versions mainly stick to their Pokémon as the primary changes, Pokémon Sword suffers due to some version-exclusive Gym Leaders with very little substance. Namely, these would be Bea and Gordie. Both of them have competitive Pokémon, but they have too many weaknesses and shortcomings in their move pools to be a challenge. They end up being remarkably easy to beat, and Dynamax makes most Gym Leaders a breeze with the right strategy. 19 Pokémon Shield Shield Beats Sword Pokémon Shield ramps things up a bit compared to its companion. This is mostly due to the Ghost-type Gym Leader, Allister, who replaces Bea in this version and has a much stronger team. It features both fast and defensive Pokémon with fewer common weaknesses. Even Melony beats out Gordie in the late game thanks to her Ice-type proficiency. Her team still has a similar number of weaknesses; however, her defensive stats are much more well-rounded than teammates like Lapras. And her speedier Pokémon can actually threaten your team, making Pokémon Shield the hardest Pokémon game among the eighth-generation picks. 18 Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl The Power Of Love While the community was eager for these games, they leave something to be desired in the difficulty department, for the most part. Between permanent experience share and the affection system that may have you witnessing your Pokémon survive deadly hits multiple times in a row, the game isn't too challenging. That's not to say there aren't challenges, though. The Elite Four ramps up the difficulty quite a bit, and Cynthia herself is something of a demon. For most of the game, though? Not so much. 17 Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver Almost Perfect Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver have some especially strange traits. While mostly identical to the original Pokémon Gold & Silver, several changes make them much easier. Some of this is because Special and Physical moves are divided, which makes many of the weakest Pokémon much stronger. However, it ends up being substantially easier due to its status as a fourth-generation game, as it doesn't prevent you from evolving certain Pokémon like Gligar and Aipom into their new evolutions. This can lead to some absurdly powerful Pokémon that you aren't expected to have, and it ends up being a much simpler experience as a result. 16 Pokémon Diamond & Pearl A Pokédex Problem The original Sinnoh games for the Nintendo DS aren't as difficult as they are boring. In theory, it should be quite difficult due to its level spike, as many trainers like Cynthia late in the game can be astonishingly more powerful than an average trainer's team. Unfortunately, most of the game's Gym Leaders have pretty predictable weaknesses, and there's a lack of certain Pokémon types to utilize this level advantage. Flint, the Fire-type expert from the Elite Four, actually has very few Fire-types because of the problems with Sinnoh's Pokédex, meaning Grass and Steel-types had an unusual advantage. 15 Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Freedom To Set Your Own Challenges via Game Freak The latest mainline games in the Pokémon series are notable for letting you venture off into high-level areas nearly right off the bat. Their three-pronged approach to storytelling meets this relative freedom headfirst, letting people choose to do things in a 'bad' order, leading to the potential for some real challenge if you try to face a Gym Leader or other boss-type encounter too early. That doesn't mean Scarlet & Violet are difficult if you follow the most anticipated path, with Gym Leaders and Team Star captains at more appropriate intervals. There are so many ways to buff up your Pokémon in this game that it's still pretty much your game to lose, however. 14 Pokémon Black & White Those Poor Plasma Grunts Pokémon Black & White is where the difficulty on our list ramps up a bit, as Unova brought an entirely new set of challenges that no player had ever faced before. No original Pokémon in the main story meant teams could look incredibly different from each other and forced you to create a diverse team to make your way through it. The main problem in this game is Team Plasma, which ends up being disappointingly easy to defeat in nearly every story segment. Few members use evolved Pokémon, and their teams rarely consist of unusual partners, making your new foe N the only real threat from this major aspect of the game.